, 1874-12-14
The Future Of Our World.
The Row Or. Thomas Takes Up q
Now Theme.
Sermon on tho knowledge Of God by
tho Rov. Mr.. Holmor.
Bishop Wh1pp1e Mt st. Jamcs'
Church..
THE FUTURE OF OUR WORLD.


Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Thon.ass of sHe Ntrst
n1e.hnlist Church. :.
In Bpltn OF tho taIn-ator,n, very 'af8o alldi-
erco aHHembcl ut tho Firat Motl'od'et ohatch
last nigh. 10 hear tho Rov. Or. rhor'aa prcaeh
on "1hougllts Coucoring tho Future Of Our
World" Tho Noyorond gontlosna'A took his toxt
from Hebrews u, s.: "Tosus Christ tho Hasno
yostortlay mud to.tlay, mud foroycr.' mud Hpoko
substantially ns foows:
Tho mind tires of ono thfng, w11nthor 1t DO
Enoa or bad and to moot ita various moods nnd
wantB We aro put into world OF wonderful
variety mud constant change. Yon can noyor OK
iauHt its facts aud say thcro is nothing moro to
learn. Tho fields, tho trocs, tho sklos,
ard tho clouds look just tho Ban,o on
no two days or houra III tho year.
Taking suggestion from this largo md
relnblo book OF Nature, I como boforo you with
the lines OF thought to which You hare beun
lsto.iug in tito paHt woolsH In tito dlBcourBcs up,
on tho Influences that affect sociaty. They wore
wholly practical, md dualt With tho alfaira Of
rulo tho most ,ieofu form Of discourse. but 1t
is oluay. .prolltnbio. aud doos for tho mind what
nothing clio could do, to sometimes venture ont
upon larger fields,-to 60 into tho so1nowhat
rpcculativc, aud evon i1nagitlai'c. It is good 10
stand md 1ooi out upon tho ocean, though wo
clN sec no distant shora to lonk into tho depths
nbove ue, though wo have 10 way of rcRchtng
thosn mud to gazo upon tho stars and constcla-
tsolB, though VIC may not oven know tlloir names.
Indeed, NO lind it dcult III tho worl1 OF thought,
Or prtucribs nnY li:nta No may say what wo
th,uk Of tho present, but what NO call tho pros.
cnt ii itnclf d shifting point, moving forward
into now scencs and experiences; aid by this
very moving forward no soon como to llRYe n
past,-a pnBt OF our own.-and as tue mind gets
stronger, aud travels hack oyor it's own roads to
tho ianteht memories Of its own beginnings. it
finds it impossible to pauao thero, and 1nn-t ask
nud is curious to know wlnt was In the longer
puHt bofora it came to be- And there Ia no ond
to this backward road, TINT rcachcs into tho long
"ycatcrlly." And 30 tho mind, as it atcadilY
goes forward with cacli day into. thc now future,
Of Nfo, aud tho DAY, mud tho year. aud
tho foroYer strctch,ug still on beyond
tomorrow. Wo follow ono Iifc with
q deep interest to SEQ what ts future years shall
10 and the inquiry widonB aun doepohB iu In
tercst when We permit it to tako in our world
aud to Rgk how long its yoara shall continue, and
what snl DO tho life Of is children iu tho ceu-
turies yet to culnc. Shall tho calth itself koon
common mothor7 Or slla! tho earth live OIL in
tic yast brotlcl hood Of worlds, nnd our rnco
coutiuno to repeat tho sad experiences OF pov-
o.ty, OF lust, md Of war, mud 60 tho weary
rounds Of life mud tloath as wc ITO now Or is
thcro growth Of tho ngos, aud will mankind
rso by n slow DEVELOPMENT into tilo better con-
d:tians Of universal brotherhood, 1atcillgorce,
peace, and religion
Nc tnay reckon sumotllinE MS to what tho fu~
turo will 10 frum wu..t tho past has bceu from
thu forces at work, nnd ltonl the Divine plau
uft6r which and for which tho world and man
wero nlada mud aro governed. Man 10 so q pnrk
OF md related to tho whole creation, or to tho
Garth anu tho forms OF lie below silu,, TINT mi.
tler his pnss nor his future can we'll bo studied
aluuo; TO that the iuquiry must rolaso to both
Tho ourth and man. AZ to tho pRst OF our oartl,.
tho most probable conclusion OF Hclonce pointa
III tho nobulnr hypothesis cad tupposcs that thu
existed in tho condition Of single nebnlons
Hass extending beyond tho orbit OF tho most
remote planet. and tlat this 1lobnln Ind
slow rotnt1on upon III axis, anu that by
imitation !. sradually cooled thereby contracting
ita d'nensona. As it contracted ita dimensions.
i:s velocity according to tho principles OF no.
chanlcs, necessarily lncrenEed' nnu tho centriu-
Gal iurco thus generated III tho c1tGrlor portion
q the nobu1a bccono equal to tho attraction Of
tho central lnass. Ihls osterlor portion theu be-
como letaclie and revolVed az an in,tncnan ring,
or 2onc. Az tho centra! iilass continued to cool
a'd contract IN its dimensions, otior zones be-
eanlo detached. TAl1o tho central 1nnHa decreased
III hlzo md increased III density. Tho zones thus
B'lcco5s'fely detached generally broka up into
EoEa1aso masses, revolving independently about
the hu'l As each OF these ptn'1etaty 1nasaos bo-
came stu lurlner cooloh, = passot through
saceossion u chanhes aan!iar 10 tnoso o. lilo
A4-Ss N.,-ta" - >" '@A~N 'tAA-
rounding thu planetary n1iclane, aud these rings
ultimately broko up and formed Satellites royoly-
ing about their prlmarlcH.
After such conception M this, geology intro
ducca iii to hor vast purious, and tells OF tho
hSoc a.o when our earth was =, = fock'oncrustod
Iluho, rolling on IN dafknesa NTH no Blgli OF life
upon its baro mud heated surface. Then OF
the long palcozoic aso, wherein tho continents
were slightly lifted aoove tho Watorst and
tho FIRST forms OF vegetable and animal
lfe appeared; and then Of Tho Mczozolc ago,
Mllc1I,. III tho lot air and tho nimoHt co.,-
htaht rains, tho. carbonllerous poriotl, BY
i'll rank sroWths, purified tho mir Of
il, excessive carbon. and tho hugo forms
OF strange animals appeared on tho land.
Then caue tho Co0ozoio age. whom tha conti-
uents Ncro still moro elevated aud the air puri-
fed and tlle higher forms Of llic aud tho hard,
encI aid lowering wood oerltTeca appeared; md
tlou canao man to be lord Of tho world which
through 30 muny agos had boen preparing for
his adyent.
Few things arc more difficult to certainly know
than the past history Of man in our world. Wo
can 60 uack n few thousand ycara with aon,o