plate the glory of God; and especially in this world, where it is most clearly displayed. Hence there is reason to conclude,

That the angels of heaven have always discovered more of the glory of God in this world, than in any part of the universe. I shall show,

I. That the angels of heaven have always been well acquainted with this world. And,

II. That they have always discovered more of the glory of God here, than any where else.

I. Let us consider that the angels of heaven have always been well acquainted with this world. All we know about these invisible spirits, we derive from divine revelation. The Bible assures us that they are the first, the greatest and the best of created beings. God created them before he created this lower world. He endued them with superior power, wisdom and goodness. He has, from the beginning, preserved them in holiness and happiness, and given them great opportunities of surveying and exploring all parts of his vast dominions. And there is reason to conclude that they have made constant and rapid advances in intellectual and moral excellence, ever since their creation. Though these noble and exalted spirits have always been invisible to mankind except on particular occasions, yet we have abundant evidence from scripture that they have always been acquainted with the objects and events of this world. When God laid the foundation of the earth, they sang together and shouted for joy. And from that day to this, they have been more or less concerned in executing the purposes of God respecting mankind. It has always been their proper business to serve the church of God in this world. We are expressly told that they are "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." We are not to suppose, however, that they are all here at the same time; but only that certain numbers come and go according to the divine directions. And this seems to be more than intimated in the vision of Jacob's ladder. "He dreamed, and behold, a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it." This representation naturally leads us to suppose that many, if not all of the angels in heaven, have actually been in this world, at different times and on different occasions; and that there is no time when they are all absent from this place of their destination. It is natural to conjecture that many of them continually reside here, while others are alternately employed on great and extraordinary occasions. We find several instances of this mentioned in the scripture. There were innumerable angels present when God gave the law at Mount Sinai. To this great occasion the Psalmist refers, when he

says, "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place." The great and interesting event of the birth of Christ called together a vast collection of the heavenly hosts. The Evangelist tells us that when Christ was born, "There were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men." We read that an angel destroyed more than one hundred and fourscore thousand men in one night, in the camp of the Assyrians. We read that an angel appeared with a drawn sword over Jerusalem to destroy it. Christ told those who came to apprehend him, that he could command more than twelve legions of angels to rescue him. God sent an angel to strengthen him in the garden, and he sent another to roll away the stone from his sepulchre at his resurrection. An angel also was sent to awake Peter in prison, and release him from his confinement. But it is needless to multiply instances of this kind. It clearly appears from scripture, that the angels of heaven have always been conversant in this world; and of course they have always had peculiar opportunities of being thoroughly acquainted with the conduct of God towards mankind, and with their conduct towards God and towards one another. They have been acquainted not only with individuals, but with all the nations and kingdoms of the earth, from the creation of the world to the present day. They have traced the connections between causes and effects, and between events and events, and they know a vast many links in the chain of divine providence. They know ten thousand times more about this world than any, or all the men who have lived in it. These messengers of divine love, and of divine vengeance, have maintained a constant communication between heaven and earth; and felt themselves deeply interested in all the natural and moral good, and in all the natural and moral evil, which have fallen to the lot of mankind in all ages. They have rejoiced and mourned, in the view of the great, complicated and solemn scenes which have taken place in this important part of the intelligent creation. And, therefore,

II. They have discovered more of the glory of God in this world, than in any other part of the universe. It may be pre

sumed that they have explored the whole circle of creation, which, though widely extended, is certainly limited, and capable of being surveyed by finite beings. They have always been friendly to God, and taken peculiar pleasure in contemplating the displays of his glory. They have always possessed great intellectual powers and capacities, which have enabled them to receive, retain and digest the most extensive, noble and sublime ideas of their Maker and his works. And being spirits, unencumbered by such gross bodies as we have, they have always been capable of passing from world to world, and from one part of the universe to another, with inconceivable ease and rapidity. We know of nothing to prevent their taking the circuit of creation, and examining all the creatures and works of God in every part of the universe. And they themselves seem to suggest this idea of their being thoroughly acquainted with all the works of God, when they devoutly celebrate the displays of his glory in this lower world. They say, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;" that is, the Lord of the whole vast number of created beings, in every part of his extensive dominions. They add, "the whole earth is full of his glory." By this, they intimate that, after surveying heaven and hell and the whole empire of God, they discover greater displays of his glory in this world, than in any other. And supposing they have, for ages and ages, traversed the whole universe with a desire and design to discover the glory of the great Creator, there is good reason to believe that they have actually seen and learned more of God in this world, than in any other part of creation. For this has been the great theatre of action to all intelligent beings. Heaven has been a place of rest, and never been disturbed but once, or by one revolution, that is, by the apostacy of Lucifer and his legions. Hell has been a place of suffering, where no new revolution has ever happened. But this world has always been full of changes and revolutions of the most important and interesting nature, brought about by the agency of God, of angels and of men, who have exhibited their characters by the various parts they have performed upon the great stage of action. But whatever has been done in this world may be ultimately ascribed to God, who has employed all his intelligent creatures as instruments to carry into effect his own original purposes and designs. And no doubt the angels have viewed themselves and all other moral agents who have been acting their parts on earth, as mere instruments of fulfilling the eternal counsels of God. So that they have discovered his glory in all the great and small events which have been brought about, either by his hand alone, or by the concurrence of subordinate agents. But it is time to be a little more particular, and point out

some things that God has been doing in this world, which have given the angels of heaven higher ideas of his glory, than they could discover in any other part of the universe. And,

1. God has established such a connection between one creature and another in this world, as he has not, as we know, any where else established. Angels were all created at once, and stood independently of each other. And while some maintained their integrity and attachment to God, others renounced their allegiance, and rose in rebellion against their supreme Sovereign. But when God made man, he constituted an intimate and important connection between him and all that should proceed from him, to the end of time. And in conse

quence of this connection, he spread sin and misery through the whole world. This was a greater and more interesting event than any that had taken place in heaven, or hell. For there is reason to believe that the whole number of mankind, from the beginning to the end of the world, will far surpass the whole number of both good and bad angels. This connection between Adam and his posterity, and one man and another, by which their temporal and eternal interests are more or less suspended upon each other's conduct, is a signal display of God's wisdom and sovereignty, and entirely different from his treatment of any other of his intelligent creatures. And while this instance of the divine conduct has filled the whole human race with murmurs and complaints, it has afforded matter of admiration and praise to all the inhabitants of heaven.

2. The method which God has devised and adopted, to save the guilty and perishing children of men from deserved and endless destruction, has given a display of his glory which he has not given in any other part of the universe. Though some of the angels of light became sinners, and exposed themselves to endless ruin, and stood in perishing need of a Saviour, yet God did not provide a Saviour for them, but let them sink in guilt and misery without remedy. It was therefore a signal act of God's sovereign mercy, to provide a Saviour for the fallen race of Adam. And the steps which he took to prepare the way for the incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection of the Son of his love, were astonishing, as well as instructive, to all the heavenly hosts. As he meant to make a peculiar discovery of himself to principalities and powers above, by this gracious and glorious interposition in favor of the sinful children of men; so the angels have been, for ages, delightfully looking into and admiring the great plan of redemption, and have seen more of God in it, than they ever did see, or will see in any other parts of his works.

3. In this world, God has been constantly increasing the number of his moral subjects. There has been no increase of

either good or bad angels; but there has been an immense increase of mankind for nearly six thousand years. God has been every day bringing rational and immortal souls into existence here on earth. The birth of every immortal soul is an event highly interesting to angels, though often disregarded by those who are still more interested. But the perpetual increase of accountable and immortal beings must fill the minds of angels with enlarged and exalted views of Jehovah's kingdom. They know not to what vast extent the numbers of mankind may increase. One nation has been as numerous as the stars of heaven; and before the end of time, the human race may multiply beyond the present computation of men and angels. If the glory of a prince consists in the multitude of his subjects, then the glory of God must be displayed by the vast numbers of rational and immortal beings which he brings into existence in this part of his dominions. Here then angels are constantly learning more and more of God, in this growing part of his empire.

4. God subjects mankind to greater, more numerous and more surprising changes, than he does any other of his intelligent creatures. The angels of light have never been subjected to any great or peculiar changes since their creation; and evil angels have experienced but one great and dreadful change. But all mankind, from their birth to their death, are perpetually subject to great, sudden and unexpected changes. Their bodies, their minds, and all their external circumstances, are perpetually changing. What great changes take place in their bodies from infancy to manhood! And what great changes take place in their minds from infancy to childhood, from childhood to youth, from youth to manhood, from manhood to the meridian of life, from that period to the decline of life, and from that period to old age! How differently did a Newton or a Locke appear in these different stages of life! Similar changes pass over all the children of men, in all the various stages of their existence on earth. They appear like very different beings, according to the laws of their nature, in a very few years. But besides these regular and natural changes in their bodies and minds, they are subject to ten thousand unforeseen and unexpected changes. They are born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward. Their hopes and expectations are sometimes raised, and sometimes suddenly and entirely blasted. The rich become poor, and the poor become rich. The low are exalted, and the exalted abased. One day they are joyful, and another sorrowful. One day they lead, and another they are led. One day they are in health, and another they are in pain, sickness and distress. One day they are rejoicing with their friends around them, and another they are bereaved and drowned in tears. Such are the changes