The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1892-12-20

sort. and many spposed that it stood on a
huge turtle, or some greas marine creature,
Job knew enough of astronomy to say it
had no foundation but was suspended On
tho invisible arm of the Almighty, declar-
ing that He hangeth the earth upon moth
ing" While all nations thought the earth
was level, the sky, spread over it like
world to be gobular circular, saying of
God: HE stitch upon the circle
of the earth" See them glitter in
the scriptuai syy-Arcturus, Orion,
the Pleiades and the bear with her
young" While running your fingers among
the leaves of your Bible with the astrono-
mical thought in your mind, you see two
worlds stOp--the sun and the moon. But
what does that Christian know about that
something Of those two summarizes?
Unless you watch modern astrono-
my put those two worlds in its
steelyards and weigh them, you are as
ignorant as Hottentot about the stipend
do1sness of that scene in the life of Joshua.
The sun over three hundred thousand times
az heavy as our earth and going thousands
of miles the hour. Think of stopping and
starting it again without the ship wreck
of the universal But l can easily believe
it, What confoundS me is not that He
could stop and start again those two worlds
in Joshua's time. but that He could have
made the wheels of worlds on which the sun
and moon are only cogs. and keep that wheel
rolling for thousands Of years-the flyWheel
of all eternity. If an engineer can start
a long tram, it Is not surprising that he
could stop it. If God could make and move
the universe, which is an express train
drawn by an omMpotent engine, l am not
surprised that for part Of a day he could
put down the brakes of two pieces OF the ro-
tating machinery. lntidelity is hard up for
int tI,1,.
when it finds fault with that cessation of
stellar and lunar travel. Here is my watch.
| could not make q watch il l. tried, but /
can stop it and start it again. My difficult
ty is not that God could stop two worlds
and start them agan, but that He could
make them at all as He did make them.
What plcases me and ast0unds me more
is that each one OF the millions OF worlds
has God given name. Only Il compare
lively small number Of them have names
given them by scientists. Ii astronomers
can give a name to a whole constellation
or galaxy, they think they do well, but God
has a name for each star III all immensely.
Inspired, David declares of God: He tell
eth the number of the stars, lie caiieth
them all by their Names" They are not
orphans that have never been christened.
They are not waits of the night They are
nota unknown ships on the high seas OF i'm
mcnSdty. They belong TO a family OF whicl
God IS Father. and as you call call your chill
dren Benjamin or Mary Bertha or Ad-
Olson or Josephine, so lie calls all the in
FAINT worlds and all the adult worlds by
their tiEst name, and they know it well
as though there We're only one child of light
in all the divine family. He calleth
them all by their Names and when he calls,
l warrant they come.
Oh, the stars! Those yestal fires kept
burning on infinite affairs. Those light
houses on the coast of eternity. The hands
and weights and pendulum of the great
clock of the universe. According to Her
schel, the sO-calle0 nxed stars are not fixed
at ali, but each one Il sun with u mighty
system Of worlds rolling around 1t, and
the whole system with all the other systems
rolling on around some other great center.
Millions and millions. billions and biliios,
trilIlous and triiiions, quadriilions and quad
rillionSl
but what gladdens me. ard at the same
time OyorWbelms me, IS that those worlds
are inhabited. The Bible says so, ana what
q small idea You must Lave OF God and bis
dominion il sou think it only extends
across this chip Of a world which you and
l now innabit. Have you taken this idea
Of ali the other worlds being inhabited as
human guess work? Read iaiah, 10th chap
ter, 18Th verse: THUS saith the Lord that
created the heavens, God himself that
formed the earth and made it; lie hath
established 1t, lie created it not in vain. tie
formed il 10 be Inhabited Now. If lie in
habitet tic earth SO that it would not be ere
III vain, would He make worlds hundreds
and thous lndS Of times larger and not
have them Inhabited? Speaking Of the
Inhabitants of The world. He says: THE
nations are HE drop of a bucket Ii
all the inhabitants of the world are IS Il
drop of = Duclict, where are the other drops
Of the bucket? Again aud again the Bible
speaks of rhe host of heaven, and the word
host means living creatures, not inert
masses. and the expression hosts of
heaven must mean inhabitants of other
worlds Tie psalmist cried out: Lhe
mercy IS above the heavens" If there We're
no Inhabitants above the heavens, what use
OF any mercy? Again, the Bible e.lclaims:
Tiny goodness is great above the heavens.
WHAT could be the use of His goodness above
the heavens if there We're 40 inhabitants
to enjoy it? Again. the Bible says: He has
set thy glory above the heavens And here
my text comes III with its idea OF man
sion of many stories: 1t is he that buidath
his stories III the heavens" Ii is possible
that we who live on the ground floor of this
many-st0ried building are the only tenants,
and tha6 the larger rooms and the more
gorge0usiy upholstered rooms and the ilore
brilliant chandciiered rooms above it are
uniDhabited? Besides this we are
positively told the Bible that two
other worlds are inhabted-the world
angelic and the world dlaD0llc
Those two worlds added TO cur own make
It positive that three worlds are inhabited.
WIN then stop with three worlds of living
beings when there are not only millions but
billions of worlds? Arc they all standing
like expensiyeiy furnished houses in time Of
financial panic marked 10 Let and 10
one TO take them! All around US IN this
world We see economy Of olnnipotcnce. If
Christ was going to feed the hungry seven
thousand in the wilderness, he made use Of
the boys five lcayes and two fishes. eXpend-
ing no more Of creative power than was
needed. Waste not" God hath written all
over this world. and do you suppose that