The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-03-17
BLEEoKER STREET UNIvERsALrsT CHURCH.


ny the Rev. X. G. Sweetser.
There was large congregation at the Blocker
street Universalist church, corner Blocker and
Downing streets, last night The Rev. II. O.
Sweetser preached on the "Universast Idea Of
He'll" He took his text from Psalm TX, II. There
was no other word in the English language, he
said, that gave religion such sombre look as the
little word "hel." There seemed to be magic
power in this word to harrow up mems souls The
popular belief was that hell was place of endless
torment for the wicked. Now, let US see what the
Bible says about IL. The four different words in
the Bible which the traDsators had trans
lated into ''hell," bore no reference to
future life. host OF distinguished dvines
maintained that the Old Testament never
established state of future existence. The
Hebrew mind was very uncertain in regard to the
idea OF death. They thought that all men, good
and bad, would 20 to the same place. David had
been represented as having been in hell as having
been redeemed from the lowest he'll The original
Hebrew word meant literally grave, and IT was
unfortunate that it ever should have been
TRANSLATED INTO ''HELL."
The Greek word 'hadesr had the same Signif-
canoe as the Hebrew word; IL meant the grave.
In the sentence, 20 Death. where is thy stings
hades, where is thy victory" the word evidently
meant grave. Surprising the word to be rightly
translated III was nowhere w DC Seeu InaJ
this hell was to be endless, but the Bible SAID in
fact that hell was to be destroyed. The hell OF
which the Bible spoke was the hell that meant the
grave or death, or sorrow.
The prediction of the text OF his sermon had been
verified In history. Where was the Roman En-
pire2 The glory had departed from the seven
Hills, and the halls that rung with the words of
Cesar and Cicero were threaded now by monks
and thick yelled nuns. Where was Babylon? Why
are all these great cities destroyed? Why, but that
they fOrsO0k the path OF righteOusness-why, but
America
they ought to bear this lesson in mind. II they as
a nation were righteous God would still remain
with them 1t was literally true that the wicked
went sooner to the grave than the righteous:
God escaped an untimely grave, but he who
violated those laws was quickly hurried on to the
grave. Oh how sadly the police Of New York
ura tendency Of wickedness was to shorten life
The wicked were not only turned into hell in the
primary sense OF the word, but also into the
secondary-the hell OF conscience within them.
Tended conscience s'Whatever man soweth he
shall reap" He could only evade the hell by re-
pentance.
READ "MACBErH,"
and in the dagger scene behold the agony OF the
self accusing mind read Orchard the Third" as he
starts up from his couch, with cry such as can
come only from the deepest hcll-the hell OF con-
science. But they need not 60 outside their own
had all known what 1t was to feel remOrse. Would
this HE'LL this self-inncted torture Of mind extend
into future lfep He cOntended that the ngurative,
spiritual hell extended into the future life of the
man who died in sin. II we Obeyed the precepts Of
the Saviour mere God would take care OF the next
life. One thing was certain, that though hell
would extend into future life 1t would not be ever
lasting. God was God OF love, and the doors OF
repentance were always open. He'll should pass
away, and they should rise to pure and immortal
life, when hell would be no more.