We are here considering the possible future of one only who knows the gospel of the grace of God, and we ask, what advantages will such an one possess elsewhere for the attainment of piety that are denied him here?  If all that God has done to gain his heart has so far failed up till the hour of his death, that he is morally unfit by his habits or even desires for the society of God and His people, what appliances can we conceive of more likely to influence the will and gain the affections in a prison-house set apart for the reformation of the impenitent?  Can the sinner expect to meet, in this supposed place of punishment and consequent reformation, more loving friends to win him by such solemn counsels and tender ministrations as earth did not afford?  Does he anticipate daily returning mercies and sources of enjoyment more rich and varied than those possessed here, in order to bring him back to God?  Will he possess a healthier body, a happier home, holier society, a more beauteous world with fairer skies and brighter landscapes, or any of those innumerable blessings which have such a tendency to tame and soften the rudest nature?  Shall means of grace be afforded more powerfully calculated to enlighten the mind, convince the understanding, influence the will, or draw the affections of the heart towards God?  Shall Sabbaths of more peaceful rest dawn upon the troubled heart, or sacraments of more healing virtue be administered?  Can retreats be secured where God’s Word may be read and prayer enjoyed with more undisturbed repose?  Will the gospel be preached more faithfully, and a people be found more loving and pious to assemble for public or private worship?  Can a Saviour be offered more able or willing to save, and the Spirit of God be poured down upon the burning soil in more plenteous or life-giving pentecostal showers?  Is this how men picture to themselves the place in which they expect to atone for past sins by limited suffering?  Impossible!  They are thinking of a world better and more glorious than the present;—­not of a hell, but of a heaven!

Even if such a place were prepared for the impenitent and wicked, what conceivable security is there that a new mind and spirit would be the necessary result of those new and enlarged benefactions?  We must assume that the power of sinning remains, otherwise man’s responsibility would cease, and punishment thereby become mere cruelty.  If sin is thus possible, then why may not the sinner indulge there in the same selfishness, disobedience, and rebellion which characterised him here?  Why may it not be with him as with many a man who loves sin in the low haunts of profligacy and crime, but loves it not the less when brought into circumstances of greater comfort and among society of greater godliness?  But should it be otherwise, and the supposed place of future punishment have none of those advantages,—­and we are forced by the necessity of the case to assume their absence, at least for a limited period, and to admit, in some