MORAL HISTORY OF OTHER WORLDS. 



95 



in knowledge, and the discoveries they have 

 brought to light, respecting the works and the 

 ways of God the peculiar manifestations of 

 himself which the Divine Being may have made 

 to them, &quot; at sundry times and in divers man 

 ners&quot; the most remarkable civil and moral 

 events which have happened since the period of 

 their creation the visible emblems of the Divine 

 Presence and glory which are displayed before 

 them the information they have obtained respect 

 ing the transactions and the moral government of 

 other worZds the various stages of improvement 

 through which they are appointed to pass the 

 different regions of the universe to which they 

 may be transported, and the final destination to 

 which they are appointed. 



In particular, the facts connected with their 

 moral history , in so far as they may be unfolded, 

 will form an interesting subject of discourse and 

 of contemplation. It is highly probable, when 

 we consider the general benignity of the Divine 

 Nature, and the numerous evidences of it which 

 appear throughout the whole kingdom of anima 

 ted nature that the inhabitants of the greatest 

 portion of the universal system, have retained 

 the moral rectitude in which they were created, 

 and are, consequently, in a state of perfect hap 

 piness. But, since we know, from painful expe 

 rience, that one world has swerved from its allegi 

 ance to the Creator, and been plunged into the 

 depths of physical and moral evil, it is not at all 

 improbable, that the inhabitants of several other 

 worlds have been permitted to fall into a similar 

 calamity, for this purpose among others that 

 the importance of moral order might be demon 

 strated, that the awful consequences of a violation 

 of the eternal laws of heaven might be clearly 

 manifested, and that a field might be laid open 

 for the display of the rectitude and mercy of God as 

 the moral Governor of the universe. In reference 

 to such cases (if any exist.) the points of inquiry 

 would naturally be What is the ultimate desti 

 nation of those beings who, in other regions of 

 creation, have acted the part of rebellious man ? 

 Has their Creator interposed for their deliver 

 ance in a manner analogous to that in which he 

 has accomplished the redemption of mankind? 

 If so, wherein do such schemes of mercy dif 

 fer, and wherein do they agree with the plan of 

 salvation by Jesus Christ? What scenes of 

 moral evil have been displayed, and how have the 



peculiar economy, circumstances, and relations, 

 which exist in each distinct world. As we have 

 eertain special laws, in our moral code, such as the 

 fifth and seventh precepts of the Decalogue, which 

 In all probability, do not apply to the inhabitants 

 of some other worlds, so they may have various 

 specific regulations or laws, which cannot apply 

 to us in our present state. The reader will find 

 i particular illustration of the two fundamental 

 laws to which I have now adverted, and of their 

 application to the inhnbitants of all worlds in a 

 work which I lately published, entitled, &quot; The Phi 

 losophy of Religion ; or, an Illustration of the Mo 

 ral Laws of the Universe.&quot; 



19 



moral disorders in those worlds been over 

 and counteracted by the providential dispen 

 sations of the Almighty ? Here, a thousand 

 questions would crowd upon the mind, a variety 

 of emotions of opposite kinds would be excited, 

 and a most interesting field of investigation would 

 be laid open to the contemplation of the redeemed 

 inhabitants of such a world as ours. And, it is 

 easy to conceive, with what kindred emotions and 

 sympathetic feelings, and with what transporting 

 gratulations, the renovated inhabitants of such 

 worlds, would recognise each other, should they 

 ever be brought into contact, and permitted to 

 mingle their ascriptions of praise to the Creator 

 and Redeemer of worlds. 



Even in those worlds where the inhabitants 

 have retained their primeval innocence, there 

 may be an almost infinite variety in the divine dis 

 pensations, both in amoral, and intellectual point 

 of view. As finite intelligences, from their very 

 nature, are progressive beings, and, therefore, 

 cannot be supposed to acquire all the treasures of 

 wisdom and knowledge, and to comprehend all 

 the multifarious displays of divine perfection, 

 during the first stages of their existence there 

 may be an admirable diversity of modes, corres 

 ponding to their peculiar circumstances and stages 

 of improvement, by which the Creator may gra 

 dually unfold to them the glorv of his nature, and 

 enable them to take a more extensive survey of 

 the magnitude and order of his dominions. Some 

 may be only emerging from the first principles 

 of science, like Adam soon after his creation, and 

 may iiave arrived but a few degrees beyond the 

 sphere of knowledge which bounds the view of 

 man ; others may have arrived at a point where they 

 can take a more expansive survey of the order, 

 economy, and relations of material and intellec 

 tual existences, while others after having con 

 templated, for ages, a wide extent of creation, 

 in one district of the empire of God, may be 

 transported to a new and a distant province of 

 the universe, to contemplate the perfections of 

 Deity in another point of view, and to investigate 

 and admire a new scene of wonders. If every 

 individual of the human race, from his birth to 

 his death, passes through a train of providences 

 peculiar to himself, it appears at least highly 

 probable, reasoning from the analogies to which 

 we have already adverted, and from the variety 

 that every where appears in the natural and moral 

 world, that the divine dispensations towards 

 every distinct class of intelligent beings, have 

 some striking peculiarities, which do not exactly 

 coincide with those of any other. 



That some portion, at least, of the natural and 

 moral history of other worlds will be laid open 

 to the inspection of redeemed men in the future 

 world, may be argued from this consideration, 

 that such views will tend to unfold the moral cAo- 

 racter of the Deity, and to display more fully his 

 intelligence, wisdom, and rectitude, in the diver- 



