grow upon the earth and And the period of their day. And God said,

planet of one sun condense into solid matter, and become
liquid with intense heat, and it was so. And God called
that planet earth, and the central body it revolved around,
He called the sun, and it was so. And God said, Let the
earth after long ages, cool down, till a solid strata can be
formed upon its surface, and it was so.
And God said,
Let plants and living creatures
be destroyed again, and it was so.
birth and death was a second
Let coniferns, club-mosses, and sigillaria trees, grow in
great abundance, and then be buried and so reduced
to coal in the crust of the earth, and it was so. And
the period of these plants was a third day. And
God said, Let Oolitic sandstone strata be formed,
and other races of plants and animals be buried in
them, and it was so. And the period of their deposition,
and the lives of such animals as are entombed in them
was a fourth day. And God said, Let mighty lizards be
created, and let them multiply, then pass away, and lie
buried in the sediment, and it was so. And the lizard
period was a fifth day. And God said, Let monster mam-
mals live upon the earth, and pass away, and ere man is
brought upon the scene let the glacial waters cover the
northern hemisphere, let glaciers grind and groove the
rocks, carrying pebbles and brickfield clay to the various
valleys, for the use of man, and it was so."

Such an account of creation forming the first chapter of Genesis, notwithstanding its scientific accuracy, would have been a puzzle to the greater part of Bible readers even now. Indeed, such an account would not have been much understood in any age but ours, and could not have

been appreciated by any people except by the geologians of our time. But being couched as it is in the simple language of appearances, it has all the beauty, the simplicity, and all the grandeur of a Divine message from the Lord to man.

If we are guided by the facts of science, as well as by the Word of God, we shall arrive at the conclusion that the earth did not start into existence perfect and complete as we now behold it. The science of Geology speaks of epochs, eras, and periods of the past; and by arranging them in chronological order we may get a view of the world's history in pre-Adamic times, similar to that which the historian arrives at by the study of ancient, mediæval, and modern history. Hence it is reasonable to suppose that the creation of the matter of which this world is composed must have been created before the sedimentary rocks were formed. They are the sand, silt, and mud of former periods, that had been worn from other rocks; then carried by rivers and settled in the ocean bed of the early part of the earth's history. In these rocks we find fossil animals and plants, proving that they once formed the bed of the sea, and the surface of the land. Evidently those peculiar fishes once sported in those seas, and those animals once roamed over the mountains and plains of that primeval

era.

.

Not more clearly are the summers and winters which have passed over the head of man indicated by the altered features, the dim eye, and furrowed forehead, than is the hoary age of the earth indicated by the traces which time has imprinted on her surface. Here, however, the measure is not by years, seasons, nor yet centuries, but by an immense yet unknown antiquity. The astronomer calculates from the known velocity of light, that some stars that are seen through their monster telescopes must have occupied their places in the heavens for many millions of years ere their light could reach our world, on account of the great distance they are from us. Hence, geologians claim the same age, immense though it be, for this earth, that they claim for those heavenly bodies; all being made in the beginning, there is plenty of time for the deposition and consolidation of the various rock formations found in the earth's crust. Indeed, the Bible nowhere says how long it is since "the beginning," when "God created the heavens and earth." It might be very many millions of years since, for anything the Scriptures say to the contrary. Some texts of Scripture intimate that the earth possesses a very high antiquity. "Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of Thy hands." On this text Dr. Clarke, in his comment in loco, says "of old Sephanim, before there were any faces, or appearances, Thou didst lay the foundations of the earth. It was created by Thee. It did not grow by accretion or aggregation from a pre-existent nucleus. There was nothing, and Thou didst produce being, substance, or matter." Solomon, in the Book of Proverbs, gives a great antiquity to the earth, it "was of old." He makes a dis