it does so exist; and its having been originally created in the image of God, and after his likeness, shews that the Creator designed that it should enjoy a happy and an immortal existence. He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The separation which takes place between the soul and body at death, is the effect of sin; and the commonness of this occurrence, as the inevitable lot of all men, may perhaps at first view seem to indicate the extinction, not only of that which think and feels, but also of matter. Yet the supposition is certainly at variance with all that we know of the continuous existence of every thing around us. While matter is constantly assuming new forms, I see not the extinction of a single atom; and even in those cases in which there is an apparent extinction, chemistry informs me that the substance is not annihilated, but has passed into an aërial state. If that substance, then, which thinks and feels, cease to exist with the dissolution of the body, the case is anomalous, and forms a total deviation from all the phenomena that come within our observation. Viewing the subject simply in this light, I might deem it unnecessary to prove the immortality of the soul, since it rests with those who deny this doctrine, to prove the contrary. And in attempting such a proof, it becomes them to remember that the analogy of nature is against them; that all the discoveries of the telescope and microscope, while they give evidence that every thing is in motion, and subject to change, afford not a single instance of annihilation in a single atom; that the lights of science

lead us to the conclusion, that all to which the Creator has given existence during the eternity that is past, is in existence at the present moment, and will probably remain in existence during the eternity to come; and that if the human soul be annihilated at death, its ceasing to exist is an event which has no parallel in any of the acts of the government of God.

That the soul undergoes a mighty change when its tabernacle is dissolved, and the organs by which it holds intercourse with material things are turned into dust, is most certain. But does not natural history inform us of changes, not altogether dissimilar to those of death, in which substances assume new forms, while they are still identically the same? With regard to unorganized matter, we know that its condition is never stationary;-that the water which we drink has gone through many states before it allays our thirst;-that it has risen from the sea in the form of vapour, and descended again on the earth in the form of rain, has there become a solid, and is now again a liquid; and that amid all these changes nothing has been lost, and not a single particle has gone into non-existence. Why, then, should we suppose that the soul of man, in undergoing a change of state and of circumstances, is annihilated in the course of the process? When we have the most indubitable evidence, that not a particle of inert matter, though passing through a succession of changes, from the distant period of its creation to the present moment, is ever destroyed, on what ground can we imagine that a much nobler substance,—the substance which thinks, and feels, and acts, and which alone can see in the

appearances of nature their author and their end,-on what ground can we believe that this is annihilated when the body is dissolved?

But may we not derive the strongest evidence from the consideration of the nature of the soul and its faculties, that he who formed it, has designed it for an immortal existence?

I. The human soul is possessed of a capacity of endless improvement; whereas the inferior animals soon attain to the utmost perfection of their nature. It is not so much reason which distinguishes man from the other inhabitants of the globe, as the capability of growing, and of indefinite advancement in knowledge and in understanding. The progressive improvement which is going on in the species, is founded on that susceptibility of improvement in reason and in virtue possessed by the individual. But it is obvious, that the present state of things is in many respects unsuited to the intellectual and moral powers with which man is endowed; and that in particular instances, the highest gifts seem to be communicated for little purpose, if there be not a more elevated sphere of being for their exercise. It is often at the moment, when the faculties of the christian philosopher, or christian preacher, are in a state of high improvement ;-when, by the reach of his understanding, he is bringing truths to light that have been hid from ages and from generations, and which, in connexion with his name, are to be incorporated with the treasures of human knowledge,—it is often at such a moment of high pre-eminence that death overtakes him, and leaves the survivors to wonder at the mysterious

ness of a Providence which seems to call into existence the most valuable of its productions, merely to show with what ease and celerity it can destroy them.

But on the supposition of a future and an endless existence, we can account for the purposes to be accomplished by the capacity of indefinite improvement in man; and we may also see reasons, why at a certain stage of its progress, the soul should be removed to a higher sphere of exertion and enjoyment. Considered in this view, how sublime is the elevation to which the nature of man is raised, endowed with an immortality of being, advancing on the bright career of endless improvement, enlarging immeasurably its capacities and enjoyments, and constantly assuming higher glories and diviner aspects, from the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

II. May we not regard the desire of happiness, so strong in the human soul, as an intimation of the Creator's design to confer it in an everlasting state of existence? Why has he that formed us connected with our nature a susceptibility which leads us to form friendships the most tender and endearing, if it be not his design to leave room for its eternal gratification? Why has he rendered us capable of deriving so much enjoyment from his own favour and presence, if this enjoyment is only to be of momentary duration?

III. Ought we not to consider the desire of immortality, so strong and universal, as an indication that the soul of man is endowed with this capacity? This desire is inherent in the human mind, and is found in men of all nations, and under every possible diversity

of circumstances. Man in every situation is in pursuit of something fairer and more lovely than he ever actually attains: in all the stages of his being, and in the exercise of the varied professions of life, there is a secret hope, that the future will be far more agreeable than the past, and that the evils which have been endured, will be compensated by the pleasures that are to be enjoyed. This principle of human nature is so powerful in early life, as scarcely to allow the mind to view the events of this fleeting scene, otherwise than as they appear through the medium of the bright but false colouring which it presents. In circumstances where we should have conceived all hope to be extinguished, where the lonely sufferer is secluded from every blessing that can render life an object of desire, there is a world of unmingled happiness with which tyranny cannot intermeddle, that opens to his view, reflecting its light across the darkness of his affliction, leading him almost to forget the sad reality of his destiny, and reminding him of the goodness of that almighty Being who has connected sources of enjoyment with his nature, which no power but sin can possibly destroy. Is not this the voice of the Deity, directing the views of man to that immortality of which he has constituted him the heir?

"Tis the Divinity that stirs within us,

"Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter,
And intimates eternity to man.

But though we see in the natural endowments of the human soul, a feeble resemblance to the image of God; in the operations of the understanding a faint