it has taught us to mount upwards to the region of the clouds, and to penetrate into the bowels of the earth, to explore the changes which the earth has undergone since the period of its creation. It has laid open to our view the nature and constitution of the atmosphere, the principles of which it is composed, and its agency in supporting fire and flame, and vegetable and animal life. On the principles which science has established, we have been enabled to ascertain the distances of many of the heavenly bodies, to compute their magnitudes, and to determine the periods of their revolutions; and by means of the instruments it has invented, we have been enabled to take a nearer survey of distant worlds-to contemplate new wonders of creating power in regions of the sky which lie far beyond the utmost stretch of the unassisted eye,-and to explore those invisible regions, where myriads of living beings are concentrated within the compass of a visible point. In conse quence of such discoveries, we have been enabled to acquire more clear and ample conceptions of the amazing energies of omnipotence, of the inscrutable depths of infinite wisdom, of the overruling providence of the Almighty, of the benevolent care he exercises over all his creatures, and of the unlimited extent of those dominions over which he eternally presides.

The faculties by which man has been enabled to make the discoveries to which I have alluded, were implanted in his constitution by the hand of his Creator; and the objects on which these faculties are exercised, are the works of the Creator, which, the more minutely they are investigated, the more strikingly do they display the glory of his character and perfections. Consequently, it must have been the intention of the Creator that man should employ the powers he has given him in scientific researches; otherwise, he would neither have endowed him with such noble faculties, nor have opened to his view so large a portion of his empire. Scientific investigations, therefore, are to be considered as nothing less than inquiries into the plans and operations of the Eternal, in order to unfold the attributes of his nature, his providential procedure in the government of his creatures, and the laws by which he directs the movements of universal nature. It is true, indeed, that every one who calls himself a philosopher may not keep this end in view in the prosecution of scientific acquirements. He may perhaps be actuated merely by a principle of curiosity, by a

love of worldly gain, or by a desire to acquire reputation among the learned by the discoveries he may bring to light, just in the same way as some theologians are actuated in prosecuting the study of the Christian system. But the discoveries which have been made by such persons, are, notwithstanding, real developements of the plans of the Deity, and open to a devout mind a more expansive view of the power, wisdom, and benevolence of Him who is "wonderful in counsel and excellent in working." It is our own fault if we do not derive useful instruction from the investigations and discoveries of philosophy; it is owing to our want of intelligence to discriminate between the experiments of men, and the operations of God, and to the want of that reverence, humility, and devotion, which ought to accompany us in all our studies and contemplations of nature. Science, therefore, from whatever motives it may be prosecuted, is, in effect, and in reality, an inquiry after God: it is the study of angels and other superior intelligences; and we cannot suppose there is a holy being throughout the universe that is not employed, in one mode or another, in scientific research and investigation; unless we can suppose that there are moral intelligences who are insensible to the displays of the Divine glory, and altogether indifferent, whether or not they make progress in the knowledge of their Creator.

OBJECTS ON WHICH THE FACULTIES OF CELESTIAL INTELLIGENCES WILL BE EMPLOYED.

Let us now consider the objects on which the faculties of celestial intelligences will be employed in the way of scientific investigation.

The grand scene of universal nature-that august theatre on which the Almighty displays, to countless myriads, his glorious perfections-will remain substantially the same as it is at present, after all the changes in reference to our globe shall have taken place; and the clear and expansive view of its economy, its movements, and its peculiar glories, which will then be laid open to their inspection, will excrcise the faculties, and form a considerable portion of the felicity of renovated moral agents.

That the general system of nature will remain materially the same, when the present fabric of our globe is dissolved, may be argued, 1. From the immense number and magnitude of the bodies of which it is composed.--In every direction.

to which we can turn our eyes, the universe appears to be replenished with countless orbs of light, diffusing their splendours from regions immeasurably distant. Nearly one hundred millions of these globes are visible through telescopes of the greatest magnifying power; and it is more than probable, that beyond the reach of the finest glasses that art has ever constructed, thousands of millions exist in the unexplored regions of immensity, which the eye of man, while he remains in this lower world, will never be able to descry. All these luminous globes, too, are bodies of immense magnitude; compared with any one of which, the whole earth dwindles into an inconsiderable ball. It is probable that the smallest of them is at least one hundred thousand times larger than the globe on which we live.-2. All these bodies are immensely distant from the earth. Although we could wing our course with a swiftness equal to ten thousand miles a-day, it would require more than five millions of years before we could reach the nearest star ; and the more distant of these orbs are placed in regions so immensely distant, that the imagination is bewildered and overpowered when it attempts to grasp the immeasurable extent which intervenes between us and them. This circumstance proves, that these bodies are of an immense size and splendour, since they are visible at such distances; and consequently demonstrates, that each of them is destined, in its respective sphere, to accomplish some noble purpose, worthy of the plans of a Being of infinite wisdom and goodness.-3. The whole of this vast assemblage of suns and worlds has no immediate connexion with the present constitution and arrangement of our globe. There are no celestial bodies that have any immediate connexion with the earth, or direct influence upon it, except the sun, the moon, and several of the planets; and therefore, those more distant orbs, to which I allude, cannot be supposed to be involved in the physical evils which the fall of man has introduced into our world; or to have the least connexion with any future change or catastrophe that may befall the terraqueous globe. Though this globe, and "all that it inherits," were dissolved; yea, although the sun himself and his surrounding planets were set in a blaze, and blotted for ever out of creation; the innumerable and vast bodies which replenish the distant regions of the universe, would still exist, and continue to illuminate the voids of creation with undiminished splendour.

EXTENT OF THE GENERAL CONFLAGRATION.

From the considerations now stated, it is evident, that the changes which are predicted to take place at the general conflagration, will not extend beyond the environs of our globe, or at farthest, beyond the limits of the solar system. There is, indeed no reason to conclude, that they will extend beyond the terraqueous globe itself and its surrounding atmosphere: for since all the revelations of Scripture have a peculiar reference to the inhabitants of this globe, the predicted changes which are to take place in its physical constitution, at the close of the present economy of Providence, must be considered as limited to the same sphere. As the world was formerly destroyed by a deluge of waters, in consequence of the depravity of man, so its destruction by fire will take place, for the same reason, in order that it may be purified from all the effects of the curse which was originally pronounced upon the ground for man's sake, and restored so its former order and beauty. But there is not the smallest reason to conclude, either from Scripture or the general constitution of the universe, that this destruction will extend beyond that part of the frame of nature which was subjected to the curse, and is physically connected with the sin of man; and consequently, will be entirely confined to certain changes which will be effected throughout the continents, islands, and oceans, and in the higher and lower regions of the atmosphere.

This appears to be the sense in which the most judicious expositors of Scripture interpret those passages which have a particular reference to this event. Dr. Guyse, in his "Paraphrase on the New Testament," interprets 2 Peter iii. 7, 12. precisely in this sense: "When that final decisive day of the Lord Jesus shall come.—the aerial heavens, being all in a flame, shall be destroyed, and the constituent principles of the atmosphere, together with the earth and all things in it, shall be melted down by an intense dissolving heat, into a confused chaos, like that out of which they were orignally formed." And in a note on this paraphrase he remarks, By the heavens is meant here the aerial heavens. the heavens and the earth are here spoken of in opposi tion to those of the old world, which could mean nothing more than the earth and its former atmosphere, the state of which underwent a great alteration by the flood."—"By the heavens and the earth, in such passages as these," says

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the learned Dr. Mede, "is to be understood, that part of nature which was subjected to the curse, or that is inhabited by Christ's enemies, and includes in it the earth, water, and air, but not the heavenly bodies, which are not only a vast distance from it, but is little more than a point, if compared to them for magnitude."-Dr. Dwight, when adverting to this subject expresses the same sentiment :"The phrase heavens and earth (says he) in Jewish phraseology denoted the universe. In the present case, however, (2 Peter iii. 10, 12, 13.) the words appear to be used with a meaning less extended, where it is declared, that that which is intended by both terms, shall be consumed, dissolved, and pass away. This astonishing event, we are taught, shall take place at the final judgment: and we have no hint in the scriptures, that the judgment will involve any other beings besides angels and men."

From the preceding considerations, it is obvious, that when the inspired writers use such expressions as these,-"The stars shall fall from heaven," "the powers of heaven shall be shaken," and, "the heaven departed as a scroll," they are to be understood not in a literal, but in a figurative sense, as denoting changes, convulsions, and revolu tions, in the moral world. And when, in reference to the dissolution of our globe and its appendages, it is said, that "the heavens shall pass away with a mighty noise," the aerial heaven, or the surrounding atmosphere is to be understood. How this appendage to our world may be dissolved, or pass away with a mighty noise, it is not difficult to conceive, now that we have become acquainted with the nature and energies of its constituent parts. One essential part of the atmosphere contains the principle of flame; and if this principle were not counteracted by its connexion with another ingredient, or were it let loose to exert its energies without control, instantly one immense flame would envelope the terraqueous globe, which would set on fire the foundations of the mountains, wrap the ocean in a blaze, and dissolve not only coals, wood, and other combustibles, but the hardest substances in nature. It is more than probable that when the last catastrophe of our globe arrives, the oxygen and nitrogen, or the two constituent principles of the atmosphere, will be separated by the interposition of almighty power. And the moment this separation takes place, it is easy to conceive that a tremendous concussion will ensue, and the most dreadful explosions will resound