The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1892-12-29

habited as human guesswork? Read
Isaiah xiv, Is: "Thus saith the Lord
that created the heavens, God him
self that formed the earth, and made
it; he hath established it, he created
it not in vain, he formed it to be in
habited." Now, if he inhabited the
earth so that it would not be created
in vain, would he make worlds hun
dreds and thousands of times larger
and not have them inhabited? Speak
ing OF the inhabitants Of the world
hesays: '"The nations are as the drop
OF g. bucket" If all the inhabitants
OF this world are as q drop of q buck
ct, where are the other drops of the
bucket? Again and again the Bible
speaks of the hosts of heaven and the
word Ghost" means living creatures,
not inert masses, and the expression,
Ghosts Of heaven must mean inhabi-
tants of other worlds. The psalmist
cries out, "rhy mercy is great above
the heavens" If there were no in
habitants above the heavens, what
use OF any mercy? Again, the Bible
exclaims: "Thy goodness is great
above the heavens"
What would be the use OF his good
ness above the heavens If there were
no inhabitants to enjoy it? Again,
the Bible says: "He has set thy glory
above the heavens" And here my
text comes in with it's idea of q man
sion OF many stories: at is he that
buildeth his stories in heaven" Is it
possible that we who live on the
ground floor of this many-storied
building are the only tenants, and
that the larger rooms and the more
gorgeously upholstered rooms and
the more brilliantly chandeliered
rooms above it are uninhabited? Be-
side this, we are positively told in
the Bible that two other worlds are
inhabited-the world angelic and the
world diabolic. Those two worlds,
added to our own, make it positive
that three worlds are inha bited. Why,
then. stop with three worlds of living
beings when there are not only mill
ions but billions Of worlds? Are they
all standing like extensively furnish
he'd houses in time of financial panic
marked "To.Let" and no one to take
them? All around us in this world
we see economy of omnipotence. If
Christ was going to feed the hungry
1000 in the wilderness he made use of
the boys five loaves and two fishes,
expanding no more of creative power
than was needed. "Waste not" God
hath written all over this world
NOTHING WASTED.
And do you suppose that God
would waste world material in our
solar system to the amount of what
has been estimated as seven hundred
trillion miles OF solid contents, and
that only a small part as compared
with other systems which 90 to make
up this many-storied mansion of the
text, where it says "It is he that
buildeth his stories in the heaven"
Did Prof. Herschel and his sister,
Catherine, ingfnding worlds, find only
worlds uninhabited and a waste? Is
Ceres, which Piozzi discovered in 1901
wasted? Is Vesta, that Oilers discov-
cred in 1858, wasted? Is Urania,
which Prof. Hind discovered in 1854,
wasted? Is Pandora, discovered in
1858 by Prof. Searle, wasted? Are
the fifteen thousand stars recorded
in one year in the observatory at
Washington, wasted? Is all except
the billionth part of the universe
wasted? My hearers, is it possible
that God would rum such splendid
passenger train ofparlo1 cars through
the heavens if there were no passen-
gers? Judging from the extent OF the
universe, do you think God would
put all his family on such limits as this
world marks? If king have pal
ace Or one hundred rooms will he
put all princes and princesses in one
comparatively small room? AS the
highest happiness is in making Others
happy, is it not certain that God
would occupy larger places than our
small earth with beings capable OF
happiness? Besides this, why all the
worlds furtherest on andfurtherest up
covered up with light? What is the
use of light if there are no eyes OF in
habitants to enjoy and employ that
light? l admit that scientific explor-
alton has discovered AMI atmosphere
in which lungs like ours could not
breathe, and there are heats or colds
that physique like ours could not en-
dure. 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 re-
spiration or pulsation.. or mastica-
ton or digestion or habitude or not
make them at all? Because organ
isms like ours can not live in Mer-
curry or Saturn or Jupiter or the sun,
we have no right to conclude that
those globes are lifeless. Without
any telescope and without any as
Economical calculation, know that
the other worlds are inhabited, be-
cause my Bible and my common
sense tells me so. It has been
estimated that in the worlds
belonging to our solar system
there is room for at least
twenty-five trillion of popula-
tion And believe it is all occupied
or will be occupied by intelligent be-
ings. 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.