INTRODUCTION. Ixxvii 



step are strikingly described. Arid it shall 

 come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith 

 the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they 

 shall hear the earth, and the earth shall hear 

 the corn and the wine and the oil ; and they 

 shall hear Jezreel. 1 Thus the blessing de- 

 scends from God by the heavens to the earth, 

 producing abundance for the support and 

 comfort of man. And with respect to curses 

 it is said, The heaven that is over thee shall 

 be brass* Ye are cursed with a curse, saith 

 Malachi, for ye have robbed me, even this 

 whole nation. The curse alluded, was the 

 shutting of the windows of heaven. 3 



From all these passages, it is evident that 

 the same things are predicated both of the 

 Heavens and the Cherubim, and that, there- 

 fore, they are synonymous terms, and signify 

 the same powers. But this leads to another 

 inquiry. What are the heavens ? This is 

 a query which at first every one thinks he 

 can answer, but yet when the term comes 

 to be sifted, it will be found that few have 

 any definite idea of its real meaning. Gene- 

 rally speaking, the expanse over our heads, 



i Hos. ii. 21, 22. 2 Ibid, xxvii. 23. 



3 Malach. iii. 9, 10. 



