lating at the mouths of rivers, and reefs in the midst of the seas, which are the terror of mariners and obstructions to navigation. In every pit and quarry, and on the face of every crag and broken precipice, we perceive the marks of disorder, and the effects of former changes and convulsions of nature; while around the bases of volcanic mountains, we behold cities buried under a mass of solid lava, orchards and vineyards laid waste, and fertile fields transformed into a scene of barrenness and desolation. Observation likewise demonstrates, that even the luminaries of heaven are not exempted from revolutions and changes. The law of gravitation, which extends its influence through all the celestial orbs, has a tendency, in the course of ages, to draw together all the spacious globes in the universe, and to condense them into one solid mass; and, were it not for the counteracting and sustaining hand of God, this effect, at some distant period in duration, would inevitably take place, and creation be reduced to one vast and frightful ruin. Many of the stars are ascertained to be subjected to periodical changes, varying their lustre, and appearing and disappearing at certain intervals; while others, which formerly shone with superior brilliancy, have gradually disappeared, and their place in the heavens is no longer to be found. Other stars, unknown to the ancients and to preceding observers, have made their appearance in modern times: and various nebulous spots, in the distant regions of space appear to be increasing both in lustre and extent. These, and many other similar facts, indicate changes and revolutions as great, and even much greater than those which are predicted to befall the earth when its atmosphere shall be dissolved, its "elements melt with fervent heat," and a new world arise out of its ruins. It is probable, that, in the lapse of infinite duration, all the systems which now exist, some at one period and some at another, will undergo changes and transformations which will astonish the intelligent creation, and open new and sublimer scenes of Divine operation to an admiring universe. But such changes will be altogether different from annihilation or utter destruction-altogether different from the ideas embodied in the language of poets, when they tell us that "not one atom shall be left in the mighty void," and that "earth and firmament will be sought in vain." Those stars which appeared, the one in 1572, and the other in 1604, which shone with a brightness superior to Venus, and afterwards disappeared,

we have no reason to believe, are blotted out of creation. They may either have been changed, from flaming suns, to opaque globes like the planets, and may be still existing in the same region of space; or they may have been carried forward with a rapid motion, to a region of the universe altogether beyond the utmost limits of our vision, or some other transformation, beyond the reach of human conception, may have been effected. For the annihilation of matter appears to form no part of the plan of the Creator's arrangements; at least, we have no proof of it, in any one instance, and the very idea of it seems to imply an inconsistency, which is repugnant to what we already know of the Divine character and operations.

Such changes, then, so far from diminishing the visible glory of the universe, will present to the view of the intelligent creation a greater variety of sublime scenery than if all things "continued as they were from the beginning of the creation," and will exhibit the attributes of the Almighty in all their varied aspects and diversified modes of operation. While they demonstrate the mutable nature of created beings, and the immutability of the Creator, they will enliven the scenes of the universe, and excite the admiration and praises of countless mulitudes of enraptured intelligences.

From the considerations now stated, it will follow, that the various relations which now subsist among the great bodies which compose the universe, will not be materially altered by any changes or revolutions which may take place in our terrestrial sphere: nor will the general aspect of creation be sensibly altered by any changes that may occasionally happen among the celestial luminaries. Whatever may be the nature of such changes, or however important they may be to the inhabitants of the systems in which they happen, they bear no sensible proportion to the whole fabric of the universe. Though stars have, at different periods disappeared from the visible concave of the firmament, and have, doubtless undergone amazing revolutions, yet the general appearance of the heavens in all ages has been nearly the same, and will probably continue so for an indefinite lapse of ages yet to come. Although our earth were just now transported to a point of space a hundred thousand millions of miles beyond the sphere we presently occupy, the general aspect and the relative positions of the starry orbs, and the figures of the different constellations,

would appear, on the whole, the same as they now do when we lift our eyes to the nocturnal sky. The constellations of Orion and Charles' Wain, for example, would present the same shape, the same number of stars, and the same relation to neighbouring constellations, when viewed from a region 1,000,000,000,000,000* of miles distant from the earth, as they now do from the sphere in which we are placed. †-Extension, magnitude, relative position, attraction, gravitation, central forces, rectilineal and circular motions, and other properties and relations of matter, will still subsist in the universe, after we are transported to another state and to a different region;—and, consequently, the sciences founded on the various combinations of these properties and of the laws which govern them, will be cultivated by intelligent beings, and carried forward to that measure of perfection which they cannot attain in the present state, unless we suppose, what is evidently absurd and contrary to Scripture, that our knowledge will be more limited in the future, than in the present world.

For example, the laws which direct the motions of falling bodies, the appearances produced by bodies in the heavens moving with different degrees of velocity, the apparent motions of the sun and of the starry heavens, and the general principles of geography and astronomy, on the planet Jupiter, or any other similar globe, with the exception of a few local modifications, are materially the same as on the surface of the earth,-which is evident from the consideration of his spheroidal figure, his diurnal and annual motions, and from the consideration that gravitation is regulated by the same general laws on that body, and on similar globes, as on the surface of the earth or the moon.-The laws of vision, and the nature and properties of light and colours,

* That is a thousand billions; a billion being equal to ten hundred thousand millions.

+ This will appear quite evident to any one who considers the immense distance of the stars from the earth and from one another. We know, by experience, that a change of place equal to 190 millions of miles, or the diametar of the earth's annual orbit produces no sensible difference in the appearance of the starry heavens, and it is certain that if this distance were multiplied by ten hundred thousand, the case would be nearly the same. The nearest star is, at least, 20 billions of miles distant, and remoter stars several thousands of billions; and therefore, the relative positions of bodies so widely dispersed from each other, would not be sensibly altered by a change of place equal in extent to a thousand billions of miles.

are essentially the same throughout all that portion of the universe which lies within the sphere of our observation; and we have no reason to believe, that the general laws of the universe will be unhinged, for the sake of man, or on account of any changes that happen in his present abode, or in reference to his future destination. For, to use the words of a late eminent Scottish philosopher, "The light by which the fixed stars are seen, is the same with that by which we behold the sun and his attending planets. It moves with the same velocity, as we observe by comparing the aberrations of the fixed stars with the eclipses of Jupiter's satellites. It is refracted and reflected by the same laws. It consists of the same colours. No opinion, therefore, can be formed of the solar light which must not also be adopted with respect to the light of the fixed stars. The medium of vision must be acted on in the same manner by both, whether we suppose it the undulations of an ether, or the emission of matter from the luminous body." From these facts we may conclude, that the general and fundamental principles of the science of Optics are recognised and acted upon in the remotest regions which the telescope has explored, and form a portion of that knowledge which is possessed by the intelligences which occupy those distant provinces of the Creator's empire-always, however, making proper allowances for those local varieties and modifications, which must produce an infinite diversity of scenery throughout the universe, although the same general laws operate throughout the whole.

What has been now stated in reference to light, gravitation, and other affections of matter, might be extended to various other properties, and to the sciences which have been founded upon them; such as, the pressure and motions of fluids, the properties of gaseous bodies, the phenomena. of electricity and magnetism, and all those affinities, decompositions and changes, which are the objects of chemical research. For, in a material fabric, in whatever portion of space it may be placed, there must, from the very nature of things, be a diversity of objects for the investigation of the naturalist, the chemist, and the philosopher, in which the wisdom and goodness of the Deity will always be displayed. Every system of matter, wherever existing in infinite space, has a determinate size and figure; it is composed of an infinite number of atoms, variously modified and arranged; it bas certain diversities of surface and internal arrangement;

it is susceptible of certain motions; it stands in certain re lations to surrounding bodies, and it is destined to accomplish some wise designs corresponding to the eternal plan of the infinite Creator. There is no portion of organized matter now existing, or which may hereafter exist, but which must be considered in these and similar points of view. Now, the object of every rational intelligence, whether designated by the appellations of philosopher, astronomer, or chemist, when contemplating any material system, is, or ought to be, to trace the various properties and arrangements which exist in that system, in order to perceive the intelligence, wisdom, and benevolence that appear in its construction, and thus to acquire a more correct and comprehensive view of the plans and perfections of his Creator. But such contemplations necessarily suppose, the cultivation of those sciences which will enable him to make such investigations with spirit and effect, without which he would be unable to trace either the qualities and relations of material objects, or to perceive the admirable designs of the all-wise Creator in the works which his Almighty power has produced.

SCIENCES WHICH WILL BE CULTIVATED IN A FUTURE STATE.

In order to illustrate this subject a little farther, I shall offer a few brief remarks on some of those sciences which will be recognised and prosecuted in a future world.

ARITHMETIC.

Arithmetic, or the knowledge of numbers, and their various powers and combinations, is a science which must be understood in a greater or less degree by all intelligent beings wherever existing, without some knowledge of which, no extensive progress could be made in the study of the works of God, and in forming just conceptions of the immense number and variety of beings which exist within the limits of his empire. By the application of the science of numbers the bulk of the earth has been ascertained; the distances and magnitudes of many of the heavenly bodies have been computed; the proportion which one part of the universe bears to another has been determined; the inconceivable minuteness of the particles of effluvia, of animalculæ, and of the atoms of light, has been brought within the limits of our contemplation; and we have been enabled