death. "Flesh and blood cannot inherit eternal life." The continuity of individual life in a renewed bodily organism evolved from the seminal principle of the old body, yet entirely different, as different as a magnificent plant that shoots from the little rotted seed in the ground,-a new, God-given and incorruptible body, is a thoroughly Pauline truth. The individuality of the man is in his whole nature, as soul and body. Here the bodily nature predominates and moulds the soul; hereafter, the soul predominates and moulds the body. The new body is a "spiritual body;" and, in the instance of the believer, the body which is developed from the sound renewed soul, takes on the form of all that is beautiful and glorious, even of Christ's own glorious body.

Another judicious and powerful chapter follows, upon "the Judgment." The writer justly makes much, in this solemn theme, of the idea, that not only will God then be perfectly manifested, but that man will be perfectly manifested, as 2 Cor. 4: 10, literally rendered, would indicate. The real love and faith which there are in a soul, will be revealed, as well as the real unbelief and hostility which there are in another soul. Conscience flashing with perfect faithfulness and simultaneousness 'upon all actions, like a veil drawn from a mirror, will be the revealing instrumentality. The Judgment has a bright as well as an awful side to it. There will be surprisals of joy as well as of woe. There is a simple explanation given by Whately, of the terms of the Judg ment, which is characteristic of his clear mind. That class of texts which declares that the judgment will be according to the deeds, words, and thoughts of the man while in the body, must be harmonized with those numerous and definite passages which pronounce repentance and faith to be the only terms of salvation." He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." These deeds done in the body, these benevolences to the poor, these good words and thoughts, will therefore be judged of in the quality of the fruits of that faith which is really in the soul. If these deeds, words, and thoughts do not spring from this faith, from this subjective

principle of righteousness, but from some earthly root or motive, they are spurious, they are imperfect, they have no divine life in them, and they cannot stand the judgment of God. A man will, on that day (and how blessed that it is so) be justified by faith alone. How can he, indeed, be justified by anything else? How can he have any good deeds to bring to that bar, that have not come from this faith? "Without him [Christ] we can do nothing."

In the succeeding chapter on "the expected Restoration of the Jews, and the Millennium," the author refutes the opinion that the saints are literally to judge the world hereafter; but he considers the passage to mean, that true Christians, by their just life in this world, are really judging and condemning the evil world around them. He also discards the idea of two resurrections, giving the passage a simpler interpretation. He is opposed to the ideas of a literal restoration of the Jews, and of a bodily millennial reign of Christ on earth. He considers such ideas to be at variance with the general scope of the New Testament, and with the spirituality of the Christian faith. He thinks that the true way to interpret the unfulfilled prophecies of the New Testament, and especially of the book of Revelation, is to use the key of the actual fulfilment of the prophecies of the Old Testament. These have been thus far fulfilled spiritually, as in the case of the coming of Elias, and of the establishment of the moral kingdom and power of the Messiah. And he is of the opinion that a far greater and more splendid exhibition of the power of the religion of Jesus, a fuller breaking forth of the energy of His spirit and life, for a considerable period before the end of the world, will answer, and gloriously answer, all the requirements of these prophecies. The bringing in of the Jews, is simply the universal triumph of the Christian church, in which there is neither Jew nor Gentile, but all are one in Christ.

In the chapter on " Rewards and Punishments," the scriptural truth is brought out, that the elevation of one will not imply the depression of another; that there will be no envy. in heaven, because each one's spiritual capacity will be filled. Yet there is, in this chapter, the most objectionable feature

of the book, and one, we think, that is sufficient to counterbalance all its good. There is a subtle thread of argument introduced, by way of conjecture, or candid exhibition of opposing opinion, for the annihilation of the souls of wicked men. Let it not be understood that Archbishop Whately positively advocates this theory; but he introduces it and argues it fully. He says that in the passages in which the words "death," "destruction," "eternal death," are spoken of, these words may be taken as signifying literal death, real destruction, an utter end of things. The "unquenchable fire" may mean that fire which utterly consumes what it is burning upon. The "worm that dieth not," may be that which entirely devours what it feeds upon. "Everlasting perdition" may mean that perishing from which the soul cannot be saved, but it will be final, annihilating.1 It is written that Christ "must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." This affords some ground for thinking, according to Whately, that there may be a "final extinction of evil and suffering, by the total destruction of such as are incapable of good and happiness. If eternal death mean final death death without any revival we can understand what is meant by death being destroyed, viz.: that none henceforth are to be subjected to it." And he concludes this scriptural argument by this sentence: "On the whole, therefore, I think we are not warranted in concluding (as some have done) so positively concerning this question as to make it a point of Christian faith to interpret figuratively, the 'death and destruction' spoken of in the Scripture as the doom of the condemned; and to insist on the belief that they are to be kept alive forevermore." Is this a settling or an unsettling method? If the author is in favor of the theory of annihilation, let him say so boldly, and let him come out and be its champion on independent grounds; but thus to insert it advisedly in his lectures to plain men,

These and similar arguments for the annihilation of the wicked are drawn out in greater fulness in the more recent work of C. F. Hudson on the Doctrine of a Future Life, a book of great learning and subtlety.

2 Page 184.

and then to publish it in a book meant to clarify the doctrine of a future life, seems hardly right. To enter into the scriptural argument against the annihilation of soul, we have no space. If the intensely active, continuous, and infinite idea of "everlasting punishment," could possibly be joined with the brief and hewn down truth of literal annihilation, then it were well to introduce such a doctrine to a "mixed audience" of good and bad, of believers and unbelievers. With the drowsy theory of unconsciousness to smooth the way and take off the edge of eternity, we may conceive that it would be on the whole quite satisfactory to those who have their "good things" in this life. Could our author himself desire that this view should become popular, -that the great hand of Almighty Justice and Love, stretching from eternity, and laying itself upon the passionate human heart, should at the end of this life quench that heart out forever; and that the wicked man should feel that he might revel here in evil pleasures, and bear down in ironhanded oppressions, and at the dying hour like Mirabeau, be crowned with roses and drowned in perfume, and sink into the abyss of annihilation? Would the writer annihilate the moral power of the future life? Has it not been justly thought that it was a great work of Christ to restore the law of holiness, to clear the mists from its celestial purity, to make men come up to it in Divine strength, to stamp sin with everlasting opprobrium, and to force the wicked, God-resisting conscience to echo back its own infinite condemnation? Is not the never-dying worm, the vile and terrible self-destroying death-energy of sin in the evil soul? It may be this, and more. Is not the unquenchable fire, the everlasting flame of pain and despair kindled in the mind made for God, but never giving up its sin? Then treading the depths of this overwhelmingly painful subject, we must lean alone on the arm of God, and keep close to Christ.

The chapter on "the Heavenly State," contains much strong sense and clear reasoning. Heaven is a place to

1 Dr. T. M. Post in the New Englander of Feb. and May 1856, has presented this argument with exceeding eloquence, force, and Christian feeling.

the author's substantial mind. It is not a mere crystallized state of abstract virtues and apotheothized doctrines. It is vivified by the living personal presence of Christ, and by a spiritual oneness with him. The seeds of this heaven must be sown here, in the soul reconciled and made harmonious in its deepest will to God. "This is eternal life, to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." This possession of " God in Christ," is the opening life of heaven. The child of God lives part in heaven on earth. Like the sweet indescribable silence that broods on the mind after an exquisite strain of music, so after a penitent prayer, or holy thought, or righteous word, or pure self-denying action which has Christ in it, the believer dwells, for the moment, peacefully and blissfully in heaven with the Saviour. But that Saviour's full love is inherited by the soul hereafter. And the soul is made capable of infinite love. Even here, how great is the capacity of the soul to love. Every new child given by God to a parent is enfolded in that fulness of parental love, nor is that fulness diminished. So in heaven, the human soul, separated from the contracting and deathly influences of sin, and nourished in the atmosphere of Divine love, learns to receive into itself all that is like God, and to love like God. But the Scriptures do not mean that we should know anything of heaven out of Christ. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." The types of heaven all lead to Christ. The everbearing tree of life is Christ. The river of the water of life, is Christ. The new Jerusalem is the city actually lighted by the presence of God and the Lamb. The white-robed multitude therein, is composed of those whose souls are made white by a purifying faith in the great sacrifice of Divine love for sin. We are not told particularly about the employments of "the saints in light," beyond the general truth of holy and delightful praise of God. Every service will be praise. There will be an eternal progress of the soul, because led by Christ himself to the living fountains of truth. We are not informed about the meeting of friends in heaven;