the reach of our assisted vision, comprehends within its capacious sphere, at least two thousand four hundred millions of worlds-that each of these worlds, being constructed by infinite wisdom, must exhibit, even in its external aspect, a scene worthy of the contemplation of every rational being-that it is highly probable, from ascertained facts, from analogy, and from revelation, that each of these worlds has a pe culiarity of scenery, and of appendages, which distinguish it from every other-that there is a gradation of intellect, and beings of different orders among the inhabitants of these worldsthat it is probable their corporeal forms and their organs of sensation are likewise wonderfully diversified and that the natural and moral history of each presents scenes and transactions different from those which are found in any other world. So that when the mind endeavours to grasp the immense number of worlds, here presented to our mental view, and considers the variety of aspect in which each of them requires to be contemplated-there appears, to such limited intellects as ours, no prospect of a termination to the survey of a scene so extensive and overwhelming; but, on the contrary, a rational presumption, that one scene of glory will be followed by another, in perpetual succession, while ages roll away.

If it would require, even to beings endowed with mental powers superior to those of man, several hundred of years, to survey the diversified landscapes which our globe displays, to investigate the numerous chymical processes going on in the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral king doms, throughout the surface of the earth, the recesses of the ocean, and the subterraneous regions, and to trace the history of every tribe of its inhabitants during a period of six thousand years, if it would require thousands of years to explore the plantery system, which presents a field of inquiry two thousand times more extensive-how many hundreds of thousands of millions of years would be requisite to study and investigate the visible universe in all that variety of aspect to which I have now adverted!-To explore the diversified structure and arrangements of the bodies which compose the solar system, and the moral events which have taken place among its inhabitants, would require a long series of ages. The system of bodies connected with the planet Saturn, would, of itself, require several hundreds of years of study and research, in order to acquire a general view of its physical, moral, and intellectual aspects and relations. Here we have presented to view,-1. A globe of vast dimensions capable of containing a population of sentient and intelligent beings more than a hundred times greater than that of the earth. 2. Two immense rings, the one of them containing, on both its sides an area of eight thousand millions of square miles,

and the other an area of twenty thousand millions of miles, and sufficient to contain a population, one hundred and forty times larger that of our globe, although they were as thinly peopled as the earth is at present. 3. Seven satellites, or moons, each of which is undoubtedly as large as the globe on which we live, and some of them, probably, of much greater dimensions. The magnificent and astonishing scenery displayed in this planet, so very different from any thing that is beheld in our terrestrial sphere-the stupendous luminous arches which stretch across its firmament, like pillars of cloud by day and pillars of fire by night-the diversified shadows they occasionally cast on the surrounding landscape

the appearance and disappearance of its mʊons, their eclipses, and diversified aspects in respect to each other, and to the inhabitants of the planet itself,-the novel scenes which would ap pear in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms-the customs, manners, and employments of the inhabitants-the series of events which have happened among them and the tenor of the divine dispensations in relation to their past history and their future destination-these, and a thousand other particulars, of which we can form no distinct conception-could not fail to afford a sublime and delightful gratification to a rational intelligence for a series of ages.

"It is probable, too, that even within the boundaries of our solar system, important physical and moral revolutions have happened since its creation, besides those which have agitated the world in which we dwell. On the surface of the planet Jupiter, changes are occasionally taking place, visible at the remote distance at which we are placed. The diversity of appearance that has been observed in the substances termed its belts, in whatever they may consist, or from whatever cause this diversity may originate,-indicates change as great, as if the whole mass of clouds which overhang Europe, and the northern parts of Asia and America, were to be completely swept away, and suspended in dense strata over the Pacific and the Indian oceans, or as if the waters of the Atlantic ocean were to overflow the continent of America, and leave its deepest caverns exposed to view. There were lately discovered, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, four small planetary bodies; and, on grounds which are highly probable, astronomers have concluded, that they once formed a larger body which moved in the same region, and which had burst asunder by some immense eruptive force proceeding from its central parts. This probable circumstance, together with a variety of singular phenomena exhibited by these planets, naturally lead us to conclude, that some important moral revolutions had taken place, in relation to the beings with which it was peopled; and suggest to the mind a variety of sublime and interesting reflections

which may hereafter be disclosed.-The planet Mars, in several respects, bears a striking resemblance to our earth. Its rotation round its axis is accomplished in nearly the same time as the earth, namely, in 24 hours and 40 minutes. The inclination of its axis to the plane of its orbit is 28 degrees and 42 minutes, that of the earth being 23 degrees 28 minutes. Consequently, it experiences a diversity of seasons, and different lengths of days and nights, as we do in our sublunary sphere. Hence Sir William Herschel informs us, that he observed a luminous zone about the poles of this planet, which is subject to periodical changes, and is of opinion, that this phenomenon is produced by the reflection of the sun's light upon its polar regions, and that the variation in the magnitude and appearance of this zone is owing to the melting of these masses of polar ice. Its atmosphere is likewise found to be very dense and obscure; which is the cause of that ruddy appearance which this orb uniformly exhibits. These circumstances indicate a striking similarity, in its physical constitution, to that of the earth. Whether the moral state of its inhabitants bears any resemblance to the present condition of mankind, is a question which naturally suggests itself, and which may possibly be solved in the future state to which we are destined. Frost and snow, the accumulation and melting of vast masses of polar ice, long nights, and wintry storms, scenes of darkness and desolation, stormy clouds, and a dense hazy atmosphere surcharged with wintry exhalations, do not appear to be the characteristics of a world where perfect happiness is enjoyed. The Sun which is the centre of our system, and which enlightens surrounding worlds with his beams, is five hundred times larger than all the planets and moons taken together. And, since we perceive frequent changes taking place in his surface and luminous atmosphere, there is doubtless a variety of astonishing processes and transformations go ing on, both in the exterior and interior parts of this immense luminary, on a scale of magnitude and grandeur, which it would be highly gratifying to behold and investigate, and which would raise to the highest pitch, our conceptions of the magnificence and glory of Him "who dwells in light unapproachable."

If, then, the planetary system, which occupies no larger a portion of space than one of the smallest stars that twinkle in our sky, would afford such a vast multiplicity of objects for the contemplation of intelligent beings, during a lapse of ages, what an immense assemblage of august objects and astonishing events is presented before us in the physical arangements, and the moral history of the myriads of systems and worlds to which I have alluded, and what an immense duration would be requisite for finite minds to survey the wondrous scene! This

consideration suggests an idea of duration, which to limited intellects such as ours, seems to approximate to the idea of eternity itself. Even although it could be shown, that creation extended no farther than the utmost bounds which the ingenuity of man has enabled him to penetrate, still, the vast assemblage of glorious objects contained within the range of our assisted vision, shows what an infinite variety of mental gratification the Creator may bestow on his intelligent offspring; and we are assured, that "no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly."

or,

But, would it be reasonable to admit, that the dominions of the universal Sovereign terminate at the boundaries of human vision? Can we believe, that puny man, who occupies so diminutive a speck anong the works of God, has penetrated to the utmost limits of the empire of Him who fills the immensity of space with his presence? As soon might we suppose, that a snail could penetrate to the utmost extremity of the ocean, and, with one glance, survey its deepest caverns; that a microscopic animalcula, which is confined to a drop of water, in the crevice of a smal! stone, could explore at one comprehensive view, the regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. Shall we consider the visible system of nature,— magnificent and extensive as it is,a palace sufficient for the habitation of the Deity? No: this would be, to circumscribe the Almighty within the limits of our imperfect vision, and within the sphere of our comprehension. "Behold, the heavens, and the heaven of heavens, cannot contain him!" This declaration implies, that, beyond all that the inhabitants of this world can explore in the visible firmament, there is a "heaven of heavens"-a region which contains unnumbered firmaments, as glorious and extensive as that which we behold, throughout the vast extent of which, the Deity is eternally and essentially present. With regard to all that is visible by the unassisted eye, or by the telescope, in the vault of heaven, we may say with the poet :

"Vast concave! ample dome! wast thou design'd
A meet apartment for the Deity?
Not so that thought alone thy state impairs,
Thy lofty sinks, and shallows thy profound,
And straitens thy diffusive; dwarfs the whole,
And makes an universe an orrery."

Beyond the wide circumference of that sphere which terminates the view of mortals, a boundless region exists, which no human eye can penetrate, and which no finite intelligence can explore. To suppose that the infinitely extended region which surrounds all that is visible in creation, is a mere void, would be as unreasonable, as to have affirmed, prior to the invention of the telescope, that no stars existed beyond those which are visible to the naked eye. When we consider the limited faculties of man, and the infinite attributes of the Eternal Mind, we have the highest reason to

conclude, that it is but a very small portion of the works of God which has been disclosed to our view. "Could you soar beyond the moon, (says a well-known writer) and pass through all the planetary choir; could you wing your way to the highest apparent star, and take your stand on one of those loftiest pinnacles of heaven, you would there see other skies expanded, another sun distributing his beams by day, other stars that gild the alternate night, and other, perhaps nobler systems established in unknown profusion through the boundless dimensions of space. Nor would the dominion of the universal Sovereign terminate there. Even at the end of this vast tour, you would find yourself advanced no farther than the suburbs of creation,-arrived only at the frontiers of the great Jehovah's kingdom."

It is highly probable, that, were all the two thousand four hundred millions of worlds to which we have adverted, with all the eighty millions of suns around which they revolve, to be suddenly extinguished and annihilated, it would not cause so great a blank in creation, to an eye that could take in the whole immensity of nature, as the extinction of the pleiades, or seven stars, would cause in our visible firmament. The range of material existence may, indeed, have certain limits assigned to it; but such limits can be perceived only by that Eye which beholds, at one glance, the whole of infinite space. To the view of every finite mind, it must always appear boundless and incomprehensible. Were it possible that we could ever arrive at the outskirts of creation, after having surveyed all that exists in the material universe, we might be said, in some measure, to comprehend the Creator himself; having perceived the utmost limits to which his power and intelligence have been extended. For, although we admit, that the perfections of the Creator are infinite; yet we have no tangible measure of these perfections, but what appears in the immense variety and extent of material and intellectual existence. And we may hence conclude, that the highest order of created intellects, after spending myriads of ages in their research, will never come to a period in their inves tigations of the works and the ways of God.

Even although we could conceive certain li mits to the material universe, and that, after the lapse of millions of ages, a holy intelligence had finished his excursions, and made the tour of the universal system which now exists,-yet, who can set bounds to the active energies of the Eternal Mind, or say, that new systems of creation, different from all that have hitherto been constructed, shall not be perpetually emerging into existence? By the time a finite being had explored every object which now exists, and acquired a knowledge of all the moral and physical revolutions which have happened among the worlds which, at present, diversify the voids of space-a new region of infinite space might be

replenished with new orders of material and intellectual existence and, were he to return to the point from which he at first set out, after numerous ages had elapsed, he would, doubtless, behold new changes and revolutions in many provinces of the Creator's dominionsnew heavens and new earths-and new species of sentient and intellectual beings, different from all those he at first contemplated.

That such is the plan of the Creator's operations, is not a mere conjecture or surmise, but is warranted from observations which have been made on the phenomena of the celestial bodies. New stars have, at different periods, appeared in the heavens; which are plain indications of the continued exertion of creating power. Some planets have burst asunder into different frag ments, and stars which had shone for ages have disappeared, and their existence, in their former state, cannot now be traced.* Such facts evidently show, that some important revolutions have taken place in relation to the bodies which have thus been withdrawn from our view. Hav ing for ages run their destined course, either then constitution has undergone an essential change, or they have been removed to another region of immensity, to subserve other purposes in the magnificent arrangements of the Sovereign Intelligence. The observations made by Sir Wil liam Herschel on the nebulous appearances in the heavens, and on the changes and modifications which they undergo, lead to the conclusion, that new systems are gradually forming in the distant regions of the universe. And, if the crea ting energy of the Omnipotent is at present in constant operation, and has been so for ages past, who shall dare to affirm, that it shall ever cease its exertion through all the ages of eternity?

Here, then, we have presented to our contemplation, an assemblage of material and intellectual existence, to which the human mind can affix no boundaries,-which is continually increasing, and still an infinity of space remaining for perpetual accessions, during the lapse of endless ages, an assemblage of beings, which, in point of number, of magnitude, and of extent, seems to correspond with a boundless duration. So that, we have no reason to doubt, that "the saints in light" will be perpetually acquiring new discoveries of the divine glory, new prospects into the immensity of God's operations, new views of the rectitude and grandeur of his moral government, new accessions to their felicity, and new and transporting trains of thought, without the least interruption, as long as eternity endures.

⚫Stars which are marked in ancient catalogues. are not now to be found, and others are now visible

which were not known to the ancients. Some have gradually increased in brilliancy. Some that were while others have been constantly diminishing in formerly variable, now shine with a steady lustre, brightness.

Perhaps some whose minds are not accustomed to such bold excursions through the regions of material existence, may be apt to consider the grand idea which has now been suggested, and many of the preceding details as too improbable and extravagant to claim our serious attention. In reply to such an insinuation, let it be considered, in the first place, that nothing has been stated but what corresponds to the whole analogy of nature, and to several sublime intimations contained in the system of divine Revelation. It is a fact, which, in the present day, cannot be denied by any one acquainted with the subject, that the material universe, as far as our eye and our glasses can carry us, consists of a countless multitude of vast bodies, which completely baffle our feeble powers in attempting to form any adequate conception of them. This amazing fact, placed within the evidence of our senses, shows us, that it is impossible for the human mind to form too extravagant ideas of the universe, or to conceive its structure to be more glorious and magnificent than it really is.†

Again, nothing short of such sublime and magnificent conceptions seems at all suitable to the idea of a Being of infinite perfection and of eternal duration. If we admit, that the divine Be

ence from the sun to the planet Herschel, at the distance of eighteen hundred millions of miles, and to the remotest parts of the orbits of the comets, which stretch far beyond this limit; and there is the strongest reason to believe, that it forms a connecting bond between all the bodies of the universe, however distant from each other. This being admitted, the motion of the different systems now alluded to, and the immensity of the central body, from which motion of every kind originates, to produce the order and harmony of the universe,-appear to be necessary, in order to preserve the balance of the universal system, and to prevent the numer ous globes in the universe from gradually approaching each other, in the course of ages, and becoming one universal wreck.-We are mechanically connected with the most distant stars visible through our telescopes, by means of light, which radiates from those distant luminaries, mingles with the solar rays, penetrates our atmosphere, and effects our op tic nerves with the sensation of colours, similar to those produced by the rays of the sun. And we bave equal reason to conclude, that we are likewise mechanically connected with these bodies by the law of gravitation. So that the idea thrown out above, however grand and overwhelming to our feeble powers, is not a mere conjecture, but fs founded on observation, and on the general analogies of the universe.

* In descending to the minute parts of nature, we obtain ocular demonstration of facts which overpower our faculties, and which would be altogether incredible, were they not placed within the evidence of the senses. In a drop of water, in which certain vegetable substances have been infused, millions of liv ing creatures have been seen, and, in some instances where the animalcule are transparent, their eyes, and the peristaltic motion of their bowels have been perceived. The minuteness of the blood-vessel, and other parts of the structure of such creatures, is as wonderful, and as incomprehensible, on the one hand, as the magnitude and immensity of the universe are on the other,-demonstrating, that, in the works of the Creator, there is an infinity on either hand, which limited intellects will never be able fully to comprehend.

ing is infinite, pervading the immensity of space with his presence, why should we be reluctant to admit the idea, that his almighty energy is exerted throughout the boundless regions of space? for it is just such a conclusion as the notion of an infinite intelligence should naturally lead us to deduce. Whether does it appear to correspond more with the notion of an infinite Being, to believe, that his creative power has been confined to this small globe of earth, and a few sparkling studs fixed in the canopy of the sky, or to admit, on the ground of observation and analogy, that he has launched into existence millions of worlds-that all the millions of systems within the reach of our vision, are but as a particle of vapour to the ocean, when compared with the myriads which exist in the unexplored regions of immensity-that the whole of this vast assem blage of suns and worlds revolves around the grand centre of the universe-and that this centre where the throne of God is placed, is superior to all the other provinces of creation in magnitude, beauty, and magnificence? Who would dare to prove that such conceptions are erroneous, or impossible, or unworthy of that Being who sits on the throne of the universe? To attempt such a proof would be nothing less than to set bounds to Omnipotence-to prescribe limits to the operations of him "whose ways are past finding out.'

"Can man conceive beyond what God can do?
Nothing but quite impossible is hard.

He summons into being with like case
A whole creation, and a single grain.
Speaks he the word? a thousand worlds are born!
A thousand worlds? There's space for millions

more;

And in what space can his great Fiat fail?
Condemin me not, cold critic! but indulge
The warm imagination; why condemn ?
Why not indulge such thoughts as swell our hearts
With fuller admiration of that Power
Which gives our hearts with such high thoughts to
swell?

Why not indulge in his augmented praise?
Darts not his glory a still brighter ray,
The less is left to chaos, and the realms
Of hideous night?"

These views and reasonings are fully corroborated by the sublime descriptions of Deity contained in the Holy Scriptures.-" Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection?" "He is the high and lofty One who inhabiteth eternity"-"He is glorious in power"-"He dwells in light unapproachable and full of glory "-"Great is our Lord and of great power, his greatness is unsearchable; his understanding is infinite"-"Can any thing be too hard for Jehovah ? "The everlasting God the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary, there is no searching of his understanding"-"He do eth great things, past finding out, and wonders without number." "He meteth out the heavens with a span, and comprehendeth the dust of the