l they be able to defeat them by machinations or
physical resistance? Surely not. He will show them "the
immutability of his counsels." He will say to them, "My counsel
shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." "There is no wisdom,
or understanding, or counsel, against the Lord." "He will make
the devices of the people of none effect." "The Lord of Hosts
hath purposed, and who shall disannul it." "Hallelujah, for the
Lord God omnipotent reigneth!"

And how glorious are the prospects which the decrees of God
unfold! These bodies must decay. One of those decrees consigns us
to the grave; another provides that we shall be recalled--that
death shall be conquered--shall be swallowed up of victory. The
prearrangements of Heaven respecting the bodies of the saints,
are thus disclosed: "It is sown in corruption; it is raised in
incorruption. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It
is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural
body; it is raised a spiritual body."

Religion does not extinguish or impair our social feelings, but
rather refines and invigorates them; and, among the hopes that we
have been led to cherish, is that of a reunion with departed
friends in heaven, and a participation in the society of the good
of other climes and ages; and it is expressly declared that the
redeemed of subsequent ages shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, in the Kingdom of God.

And while this doctrine is so full of consolation to the
Christian, and so fraught with healthful stimulus to piety, it is
terrible to the sinner. He need not think to find anything in it
to justify or to apologize for his crime, or his impenitency. Nor
may he indulge the hope that whatever may be the destiny of other
sinners, he will escape the damnation of hell. There can be no
influence brought to bear upon Jehovah sufficient to induce him
to swerve in a single instance from his plans. The decrees of God
are against him. He that believeth shall be saved. He that
believeth not shall be damned. "These shall go away into
everlasting punishment." And he has power to execute his decrees.
All attempts at resistance will be as nothing. "The Lord
reigneth; let the people tremble."

I have now presented the two rival theories. There is the
Calvinistic doctrine, and there are the consequences to which it
leads. We can easily detect the wisdom of the requisition that
the teachers of it shall handle it with "special caution,"