ence, must necessarily disappear; in consequence of which, the body, though compounded of parts,' will be capable of supporting itself without external aid. For, in this case, the distinct atoms, having no distinct centres to which they shall respectively tend, must continue to preserve those stations in which, at the resurrection, they shall be fixed.

The distinct elements, into which matter is now divided, have probably been thus divided for purposes subservient to creation, as we well know that this division is essentially necessary to man in his present terrestrial condition; and consequently, these divisions may have no existence in any other state. For, when this condition of man shall be done away, and the present state of creation shall be no more, the elements may subside with the occasion of their being. And, should they be lost in one general form of indiscriminate matter, it plainly follows, that all propensity to dissolution must be for ever excluded, even from compounded bodies, and totally done away.

There can be no doubt that our future bodies will be formed of matter, and of that matter which now forms their essential parts. But, though the matter itself shall be retained, the elementary divisions may nevertheless be totally abolished, and may mingle in one common mass, for which we want a name. And, since matter in its remote and primitive state, while undivided into elements, could have had no tendency to dissolution, whatever the peculiarity of the modification of any portion thereof might have been; so we may reasonably infer, that

the body, which shall survive the grave, though composed of separable parts, if constituted in a similar manner, must be unaffected by all external impulses, and, consequently, must continue for ever. And, therefore, the mere compound of any given body, under these circumstances, cannot in itself be adduced as an argument against the perpetuity of its being, when matter itself shall be divested of those tendencies, which must have originated either in a peculiarity of local circumstances, or in external causes, which must be destroyed. And, hence it follows also, that all those arguments which may be drawn from the compounded state of our future bodies, to invalidate our belief in their immortality, must necessarily appear fallacious.

In addition to the circumstances, which have been stated in the preceding paragraphs, the following remarks ought not to be omitted. The adhesive parts of any compounded body, which is purely material, which our future bodies must be, are as much matter as the parts which are cemented by this adhesion. And we have no more reason to believe, that a tendency to dissolution can reside in the adhesive particles, than in those which are presumed to be more solid and compact; and, therefore, an adhesive particle, placed in an adhesive state, must preserve its station as much so as one that is supported by that adhesion. For, where any given portion of matter, which is in itself perfectly inert, is removed from all external influence and impulse, it cannot possibly have any tendency to remove from that station in which it was first

placed. It must preserve its native inertness the moment after it was created, it must be the same the moment following, and consequently must continue in that state for ever. The removal of all external impulses and influence must place particles, which are inert, beyond the reach of change; and the same action, which established their first condition, must continue to make that condition permanent; and, under these circumstances, they must retain their adhesive properties and established situations for ever.

Thus far the argument will hold good, if we presume that all matter is alike indifferent to motion and rest. But if, on the contrary, we presume that all matter possesses a certain power, by which it resists all change of place, as many have strongly contended, it will be considerably strengthened and confirmed. For, if all matter be capable of resisting more or less all changes of situation, then nothing but external impulse can remove any given particle from its station; and such must be the nature of that impulse, that it must be capable of overcoming that resistance which the given portion of matter makes in proportion to its magnitude or solid contents. What the precise quantity, or numerical particles of matter may be, of which our future bodies shall be composed, is a question foreign to the present inquiry. For certain it is, that neither specific quantity, nor numerical identity, can affect the abstract nature of compounded bodies. But, admitting the principles to be genuine on which I have proceeded, namely, that all matter shall be re

1

duced to its original state; then, when the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the atmosphere must be destroyed; then each particle shall preserve its station in our future bodies, and all the parts, of which they shall be composed, will adhere indissolubly for ever.

Hitherto, we have surveyed but one side of the case which was supposed. We have thus far presumed in that future state, which we shall inherit, that particles taken from different elements will no longer seek distinct abodes; but that, equally fixed in their respective stations, each particle shall be at rest; and that having no tendency to wander from its station, in which it has been placed, the parts of our future bodies must adhere to each other through eternity. Such are the consequences which will result, upon a presumption that the discrimination of elements shall be done away.

But if, on the contrary, we presume that this discrimination of elements shall not be totally abo-' lished, as we have presumed; and that they shall not be blended together, as in the original state of things, before they had their distinct natures assigned them; yet we cannot avoid concluding, that, so far shall the face of things be changed, that they shall be deprived of their hostile influence towards one another, and happily concur in one harmonious operation. Those bodies, which have slept for ages in the dust of the earth, awakened by the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, while the world' and all its appendages are consumed with devouring fire, will undoubtedly retire beyond the reach of the

general conflagration, and, entering immediately into their eternal states, will live in regions where the atmosphere can extend no influence, and where gravitation can never reach.

The destruction of the world by fire must annihilate that common centre to which our bodies now adhere, and constantly tend; and, consequently, gravitation must necessarily be destroyed. This circumstance must counteract the tendency, which the grosser particles might have to cleave to their terrestrial confine, even though the atmosphere should remain, and though, in point of space, the renovated body shall be lodged within the sphere of its present attractive influence. But these points will rise into consideration in some subsequent Chapter, and to that Chapter we must refer for the discussion. It is sufficient in the present case, that we have seen the introduction of moral evil into the world, together with its effects and consequences; and, that through the removal of the tree of life, death has been entailed on all of woman born. Thus, by the disobedience of one man sin has entered into the world, and death by sin, and thus has death passed upon all men, because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; and hence we are assured that the wages of sin is death.