through in his triumphant ascent-what intelligence of his achievements he conveyed to other worlds--what portion of the immensity of space, or what globe or material fabric is the scene of his more immediate residence-what are the external splendours and peculiarities of that glorious world--what intercourse he has with the spirits of just men made perfect; with Enoch and Elijah, who are already furnished with bodies, and with other orders of celestial intelligences-what scenes and movements will take place in that world, when he is about to return to our terrestrial sphere, to summon all the tribes of men to the general judgment? The facts in relation to these, and similar circumstances, still remain to be disclosed, and the future details which may be given of such interesting particulars, cannot fail to be highly gratifying to every one of the "redeemed from among men." But still, it must be admitted, that although the details respecting each of the facts to which I allude, were to occupy the period of a thousand years, the subject would soon be exhausted, if other events and circumstances, and another train of divine dispensations were not at the same time presented to view; and the future periods of eternal duration would be destitute of that variety and novelty of prospect which are requisite to secure perpetual enjoyment. The other class of facts relates to the redeemed them. selves, and comprehends those diversified circumstances in the course of providence, by means of which they were brought to the knowledge of salvation, and conducted through the scenes of mortality to the enjoyment of endless felicity. These will, no doubt, afford topics of interesting discourse, to diversify and enliven the exercises of the saints in heaven. But the remark now made in reference to the other facts alluded to above, is equally applicable here. The series of Divine dispensations towards every individual, though different in a few subordinate particulars, partakes of the same character, and wears the same general aspect. But although the dispensations of Providence towards every one of the redeemed were as different from another as it is possible to conceive, and although a hundred years were devoted to the details furnished by every saint, eternity would not be exhausted by such themes alone. Again, it has been frequently asserted, that the saints in heaven will enjoy perpetual rapture in continually gazing on the glorified humanity of Christ Jesus. The descriptions sometimes given of this circumstance, convey the idea of a vast concourse of spectators gazing upon a resplendent figure placed upon an eminence in the midst of them, which, surely, must convey a very imperfect and distorted idea of the sublime employments of the saints in light. The august splendours of the "man Christ Jesus," the exalted station he holds in the upper world, the occasional intercourse which all his saints will hold with him, the lectures on the plans and operations of Deity with which he may entertain them-the splendid scenes to which he may guide them-and many other circumstances-will excite the most rapturous admiration of Him who is "the brightness of the Father's glory."-But, since the glorified body of Christ is a material substance, and, consequently, limited to a certain portion of space; it cannot be supposed to be at all times within the view of every inhabitant of heaven; and although it were, the material splendours of that body, however august and astonishing, cannot be supposed to afford new and varied gratification, throughout an endless succession of duration. He will be chiefly recognised as the Head of the redeemed family of man, "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," who will gradually reveal the secret counsels of God, and direct his saints to those displays of Divine glory which will enlighten and entertain their mental powers. This seems to be intimated in such representations as the following,--" The Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them to living fountains of water." By directing their attention to those objects in which they may behold the most august displays of Divine perfection, and teaching them in what points of view they ought to be contemplated, and what conclusions they ought to deduce from them, "he will feed" the minds of his people with Divine knowledge, and "lead them" to those sublime and transporting trains of thought, which will fill them with "joy unspeakable and full of glory." Thus it appears, that neither the mysteries, nor the leading facts connected with the plan of redemption, when considered merely in relation to human beings-can be supposed to be the principal subjects of contemplation in the heavenly state, nor sufficient to produce those diversified gratifications which are requisite to insure perpetual enjoyment to the expanded intellects of redeemed men in the future world-though such contemplations will undoubtedly be intermingled with all the other intellectual surveys of the saints in glory. I now proceed to the principal object in view, namely, to inquire, what other objects will employ the attention of good men in the world to come, and what light the material works of God, which have been unfolded to our view, tend to throw upon this subject. -- The foundation of the happiness of heavenly intelligences being laid in the destruction of every principle of moral evil, in the enjoyment of moral perfection-and in the removal of every physical impediment to the exercise of their intellectual powers--they will be fitted for the most profound investigations, and for the most enlarged contemplations. And one of their chief employments, of course, will be, to investigate, contemplate, and admire the glory of the Divine perfections. Hence it is declared in Scripture as one of the privileges of the saints in light, that " they shall see God as he is”—that "they shall see his face"and that "they shall behold his glory," which expressions, and others of similar import, plainly intimate, that they shall enjoy a clearer vision of the Divine glory than in the present state. But how is this vision to be obtained? The Deity, being a spiritual uncompounded substance, having no visible form, nor sensible quantities, "inhabiting eternity," and filling immensity with his presence-his essential glory cannot form an object for the direct contemplation of any finite intelligence. His glory, or, in other words, the grandeur of his perfections, can be traced only in the external manifestation which he gives of himself in the material creation which his power has brought into existence--in the various orders of intelligences with which he has peopled it-and in his moral dispensations towards all worlds and beings which now exist, or may hereafter exist, throughout his boundless empire. It is in this point of view, that our knowledge of the material universe assists our conceptions of the scenes of a future state, and throws a refulgence of light on the employ. ments, and the uninterrupted pleasures of the redeemed in heaven. By the discoveries of modern science, in the distant regions of space, we are fully assured, that the attributes of the Deity have not been exercised solely in the construction of our sublunary sphere, and of the aerial heavens with which it is encompassed, nor his providential regards confined to the transactions of the frail beings that dwell upon its surface, but extend to the remotest spaces of the universe. We know, that far beyond the limits of our terrestrial abode, the Almighty has displayed his omnipotence in framing worlds which, in magnitude, and in splendour of accompaniments, far surpass this globe on which we dwell. The eleven planetary bodies which, in common with the earth, revolve about the sun, contain a mass of matter two thousand five hundred times greater, and an extent of surface sufficient to support an assemblage of inhabitants three hundred times more numerous than in the world which we inhabit. The Divine wisdom is also displayed in reference to these vast globes,-in directing their motions, so as to produce a diversity of seasons, and a regular succession of day and night-in surrounding some of them with moons, and with luminous rings of a magnificent size, to adorn their nocturnal heavens, and to reflect a mild radiance in the absence of the sun--in encompassing them with atmospheres, and diversifying their surface with mountains and plains. These and other arrangements, which indicate special contrivance and design, show, that those bodies are destined by the Creator to be the abodes of intellectual beings, who partake of his bounty, and offer to him a tribute of adoration and praise. Although no other objects were presented to our view, except those to which I now allude, and which are contained within the limits of our system, yet even herewithin this small province of the kingdom of Jehovah-a grand and diversified scene is displayed for the future contemplation of heavenly intelligences. But it is a fact which cannot be disputed, that the sun and all his attendant planets form but a small speck in the map of the universe. How great soever this earth, with its vast continents and mighty oceans, may appear to our eye,-how stupendous soever the great globe of Jupiter, which would contain within its bowels a thousand worlds as large as ours-and overwhelm. ing as the conception is, that the sun is more than a thousand times larger than both,--yet, were they this moment detached from their spheres, and blotted out of existence, there are worlds within the range of the Almighty's empire where such an awful catastrophe would be altogether unknown. Nay, were the whole cubical space occupied by the solar system-a space 3,600,000,000 miles in diameter-to be formed into a solid globe, containing 24,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 cubical miles, and overspread with a brilliancy superior to that of the sun, to continue during the space of a thousand years in this splendid state, and then to be extinguished and annihilated— there are beings, who reside in spaces within the range of our telescopes, to whom its creation and destruction would be equally unknown; and to an eye which could take in the whole compass of nature, it might be altogether unheeded, or, at most, be regarded as the appearance and disappearance of a lucid point in an obscure corner of the universe-just as the detachment of a drop of water from the ocean, or a grain of sand from the sea shore is unheeded by a common observer. At immeasurable distances from our earth and system immense assemblages of shining orbs display their radiance. The amazing extent of that space which intervenes between our habitation and these resplendent globes, proves their immense magnitude, and that they shine not with borrowed but with native splendour. From what we know of the wisdom and intelligence of the Divine Being, we may safely conclude, that he has created nothing in vain; and consequently, that these enormous globes of light were not dispersed through the universe, merely as so many splendid tapers to illuminate the voids of infinite space. To admit, for a moment, such a supposition, would be inconsistent with the marks of intelligence and design which are displayed in all the other scenes of nature which lie within the sphere of our investigation. It would represent the Almighty as amusing himself with splendid toys,-an idea |