I press this interpretation on no one; yet I may say, without breaking the bounds of Christian liberty, that it carries probability on its very face. The parallel between the natural image and its spiritual correspondent, is complete throughout; but this can by no means be said of the various constructions which have generally been put upon them. The sun, it is said, is the civil government of a state; and the moon, its ecclesiastical policy. But in vain shall we attempt to draw a comparison here between the natural figure and the object said to be signified by it. The civil government of an empire is not the source of all wisdom, love, and prosperity, as the sun is of heat, light, and fruitfulness. It does not give to the ecclesiastical all its power, glory, and beauty, as the sun does to the moon; nor would the church become dead and lifeless if separated from the state, as the moon would if severed from the sun. The pastors of the church, which it is affirmed are the stars, do not, like the stars, shine with their own native splendor. The comparison, therefore, does not in any degree hold good: while in the meaning we have given above, consistency both with Scripture and reason, as well as with the best interests of man, is preserved throughout. Now if this signification of the sun, moon, and stars, be correct, we need not employ much time in fixing the meaning of the terms "heaven," and "earth," when applied to the church of God. _Heaven_, or the atmosphere, is that in which the sun, moon, and stars appear; and by means of which they produce their effects. It is the grand reservoir of those particles, which, acted upon by the sun, and thus set in motion, cause heat; and preserve on the earth, life and vegetation. And the earth is that body, on the surface of which vegetation flourishes and life appears. This at once points out the figures as applying to the _inward feelings_ and _outward life_ of an _individual_; or, to the internal state of the church and its outward forms and ceremonies. It is in what the apostle calls "the inward man," that _love_, _faith_, and _knowledge_ produce their first effects; and by operating upon the feelings and affections of the mind, cause spiritual light and heat--true wisdom and divine love. And these produce a corresponding effect in the outward conduct, bringing forth "fruits meet for repentance,"--the living forms and witnesses of religion. As the sun shines in the atmosphere and produces fruit on the earth, so love shines in the soul and brings forth effects in the conduct, either in the case of an individual, or of the church as an assembly of individuals. By the same rule of analogy we may perceive what is meant by _the clouds_. These in the natural world, are vapors exhaled from the earth by the heat of the sun; and which condensed into form in the atmosphere, serve to perform their important functions. They temper and lessen in some