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, lightening, 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,and that they have no desire to explore "the 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 Chemistry. 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 chemical science.

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY.

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 general 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 immense 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 chemical apparatus adapted for effecting these purposes, the 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 fortyfive bones, variously articulated, each of them having above forty distinct scopes or intentions; and four hundred and forty-six 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 immense velocity through these vessels, and through the heart, fourteen times every hourthat respiration is nothing else than a species of combustion, in which the oxygen of the atmosphere is absorbed by the blood, and diffuses heat and vigour throughout the systemthat the lungs are composed of an infinite number of mem

branous 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 thousand 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 enjoyment.

This subject frequently engaged the attention of the pi ous Psalmist. With an eye of intelligence and devotion, he surveyed the curious organization 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 contrivances 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 principle 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 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 perceiving 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 portion 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 befel 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