NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 



Natural Philosophy may, therefore, be consi 

 dered as a branch both of the religion of nature, 

 and of the religion of revelation. It removes, 

 in part, the veil which is spread over the mys 

 terious operations of nature, and discloses to 

 our view the wonders which lie concealed from 

 the sottisn multitude, &quot; who regard not the works 

 of the Lord, nor consider the operations of his 

 hands.&quot; It enables us to perceive th. footsteps of 

 the Almighty both in his majestic movements 

 and in his most minute designs ; for there is not 

 a step we can take in the temple of nature, under 

 the guidance of an enlightened philosophy, in 

 which we do not behold traces of inscrutable 

 wisdom and design, arid of a benevolence which 

 extends its kind regards to every rank of sensi 

 tive and intelligent existence. It shows us the 

 beauty and goodness of the divine administra 

 tion ; and demonstrates, that the communication 

 of happiness is the final cause of all the admi 

 rable arrangements which pervade the material 

 system. It teaches us, that the several opera 

 tions of nature are carried on by means uncon 

 trollable by human power, and far transcending 

 finite skill to plan or to execute. It discovers 

 those laws by which the sovereign of the universe 

 governs his vast dominions, and maintains them 

 in undecaying beauty and splendour, throughout 

 all ages. It thus enables us to consecrate the 

 universe into one grand temple, and, from the 

 contemplation of every object it presents, to ele 

 vate our minds, and to raise our voices in grate 

 ful praises to Him &quot; who created all things, and 

 for whose pleasure they are and were created.&quot; 

 In the future world there will be abundant scope 

 for the prosecution of this subject to an indefi 

 nite extent. With respect to the state of sepa 

 rate spirits, after their departure from this world, 

 (he employments in which they engage, and the 

 connection in which they stand to the material 

 system, we can form no distinct conception, and 

 must remain in ignorance till the period arrive 

 when we shall be actually ushered into that mys 

 terious scene of existence. But, we are assured, 

 that, after the r-asurrection, a material world will 

 be prepared for the habitation of the just, in 

 which their connection with the visible universe 

 will doubtless, be far more extensive than it is 

 at present ; and wherever a material system ex 

 ists, it affords scope for physical investigations, 

 and for the application of the principles of Na 

 tural Philosophy. This new world will be pre 

 pared and arranged by divine wisdom ; and 

 consequently, will exhibit scenes of beauty and 

 grandeur, oi exquisite contrivance and benevo 

 lent design. For, if the world we now inhabit, 

 amidst all the deformities and physical derange 

 ments which sin has introduced, displays so 

 many beautiful arrangements and marks of in 

 telligence and skill, much more may we conclude, 

 that the world in which &quot;righteousness shall 

 dwell,&quot; will abound in every thing that can charm 



the eye, the ear, or the imagination, and illus 

 trate the manifold wisdom of God ; and of course 

 will present a boundless field for the most sub 

 lime investigations of science. This world, in 

 many of its arrangements, will doubtless present 

 a variety of objects and scenes altogether diffe 

 rent from those we now behold, even although the 

 same physical laws which govern our terrestrial 

 system should still continue in operation. The 

 inflection, refraction and reflection of light will 

 be directed by the same general laws, and will 

 produce effects analogous to those we now per 

 ceive in the scene around us ; but the mediums 

 through which it passes, and the various objects 

 by which it is refracted and reflected, and many 

 other modifications to which it may be subjected, 

 may produce a variety of astonishing effects, 

 surpassing every thing we now behold, and ex 

 hibit scenes of beauty and magnificence of whicn, 

 we can, at present, form no distinct conception. 

 The science of optics, in unfolding to us the na 

 ture of light, and the various properties of prisms, 

 mirrors, and lenses, has enabled us to exhibit a 

 variety of beautiful and surprising effects, and 

 to perceive traces of infinite intelligence in rela 

 tion to this element, beyond what former ages 

 could have believed. And, therefore, we have 

 reason to conclude, that, in the hand of Omni 

 potence, when arranging other worlds, the ele 

 ment 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 transport 

 ing effects. There will probably be no such 

 phenomena as thunder, lightning, and fiery me 

 teors 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 v 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 tho 

 soul with admiration and delight. Some of the 

 mechanical, pneumatical, and hydrostatical prin 

 ciples which enter into the construction of mills, 

 wheel-carriages, forcing pumps, and steam-en 

 gines, may not be applied to the same purposes 

 in the future world ; but they may be applicable 

 to a variety of other unknown purposes corres 

 ponding to the nature of that world, and the cha 

 racter 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 en 

 dowed with powers of intellect inferior to those 

 of the inhabitants of the earth, that their know 

 ledge is less extensive than ours, that they make 

 no progress in moral and intellectual attairruents. 



