114 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF A FUTURE STATE. 



bucket,&quot; when compared with the millions of 

 more resplendent worlds that roll through the 

 vast spaces of creation ; and, in short, when 

 we consider the grandeur of that Omnipotent 

 Being whose presence pervades every region of 

 immensity, and in whose sight &quot; all the inhabit 

 ants of the world, are as grasshoppers, and are 

 courilfed to him as less than nothing and vanity,&quot; 

 there is no disposition that appears more con 

 formable to the character and condition of man, 

 than &quot;lowliness of mind,&quot; and none more un 

 reasonable and inconsistent with the rank and 

 circumstances in which he is placed, than pride, 

 haughtiness and arrogance. 



This amiable disposition forms a peculiar trait 

 in the character of angels and other pure intelli 

 gences. It is poor, puny, sinful man, alone, who 

 dares to be proud and arrogant. It is that re 

 bellious worm of the dust alone, (if we except 

 the angels of darkness,) chat looks down with 

 supercilious contempt on his fellow-creatures, 

 and attempts to exalt himself above the throne of 

 God. No such affections are ever felt in the 

 breast of superior beings who have kept their first 

 estate. In proportion to the enlarged capacity 

 of their minds ; in proportion to the expansive 

 views they have acquired of the dominions of 

 Jehovah, in proportion to the elevated concep 

 tions they have attained of the character and at 

 tributes of their Creator, in a similar proportion 

 are their minds inspired with humility, reverence 

 and lowly adoration. Having taken an extensive 

 survey r lie operations of Omnipotence, having 

 wm- tneir way to numerous worlds, and be- 

 xjia scenes of wisdom and benevolence, which 

 the eye of man hath not yet seen, nor his imagi 

 nation conceived, and having contemplated dis 

 plays of intelligence and power, which are beyond 

 the reach even of their own superior faculties to 

 comprehend they see themselves as finite and 

 imperfect creatures, and even as it were fools,* 

 in the presence of Him whose glory is ineffable 

 and whose ways are past finding out. Hence, 

 they are represented as &quot;covering their faces 

 with their wings,&quot; in the presence of their So 

 vereign ;f and, in the Book of Revelation, they 

 are exhibited as &quot; casting their crowns before the 

 throne, and saying thou art worthy, O Lord, to 

 receive glory, and honour, and power. &quot;J What 

 a striking contrast does such a scene present to 

 the haughty airs, and the arrogant conduct of the 

 proud beings that dwell on this terrestrial ball, 

 who are at the same time immersed in ignorance 

 and folly, immorality and crime ! 



In their intercourses with the inhabitants of 

 our world, and the offices they perform as minis 

 tering spirits to the heirs of salvation, the same 



* In the book of Job, Eliphaz, when describing the 

 fterfections of the Almighty, declares, that &quot; the 

 aeavens are not clean in his si&amp;lt;?ht,&quot; and that even 

 ..s angels he chargeth with/oWy.&quot; Job iv. is xv.15. 



- Isaiah vi. 2. I Rev. iv. 10, H 



humble and condescending demeanor is displayed. 

 One of the highest order of these celestial mes 

 sengers &quot; Gabriel, who stands in the presence 

 of God,&quot; winged his flight from his heavenly 

 mansion to our wretched world, and, directing 

 his course to one of the most despicable villages 

 of Galilee, entered into the hovel of a poor vir 

 gin, and delivered a message of joy, with the 

 most affectionate and condescending gratulations. 

 Another of these benevolent beings entered the 

 dungeon in which Peter was bound with chains, 

 knocked off his fetters, addressed him in the lan 

 guage of kindness, and delivered him from the 

 hands of his furious persecutors. When Pau} 

 was tossing in a storm, on the billows of the 

 Adriatic, a forlorn exile from his native land, and 

 a poor despised prisoner, on whom the grandees 

 of this world looked down with contempt, an 

 other of these angelic beings, &quot; stood by him,&quot; 

 during the darkness of the night and the war of 

 the elements, and consoled his mind wilh the as 

 surance of the divine favour and protection. 

 Lazarus was a poor despised individual, in ab 

 ject poverty and distress, and dependent on cha 

 rity for his subsistence. He lay at the gate of a 

 rich man, without friends or attendants, desiring 

 to be fed with the crumbs that fell from his table. 

 His body was covered with boils and ulcers, 

 which were exposed without covering to the open 

 air; for the &quot; dogs came and licked his sores.&quot; 

 What nobleman or grandee would have conde-t 

 scended to make a companion of a fellow-crea 

 ture in such loathsome and abject circumstances ? 

 Who, even of the common people, would have 

 received such a person into their houses, or de 

 sired his friendship ? Who would have accounted 

 it an honour, when he died, to attend his funeral ? 

 Celestial beings, however, view the circum 

 stances, and the characters of men in a very dif 

 ferent light, from that in which they appear to 

 &quot; the children of pride.&quot; Poor and despised as 

 Lazarus was, a choir of angels descended from 

 their mansions of glory, attended him on his 

 dying couch, and wafted his disembodied spirit 

 to the realms of bliss. 



Since, then, it appears, that angelic beings, 

 notwithstanding their exalted stations, and the 

 superior glories of their character, are &quot; clothed 

 with humility,&quot; it must form a distinguishing 

 trait in our moral characters, if we expect to bo 

 admitted into their society in the world to come 

 For how could we enter into harmonious fellow 

 ship with these pure intelligences, if we were 

 actuated with dispositions diametrically opposite 

 to theirs, and what happiness would result from 

 such an association, were it possible to be effect 

 ed? A proud man, were he admitted into hea 

 ven, could feel no permanent enjoyment. The 

 external glory of the place might dazzle his eyes 

 for a little, but he would feel no relish for tlie so 

 ciety and the employments of lhat world. The 

 peculiar honour conferred on patriarchs, pro- 



