THE PHILOSOPHY OF A FUTURE STATE. 



every period of its history. They evidently 

 present a striking contrast to the beauty and 

 harmony which pervade the general constitution 

 of the material system to the majestic move 

 ments of the planetary orbs, the regular succes 

 sion of day and night, and the vicissitudes of 

 the seasons ; the changes of the moon, the 

 ebbing and flowing of the sea ; the admirable 

 functions of the human system ; and the harmo 

 nious adaptations of light and heat, air and 

 water, and the various objects in the mineral and 

 vegetable kingdoms to the wants and the comfort 

 of animated beings. And can we, for a moment, 

 suppose that this scene of moral disorder and 

 anarchy was the ultimate end for which the 

 material system was created ? Can we suppose 

 that the earth is every moment impelled in its 

 annual and diurnal course by the hand of Omni 

 potencethat it presents new beauties every 

 opening spring brings forth the treasures of 

 autumn, and displays so many sublime and vari 

 egated landscapes that the sun diffuses his 

 light over all its regions, that the moon cheers 

 the shades of night, and the stars adorn the ca 

 nopy of the sky, from one generation to another 

 merely that a set of robbers and desperadoes, 

 and the murderers of nations, might prowl over 

 the world for the purpose of depredation and 

 slaughter, that tyrants might gratify their mad 

 ambition, that vice might triumph, that virtue 

 might be disgraced, that the laws of moral order 

 might be trampled under foot, and that the suc 

 cessive generations of mankind might mingle in 

 this bustling and discordant scene for a few 

 years, and then sink for ever into the shades of 

 annihilation ? Yet such a conclusion we are 

 obliged to admit, if there is no future state in 

 which the present disorders of the moral world 

 will be corrected, and the plan of the divine go 

 vernment more fully developed. And if this con 

 clusion be admitted, how shall we be able to 

 perceive or to vindicate the wisdom of the Cre 

 ator in his moral administration? We account 

 it folly in a human being when he constructs a 

 machine, either for no purpose at all, or for no 

 good purpose, or for the promotion of mischief. 

 And how can we avoid ascribing the same im 

 perfection to the Deity, if the present state of 

 the moral world be the ultimate end of all his 

 physical arrangements ? But his wisdom is 

 most strikingly displayed in the adaptations and 

 arrangements which relate to the material sys 

 tem, and a Being possessed of boundless intel 

 ligence must necessarily be supposed to act in 

 consistency with himself. He cannot display 

 wisdom in the material system, and folly in those 

 arrangements %vhich pertain to the world of mind. 

 To suppose the contrary, would be to divest him 

 of his moral attributes, and even to call in ques 

 tion his very existence. 



We are therefore necessarily led to conclude, 

 that the present state of the moral worW is only 



a small part of the great plan of God s moral go 

 vernrnent the commencement of a series of 

 dispensations to be completed in a future scene 

 of existence, in which his wisdom, as well as all 

 his other attributes, will be fully displayed before 

 the eyes of his intelligent offspring. If this con 

 clusion be admitted, it is easy to conceive, how 

 the moral disorders which now exist may be rec 

 tified in a future world, and the intelligent uni 

 verse restored to harmony and happiness, and 

 how those moral dispensations which now appear 

 dark and mysterious, will appear illustrative of 

 divine wisdom and intelligence, when contem 

 plated as parts of one grand system, which is to 

 run parallel in duration with eternity itself. But, 

 if this be rejected, the moral world presents to 

 our view an inextricable maze, a chaos, a scene 

 of interminable confusion, and no prospect ap 

 pears of its being ever restored to harmony and 

 order. The conduct of the Deity appears 

 shrouded in impenetrable darkness ; and there 

 is no resisting of the conclusion, that imperfec 

 tion and folly are the characteristics of the Al 

 mighty a conclusion from which the mind 

 shrinks back with horror, and which can never 

 be admitted by any rational being who recognises 

 a supreme intelligence presiding over the affairs 

 of the universe. 



SECTION IX. 



ON THE UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF RE 

 WARDS AND PUNISHMENTS IN THE PRE 

 SENT STATE. 



The unequal distribution of rewards and pu 

 nishments in the present state, viewed in con 

 nexion with the justice and other attributes cf 

 the Deity, forms another powerful argument in 

 support of the doctrine of a future state. 



It is admitted, to a certain extent, that &quot;vir 

 tue is its own reward, and vice its own punish 

 ment.&quot; The natural tendency of virtue, or an 

 obedience to the laws of God, is to produce hap 

 piness ; and were it universally practised, it 

 would produce the greatest degree of happiness 

 of which human nature in the present state is 

 susceptible. In like manner, the natural ten 

 dency of vice is to produce misery : and were its 

 prevalence universal and uncontrolled, the world 

 would be transformed into a society of demons, 

 and every species of happiness banished from 

 the abodes of men. By connecting happiness 

 with the observance of his laws, and misery with 

 the violation of them, the Governor of the world, 

 in the general course of his providence, gives a 

 display of the rectitude of his character, and the 

 impartiality of his allotments towards the sub 

 jects of his government. 



But, although these positions hold true, in th* 

 general course of human affairs, there ire innu 



