what experience teaches us of its nature.

Let a man understand the nature of God, and of his own mind, and he will see that perfect benevolence and perfect wisdom, could devise no other or better law, reward, or penalty; for God's own character, according to the nature of free agency and of mind, cannot but reward holiness and punish sin.

Men seem to be aware of the power of contending elements in the natural world, and of the influence of material powers on animal life. They fear to be exposed to storms, and tempests, and raging seas, and earthquakes, and consuming acids, and caustic alkalies, and the galvanic shock, and lightning, and devouring fire. But of the power of contending elements in the moral world, they seem not to be aware. We do indeed hear something of the conflict of contending human minds, and of flashes of eloquence, which electrify or burn. We hear of keen reproach, which like a sword pierces the soul. We hear of collections of men whose souls melt and glow with joyful emotions under the moral power of one holy mind. We read of men cut to the heart by the truth, and crying out, and gnashing with their teeth, and stoning the holy speaker.

But by a strange delusion many have been led to look on God as a great quiescent being, incapable of any deep feelings, and without energy of intellect or expression. But read his word, and the delusion vanishes. It is instinct with life and power, it is sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. How does he marshal all the elements, to shadow forth his high conceptions of the power of his own mind. "The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers. Bashan languisheth and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt and the earth is burned at his pre

sence, yea the world and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation, and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?" These emblems here and elsewhere, denote merely mental energy, and are used to denote great moral changes in heaven or on earth. God's mental energy is shadowed forth by his physical power. What finite mind then can endure, or be strong, when such energy is arrayed against it? Truly a sinful mind is surrounded by sleeping tempests, and fires ready to kindle at a word. It walks on the brink of a volcano; it is overhung with black clouds, charged with forked lightnings, ready to dart forth and drink up its life, and consume it with an utter consumption.

When God says of himself, "a fire is kindled in my anger and shall burn unto the lowest hell," and when it is said that men were "scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues, and they repented not to give him glory," can any one mistake the import of such language? Nay, combine all the power of fire, and lightning, and storm, and earthquake, and yet you do not even approximate to the reality. And yet to be so pure and holy and energetic as thus to consume the wicked, is the glory of our God, for it is the safeguard of the holy universe.

In this discussion, I have spoken chiefly of the mind, and have omitted to mention bodily suffering. I do not wish to settle the question as it regards this. The view already taken of the inevitable consequences of unpardoned sin, offers all needed motives. Corporeal pain may exist, but it must be as a drop in the ocean.

III. The origin, progress, perfect establishment, and ultimate extension of the kingdom of God.

We have considered the general nature of the kingdom of God, as a moral government, the nature of free agency, and of motives. We have considered the character of God the king, and the extent of his power in the material and moral

worlds. We have seen that the power of God, as governor of the moral world, is essentially different from his power as governor of the material world. The former depends upon his power to produce and present motives, the latter does not depend at all upon this power. We have shown that a full development of the character of God, and of moral beings, will take place in the natural progress of moral government, and that this will bring into exercise his moral omnipotence, by producing all motives, necessary to enable him from the time of this full development, to govern all moral beings whom he may choose to create. We have attended to the requirements of his law, the rewards of obedience, and the punishment of disobedience. We have considered the influence of obedience to the law of God, first upon the mind, then upon the body, showing the joyful effects of the knowledge and love of God on both. We have noticed the influence of disobedience upon the mind, and the power of the truth, and of the energy of God's mind, when brought into action to punish a sinful mind according to the degree of its depravity. And we have shown that in these effects there is nothing arbitrary. They result from the nature of God and of moral beings. And the severity of punishment which follows persevering disobedience, is caused by the influence of a perfect character upon a sinful mind. It implies no cruelty in God, but rather arises from the energy of perfect benevolence, encountering and defeating the proud and malevolent tendencies of a sinful mind. Viewing the subject in this light, we see that the origin, progress, perfect establishment, and ultimate extension of the kingdom of God, should be regarded with deep interest by every rational mind. Since the kingdom of God in its perfect state will include all perfection, and exclude all sin, we should ardently pray "thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." And we should, with increasing earnestness, look for and hasten unto that greatest of all days, when this kingdom shall be immoveably established, and be prepared for an unlimited increase in numbers and holiness.

In attending to the past and future progress of this kingdom, we must rely upon the Bible alone for those facts which nature does not teach. Without the Bible we can learn the nature of the mind and of free agency, the being of one God, his law, and the original principles of moral government, as exhibited in just reward and punishment. Revelation, as distinguished from natural religion, discloses to us new truths as it regards the existence of God in three persons, the agency of these three persons in sustaining and illustrating all the principles of a perfect moral government, espesially the secondary principles, that is, those of atonement and moral renovation. It relates also past facts in the history of moral beings, the connexion of these facts with the present system of things, and the connexion of the present and past, with the future result of the whole system. The Bible includes both of these classes of topics. It exhibits the principles of moral government as taught by nature, and it also reveals the system. of moral government which God has in fact organized in accordance with these principles. The chief difference between natural and revealed religion, lies here. One discloses principles, the other a system of facts illustrating those principles. To this system of facts, your attention will now be directed.

The kingdom of God originated when first he began to create moral beings, and to govern them by motives. When this was, we cannot decide. All that we do know is, that antecedent to the revolt of the fallen angels, a moral government existed, administered according to the principles of law and of justice manifested in rewarding obedience, and of justice to be manifested in punishing disobedience, should it occur. The duration of this period, and the number of moral beings in existence when the revolt of the fallen angels took place, cannot be stated, for on these points revelation does not give any definite information. Leaving these things to be illuminated hereafter, we proceed to notice what God has revealed. During the extension of this moral government thus administered, the time came when existing motives

ceased to exert power enough to prevent disobedience to the law of God. Then it was that moral evil first entered the system, by the revolt of the Devil and his angels, and required a new exhibition of God's character as moral governor. This was made by permitting an amount of sin to enter the system, deserving punishment on principles of justice, and in permitting it to be connected in one system of evil, and then organizing a system of means by which as much of this evil might be removed on principles of grace, as a regard to the general good would permit, and by then disclosing such an amount of moral power, as entirely to overcome the injurious influence of the remnant of moral evil. This being done, the progress of his moral government will never again be impeded by the entrance of moral evil of any kind; but such will be the state of the moral system of the holy universe, as to exclude all evil, and to render possible an unlimited increase of good. This final victory of good over evil, is the great subject of the Bible. We are conducted to the close of the present system of things, behold God triumphing in the accomplishment of his benevolent designs, hear the notes. of the song of victory when his kingdom is fully established, and behold the glories of the heavenly world illuminated by the full orbed splendor of the Sun of Righteousness. Here the record closes, denouncing woes upon him who shall add to, or take from, the true and faithful sayings of God, and giving assurance of the speedy consummation of all these things. This is a comprehensive view of the subject. In order to understand it more in detail we need to advert to the following particulars.

The entrance of moral evil. The nature and principles of a kingdom resulting from its entrance, called in the Bible the kingdom of darkness. The nature and circumstances of the human race, and the place occupied by them in the great system. The system of grace by which a part of the whole amount of moral evil is to be removed, and a part vanquished and the principles and final results of the great moral conflict.