"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." Verse 29."And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." Verse 30.—" And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so." Verse 31."And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." Chap. ii. ver. 1.-"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." Probably all the planets and their satellites at the same time, as they necessarily belong to our system which was then completed. Verse 2.-" And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made." Verse 3.-" And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it." No words can be plainer than these. They are again most emphatically corroborated by the commandment given to Moses on Mount Sinai: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy... . For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." The world sprang from chaos, light from darkness, and out of the mist of the vast abyss of waters, a firmament arose to span the universe with its dome, and as a concave crystal displayed to the worlds within, the astral systems in the endless space. "How charming is Divine Philosophy! A perpetual feast of nectared sweets, "All scripture," says St. Paul, " is given by inspiration of God." Therefore, if we cannot comprehend the entire contents of the sacred volume, we have no right to give a different interpretation to the plain meaning of the foregoing narrative. 66 The Scripture has been given "for instruction in righteousness." 'Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." "None of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Let us, then, be careful how we interpret Holy Writ, and rather seek, in the great works of nature, knowledge, wisdom, and the fulfilment of the Divine will. Moses has told us when was the beginning; but the end, God only knoweth. Let us, then, remain steadfast to the words and instructions of Holy Writ, and contemplate with admiration and humility the sublime vista of the grand scene around us, from the heavens above to the earth beneath. Let us humbly endeavour to examine and study the causes of the various changes, without misinterpreting the Holy Narrative to suit the various imperfect visions and conceptions of man. Natural philosophy is still enveloped in much mist, which must be removed before its value can be comprehended and appreciated as it ought to be. If it could be rendered to us clear as Holy Writ, it would be regarded as a fountain of intellectual recreation, capable of being enjoyed by all. True philosophy produces impressions on our minds of the highest order, and makes us reflect and look up with admiration to the great works of our Maker; deriving therefrom knowledge of the laws for our guidance in fulfilling our duties in this world, and at all times and places affording us the purest earthly happiness of which human nature is susceptible. In the beginning there was a great ethereal void, Dark, deep,-immense boundless space; Without length, breadth, height, or depth In the eternal astral realm-a chaos. "God said, Let there be Light." The word became a radiant shrine, as the awful sound reverberated, Expanding in concentric folds into an orb of light, Whose effluence magnified into a holy concavity. The circumference of that effulgent mist, at God's command, Each rolled in the curves decreed, On, and within, the emphereal sphere of light. The earth, water, air, into concentric folds: Thus the embryo of the worlds around Was created, then revolved-wondrous to behold. Our earth emerged from its saline aqueous shell, Was clothed with grass, trees, flowers, and fruit, With all that was good for life, and pleasant to the sight. Was then made a globe refulgent, as a sign for days, Wrapped in a canopy of azure tint serene, Adorned with glorious brilliants above, and life below, This earth was created by God, and upon man bestowed, CHAPTER VII. THE MOSAIC RECORD CONTINUED, SHOWING ITS AGREEMENT WITH HISTORY AND NATURAL PRODUCTIONS TO THE PRESENT TIME-CONCLUSION. OUR first parents, doubtless, were placed in the most prolific zone on earth-in a region where nature does the most, and man does the least,―at, or near, the equator. The world with all its productions were made ripe for them, i. e., in a state of maturity. "Out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”—Genesis ii. 9. In this pleasant soil His far more pleasant garden God ordained: All trees of noblest kind, for sight, smell, taste; And all amid them stood the Tree of Life, Of vegetable gold;-thus was this place A happy rural seat of various view: Groves, whose rich trees wept odorous gums and balms; If true, here only, and of delicious taste.-Milton, Taking Archbishop Usher's chronology for our guidance, we find that Adam and Eve were placed |