THE PHILOSOPHY OF A FUTURE STATE. 



d ,ove to God, and love to aii suoordinate holy 

 intelligences, and in all the diversified ramifica 

 tions of action into which these grand principles 

 necessarily diverge. When arrived at that happy 

 world the saints will feel themselves to be all 

 equal, as they were once &quot; children of disobe 

 dience even as others,&quot; as they were all redeemed 

 &quot; by the precious blood of Christ,&quot; as they were 

 renewed by the influence of the Spirit of grace, 

 as they stand in the relation of brethren in 

 Christ, and &quot; sons and daughters of the Lord 

 God Almighty,&quot; as they are the companions of 

 angels, and kings and priests to the God and 

 Father of all. Without the exercise of holy dis 

 positions, heaven could not exist, although its 

 inhabitants had reached the highest pitch of in 

 tellectual improvement ; and all who shall ulti 

 mately be admitted into that happy state, will 

 feel that they are eternally indebted for the pri 

 vileges and the felicity they enjoy, to &quot; Him that 

 sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb who was 

 slain, and redeemed them to God by his blood.&quot; 

 But, notwithstanding, there will be a consider 

 able difference, at least in the first instance, in 

 regard to the expansion of their intellectual views. 

 In this point of view, it is impossible to suppose 

 that they can be all equal. Suppose a Negro 

 slave, who had been recently converted to Chris 

 tianity, and a profound Christian philosopher, to 

 enter the eternal world at the same time, is it 

 reasonable to believe, that there would be no dif 

 ference in the amplitude of their intellectual 

 views? They would both feel themselves deli 

 vered from sin and sorrow, they would he filled 

 with admiration and wonder at the new scenes 

 which opened to their view, and would be in 

 spired with the most lively emotions of humility 

 and reverence ; but if each of them carried along 

 with him that portion of knowledge which he 

 acquired in the present life, there behoved to be 

 a considerable difference in the comprehension 

 of their views and the range of their intellectual 

 faculties; unless we suppose that a change 

 amounting to a miracle was effected in the mind 

 of the Negro, whose mental views were pre 

 viously circumscribed within the narrowest 

 limits. And, to suppose such a miracle wrought 

 in every individual case, would not only be con 

 trary to every thing we know of the general plan 

 of the divine procedure, but would destroy 

 almost every motive that should now induce us 

 to make progress &quot; in the knowledge of our Lord 

 and Saviour Jesus Christ,&quot; and in our views of 

 the works and dispensations of the Almighty. 

 In the course of ages, indeed, the Negro may 

 equal the philosopher in the extent of his intel 

 lectual acquisitions ; but, in the first instance, 

 both Scripture* and reason declare, that a dif 

 ference must exist, unless the laws which govern 

 the intellectual world be entirely subverted. Can 



8eeDan.xii.3. i Cor. xv. 41, 42. Matt. xxv. 14, &c- 



we suppose, for a moment, that an ignorant pro* 

 fligate, who has been brought to repentance, 

 and to &quot; the knowledge of the truth,&quot; only a fei* 

 hours before his entrance into the world of spi 

 rits, shall, at the moment he has arrived in the 

 world of bliss, acquire those enlarged concep 

 tions of divine truth, which an Owen, a Watts, 

 a Doddridge, or a Dwight, attained at the same 

 stage of their existence ? or that a Hottentot, 

 who had been brought to the knowledge of Chris 

 tianity only during the last month of his life, 

 shall enter into heaven with the expansive views 

 of a Newton or a Boyle? Such a supposition 

 would involve a reflection on the wisdom of the 

 divine administration, and would lead us to con 

 clude, that all the labour bestowed by the illus 

 trious characters now alluded to, in order to im 

 prove in the knowledge of divine subjects, was 

 quite unnecessary, and even somewhat approach 

 ing to egregious trifling. 



Not only will the views of the saints in heaven 

 be different in point of expansion and extent, but 

 their love to God, and the virtues and graces 

 which flow from this principle, will be diminished 

 or increased, or, at least, somewhat modified by 

 the narrowness or expansion of their intellectual 

 views. If it be admitted, that the more we 

 know of God the more ardently shall we love 

 him, it will follow, that, in proportion as we 

 acquire a comprehensive and enlightened view 

 of the operations of God in the works of creation, 

 in the scheme of providence, and in the plan of 

 redemption, in a similar proportion will our love 

 and adoration of his excellencies be ardent and 

 expansive. In this point of view, &quot;the saints 

 in light&quot; will make improvement in holiness 

 throughout all the ages of eternity, though, at 

 every stage of their existence, they will enjoy 

 pure and unmingled bliss. Every science they cul 

 tivate, and every stage to which they advance in 

 intellectual improvement, will enable them to dis 

 cover new glories in the divine character, which 

 will raise their affections to God still higher, 

 and render their conformity to his moral image 

 more complete. 



It has frequently been a subject of discussion 

 among theologians, &quot; Whether there shall be 

 degrees of glory in heaven.&quot; This question 

 may be easily settled, if there be any weight in 

 the remarks and considerations now stated. In 

 so far as there is a difference in the vigour and 

 expansion of the intellectual powers, and in the 

 amplitude of objects they are enabled to embrace, 

 in so far may there be said to be &quot; degrees of 

 glory :&quot; and a superiorly, in this respect, may be 

 considered as the natural reward which accom 

 panies the diligent improvement of our time and 

 faculties upon earth, though such a distinction can 

 never be supposed to produce any disposition 

 approaching to envy, as so frequently happens in 

 the present state. On the contrary, it may be 

 supposed to produce a holy emulation to improve 



