ASTRONOMY. 



93 



this world, and the insignificancy of those riches 

 and honours 10 which ambitious men aspire with 

 so much labour and anx&amp;gt;ety of mind to demon 

 strate the glory and magnificence of God s uni 

 versal kingdom to convince us of the infinite 

 sources of varied felicity which he has in his 

 power to communicate to holy intelligences to 

 enliven our hopes of the splendours of that &quot; ex 

 ceeding great and eternal weight of glory&quot; which 

 will burst upon the spirits of good men, when 

 they pass from this region of mortality and to 

 induce us ta aspire with more lively ardour after 

 that heavenly world, where the glories of the 

 Deity and the magnificence of his works will be 

 more clearly unfolded. 



If, then, such be the effects which the objects 

 of astronomy have a tendency to produce on a de 

 vout and enlightened mind to call in question 

 the propriety of exhibiting such views in religious 

 publications, or in the course of religious instruc 

 tion, would be an approach to impiety, and an 

 attempt to cover with a veil the most illustrious 

 visible displays of divine glory. It forms a 

 striking evidence of the depravity of man, as well 

 as of his want of true taste, and of a discernment 

 of what is excellent, that the grandeur of the noc 

 turnal heavens, and the perfections of Deity they 

 proclaim, are beheld with so much apathy and 

 indifference by the bulk of mankind. Though 

 &quot; the heavens declare the glory of God,&quot; in the 

 most solemn and impressive language, adapted 

 to the comprehension of every kindred and every 

 tribe, yet &quot; a brutish man knoweth not, neither 

 doth a fool understand this.&quot; They can gaze 

 upon these resplendent orbs with as little emo 

 tion as the ox that feeds on the grass, or as the 

 horse that drags their carcasses along in their 

 chariots. They have even attempted to ridicule 

 the science of the heavens, to caricature those 

 who have devoted themselves to such studies, and 

 to treat with an indifference, mingled with con 

 tempt, the most august productions of Omnipo 

 tence. Such persons must be considered as ex 

 posing themselves to that divine denunciation 

 &quot; Because they regard not the works of Jehovah, 

 neither consider the operations of his hands, he 

 will destroy them and not build them up.&quot; If 

 the structure of the heavens, and the immensity 

 of worlds and beings they contain, were intended 

 by the Creator to adumbrate, in some measure, 

 his invisible perfections, and to produce a sub 

 lime and awful impression on all created intelli 

 gences, (see pp. 22, 26, 28,) it must imply a high 

 degree of disrespect to the Divinity wilfully to 

 overlook these astonishing scenes of Power and 

 Intelligence. It is not a matter of mere taste or 

 caprice, whether or not we direct our thoughts 

 to such subjects, but an imperative duty to 

 which we are frequently directed in the word of 

 God; the wilful neglect of which, where there 

 is an opportunity of attending to it, must subject 

 us to all that is included in the threatening 



now specified, if there be any meaning in lan 

 guage. 



That the great body of professed Christians 

 are absolute strangers to the sublime sentiments 

 which a serious contemplation of the heavens in 

 spires, must be owing, in part, to the minds of 

 Christian parents and teachers not having been 

 directed to such subject, or to the views they en 

 tertain respecting the relation of such contempla 

 tions to the objects of religion. In communi 

 cating religious instructions in reference to the 

 attributes of God, the heavens are seldom referred 

 to, except in such a vague and indefinite manner 

 as can produce no deep nor vivid impression on 

 the mind ; and many pious persons, whose views 

 have been confined to a narrow range of objects, 

 have been disposed to declaim against such stu 

 dies, as if they had a tendency to engender pride 

 and self-conceit, and as if they were even dan 

 gerous to the interests of religion and piety. 

 How very different were the feelings and the 

 conduct of the sacred writers ! They call upon 

 every one of God s intelligent offspring to &quot; stand 

 still, and consider the wondrous works of the 

 Most High ;&quot; and describe the profound emo 

 tions of piety which the contemplation of them 

 produced on their own minds; &quot; Lift up youf 

 eyes on high and behold ! Who hath created 

 these things ! The heavens declare the glory of 

 God, and the firmament showeth his handy-work. 

 When I consider thy heavens, the work of 

 thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou 

 hast ordained what is man that thou art mind 

 ful of him, and the son of man that thou visitest 

 him ! Thou, even thou, art Lord alone ; thou 

 hast made heaven, and the heaven of heavens, 

 with all their host ; and thou preservest them all; 

 and the hosts of heaven worship thee. All the 

 gods of the nations are idols ; but the Lord made 

 the heavens : Honour and Majesty are before him. 

 Jehovah hath prepared his throne in the heavens: 

 and his kingdom ruleth over all. Sing praises 

 unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth, to him that 

 rideth on the heaven of heavens. Ascribe ye 

 power to our God ; for his strength is in the 

 heavens. Praise him for his mighty acts, praise 

 him according to his excellent greatness.&quot; If we 

 would enter, with spirit, into such elevated strains 

 of piety, we must not content ourselves with 

 a passing and vacant stare at the orbs of heaven, 

 as if they were only so many brilliant studs fixed 

 in the canopy of the sky; but must &quot; consider&quot; 

 them, with fixed attention, in all the lights in 

 which revelation and science have exhibited 

 them to our view, if we wish to praise God for 

 his mighty works, and &quot; according to his excel 

 lent greatness.&quot; And, for this purpose, the con 

 clusions deduced by those who have devoted 

 themselves to celestial investigations, ought tc 

 be presented to the view of the intelligent Chris 

 tian, that he may be enabled to &quot; speak of the glory 

 of Jehovah s kingdom, and to talk of his power.&quot; 



