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THE PHILOSOPHY OF A FUTURE STATE. 



city, and of glory. And, therefore, amidst all 

 the other employments of the heavenly state, 

 they will never forget their obligation to that 

 unmerited grace and mercy which rescued their 

 souls from destruction, but will mingle with all 



their sublime investigations, ascriptions of 



&quot; blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, to 

 Him that sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb, 

 for ever and ever.&quot; 



The substance of what has been detailed in 

 this department of my subject may be now 

 briefly stated in the following summary : 



The redeemed in heaven will enjoy perpetual 

 and uninterrupted felicity the foundation of this 

 felicity will be laid in their complete freedom 

 from sin, and their attainment of moral perfec 

 tion their renovated faculties will be employ 

 ed in contemplating the divine glory the di 

 vine glory consists in the manifestation of the 

 divine perfections the sensible display of these 

 perfections will be given, (and can only be given) 

 in the works of creation, in the intelligences 

 which people the material world, their orders, 

 gradations, history, and present state in the 

 variety of scenery which the abodes of intelli 

 gence exhibit in the economy and moral order 

 which prevail among them, and in the various 

 dispensations of Divine Providence in reference 

 to all worlds and orders of beings. 



With regard to the happiness of heaven, the 

 Scriptures convey to us, in general propositions, 

 certain intimations of its nature, qualities, and 

 objects, and of the qualifications which are requi 

 site in order to its enjoyment. The discoveries 

 which science has made in the visible creation 

 form so many illustrations of the scriptural decla 

 rations on this subject; and it is undoubtedly our 

 duty to direct our trains of thought, and to expand 

 our conceptions of the felicities of the future 

 world, by every illustrative circumstance which 

 can be traced in the scene of nature which the 

 Almighty has presented to our view. For the 

 word and the works of God must always har 

 monize, and reflect a mutual lustre on each other. 

 What we find to be actually existing within the 

 visible scene of the universe, can never contra 

 dict any of the statements of Revelation ; but, 

 on the contrary, must tend to elucidate some one 

 or other of its interesting communications. And 

 since we find, in our survey of the system of 

 nature, an assemblage of astonishing objects 

 which tend to raise our conceptions of the Su 

 preme Being, and of the sublime and diversified 

 nature of future felicity, it becomes us to prose 

 cute those trains of thought which the analo 

 gies of Nature and of Revelation suggest, in 

 order to enlarge the capacities of our minds, to 

 exalt our ideas of celestial bliss, and to prepare 

 us for more expansive and sublime contempla 

 tions, in that world where the physical and mo- 

 al obstructions which now impede our progress, 



and obscure our intellectual Tiews, shall De cora 

 pletely and for ever removed. 



From the whole of what we have stated on 

 this department of our subject, we may learn 

 the value of the human soul, and the importance 

 which ought to be attached to our immorta. 

 destination. What a shadow does human life 

 appear when contrasted with the scenes of 

 futurity! What a small point in duration do 

 the revolutions of time present when compared 

 with a boundless eternity! What a limited 

 scene does this world, with all its glories, ex 

 hibit, when set in competition with the extent, 

 and the splendours of that empire which 

 stretches out into immensity, and shall endure 

 for ever! And is man to be transported to 

 other regions of the universe, to mingle with 

 the inhabitants of other worlds, and to exist 

 throughout an endless duration ? What a noble 

 principle does the human mind appear, when 

 we consider it as qualified to prosecute so many 

 diversifiednrains of thought, to engage in so 

 sublime investigations, to attain the summit of 

 moral perfection, and to expatiate at large, 

 through the unlimited dominions of the Almighty, 

 while eternal ages are rolling on! How import 

 ant, then, ought every thing to be considered 

 which is connected with the scene of our eternal 

 destination ! If these truths be admitted, reason 

 and common sense declare, that a more inte 

 resting and momentous subject cannot possibly 

 occupy the mind of man. It is so profoundly 

 interesting, and connected with so many awful 

 and glorious consequences, that we must be 

 utterly dead to every noble and refined feeling, 

 if we be altogether indifferent about it. 



If there were only a bare probability for the 

 opinion, that man is immortal, and that the scenes 

 to which I have alluded might possibly be real 

 ized, it ought to stimulate the most anxious in 

 quiries, and awaken all the powers and energies 

 of our souls. For it is both our duty and our 

 highest interest to obtain light and satisfaction, 

 on a point on which our present comfort and 

 our ultimate happiness must depend. But, if 

 the light of nature, and the dictates of revela 

 tion both conspire to demonstrate the eternal 

 destiny of mankind, nothing can exceed the folly 

 and the infatuation of those who trifle with 

 their everlasting interests, and even try ever} 

 scheme, and prosecute every trivial object, thai 

 may have a tendency to turn aside their thought* 

 from this important subject. Yet, how often do 

 we find, in the conduct of the various classes of 

 mankind, the merest trifles set in competition 

 with the scenes of happiness or of misery that 

 lie beyond the grave. The grovelling pleasures 

 derived from hounding and horse-racing, balls, 

 masquerades, and theatrical amusements ; the 

 acquisition of a few paltry pounds or shillings, 

 the rattling of dice, or the shuffling of a pack of 



