moral truth. In fact, a scientific Bible, giving science as we now understand it, would have been useless and enigmatical to every age but ours. Think of Moses speaking to the ancient Hebrews of the diurnal rotation of the earth or of its annual revolution round the sun; or, fancy the Bible giving the various sections of the earth's crust and the mode of its formation; it would have been looked upon as monstrous. But the Divine Author of the Bible intended man to write his own books on the natural sciences. And in this matter the Almighty has acted in accordance with a fundamental principle of His Providence; which is not to proclaim truths from heaven, which are discoverable by man's own inductive powers. But though the Bible was not meant to teach scientific truth, yet it never, like the Roman and Grecian cosmogonies, maintains notions on science absurd or unscientific. The Bible speaks of the earth as "a globe," and as being suspended "on nothing." It describes the heavens as "boundless space," and not a solid sphere. When it speaks of air, it says that God gave it "weight;" this fact was proved by Galileo; and of the seas, that He gave them "measure." The waters above the firmament, or "expanse," have an importance attached to them in Scripture which modern science alone can understand or appreciate; many millions of tons being raised daily, from England alone, by evaporation. When the stars are spoken of, they are not restricted to a thousand, as the ancient philosophers did; they are declared to be "innumerable"; a declaration which modern astronomy has verified. And we may appeal to the history of science itself, whether it has not made the most rapid progress in those countries where Bibles are most widely circulated.

Take those countries that have not the Bible-they do not possess European civilization, while modern science is nearly unknown to them. Hence, we deny the assertion of infidels, "that the Bible has obstructed the progress of true science, by teaching a science which is false." The time was, when they brought up a whole host of inaccuracies in geography, astronomy, and geology; but it is now proved, that in these matters, science and Scripture are one; as the intelligent reader will observe, by this small contribution to the truth of geological science as it bears on Scripture. We advise the student of nature not to neglect the book of Scripture in his investigations of the volume of science. One will mutually help the other. Genesis is the miniature sketch, while geology is the full account of what took place upon the earth, in days long past. The book of Scripture is a divine ambassador which has descended from the skies, with messages of love and mercy from the throne of God to man; while the book of nature is an angel of light, rising from the earth to recognize the heaven-born messenger. Both are ever-speaking, yet never dying prophets, bringing light and wisdom to the minds of men. Receive them both, and as you read their pages, try to comprehend their meaning, and thus become wiser and better. Both are perfect in themselves, having emanated from one and the same Author. "What God has joined together let no man put asunder."

With these observations the author submits the following essays to the careful consideration of the Christian public, hoping they may prove the means of continuing and of increasing their veneration of the "Good Old Book."

PART I.

THE PRIMAL ACTION.

We must understand that by the term "heaven and earth," the entire universe is meant-not only the solar system, but the fixed stars, with their attendant satellites and planets. While the term "beginning" refers to the actual production of the matter of which they are composed. It means, also, that the first thing that God did was to create the matter. And, indeed, mind could not have been created simultaneously with matter. Scripture seems to involve the conclusion that the creation of matter preceded that of mind. We do know that the matter of which our globe is composed was created long ere man was brought into existence. It is certain that angels were created ere man was made; or how could Satan, who was once an angel of light, have tempted man in Eden? And if we believe that heaven is a place, it must have been created before angels could have lived upon it; just as Eden was prepared for man ere he was brought into existence. Therefore, taking the creation of the universe as a whole, we are justified in supposing that matter and

not mind was the first production of Divine power. Without doubt, heaven was prepared for holy angels, just as Eden was prepared for sinless man. This fact will be all the more apparent, if there be truth in that conjecture that the present abode of angels has not always been their dwelling-place; but one prepared for them, just as heaven was prepared for man. It is supposed by some writers, that their probationary state may have been in some planetary world similar to ours, and after the passing of their probation they entered into a rest prepared for them. We are accustomed to suppose that these holy angels have always had their home in heaven. But even if this supposition be correct, heaven must have been created before they could have occupied it. We read of some who "kept not their first estate," but "left their own habitation." Now whether that be heaven, properly so called, or whether it be some other sphere, the fact remains the same, that place must have been previously prepared for them.

The sacred writer comes in and confirms our idea of creation, in the sublime affirmation, that in "the beginning the heavens and the earth were created." These words could not be intended to answer the question, Were the heavens and earth eternal? or were they once created? Nor were they meant to answer the question, Who was their creator? A sufficient answer to these questions would have been "God created the heavens and the earth.” But if we ask what was the first production of Divine power, the answer is properly given in the opening statement of the Book of Genesis, viz.: "In the beginningbefore God created anything-He "created the heavens

and the earth."

they are composed.

That is, He produced the matter of which

No doubt the sacred writer here wishes to impress our minds with the fact that the world had a beginning, in opposition to the idea of its being eternal. And also that the world was not the production of chance, but a creation. Still the term, "in the beginning," must be regarded as denoting what was the primary act of creation. This view is also confirmed by the Psalms, "Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Thy hands." Here it means that the first thing that God did on this earth, was to lay the foundations. In Proverbs we read, "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.' Here we are assured that the Divine Word preceded the existence of any created thing; and hence we are impressed with the idea that He preceded the existence of the material universe.

The same truth is taught us in Corinthians, "Howbeit, that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterwards that which is spiritual." St. Paul is here showing why the spiritual should succeed the natural. It was the Divine mode of proceeding, that the animal should precede, and the spiritual should follow. It is commonly seen in the usual course of God's operations, both in the physical and in the moral world, that the more perfect should succeed the less perfect. There has ever been a tendency in the works of God towards perfection. It was not God's plan that all things should be perfect at the beginning, but that perfection should be