with "a living soul." Of man he formed the WOMAN, "to be an help meet for him." "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." And "God rested from his work, and blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it," as a sabbath to the man and to his posterity. Such is the Mosaic account of the creation, leading us up to God as the Creator and Disposer of all things; affording, beyond controversy, the most rational of the hypotheses presented to you; and while it has left the way open for philosophic inquiries, it has not said any thing to gratify vain curiosity. We will attend to some few questions which have been often suggested from this representation of the beginning of all things, and conclude this Lecture, which has already been drawn out to a great length. 1. What was the light that made its appearance before the creation of the sun? In considering this question, which cannot be solved, and which is a matter of opinion altogether, various conjectures have been formed. Some have called it elemental fire. have supposed that it resembled the shekinah. A similar representation of it is made by our immortal bard: ""Let there be light,' said God, and forthwith light Sprung from the deep, and from her native east To journey through the airy gloom began, Was not; she in a clondy tabernacle Some The critic, to whom we have before referred, supposes it to have been "an emanation of the same sun that still enlightens us; and which, although it had not yet appeared in its full glory, yet shed sufficient Par. Lost, book vii, 1.243--249. light through the dense atmosphere, to make the surface of the terraqueous globe visible." But as I feel inclined to give implicit credit to the Mosaic account, in its literal signification, which affirms that the sun and moon were made on the fourth day, and that "God commanded the light to shine out of darkness" on the first, I should rather imagine it to be the same particles of light diffused, which were afterwards collected into one body—the sun. But of these various opinions the reader will judge for himself. 2. Does the Mosaic account oppose the present system of astronomy? The language of the scriptures expresses simply the appearance of things, and neither sanctions nor opposes any system of philosophy. It has left the road of knowledge and research perfectly open; and neither forbids, nor adopts, the hypotheses of those who have explored the heavens, and with laborious and useful skill, developed the laws by which the great system, of which this globe constitutes a part, seems to be regulated. When in common language we say"the sun rises, and sets"—we do not mean to oppose the Newtonian, or any other astronomical system, but merely to express the apparent motion of this grand luminary. It is the beauty of the scriptures, that their language is perfectly conformable to our ideas, and therefore on most subjects falls within the grasp of our comprehension. And we ought to recollect that the design of this volume is not to develope the laws of nature, but to lead us along the narrow path which † Dr Geddes' Crit. Rem. on Gen. c. i. ver. 3, vol. 1. p. 14; quarto. I do not profess to offer this hypothesis as clear of objection and dif. ficolty; but it is the best which occurs to me, and is allowable where every thing must be merely hypothetical. I am happy to hear that this thought corresponds with one suggested in Mr. Fuller's commentary on Genesis, just published; which, however, I have not yet had an op. portunity of consulting. conducts to heaven; not to guide our feet through the orbits of planets, but to direct them to the throne of the invisible God. 3. Does the Mosaic account of the creation extend to the universe at large? This is an inquiry which cannot be decided. Some have concluded that the earth, the sun, and the moon, only belong to this history. Others restrict it to the solar system. Others extend it to the wide universe. The circumstances of the creation, as related by Moses, apply principally to the globe which we inhabit. The sun and the moon are mentioned as formed at the same period, and are evidently included in the account, because of their connexion with, and advantage to the earth. But the phrase, "He made the stars also"-seems to advert to the great universe; and may lead us to presume, that the creation of all things was effected at one and the same time. 4. In what sense are we to understand the term "six days"—as literal, or as allegorical? A critic,* whom we have had occasion to mention more than once, boldly pronounces it "a beautiful mythos, or philosophical fiction."-Some of the ancient Christian Fathers esteemed it allegorical. I confess, however, that my reverence for this volume, makes me very reluc tant to resolve into allegory, any thing which wears the appearance of a fact on its pages; much more so, to venture to call it a fable. The following reasons determine me in concluding, that Moses designed it as a statement of facts, and that we ought to understand the phrase, "six days." in its literal sense: The seventh day was instituted as a Sabbath, that in it the man might rest from his labor, and more immediately serve his gracious Creator; and the reason, Dr. Geddes. the only reason, assigned for it in the promulgation of the law was, that "in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is; wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it." This is the reason always produced, when the institution of the Sabbath is at all named; and in consequence of it, the seventh day was observed, till the resurrection of Christ on the first day of the week: when, in perpetual remembrance of this great and glorious event, the first day became the Christian sabbath, and the seventh was laid aside. The apostle who wrote to the Hebrews, quotes this passage from Genesis, in the second chapter, and at the fourth verse, of his epistle:-"And God did rest the seventh day from all his works." In his reasoning upon this passage, he makes no one remark, which discovers the least approximation to an allegorical interpretation; much less did he seem to regard it as “a beautiful mythos:" on the contrary, every thing which he says throughout that chapter, appears to ascertain very clearly, that he understood the phrase, "six days" used by Moses, in its literal sense. 5. Can any reason be assigned for the number of days fixed upon, and occupied in this great work? Certainly not. We dare not attempt to fathom the divine designs; nor is the Deity to be judged at a human tribunal. Perhaps (for what can be offered but conjecture?) he carried on his work in progression, and chose six days for the performance of that, which he could have effected, had he been so disposed, in an instant, to shew that he is a "God of order and not of confusion." It is thus also, that he works in provi dence, and in grace. His plans are gradually develop· ed; his wisdom gradully manifested; his will gradually - accomplished; his designs gradually completed. And possibly he chose only six days; to demonstrate his unbounded power, that could perform so immense a work in so short a space of time. 6. How could Moses be fitted to give an account of the creation? There can be no difficulty in answering this question, if it be allowed that he was divinely inspired: but we may account for his ability to record the circumstances of the creation in a way which will be more satisfactory to the wavering. It is no improbable conjecture, that in the earliest ages of the world, God communicated his will to pious individuals, and permitted them to transmit it to others by oral tradition: for in those days the longevity of man favored this mode of conveyance. It will be admitted, that Adam, could not be ignorant of the circumstances of the creation. With Adam, Methuselah lived two hundred and forty-three years: with Methuselah,Shem the son of Noah, lived about ninety-seven years; and with Shem, Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, lived fifty years, according to the chronology of the history of Genesis. On this calculation, no more than three persons, Methuselah, Shem, and Jacob, were necessary to transmit this account, together with the knowledge and worship of God, from Adam to the time when the children of Israel went down into Egypt, through a period of two thousand two hundred and thirty-eight years. It is easy to conceive how it came into the hand of Moses: for his grandfather, Amram, lived a considerable time, both with Joseph, the son of Jacob, and with the Jewish lawgiver, the writer of this history, himself. When the life of man was shortened, and the nations had become corrupt through idolatry, oral tradition was no longer a safe vehicle or convey |