"Having glanced at the distances and magnitudes of some of the stars, or suns, let us pause for a moment to consider their number, and the vast s.p.a.ce they must necessarily occupy in the domain of Creation. By the most moderate estimate the number of stars that can be counted in the firmament by telescopic aid, does not fall short of _one hundred millions_. There is no doubt that most of those stars are _Suns_, dispensing light and heat to earths and planets like our own; and, indeed, no bodies shining by reflected light would be visible at such enormous distances.

"From the superior magnitude of those that have been measured--as compared to our Sun--it may be a.s.sumed that the average diameter of their solar systems must exceed our own; but taking them as nearly equal, it would give a breadth of at least _six thousand millions of miles_ as the field of s.p.a.ce occupied by each, while every star, or sun-system, is probably begirt with a gulf or void like that encircling our own, in which the antagonistic forces of attraction are lost, so as not to disturb each other. Hence, the distance from each of those suns to its nearest neighbor is probably not less than that which intervenes between our Sun and the nearest star, which cannot be less than about _twenty_ billions of miles. How inconceivably vast, therefore, must be the s.p.a.ce required to give room for so many and such stupendous solar systems. The mind absolutely reels under the load of conceptions so mighty. _Yet Infinity still lies beyond_."

"For what purpose," says Sir John Herschel, "are we to suppose such magnificent bodies scattered through the abyss of s.p.a.ce? Surely not to illume our nights, which an additional moon of the thousandth part of the size of our own would do much better; not to sparkle as a pageant, void of meaning and reality, and to bewilder us among vain conjectures. He must have studied astronomy to little purpose, who can suppose man to be the only object of his Creator's care, or who does not see, in the vast and wonderful apparatus around us, provisions for other races of animated beings."

The Psalmist says:

"Whoso is wise will ponder these things, and they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord."

Let us here suggest the reasonable hypothesis, that those distant suns, standing far out in the sidereal regions of illimitable s.p.a.ce--created, and placed there by the "Word" of the Almighty architect--may have been shining thus for untold billions of years; and so, also, the sun which shines upon and lights up and warms this earth, and the other planets within its domain; and will thus remain forever, as G.o.d's own lamps of eternal light, to all created intelligences.

Hear the Psalmist break forth again,

"Thy testimonies are wonderful. Who alone doeth great wonders.

The heavens declare the glory of G.o.d, and the firmament sheweth His handy works.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me."

Job tells us,

"He alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea, and doeth wonders without number."

_Fixed stars_--held by astronomers to be suns--are known from the planetary stars by their perpetual "twinkling," and by their being, apparently, always in the same position relative to each other. Now, while the number of stars to be seen in the heavens by the naked eye on a clear night does not exceed about 3,000 in each,--the northern and southern hemispheres,--yet Herschel, Olmsted, and other examiners tell us that by the aid of the telescope, many millions stand out in brilliant array--so vast their number that they cannot be correctly computed, but are supposed to be at least _one hundred millions_.

Prof. Olmsted declares it fully demonstrated that "_the fixed stars are suns_," and, with other astronomers, argues the fair probability of many of them being of far greater magnitude than our own sun. Dr.

Wollaston, a distinguished English philosopher, attempted to estimate the magnitude of certain of the fixed stars from the light which they afforded. "By means of an accurate _photometer_ (an instrument for measuring the relative intensities of light), he compares the light of Sirius with that of the sun. He next computed how far the sun must be removed from us in order to appear no brighter than Sirius. He found it would require to be _one hundred and forty-one thousand times_ its present distance, and even at that great distance Sirius must give out twice as much light as the sun, or that, in point of splendor, Sirius must be at least equal to two suns." "But," adds Prof. Olmsted, "as _Sirius_ is more than _two hundred thousand times_ as far off as the sun, he has rendered it probable that its light is equal to that of _fourteen suns_." (We wish you to bear these facts in mind, they will serve you when we come to speak of the magnitude of our own sun.)

But let us follow Prof. Olmsted a little farther. He says, "We have already seen that they are large bodies; that they are immensely farther off than the farthest planet; that they shine by their own light; in short, that their appearance is, in all respects, the same as the Sun would exhibit if removed to the region of the stars. Hence, we infer that they are bodies of the same kind with the Sun.

"We are justified, therefore, by a sound a.n.a.logy, in concluding that the stars referred to were made for the same end as the Sun; namely, as the centres of attraction to other planetary worlds, to which they severally dispense light and heat. Although the starry heavens present, in a clear night, a spectacle of unrivalled grandeur and beauty, yet it must be admitted that the chief purpose of the stars could not have been to adorn the night, since by far the greater part of them are ever invisible to the naked eye, nor as landmarks to the navigator, for only a small proportion of them are adapted to this purpose, nor, finally, to influence this Earth by their attraction, since their distance renders such an effect entirely insensible."

Therefore, arriving at the only rational conclusion _that they are Suns_, many of them suns of vast magnitude; shining with splendor and brilliancy equal to, or surpa.s.sing that of our own Sun; each giving out light and heat to their attendant planets and revolving worlds within their own domain, or sphere,--"may we not ask, for what purpose are these gifts dispensed to those surrounding worlds, if not for the use of percipient beings?

"We are therefore led to the inevitable idea of a plurality of worlds; and that they are inhabited by some order of intelligences, and the conclusion is forced upon our minds that the spot which the Creator has a.s.signed to us is but a humble province in his boundless empire."

None, however, can form a correct estimate, or comparison, between this, our diminutive Earth, and those vast orbs--suns--fixed so remote from us in the sidereal regions, nor of the numbers, until in some measure they have familiarized their minds with, and understand, to some extent, the science of astronomy, and then survey the vast field through a suitable telescope. "Even the first view through it, pointed heavenward, will astonish and fill the mind with awe and wonder; and as each new-grasping power is given to the instrument; new fields of those regions are joined on to those already explored, and every new stratum of s.p.a.ce thus added is found to be studded with stars in ever increasing ratio; until myriads have come forth from the dark depths of the firmament, and they have a grand panoramic view of a Universe of Worlds peopling the realms of boundless s.p.a.ce." Then, in wonder and amazement, they will more fully realize and comprehend the Omnipotent power of G.o.d in the manifestations of His creative word. Then, in comparison, each realizing his own diminutiveness: that he is even less than an unperceived infinitesimal atom floating along in the gentle breeze, he will be led to exclaim with the Psalmist:

"How wonderful are thy works, O Lord of hosts!

What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou takest knowledge of him?"

Dismissing, for the present, the further contemplation of those far-off millions of stars, or suns, and their multiplied millions of attendant planets and worlds, we come back to the contemplation of our own Sun, and its attendant planets, things with which we are more familiar, and which are--seemingly--more tangible.

As we have before remarked, the Sun governs and controls our Earth, and the other planets and worlds within its domain. Some of these worlds are not greatly dissimilar to this in which we live; some are smaller, while others are vastly larger--some computed to be even a thousand times larger than this Earth, and, as we believe, all are peopled with some high order of intelligence.

Having gathered the foregoing facts from the most undoubted authorities--astronomers, whose mathematical and philosophical calculations have for their base the immutable laws established by creative wisdom, as now revealed in Nature, we shall still rely--more or less--upon them for statistical facts and data, in further expositions from which to make deductions and draw our conclusions.

We are desirous of familiarizing your mind with the mighty and wondrous works of G.o.d, so plainly manifested in His creating and sustaining power, which few, comparatively speaking, seem to comprehend in any other way save in the daily temporal blessings of life. Should our feeble efforts raise your thoughts higher, and enable you to contemplate Him with the eye of faith in the light of reason, and Divine revelation; to know more of His greatness and power, and your entire dependence upon Him for all temporal blessings in life; for the _only_ consolation you can have in the dying hour, and as your only hope for the future, and should such contemplation draw your mind and heart to Him in holy love, and G.o.dly fear, we shall be well rewarded for our efforts.

_FIXED STARS ARE SUNS._

We now propose to dwell for a short time upon the distance, magnitude, elements, and offices of the Sun.

The Sun itself speaks to us with its voice of light, and it is our high privilege to understand, and thus comprehend mysteries long hidden, which are now being revealed. Special manifestations were long since made by Jehovah, which were left for those of the present enlightened age to comprehend; when the mind of man is more fully able to grasp His truths, and look up through Nature to Nature's G.o.d.

Now fix your mind's eye upon that brilliant orb of--seeming--eternal day; that Sun which is ever shining, ah! whose light never pales, nor fails its vast empire. No storm-clouds obscure its brightness in the higher realm, neither is there waning of light, nor a wasting of its substance. Possibly, from all eternity of the past it has been, and through eternity to come it will remain the same. We, on this Earth, have our days and nights, our sun-shine and shadows, tempests and storms. Our nights are the result of the daily revolution of the Earth, these are when that portion of it on which we dwell is turned away from the Sun, and the shadow of the Earth--which is surrounded by a dense atmosphere--is that which const.i.tutes our darkness. This atmosphere is a screen to us by day to modify the intense heat of the Sun's rays. Otherwise, it is possible that no animated life could exist. This atmosphere has in it the elements of production, which--when absorbed by the Earth--a.s.sists in bringing forth for the sustenance of man and beast, and all living things. Did not this atmosphere exist, our midnight hours would be almost as bright as noonday. See in this the wise provision of our heavenly Father.

That Sun is farther away, and of far greater magnitude, than you now comprehend, or even imagine. We will now state its dimensions, distance, elements, &c., as measured and determined by the science of astronomy, and as agreed upon by all the best informed and most profound mathematicians and astronomers throughout the world.

The diameter of the Sun is _eight hundred and fifty-five thousand miles_. It would require _one hundred and seven worlds_, the size of this Earth, set side by side to reach across it, and _one million four hundred thousand Earths_, the size of this, to make a globe of equal magnitude. It is _two millions six hundred and fifty-five thousand miles round it_, while its bulk is not less than _six hundred times_ as great as all the worlds and planets it controls within its sphere put together,--some of which, as we have told you, are estimated to be a thousand times larger than this Earth.

Is your mind expanding? are your views enlarging, so as to enable you to comprehend its vast dimensions? Let the revelations of astronomy a.s.sist you. Look at it again. From the comparatively small size of its disk as we see it from the Earth, the distance must be vast indeed to dwarf it down thus. The distance is great, no less than about _ninety-five millions of miles_. It is three hundred and eighty-five times as far away as the Moon: it is estimated that a cannon ball fired from this Earth and keeping up its velocity at the rate of _five hundred miles an hour_, would not reach it in less time than about twenty-two years. Still, though these are well demonstrated facts, ascertained by very correct measurement, by the most scientific mathematical surveyors of the heavens, yet we desire some more plain or familiar ill.u.s.tration. Let us investigate. Here we have it; are you ready for a journey? The celebrated Braley has calculated the time required for a trip of ocular exploration. He observes, "A railway train starting from this Earth, and running continuously, at the rate of _thirty miles an hour_, would arrive at the Moon in eleven months, but would not reach the Sun in less time than about _three hundred and fifty-two years_." We can partially comprehend this by calculation (although the years of the oldest individual of our country have not been sufficient to take him more than one third of the journey, even had he been placed on such train and started when an infant at his mother's breast). Had the train been started only nineteen years later than the discovery of North America by Columbus, in 1498, and travelled thirty miles each hour since, it would just now be approaching the border of the Sun, and, on arriving there, if a tunnel was opened and a track laid direct through it, "this train, continued at the same speed, would require more than a year and a half to reach the Sun's centre; three years and a half to pa.s.s through it, and more than ten years to pa.s.s round it.

"Now this same train would attain the centre of this Earth in five days and a half; pa.s.s through it in eleven days; and go round it in about thirty-five days." Thus you see the diminutiveness of this Earth as compared to the Sun. These calculations are founded on facts so clearly demonstrated by the science of astronomy, that but few who examine into it will question their approximation to correctness.

Now while the mind is somewhat familiarized with that vast globe, the Sun, let us contemplate it further.

Sir John Herschel, the most profound philosopher in the science of astronomy the world has ever known; one whose inventions and improvements in the telescope have far surpa.s.sed those of all others; one who has enjoyed the highest advantages in the study and demonstration of the science, and who has made most important discoveries in regard to the sun, and moon, and the planets--and even the fixed stars, or suns, in the far off sidereal regions--tells us that from his investigations and discoveries in regard to the Sun, there appears to be _a vast globe within_ the surrounding _photosphere of fire_, shielded by a void or non-luminous atmosphere, thus apparently protecting it from the surrounding flame of fire, and rendering it possible that the vast globe within is susceptible of animated life, which may exist there in some form. This, with the general corroboration of other astronomers, as to the two encircling volumes of atmosphere--the outer a luminous, and the inner a non-luminous one--is strong evidence confirmative of our hypothesis of the existence of that immense inner globe, or world, which is doubtless in reality the _Heavenly world_; the Saviour's empire, and the abode of the righteous.

Methinks, had Sir John Herschel but turned his attention for awhile to the flood-lights of Divine Revelations, made by G.o.d himself through His Spirit to fallen man, he would ere this have opened the "gate" to the eye of faith, and bid the weary Christian to look and behold the confines of that bright world which was opened, and flashed its inner light upon the eyes of the dying martyr Stephen, when,

"Being full of the Holy Ghost, he looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of G.o.d, and Jesus standing at the right hand of G.o.d, and said, Behold, I see heaven opened."

Thus, we are led to the inevitable conclusion that heaven is not so far distant but that it can be seen from earth by the _spirit-eye_, if G.o.d shall but open, and disclose it to view. Where else can we imagine its location, to be within range of--even immortal--vision from this earth? St. John, while in the spirit, had a view of that heavenly world, and the vast city with glittering jasper walls, and gold-paved streets, and even the "great white throne," the Saviour on that throne, surrounded by an innumerable company that no man can number.

St. Paul, in spirit, was caught up, even into the "third heaven," and "saw and heard things which it were not lawful for man to utter" to mortals on earth. He tells us that "eye hath not seen, neither ear hath heard, nor hath it entered the heart of man, the glory that shall be revealed." But we will not here antic.i.p.ate the still stronger evidence we have yet to lay before the mind as we pursue this interesting theme.

Bear in mind the fact that heaven is considered by the most learned and ablest writers on theology, as "a fixed place," permanent and abiding. That it is vast in extent, and glorious in appearance, and has, within, all the necessary elements and arrangements for complete happiness. And, we believe, that not very remotely distant from it is the place where is the element of punishment for the wicked. We think the revelations of G.o.d, and the manner and mode of his manifestations to the children of men, together with the revelations of astronomy in regard to the Sun; its magnitude and elements, will, when we come to consider them further, not only startle the mind, but prove our hypothesis well-founded.

_A CONTEMPLATION._

Just here, may we not, for a few moments, speculate in mind upon a possibility, which, as we advance, will a.s.sume more the form of a probability?

Look once more upon that brilliant orb, whose light, _without_, may be one of the lamps of eternal day. Look but for one second of time only; for, as we have told you, a steady gaze into its fiery flame of brightness for one minute alone is fatal to the blinding of the unprotected eye. May not _within_ be the place of which the poet's spiritual eye caught a glimpse, when alone in silent meditation he penned those sublime and beautiful lines:

"There, on those wide extended plains, shines one eternal day, There G.o.d, the Son, forever reigns, and scatters night away.

No chilling winds, nor poisonous breath, can reach that healthful sh.o.r.e, Sickness and sorrow, pain and death, are felt and feared no more."

May not that be the _Heavenly world_ wherein stands the "City of G.o.d, whose foundations are eternal," and whose maker and builder is the great Architect of the Universe? Its walls are Jasper, and are ever glittering in the glory-light of eternal day. Its apartments are gorgeously furnished in brilliant array. "_I go_" said the Saviour, "_to prepare a place for you._" There "the gold-paved streets," there the "Great white Throne" and "Christ the Lord" who sits thereon as the judge and ruler of His own native Empire--for it is He that shall judge the nations of this Earth, and in the "great day" of "final judgment" he will recount, in evidence, some of the scenes through which he pa.s.sed on this Earth, to justify his final and unalterable decision.

May not there gush forth the crystal "fountains of life" from which to drink will quench all thirst; and there the "rivers of life" ever flowing, in whose waters to bathe will renew eternal youth, and immortality, to dwell on and on with eternity itself? May not Moses, and Elijah, and the Prophets, and Martyrs be there? May not many of us, who are still on this Earth, contemplate the theme that there (in that bright world at whose boundary surface we cannot, while dwelling in mortality, gaze for even one minute of time without being blinded) we have a father, a mother, sister, brother, husband, wife, a child, or some loved friends, who have left the sh.o.r.es of Time, and are safe with their blessed Saviour, to dwell in his sun-light throughout "eternal day?"