Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces. The English names of these have been arranged in a little verse easy enough to remember. The Ram, the Bull, the heavenly Twins; And Fish with glittering tails. As to the number of the fixed stars, it is calculated, that on the brightest star-light night we can seldom see more than two thousand; yet are the stars numberless. (Gen. xv. 5.) Dr. Herschel says, when gazing on the MILKY WAY, that beautiful galaxy of light so like a wreath of bright silvery clouds fixed in the azure sky, that he observed five hundred and eighty-eight stars through his telescope at the same time, and they continued, as the revolution of the earth moved his telescope across the heavens, equally numerous for a quarter of an hour. Thus, my dear children, I have sought to bring before your minds the blessings of this fourth day's creation; little, indeed, I have said compared with what might have been said, for the subject is boundless. I have endeavoured to give as much information about the heavens as I could in so small a compass as a letter, but I know the subject is one of profound depth; "a few pebbles have been gathered on the sea-shore," Sir Isaac Newton so beautifully and humbly said, "but the illimitable ocean is before us," and yet the little we do know is, as I before remarked, of amazing benefit to us. "Go, wing thy flight from star to star, As the universe spreads its flaming wall: One minute of Heaven is worth them all!" A little while, and the whole scene will fade away, for the THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. 129 day is hastening when the heavens shall be gathered together as a scroll, and as a vesture shall the Lord fold them they shall be changed. (Ps. cii. 26; Heb. i. 12.) up, and Beloved children, may the Lord give to each of you to be His own, so that that day shall have no terror in it to you; but with loins girded, and lamps burning, may you wait His return, (Luke xii. 35,) who shall rise "THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, with healing in his wings." (Mal. iv. 2.) Then shall the night pass away, and all will be joy, unutterable joy, to those who love His appearing. (2 Tim. iv. 8, compared with Heb. ix. 28.) Believe me, dear Children, Ever your affectionate Father. LETTER VIII. Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the Heavens are the works of thine hands: they shall perish; but thou remainest and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.-Hebrews i. 10-12. MY DEAR CHILDREN, I HAVE been thinking much of the scene to which I alluded at the close of my last letter, and of the verses especially which I have selected as a motto for this. That which so forcibly strikes me, is the progression we had made in passing on from one planet to another, thousands and millions of miles; until, having reached the just discovered planet, we found ourselves in the utmost known bounds of the solar system; from thence we passed on into the boundless heaven of the fixed stars, and here all calculation was at an end, and space seemed lost in infinitude; and yet this is the language of Scripture concerning those illimitable heavens : "As a vesture shalt THOU fold them up, and they shall be changed." Consider this figure, as a vesture." That starry sky shall be folded up, shall be changed; whatever this in its extent may signify, it conveys at one glance the most vast and sublime conceptions of the power of God; yes, those hands once suspended on the cross of Calvary, shall one day fold the azure sky together: 'they shall perish, but Thou endurest: they shall wax old as doth a garment, and as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed." The quotation of Psalm cii., by the apostle, in Hebrews i. 10, most explicitly applies this act to that Blessed one who died for us. I will again recur to this subject at the close of this letter, but will now seek to bring before your minds some of the scriptures that draw their illustrations more especially from the THE SUN AND THE GOSPEL. 131 fourth day's creation. Let us first, then, turn to the Old Testament, and remember that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, (Rev. xix. 10;) to him gave all the prophets witness, (Acts x. 43;) and thus, whether in Moses, in the Prophets, or in the Psalms, (Luke xxiv. 44,) we shall (if we search, by the Spirit's guidance) find HIM THERE, even Jesus, the Alpha and Omega-the beginning and end-the first and last of all Revelation. (Rev. i. 8.) How beautiful is the nineteenth Psalm, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit. unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." Now we are not left to conjecture in the application of the figures of this Psalm; the Spirit of God, in the Epistle of Paul to the Romans, (chap. x. ver. 18,) explains it to us, and shows, that as the heavenly bodies visited all parts of the globe in their circuit; so had the gospel gone out to every creature, yes, to every creature, for there is no limit to "these glad tidings of great joy to all people,” (Luke ii. 10,) none are to be hid from its blessing. But what is the great character of the gospel message? It is Jesus. Philip went down and preached Christ at Samaria, and testified to the eunuch of Jesus, (Acts viii. 5, 35;) this was the name wherewith he was named by the angel, (Matt. i. 21,) because, as the name implies, he should save his people from their sins; you remember, I believe, all of you, the sweet hymn of Cowper: "How sweet the name of Jesus sounds In a believer's ear! It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, "It makes the wounded spirit whole, 'Tis manna to the hungry soul, Yes, this is the name which is above every name, (Phil. ii. 9;) and this Psalm most beautifully sets it forth. Now suppose we look again at the fifth verse: "In heaven hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.” Jesus, the true Sun of Righteousness, (Mal. iv. 2,) is the heavenly bridegroom; and he, by the Spirit, dwells ever in his church, (1 Cor. vi. 19,) and manifests through her his own light. The church is his tabernacle, "the goodly building fitly framed," (Eph. ii. 21,) and her office is to make the circuit of the globe, to go to every creature and preach Jesus-and Jesus only, as the way the truth-the life, (John xiv. 6;) she is to proclaim the blessed message of mercy far and wide, nothing is to be hid from the heat thereof. The church of God is essentially missionary her field of operation is the habitable globe, and "every creature" her only limit, (Matt. xxviii. 19;) she has received the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, (2 Cor. iv. 6,) not to hide it, but to manifest it; not to put her light under a bushel, but to place it on a candlestick, that it may give light to all that are in the house, (Matt. v. 15;) but we must read the whole portion through, for it beautifully shows forth how the Lord, by the ministry of the word, converts, enlightens, makes wise, makes glad, and establishes a people unto himself; and the last verse is one of the sweetest and most blessed of prayers for the child of God to use: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." Commit this Psalm to memory, dear children, and whenever you find the Old Testament quoted in the New, know that you have God's exposition of his own truth; cherish it, and may his whole mind be to you, as this Psalm says, more precious than gold, yea than much pure gold, sweeter also than |