over till we come to that place in the record, when we trust we may be able to give to it a satisfactory answer. For the present we wish it assumed, that the sun did exist on the first day, and gave light then, as it gave light afterwards. 253. We will add here, as relating to the subject of this section, that many pagan nations have traditions that are in harmony with the Mosaic record. These traditions doubtless had their origin with the ancient Hebrews. Ellis, in his Polynesian Researches, says of the Otaheitans, that they "refer the first existence of their principal deities, to the state of darkness, which they make the origin of all things. These are said to be "fanau Po," born of Night. "Po, the world of darkness." The Anglo Saxons began their computation of time from darkness; and the beginning of their year they call “Mother Night." Aristotle says of the Greeks ;-"The theologians say, all things are born from night, the philosophers, that all things were mingled together." Were not both substantially correct, in these particulars? According to Ovid, the same opinion existed with the Romans; and Plutarch and Diodoros Siculus assert the same thing of the Egyptians. See Turner's Sacred History, vol. I. p. 22, 23. SECTION III.-SECOND DAY OF CREATION. 6. T And God said, Let there be a | firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. 254. The proper distribution of light and heat about the surface of the earth, as well as the separation of the waters, by evaporation, and sundry other purposes, required a firmament or atmosphere. The constituents of the atmosphere, already existed in the waters, and needed only to be evolved and compounded in the requisite proportion. This was done, like all the rest, by the Spirit of God, that brooded over the great deep. And it is worthy to be particularly noticed, that this part of the creative work was done at the only proper time for doing it. The light that now shined down upon the earth, required the agency of the atmosphere. The evaporation of water to form the clouds, required it. The growth of vegetation, and all the subsequent operations of the world required it. It was not needed till this time, and till this time, the surrounding space was otherwise occupied. It now became necessary, and could not be dispensed with, in conducting and completing the divine operations. That the firmament was made in the midst of the waters, is the clearest dictate of reason, in view of what we know of the condition of the earth at the time here referred to. The surrounding vapor, caused by the high temperature, had indeed been diminished, so as to allow the light to shine upon the earth, but it had not yet been wholly removed. In the midst, then, of this vapor, the atmosphere was formed. There was water below, within, and above the firmament. SECTION IV. — THIRD DAY OF CREATION. 9. T And God said, Let the waters | under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. ing fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 11. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yield- 13. And the evening and the ing seed, and the fruit tree yield-morning were the third day. 255. Two prominent particulars are here brought to view. One is, the separation of the dry land and water; the other, the production of vegetation. We will notice each in its order. That what is now dry land, was once below the surface of the water, is proved by the presence of vegetable and animal remains, found in the rocky strata that compose the earth's crust, as well as by the fact that these strata must have been formed under water. Many of these remains were dry land productions, that were placed in their position above water, and afterwards sunk with the general surface beneath the ocean, and still later, lifted up again into dry land, to be again depressed and raised indefinitely. Plenty of Geological authorities can be adduced in favor of the Mosaic account. We have before seen that Professor Jameson regards the sea, as having once, and for a long time, covered the earth's surface, including those portions that now constitute the highest mountains. This of course implies the separation mentioned by the sacred writers; for these mountains, being elevated from under water, would form the dry land, and allow the waters to flow together into one place. Higgins speaks as follows, on this subject: "The stratified rocks must originally have been horizontal, or nearly so; and many of them were formed in the same manner as the deposits which are always to be found in the beds of rivers, and in the basins of the oceans, but they were afterwards acted upon by mighty disturbing forces, which elevated and disrupted them, throwing their strata into a variety of forms. Some were upheaved in a mass, by an omnipotent agent acting from beneath them; and some were tilted into inclined positions; and others, acted upon in more than one point, were made to assume the form of a basin. These effects have been both local and general; at one time affecting a district not more than a few miles in extent, and at others, elevating entire continents and immense mountain chains. The agent, as we believe, that produced these mighty effects, was internal heat, the same cause, which, in the present day, mimics its former results, by the exhibition of volcanic action, and other phenomena." The same author says again : relative position, and superficial extent of land and water, have been constantly changing; not slowly and imperceptibly, as at present, but by the action of causes, the effects of which have been almost instantaneous; upheaving the bed of the ocean, and deluging the dry lands. In some instances the cause, and consequently the effect has been local but at certain periods there was probably a universal convulsive movement of the entire crust of the earth, when element, warring with element, involved all nature in one general ruin." Robert -"The Murdie has the following language:-"Those gigantic masses, which can have been produced by no surface action, are the result of energies, which, whatever they may have been, have had their origin and their plan of action, within the globe itself; whether the influence of that action were more general or more local, whether it went to the uplifting of a continent, or the building of a chain of mountains, or merely raised the point of a volcanic cone above the waters of the sea." These authorities are sufficient, though many more might be produced — all showing that such revolutions have occurred, as described in the Mosaic account, by which a separation of dry land and water was effected. Higgins, p. 226, 274. Murdie's Popular Guide, p. 227. 256. The creation of vegetation is the next particular embraced in the record. But here I wish it to be observed that, according to the Bible account, there was a time when vegetation did not exist; and it is interesting to see that Geology teaches the same thing. Let us hear some of the witnesses to this fact. Bakewell says: "The Primary Rocks were so called, because no fossil remains of animals or vegetables, nor any fragments of other rocks, were found embedded in them." Professor Jameson says that the waters that originally covered the earth, "did not, for a long time, support any living bodies." Dr. Good, in his Book of Nature, says of the Primary Formations, "Not a single relic of either animal or vegetable petrifaction, is found in any of them." Bakewell's Geology, p. 7, 562. Book of Nature, p. 67. 257. What Geologists call the Primary Formations, meaning the lowest, or those first deposited, do not, as they say, contain any vegetable or animal relics. There was a time, then, when no vegetable or animal existed. So say Geologists; and so says the Bible record. In Gen. ii: 5, we are informed that God made " every plant of the field, before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field, before it grew." The idea seems to be, that the germs of the vegetable kingdom, in their multifarious forms, were first created in the earth, and then grew, as the result of sunshine, and rain, and cultivation, as at subsequent times. There are certain "laws," as we call them, that now regulate the vegetable kingdom; but what law of nature produced the original germs from which vegetation springs? We know that every form of vegetable life, has associated with it, an arrangement for securing its reproduction and perpetuity. This we call natural; but what natural law originated the first seeds or germs that were to be thus perpetuated? The action of a divine power and intelligence, is the only supposition that can explain this phenomena. And I would farther suggest : if a divine agency first originated the arrangement, whether it be not the same agency, (though we call it a law of nature,) that now continues it. 258. The Primary Formations, we said, are such as lie the lowest in the earth's crust, and were of course the first deposited. These having no vegetable or animal remains in them, were placed in their position, before the creation of vegetation on the third day. Those Formations that occupy a position next above these, are called Transition Rocks ; receiving this name, because they intervene between the rocks below them, that have no relics, and the rocks above, where such relics are abundant. These Transition Rocks are interspersed sparingly with these remains, increasing with the advance upwards. This state of things is perfectly consistent with the Bible account. That account allows a long period for the Primitive Rocks to form, for we may suppose some part of this work was done before the Bible account begins, as there is nothing in the record to forbid this supposition, since that record commences with the surface, and does not relate to what may have been done far below. The account then tells us of the creation of the vegetable kingdom; and of course all deposits made afterwards, would contain, as we find they do, vegetable relics. 259. The Geologists speak of these Transition Rocks as follows Buckland: "In the interior region of this series, plants are few in number, and principally marine; but in the superior regions, the remains of land plants are accumulated in prodigious quantities." Higgins: "In every period after the formation of the primitive |