act that thousands of rational beings have been swept from existence, in a manner so horrible and tremendous, seems plainly to indicate, that they belonged to a race of apostate intelligences, who had violated the commands of their Creator. Such visitations are quite accordant to the idea of man being in the condition of a trans gressor; but, if he were an innocent creature, they would be altogether unaccountable, as happening under the government of a Being of unbounded benevolence.

4. The phenomena of thunder-storms, tempests, and hurricanes, and the ravages they produce, are also presumptive proofs that man is a depraved intelligence. In that season of the year when Nature is arrayed in her most beautiful attire, and the whole terrestrial landscape tends to inspire the mind with cheerfulnesssuddenly a sable cloud emerges from the hori zon-the sky assumes a baleful aspect-a dismal gloom envelopes the face of nature-the lightnings flash from one end of the horizon to another -the thunders roll with awful majesty along the verge of heaven, till at length they burst over head in tremendous explosions. The sturdy oak is shattered and despoiled of its foliage; rocks are rent into shivers; and the grazing herds are struck into a lifeless group. Even man is not exempted from danger in the midst of this appalling scene. For hundreds in every For hundreds in every age have fallen victims either to the direct stroke of the lightning, or to the concussions and conflagrations with which it has been attended. In tropical countries, the phenomena of thunderstorms are more dreadful and appalling, than in our temperate climate. The thunder frequently continues for days and weeks in almost one incessant roar; the rains are poured down in torrents; and the flashes of lightning follow each other in so rapid a succession, that the whole atmosphere and the surrounding hills seem to be in a blaze. In some instances, the most dreadful effects have been produced by the bursting of an electrical cloud. In 1772, a bright cloud was observed at midnight to cover a mountain in the island of Java; it emitted globes of fire so luminous, that the night became as clear as day. Its effects were astonishing. Every thing was destroyed for 7 leagues round; houses were demolished; plantations buried in the earth; and 2140 people lost their lives, besides 1500 nead of cattle, and a vast number of horses and other animals.--Ency, Brit. Art. Cloud.

Is it not reasonable, then, to conclude, that such awful phenomena as storms, volcanoes, and earthquakes, are so many occasional indications of the frown of an offended Creator upon a race of transgressors, in order to arouse them to a sense of their apostacy from the God of heaven? We cannot conceive that such physical operations, accompanied by so many terrific and destructive effects, are at all compatible with the

idea that man is at present in a paradisci al state, and possessed of that moral purity in which he was created. Such appalling displays of almighty power are in complete unison with the idea, that man is a transgressor, and that the present dispensations of God are a mixture of mercy and of judgment; but if he belong to an innocent race of moral intelligences, they appear quite anomalous, and are altogether inexplicable, on the supposition, that a Being of infinite benevolence and rectitude directs the operations of the physical and moral world ; more especially when we consider the admirable care which

displayed in the construction of animal bodies, in order to prevent pain, and to produce pleasurable sensations. When man was first brought into existence, his thoughts and affections, we must suppose, were in unison with the will of his Creator; his mind was serene and unruf fled; and, consequently, no foreboding apprehensions of danger would, in such a state, take possession of his breast. But after he had swerved from the path of primeval rectitude, and especially after the deluge had swept away the inhabitants of the antediluvian world, the constitution of the earth and the atmosphere seems to have undergone a mighty change, corresponding to the degraded state into which he had fallen; so that those very elements which may have formerly ministered to his enjoyment

by being formed into different combinationsnow conspire to produce terror and destruction.

:

The same important conclusion might have been deduced, from a consideration of the immense deserts of marshes and barren sands which are dispersed over the globe-the vast and frightful regions of ice around the poles-the position of the mineral strata, and the vast disproportion which the extent of the dry land bears to the expanse of the ocean-all which circumstances, and many others, in conjunction with the facts above stated, conspire to show, that man no longer stands in the rank of a pure intelligence; and that his habitation corresponds, in some de gree, to his state of moral degradation. By overlooking this consideration, St. Pierre and other naturalists have found themselves much at a loss, when attempting to vindicate the wisdom and equity of Providence, in the physical disorders which exist in the present constitution of our globe. The circumstance, that man is a fallen creature, appears the only clue to guide us in unravelling the mysteries of Providence, and to enable us to perceive the harmony and consistency of the divine operations in the system of nature; and no other consideration will fully account for the disorders which exist in the present economy of our world.

But it is a most consoling consideration, that, amidst all the physical evils which abound, the benevolence and mercy of God are admirably blended with the indications of his displeasure.

Thunder-storms and tempests contribute to the purification of the atmosphere; and volcanoes are converted into funnels for vomiting up those fiery materials which produce earthquakes, and which might otherwise swallow up whole provinces in one mighty gulf. In the ordinary course of things, such phenomena are more terrific than destructive; and are calculated rather to rouse an unthinking world to consideration, than to prove the instruments of human destruction. Compared with the miseries which men have voluntarily inflicted on one another, the destructive effects of the elements of nature dwindle into mere temporary and trifling accidents. We have reason to believe, that & much greater destruction of human beings has been produced by two or three of the late battles in modern Europe, such as those of Waterloo, Borodina, and Smolensko, than has been produced by all the electrical storms, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, which have raged for the space of a hundred years. It has been calculated, that during the Russian campaign of 1812, including men, women, and children, belonging to the French and Russians, there were not less than five hundred thousand human victims sacrificed to the demon of war. It is probable, that the destruction produced among the human race, by the convulsions of nature, since the commencement of time, (the deluge only excepted,) does not amount to above four or five millions of lives; but were we take into account the destruction of human life produced by ambition, tyranny, oppression, superstition, wars, devastations, murders, and horrid cruelties, in every period of the world, it would, doubtless, amount to several hundreds of millions. So that, amidst So that, amidst the most terrible displays of the displeasure of God against the sins of men, mercy is mingled with judgment; and while man is the greatest enemy and destroyer of his own species, benevolence is the prominent feature of all the ar-angements of the Deity in the physical world. For "his tender mercies are over all his works."*

to "the four winds of heaven"-should he again reared up with the same materials, in a new and more glorious form-is an idea which seems to baffle the human comprehension; and, in all probability, would never have entered the mind of man, had it not been communicated by divine revelation. Accordingly we find, that the philosophers of antiquity, though many of them believed in the doctrine of a future state, never once dreamed, that the bodies of men, after they had been committed to the dust, would ever again be reanimated; and hence, when the apostle Paul proposed this doctrine to the Athenian philosophers, they scouted the idea, as if it had been the reverie of a madınan. And, indeed. without a strong conviction, and a lively impression of the infinite power and intelligence of God, the mind cannot rely with unshaken confidence on the declaration of a future fact so widely different from all the obvious phenomena of nature, and from every thing that lies within the range of human experience. "If a man die," says Job, "shall he live again? There is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it wili sprout again, and bring forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?" When the mind, however, is frequently exercised in contemplations on the stupendous works of the Almighty, it must feel an impressive conviction, that "nothing can be too hard for Jehovah.” endeavour to draw aside the veil which conceais many of the scenes of nature from the vulgar eye, we perceive a variety of operations and analogies, which tend to assist us in forming a conception, not only of the possibility of a resurrection, but also of the manner in which it may probably be effected, when the power of Omnipotence is interposed.

When we

The transformations of insects afford us a beautiful illustration of this subject. All the butterflies which we see fluttering about in the summer months, were originally caterpillars. Before they arrive at that highest stage of their existence, they pass through four different transformations. The first state of a butterfly is that of an egg; it next assumes the form of a loathsome crawling worm; after remaining some skin; languishes; refuses to eat ; ceases to move, time in this state, it throws off its caterpilla and is shut up, as it were, in a tomb. In this vered with a thin crust or shell, and remains state, the animal is termed a chrysalis, it is cosometimes for six or eight months without mosometimes for six or eight months without motion, and apparently without life. After remaining its allotted time in this torpid condition, it begins to acquire new life and vigour; it bursts its imprisonment, and comes forth a butterfly with wings tinged with the most beautiful co lours. It mounts the air; it ranges froin flower to flower, and seems to rejoice in its new and splendid existence. How very different does it

great for the eye to bear; and even a rod of iron or steel is made to blaze under its energy.

The modern infidel, like the scoffers of old, scouts the idea of the dissolution of the world, and of the restitution of the universe," because all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation; not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God;" and not considering the principles and facts in the system, of nature, which indicate the possibility of such an event. But, from the fact now stated, we may learn how easily this effect may be accomplished, even in conformity with those laws which now operate in the constitution of our globe. For should the Creator issue forth his almighty fiat" Let the nitrogen of the atmosphere be completely separated from the oxygen, and let the oxygen exert its native energies without control, wherever it extends ;"-from what we know of its nature, we are warranted to conclude, that instantly a universal conflagration would commence throughout all the kingdoms of nature-not only wood, coals, sulphur, bitumen, and other combustible substances, but even the hardest rocks and stones, and all the metals, fossils, and minerals, and water itself, which is a compound of two inflammable substances, would blaze with a rapidity which would carry destruction through the whole expanse of the terraqueous globe, and change its present aspect into that of a new world at the same ime, all the other laws of nature might still operate as they have hitherto done since the creation of the world.

1

I do not mean positively to assert, that this is the agent which the Almighty will certainly employ for accomplishing this terrible catastrophe, (though we think it highly probable,) since Infinite Power is possessed of numerous resources for accomplishing its objects, which lie beyond the sphere of our knowledge and comprehension. But I have brought forward this fact, to show with what infinite ease this event may be accomplished, when Almighty Power is interposed. By means of the knowledge we have acquired of the constitution of the atmosphere, and by the aid of chymical apparatus, we can perform experiments on a small scale, similar in kind, though infinitely inferior in degree, to the awful event under consideration. And, therefore, we can easily conceive that He who formed the expansive atmosphere which surrounds us, and who knows the native energy of its constituent principles, may, by a simple volition, make that invisible fluid, in a few moments, the cause of the destruction of the present constitution of our world, and, at the same time, the means of its subsequent renovation. For, as fire does not annihilate, but only changes, the forms of matter, this globe on which we now tread, and which bears the marks of

ruin and disruption in several parts of its structure, may come forth from the flames of the general conflagration, purified from all its physical evils, adorned with new beauties and sublimities, and rendered a fit habitation for pure intelligences, either of our own species or of another order. For, though the "heavens," or the atmosphere, "shall be dissolved, and the elements melt with fervent heat 99 66 yet," says the Apostle Peter, "we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." Whether, after being thus renovated it shall be allotted as the residence of the redeemed inhabitants of our world, is beyond our province at present to determine. But if not, it will, in all probability, be allotted as the abode of other rational beings, who may be transported from other regions, to contemplate a new province of the divine empire, or who may be immediately created for the purpose of taking possession of this renovated world. For we have reason to believe, that the energies of creating power will be continually exerted, in replenishing the boundless universe, throughout all the ages of infinite duration, and that no substances or worlds which God has created, will ever be suffered to fall into annihilation-at least, that the original atoms of matter will never be destroyed, whatever new forms they may assume, and however varied the combinations into which they may enter.

The above are only a few examples out of many which were intended to be specified, of the illustrations which the system of nature affords of the doctrines and facts of revelation, but the narrow limits of this volume prevent further enlargement.

It was also intended to follow up the prereding discussions with particular illustrations of the following topics:-The views which science affords of the incessant energies of creating power-the changes and revolutions which appear to have happened, and which are still going on in the distant regions of the universe, as tending to amplify our views of the grand and multifarious objects over which Divine Providence presides-the connexion of science with a future state-the aids which the discoveries of science afford, in enabling us to form a conception of the scenes of future felicity of the employments of the heavenly inhabitants, and of their perpetual advances in knowledge and happiness, and in their views of the perfections of Deity-the morai relations of intelligent beings to their Creator, and to each other; and the physical grounds or reason of those moral laws which the Deity has promulgated for regulating the conduct, and for promoting the harmony and order of intelligent agents-illustrations of the allusions of the sacred writers to the system of the material world

-the rmultaneous progress of science and religion, considered as an evidence of the connexion of the one with the other--the moral effects of the study of science in connexion with religon-replies to objections and insinuations which have been thrown out against the idea of combining the discoveries of science with the discoveries of revelation, &c. But, as ilBut, as illustrations of these, and various other topics connected with them, would occupy two or three

hundred pages, they must, in the mean time, be postponed.*

• A work, embracing illustrations of some of the topics here stated, is preparing for the press, under the title of "The Philosophy of Religion; or, an illustration of the Moral Laws of the Universe, on the principles of Reason and Divine Revelation." In this work, an original, and, at the same time, a popu lar train of thought will be prosecuted, and the dif borrowed from the scenery of nature and the moral ferent topics will be enlivened with illustrative facts, history of mankind.

I. THE VARIETY OF TOPICS which would be introduced into Christian instructions, by connecting them with the manifestations of Deity in the system of nature, wOULD HAVE A TEN

DENCY TO ALLURE THE ATTENTION OF THE

YOUNG TO RELIGIOUS SUBJECTS, and to afford mental entertainment and moral instruction to intelligent minds of every description.

NOVELTY and variety appear to be essentially requisite in order to rouse the attention, not only of the more ignorant, but even of the more inteliigent class of mankind, and to excite them to make progress in the path of intellectual and moral improvement. The principle of curiosity, which appears at a very early period of life, and which variegated scenery and novel objects tend to stimulate and to gratify-so far from being checked and decried, in a religious point of view, as some have been disposed to do, ought to be encouraged and cultivated in the minds both of the old and of the young. As it is a principle which God himself has implanted in our natures, for wise and important purposes, it requires only to be chastened, and directed in a proper channel, in order to become one of the most powerful auxiliaries in the cause of religion, and of intellectual improvement. To gratify this principle, and to increase its activity, the Creator has adorned our globe with a combination of beauties and sublimities, strewed in endless variety over all its different regions. The hills and dales, the mountains and plains; the seas, the lakes, the rivers, the islands of every form and size which diversify the surface of the ocean; the bays, the gulfs, and peninsulas; the forests, the groves, the deep dells, and towering cliffs; the infinite variety of trees,

plants, flowers, and vegetable productions of every hue, so profusely scattered over the face of nature; the diversified productions of the minera kingdom; the variegated colouring spread over thou the face of nature; together with the many sands of different species of animated beings which traverse the air, the waters, and the earth -afford so many stimuli to rouse this principle into exercise, and to direct the mind to the contemplation of the Creator. And as the earth displays an endless diversity of objects, so the heavens, in so far as they have been explored, exhibit a scenery both grand and variegated. There is not a planet in the solar system but differs from another, in its magnitude, in its distance from the central luminary about which it revolves, in the velocity of its motion, in the extent of the circle it describes around the sun, in the period of time in which its revolution is completed, in its rotation round its axis, in the number of moons with which it is attended, in the inclination of its axis to the plane of its orbit, and the diversity of seasons which results from this circumstance; in the density of its atmosphere, and the various appearances which diversify its surface. And if we were favoured with a nearer view of these majestic orbs, we should, doubtless, behold a similar variety in every part of their internal arrangements. The surface of the moon presents a variegated prospect of mountains and vales, but so very different in their form, position, and arrangement, from what obtains on the surface of our globe, that it would exhibit a scenery altogether new and uncom mon to an inhabitant of this world, were he placed on the surface of that planet. Every comet, too, is distinguished from another, by its magnitude, the extent of its atmosphere, the