and breadth Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me,' &c. Here, it is evident that Sheol is beneath, as heaven is above; and that the one is the lowest object conceivable, as the other is the highest. With this idea in view, we shall perceive the force of the following expression in Proverbs: Sheol and destruction are before the Lord; how much more, then, the hearts of the children of men' :23 even the profound depths of that hidden realm are open to the all-seeing eye; how much more the secrets of the human heart! It is a favorite hyperbole with the Psalmist, to call a relief from some imminent danger, or great affliction, a deliverance from Sheol; and this is probably the idea he means to express, when he says, Thou which hast showed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.24 All these allusions indicate the extreme depth of Sheol.

As to the condition of the dead there, both David and Solomon seem to have supposed them almost destitute of thought, as well as of activity.

'In death,' says the former, there is no remembrance [that is, celebration] of thee; in Sheol, who shall give thee thanks? 25 And it is remarkable, that he never calls upon the dead to praise the Lord, even in those sublime, poetic 23 Prov. xv. 11.

22 Ps. cxxxix. 7-10. 24 Ps. lxxi. 20,

25 Ps. vi. 5.

strains in which he apostrophizes the whole creation, animate and inanimate, angels, the heavens, sun, moon, and stars, the sea, kings and princes, young men and maidens, old men and children.26 The dead praise not the Lord,' says he; 'neither any that go down into silence.27 Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction? Shall thy wonders be known in the dark and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 28 Solomon has a still stronger expression Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, whither thou goest.'29 Indeed, so indistinct, so obscure, were his views of futurity, that notwithstanding he retained the common notion of a Sheol, and admitted that the dead went thither,3 it appears doubtful whether he fully believed in their consciousness. David, also, whose language is not so strongly negative, still represents them as in a state of darkness, silence and impotence. With him, to descend into Sheol, is, to go down into silence.' Of his enemies, he says, 'let them be silent in Sheol.'31 'Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dieth, he

26 Ps. cxlviii. &c.

28 Ps. lxxxviii. 10-12.

27 Ps. cxv. 17.

See also cxlvi. 3, 4 xxx. 9.

29 Eccl. ix, 10, comp. ver. 5, and iii. 18—21.

30

30 See also Prov. i. 12, xv. 11; xxvii. 20; where the word translated grave, is Sheol.

31 Ps. xxxi. 17. comp. 13, 15.

shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him. He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.'32 Such is the darkness, as well as silence, in which he contemplates their abode. In another passage, comparing himself, on account of his trouble and dejection, to the dead in Sheol, he alludes to their powerless condition: 'My soul is full of trouble, and my life draweth nigh unto Sheol. I am counted with them that go down into the pit; I am as a man that hath no strength; free among the dead. '33 &c.

It must be evident, we suppose, from the views now presented of the condition of the deceased, that it was not regarded as a state of retribution. This inference is confirmed by the invariable silence which David and Solomon, in all their writings, maintain on the point. Whenever, on

32 Pa xlix. 16-19.

34

33 Ps. lxxxviii. 3—5.

34 See Stuart's Exegetical Essays, &c. On Sheol, particularly. On its Secondary signification, pp. 106-114. The Prof. does indeed labor to impute to David and Solomon the doctrine of future retribution; but the manner in which he does it, sets his want of proof in a light unusually striking. The course of his argument is as follows ;-Cheol denotes primarily the under-world, the region of the dead, whither both the righteous and the wicked go, at their decease. And in this sense it is

commonly used. Still there are certain texts in which Sheol occurs, where it may indeed be explained, as usual, of the state of the dead universally, but where it may also be supposed to include the idea of a place of punishment there; that is, if we first take for granted that the respective writers held that there was such a place there. All this, to be sure, we admit, granting his premises; we admit still more ; If all the writers who use the term Sheol for the state of the dead in general, believed that state to be divided in two parts, one of punishment, the other of rewards, then every time the word occurs, it comprehends both. Why should the Prof. select some passages as examples, and reject the rest? that is, granting his premises.

the other hand, they treat of rewards and punishments, it is of such only as are experienced in this world, or in the manner of one's death. The wicked are plagued, or do not live out half their days, and are suddenly cut off, or are cursed in their posterity; while the righteous are blest with long life, or rejoice in the promise of numerous and happy descendants. The Psalmist, on one occasion, describes, in the strongest terms, the prosperity which the ungodly sometimes appear to enjoy, and acknowledges that he had been perplexed, and even envious at the sight; but he solves the difficulty by the consideration that they were set in slippery places in order to be cast into destruction, that their desolation was brought upon them in a moment, and that they were utterly consumed with terrors. This he learned in the sanctuary; and was then astonished at his former stupidity.35 Solomon likewise takes up the same subject; and though he does not so fully satisfy himself, yet his conclusion is, that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him; but it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow.36 So far only, did their views on this question extend. While we point out the fact, however, that they did not regard the state of the dead, as one of retribution, we should be careful to observe that they did not ascribe to it any positive happiness or suffering.

Did they hold an ultimate deliverance from this state, either by a resurrection, or in any manner whatsoever? The question is not, whe35 Ps. lxxiii.

36 Eccl. viii. 10-ix. 3.

ther David, in some passages, using Sheol and the like terms figuratively for a condition of sorrow or danger in this life, speaks of a deliverance; meaning, literally, from that trouble or jeopardy:37 this does not touch the subject. Nor is it the question, whether he was inspired to predict the resurrection of the individual personage Jesus Christ.38 But did their views extend so far as to embrace a future and general translation of the dead, from Sheol, to a more full and active existence? A single passage in the Psalms has been explained by many commentators as intimating, rather than expressing such an expectation; but, to say the least, its language is too indefinite to build upon, with confidence: ́ Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down ; deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword, or [by thy sword;] from men which are thy hand; [or, by thy hand,] O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure; they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake, with thy likeness.'39

37 As Ps. lxxxvi. 13: Thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell; that is, from the greatest danger, as the next word shows: O God, the proud are risen up against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul, [life ;]. ... Show me a token for good; that they which hate me see it, and be ashamed, because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me,' ver. 14-17.

38 Ps. xvi. 10: Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption '-See St. Peter's interpretation or accommodation, Acts ii. 25-31; and St. Paul's, Acts xiii. 34-37

39 Ps. xvii. 13-15.