How far the ancient practice of burying the body may have contributed to produce this idea concerning the mansion of the ghosts of the deceased, I shall not take it upon me to say; but it is very plain, that neither in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, nor in the New, does the word hades convey the meaning which the present English word hell in the Christian usage always conveys to our minds. It were endless to illustrate this remark by an enumeration and examination of all the passages in both Testaments wherein the word is found. The attempt would be unnecessary, as it is hardly now pretended by any critic, that this is the acceptation of the term in the Old Testament.' Prel. Diss. vi. Part ii. 2, 3.

2. HAMMOND. The judgment or punishment which befals mere heathen cities, shall be easier, or less, than that which expects you. And thou, Capernaum, the place of my abode, which hast been so honored and favored by me, beyond all other places, and hast received such spiritual advantages, shalt be brought to destruction and desolation suddenly, humbled as thou wert highly advanced, for if the miracles done in thee, on design to reform thee, had been done in Lot's time for the reforming of Sodom and Gomorrah, Sodom would certainly have reformed, and so should not have been destroyed. And therefore you in all reason are to expect a sadder destruction and vastation than that which befel Sodom and Gomorrah.' Par. in loc.

6

Hell, (hades,) doth not here signify the place of hell, but a state of perishing or dissolution: and because this is the first place, wherein the word is used in this book, it will not be amiss more largely to clear the notion of it. Among profane writers it is clear, that the word signifies not the place of the damned, no nor any kind of place, either common to both, or proper to either bliss or woe, but only the state of the dead.' Dr. Hammond illustrates his views by quotations from various Greek authors, and notices their fancies respecting this state. He also notices the use of the word hades, in the scripHe concludes by observing that in the verse under consideration the meaning is, 'a state of destruction,

tures.

and desolation

humbled to this low estate, as before lifted up to heaven.' Annot. in loc.

3. PEARCE. 'See note on chap. 15. Brought down to hell: i. e. to the grave; it means, thou shalt be quite ruined and destroyed. So it was in the wars of the Jews with the Romans, and there are now no footsteps remaining of it, nor of Bethsaida or Chorazin.' Com. in loc. 4. KENRICK. Ver. 23, Thou who art rich and flourishing by thy trade, shall be entirely ruined and destroyed: which happened in the wars between the Jews and Romans, so that there are no vestiges of it remaining; nor of Bethsaida and Chorazin. To be lifted up to heaven, is a proverbial expression for being in a flourishing condition, or in an exalted station: the opposite to this, to be degraded and ruined, is expressed by being brought down to hell; not to the place of punishment reserved for the wicked, but to the grave, to the lowest place. The prophet Isaiah says of the king of Babylon, (xiv. 13,) for thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven: I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.' Thus he expresses the prosperity that monarch once enjoyed; but he adds, (ver. 15,) yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.'

Ver. 24 The calamities which shall come upon thee for rejecting my miracles, shall be more dreadful than those which befel Sodom.' Expos. in loc.

5. CLARKE. The word hell, used in the common translation, conveys now an improper meaning of the original word; because hell is only used to signify the place of the damned. But as the word hell comes from the Anglo-Saxon helan, to cover, or hide, hence the tyling or slating of a house is called, in some parts of England, (particularly Cornwall,) heling, to this day; and the covers of books, (in Lancashire) by the same name, so the literal import of the original word hades was formerly well expressed by it. Here it means a state of the utmost woe, and ruin, and desolation, to which these impenitent cities should be reduced. This prediction of our Lord was literally fulfilled; for in the wars between the Romans and the Jews, these cities were totally destroyed, so that no traces are now found of Bethsaida, Chorazin, or Capurnaum.' Com. in loc.

I have quoted the more authorities on this passage, for the reason that many imagine the word hell, or the phrase day of judgment, when alone, must have reference to the future life; and especially when, as in this place, they are found together, it is considered rank heresy to doubt the common interpretation. I was desirous therefore to show, that ours is no private interpretation, by the testimony of a sufficient number of standard writers, of different denominations; hence, I have quoted Campbell, a Calvinist; Pearce and Hammond, Episcopalians; Kenrick, a Unitarian; and Clarke, a Methodist. The reader will indulge two more quotations, one of which is taken from an author already named, but on a different part of the subject.

'Shall be brought down

6. BEAUSOBRE and LENFANT. to hell; This is a scriptural expression to denote extreme abasement, or utter ruin. See Isa, xiv. 13-15; lvii. 9. Capurnaum was so entirely destroyed that travellers have scarcely been able to find here, half a dozen huts. As to the word hades, (hell,) it does not here signify the place of the damned, and scarcely ever does it have that signification in scripture. It signifies simply the grave, or the place and state of the dead.' Note in loc.

7. HAMMOND. Even the very dust of your city which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off as a testimony of your obstinacy, and usage of us, (Matt. x. 14; Luke ix. 5,) and as a token to assure you that your destruction is very near falling on you. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable when that judgment comes, (ver. 14,) for Sodom than for that city. Woe unto you, ye cities of Jewry, among whom so many miracles have been shewn, to work faith in you, and so to bring you to repentance, and all in vain; had the like been done in heathen cities near you, they in all likelihood would have been wrought on by them. And accordingly their portion in the vengeance approaching, shall be more supportable than yours. And thou, Capurnaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to destruction and desolation. See Matt. xi. 23.' Par. in Luke x. 11-15.

SECTION XXI.

Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.-MATT. XII. 31, 32.

THE parallel places are Mark iii. 29, and Luke xii. 10. The language of Jesus respecting the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and its consequences, has long been considered conclusive proof that the doctrine of endless misery is true. And many are so firmly persuaded of this, that they can scarcely hear it doubted, with any considerable degree of patience. Nevertheless, their own Commentators give a different view of the subject.

Two things are especially observable in the extracts which follow: (1,) The writers agree that the phrases, this world, and the world to come, denote, not the present life and the future, but the Jewish and the christian dispensations: (2,) They agree that however aggravated might be the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, yet on repentance it might, and would be forgiven. Hence, before this passage can be used in support of the doctrine of endless torment, it must first be proved that some will never repent; for if all repent, all will be forgiven. This has not been proved: and good and sufficient reasons might be adduced, if this were the proper place for them, to show that the endless impenitence of men cannot be proved. But, for my present purpose, it is sufficient that the authors I shall quote, admit that there is no sin, which may not be forgiven, on sincere repentance; of course, the text, of itself, does not, in their judgment, prove the doctrine, which the less skilful suppose it to prove.

1. HAMMOND. On this passage, Hammond has a long note, in which he contends that this sin shall never be forgiven, unless it be repented of; which, so far as I

But that

know, has never been disputed by any man. he did not consider the text positive proof that any portion of mankind shall endure endless misery, seems evident; because, although he states a case, at the end, in which he thinks repentance will never be exercised, yet he is clearly of opinion, that all sins, however aggravated, not excepting the sin against the Holy Ghost, (which he defines to be the attributing the miracles of Christ to the power of the devil,) shall be forgiven, upon repentance. I quote the concluding part of his note :

The issue of this whole matter, as far as concerned the Pharisees there, was this, that unless their sins were particularly retracted by repentance, and Christ received and acknowledged upon these miracles of his, or afterwards by the conviction, which the Holy Ghost should work upon the crucifiers, they can never have pardon or remission not that they that were here guilty should never after repent, or upon repentance be accepted; this is not said here, or in any other place; but rather the contrary is every where affirmed in the scriptures, which offereth repentance to all, (and that so really, that by the grace of Christ, and the Holy Ghost assisting his word, they may receive it,) and promiseth pardon to all, be they never so great sinners, so they do amend their lives sincerely, and lay hold on God's mercy in Christ. And this is particularly applied to those Pharisees, by force of Christ's prayer for his crucifiers, (which certainly was heard,) Father, forgive them, that is, deny them not the means of forgiveness, (the power of repenting,) and forgiveness if they shall repent. And accordingly the Apostles after teach, that God hath exalted Christ to his right hand to give repentance unto Israel, Acts v. 31, that is, to all Israel, Acts ii. 36, 38, and particularly those crucifying rulers, Acts iii. 17, whose ignorance is there, as on the cross by Christ, urged to make their case the more hopeful, not that it was not notoriously vincible and criminous, but that they had not yet received all those means and methods of the Holy Ghost for their conversion, the greatest of all being yet behind, the raising up Christ from the dead, to be such a sign to move them, as