Liberty advocate. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1835-1866, 1838-08-25

PLURALITY OF WORLDS.


PLURALITY OF WORLDS.
Pride, ignorance, or sell-love, induc
some people 10 believe that our world is h
only part oc the immense universe which i
inhabiled; that the sun IS only formed Il
give US his Ii ght and heat; and that tn
moon and the stars answer no other pur
pose than 10 enlighten The gloom of GU
nights, and serve as guides 10 the marin
er and the traveller. The contemplation
ofthe fixed stars alone is sufficient to re
flute this absurd opinion. Their brilan
cy demonstrates that they shine by theil
own light; and from their being visible tc
US, Notwithstanding their immense distance
we are justified in supposng them 10 be
much larger than our sun. And is it con.
sonant with divine wisdom, which has moi
created single particle Of matter in vain,
that these immense bodies, each in itself
a sun, so numerous and so distant from
our earth, should shine with Intellectual
lighf, and not be destined 10 some great
and noble end?
If they were merely intended to serve
as nocturnal light TO our world, they could
be of no use during the greatest part of
the year. Thetclodded atmosphere which
often envelope US. and the short nights
of summer, which are sufficiently light
without the aid ofstars, would render them
useless; and those stars, of which there
are many which we cannot see with the
naked eye, because of their vast distance,
would exist in vain; and their supposed
posed destination would be much better ac-
complished by one single star placed near
or to, than by millions so distantly situat-
ed that their rays could not reach US
The same kind Of reasoning will hold for
whatever use we imagine the stars to be
created; whether for the purposes Of nav
lgatlon, or any other use, we shall fall
short Of the truth, and must ultimately be
brought TO confess that ifno creatures be.
yCnd our globe proited by their light and
heat, or If they themselves were not in.
habited by living beings, their creation
would be useless, and their existence su.
perduous: but the Almighty has created
nothing that is not pregnant with utility;
and 1t we can discover nothing that is not
pregnant with utility; and If we can dis
cover nothing, however insi gnifcant, on
this earth that does answer some end, how
much more must these immense bodies
tend to manifest the power and glory of
God!
This conclusion will appear still more
just if we reflect attentively upon the solar
system. We have seen that the moon in
many respects, resembles our earth; and
from all that we have been able to dscov.
er of her, we have reason TO believe she
contains inhabitants. The analogy be-
tween the moon and planets leads us to
suppose they also are inhabited; and, as
each fixed star has, according to all ap.
pearance, like our sun, its particular plan
cts, SO we may reasonably suppose they,
in some degree, resemble the planets in
our system: and thus We see around us an
innumerabIe multitude OF worlds, each
having its peculiar arrangement, laws,
productions, and inhabitants.
INV IhllllltG are Tue WOTkS OF GOu.
How majestic the starry heavens! and
how great must be their Creator, whose
glory, millions of worlds declare, and
whose all-intelligent power the myriads
which inhabit them, adoring, acknowI.
edge! Let us unite in the heavenly choir,
that whilst incense from millions OF worlds
is ascending unto the God of all power, we
alone may not be wanting in the universal
song Of joy, ofpraise, and of thanksgiving
TO the great God Of all, the Father Of light
and glory. How grondly does the pros
pect Of futurity open upon our souls, when
we shall becmne acquainted with the
worlds whose existence we can now bare.
~ ascertain, and the least Of whose won
ders we are unable 10 comprehend! when
we shall be initiated into all the mysier-
esof heaven, and admitted within the cir.
Gle of that glory whose radiance eman-
ates from the Creator!