extraneous substances, are known to him whose presence pervades al space; and that all the atoms requisite for the construction of the Resurrection body will be reassembled for this purpose by the energy of that mighty power, whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself." If we suppose that a number of human beings, amounting to three hundred thousand millions, shall start from the grave into new life, at the general resurrection, and that the atoms of each of these bodies are just now under the special superintendence of the Almighty-and that at least an equal number of worlds are under his particular care and direction-the exertion of power and intelligence, in the former case, cannot be supposed to be greater that what is requisite in the latter. To a Being possessed of infinite Power, conjoined with boundless Intelligence, the superintendence of countless atoms, and of countless worlds, is equally easy, where no contradiction is implied. For as the poet has well observed,

"He summons into being, with like ease, A whole creation, and a single grain." And since this subject tends to strengthen our hope of a resurrection from the dead, it is also calculated to inspire us with confidence in the prospect of those eternal scenes which will burst upon

the view, at the dissolution of all terrestrial things. Beyond the period fixed for the conflagration of this world, "a wide and unbounded prospect lies before us ;" and though, at present, "shadows, clouds, and darkness rest upon it," yet the boundless magnificence of the Divine empire which science has unfolded, throws a radiance over the scenes of futurity, which is fraught with consolation in the view of "the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds." It opens to us a prospect of perpetual improvement in knowledge and felicity; it presents a field in which the human faculties may be for ever expanding, for ever contemplating new scenes of grandeur rising to the view, in boundless perspective, through an interminable succession of existence. It convinces us that the happiness of the eternal state will not consist in an unvaried repetition of the same perceptions and enjoyments, but that new displays of the Creator's glory will be continually bursting on the astonished mind, world without end. And as we know the same beneficence and care which are displayed in the arrangement of systems of worlds, are also displayed in supporting and providing for the smallest microscopic animalculæ, we have no reason to harbour the least fear, lest we should be overlooked in the immensity of creation, or lost amidst the multiplicity of those works among which the Deity is incessantly employed; for, as he is Omnipresent and Omniscient, his care and influence must extend to every creature he has formed. Thereve, though the elements shall melt with fer

vent heat, and the earth, and all the works therein be dissolved, yet we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."

SECTION III.

On the Wisdom and Intelligence of the DEITY.

In surveying the system of nature with a Christian and a Philosophic eye, it may be considered in different points of view. It may be viewed either as displaying the power and and magnificence of the Deity in the immense quantity of materials of which it is composed, and in the august machinery and movements by which its economy is directed; or, as manifesting his Wisdom in the nice adaptation of every minute circumstance to the end it was intended to accomplish ;—or as illustrating his unbounded beneficence in the provision which is made for the accommodation and happiness of the numerous tribes of sentient and intelligent beings it contains. Having, in the preceding section, endeavured to exhibit some of those objects which evince the Omnipotence of Deity, and the pious emotions they are calculated to excite, I shal now offer a few popular illustrations of Divine Wisdom, as displayed in the arrangements of the material world-which shall chiefly be confined to those objects which are most prominent and obvious to the vulgar eye.

Wisdom is that perfection of an intelligent agent, by which he is enabled to select and employ the most proper means in order to accomplish a good and important end. It includes the idea of knowledge or intelligence, but may be distinguished from it. Knowledge is opposed to ignorance, wisdom is opposed to folly or error in conduct. As applied to God, it As applied to God, it may be considered as comprehending the operations of his Omniscience and benevolence, or, in other words, his knowledge to discern, and his disposition to choose those means and ends which are calculated to promote the order and the happiness of the aniverse.

The Wisdom of God is, doubtless, displayed in every arrangement he has made throughout all the provinces of his immense and eternal kingdom, however far they may be removed from the sphere of human observation. But it is only in those parts of the system of nature which lie open to our particular investigation, that the traces of this perfection can be distinctly perceived. The Heavens declare the glory of God's Wisdom, as well as of his Power. The planetary system-that portion of the heavens with which we are best acquainted-displays both the magnificence and the skill of its Divine Author, in the magnitudes, distances, revolutions, proportions, and uses of the various globes of which it is composed, and in

the diversified apparatus by which light and darkness are alternately distributed. The sun, an immense luminous world, by far the largest body in the system, is placed in the centre. No other position would have suited for an equable distribution of illumination and heat through the dif ferent parts of the system. Around him, at different distances, eleven primary planets revolve, accompanied with eighteen secondaries, or moons, -all in majestic order and harmony, no one interrupting the movements of another, but invariably keeping the paths prescribed them, and perform ing their revolutions in their appointed times. To all these revolving globes, the sun dispenses motion, light, heat, fertility, and other unceasing energies, for the comfort and happiness of their respective inhabitants-without which, perpe tual sterility, eternal winter, and eternal night, would reign over every region of our globe, and throughout surrounding worlds.

The distance at which the heavenly bodies, particularly the sun, are placed from the earth, is are placed from the earth, is a manifest evidence of Divine Wisdom. If the sun were much nearer us than he is at present, the earth, as now constituted, would be wasted and parched with excessive heat; the waters would be turned into vapour, and the rivers, seas, and oceans, would soon disappear, leaving nothing behind them but frightful barren dells and gloomy caverns; vegetation would completely cease, and the tribes of animated nature languish and die. On the other hand, were the sun much farther distant than he now is, or were his bulk, or the influence of his rays, diminished one half of what they now are, the land and the ocean would soon become one frozen mass, and universal desolation and sterility would overspread the fair face of nature, and, instead of a pleasant and comfortable abode, our globe would become a frightful desert, a state of misery and perpetual punishment.* But herein is the wisdom of God displayed, that he has formed the sun of such a determinate size, and placed it at such a convenient distance, as not to annoy, but to refresh and cheer us, and to enliven the soil with its genial influence; so that we plainly perceive, to use the language of the prophet, that " He hath established the world by his wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by his understanding."

• It forms no objection to these remarks, that caloic, or the matter of heat, does not altogether depend upon the direct influence of the solar rays. The substance of caloric may be chiefly connected with the constitution of the globe we inhabit. But still, it is quite certain that the earth, as presently constituted, would suffer effects most disastrous to sentient beings, were it removed much nearer to, or much farther from the central luminary. Those planets which are removed several hundreds of millions of miles farther from the sun than our globe, may possibly experience a degree of heat much greater then ours; but, in this case, the constitution of the solid parts of these globes, and of their surrounding atmospheres, must be very different from what obtains in the physical arrangements of our globe.

But,

The rotation of the several planetary globes around their axis, to produce the alternate, uccession of day and night, strikingly demonstrates the wisdom and benevolence of their great Author. thor. Were the earth and the other planetary worlds destitute of a diurnal motion, only one half of their surfaces could be inhabited, and the other half would remain a dark and cheerless desert. The sun woud be the only heavenly orb which would be recognized by the inhabitants of each respective world,as existing in the universe; and that scene of grandeur which night unfolds in the boundless expanse of the sky, would be for ever veiled from their view. For, it appears to be one grand design of the Creator, in giving these bodies a diurnal motion, not only to cheer their inhabitants with light and warmth, and the gay colouring produced by the solar rays, but also to open to them a prospect of other portions of his vast dominions, which are dispersed in endless variety throughout the illimitable regions of space; in order that they may acquire a more sublime impression of the glory of his kingdom, and of his eternal Power and Godhead. were perpetual day to irradiate the planets, it would throw an eternal and impenetrable veil over the glories of the sky, behind which, the magnificent operations of Jehovah's power would be, in a great measure, concealed. It is this circumstance which we should consider as the principal reason why a rotatory motion has been impressed on the planetary globes; and not merely that a curtain of darkness might be thrown around their inhabitants, during the repose of sleep, as in the world in which we dwell. For in some of the other planetary worlds belonging to our system, the intelligent beings with which they are peopled may stand in no need of that nocturnal repose which is necessary for man; their physical powers may be incapable of being impaired, and their mental energies may be in perpetual exercise. And in some of those bodies which are surrounded with an assemblage of rings and moons, as the planet Saturn, the diversified grandeur of their celestial phenomena, in the absence of the sun, may present a scene of contempation and enjoyment, far more interesting than all the splendours of their noon-day. Besides, had the planets no motion round their axis, and were both their hemispheres supposed to be peopled with inhabitants, their physical state and enjoyments would be as opposite to each other, as if they lived under the government of two distinct independent beings. While the one class was basking under the splendours of perpetual day, the other would be involved in all the horrors of an everlasting night. horrors of an everlasting night. While the one hemisphere would be parched with excessive heat

the other would be bound in the fetters of eternal ice; and, in such a globe as ours, the motion of the tides, the ascent of the vapours, the currents of the atmosphere, the course of the winds, the

1

benign influences of the rains and dews, and a thousand other movements which produce so many salutary and beneficial effects, would be completely deranged. Hence we find that in all the planetary bodies on which observations can conveniently be made, a rotatory motion actually exists, in the secondary, as well as in the primary planets, and even in the sun himself, the centre, and the mover of the whole in which arrangement of the Almighty Creator, the evidences of wisdom and design are strikingly apparent.

This amazing scene of Divine workmanship and skill, which the planetary system exhibits, we nave reason to believe, is multiplied, and diversified, to an indefinite extent, throughout all the other systems of creation, displaying to the intelligences of every region, "the manifold wisdom of God.” For there can be no question, that every star we now behold, either by the naked eye, or by the help of a telescope, is the centre of a system of planetary worlds, where the agency of God, and his unsearchable wisdom, may be endlessly varied, and, perhaps, more strikingly displayed than even in the system to which we belong. These vast globes of light could never have been designed merely to shed a few glimmering rays on our far-distant world; for the ten-thousandth part of them has never yet been seen by the inhabitants of the earth, since the Mosaic creation, except by a few astronomers of the past and the present age; and the light of many of them, in all probability, has never yet reached us; and perhaps never will, till the period of "the consummation of all terrestrial things." They were not made in vain ; for such a supposition would be inconsistent with every idea we can form of the attributes of a Being of infinite perfection. They were not intended merely to diversify the voids of infinite space with a useless splendour, which has no relation to intellectual natures; for this would give us a most distorted and inconsistent idea of the character of Him who is "the only-wise God ;" and we are told,by an authority which cannot be questioned, that "by his wisdom he made the heavens, and stretched them out by his understanding." The only rational conclusion, therefore, which can be deduced, is that they are destined to distribute illumination and splendour, vivifying influence, and happiness, among incalculable numbers of intelligent beings, of various degrees of physical, moral, and intelectual excellence. And, wherever the Creator has exerted his Almighty energies in the production of sensitive and intellectual natures, we may rest assured, that there also his infinite wisdom and intelligence, in an endless variety of arrange ments, contrivances, and adaptations, are unceasingly displayed.

But, after all, whatever evidences of contrivance and design the celestial globes may exhibit, it is not in the heavens that the most striking displays of Divine wisdom can be traced

by the inhabitants of our world. It is only a few general relations and adaptations that can be distinctly perceived among the orbs of the firmament; though, in so far as we are able to trace the purposes which they subserve, the marks of beauty, order, and design are uniformly ap parent. But we are placed at too great a dis tance from the orbs of heaven, to be able to investigate the particular arrangements which enter into the physical and moral economy of the celestial worlds. Were we transported to the surface of the planet Jupiter, and had an opportunity of surveying, at leisure, the regions of that vast globe, and the tribes of sensitive and intellectual existence which compose its population-of contemplating the relations of its moons to the pleasure and comfort of its inhabitants-the constitution of its atmosphere as to its reflective and refractive powers, in producing a degree of illumination to compensate for the great distance of that planet from the sun-its adaptation to the functions of animal life-the construction of the visual organs of its inhabitants, and the degree of sensibility they possess corresponding to the quantity of light received from the sun-the temperature of the surface and atmosphere of this globe corresponding to its distance from the central source of heat, and to the physical constitution of sensitive beings in short, could we investigate the relations which inanimate nature, in all its varieties and sublimities, bears to the necessities and the happiness of the animated existences that traverse its different regions, we should, doubtless, behold a scene of Divine Wisdom and intelligence, far more admirable and astonishing that even that which is exhibited in our sublunary world. But since it is impossible for us to investigate the to investigate the economy of other worlds, while we are chained down to this terrestrial sphere, we must direct our attention to those arrangements and contrivances in the constitution of our own globe, which lie open to our particular inspection, in order to perceive more distinctly the benevolent designs of Him "in whom we live and move, and have our being." And here an attentive observer will find, in almost every object, when minutely examined, a display of goodness and intelligence, which will constrain him to exclaim, " Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God.”

Wisdom, considered as consisting in contrivance, or the selection of the most proper means in order to accomplish an important end,

may

be exemplified and illustrated in a variety of familiar objects in the scene of nature.

The earth on which we tread was evidently intended by the Creator to support man and other animals, along with their habitations, and to furnish those vegetable productions which are necessary for their subsistence; and, accordingly, he has given it that exact degree of consistency

which is requisite for these purposes. Were it much harder than it now is; were it, for example, as dense as a rock, it would be incapable of cultivation, and vegetables could not be produced from its surface. Were it softer, it would be insufficient to support us, and we should sink at every step, like a person walking in a quagmire. Had this circumstance not been attended to in its formation, the earth would have been rendered useless as a habitable world, for all those animated beings which now traverse its surface. The exact adjustment of the solid parts of our globe to the nature and necessities of the beings which inhabit it, is, therefore, an instance and an evidence of Wisdom.

The diversity of surface which it every where presents, in the mountains and vales with which it is variegated, indicates the same benevolent contrivance and design. If the earth were divested of its mountains, and its surface every where uniformly smooth, there would be no rivers, springs, or fountains; for water can flow only from a higher to a lower place; the vegetable tribes would droop and languish ; man and other animals would be deprived of what is necessary for their existence and comfort; we should be destitute of many useful stones, minerals, plants, and trees, which are now produced on the surface, and in the interior of mountains; the sea itself would become a stagnant marsh, or overflow the land; and the whole surface of nature in our terrestrial sphere would present an unvaried scene of dull uniformity. Those picturesque and subime scenes which fire the imagination of the poet, and which render mountainous districts so pleasing to the philosophic traveller, would be completely withdrawn ; and all around, when compared with such diversified landscapes, would appear as fatiguing to the eye as the vast solitudes of the Arabian deserts, or the dull monotony of the ocean. But in consequence of the admirable distribution of hills and mountains over the surface of our globe, a variety of useful and ornamental effects.is produced. Their lofty summits are destined by providence to arrest the vapours which float in the regions of the air; their internal cavities form so many spacious basins for the reception of waters distilled from the clouds; they are the original sources of springs and rivers, which water and fertilize the earth; they form immense magazines, in which are deposited stones, metals, and minerals, which are of so essential service in the arts that promote the comfort of human life; they serve for the production. of a vast variety of herbs and trees; they arrest the progress of storms and tempests; they afford shelter and entertainment to various animals which minister to the wants of mankind: in a word, they adorn and embellish the face of na ture-they form thousands of sublime and beau ⚫iful landscapes, and afford from their summits ne most delightful prospects of the plains below.

All these circumstances demonstrate the consummate wisdom of the Great Architect of nature, and lead us to conclude, that mountains, so far from being rude excrescences of nature, as some have asserted, form an essential part in the constitution, not only of our globe, but of all habitable worlds. And this conclusion is confirmed, so far as our observation extends, with regard to the moon, and several of the planetary bodies which belong to our system, whose surfaces are found to be diversified by sublime ramifications of mountain scenery; which circumstance forms one collateral proof, among many others, that they are the abodes of sentient and intellectual beings.

Again, the colouring which is spread over the face of nature indicates the wisdom of the Deity. It is essential to the present mode of our existence, and it was evidently intended by the Creator, that we should be enabled easily to recognize the forms and properties of the various objects with which we are surrounded. But were the objects of nature destitute of colour, or were the same unvaried hue spread over the face of creation, we should be destitute of all the entertainments of vision, and be at a loss to distinguish one object from another. We should be unable to distinguish rugged precipices from fruitful hills; naked rocks from human habitations; the trees from the hills that bear them, and the tilled from the untilled lands. "We should hesitate to pronounce whether an adjacent enclosure contained a piece of pasturage, a plot of arable land, or a field of corn; and it would require a little journey, and a minute investigation, to determine such a point. We could not determine whether the first person we met were a solder in his regimentals, or a swain in his Sunday suit; a bride in her ornaments, or a widow in her weeds." Such would have been the aspect of nature, and such the inconveniences to which we should have been subjected, had God allowed us light, without the distinction of colours. We could have distinguished objects only by intricate trains of reasoning, and by circumstances of time, place, and relative position. And, to what delays and perplexities should we have been reduced, had we been obliged every moment to distinguish one thing from another by reasoning! Our whole life must then have been employed rather in study than in action; and, after all, we must have remained in eternal uncertainty as to many things which are now quite obvious to every one as soon as he opens his eyes. We could neither have communicated our thoughts by writing, nor have derived instruction from others through the medium of books: so that we should now have been almost as ignorant of the transactions of past ages, as we are of the events which are passing in the planetary worlds; and, conse quently, we could never have enjoyed a written revelation from heaven, nor any other infallible

guide to direct us in the path to happiness, is the Almighty had not distinguished the rays of light, and painted the objects around us with a diversity of colours,-sc essentially connected are the minutest, and the most magnificent works of Deity. But now, in the present constitution of things, colour characterizes the class to which every individua' belongs, and indicates, upon the first inspection, its respective quality. Every object wears its peculiar livery, and has a distinguishing mark by which it is characterized.

The different hues which are spread over the scenery of the world, are also highly ornamental to the face of nature, and afford a variety of pleasures to the eye and the imagination. It is this circumstance which adds a charm to the fields, the valleys, and the hills, the lofty mountain, the winding river, and the expansive lake and which gives a splendour and sublimity to the capacious vault of heaven. Colour is, therefore, an essential requisite to every world inhabited world inhabited by sensitive beings; and we know, that provision has been made for diffusing it throughout all the globes which may exist in the distant regions which our telescopes have penetrated; for the light which radiates from the most distant stars is capable of being separated into the prismatic colours, similar to those which are produced by the solar rays; which furnishes a presumptive proof that thay are intended to accomplish designs in their respective spheres analogous to those which light subserves in our terrestrial habitation—or, in other words, that they are destined to convey to the minds of sentient beings, impressions of light and colour, and consequently, beings susceptible of such impressions must reside within the sphere, or more immediate influence of these far-distant orbs.

The same benevolent design is apparent in the general colour which prevails throughout the scene of sublunary nature. Had the fields been clothed with hues of a deep red, or a brilliant white, the eye would have been dazzled with the splendour of their aspect. Had a dark-blue or a black colour generally prevailed, it would have cast a universal gloom over the face of nature. But an agreeable green holds the medium between these two extremes, equally remote from a dismal gloom and excessive splendour, and bears such a relation to the structure of the eye, that it refreshes, instead of tiring it, and supports, instead of diminishing its force. At the same time, though one general colour prevails over the landscape of the earth, it is diversified by an admirable variety of shades, so that every individual object in the vegetable world can be accurately distinguished from another; thus producing a beautiful and variegated appearance over the whole scenery "Who sees not in all these things that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?" If from the earth we turn our attention to the

of nature.

waters, we shall perceive similar traces of the exquisite wisdom and skill of the Author of nature. Water is one of the most essential elementary parts in the constitution of our globe, without which the various tribes of beings which now people it could not exist. It supplies a necessary beverage to man, and to all the animals that people the earth and the air. It forms a solvent for a great variety of solid bodies; it is the element in which an infinitude of organized beings pass their existence; it acts an important part in conveying life and nourishment to all the tribes of the vegetable kingdom, and gives salubrity to the atmospherical regions. Collected in immense masses in the basins of the sea, it serves as a vehicle for ships, and as a medium of communi cation between people of the most distant lands. Carried along with a progressive motion over the beds of streams and of rivers, it gives a brisk impulse to the air, and prevents the unwholesome stagnation of stagnation of vapours; it receives the filth of ᎠᏅ pulous cities, and rids them of a thousand nui sances. By its impulsion it becomes the move: of a multitude of machines; and, when rarefied into steam, it is transformed into one of the most powerful and useful agents under the dominion of man. All which beneficial effects entirely depend on the exact degree of density, or specific gravity, which the Creator has given to its constituent parts. Had it been much more rarified than it is, it would have been altogether unfit to answer the purposes now specified; the whole face of the earth would have been a dry and barren waste; vegetable nature could not have been nourished. our floating edifices could not have been supported; the lightest bodies would have sunk, and ali regular intercourse with distant nations would have been prevented. On the other hand, had its parts been much denser than they are; for example, had they been of the consistency of a thir jelly, similar disastrous effects would have inevitably followed; no ships could have ploughed the ocean; no refreshing beverage would have been supplied to the animal tribes; the absorbent vessels of trees, herbs, and flowers would have been unable to imbibe, the moisture requisite for their nourishment; and we should thus have been deprived of all the beneficial effects we now derive from the use of that liquid element, and of all the diversified scenery of the vegetable world. But the configuration and consistency of its parts are so nicely adjusted to the constitution of the other elements, and to the wants of the sensitive and vegetable tribes, as exactly to subserve the ends intended in the system of nature.

Water has been ascertained to be a compound body formed by the union of two different kinds of air-oxygen and hydrogen. It has the property of becoming, in certain cases, much lighter than air; though, in its natural liquid state, it is 800 times heavier than that fluid; and has also