The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1858-04-15
An Appeal to the Unconverted.

| the pastor, KeV. i. y. shepherd, preach
ed sermon to bis congregation on last
4 Sabbath evening, from the text: "Turn
ye, turn ye."-EeekieI xxxiii, in the II tn
verse;.
The twenty-fifth chapter of St Mat
thew's Gospel was read and commented
upon as q preparatory lesson to the dis
course which was to follow. and in the
course of which commentary the idea was
illustrated that self abaseue ent and self
depreciation was as m arked character
istic of those who we're really Christians,
as self-exhalation was conspicuous elem
ent in the character ofthose who were not.
Upon announcing his text, "1usn ye,
turn ye," the speaker remarked that the
words wero thus repeated in order to in
dicate emphasis with which the appeal
was made; they were evidently words of
solemn warning and words of earnest
persuasion, and it was to the considcra-
ton of these two points involved in the
text tbathe wished to direct the atteDtio
of his hearers. e.u @ f-te.
They were just such words of warning
as we should address to any one whom
we saw running into Danger Thus If
we saw stranger going into the woods.
and knew at the time that he was doing
SO at bis peril, supposing that the forrest
in which he was going was the haunt of
wild beasts or savage men, the very
promptings of humanity would compel US
to arrest him with the cry of "IMW!
turni" and in doing this We would but be
sounding a warning that danger awaited
the stranger to whom it was addressed.
But the Gospel warning now under
consideration bad an exceeding solemni-
ty. 1t was none other than God himself
that sondescended to speak this word of
warning to US all, and We might rest as
sured that no trial occasion had prompt
ed the Most High to sound this solemn
warning in the ears and hearts Of uen.-
In view of this, it becomes US, as iDtelli-
gent creatures, to ponder well the solemn
import and object of this warning from
/ Heaven, to turn from our ways" live
were running heedlessly into some dan
ger to-nigbt-pressiug forward toward
some fearful precipice, over which our
bodies might soon be dashed in pieces, We
could expect 10 voice from the heavens
above US, warning US to turn aside for
safety; no! it required danger of still
greater magnitude to evoke the alarm
cry Of Jehovah, and 10! that danger must
be at the door, for to night the appeal is
rung in our ears, turn yo, turn ye! for
why will ye die, 0 house of Israel" This
warning did not call upon US merely to
stop, but also to change our course; as if
safety could be only gained by instant
turning and instant fight. This remark
able language eff God could not be with
out meaning. Aud now, did we ask our
selves what this danger was from which
! we were called to fee and turn? If SO,
the merest child could answer US that the
dread fate to be avoided by turning was
that death which is the wages of SIN"
What was this death from which we
were thus solemnly warned to turn asidel
In attempting to meet this interrogatory,
he would say, first, that the death allu.
ded to was not Annibilatiou. There
were some, be knew, who held that the
death of the wicked, referred to in the
Bible, was virtual returning into moth
ingness. The parable of the erich man
and Lazarus" was here introduced as an
Illustrative argument against this doc
trine. The statement in that scripture
was, that Gin hell the rich man lifted up
his eyes, being in torment, and seeth A
braham afar off, and Lazarus in his bo-
som.n Now, if this statement was true, it
was very clear that the rich mans soul
did not cease to live after the death of his
body; nor did the wicked ever cease to
live. The death of the wicked was but
the torment which thcSrich man expert
enced in he'll, and in the judg gment they
would be tried. convicted, and condemn
ed. When that great assize was held
they would certainly be summoned to the
bar, as living men and living women, and
with a full consciousness of the past
would there meet their doom Of condem
nation, depart from me, ye cursed into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devi
and his angels"
The vision Of the lost ones, in St John:
Revelation, in which it is stated that "thC
smoke of their torments ascendeth up fol
ever and ever" was sufficient proof tha
the consciousness of the wicked, after
their bodily death, was of eternal duTa
ton. g U
To the question, What is Death if it bt
not Vnnihilation? he would answer that i
was a state of perfect consciousness to the
wicked, of being shut out for ever from
the presence of God This assumption
was fully sustained by the statement con
tanned in the parable already referred to
The rich man, it was said, felt solioltous a
bout his brethren; hesaw Abraham oil
and Lazarus in his bosom; and the Tact o.
/ Abraham S denying his request by calling
upon the rich man to remember the good
things-he had received in his life, was q
demonstration most absolute that the con
dition of the lost after death was one o
! ontira oonsciOuSneSs Yes the death O