THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. 



*ibcs only the arrangement of the earth into its 

 present form, but no where asserts, that the ma 

 terials of which our globe is composed were crea 

 ted, or brought out of nothing, at the period at 

 which his history commences. The circum 

 stance, however, to which I have now adverted, 

 shows us of how much importance it is, in many 

 cases, that even a physical fact be fairly stated, 

 as well as the r./oral facts and the doctrines con 

 tained in the Scriptures. For, since every fact 

 in the economy of nature, and in the history of 

 providence, exhibits a certain portion of the di 

 vine character, a very different view of this cha 

 racter will be exhibited, according to the different 

 lights in which we view the divine operations. 

 And therefore, everyone who wilfully misrepre 

 sents a physical fact or law of nature, is a deceiv 

 er, who endeavours to exhibit a distorted view of 

 the character of the Deity. It is nothing less 

 than a man &quot; bearing false witness&quot; against his 

 Maker. 



Again, veracity is of infinite importance in 

 reference to our future improvement in the eter 

 nal world. In that world, we have every reason 

 to believe our knowledge of the attributes of God 

 will be enlarged, and our views of the range of 

 his operations in creation and providence extend 

 ed far beyond the limits to which they are now 

 confined. But the Divine Being himself, from 

 the immateriality and immensity of his nature, 

 will remain forever invisible to all finite intelli 

 gences ; and hence he is described by the Apos 

 tle, as &quot; the King Eternal, Immortal, and Invi- 

 sible, whom no man hath seen or can see.&quot; It 

 is, therefore, not only probable, but absolutely 

 certain, that a great portion, perhaps the great 

 est portion of our knowledge in that state, will 

 be derived from the communications of other in 

 telligences. With intellectual beings of a higher 

 order we shall hold the most intimate converse ; 

 for we are informed, that &quot;just men made per 

 fect&quot; will join &quot; the innumerable company of 

 angels.&quot; These beings are endued with capa 

 cious powers of intellect, and have long been 

 exercising them on the most exalted objects. As 

 messengers from the King of heaven to the in 

 habitants of the earth, they have frequently 

 winged their way through the celestial regions, 

 and surveyed many of those glorious systems 

 which lie hid from the view of mortals. We 

 have every reason to believe, that they have ac 

 quired expansive views of the dispensations of 

 the Almighty, not only in relation to man, but in 

 relation to numerous worlds and intelligences in 

 different provinces of the empire of God. And, 

 therefore, they must be admirably qualified to 

 impart ample stores of information on the subli- 

 mest subjects, to the redeemed inhabitants from 

 our world. From the communications of these 

 intelligences we may derive information of the 

 order and arrangements of other systems ; of the 

 atural scenery of other worlds ; of the different 



orders of intellectual beings who people them ; 

 of the means by which they are carried forward 

 in moral and intellectual improvement ; of the 

 most remarkable events which have happened in 

 the course of their history ; of the peculiar dis 

 plays of divine glory that may be made to then?, 

 and of the various changes through which they 

 may have passed in the course of the divine dis 

 pensations. 



But the utility of all such sublime communica 

 tions, and the delightful transports with which they 

 will be accompanied, will entirely depend upon 

 the immutable veracity of these moral intelligen 

 ces who shall be employed in conveying infor 

 mation respecting the divine plans and opera 

 tions. No fictitious scenes and narrations will 

 be invented, as in our degenerate world, to asto 

 nish a gaping crowd ; nothing but unvarnished 

 truth will be displayed in that world of light : and 

 the real scenes which will be displayed, will in 

 finitely transcend, in beauty, in grandeur, and in 

 interest, all that the most fertile imagination can 

 conceive. Were a single falsehood to be told in 

 heaven, were the tongue of an archangel to mis 

 represent a single fact in the divine economy, 01 

 were the least suspicion to exist that truth might 

 be violated in such communications, the mutual 

 confidence of celestial intelligences would in 

 stantly be shaken ; and, from that moment, their 

 intercourse and their happiness would be de 

 stroyed. Hence, we are repeatedly told, in the 

 book of Revelation, that, &quot; Whosoever loveth, or 

 maketh a lie, shall in no wise enter within the 

 gates of the new Jerusalem.&quot; And, therefore, 

 every one who expects to be an inhabitant of that 

 happy world, ought now to cultivate a strict re 

 gard to truth and veracity in all its researches, 

 intercourses, and communications ; otherwise he 

 cannot be admitted, from the very constitution 

 of things, to the society of saints and angels in 

 the realms of bliss. 



Thus it appears, that truth is of the utmost 

 importance to all rational beings, as it forms the 

 source of our knowledge, the foundation of all 

 social intercourse, the ground of our present 

 comfort and future prospects, the basis of all the 

 views we can take of the Divine character and 

 operations, and of all our prospects of future im 

 provement in the eternal world. It is the bond 

 of union among all the inhabitants of heaven ; it 

 is the chain which connects the whole moral 

 universe ; and it constitutes the immutable 

 basis on which rests the throne of the Eternal. 



In the depraved society of our world, truth is 

 violated in ten thousand different ways. It is 

 violated in thoughts, in words, in conversation, 

 in oral discourses, in writings, in printed books, 

 by gestures and by signs, by speaking, and hy 

 remaining silent. It is violated in reference to 

 the character of our neighbour, when we invent 

 tales of falsehood respecting him ; when we li 

 ten &quot;vith pleasure to such talcs when fold fay 



