The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-12-21

the amount OF what has been estimated
as seven hundred trillion miles Of solid
contents and that only small. part
as compared with other systems
which go to make up this many
storied mansion Of the text, whore 1t
says: 1T is He that buildeth His stories
In the heaven" Did Prof. Herschel
and his sister, Catharihe, in finding
worlds find only worlds uninhab-
tied and a waste? Is Ceres, which
Piozzi discovered in 1901, wasted? Is
vesta that Olbers discovered in 1907,
wasted2 Is Prosperine, which Prof.
Luther discovered in 1853, wasted? Is
Urania, which Prot Hind discovered in
1854, wasted? Is Pandora, discovered
in 1858 by Prot Searle, wasted? Are
the fifteen thousand stars recorded In
one year in the observatory at Wash
ington, wasted? Is all except the bill
lionth part OF the universe wasted? My
hearers, Is 1t possible that God would
run such splendid passenger train OF
parlor cars through the heavens and
keep It running II there were no pas
Bengers? Judging from the extent OF
the universe, do you think God would
put all His family on such limits as this
world marksP If a king have palace
Of one hundred rooms will he put all
his princes and princesses in one COM
paratively small room? AS the highest
happiness is in making others happy,
IL II not certain that God would occupy
larger places than our small earth with
beings capable Of happiness? Besides
this, why all the worlds furthest on and
furthest up covered with light? What
is the use of light If there are no eyes
Of inhabitants to enjoy and employ that
light? l admit that scientific explora-
tion has discovered that around many
worlds there is an atmosphere in which
lungs like ours could not breathe, and
there are heats or colds that physique
like ours could not endure. But do you
suppose that we have the only kind of
lungs that God can make? Do our
bodies exhaust divine ingenuity, and
must He make all intelligent creatures
with our respiration or pulsation or
mastication, or digestion or habitude or
not make them at all? Because organ
isms like ours cannot live in Mercury
or Saturn, or Jupiter or the sun, we
have no right to conclude that those
globes are lifelesa Without any tele-
scope and without any observatory and
without any astronomical calculation,
I know that the other worlds are in
habited, because my Bible and my
common sense tell me so. 1t has been
estimated that In the worlds belonging
to our solar system there is room for at
least twenty-five trillion Of population.
And 1 believe 1t Is all occupied or will
be occupied by intelligent beings God
will not fill them with brutes. He
would certainly put into those worlds
beings intelligent enough to appreciate
the architecture, the coloring, the
grandeur, the beauty, the harmony of
their surroundings Yea, the inhabi-
tants Of those worlds have capacity of
locomotion like ours, for they would
not have had such spacious opportu-
nifty for movement II they had not
powers OF motion. yea tney nave signtp
else why the light and hearing, else
how get on with necessary language
and how clear themselves from ad-
vancing perhs Yea, as God made our
human race in HIS own image, He prob
aoiy made tne innaoitants OF otner
worlds IN ms own lmage' III otner
words, u is as near ue,nons..aticn as
care 10 nave IL INA. "hile INC innaoi- a,
tants OF otner worlds nave aoaP.asions
Oh oouiiy suucvare 70 s"e Parsicuiar \,
climate In wn'cn tney uwel,' tnere y
YET similarity Oh heh'a, anu spiritual
cnaracterlstics among al ,ne lnnaoi-
tants OF tne universe Oh uou, ana inaoe
In tbs image tney are wonderiuiiy alike
Now, what should be the practical re-
suit OF this discussion founded on Scrip
ture and common senseP 1t is first OF
all TO enlarge our ideas OF God and SO
intensity our admiration and worship
Under such consideration how much
more graphic the Bible question which
seems TO roll back the sleeve OF the Al
mighty and say: "iiast thou an arm
like GodG" The contemplation also en-
courages us with the thought that II
God made all these worlds and popu-
lated them, 1t will not be much OF an
undertaking for Him TO make our little
world over again, and reconstruct the
character Of Its populations as by grace
they are to be reconstructed.
What monstrosity Of ignorance that
the majority Of Christian people listen
not to the voices of other worlds. al