Part 12

_Jeremiah_ xxxi, 37--“Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar, the Lord of Hosts is His name. If these ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the Lord: if heaven above can be measured, and the _foundations_ of the _Earth searched out beneath_, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel.”

From the above it will be seen that God’s promises to his people could no more be broken than could the height of heaven, or the depths of the Earth’s foundations be searched out. The fathomless deep beneath--upon which the Earth is founded, and the infinitude of heaven above, are here given as emblems of the boundlessness of God’s power, and of the certainty that all his ordinances will be fulfilled. When God’s power can be limited, heaven above will no longer be infinite; and the mighty waters, the foundations of the earth may be fathomed. But the scriptures plainly teach us that the power and wisdom of God, the heights of Heaven, and the depths of the waters under the Earth are alike unfathomable; and no true philosophy ever avers, nor ever did nor ever can aver, a single fact to the contrary.

In all the religions of the Earth the words “up” and “above” are associated with a region of peace and happiness. Heaven is always spoken of as _above_ the _Earth_. The scriptures invariable convey the same idea:--

_Deut._ xxvi., 15--“Look _down_ from Thy holy habitation, from Heaven, and bless Thy people Israel.”

_Exodus_ xix., 20--“And the Lord came _down_ upon Mount Sinai.”

_Psalm_ cii., 19--“For he hath looked _down_ from the height of his sanctuary: from Heaven did the Lord behold the Earth.”

_Isaiah_ lxiii., 15--“Look _down_ from Heaven, and behold from the habitation of Thy holiness and of Thy glory.”

_Psalm_ ciii., 11--“For as the Heaven is high _above the Earth_.”

2 _Kings_ ii., 11--“And Elijah went _up_ by a whirlwind into Heaven.”

_Mark_ xvi., 10--“So then after the Lord had spoken unto them he was received _up into Heaven_.”

_Luke_ xxiv., 51--“And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried _up into Heaven_.”

If the Earth is a globe revolving at the rate of above a thousand miles an hour all this language of scripture is necessarily fallacious. The terms “up” and “down,” and “above” and “below,” are words without meaning, at best are merely relative--indicative of no absolute or certain direction. That which is “up” at noon-day, is directly “down” at midnight. Heaven can only be spoken of as “above,” and the scriptures can only be read correctly for a single moment out of the twenty-four hours; for before the sentence “Heaven is high above the Earth” could be uttered, the speaker would be descending from the meridian where Heaven was above him, and his eye although unmoved would be fixed upon a point millions of miles away from his first position. Hence in all the ceremonials of religion, where the hands and eyes are raised upwards to Heaven, nay when Christ himself “lifted up his eyes to Heaven and said, Father, the hour is come,” his gaze would be sweeping along the firmament at rapidly varying angles, and with such incomprehensible velocity that a fixed point of observation, and a definite position, as indicating the seat or throne of “Him that sitteth in the Heavens” would be an impossibility.

Again: the religious world have always believed and meditated upon the word “Heaven” as representing an infinite region of joy and safety, of rest and happiness unspeakable; as “the place of God’s residence, the dwelling place of angels and the blessed; the true palace of God, entirely separated from the impurities and imperfections, the alterations and changes of the lower world; where He reigns in eternal peace. * * It is the sacred mansion of light, and joy, and glory.[45]” But if there is a plurality of worlds, millions upon millions, nay, an “infinity of worlds,” if the universe is filled with innumerable systems of burning suns, and rapidly revolving planets, intermingled with rushing comets and whirling satellites, all dashing and sweeping through space in directions, and with velocities surpassing all human comprehension, and terrible even to contemplate, where is the place of rest and safety? Where is the true and unchangeable “palace of God?” In what direction is Heaven to be found? Where is the liberated human soul to find its home--its refuge from change and motion, from uncertainty and danger? Is it to wander for ever in a labyrinth of rolling worlds? To struggle for ever in a never ending maze of revolving suns and systems? To be never at rest, but for ever seeking to avoid some vortex of attraction--some whirlpool of gravitation? The belief in the existence of Heaven, as a region of peace and harmony “extending (above the Earth) through all extent,” and beyond the influence of natural laws and restless elements, is jeopardised, if not destroyed, by a false and usurping astronomy, which has no better foundation than human conceit and presumption. If this ill-founded, unsupported philosophy is admitted by the religious mind, it can no longer say that--

“Far above the sun, and stars, and skies, In realms of endless light and love, My Father’s mansion lies.”

[45] Cruden’s Concordance, article “Heaven.”

The modern theoretical astronomy affirms that the Moon is a solid opaque, non-luminous body; that it is, in fact, nothing less than a material world. It has even been mapped out into continents, islands, seas, lakes, volcanoes, &c., &c. The nature of its atmosphere and character of its productions and possible inhabitants have been discussed with as much freedom as though our philosophers were quite as familiar with it as they are with the different objects and localities upon Earth. The light, too, with which the Moon so beautifully illuminates the firmament is declared to be only borrowed--to be only the light of the Sun intercepted and reflected upon the Earth. These doctrines are not only opposed by a formidable array of well-ascertained facts (as given in previous sections), but they are totally denied by the scriptures. The Sun and Moon and Stars are never referred to as worlds, but simply as _lights_ to rule alternately in the firmament.

_Genesis_ i., 14, 16--“And God said let there be _lights_ in the firmament of the Heaven to divide the day from the night. * * * And God made two _great lights_--the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.”

_Psalm_ cxxxvi., 7, 9--“O give thanks to Him that made _great lights_: the Sun to rule by day, the Moon and Stars to rule by night.”

_Jeremiah_, xxxi., 35--“The Sun is given for a light by day, and the ordinances of the Moon and of the Stars for a light by night.”

_Ezekiel_, xxxii., 7, 8--“I will cover the Sun with a cloud; and the Moon shall not give _her light_.” “All the bright lights of Heaven will I make dark over thee.”

_Psalm_ cxlviii., 3--“Praise him Sun and Moon, praise him all ye Stars of light.”

_Isaiah_ xiii., 10--“The Sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the Moon shall not cause _her_ light to shine.”

_Matthew_ xxiv., 29--“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the Sun be darkened, and the Moon shall not give her light.”

_Isaiah_ ix., 19, 20--“The Sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the _Moon give light_ unto thee. * * Thy Sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy Moon withdraw itself.”

_Psalm_ cxxxvi., 7 to 9--“To him that made great lights, the Sun to rule by day, the Moon and Stars to rule by night.”

_Job_ xxv., 5--“Behold even to the Moon, and _it_ shineth not.”

_Ecclesiastes_ xii., 2--“While the Sun, or the light, or the Moon, or the Stars be not darkened.”

_Isaiah_ xxx., 26--“The light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun; and the light of the Sun shall be sevenfold.”

_Deuteronomy_ xxxiii., 14--“And for the precious fruits brought forth by the Sun, and for the precious things put forth by the Moon.”

In the very first of the passages above quoted the doctrine is enunciated that various distinct and independent _lights_ were created. But that two _great_ lights were specially called into existence for the purpose of ruling the day and the night. The Sun and the Moon are declared to be these great and alternately ruling lights. Nothing is here said, nor is it in any other part of scripture said, that the Sun is a great light, and that the Moon shines only by reflection. The Sun is called the “greater light to rule the day,” and the Moon the “lesser light to rule the night.” Although of these two “great lights” one is less than the other, each is declared to shine with its own light. Hence in Deuteronomy, c. 33, v. 14, it is affirmed that certain fruits are specially brought forth by the influence of the Sun’s light, and that certain other productions are “put forth by the Moon.” That the light of the sun is influential in encouraging the growth of certain natural products; and that the light of the Moon has a distinct influence in promoting the increase of certain other natural substances, is a matter well known to those who are familiar with horticultural and agricultural phenomena; and it is abundantly proved by chemical evidence that the two lights are distinct in character and in action upon various elements. This distinction is beautifully preserved throughout the sacred scriptures. In no single instance are the two lights confounded. On the contrary, in the New Testament, St. Paul affirms with authority, that “there is one glory of the Sun, and another glory of the Moon, and another glory of the Stars.”

The same fact of the difference in the two lights, and their independence of each other is maintained in the scriptures to the last. “The Sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the Moon became as blood.” If the Moon is only a reflector, the moment the Sun becomes black her surface will be blackened also, and not remain as blood, while the Sun is dark and black as sackcloth of hair!

Again: the modern system of astronomy teaches that this earth cannot possibly receive light from the Stars, because of their supposed great distance from it: that the fixed Stars are only burning spheres, or Sun’s to their own systems of planets and satellites: and that their light terminates, or no longer produces an active luminosity at the distance of nearly two thousand millions of miles. Here again the scriptures affirm the contrary doctrine.

_Genesis_ i., 16-17--“He made the Stars also; and God set them in the firmament _to give light upon the earth_.”

_Isaiah_ xiii., 10--“For the Stars of Heaven and the constellations thereof shall not _give their light_.”

_Ezekiel_ xxxii., 7--“I will cover the Heaven, and make the _Stars_ thereof _dark_.”

_Joel_ ii., 10--“The Sun and the Moon shall be dark, and the _Stars_ shall withdraw _their shining_.”

_Psalm_ cxlviii., 3--“Praise him Sun and Moon: promise him all ye _Stars of Light_.”

_Jeremiah_ xxxi., 35--“Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the Sun for a light by day; and the ordinances of the Moon and of _the Stars_ for a _light by night_.”

_Daniel_ xii., 3--“They that turn many to righteousness shall _shine_ as the _Stars_ for ever and ever.”

These quotations place it beyond doubt that the Stars were made expressly to shine in the firmament, and “to give light upon the Earth.” In addition to this language of scripture, we have the evidence of our own eyes that the Stars give abundant light. “What beautiful star-light!” is a common expression: and we all remember the difference between a dark and starless night, and one when the firmament is as it were studded with brilliant luminaries. Travellers inform us that in many parts of the world, where the sky is clear and free from clouds and vapours for weeks together, the Stars appear both larger and brighter than they do in England; and that their light is sufficiently intense to enable them to read and write, and to travel with safety through the most dangerous places.

If it be true that the Stars and the Planets are not simply lights, as the scriptures affirm them to be, but magnificent worlds, for the most part much larger than this earth, then it is a very proper question to ask--“are they inhabited?” If the answer be in the affirmative, it is equally proper to inquire “have the first parents in each world been tempted?” If so, “have they fallen?” if so, “Have they required redemption?” And “have they been redeemed?” “Has each world had a separate Redeemer? or has Christ been the Redeemer for every world in the universe?” And if so, “did His suffering and crucifixion on this Earth suffice for the redemption of the fallen inhabitants of all other worlds? Or had He to suffer and die in each world successively? Did the fall of Adam in this world involve in his guilt the inhabitants of all other worlds? Or was the baneful influence of Satan confined to the first parents of this Earth? If so, why so? and if not, why not? But, and if, and why, and again--but it is useless thus to ponder! The Christian philosopher must be confounded! If his religion be to him a living reality, he will turn with loathing or spurn with indignation and disgust, as he would a poisonous reptile, a system of astronomy which creates in his mind so much confusion and uncertainty! But as the system which necessitates such doubts and difficulties has been shown to be purely theoretical; and to have not the slightest foundation in fact, the religious mind has really no cause for apprehension. Not a shadow of doubt remains that this World is the only one created; that the sacred Scriptures contain, in addition to religious and moral doctrines, a true and consistent philosophy; that they were written for the good of mankind, at the direct instigation of God himself; and that all their teachings and promises are truthful, consistent, and reliable. Whoever holds the contrary conclusion is the victim of an arrogant false astronomy, of an equally false and presumptuous geology, or a suicidal method of reasoning--a logic which never demands a proof of its premises, and which therefore leads to conclusions which are contrary to nature, to human experience, and to the direct teaching of God’s word, and therefore contrary to the deepest and most lasting interests of humanity. “God has spoken to man in two voices, the voice of inspiration and the voice of nature. By man’s ignorance they have been made to disagree; but the time will come, and cannot be far distant, when these two languages will strictly accord; when the science of nature will no longer contradict the science of scripture.”[46]

[46] Professor Hunt.

CUI BONO.--“Of all terrors to the generous soul, that _Cui bono_ is the one to be the most zealously avoided. Whether it be proposed to find the magnetic point, or a passage impossible to be utilised if discovered, or a race of men of no good to any human institution extant, and of no good to themselves; or to seek the Unicorn in Madagascar, and when we had found him not to be able to make use of him; or the great central plateau of Australia, where no one could live for centuries to come; or the great African lake, which, for all the good it would do us English folk might as well be in the Moon; or the source of the Nile, the triumphant discovery of which would neither lower the rents nor take off the taxes anywhere--whatever it is, the _Cui bono_ is always a weak and cowardly argument: essentially short-sighted too, seeing that, according to the law of the past, by which we may always safely predicate the future, so much falls into the hands of the seeker, for which he was not looking, and of which he never even knew the existence. The area of the possible is very wide still, and very insignificant and minute, the angle we have staked out and marked impossible. What do we know of the powers which nature has yet in reserve, of the secrets she has still untold, the wealth still concealed? Every day sees new discoveries in the sciences we can investigate at home. What, then, may not lie waiting for the explorers abroad? Weak and short-sighted commercially, the _cui bono_ is worse than both, morally. When we remember the powerful manhood, the patience, unselfishness, courage, devotion, and nobleness of aim which must accompany a perilous enterprise, and which form so great an example, and so heart-stirring to the young and to the wavering, it is no return to barbaric indifference to life to say, better indeed a few deaths for even a commercially useless enterprise--better a few hearths made desolate, and a few wives and mothers left to bear their stately sorrow to the end of time, that the future may rejoice and be strong: better a thousand failures, and a thousand useless undertakings, than the loss of national manhood or the weakening of the national fibre. Quixotism is a folly when the energy which might have achieved conquests over misery and wrong, if rightfully applied, is wasted in fighting windmills; but to forego any great enterprise for fear of the dangers attending, or to check a grand endeavour by the _cui bono_ of ignorance and moral scepticism, is worse than a folly--it is baseness, and a cowardice.[47]”

[47] _Daily News_ of April 5, 1865.

The above quotation is an excellent general answer to all those who may, in reference to the subject of this work, or to anything which is not of immediate worldly interest, obtrude the _cui bono_? But as a special reply it may be claimed for the subject of these pages--

First,--It is more edifying, more satisfactory, and in every sense far better that we should know the true and detect the false. Thereby the mind becomes fixed, established upon an eternal foundation, and no longer subject to those waverings and changes, those oscillations and fluctuations which are ever the result of falsehood. To know the truth and to embody it in our lives and purposes our progress must be safe and rapid, and almost unlimited in extent. None can say to what it may lead or where it may culminate. Who shall dare to set bounds to the capabilities of the mind, or to fix a limit to human progress? Whatever may be the destiny of the human race truth alone will help and secure its realisation.