things, in its original condition, to the state of perfect peace of mind and rest of heart which is the final result of its labors and struggles against all that is natural, earthly and low.
When our Lord says that the kingdom of God, or, as He elsewhere uses the expression, the kingdom of heaven, is within us, we can but conclude, that heaven, as a symbol, refers to the spiritual mind or nature of man. When we read in the Gospel of John, "He that is of the earth is earthly and speaketh earthly things," we cannot fail to observe that the earth is used as a type of the earthly or natural mind. When the Psalmist says, "Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me," we know that he refers to the creation, that is, the regeneration, of the soul. When he declares, "A day in thy courts is better than a thousand," we are sure that he refers to a state of heart worship, and not to a literal twenty-four hours in the temple. Thus we know that these expressions, heaven, earth, creation, day, as well as all the others, are used in spiritual senses, in other portions of the Word of God. So when we come to this narrative of creation as an allegory of regeneration, we have but to apply them according to the manner in which they are plainly used to indicate spiritual ideas in other portions of Scripture, and the first chapter of Genesis is translated into its
