n frequently accused of impairing a divinely appointed sanction
by asserting the limited extent of future punishment; but we think that
the sanction is, in reality, abolished by the admission that the Divine
decrees may be set aside by human acts, and that the relations of good
and evil, virtue and vice, which are declared to be immutable, may be
changed at the pleasure of mortal agents. We believe the punishment of
sin to be of limited duration; but as certain as the existence of the
moral agent, and as little capable of remission through the will of any
created being as the law which regulates the rise and fall of the tides,
the changes of the moon, and the revolutions of the planets. We hold it
to be awful, not only from its certainty, but from its concealed
nature. It will doubtless transcend all that the experience of earth
can suggest to the imagination. Can it be said that we impair this
sanction when we hold that the suffering consequent on guilt is
absolutely certain, lasting in its duration, and inconceivably dreadful
in its nature? What apprehensions could be fitted to excite greater
dread?

For the purpose of explaining why we believe that no part of the
consequences of guilt can be evaded through the sacrifices, mediation,
or intercession of any being whatsoever, it is necessary to pass on to
the next division of our subject. Having stated the three leading
doctrines of Christianity, the Unity of God, the unlimited scope of the
plan of redemption, and a future state, we now proceed briefly to
examine the principles of morals proposed by the Gospel.

The fundamental truths of Morals are eternal as He to whom they
primarily relate, and immutable as the purposes which they subserve. But
it is necessary that they should be communicated to men under different
forms and according to various methods, as minds are prepared to receive
them: and their application must also be regulated according to the
circumstances in which men are placed. The same principle was proposed
to Adam in Paradise, to Abraham in Beersheba, and to Paul when he set
his face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem, knowing that bonds and
afflictions awaited him there. Obedience to God was the motive proposed
for abstaining from the forbidden fruit, for sacrificing an only son,
and for facing suffering and death. But an intimation which was all
powerful with Abraham was insufficient to secure a much less painful
obedience from Adam; and the self-devot