to be found in any other volume of the same size. The object of it is "to illustrate the harmony which subsists between the system of nature and the system of Revelation, and to show that the manifestations of God in the material universe ought to be blended with our views of the facts and doctrines recorded in the volume of inspiration" We know of no book on this truly interesting subject, better calculated to interest the young, to form a taste for reading and research, and to supply a fund of entertainment infinitely more rational, dignified and useful than dancings, frolics and barroom associations. We extract, as a specimen of the style and manner of the work, a part of the second section of the last chapter, on the tendency, of connecting science with religion, to enable Christians to take AN EXTENSIVE SURVEY OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. p. 340-346.

"How very narrow and limited are the views of most professors of religion respecting the universal Kingdom of Jehovah, and the range of his operations! The views of some individuals are confined chiefly within the limits of their own parish, or at farthest, extend only to the blue mountains that skirt their horizon, and form the boundary of their sight. Within this narrow circle, all their ideas of God, of religion, and of the relations of intelligent beings to each other, are chiefly confined. There are others who form an extensive class of our population, whose ideas are confined nearly to the county in which they reside, and to the adjacent districts; and there are few, comparatively, whose views extend beyond the confines of the kingdom to which they belong-though the whole island in which we reside is less than the two-thousandth part of the globe we inhabit. Of the vast extent of this earthly ball, of its figure and motions, of its continents, seas, islands, and oceans; of its volcanoes and ranges of mountains, of its numerous and diversified climates and landscapes; of the various nations and tribes of mankind that people its surface, and of the moral government of God respecting them. they are almost as completely ignorant as the untutored Greenlander, or the roving savage. With regard to the objects which lie beyond the boundary of our world, they have no precise and definite conceptions. When the moon is "walking in brightness" through the heavens, they take the advantage of her light to prosecute their journeys; and, when the sky is overcast with clouds, and they are anxious to travel a few miles to their destined homes, they will lift up their eyes to the heavens to see if any of the stars are twinkling through the gloom, that their footsteps may be directed by their glimmering rays. Beyond this they seldom soar. What may be the nature of the vast assemblage of shining points which adorn the canopy of their habitation, and the ends they are destined to accomplish in the plan of the CreaVOL. III.

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tor's operations, they consider as no part of their province to inquire.

"Their minds, fair Science never taught to stray

Far as the Solar Worlds, or Milky Way."

How very different, in point of variety, of grandeur, and of extent, are the views of the man who connects all the different departments of knowledge, and the discoveries of science, with his prospects of God's Universal Dominions and Government?With his mental eye he can traverse the different regions of the earth, and penetrate into the most distant and retired recesses where human beings have their residence. He can contemplate and adore the conduct of Divine Sovereignty, in leaving so many nations to grope amidst the darkness of Heathen Idolatry,-he can trace the beams of the Sun of Righteousness, as they gradually arise to illumine the benighted tribes of men,-he can direct his prayers, with intelligence and fervour, in behalf of particular kindreds and people, he can devise, with judgment and discrimination, schemes for carrying the "Salvation of God" into effect,he can realize, in some measure, to his mental sight, the glorious and happy scenes which will be displayed in the future ages of time, when "the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ," and when the "everlasting gospel" shall be published, and its blessings distributed among all who dwell upon the face of the earth. He can bound from this earth to the planetary worlds, and survey far more spacious globes, peopled with a higher order of intelligences, arranged and superintended by the same Almighty Sovereign, who "doth according to his will among the inhabitants of the earth." He can wing his way beyond the visible region of the sky, till he find himself surrounded on every hand with suns and systems of worlds, rising to view in boundless perspective, throughout the tracts of immensity-diversified with scenes of magnificence, and with beings of every order-all under the government and the wise direction of Him who "rules among the armies of heaven," and who "preserveth them all," and whom the "host of heaven worship" and adore. He can soar beyond them all to the Throne of God, where angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, celebrate the praises of their Sovereign Lord, and stand ready to announce his Will, by their rapid flight to the most distant provinces of his empire. He can descend from that lofty eminence to this terrestrial world allotted for his temporary abode, and survey another unbounded province of the Empire of God, in those living worlds which lie hid from the unassisted sight, and which the microscope alone can descry. He can here perceive the same

Hand and Intelligence which direct the rolling worlds above, and marshal all the angelic tribes-organizing, arranging, and governing the countless myriads of animated existence which people the surface of a muddy pool. He can speed his course from one of these departments of Jehovah's kingdom to another, till, astonished and overwhelmed with the order, the grandeur, and extent of the wondrous scene, he is constrained to exclaim, "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty !"— "Thine understanding is infinite!" The limits of thy dominions past finding out !”

are

By taking such extensive surveys of the empire of Jehovah, we are enabled to perceive the spirit and references of those sublime passages in the sacred writings, which proclaim the Majesty of God, and the Glory of his Kingdom. Such passages are diffusely scattered through the inspired volume, and have evidently an extent of reference far beyond what is generally conceived by the great mass of the Christian world. The following may suffice as a specimen:

Thine, O Lord! is the greatness, and the glory, and the majesty; for all in heaven and earth is thine! Thine is the kingdom, O Lord! Thou art exalted above all, thou reignest over all, and in thine hand is Power and Might. Behold the heaven, and the Heaven of heavens, is the Lord's; the earth also, with all that therein is. Ascribe ye greatness to our God; for there is none like unto the God of Israel, who rideth upon the heavens in his strength, and in his excellency on the sky. Thou, even thou art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the Heaven of heavens, with all their host; the earth, and all things that are therein; the seas, and all that is therein; and thou preservest them all, and the Host of Heaven worshippeth thee. He divideth the sea by his Power: by his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens: Lo! these are only parts of his ways; but how little a portion is heard of him, and the thunder of his Power who can understand? The Lord hath prepared his Throne in the Heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all. O Lord our God! how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. 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 mindful of him! His Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom; Honour and Majesty are before him; all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing in his sight, and he doth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth He measures the waters in the hollow of his hand; he meeteth out heaven with a span, and comprehendeth

the dust of the earth in a measure. He sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers. I have made the earth, and created man upon it; I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their hosts have I commanded. The Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; for the heaven is his throne, and the earth is his footstool. With God is awful Majesty. Great things doth He which we cannot comprehend; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever. Praise ye the Lord in the heavens; praise him in the heights; praise him all his angels; praise ye him all his hosts. Praise him sun and moon; praise him all ye stars of light; praise him ye Heaven of heavens. Praise him ye kings of the earth, and all people, princes and judges of the earth; both young men and maidens; old men and children-let them praise the name of the Lord; for his name alone is excellent, his glory is above the earth and heaven.”

These sublime descriptions of the Supremacy of God, and of the Grandeur of his Kingdom, must convince every reflecting mind, of the inconceivable magnificence and extent of that Dominion "which ruleth over all." It is quite evident, that we can never enter, with intelligence, into the full import, and the grand references of such exalted language employed by inspired writers, unless we take into view, all the discoveries which Science has made, both in the earth, and in the heavens, respecting the variety and extent of the Dominions of the Creator. If the "Kingdom of the Most High" were as limited in its range as most Christians seem to conceive, such descriptions might be considered as mere hyperboles, or bombast, or extravagant declamation which far exceed the bounds of " truth and soberness." But we are certain, that the conceptions and the language of mortals can never go beyond the reality of what actually exists within the boundless precincts of Jehovah's Empire. For, “who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?" or "who can show forth all his praise?" The language and descriptions to which we have now adverted, seem to have had a prospective reference to later and more enlightened times, when more extensive prospects of God's dominions would be opened up by the exertions of the human intellect. And were we to search all the records of literature, in ancient or modern times, we would find no descriptions nor language of such a dignified nature as to express the views and feelings of an enlightened Christian Philosopher, when he contemplates the sublimity and extent of Divine operations-except those which are to be found in the inspired volume-the strength, and majesty, and comprehension of which, no human language can ever exceed.

Again, by familiarizing our minds to such extended prospects

of God's universal kingdom, we shall be qualified and disposed to comply with the injunctions of Scripture, which represent it as an imperious duty, to communicate to the minds of others such elevated conceptions. This duty is enjoined in numerous passages of Sacred Scripture, particularly in the book of Psalms: "Declare his glory among the heathen, and his wonders among all people. I will extol thee, my God, O King. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts; and shall declare thy greatness. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; to make known to the sons of men thy mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of thy kingdom." When we look around us in the world, and in the visible church, and mark the conceptions, and the conversation of the members of religious societies, we need scarcely say how little this ennobling duty is attended to by the mass of those who bear the Christian name.. We hear abundance of idle chat about the fashions and politics of the day-how Miss A. danced so gracefully at the ball, and how Miss B. sung so sweetly at the concert; how Mr. C. acted his part so well in the character of Rob Roy, and how Mr. D. made such a flaming speech at the corporation dinner. We listen to slanderous conversation, and hear abundance of mean, and base, and uncharitable insinuations against our neighbours; which indicate the operation of malice, hatred, envy, and other malevolent tempers. We spend whole hours in boisterous disputations about metaphysical subtleties in religion, and questions "which gender strife rather than godly edifying;" but "to speak of the glory of God's kingdom, and to talk of his POWER," with the view of " making known to the sons of men his mighty works," is a duty which remains yet to be learned by the majority of those who profess the religion of Jesus. And how can they be supposed to be qualified to enter into the spirit of this duty, and to proclaim to others "the glorious majesty of God's kingdom," unless such subjects be illustrated in minute detail, and proclaimed with becoming energy, both from the pulpit, and from the press? These powerful engines, when conducted with judgment and discrimination, are capable of producing on the mass of mankind, a tone of thinking, and an enlargement of conception, on such subjects, which no other means can easily effect; and it is to be hoped, that more precise and lu minous details, and more vigour and animation, will soon be dis played, in this respect, than in the ages that are past..