Six Sermons on the Inquiry Is There Immortality in Sin and Suffering?

SERMON VI

“I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made. - Isaiah 57:16. SSII 129.1

We are too apt to take the words of Scripture and apply them to all men indiscriminately, without regarding the character of the person spoken of. In this way we pervert the word of the Most High, and sometimes comfort those whom God has not comforted. I conceive, that has been done with the words of my text. They have been applied to all men; when the context shows, most clearly, they are spoken only of the “contrite ones,” who are “humble and contrite” under the judgments, or chastisements that God had inflicted upon them for their sins: while it is expressly said, in the same connection, there is “no peace to the wicked;” - God’s wrath abideth on them; and abiding on them, they will certainly “fail.” The term “fail,” used in the text, though it has other significations, is, I think, generally used by the prophet Isaiah, to signify “to perish.” He says, 21:16 - “All the glory of Kedar shall fail.” And 19:3 - “The spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof.” SSII 129.2

I consider the sense of the text, then, to be this - “With those persons who truly humble themselves, and repent, under my rebukes, I will not continue my displeasure - for if my wrath should remain upon any man he would utterly perish, soul and spirit, as surely as I have made him.” - Hence, the doctrine of the text seems to me, to be - 1st. God is the Creator of the souls and spirits of men, and, of course, can DESTROY them. 2nd. If God’s wrath should continue, upon any man, without being withdrawn, it would certainly cause him to “fail” - perish; or cease to exist: he could not continue in being under it. 3rd. But upon those who do repent, that wrath shall not abide. SSII 130.1

These remarks have chiefly been made to meet an objection that man is composed of three parts - body, soul and spirit; and that, though his body and soul might perish, his spirit could not. I have used the term soul throughout my discourses in its broadest sense as including the essence of what constitutes a man; and I am satisfied that is the general sense in which the Scriptures use it, though in some texts it is used in a more restricted sense. SSII 130.2

It is a matter of indifference how it is applied in my text; for the expressions are such as to include the whole man, and to show that every man on whom the wrath of God abideth will perish - utterly perish - body, “soul and spirit.” SSII 130.3

I shall now proceed to notice one of the evils of the opposite theory; or the maintaining that such expressions as die - death - destroy - destroyed - destruction - burned up - perish, etc., are not to be understood literally, i.e. according to their obvious meaning, when spoken of the final destiny of wicked men. SSII 130.4