work of all our future improvements in the world beyond the grave, and give to those who have acquired it, in conjunction with the cultivation of moral principle, a superiority over others in the employments and investigations peculiar to that higher sphere of existence; and, conse quently, a more favourable and advantageous outset into the new and unknown regions of the invisible state. To suppose, that the leading principles of scientific knowledge are of utility only in the present world, is not only contrary to every enlightened idea we can form of the future state, either from reason or revelation, but would remove some of the strongest motives which should induce us to engage in the prosecution of useful knowledge. If science is to be considered as altogether confined in its views and effects, to the transitory scene of this mortal state, its attainment becomes a matter of comparatively trivial importance. To a man hastening to the verge of life, there could be no strong inducement to listen to its deductions or to engage in its pursuits. But, if the principles of science, when combined with the truths of revelation, extend to higher objects than the construction of machinery and the embellishment of human life, if they point beyond the present to a future world, if they tend to expand our views of the attributes of the Divinity, and of the grandeur of his kingdom, and if they prepare the mind for entering into more ample views and profound investigations of his plans and operations, in that state of immortality to which we are destined, it must be a matter of importance to every human being, that his mind be imbued with such knowledge, as introductory to the employments of that eternal world which lies before him. But, we may remark more particularly

In the second place, that the acquisition of general knowledge, and habits of mental activity, would induce persons to serious inquiries into the evidences of a future state. Although there are few persons, in a Christian country, who deny the existence of a future world, yet we have too much reason to believe, that the great majority of the population in every country are not thoroughly convinced of this important truth, and that they pass their lives just as if the present were the ultimate scene of their destination. Notwithstanding all the "church-going" which is so common among us, both among the higher and the lower classes, and the numerous sermons which are preached in relation to this subject, it does not appear, that the one-half of our population have any fixed and impressive belief of the reality of an eternal world. If it were otherwise, it would be more frequently manifested in their general temper, conversation and conduct. But we find the great mass of society as keenly engaged in the all-engrossing pursuit of wealth and honours, as if the enjoyments of this world were to last for ever. In general

conversation in the social circle, the topic of a future world, and our relation to it, is studiously avoided. While a person may talk with the utmost ease about a projected voyage to America, the East Indies, or Van Diemen's Land, and the geographical peculiarities of these regions, and be listened to with pleasure-were he to talk, in certain respectable companies, of his departure to another world, and of the important realities to which he will be introduced in that state,—were he even to suggest a hint, that the scene of our eternal destination ought occasionally to form the subject of conversation,either a sarcastic sneer or a solemn gloom would appear on every face, and he would be regarded as a wild enthusiast or a sanctimo nious hypocrite. But why should men manifest such a degree of apathy in regard to this topic, and even an aversion to the very idea of it, if they live under solemn impressions of their connexion with an immortal existence? Every one who admits the idea of a future world, must also admit, that it is one of the most interesting and momentous subjects that can occupy his atten tion, and that it as far exceeds in importance the concerns of this life, as the ages of eternity exceed the fleeting periods of time. And, if so, why should we not appear as eager and interested in conversation on this subject, as we sometimes are in relation to a voyage to some distant land? Yet, among the majority of our fellow-men, there is scarcely any thing to which their attention is less directed, and the very idea of it is almost lost amidst the bustle of business, the acquisition of wealth, the dissipations of society, and the vain pageantry of fashionable life. Among many other causes of the indifference which prevails on this subject, ignorance and mental inactivity are none of the least. Immersed in sensual gratifications and pursuits, unacquainted with the pleasures of intellect, and unaccustomed to rational trains of reflection, multitudes pass through life without any serious consideration of the future scene of another world, resolved, at the hour of dissolution, to take their chance with the generations that have gone before them. But, were men once aroused to mental activity, and to the exercise of their reasoning powers on important objects, they would be qualified for investigating the evi dences which demonstrate the immortality of man, which could not fail to impress their minds with a strong conviction of the dignity of their intellectual natures, and of their high destination. Those evidences are to be found in the Christian revelation which has "brought life and immortality to light," and thrown a radiance on the scenes beyond the grave. But, even independently of revelation, the evidences which prove the immortal destiny of man, from the light of nature, are so strong and powerful, that, when weighed with seriousness and impartiality,

they must appear satisfactory to every candid and inquiring mind. When we consider the universal belief of the doctrine of man's immortality which has prevailed in all ages and nations-when we consider the desire of future existence implanted in the human breast-the noble intellectual faculties with which man is endowed, and the strong desire of knowledge which forms a part of his constitution-the capacity of making perpetual progress towards intellectual and moral perfection-the unlimited range of view which is opened to the human faculties throughout the immensity of space and duration-the moral powers of action with which man is endowed, and their capacity of perpetual expansion and activity-the apprehensions and forebodings of the mind, when under the influence of remorsethe disordered state of the moral world when contrasted with the systematic order of the material-the unequal distribution of rewards and punishments when viewed in connexion with the justice of God-the absurdity of admitting that the thinking principle in men will ever be annihilated-and the blasphemous and absurd consequences which would follow, if the idea of a future state of retribution were rejected; when we attend to these and similar considerations, we perceive an assemblage of arguments, which, when taken in combination with each other, carry irresistible evidence to the mind of every unbiassed inquirer, that man is destined to an immortal existence-an evidence amounting to a moral demonstration, and no less satisfactory than that on which we rest our belief of the existence of the Eternal Mind.* But the greater part of mankind, in their present untutored state, are incapable of entering into such inquiries and investigations. For want of moral and intellectual instruction, they may be said to "have eyes, but see not, ears, but hear not, neither do they understand," and hence, they pass through the scenes of mortality, almost unconscious of their relation to the eternal world, and altogether unprepared for its exercises and enjoyments. In the next place, the acquisition of knowledge, in connexion with the cultivation of moral principles and Christian affections, would tend to prepare the mind for the intercourse and employments of the future world. From divine revelation, we are assured, that in the future state of happiness, the righteous shall not only join the company of "the spirits of just men made perfect," but shall also be admitted into "the general assembly of angels. With these pure and superior intelligences, and, doubtless too, with the inhabitants of other worlds, shall the redeemed inhabitants of our globe hold delightful intercourse,

• For a full illustration of these and other evidences of a future state, along with various topics connected with this subject, the author respectfully refers his readers to a work which he lately published, entitled "The Philosophy of a Future State."

and join in their sublime conversation on the most exalted subjects. One of the employments in which they will be incessantly engaged, will be, to contemplate the divine works and administration, and to investigate the wonders of creating power, wisdom, and goodness, as displayed throughout the universe. For such are the representations given in scripture of the exercises of the heavenly world. Its inhabitants are represented as raising the following song of praise to their Creator, "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints," which evidently implies, that both the wonders of his creation, and the plan of his moral government, are the subjects of their intense study and investigation. And, in another scene exhibited in the book of Revelation, they are represented in the sublime adorations they offer to "Him who liveth for ever and ever," as exclaiming, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created," plainly indicating, that the scenes of the material universe, and the divine perfections as displayed in them, are the objects of their incessant contemplation.

Now, in order to our being prepared for such intercourses and employments, two grand qualifications are indispensably requisite. In the first place, the cultivation of moral principle and conduct, or in other words, the attainment of that holiness which the scriptures enjoin, "without which," we are assured, "no man can see the Lord," that is, can hold no delightful intercourse with him through the medium of his works and providential dispensations. Without this qualification, we are altogether unfit for being introduced into the assembly of angels and other pure intelligences, and for joining with them in their holy services and sublime adorations-as unfit as an ignorant Hotentot, a wild Bosheman, or the lowest dregs of society, would be to take a part in an assembly of learned divines, statesmen, or philosophers. In order to a delightful association with any rank of intelligences, there must exist a certain congeniality of disposition and sentiment, without which, an intimate intercourse would be productive of happiness to neither party. Persons of proud and revengeful dispositions, and addicted to vicious indulgence, could find no enjoyment in a society where all is humility and affection, harmony and love; nor could pure and holy beings delight in associating with them, without supposing the moral laws of the Creator, and the constitution of the intelligent universe entirely subverted. Such characters are as opposite to each other, as light and darkness; and, therefore, we may as soon expect to make the East and West points to meet together, or to stop the planets in their career, as to form a harmonious union be

tween the ignorant and vicious, and the enlightened and virtuous inhabitants of the celestial world. In the next place, a knowledge of the character of God, of his moral dispensations, and of his works of creation, must form a preparation for the exercises of the heavenly state; since these are some of the subjects which occupy the attention of "the innumerable company of angels and the spirits of just men made perfect.' But how could we be supposed to engage in such studies, and to relish such employments, if we remain altogether unacquainted with them till our spirits take their flight from these tabernacles of clay? How could a man whose mind is continually grovelling among the meanest and the most trivial objects, whose soul never rises above the level of his daily labours, which necessity compels him to perform, whose highest gratification is to carouse with his fellows, to rattle a set of dice, or to shuffle a pack of cards, and who is incapable of prosecuting a train of rational thought-how could such a one be supposed qualified for entering, with intelligence and delight, into the sublime investigations, and the lofty contemplations which arrest the attention, and form the chief exercises "of the saints in light?" There is an utter incongruity in the idea, that a rude and ignorant mind could relish the enjoyments of the heavenly world, unless it be enlightened and transformed into the image of its Creator; and we have no warrant from revelation to conclude that such a transformation will be effected, after the spirit has taken its flight to the invisible

state.

But it is easy to conceive what transporting pleasures will be felt by an enlightened and virtuous individual when he is ushered into a scene where his prospects will be enlarged, his faculties expanded, and the causes which now obstruct their energies for ever removed. He will feel himself in his native element, will resume his former investigations on a more enlarged scale, and with more vigour and activity, and enjoy the prospect of perpetually advancing from one degree of knowledge and felicity to another throughout an interminable succession of existence. Having studied the moral character of God as displayed in his word, and in the dispensations of his providence; having acquired, after all his researches, only a faint and imperfect glimpse of his moral attributes; having met with many difficulties and labyrinths in the movements of the divine government which he was altogether unable to unravel, which produced an ardent longing after a more enlarged sphere of vision-how gratifying to such a mind must it be, to contemplate the divine character in the fulness of its glory, to behold the apparent inconsistencies of the divine government reconciled, its intricate mazes unravelled, its wisdom and rectitude displayed, and the veil which con

cealed from mortals the reasons of its procedure for ever withdrawn! Having taken a cursory survey of the displays of divine wisdom and goodness, in the arrangement of our sublunary system, and in the construction of the animal and vegetable tribes with which it is furnished; having directed his views, by the light of science, to the celestial regions; having caught a glimpse of the astonishing operations of almighty power in the distant spaces of the firmament; having been overwhelmed with wonder and amazement at the extent and grandeur of the divine empire; having cast many a longing look towards distant worlds, mingled with many anxious inquiries into their nature and destination which he was unable to resolve, and having felt an ardent desire to learn the history of their population, and to behold the scene of the universe a little more unfolded-what transporting joys must be felt by such an individual, when he shall enter into a world where "he shall know even as also he is known;" where the veil which intercepted his view of the wonders of creating power shall be removed; where the cherubim and the seraphim, who have winged their flight through regions of immensity impassable by mortals, shall rehearse the history of other worlds; where the sphere of vision will be enlarged, the faculties invigorated, and the glories of divine goodness, wisdom and omnipotence displayed in all their effulgence! Having familiarized such objects to his mind, during this first stage of his existence, he will enter on the prosecution of new discoveries of divine perfection, with a renovated holy ardour, of which rude and grovelling minds are incapable, which will fill his soul with extatic raptureeven "with joy unspeakable and full of glory."

Let us suppose, for the sake of illustration, two individuals of opposite characters entering the future world at the same time-the one rude, ignorant, and vicious, and the other "renewed in the spirit of his mind," and enlightened with all the knowledge which science and revelation can furnish-it is evident, that, although they were both ushered into the same locality, their state and enjoyments would be altogether different. The one would sink, as it were, to his natural level, following the principles, propensities and passions which he previously indulged; and, although he were admitted into the society of pure and enlightened spirits, he would remain as a cheerless, insulated wretch, without intellectual activity, and destitute of enjoyment. Finding no pleasures suited to his benighted mind and his grovelling affections, he would be fain to flee to other regions and to more congenial associates, as the owl flies from the vocal grove and the society of the feathered choir, and prefers the shades of night to the beams of day. Like this gloomy bird, which delights in obscure retreats and rugged ruins, and has no relish for

blooming gardens and flowery meads-the unenfightened and unsanctified soul would feel itself unhappy and imprisoned, as it were, even amidst triumphant spirits, and the splendours of immortal day. Whereas the other, having ardently Jonged for such a state, and having previously undergone the requisite preparation for its enjoyments, feels himself in a region suited to his taste, mingles with associates congenial to his disposition, engages in exercises to which he was formerly accustomed, and in which he delighted, beholds a prospect, boundless as the universe, rising before him, on which his faculties may be exercised with everlasting improvement and everlasting delight, and, consequently, experiences a "fulness of joy" which can never be interrupted, but will be always increasing "world without end."

Such are the views we must necessarily adopt respecting the state and enjoyments of these two characters in the life to come; and there is no resisting of the conclusion we have deduced respecting the ignorant and vicious individual, without supposing that something, equivalent to a miracle, will be performed in his behalf, immediately after his entrance into the invisible world, to fit him for the employments of a state of happiness. But, for such an opinion we have no evidence, either from scripture or from reason. It would be contrary to every thing we know of the moral government of God; it would strike at the foundation of all religion and morality; it would give encouragement to ignorance and vice; it would render nugatory all the efforts of a virtuous character to increase in knowledge and holiness during the present life, and it would give the ignorant and the licentious an equal reason for expecting eternal happiness in the world to come, as the most profound Christian philosophers, or the most enlightened and pious divines. Besides, we are assured by the "Faithful and True Witness," that, as in the future world, "he who is righteous shall remain righteous still," so "he who is unjust shall remain unjust still, and he who is filthy shall remain filthy still;" which expressions seem evidently to imply, that no more opportunities will be granted for reforming what had been amiss, and recovering the polluted and unrighteous soul to purity and rectitude. *

Whatever opinion we may form as to the doctrine of Universal Restoration,-it will be admitted, even by the abettors of that doctrine, that an unholy and unenlightened soul is unfit for celestial happiness, on its first entrance into the future world, and thousands or millions of years, or a period equivalent to what is included in the phrase, "ages of ages," may elapse before it is fit for being restored to the dignity of its nature, and the joys of heaven. Even on this supposition, (although it were warranted by Scripture) the preparation of human beings in the present life for a state of future happi

ness, must be a matter of the highest importance, since it prevents the sufferings denoted by "devour.

If, then, it appears, that we shall carry the knowledge and moral habits we acquire in this life along with us into the other world,—and if a certain portion of rational and religious information and moral principle is essentially requisite to prepare us for the employments and felicities of that state-by refusing to patronise every scheme by which a general diffusion of knowledge may be promoted, we not only allow our fellow-men to wander amidst the mists of superstition, and to run heedlessly into numerous dangers, both physical and moral, we not only deprive them of exquisite intellectual enjoyments, and prevent the improvement of the arts and sciences, but we deprive them, in a certain degree, of the chance of obtaining happiness in a state of immortality. For as ignorance is the parent of vice, and as vicious propensities and indulgences necessarily lead to misery, both here and hereafter, the man whose mind is left to grope amidst intellectual darkness, can enjoy no well-founded hope of felicity in the life to come, since he is unqualified for the associa tions, the contemplations, and the employments of that future existence. As in the material creation, light was the first substance created before the chaos was reduced to beauty and order, so, in the intellectual world, knowledge, or light in the understanding, is the first thing which restores the moral system to harmony and order. It is the commencement of every process that leads to improvement, comfort, and moral order in this life, and that prepares us for the enjoyments of the life to come. But ignorance is both the emblem and the prelude of "the blackness of darkness for ever." This is one of the most powerful considerations which should induce every philanthropist to exert every nerve, and to further every scheme which has for its object to diffuse liberty, knowledge and moral principle among all the inhabitants of the earth.

SECTION IX.

ON THE UTILITY OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE IN RELATION TO THE STUDY OF DIVINE REVELATION.

Or all the departments of knowledge to which the human mind can be directed, there is none of greater importance than that which exhibits the real character and condition of man as a moral agent-his relation to the Deity-his eternal destiny-the way in which he may be delivered from the effects of moral evil-and the worship and service he owes to his Almighty Creator. On these and kindred topics, the

ing fire, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth," during the indefinite and long-continued period of "ages of ages."

Christian revelation affords the most clear and satisfactory information, and the details which it furnishes on these subjects are of the highest moment, and deeply interesting to every inhabitant of the globe. But ignorance, leagued with depravity and folly, has been the cause that the sacred oracles have so frequently been treated with indifference and contempt; and that those who have professed to recognise them as the intimations of the will of Deity have been prevented from studying them with intelligence, and contemplating the facts they exhibit in all their consequences and relations.

In order to a profitable study of the doctrines, facts and prophecies contained in the Bible, it is requisite, in the first place, that a deep and thorough conviction be produced in the mind, that they are indeed the revelations of heaven, addressed to man on earth to direct his views and conduct as an accountable agent, and a candidate for immortality. From ignorance of the evidences on which the truth of Christianity rests, multitudes of thoughtless mortals have been induced to reject its authority, and have glided down the stream of licentious pleasure, "sporting themselves with their own deceivings," till they landed in wretchedness and ruin. The religion of the Bible requires only to be examined with care, and studied with humility and reverence, in order to produce a full conviction of its celestial origin; and wherever such dispositions are brought into contact with a calm and intelligent investigation of the evidences of revelation, and of the facts and doctrines it discloses, the mind will not only discern its superiority to every other system of religion, but will perceive the beauty and excellence of its discoveries, and the absolute necessity of their being studied and promulgated in order to raise the human race from that degradation into which they have been so long immersed, and to promote the renovation of the moral world. And, those objections and difficulties which previously perplexed and harassed the inquirer will gradually evanish, as the mists of the morning before the orb of day.

The evidences of Christianity have been generally distributed into the external and the internal. The external may again be divided into direct or collateral. The direct evidences are such as arise from the nature, consistency, and probability of the facts; and from the simplicity, uniformity, competency and fidelity of the testimonies by which they are supported. The collateral evidences are those which arise from the concurrent testimonies of heathen writers, or others, which corroborate the history of Christianity and establish its leading facts. The internal evidences arise, either from the conformity of the announcements of revelation to the known character of God, from their aptitude to the frame and circumstances of man, or from

those convictions impressed upon the mind by the agency of the Divine Spirit.

In regard to the external evidences, the following propositions can be supported both from the testimonies of profane writers, the Scriptures of the New Testament, and other ancient Christian writings; viz. 1, "That there is satisfactory evidence that many professing to be original witnesses of the Christian miracles, passed their lives in labours, dangers, and sufferings, voluntarily undergone in attestation of the accounts which they delivered, and solely in consequence of their belief of those accounts; and that they also submitted, from the same motives, to new rules of conduct." And, 2, "That there is not satisfactory evidence, that persons pretending to be original witnesses of any other miracles, have acted in the same manner, in attestation of the accounts which they delivered, and solely in consequence of their belief of the truth of these accounts." These propositions can be substantiated to the conviction of every serious and unbiassed inquirer; they form the basis of the external evidence of the Christian religion; and, when their truth is clearly discerned, the mind is irresistibly led to the conclusion, that the doctrines and facts promulgated by the first propagators of Christianity are true.

The following propositions can also be satisfactorily proved, viz. That the Jewish religion is of great antiquity, and that Moses was its founder-that the books of the Old Testament were extant long before the Christian era; a Greek translation of them having been laid up in the Alexandrian library in the days of Ptolemy Philadelphus-that these books are in the main genuine, and the histories they contain worthy of credit-that many material facts which are recorded in the Old Testament are also mentioned by very ancient heathen writers-that Christianity is not a modern religion, but was professed by great multitudes nearly 1800 years ago—that Jesus Christ, the founder of this religion, was crucified at Jerusalem during the reign of Tiberius Cæsar-that the first publishers of this religion wrote books containing an account of the life and doctrines of their master, several of which bore the names of those books which now make up the New Testament-that these books were frequently quoted and referred to by numerous writers from the days of the apostles to the fourth century and downwards-that they are genuine, or written by the authors whose names they bear-that the histories they contain are in the main agreeable to those facts which were asserted by the first preachers and received by the first converts to Christianity-that the facts, whether natural or supernatural, which they record, are transmitted to us with as great a degree of evidence (if not greater) as any historical fact recorded by historians of allowed cha