needful to prefere tbe material Syfem. _ 229 
That the material heavens are hereyintended, there can be no 
room. to doubt, as. they. are mentioned in connection. with the 
earth—with their hofts—with. the earth and. feas, and the things 
contained. in them—with the fun, moon and ftars—and with. 
the waters above the heavens. They are evidently confidered 
here as forming, in conjun&ion with. thofe other bodies, one 
vaft fyftem ; whofe. feveral conftituent parts are, in the laft 
claufe of the quoted text, ranged in the order, in which it is 
natural to. fpeak of them ; and in which, reckoning from the 
centre of our folar fyftem, they do in reality exiít. 
Here is a plain defcrimination between the heaven. ; thehea- 
ven of heavens ; and the heavensof heavens : which muft im- 
ply fome effential difference between them. -To fuppofe the 
contrary is to confound language, and involve it.in uncertainty. 
It would be to fuppofe thofe expreffions void of. meaning ; and 
would be treating fcripture with the indecency, to. which no 
other book, appearing to be dictated merely. by common fenfe, 
would be entitled. — 'Thofe expreflions, then, neceflarily imply 
fome effential difference in the objects of them : and what that 
difference is, the quotation from ais points, out. The gne 
dation, refpe&ing the heavens, is remarkable ;. an i piensa 
curring to any thing elfe, faggefts the ag of ftories in them, 
orb beyond orb, as above explained. The feries too, in which 
they are mentioned—the fun, moon, ftars, heavens, and wa- 
ters above the heavens—and the place thev hold in the feries, 
fuggeft the fame idea : which is ftrengthened and confirmed 
by the exprefs dec claration, that in fa&t there were fuch ftories 
built by the Almighty : or, as it is otherwife exprefied, that 
* he made them with all their hofts.” = 
