For the ancient astronomical facts and the names, with their signification, I am, from the very nature of the case, indebted, of course, to all who have preserved, collected, and handed them down; but for their interpretation I am alone responsible.
It is for the readers to judge how far my conclusions are borne out by the evidence; and how far the foundation of our hopes of coming glory are strengthened by the prophecies which have been written in the stars of heaven, as well as in the Scriptures of truth.
For the illustrations I am greatly indebted to Jamieson's Celestial Atlas, 1820; Flammarion's L'Étoiles; Sir John W. Lubbock's Stars in Six Maps, 1883; and to the late Mr. Edward J. Cooper's Egyptian Scenery, 1820. For the general presentation and arrangement of the Constellations I am responsible, while for the [pg v] drawings my thanks are due to my friend Miss Amy Manson.
It is the possession of “that blessed hope” of Christ's speedy return from Heaven which will give true interest in the great subject of this book.
No one can dispute the antiquity of the Signs of the Zodiac, or of the Constellations. No one can question the accuracy of the ancient star-names which have come down to us, for they are still preserved in every good celestial atlas. And we hope that no one will be able to resist the cumulative evidence that, apart from God's grace in Christ there is no hope for sinners now: and apart from God's glory, as it will be manifested in the return of Christ from Heaven, there is no hope for the Church, no hope for Israel, no hope for the world, no hope for a groaning creation. In spite of all the vaunted promises of a religious World, and of a worldly Church, to remove the effects of the curse by a Social Gospel of Sanitation, we are more and more shut up to the prophecy of Gen. iii. 15, which we wait and long to see fulfilled in Christ as our only hope. This is beautifully expressed by the late Dr. William Leask:—
And is there none before? No perfect peace
Unbroken by the storms and cares of life,
Until the time of waiting for Him cease,
By His appearing to destroy the strife?
No, none before.