THE Psalmist says, speaking of man, "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, in that very day his thoughts perish." A declaration so comprehensive, so positive and direct, must in some way be disposed of by those who hold to consciousness in death, if they would save their theory from utter annihilation. We consequently see in various quarters no small amount of figuring to evade this to them "perplexing" declaration. The quibble by which they hope to get safely over it, is this: The word thoughts in that text does not mean, thoughts, an operation of the mind, but purposes, plans and projects. The man dies, and all his plans and intentions thus come to nought. There would be small ground for such a turn as this, even had we nothing else from which to reason, but the English word, thoughts; for in looking at the definition of that word, it is not until we reach the seventh degree from its primary signification, that the definition of "design" and "purpose" occurs; showing that the plainest reasons should exist for adopting this instead of the more primary significations. But it often happens that the original is more definite than the English, and hence cannot justly be passed by in examining such questions as these. The Hebrew from which the word, thoughts, in Ps. cxlvi, 4, comes, occurs in no other instance in the Old Testament. The entire definition as given by Gesenius, is simply, "Thoughts, counsels." The idea of purpose or design is not here. The word, counsels, must mean the power of counseling, and not the things counseled; for these latter do not always perish on the death of the individual, and in this case the psalm would not be true. A person might give counsel to another, and though he died the next moment, his counsel all be carried out with the utmost minuteness and success, and no item of it fail; hence the psalmist's declaration must contemplate something different from this. Understand by it the power of counseling through the operation of the reasoning faculties of the mind, and all is harmony. Thus, a person may be depending on the superior judgment and wisdom of another, to assist him in carrying forward any enterprise, or in any trying and perplexing emergency. But death comes and cuts short his career; he is deprived of his power of counsel and advice, and his help is lost. This word comes from a root which in its reference to the mind is defined thus: "Which forms, fashions, moulds anything by revolving it." Hithp., to bethink oneself, cogitare, as Vulg. well; to excogitate. Recogitare is defined "to think, or consider, again, to recall, to reflect." "Excogitate, to invent: to strike out by thinking; to contrive." These definitions all throw light upon the word, and show that an operation of the mind is intended by it, and that alone. We come to the Septuagint, and learn how "the seventy" who translated the Old Testament from the Hebrew into the Greek over two hundred years before Christ, understood this word. Their aim of course in translating was to use such Greek words as were the exact equivalent of the Hebrew. The word they have used for thoughts in Ps. cxlvi, 4, is dialogismos. In the definition of this word, therefore, we read their understanding of the original Hebrew. Dialogismos is defined by Liddell and Scott, "a balancing of accounts; hence consideration, thoughts, reasoning." Robinson's definition is substantially the same. Parkhurst says, "Reasoning, ratiocination, thought." By none of these authors is the definition of purpose or design, given to this word. Ratiocination, one of Parkhurst's definitions, is defined by Webster thus: "The act or process of reasoning, or of deducing consequences from premises." In view of this testimony will any one say that the word thoughts in the text under notice means purposes or designs? Not unless he is willing to discard all authority for the purpose of adhering to his own prejudices; for if language has any determinate meaning, the word, thoughts, there means the operations of the mind. And these the psalmist says, perish in death. The question, therefore, whether a man's thoughts ever perish, is equivalent to asking whether David told the truth. We believe he did, and have tried briefly to prove it. But no necessity for such an argument would have existed, had not Paganism and Papacy been suffered to tamper with the pure principles of Heaven-born truth, and impregnate the faith of the church with their subtle poison.