Natural Philosophy may, therefore, be considered as a branch both of the religion of nature, and of the religion of revelation. It removes, in part, the veil which is spread over the mys terious operations of nature, and discloses to our view the wonders which lie concealed from the sottish multitude, "who regard not the works of the Lord, nor consider the operations of his ban is." It enables us to perceive the footsteps of the Almighty both in his majestic movements and in his most minute designs; for there is not a step we can take in the temple of nature, under the guidance of an enlightened philosophy, in which we do not behold traces of inscrutable wisdom and design, and of a benevolence which extends its kind regards to every rank of sensitive and intelligent existence. It shows us the beauty and goodness of the divine administration; and demonstrates, that the communication of happiness is the final cause of all the admirable arrangements which pervade the material system. It teaches us, that the several operations of nature are carried on by means uncontrollable by human power, and far transcending finite skill to plan or to execute. It discovers those laws by which the sovereign of the universe governs his vast dominions, and maintains them in undecaying beauty and splendour, throughout all ages. It thus enables us to consecrate the universe into one grand temple, and, from the contemplation of every object it presents, to elevate our minds, and to raise our voices in grateful praises to Him" who created all things, and for whose pleasure they are and were created." In the future world there will be abundant scope for the prosecution of this subject to an indefinite extent. With respect to the state of separate spirits, after their departure from this world, the employments in which they engage, and the connection in which they stand to the material system, we can form no distinct conception, and must remain in ignorance till the period arrive when we shall be actually ushered into that mysterious scene of existence. But, we are assured, that, after the resurrection, a material world will be prepared for the habitation of the just, in which their connection with the visible universe will doubtless, be far more extensive than it is at present; and wherever a material system exists, it affords scope for physical investigations, and for the application of the principles of Natural Philosophy. This new world will be prepared and arranged by divine wisdom; and consequently, will exhibit scenes of beauty and grandeur, of exquisite contrivance and benevolent design. For, if the world we now inhabit, amidst all the deformities and physical derangements which sin has introduced, displays so many beautiful arrangements and marks of intelligence and skill, much more may we conclude, that the world in which "righteousness shall dwell," will abound in every thing that can charm

the eye, the ear, or the imagination, and illustrate the manifold wisdom of God; and of course will present a boundless field for the most sublime investigations of science. This world, in many of its arrangements, will doubtless present a variety of objects and scenes altogether different from those we now behold, even although the same physical laws which govern our terrestrial system should still continue in operation. The inflection, refraction and reflection of light will be directed by the same general laws, and will produce effects analogous to those we now perceive in the scene around us; but the mediums through which it passes, and the various objects by which it is refracted and reflected, and many other modifications to which it may be subjected, may produce a variety of astonishing effects, surpassing every thing we now behold, and exhibit scenes of beauty and magnificence of which we can, at present, form no distinct conception. The science of optics, in unfolding to us the nature of light, and the various properties of prisms, mirrors, and lenses, has enabled us to exhibit a variety of beautiful and surprising effects, and to perceive traces of infinite intelligence in relation to this element, beyond what former ages could have believed. And, therefore, we have reason to conclude, that, in the hand of Omnipotence, when arranging other worlds, the element of light is capable of being modified in a thousand forms of which we are now ignorant, so as to produce the most glorious and transporting effects. There will probably be no such phenomena as thunder, lightning, and fiery meteors in the world to which I allude, but the electrical fluid, which is the principal agent in producing these appearances, and which pervades every part of nature, may operate in that world in a different manner, and, instead of producing effects that are terrific and appalling, may be an agent for creating scenes which will inspire the soul with admiration and delight. Some of the mechanical, pneumatical, and hydrostatical principles which enter into the construction of mills, wheel-carriages, forcing pumps, and steam-engines, may not be applied to the same purposes in the future world; but they may be applicable to a variety of other unknown purposes corresponding to the nature of that world, and the character and employments of its inhabitants.

In such cases as those now alluded to, and in thousands of others, there will be ample scope for the application of all the principles of natural science; and thousands of facts and principles, to us unknown, will doubtless be brought to light by the superior sagacity of the heavenly inhabitants. To maintain the contrary, would be, in effect, to suppose, that the inhabitants of heaven are endowed with powers of intellect inferior to those of the inhabitants of the earth,-that their knowledge is less extensive than ours-that they make no progress in moral and intellectual attainments.

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-and that they have no desire to explore works of the Lord, and to consider the operations of his hands."

What has been now stated in relation to Natural Philosophy, will equally apply to the science of Chymistry. This science has for its object to ascertain the first principles of all bodies, their various properties and combinations, their mode of operation, and the effects they produce in the economy of nature. Its discoveries have not only unfolded many of the admirable processes which are going forward in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, but have opened to our view many striking displays of the wisdom and goodness of God, in producing, by the most simple means, the most astonishing and benevolent effects. The principles of this science must, therefore, be applicable, wherever matter exists, under whatever shape or modification it may present itself; and as all the worlds throughout the universe are composed of matter compounded into various forms, they must afford an ample range for the investigations and researches of chymical science.

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY.

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Anatomy and Physiology are subjects which we may reasonably conclude, will occasionally occupy the attention of the inhabitants of heaven. The object of these sciences is, to investigate the neral structure and economy of the animal frame, and especially the parts and functions of the human body. The system of organization connected with the human frame is the most admirable piece of mechanism which the mind can contemplate-whether we consider the inmense number and variety of its parts-the numerous functions they perform-the rapid movements which are incessantly going forward throughout every part of this system-the amazing force exerted by the heart and muscles-the processes of digestion and respiration-the system of veins and arteries-the articulation of the bones-the structure and course of the lymphatics-the ramifications of the nerves-the circulation of the blood -the wonderful changes, dissolutions and combinations continually going on-the chymical apparatus adapted for effecting these purposesthe organs of sense by which an intercourse is maintained with the external world-or, the harmonious correspondence of all its parts and functions with the agencies of the surrounding elements. From the researches of physiologists we learn, that there are in the human body, two hundred and forty-five bones variously articulated, each of them having above forty distinct scopes or intentions; and four hundred and fortysix muscles of various figures and magnitudes, connected with the bones, for producing the numerous movements of the animal frame that more than a hundred of these muscles are employed every time we breathe-that there are

thousands of veins and arteries distributed throughout every part of this wonderful system -that the whole mass of blood rushes with im mense velocity, through these vessels, and through the heart, fourteen times every hour-that respiration is nothing else than a species of combus tion, in which the oxygen of the atmosphere is absorbed by the blood, and diffuses heat and vi gour throughout the system-that the lungs are composed of an infinite number of membranous cells or vesicles variously figured, and full of air, communicating on all sides with one another, and that their number amounts to at least 1,700,000,000-that there are above three hundred thou sand millions of pores in the glands of the skin which covers the body of a middle-sized man, through which the sweat and insensible perspiration are continually issuing-that thousands of lacteal and lymphatic tubes are absorbing and conveying nutriment to the blood-that the heart, in the centre of the system, is exerting an immense muscular force, and giving ninety-six thousand strokes every twenty-four hours;-and that all this complicated system of mechanism, and hundreds of other functions of which we are ignorant, must be in constant action, in order to preserve us in existence, and secure our enjoy.

This subject frequently engaged the attention of the pious Psalmist. With an eye of intelli gence and devotion, he surveyed the curious or ganization of the human frame, from the rude embryo in the womb to the full developement of all its functions; and, struck with the wisdom and goodness displayed in its formation, he raised his thoughts to God in grateful adoration. "I will praise thee," he exclaims, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are thy works! How precious are thy wonderful contri. vances in relation to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand." This body, however, wonderful as its structure is, is liable to decay, and must soon be dissolved in the grave. But we are assured that a period is approaching, when, "all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth;" when this mortal frame "shall put on immortality," and when that which was sown in corruption "shall be raised in glory." If the human body, even in its present state of degradation, excited the pious admiration of the Psalmist, much more will it appear worthy of our highest admiration, when it emerges from darkness and corruption to participate in the glories of an immortal life. Its faculties will then be invigorated, its tendency to dissolution destroyed, every prin ciple of disease annihilated, and every thing that is loathsome and deformed for ever prevented. Being "fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body," its beauty will be exquisite, its symmetry perfect, its aspect bright and refulgent, and its

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motions vigorous and nimble. Its sensitive organs will be refined and improved, and the sphere of their operation extended. Its auditory organs will be tuned to receive the most delightful sensations from the harmonies of celestial music, and its visual powers rendered capable of ceiving the minutest objects, and penetrating into the most distant regions. New senses and faculties of perception, and new powers of motion, fitted to transport it with rapidity from one purtion of space to another, will, in all probability, be superadded to the powers with which it is now invested. And, surely, the contrivances and adaptations which must enter into the structure of such an organical frame, cannot be less curious and exquisite, nor display less wisdom and intelligence than those which we now perceive in our mortal bodies. On the contrary, we must necessarily suppose thousands of the most delicate contrivances and compensations, different from every thing we can now conceive, to be essentially requisite in the construction of an organized body intended for perpetual activity, and destined to an IMMORTAL duration.-To investigate and to contemplate the contrivances of divine wisdom, by which the elements of disease and death are for ever prevented from entering into this renovated frame, and by which it will be preserved in undecaying youth and vigour throughout the lapse of innumerable ages, we must necessarily conclude, will form a part of the studies of renovated man in the future world; -nor can we help thinking, that the knowledge of the wonders of the human frame we now acquire, may be a preparatory qualification, for enabling us to form an enlightened and comprehensive conception of the powers, qualities, and peculiar organization, of the bodies of the saints after the period of the resurrection.

HISTORY.

Another branch of study in which the saints in heaven will engage, is History. History contains a record of past facts and events; and makes us acquainted with transactions which happened hundreds or thousands of years before we were brought into existence. When viewed in its proper light, it may be considered as nothing else than a detail of the operations of Divine Providence in relation to the moral intelligences of this world. It illustrates the character of the human race, and the deep and universal depravity in which they are involved; and displays the rectitude of the character of God, and the equity of his moral administration.

History, therefore, will form a prominent object of study among the celestial inhabitants, as furnishing those materials which will illustrate the ways of Providence and display the wisdom and righteousness of Jehovah in his government

of the world. At present we can contemplate only a few scattered fragments of the history of mankind. Of the history of some nations we are altogether ignorant; and of the history of others we have only a few unconnected details, blended with fabulous narrations and extravagant fictions. Of no nation whatever have we an entire history composed of authentic materials; and consequently, we perceive only some broken and detached links in the chain of the divine dispensations, and are unable to survey the whole of God's procedure towards our race, in one unbroken series, from the creation to the present time. We know nothing decisively respecting the period during which man remained in a state of innocence, nor of the particular transactions and events that happened previous to his fall. And how little do we know of the state of mankind, of the events which befell them, and of the civil and religious arrangements which existed, during the period of sixteen hundred years which intervened between the creation and the deluge, though the world was then more fertile and populous than it has ever since been? How little do we know of the state of mankind immediately previous to the flood, of the scenes of consternation and terror which must have been displayed over all the earth, when the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the cataracts of heaven opened, and of the dreadful concussion of the elements of nature, when the solid strata of the earth were rent asunder, when the foundations of the mountains were overturned, and the whole surface of the globe transformed into one boundless ocean? How little do we know of the circumstances which attended the gradual rise of idolatry, and of the origin of the great empires into which the world has been divided? How little do we know even of the history of the Jewish nation, posterior to the period of the Babylonish captivity? Whither were the ten tribes of Israel scattered among the nations, what events have befallen them, and in what countries are they now to be found? Of the history of all the nations in the world (the Jews only excepted) from the time of the deluge to the days of Hezekiah, a period of nearly two thousand years, we remain in profound ignorance. And yet, during that long period, God had not forsaken the earth; his dis pensations towards his rational offspring were still going forward, empires were rising and declining, one generation passing away, and another generation coming, and thousands of millions of mankind ushered into the eternal world.-Those chasms in the history of mankind, which hide from our view the greater portion of God's moral dispensations, will, doubtless, be filled up in the eternal state, so that we shall be enabled to take a full and comprehensive view of the whole of the divine procedure, in all its connections and bearings towards every nation upon earth.

evil, and fitted to the renovated faculties of the redeemed, will be prepared in some part of the universe, for the residence of the just.

In reference to the locality, and the circumstances of our future destination, there appear to be only four or five suppositions that can be formed. Either, 1. The world we now inhabit will be new-modelled, after the general conflagration, and furnished as a proper place of residence for its renovated inhabitants;-or, 2. Some of the globes now existing in other regions of space, to which the holy inhabitants of our world will be transported, may be allotted as the more permanent habitation of the just;—or, 3. Some new globe or world will be immediately created, adapted to the circumstances of redeemed men, and adorned with scenery fitted to call forth into exercise their renovated powers;-or, 4. The redeemed inhabitants of heaven may be permitted to transport themselves from one region or world to another, and be furnished with faculties and vehicles for this purpose ;-or, 5. After remaining for a certain lapse of ages in that particular world to which they shall be introduced immediately after the resurrection, they may be transported to another region of the universe, to contemplate a new scene of creating power and intelligence, and afterwards pass, at distant in tervals, through a successive series of transportations, in order to obtain more ample prospects of the riches and glory of God's universal kingdom.

In all these cases, whatever supposition we may adopt as most probable, the general laws which now govern the universe, and the general relations of the great bodies in the universe to each other will remain, on the whole, unchanged; unless we adopt the unreasonable and extravagant supposition, that the whole frame of Jehovah's empire will be unhinged and overturned, for the sake of our world, which, when compared with the whole system of nature, is but an undistinguishable atom amidst the immensity of God's works. With equal reason might we suppose, that the conduct of the inhabitants of a planet which revolves around the star Sirius, or the catastrophe which may have befallen the planets Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta, must necessarily involve in them the destruction of the terraqueous globe.

Let us suppose, for a moment, that the globe we now inhabit, with its surrounding atmosphere, shall be cleared from the physical evils which now exist, and undergo a new arrangement to render it fit for being the abode of holy intelligences in a future state. On this supposition, would not the general relation of things in the universe remain materially the same as at present? The wide expanse of the firmament, and all the orbs it contains, would present the same general arrangement and relation to each other which they now do. Supposing this new-modelled world to be of a spherical or spheroidal

figure-which appears to be the general from of all the great bodies in the universe with which we are acquainted-there would then exist certain properties and relations between circles cutting each other at right angles, or in any other direction; or, in other words, between an equator and poles, parallels and meridians, &c. as at present. The direction of its motion, the inclination of its axis, the component parts of its surface and atmosphere, and other circumstances, might be changed, which would produce an immense variety of phenomena, different from what now takes place; but the same general principles of geography, astronomy, arithmetic, geometry, chymistry and mechanics, which apply to all the various relations of material objects wherever existing, would also be applicable in the present case; and, consequently, such sciences would be recognised and cultivated, and the principles on which they are built, reasoned and acted upon, though in a more perfect manner than at present, in this new world and new order of things. Such sciences, therefore, as flow from the natural and necessary relations of. material objects, and which tend to direct us in our conceptions of the wisdom and power of the great Architect of nature, must be known and cultivated in a future world, where rational spirits are united to an organical structure, and related to a material system; and consequently, if the elementary and fundamental principles of such sciences be not acquired now, they will remain to be acquired hereafter.

The remarks now stated, with a few modifications, will apply to any of the other suppositions which may be made in reference to the place and circumstances of our future destination.-Even although the relations of external objects and their various properties, in the future world, were altogether different from those which obtain in the present state of things, still, it would be useful and highly gratifying to the mind, to be enabled to compare the one with the other, and to perceive how the divine wisdom is displayed in every node and variety of existence. No possible mode of material existence, however, can be conceived to exist, to which some of the elementary principles of scientific knowledge do not apply.

There are, indeed, several arts and sciences which more immediately respect the present world, and our relations in it, which cannot be supposed to be subjects of investigation in a future state of happy existence. The study of languages-which forms a prominent object of attention with many of those who declaim on the vanity of human science-the study of medicine as a practical art; the study of civil and municipal law; the study of political economy, heraldry and fortification; the arts of war, farriery, falconry, hunting and fishing; the arts of the manufacturer, clothier, dyer, &c.-in short, all