Through Moses, that ancient seer, the Lord spoke thus: "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." (Deut. xxxiii:27.) God, then, being eternal, His rewards are "eternal rewards," His punishments "eternal punishments." If the United States were an eternal government, its justice would be eternal; if it were unchangeable, it always would punish violators of the law, and if justice were meted out to all, they would be punished in proportion to the crime committed, and when the demands of justice were satisfied they would be released, but the punishment would still continue to exist, and being eternal, all who fell under its ban would taste of eternal punishment. The punishment will always endure, although criminals may serve their penalties and come out from the prison house; it is even so in the kingdom of God. God is the highest type of justice. He is eternal, everlasting, unchangeable, and always will punish sin. His punishment is eternal, because He is eternal. Eternal is one of His names, and eternal punishment is used in the sense of God's punishment, and not to designate it as everlasting in its duration upon the offender of the law. He will beat with many stripes all who commit sins worthy of the same, and with few stripes those guilty of less venal crimes. This will be determined according to the light and knowledge one may possess. For example, three men commit murder, an African in the jungles of Africa, a negro who was formerly a slave, and a white man. Other things being equal, the white man, with his advanced intelligence, will suffer most, for he has had the most light and by far the best opportunity to advance. There are degrees of punishment, as well as degrees of reward. Here is a tender, moral girl, who dies without accepting Christ as her Savior, and here is an old man, eighty years old, who dies in his sins; dare any one assert that a just and holy God is going to punish those two alike? And yet many, very many, look upon hell as a place where all suffer alike, and heaven an ethereal, uncertain abode, where all enjoy like blessings. Our salvation from death depends entirely upon Christ, but our exaltation is upon our acts of obedience, and our condemnation upon our sins and transgressions. How plain and simple are the words of the apostle Paul, "Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor." (I Cor. iii:8.) God rewards according to our faithfulness to all opportunities. He does not require a quart from a pint vessel. "Where much is given much is required." "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." As with rewards, so likewise with punishments. When justice is satisfied, the sinner has paid the debt.