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THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER. 



perceptible to finite minds ; for he is &quot; the King 

 eternal, immortal, and invisible, dwelling in that 

 light which no man can approach unto, whom no 

 man hath seen, or can see. 1 From his nature, as a 

 spiritual uncompounded substance, and from his 

 immensity, as filling infinite space with his pre 

 sence, it appears impossible, in the very nature of 

 things, that the glory of his perfections can be dis 

 played in any other way than through the medium 

 of the visible operations ofhis hands, or in the dis 

 pensations of his providence towards particular 

 worlds or classes of intelligences. And if, in the 

 future world, the souls of good men will enjoy a 

 more glorious display than at present, of the at 

 tributes of Deity, it will be owing chiefly to their 

 being placed in more favourable circumstances 

 than they now are, for contemplating this display ; 

 to their faculties being more invigorated : and 

 every physical and moral impediment to their 

 exercise being completely removed ; so as to 

 enable them to perceive more clearly than they 

 now do, the unbounded displays he has given of 

 his power, wisdom, and benevolence. And, if 

 we expect to be introduced to this state of en 

 larged vision, when we pass from the scenes of 

 mortality, it cannot be a matter of mere indiffer 

 ence, even now, whether or not our minds are 

 prepared for such exalted employments, by en 

 deavouring to form the most ample conceptions 

 of the attributes of God which can be obtained 

 through the medium of his word, and by a con 

 templation of the variety and magnificence ofhis 

 works. In the prospect of that world where we 

 hope to spend an interminable existence, it must 

 also be interesting to ascertain, whether or not 

 the dominions of the universal Sovereign pre 

 sent such an extent of empire, and such a variety 

 of objects, that new scenes of wonder and glory 

 may be expected to be displayed in continual 

 succession, for the contemplation and entertain 

 ment of holy beings, while eternal ages are roll 

 ing on. And, on this point, the discoveries of 

 science confirm and illustrate the notices of hea 

 venly glory and felicity recorded in the inspired 

 volume, and lead us to rest with full assurance 

 on the prophetic declaration, that &quot; eye hath not 

 seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the 

 heart of man to conceive, the things which God 

 hath prepared for them that love him.&quot; 



III. By connecting the discoveries of science 

 with religion, the minds of Christians would 

 be enabled to take a more minute and compre 

 hensive survey of the OPERATIONS OF PRO 

 VIDENCE. 



Providence is that superintendence and care 

 which God exercises over all creatures and 

 events, in order to accomplish the eternal pur 

 poses of his will. In creation, God brought the 

 universe out of nothing, and arranged all its 

 provinces and inhabitants in due order. By 

 his providence he supports and governs all the 



movements of the mat rial system, and the sen 

 sitive and rational beings with which it is peopled. 

 It is evident, that, in proportion as our views of 

 the Creator s dominions are extended, our views 

 ofhis providence will, to a certain extent, be pro- 

 portionablv enlarged. For wherever worlds and 

 beings exist, there will God be found, preserving, 

 superintending, and governing the movements of 

 all creatures and events. It is chiefly, however, 

 in the world in which we reside, that the diver 

 sified dispensations of Providence can be dis 

 tinctly traced. Now an acquaintance with the 

 prominent parts of the different branches of 

 knowledge to which I have already adverted, 

 would enable us to take a particular and com 

 prehensive view, not only of the ways of God 

 to man, but also of his arrangements in reference 

 to all subordinate creatures and events. 



From the inspired history of the Old Testa 

 ment, we can trace the prominent lines of the 

 dispensations of God towards man, particularly 

 in regard to the Israelites and the surrounding 

 nations from the creation to a period about 400 

 years before the coming of Christ. But in order 

 to perceive the farther progress and bearings of 

 these lines till the commencement of the New 

 Testament economy, we must have recourse to 

 the most authentic records of profane history. 

 From the era of the birth of Christ to near the 

 close of the first century, we can acquire, from 

 the evangelists and the history of the apostles, 

 a particular account of the life of Christ, of the 

 events which preceded and accompanied the 

 finishing of the work of redemption, and of the 

 progress of the gospel through Judeaand the ad 

 jacent countries. But after this period we have 

 no inspired guide to direct us in tracing the di 

 vine dispensations towards the various nations 

 of the earth ; and. therefore, we must have re 

 course to the annals, memoirs, chronicles, and 

 other records of the history of nations, down to 

 the period in which we live ; otherwise we could 

 never contemplate the continued series of events 

 in the divine economy towards the inhabitants of 

 our world. Unless men of learning and of ob 

 servation had recorded the prominent facts which 

 have occurred in the history of nations, for 1700 

 years past, we must have remained almost as ig 

 norant of the dispensations of God towards our 

 race, during that period, as the inhabitants of the 

 planet Saturn : and unless we study the events 

 thus recorded in the writings of the historian, 

 and contemplate their varied aspects and bearings 

 in the light of divine revelation, we must still 

 remain ignorant of the grand movements and 

 tendencies of divine providence. This single 

 circumstance shows, in the clearest light, that it 

 is the intention of God, that we should learn the 

 operations of his providence from the researches 

 of science and history, as well as from the records 

 of revelation ; and that the scriptures, though they 

 contain every supernatural discovery requisiic te 



