unchanged. As we shall afterwards find, that the same hieroglyphical characters were portrayed on the firmament which were beheld in the cherubim,— the propriety of including the signs of heaven amongst the first principles of early knowledge must be abundantly evident. We can imagine nothing more calculated to confirm the faith and the hope of the early worshippers, than when they found the figures established by God himself on the earth, were in conformity with the characters impressed on the firmament. It said to them, that 'the purposes of his heart had been through all generations.'

Those who have the Bible in their hands need no other book; they need not now such confirmation of the heavenly origin of their worship as was given by the 'handiwork' of God in the firmament; nor can we now fully understand how of old they read the wonderful and glorious canopy which was spread out to them. Yet such references as have been already made, and others to be subsequently adduced, plainly indicate, not only that they did read that book, under the direction of the Spirit of God itself, but, also, something of the way in which they drew the instruction; in the words of Bishop Horne, By way of picture or representation.'

The principal objection which may be started to this, is the immensity and countless number of the orbs employed, while lesser lights, placed nearer the earth, would have answered the same purpose. But this difficulty is more imaginary than real. It arises from estimating God's works by our own finite

ideas, and making magnitude and space, which are nothing in the eye of heaven, the chief, or a constituent part of that in the creation wherein the glory of God consists. It is just as difficult to account for the infinite minuteness of the works of creation as for their infinite magnitude-the one is equally as incomprehensible to us as the other. We can no more understand why there should be, what appears to our finite comprehensions, such a waste of animal and vegetable life daily, over the surface of the globe, than we can comprehend why the celestial orbs should have been of such magnitude and in such number. All the works of God are infinite. His mercy is infinite; his union of mercy and justice is infinitely wonderful, infinitely glorious; and the universe,-which was to be the scene of that union of mercy and judgment, when HE, who made the worlds, humbled himself to death,―would not have been the fit arena for such an event, if it had not been unsearchably magnificent and grand. The depth of the humiliation HE was to suffer, who was to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, was only made more conspicuous, when, out of infinite orbs, the smallest planet was chosen; out of the nations by whom it was inhabited, the least people selected; out of the tribes of that people, the least of the thousands of Judah honoured; and amongst the families of Judah, the humblest and the poorest taken part with.

So far, then, from viewing the magnitude of the celestial bodies, in comparison with the earth, and the space they occupy in creation, as forming any

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objections to their being employed by Divine Wisdom, to minister to the earth, and to bear testimony to THAT TRUTH, at which all heaven shall wonder without end,--we only recognise, in that provision, an arrangement which stamps it as proceeding from the same hand which 'set the bounds of all other nations on the earth,' with a direct reference to the number of the children of Israel;' (the smallest of all its tribes-'the least of all people ;') and which has conducted all the affairs of the mightiest states of the world, in every age, with a constant aspect to the completion, not of their schemes, but of the word of his prophecy.

But there is a stronger answer than it would become the pen of man to give, to every objection that may be taken to the firmament being declaratory of the truth and settled purposes of God.-'Thus saith the Lord: if my covenant be not with day and night and if I have not APPOINTED THE ORDINANCES OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, then will I cast away the seed of Jacob and David my servant.'

CHAPTER VIII.

RECAPITULATION.

In the preceding chapters we have traced a brief outline of the media through which knowledge, concerning the ways and purposes of God, was first communicated to man.

On reviewing what has been written, we are deeply sensible of the inadequate command of language to describe a mode of teaching which had Inspiration for its guide, and the tongue of angels to give it utterance. It would, indeed, be a subject, in every respect too high for us, or for any uninspired pen, were it necessary to demonstrate how the Illustrative Symbols, and the Wondrous Speech which accompanied them, were first interwoven; or to describe or analyse the process of thought or of reasoning, by which the phenomena of nature were rendered so deeply interesting to the patriarchs, and so fertilising to the primitive stock from which all languages have sprung. It is fortunate that we require not to do more than prove that, by some radical connexion between natural signs, and words, and ideas, a rich fund of illustrative and prophetic

metaphor was opened up to the early worshippers. We cannot now understand fully, nor is it requisite for us to do so, why such or such a form or figure conveyed such or such a lesson or doctrine; but it is a most important step, towards understanding what they did and said of old, that we ascertain the fountain from whence the fathers drew the living waters, which refreshed them in their pilgrimage through life. Our enquiry, too, has this encouragement attending it, that it is not a fanciful question, such as a discussion respecting the situation of paradise, the stature of the antediluvians, or the cause of their longevity, but involves questions of the deepest moment and interest to all the human race; the answers to which are appeals to the Law, to the Testimony, and to the history of the human race; as recorded, and as prophesied of, in the Scriptures of Truth. If we speak not according to these Scriptures, there is no truth in what we have written ; but if we have quoted them aright, the truths we contend for will compel attention, and convince the understanding, however weak the language in which they are couched.

Although we have already ascertained circumstances, in the early history of the world, which can only be accounted for on the principles advocated in the preceding chapters, the Great Foundation on which our argument has rested is the Eternal and Unchangeable nature of the Purposes of Grace concerning man; the CERTAINTY that they were promised in Christ Jesus before the world began; and that, consequently, every part of creation must have been