IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V. / // A O :<° wj'.. ' //a w^^i '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 iV d^ V ,\ :\ \ ;ular €oursii of his ministry, in his own pulpit, befor every large and deeply interested audiences. They were printed as reported at the time of delivery, ajid excited much inter- est and discussion. Many have been unable toobtain copies who desired them. This fact, and the frequently expressed desire fjr a pamphlet edition of the discourses, induce the Publisher to endeavour to gratify his friends. The author avails himself of the opportunity to state the real facts of the case, in regard to the claim set upon behalf of Dr. Dick by certain jealous-minded people, and he places the matter in its true light, putting it bvyond controversy that, so far as yet appcirs, Dr. Dick did not publish, nor, perhaps, ever heard of the theory of Heaven here pre- sented. The Publisher hopes these discourses will be in- strumental in leacfingmany people to prepare for dwelling forever in that Heaven, of which the.se Ijectures so clearly speak. iiE:^VE:]Nr. Tkxt. — '* -I hdlcr fiHiiilrij, lluct is a Ifuici nhj." — Iliib. xi : lO. LECTURE!. Tlio word liejiv-en, he said, is of simple Saxon orif^iii, from tlio verb " lieave,'' Saxon lieaten, and heiice prima- ril}' means anytliinic raised, elevated, or arched. It was, therefore, used to denote the rej:jion, or expanse wliinh surrounds the eartli, wliicli appears to us like an immense vault, or concave liemisphere, in wliich are placed the sun, moon and stars, and otiier l)odie8. In an indeiinite sense, it is used to denote the air, or region of the atmos- phere — thus, the fowls ot heaven, clouds of heaven, &c. The Jews spake of three heaveiis, the air, or ferial hea- vens, the firmament, in which the stars were supjtosed to be placed, and the heaven of heavens, the third heaven, or dwelling place of Jehovah. In the New Testament we frequently find the terms Kingdom of Heaven and Kinffdom of God, used synonymouslv, and donotini; dif- ferent things, as the visible Church, as in the Parables, the kingdom of heaven is like, laco. And wliy shouhl it not ho ? Are worhls so sf^aree, that it siionhl bo nouossjin', for not only tiic soul^ oi'tiie just made pcM*- foct, hnt thi'ir hcxhes also, to dueil in vacuo, or th)at in etiier? No. the worMs CJod has created are countless in number, and many of tliem ureat i)evond concenlion. They wore not made in vain, nor merely to lijL?ht U|) this little s[)e(.'k of earth, which we in our littleness think so great. They were made for his ijlory, and to l)e used for promoting it, made to he inhahited hy intelligent heinii's, as doul)tless most of tiiem now are. Kverv sj»ot and atom of this earth teems with life, and life in all its multi- tudinous and varied forms speaks the (creator's wisdom, power and goodness. And so it is, or will be, in all the- other worlds Jle has made. Uut we are told by objectors to the idea of a real, sub- stantial, material heaven that it is not necessary it should be material, for those bodies of Enoch, Elijali, the resurrection bodies, and Christ himself, as well as those who shall bo alive on the earth, at the last great day, have been, or shall be so changed that thev will lose all mate- riality, and l)ecome pure spiritual bodies or existences. To this he replied that the bodv of Christ, after his resur- rection, was a spiritual body, pure, and immortal, but it was a material body, possessing flesh, and bones, and blood, as material as it was before his crucitixion. So with the bodies of all the redeemed, they are like /iw, and shall be where he is ; some of them are there now, and all will finally be so. Still it is objected, " no, that cannot be so, for the Apostle Paul tolls us that ' Hesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.' " It is true Paul tells us so, and he fully believed all Paul tells us, but then it was necessary, rightly to understand the meaning of his lan- guage, in order to deduce correct prihciples from it. What then does Paul mean bj'this language? In the 15th chapter of the 1st. Epistle to the Corinthians, in which he makes the statement, he is arguing to orovc the resurrec- tion of the dead, and he demonstrates that the identical bodies \vhicli sleep in the dust shall arise in the posses- sion of immortal life, purified from all remainders of corruption which had still clung to them while in the pos- session of their mortal life, and that the others that shall 11 K A VKX. itiiiii iiia- Aiid why it should Hide por- r lh):it in IMtlc'SS ill nc'e|>li()ii. it iij) this think so used for t bt'iiiii's, iiid iitom ts iiudti- wisdonj, n all tlie- val, siib- JssMi'y it ijah, tlio us tliose iiy, liave dl mute- istcnces. is rosiir- I, but it es, and So with nd shall all will t be 80, cannot :olls us it was lis lan- oni it. le 15th lich he surrec- entical osses- ers of e DOS- L shall t( tlicn bo alive ujioii ihc tin th shrill be clmiicjc d, fo fis to brinfi tlu-ni into a s!iite identidd \n itli th(>t»e 'vlio have hlejit in .lesus, and been mised up to iininoifitlify. 'i lioy Hhall bo niiide jtoiTectly holy, anaks is sn(di as will render the bodies of the redeemed not bodies iit all, but pure spirits, possci-sinir no materiidiry in their constitu- tion. If that were so, the iesiirrecti(^n would be a work of sii|)ei'iM'Oii'iiti()n, for the souls of the redeemed ari' just sucli pure spirits, the nu)ment they pjis-s from the body into the presence of God. But the Apostle's ariiiiiuent is manifestly desip:nod to prov(>, that our bodies will be raised up hodics still, and that in them the soul will enjoy ecstatic delights, as before in the mortal life it sutlered in, and with them the ills that sinful flesh is heir to. The bodies of the redeemed will honcetorth bo immortal, not essentially so, but by t/ie will of God, and he has declared his will that so it shall be — and from the same cause it is that angels aie immortal — no created being is essetitially or in its own nature immortal, if it is immortal, it is so by the will of God. And yet, notwithstanding the triumphant and unan- swerable argument of the Apostle that the bodies of men shall be raised up at the last day. and those of the re- deemed be made perfectly pure, and free from all corrupt and sinful tendencies, there are those, strange as it may seem, who affirm that those raised up bodies will 7iot be bodies, but spirits, for that is what they understand by spiritual bodies, existences without any materiality what- ever; but that is just what the spirits of the just made perfect already are ; their idea is simply absurd, nonsen- sical, and unfounded — it is unphilosophical and unscrip- tural, there is nothing of the kind even hinted at in nature or revelation. The ablest thinkers and Theologians of the past and present hold the same idea as the preacher on this point. Dr. Charles llodge, for instance, uses the very words that he had used in explaining what the Apos- I HE A VEN. tie means by flenh and blood, &c., — " tliat is man as at present constituted.'' In reirard to the spiritual or re^^u^rection bodies which some atKrni to ho all spirit, and no body at all, he stated that in the same though somewhat lower sense, srood men are, even now, called spiritual, as Gal. vi. 1, "Ye which are spirituni restore such a one," &c. 1 Cor. xiv. 37, "If any man think himself to be a propliet, or spiri/ual,*' &c. 1 l*eter ii. 5, "are built up a spiritual house," &c., so in many other instances spiritual, simply indicates the char- acter of the individual person, or thinij^s spoken of. As to the mode of existence of the soul durinj; the period of separation from the body, there are various opinions. In a series of articles on Heaven, ]niblished some years ago in the New York Observer by Dr. Clark of Albany, with which in the main he (Dr. Maclise) fully agreed, there is an idea presented thatappears to him equal- ly unfounded, and absurd, as that which he had just been controverting. In one ot those articles Dr. Clark, — for he wrote over his own signature, as everv man does, — gives his ideas of the soul's first experiences on entering the spirit world. Among other things he says- *' The soul will immediately find itself clothed with a celestial body," and then goes on to describe this body in the very lan- guage the Apostle eniploys to describe the resurrection body. The idea he conveys is, therefore, that this celes- tial body is equivalent to, or identical with, the resurrec- tion body. To this idea he took very decided exception, for two reasons, — one, that it was whollv unwarranted in Scripture; no utterance, in the whole volume of inspira- tion, gave the slightest warrant for such an assumption. The mere ipse dixit of any man in such a case was utterly worthless, even if it did not involve any absurdity. But this does involve an absurdity, which was the second rea- son why he took exception to it. If the soul, on separa- tion from the body and entering the spirit world, is clothed with a celestial body, equivalent to the resurrec- tion body, then the latter will be unnecessary, it will be a supernumerary, an incubus. In such a celestial body the soul's wants would be all supplied ; it would have just such a body as it needs for the enjoyment of the highest felicity of heaven. Why then raise up the sleeping body ? Or what will be done with it when raised, or else what HE A VEN. man as at will be (lone with tlio celestial hoUy ? Only two thiiiifs jiro possible, both of which are uiireasousiblo, and absurd. One is, that the celestial body will then be laid aside, as no longer needed, and therefore useless, and consequently that it be annihilated ; the othe>' hat both the celestial iind resurrected body be united, a: i the soul occupy ooth, thus producing the monstrosity of a being made up of two bodies, and one soul. To state the case ought to i)e a Hutticient answer to such an imaginiition. How, or in what form the soul shall exist during its separation from the body we do not know, because we have no informa- tion on the subject, but we do know that the redeemed soul will be with Christ, and perfectly happy. It should thus, he thought, be evident, as anytliiug can be from the declaration of Scripture, that heaven is a country, a world, &c., and from the nature of the case, that material bodies are in it, and that the whole innu- merable multitudes ot the redeemed of all classes a?id climes will eventually be there, in their own proper, puriHed, but still material bodies, that it is i\ place, and no pre/ence, a reality and no figure of speech, a glorious reality and no myth — in a word, " A land of i>ure delights, where saints immortal reign." To the unprejuiliced mind it ought to be proved, but he doubted not that some peojjle, rather than accept an idea contrary to their own, would actually deny that Elijah and Enoch were trans- lated without tasting death, and insinuate in the public prints under the sate though not manly covert of a nomme de. p/time, that they died after all, that the witness- es to their departures were deceived, and that the Scrip- ture accounts are only myths, or shams. Such people, however, deserve no recognition. Ever}'^ honest man, wdio has opinions worth knowing, is manly enough to acknowledge them as his. The speaker was neither afraid, nor ashamed to acknowledge and promulgate his ideas as his own, and should take no notice of anonymous would-be critics. II. The Locality of Heaven. When our Lord said, " My kingdom is not of this world," he merely meant to correct a false and fondly cherished opinion of the Jewish nation that when he, the Messiah, would come, he would estab- lish a mighty earthly empire, himself as King supreme, and they themselves as his prime ministers, &c. ; he w II U A V£N i M! would (lisul)iirto their minds of such an error, and teaclr tlieni tliat liis rule and yv\<^n would bo ot" a moral and Rt»iritual .cliaraetor, rcgulatini:: the hearts and lives of men, and not in the establishment of an earthly mon- archy ; but he had no reference to anythinii; else, in this world, ibr in another sense he is King and Lf^rd of all. King of //f///o/v.v, as well as King of saints. Still less had he any desiuii of denvin"' that he is Lohl of heaven, as well as earth, and that heaven is in a peculiar, yea, in the highest, best, and noblest sense, his hiufjilom, where he indeed "reigns Lord of all." Where the locality of heaven is, what one of the worlds of the universe God has fitted up as his own peculiar dwelling place, we cannot with certainty tell, but that it is one of them we have abundant evidence, most devout- ly to believe. Nor is it a matter of supremo importance, or essential to our soul's salvation, for us now to know ; a far more important matter tor us is, to be prepared for entering on its joys, when called away from earth. Christ the Lord said, "■ 1 go to prepare a place for you ;" it is all important that Ave should be ])repared for that place. Still it is reasonable to think and speculate about it, and avail ourselves of whatever evidence may exist, even though it is not sufficient to amount to posi- tive proof, or actual demonstration. It will be a satisfac- tion to have arrived at even a probable conclusion. They had all doubtless thought, and reasoned and speculated much on this point, as it is natural and proper they should. lie, too, had often thought about it, and with- out attempting to dogmatize, or be wise above what is written, either in the book of revelation, creation, or pro- vidence, he might be permitted, without presumption, to state the results of his thoughts, the conclusions to which he had come, as to the world which is in heaven. Before doing so, he would say that it was his own conclusion, au opinion for which he was not indebted to any man^ and for which no one else was responsible, though he had heard that after it was published, a pastor, then of Philadelphia, now of New York, said he had given utter- ance a short time before to a similar sentiment in a sermon in his own pulpit, (Rev. N. W. Conkling, D. D., pastor of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church), and another writer in the Observer j Mr. Jermain, of Lockport, N. Y.,. JlEA V Ky 11 while controverting the viou' jihont to he .stated, aoknow- ledged that it was Ji lUvorito idea with many at that time. .. He pioceeded to ^-ax that it had long appeared to him that the fitness ot things reqnired that there shouhl l)e in the centre ot the created universe a great and o-Kji-ious world, so nuich greater than any other, that it would con- trol their motions, and cause them ail to circle round it hy the force of its gravitating power. That aroivnd it, therefore, all the solar systems of the universe do revolve, and that great central orh he had thought was heaven; in fact, even from hoyhood, he had little if any douht about it. Isor was this opinion either unreason- able or unphilosophical. It i>* surely not unreasonahle to suppose that the dwelling place of the Creator and Gov- ernor of the Universe should he centrally located ; it was more reasonahle, he thought, than to sup])Ose it situated somewhere to one side, in an out. of the way corner. It was in harmony with the eternal iitness of things, that from the central place of power should go forth the laws, ph3'sical, moral, and spiritual, which regulate all t'.ie worlds of the universe, that ^Acrc should he located the mighty power which makes, and puts, and kee})S in mo- tion, and in order, all the wondrous, complicated, and yet simple machiuerv. ot the all but boundless universe of God. " . . , Kor is it unpliilosophical. Such an idea is found to be in perfect accordance with the actual state of things ot the universe, at least as far as the motions of the heaven- ly bodies are concerned. It has recently been demon- strated beyond the possibility of douht by those qualified to form an opinion on the subject, that (ill the heavenly bodies, our sun with its accompanying planets among the rest, are constantly revolving round one common centre. This fact had been only recently established, but when it was confirmed, he felt that it was a strong confirmation' of the idea he had tor years entertained, and based only on what appeared to him necessary from the fitness of things. It would not be proper, nor practicable there,. and then, to enter into any astronomical proof of the fact just stated ; let it suffice to say that it is a fact, as well de- monstrated and established as any other astronomical fact ; as the motions of the moon, or of our earth, or that I I 12 HE A VEN. I I .1 It I eclipses can be calcutated centuries before they occur. If any one doubts it, he has only to take the means ne- cessary to inform himself, and he will be fully convinced. The orb around which all others do revolve is named Alcyone, the brightest and by far the most beautiful star in the Pleiades, the cluster of what appears to us seven but really fourteen stars, in the neck of the constellation. Taurus and not Hercules, as stated by Macmillau, in his book entitled God in Nature. Some astronomers indeed, have an idea that of the universe that has been revealed to us, even by the most powerful telescopes, forms only a fragment of the whole, and that away far bej'ond the reach of mortal vision, the created universe stretches out all but inimitably, and that around another, and vastly greater orb still than even Alcyone, which is fifteen thou- sand six hundred million times larger than our globe — circle all the worlds of the universe. Now, whether Alcyone is the central orb of the universe — and he had seen no good reason to doubt it — or not, it matters little ; if it is the centre then it is surely Heaven ; but if, as some eonjecture, Alcyone itself, with all its mighty company, circles in subserviency to another, and a mightier power, then the place of that power is doubtless Ileaven, and round it the innumerable armies of Heaven, as they pass, render their silent homage to Him who sits upon the universe's throne. King Jesus, Lord of all. He must say, however, that he had little faith in this conjecture, and was strongly inclined to believe Alcyone to be the centre of the whole, and therefore the dwelling place of God, and our future home. This was his decided belief, and others might accept or reject it at their pleasure ; but ia case of rejection, he would be glad to learn some better reason, than any yet presented by objectors, why it is, or should not be located thus. In opposition to this idea, the writer to which he had iilready referred, makes a great flourish about infinite space, and in a triumphant tone asks, where its bounds, and hence where its centre ? But this objection was all a thin^ of his own imagination, for he spake not then, nor did he now, about infinite space, but of the created universe, and surely no sane man would say, or affirm, that it is infinite. It is true the worlds of the universe Are very numerous ; probably the number far exceeds our \ HE A VE^\ 13 hey occur. means ne- convinced. 5 is named dutiful star us seven istellation. lai), in his ers indeed, n revealed brms only eyond the 'etches out ind vastly 'teen thou- IV globe — ', whether nd he had lers little ; if, as some iCompany, er power, iven, and they pass, upon the iiust say, ure, and lie centre of God, lief, and ; but in e better it is, or he had infinite |bounds, was all )t then, t'eated affirm, iniverse leds our most extensive imaginings, but if every one of them were mnltiplicd by a number equal to the whole, they would not be infinite, nor if they were to go on increas- ing to all eternity, would they be infinite; no number of Unites is infinite, and further, however loosely men talk, and some talk very much so, about one thing being in- finitely better, or greater than another, he affirmed that no created thing is infinite, no number is infinite, tliere is nothing infinite, but God, eternity, and space. He would not now enter on any enquiry as to the mode of existence, or employments of the inhabitants of heaven. These would be presented in a subsequent lecture. In the meantime he exhorted, and entrqated all to remember that unless they Avere prepared here on earth, by becom- ing holy, through repentance of sin, and faith in Jesus, the sin atoner, for entering heaven, they could not enter there, nor be happy there, even if it were po.ssible for them to be there. In order to be hapi>y men must be holy, and this is the onlv time and place to become hoi v, for there is no opportunity for repentance, or faith, or sanc- tification after our souls are summoned to the spirit world. Our Lord has gone before to prepare n place for all his believing ones, and they are all prepared here for that prepared place, to whose mansions of unruffied peace he will exalt them as soon as they are prepared for its holy joys. •* Life is the season (iod h:Ul» jjivcn. To flee from hell, and rise to heaven ; That day of {jraee fleets fast away. And none its rapid tourse can sta\ ."' HE A VES LECTURE 11. This world is ;i brii^ht iuhI boaiuitul world, iiotwith- staiidinur all the wrctcliedness and ruin sin had wrouhic'e to whit-li we hope to go from earth i.s lieav- ^n. The iiiliabitants ot lieaven arc to ch»im our attention this evening. Two things in regard to tliotn sliould he i-onsidorcd, one the moth) of their existence, the other tlieir cini>U)ynients, tlie former of wliieli sliould at prcs- K3nt claim attention. As to the MODE OF EXISTEXCK IN IIKAVEN, there has been much speculation, and a great variety of opiniojis pre- sented — numy of tiiem grotesque, fancifid, and nnniifestly false, lie would liere again say that the Scriptures do not give us much direct inlormution on the snhject. Wo have, however, in tliose unerring recor.ls some indirect and incidental infornnition afforded iis, which, if rightly employed, may enable us to form some ideas suHiciently reliable and accurate for our wants and necessiries, in our present condition, as inhabitants of a world which is merely preparatory to a higher and a better world — that is a heaveidy. It has often been inquired whether in the heaveid^' world the redeemed will perform the various functions of life, such as e.ating, drinking, sleeping, talking, walking, &c., and wdiether angels act thus. He would not dogmatize, nor '' phmge into any too lofty or forbidden ground " ; there is no theme too lofty tor the contemplation of thethiid<:ing Christian, not even the ex- istence and the character of th3 Eternal God himself, and no ground forbidden to his examination and exploration, not even the heaven of heavens, and the eternal throne of that Eternal God, who is our Father, and our Friend, yea our Saviour, and our Brother. Not only are they not forbidden themes of thought, but they are most legiti- mate and proper subjects of investigation, and are calcu- lated most eminently to lead the devout mind to higher and nobler thoughts of God, as demonstrated and dis- played and seen in liis character and works ; and conse- quently to produce proper and therefore humbling thoughts of man, even in his best earthly condition. So thought the shepherd King and sweet singer of Israel, thus: "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordain- ed ; what is man that thou art mindful of him ? and the son of man, that thou visitest him ? For thou hast made him a little lower than the augcls, aud hast crowned him 16 HE A VEN. with glorv Jind honor. Thf>u inadest liim to have donii- nioii over tlie works of tliy Imn'ls.*" Tlni!*. consideration of the worksof God, the liesivons inchided, led tlie Psahn- ist into amazement that a Bein^ so ijreat and <;lorions as God shonhl condescend to deal as He ; the re- >y knew n earth, [.azaruei, lat, but hat may on earth i/ed La- ) stated ; a, whom fore, not ^ed ones we shall iless we itants of aham at )f being, owledge luty is a heaven ed could nor the nd pray- that he istied •/' and des- shall it ney too heaven deemed imental- e travail Yes, of those sfaction, id cora- t of un- will im- : life, is e conse- d Chris- tian shall never in this life sec the entire fruits of his life labor. But as the cycles of eternity roll (»n the^' shall be seen, for ** blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, from henceforth, saith the spirit, for they rest from their labors, and their works do follow them ;'' that is, the pro- ducts of their spiritiuil toil, ill the form of souls awakened^ converted, editied, and saved through their instrumental- ity, do follow, and will continue to follow them to their celestial dwellings long after they have themselves rested frooi their labors. And in the fresh arrivals which shall be continually occurring in the constantly increasing ac- ceasi 'ns to the hoavonly circle, and in the mutual congra- tulations which will consequently arise from mutual re- cognitions and renewjd fellowships between the former recipients and dispensers of saving grace, the remainder of the intelligent creation will behold successive and most enrapturing illustrations of the truthfulness of Gospel promises and of the reward of Christian faithfulness, and of the blessedness ot the communion of saints. The death of our Christian friends would to us at least be their everlasting loss, and when the grave closes over them wo would have done with them forever, were this mutual re- cognition in the bettercountry not true. If there is to b© no future recognition in heaven, though we should enter it, it would be to us a land of ^/raw^ers, in which we could take but little interest, and towards whom we could cherish none of the sweet attachments or sympathies of home. If this doctrine of future recognition is untrue, the death of the Christian, so far as we are concerned, is his annihilation, for if he is forever to continue unknown to us, for us he might as well cease to be, and we could no more console our own, or others' sorrow stricken, bereaved hearts with the delightful thought of our departed Chris- tian friends, that ''They are not lost, but gone beli)re " " to the land of the leal." But our common humanity re- volts at such a horrible idea, and rejecting it as an intol- erable outrage upon our tenderest sympathies, consigns it to the regions of unfeeling scepticism, or buries it forover in the grave of atheism. It is too deeply implanted in our holiest aspirations, and too clearly revealed in the word of God, to be merely a solemn mockery. Much more might be said on this point, and many similar consi- derations presented to provz mutual recognition in hoav- TWBi SO ILEA VE\ I! I eu, but lot tlii.s 8iif)i ;i;, l'.)!' if ;iiiy ii •(> still s MijitiiMl on tlio 8ul)joL*t ail our cll'urts woiiM t) |inlly lUil to (•oiiviuco tluMii ofits tnitl). As to t!io (juestioiis wljotliur tlic rudeeiniMl in tboir rc'surruction bodius, iiii pitch bhick night, and. as it wore, sots tho heavens on fire, with a briiiiaiiuy ten fold greater than does the sun? Of some such, or still liner material may iictt the bodies of an- gels and arehangtds, cherubim and seraphim, bo formed ; but that they have bodies, organized, real, and material, though pure in its nature, beyond our pONver of imagina- tion, there seems to be no room for reasonable doubt. After his resurrection, Jesus often appoarrd to hiii disci- ples, and vanished again from their sight, yet they never doubted that they saw the same body which had beou crucified, though they must have ])orceived that it had undergone an important change. The fact that angels al- ways appeared in human form may not indeed prove that they have this form in heaven, but it would be tiard to prove tlie conlraiy, and as that which is not pure spirit must have sonu! lorm or other, what is more likely than that they a|)pear(d without any deception in their own proper forms ? It is certainly more respectful to angels, those holy beinjrs employed to fulfill tho commands of Je- hovah, and to Ilim who sent them, to suppose that as their missions, and their mess iges were true, and real, that so also were their forms, than to imagine they assumed a mere deceptive appearance, to impose a false impression on poor mortals already sufliciently self-deceived. So wo find angels in their earthly manifestations eating and drinking. Thus Gen. xvlii. 8, when three angels apj)oar- ed to Abraham and he requested them to partake of his hospitality, to wash their feet, and rest themselves under a tree, and says further, "I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye, your hearts, &c ,and they said, " so do as thou hast said." " And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah his wife, and saiy- nients and enjoyments of a future state. For, in order to enjoy iiaj)piness in any state, or in any region of the uni- verse, tliu mind must be imbued with a relish for the so- <'icty, the oontemphitions, and employments peculiar to tiiat state, and lool an ardent desire to particijiato in its enjoyments. What happiness could the miser, the sen- sualist, or any unconverted, unsanctified sinner, possibly enjoy in a place, where he could have notl)ing to gratify his appetites ? It is not the place, so much as the char- acter, the nature, that produces happiness. Let us seek then to ho holy, that we may be happy, here and especi- ally hereafter. The unholy cannot be happy, and there- fore, to become inhabitants of heaven, that blessed coun- try of which wc have been thinking, and speaking, we must wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb. The impenitent and impure cannot enter there, and even if they could, they would not, could not be happy there. All heaven's inhabitants are holv, and therefore thev are happy. There nothing shall mar their tranquil joy, there the inhabitant shall no more say, I am sick, and there the weary are at rest. There the exercises, whether of the body or the mind, shall not fatigue, and there the servant shall not any more grow wearyin the service of his Lord. Let us then seek with earnestness and diligence to im- prove our faculties, that we may see in the works of ere- ation, providence, and grace, the goodness, wisdom, pow- er and mercv of our God ; and ab'n'oall let us seek to be cleansed in the atoning blood of Jesus, that we may be meet for entering into his presence in liis kingdom of glory, and sit down at his table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with all the holy patriarchs, prophets, apostles, evangelists, confessors, and nnirtyrs ; with all the saved out of every kindred, clime, and time, and with them en- joy the blessedness which eye iiath not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man to conceive, but which God has prepared for them that love him. So shall we dwell evermore in the light of his love, and through the endless roll of ages serve him with a purer service, and as we learn more and more of his infinite goodness and divine love, love him with a more des'oted atfection, and sing his praises with a more rapturous joy. ine cliaracter d from falia- t'the cmploy- )r, in order to )ii of the uni- ish i'or the so- s peon liar to ticii)atc in its iiser, the sen- mer, possibly mg to gratify h as the char- Let us seek •e and esoeci- 4. py, and there- blessed conn- speaking, we Lamb. The and even if liappy there, jfore thev are piil joy, there and there the icther of the e tlie servant of his Lord. ligence to im- works of ere- [visdom, pow- us seek to be we may be kingdom of ra, Isaac and ts, apostles, all the saved ith them ea- ;en, nor ear onceive, but lim. So shall md through hrer service, Ite goodness }d alfection, APPEHDIX-EltFLmilllORy AND DEFLNSiyE, Tho subj(!et.s ln'it;tly (li^cii-<<(Hl in tho two pnu'edinj? tlisooursps nra intcrestinjj^ to most (Jhristi.in pcoplo. Tho \vrit«u', from boyhood, has entort:iin<}n ihe >.niijcct from Dr. Dick, or any other doctor, and when sucli ntleranecs h.id been kept up for mouths through the Tress, the wrili'r reijue--te(l tin; i>roof of them. A number of supposed j)roofs were immediately furnished, which, at llrstsij^ht, led the writer to believ(; that he had beiin mistak- 4'n in supposin;j: J)r. Dick did not ever possess his theory on the sub- ject, ami he was ^villinJr to conee0"i eertaiii l.-ipse of ages In thut purtieulur world to which thoy shall he introduced, immediately after the re- surrection, they may be transferred to another region of the universe, to contemplate ai new series of creating piiwer. ami int4?l!igence, and afterwiirds pass at distant intervals through a !«uceessive series nf transportations, in order to obtain mon? ajiiple prosjjects of the riches and glory of God's universal king«lom." These are the ideas of Dr. Dick on the subject of the Heaven of the Redeemed. But he believes that there is nnofhcr pl:u-e, which ho calls "The Heaven of Heavens,"' or "The Throne of (IihI," removed far away beyond the reach of mortal vision, of wliich he thus s])eaks : "Sidereal Heavens," page Mi). (tcuMlman's Kdition:— ".Soaring beyond all these objects, we liehold as it were a new univt;rs»; in tiie immense magnitude of the pliinetary and other nebulje. wlu-re separate star.^ have never been perceived, &c. liut far Ijeyond all sncli objects as those wo have been contemplating, a boundless region exists, of which no huuiim ey<} ha« yet caught a glimpse, and which no fuiite intelligence hasei-er explon^l, A:/ IJut we may rest assured that it is not an empty void; but displays the attribute? of Deity in a man- ner no loss admir.tl)!** and <;lorious, and. perhaps, more so than all the scenes of creation withiti tin; raiigti of oiu- vision. Here undoubt- edly is that s])len(lid ntgion so frecpjo.itly alluded to in the Scriptures designated by tlu; empliatie name, Tlie ileaven of Heavens, evidently importing that it is tho most glorious and magnificenl department of Creation." Now it might, at first sight of this, be supposed that Dr. Dick had gotten a new and very difterent idea about Heaven from what he ex- presses in the 'Thilosophy of a Future State," as quoted above, but that supposition nut-t at once be given up, when we find, as we do, that in tiiatsame volume, " Philosophy of a Future State," page 10.", he expresses precisely tho same ideas as those now quoted from "The Sidereal Heavens." In tho article, " Throne of God,'* he uses lan- guage exactly similar in idea about this immensely distant region, showing most conclusively that in his mind the Heaven where God •and tho angel*, «S:c., arc, is a place entirely different and Immensely distant from the Heaven of the Iledeemed. How different fn»m— in- deed opposed to — the ideas of tho writer, every candid and intelligent reader of these lectures must see at a glance. But these are the proofs presented by masked would-be learned critics to prove tliat the writer borrowed his ideas from Dr. Dick, ami claim d them as his own. There was no time for Dick to have gotten new ilttas and different from those five vague conjectures, for only 24 page.s further on he talks in the magnificent style referred to aboat that other far- off place, " the Throne of God," and in that veryextraet,'junied by a miisked individual, who signs himself " X," with a terrible flourish of self-consideration, it is evident to any reader of ordinary intelli- gence that Dr Dick believes in two distinct pl.ices a^j tin- •• Heaven of the Redeeme I" and " The Throne of God," but -X" d -ea not seem to have sense enough tosee and know it. "Philoaopliy of a Fu- ture State," page lOo: "Here then may be a vast universe of itself— APPENDIX, air L" perniittcfl to fiuther, :iitit btt ; or tliat pHi'tieuhtr y after the re- jf th«! universie, itftlli^runci;, :ui(l •**ivtj .surins nf ;ts of the riches ? Iluiiven of tlie hoc.ills "Tho i«»v»mI fiir :i\v:iy (jaks: **Si»lure:tl injf Ix.'V'jnd all hi tile imuiunse ; se|Kirute stari* snt'ii objects as (<5ion exists, of whicli no thiit(! : assured that it >eity in a man- :>re so tlian all Here nmloiibt- i the Scriptures ven.s, evidently depaitment of It Dr. Dick had Im what he ex- iteil above, but [find, as we do, ■,"pa;;elor,.iie led from "The he uses lan- flistant region, en where God |nd immensely •ent fn»m— in- ind iiitHlli;verit these are the to prove that ■d them as lew i li;iis and |pa;;es further liiHt oth'U' far- ;, quilled by a ible flourish nary inielli- h«' •• Heaven d >e3 not p!iy of :i Fu- of itself— an example of material creation exceeding all the rest in magnitude and splendor, and in which ai*e bh^ndcd tiie glories of every other system. If tins is in reality the case, it may with the utmost pro- l)rieiy be termed " Tiik Tuisoxk of God." 'Ihis is the most sublime and magnificent idea that can possibly enter into the mind of man. \Ve feel oppressed and overwhelmed in endeavoring to form even a faint representation of it," &c. *' Here the glorified boily of the Re- deemer uiay have taken its principal station, &c., and here likewise Enoch and Elijah may reside in the lucantimc, in order to learn the history of the magnificent plans and operation:! of D(;ity, that they may be enabled to communicatc> intelligence respecting them to their brethren of the race ol Adam, when they shall again mingle with TiiKM IN TIIK >vom.i> allotted for their abode after the general re- mrrcctiony In this great central " universe " — (a miirerse m'fhin a wtivcrsc or beside, or far it i/ond the imiccrsc, is rather a novel idea,) — Dr. DicK says Enoch and Elijah may reside in the meantime, or till the gene- ral resurrection, for the purpose of obtaining information to commu- nicate to their brethren of the race of Adam, when they shall leaive this throne of God and mingle with those brethren in tlio world, al- lotted for their abode, after the general resurrection. And this *'X" .ind others think is the theory of Dr. Maclise. " X " and other un- known quantitio-i do not soein capable of understanding either theo- ry, or they would surely not have done the ridiculous thing of bringing forward such utterances to prove that Dr. Maclise copied Dr. Dick's ideas and claimed them ws original. "X" & Co, will have to try again, and produce something more convincing than this before they can verify their charges. Dr. Maclise utterly repu- diates Dr. Dick's theories about Heaven, and very much prefers his own to either Dick's or any other man's, and holds that the redeemed shall never leave their heavenly home, where the)* now are; they shall go no more out forever, but dwell evermore in the light of His love. All that Dr. Dick says is the old idea of a thousand yeai-s and more ago, with the adilitional one drav.'n from the surmises of astro- nomers as to the possibility of a central orb, which he calls " a new universe " — " a universe by itself." These ideas the writer of these lectures docs not adopt, - does not accept; on the contrary, ho consi- ilers them, taken as a whole, utterly untrue and unscriptural. He holds that where the throne of God is, Christ the Lord is, and the angels are, and the redeemed from among men arc, some of them now, and all shall be. That is, the many-mansioned house, into which Jesus has gone to prepare places for his peoj>le ; that where he is his people also shall be. The writer was not, however, aware, at le:i*t did not remember reading, that Dr. Dick rad written those opinions about that lar-off world So ditferent from the Heaven of saved men, for on examining the "Philosophy of a future State" for Dr. Dick's views, regarding the local ty of Heaven, when about to pri-t his own views years ago, he found them in those five conjectures, and stopped searching, then ut- terly discouraged, .so far as Dr. Dick w>m concerned. Dr. Dick seem* to have seven conjectui'al ideas about Heaven, only one of which is at all in iicoonlaiice with those presented by the writer. They are : Ist, That the Heaven of the Redeemed is a phice entirely different 32 A r PKNDl X. I I from tho llunvcii of (J(»l, tlu; :in;^i!ls, &.(t. ; l'ihI, 'I'liat il. lutiy ho this world r<,'fitt(ul ; or, l.nl, Soino other shnilui- world: jjr, Ith. A ii«\v world tf) h(> m:i(li! nil j)nr|)Ot!e }ift<'r llm n'siirnji-tioii ; or, .>tli, Viiri- ous n!o:if)ns :it will; or, 6th. Aft(!r :i loii;jj Ijip^e of tiiiio siK;i*cs8iv'. Dick nt^arly half a. eentnry ajro. And Vfit Dr. Die'-. \('iy probnbly did ascertain tlm Iheoi'y ])resente(l by the writ- er, ms he held it •^inee he was a boy; for ;»0 years a}j;o he mentioned it distinctly loa liouk ammuni('ate it to J)r. J)ick dnrini; the next week. The writer re;^reis the iK^cessity of these stal<;inents and explanittions, but deems tlii'iii. under tluMirenmstances, due; l)olli to hims«'lf .-md the j)ul)!ic. He believes now, that the facts an; known, that no more will b(f lienrd of a claim so al)>iird as that ])referred in favor of \)y. Dick, or rather in opposition to the writer and author of Iheso claims about Heaven and its inliaiiitants. Another idea of a s«)inc- what anala^roiis character, presented by an anonymous writer, in order to prove that the writci* had no crlaini to his own iileas, was that of the late Isaac Taylor, — a most profound thinkcM',— and for which the writer is oblij^ed to the correspondent, but which he had never seen, and i-. uithor of iJieso idea of ;i, somo- iions writer, in own ideas, was inlvcr,— ;ind for t whieJi Jio had the sun of each nelary tril)es of it is probably omul on which to consider all , or Kinnrdoni 'J? partienlariy tleneo that, al- ypothesisos of '» in tho same vsented by the It way. Js;i:io ■^trononiej-s as « ilid not then ued to require of all power, ound in mute le redeemed. Ural sun, this and if Alee y- (insely distant of the Mdjole, en. It must fensive, were