they possessed the only true qualifications for living, in order to give place to wicked men, who might thenceforward live on unreproved in their sensual pleasures. On the supposition of a future life, and of future rewards and punishments, we readily perceive the wisdom and fitness of a man's giving up the present frail and mortal life in order to secure an immortal state of happiness. But on the supposition that the Old Testament gave no promise of a future life, we cannot see the wisdom or the justice of its demand for the life of the pious and devout believer, in order to assert and maintain the claims of a religion which could confer no blessing on the martyr and which gave to the persecutor all the advantage. We say, therefore, that the cases of martyrdom under the Old Testament, and cases where persons were willing to place their lives in jeopardy for their religion, prove their faith in a future existence and in future rewards. Josephus, and other Jewish writers, repeatedly affirm that the Jews suffered and died for their religion, expecting their reward in the life to come.

8. Nothing is more clear than that the New Testament writers interpret the Old Testament as teaching the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, and of future rewards and punishments, Evidences of this have already been adduced. The epistle to the Hebrews is a proof that the symbolisms of the Hebrew Church, under the Old Testament, were a "shadow of heavenly things," and that they were "patterns of things in the heavens." Hebrews viii, 5, and ix, 23. Thus the ancient Hebrews understood them, representing God as "sitting between the cherubim," "sitting in his temple," upon a "throne "-the "throne of grace"-where there was an "altar," with "burning coals," and "seraphim," and ministering angels. Psalm lxxx, 1, and xcix, 1; Isaiah vi, 1-8; Hebrews iv, 16, Daniel vii, 9, 10; Revelation xv, 5-8; Hebrews ix, 11, 23, 24. The awful mysteries and lively types, therefore, of their religion pointed them to another world and a future life. We are to receive the New Testament statements and exposition of the faith of the Old Testament saints, and of the received meaning of their Sacred Scriptures, as authentic and conclusive testimony. The Old Testament saints did really believe as the New Testament writers affirm of them, otherwise the latter have given a false testimony.

9. The prohibition of "necromancy" and having intercourse with "familiar spirits," in the Old Testament, is conclusive evidence that they believed in the future existence of the souls of men; for necromancy and the pretended communion with "familiar spirits" are nothing else than the pretension to familiar intercourse with the souls of departed men. This doctrine was very popular among all the Gentile nations, and the Hebrews were very much addicted to its belief and practice, which proves their belief in the future existence of the human soul. (See Deuteronomy xviii, 10-12; 1 Samuel xxviii, 7–9.)

10. The translation of Enoch and Elijah are incontrovertible proofs of a future blessed immortality. "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." "By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Genesis v, 24; Hebrews xi, 5. "And it came to pass as they [Elijah and Elisha] still went on, and talked, that behold there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." 2 Kings ii, 11. That Elijah still lived, and preserved his individuality, in the abodes of happiness, is evident further from his appearance with Moses to our Saviour, upon the mountain of transfiguration. Matthew xvii, 1–4.

The same Enoch, also, the "seventh" in the line of holy patriarchs "from Adam," prophesied to the men of his generation and forewarned them of a future judgment; saying, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have impiously committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Jude 14, 15.

11. It is proper, in connexion with the arguments for a future state drawn from the Old Testament, to examine the meaning of several terms employed to denote the place to which the soul goes at death, its condition, and its duration.

1. ix, sheol, translated in our English Bible, the grave, a pit, hell, means sometimes the grave, sometimes the under world, or region of departed spirits, sometimes the place of the future punishment of the wicked. It is uniformly translated

in the Greek by áons, hades, the invisible world, the grave, the place of torment in the unseen world.

Here again we are to remember the use of figurative terms, and the secondary import of words, as before mentioned. I repeat, almost all words, but especially those of a language so primitive and simple as the Hebrew, denote things of which we acquire knowledge at first through our outward senses. The natural order is first, to attain the literal idea, or a just conception of the object, which is all the meaning the word at first receives; afterward, as the mind progresses and develops, and its store of ideas enlarges, a new necessity for words is felt; and unless the vocabulary of language is enlarged the mind must cease to improve. Words are, in all cases, only the names of things, or, which is the same, of our ideas of things. The mind cannot retain the idea, much less apply it to any practical use, without giving it a name, that is, having a word by which to express it, and by which it is distinguished from all other ideas, or things. And whatever name is used and adopted in any language as the representative of any given thing, such word or name must derive its meaning and force from the known. nature and qualities of the thing or object which it represents, and in that sense must it be accepted and interpreted by all who would lawfully use it. But in enlarging the vocabulary of language, in order to be able to express the new ideas, either absolutely new words must be coined, or else old ones must be made to take a new or secondary sense. The latter method has been more extensively adopted in all languages, and in respect to all words not purely scientific or technical. In passing from the primary to a secondary sense of a word, the mind observes a natural law of relation of things. Some resemblance or analogy, rendered more or less obvious by natural affinity, or by circumstances, has uniformly suggested the new application to be given to the word. Thus, darkness is often put for ignorance, and light for knowledge. The analogy is readily and forcibly suggested. Flesh is primarily the gross material substance of the body; but as the body was supposed to be the seat, or primal occasion of sin to the man, so, by a natural and easy transition, the corrupt propensities of our nature were called fleshly; and being in a state of sin and moral corruption, was called being "in the flesh." Romans viii. Innumerable exam

ples of this secondary use of words occur in all languages, so that no one word in any language is confined simply and at all times to one signification.

The primary meaning of sheol is, a pit, or deep cavern, the grave. Thus:

Genesis xxxvii, 35: "And he said, I will go into sheol, [the grave,] unto my son mourning."

Genesis xliv, 29: "Ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to sheol, [the grave.]

Numbers xvi, 30, Moses says of Korah and his company: "If the Lord make the earth open her mouth and swallow them up . . . and they go down quick into sheol," [the pit.] Instances under this head need not be multiplied.

Again, sheol means the under world, the region of ghosts, the place of departed spirits, when no special reference is made to their moral happiness or misery. The Hebrews believed that there was a receptacle, or place for departed souls, where they would remain till the judgment, and the resurection of the body, and that this place was in the interior of the earth. It was often associated with the grave, and the territory of death. Thus, "death and hades," (Revelation xx, 13, 14,) is tantamount to the phrase "death and sheol" in the Old Testament, the former word meaning the place of the bodies, and the latter the place of the souls of the departed. The phrase "under the earth," is several times used by the apostles, and seems to denote sheol, hades, or the intermediate place where the souls of the dead are detained till the final resurrection. Philippians ii, 10; Revelation v, 13. It is this abode of departed souls, this intermediate state, which is often denoted by sheol.

Isaiah xiv, 9, 10: "Sheol from beneath is moved to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up, rephaim, the ghosts, for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?"

In this passage the king of Babylon is represented as descending to the grave, and as he enters sheol, or the place of departed souls, the ghosts, or manes of the kings of those nations which he had subjugated, and who had been slaughtered in battle or had died in disgrace, meet him in astonish

ment, and tauntingly exclaim. "Art thou also become weak as we?"

Ezekiel xxxii, 21: "The strong among the mighty shall speak to him, [the king of Egypt,] out of the midst of sheol." This is the same imagery as the preceding, and both passages represent the souls of the dead as still living in sheol.

Psalm lxxxviii, 10, (Hebrew text, verse 11:) "Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? shall, rephaim, the ghosts, arise and praise thee?"

Proverbs ii, 18: "For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the ghosts," (rephaim.) See also Proverbs ix, 18, and xxi, 16. In these passages the word sheol does not, indeed, occur, but the existence of the souls of departed men is stated, and sheol is referred to, though not mentioned by

name.

From such uses of sheol, which we shall not stop to multiply, the transition in the sense became easy and natural, to signify the place of future punishment. Thus:

Job xxi, 13: "They [the wicked] spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to sheol."

Psalm ix, 17, (Hebrew text, verse 18:) "The wicked shall be turned into sheol, and all the nations that forget God."

Proverbs v, 5: "Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold on sheol."

Proverbs ix, 18: "But he knoweth not that the ghosts are there, and that her guests are in the depths of sheol;” the future world of misery.

• Proverbs xxiii, 14: "Thou shalt beat him with a rod, and shalt deliver his soul from sheol;" from the place of future punishment.

Job xxiv, 19: "Drought and heat consume the snow waters; so doth sheol those that have sinned."

Psalm lv, 15, (Hebrew text, verse 18:) "Death shall seize upon them; they shall go down alive into sheol." This is not a prayer, as our English translation would indicate, that the wicked may go down alive into sheol, but a solemn declaration that such shall be their overthrow, as befel Korah and his company, (Numbers xvi, 31-33,) if they repent not.

Isaiah lvii, 9: "And thou didst debase thyself even to sheol." Here sheol is represented as an abyss of corruption, the lowest