we advert to the subjects of communication and allusion in the holy Scriptures, other difficulties, equally apparent, meet us at every point. Its geography-its natural history-its local details, and scientific allusions are all surrounded with greater or lesser difficulties, and call for equal diligence and application. Such is the extent of the subject upon the investigation of which we propose a subject, calling for the utmost diligence in its pursuit, as well as for the greatest circumspection in the adoption of means for its attainment.

to enter

I notice, in the last place, the delightful and gratifying nature of our studies. The investigation on which we have now entered, is not without its pleasures. It is not mere drudgery. It is not a labour without fruit; it is not toil without recompense. It is not a work that withholds its reward; but one which distributes it with the utmost profusion. Have we said that the objects of our pursuit, and the subjects of our enquiry, are of the most important and awful kind? Have we said that they call for high talents; for extensive information; for ardent application, and discriminating procedure? We have: and we now say, that, in proportion as they are thus high and important, and call for these endowments, they are gratifying and delightful in their results. We have said that the Bible is THE BOOK OF GOD-that it is the source of all that is high in value, exalted in sentiment, and pre-eminent in importance? And what, I would ask, can be conceived so gratifying, so delightful to a mind imbued with a right feeling of the value and importance of such book, as the circumstance of having elicited some truth which has hitherto eluded observation; of discovering some beauty which has hitherto lain concealed; of illustrating some subject hitherto involved in obscurity; or of defending some hitherto assailable point of the Revelation of God. Feeling my incompetency to dwell upon such a topic, I will only place it before you as contrasted with the gratification afforded in the successful pursuit of some other intellectual object.I will only ask, if the philosopher exults in his success in reconciling apparent discrepancies in nature or in science, in discovering and tracing out hitherto unknown connections between things; if the metaphysician feels himself repaid for the tedium and anxiety attendant upon the prosecution of an abstruse and difficult investigation into the nature of being, by the ultimate certainty at which he arrives; if the statesman experiences self-congratulation, in the success of his skilful and deeply laid plans; if the lawyer and the poet-the artificer and the mechanic-enjoy satisfaction, and experience indescribable emotions of pleasure, in the completion of their work, and the success of their designs What, I would ask, must be the gratifying feelings, and the delightful emotions of that man who succeeds in enlightening the light of Divine truth ; — in brightening the brightness of Heaven's communications; and in strengthening the strength of those evidences which attest their authenticity and their origin? This some of you have experienced,

and I cannot, if I wished, anticipate the delightful harvest we all shall reap in the steady and persevering prosecution of the great object we have set before us.

I cannot close these desultory remarks without a word relative to the individual part we have to take in this business. If I have succeeded in laying before you, in intelligible language, any thing like that view of the subject which I have myself taken, a very few remarks will suffice upon this topic. We have to do with the holy volume of inspiration; invested with the authority of God - a book, whose doctrines are generally clear as light, but whose incidental allusions and local details are sometimes extremely obscure and embarrassing. Nor is this a matter of surprise. The very character of the book, and the very circumstances in which it comes down to us, render these embarrassments inseparable from it. And it should be remarked for the benefit of those half-thinkers, who make this an objection to the Bible, that these things are inseparable, in a lesser or a greater degree, from all historical works, relating to other times and to other people. It is evident that every work must be written in such a manner, as to suppose a measure of ignorance in the reader, and it is the amount of information which is given, with a view to remove this ignorance, which will cause it to be read with more or less facility. The greater the writer supposes this ignorance to be, and the more he writes with a view to remove it, the more generally intelligible will his work always remain. Hence, were any work to contain within itself every thing in the least degree necessary at any time for the elucidation of all its parts, that work would be admirably fitted for being always easily understood. As, however, every writer must give his readers credit for some of that information which is acquired by ordinary experience-without which, it is not easy to see where his explanation could begin or end-so there is considerable difficulty in determining, except in works of abstract science, to what point this credit is to reach; in other words, to what degree every work must carry within itself whatever is essential to make it generally intelligible. For, as all human beings, even in the same state and age of society, are not equally well informed, it is possible that an author may fix his point of credit above the degree of information acquired by many of his contemporaries, thus rendering his work difficult to them and as the state of human knowledge varies greatly in different ages and conditions of society, it is far from improbable, that whenever his work is not a treatise on some branch of abstract science, he may omit many things, necessary to render it perfectly intelligible, after some generations shall have elapsed. This reasoning must hold with reference to the Bible; but it does not therefore require more than other writings of antiquity, when it requires us to possess ourselves of the information afforded elsewhere, in order to comprehend its details. This book

See Cook's "Enquiry," &c.

was written in countries far removed from our own, and in ages remote from those in which we live. It relates events of which our other notices are scanty, and in many cases difficult to decypher. It describes manners and customs; it prescribes institutions and ceremonies, so differing from every thing falling under our personal notice, that many appear useless, and not a few absurd. If we add to this, what we have before adverted to, that it is written in languages which have peculiarities of idiom, extremely difficult, and in many cases impossible to be transferred to our own, as well as the difficulties necessarily and universally attendant upon the interpretation of written communications, we may form some idea of those branches of study to which it invites us, and to which we must assiduously attend, if we would reap the delightful harvest we now propose. The whole circle of the sciences possesses not too much to subserve the illustration of the Holy Scriptures. But shall we feel discouraged because of the demands made upon us by our subject? No discouraged we might be, and discouraged we should be, were all this that I have adverted to, and all that which I have passed by, to be acquired and achieved by a single individual. But where there are many embarked in the same object; where there is a unity of sentiment, and a unity of purpose, to proceed onward, the great object of our pursuits, and I trust also of our prayers, will be accomplished by the comparatively trifling contributions of individual

persons.

The State of Society before the Deluge.

ADAM, in his first state, being formed in the image of God, was indeed a noble creature; whether we consider his physical, his moral, or his intellectual endowments. "Possessed of a body complete in all its parts, full of health and vigour, erect he stood confessed lord of the animal creation." But when contemplated as possessing a soul innocent and holy-displaying love to God, and joy in his presence, with peace of conscience from a faithful discharge of duty to Him, how much is our wonder and admiration increased!" In this state he was indeed an exalted creature. His mind was gifted with powers equal to the delightful contemplation of God and his works, and to the performance of his Creator's will without deviation. The operations of his soul were free, intelligent; every requisite to felicity was supplied, and he needed nothing to complete his enjoyments. But, at the fall, his mind becoming vitiated, debased, and corrupt, he experienced a change from peace and happiness to mi

sery and wretchedness, and his body became the subject of disease and death. In Adam's fall, all nature seems to have participatedeven the earth was cursed for his sake, and no longer yielding to man its spontaneous supplies, it required his labour to cultivate it. Man, by his sin, having occasioned alienation and consequent absence from God, and being driven out of Eden, became the subject of want; and he was therefore obliged to exert his ingenuity in order to render his degraded situation bearable, and to supply its wants. Hence the invention of arts. The account of the antediluvian world, as given by Moses, seems to establish this opinion; and if that account be aided by deductions drawn from the subsequent history of Noah and his immediate posterity, there will be no difficulty in supposing, that the world, before the flood, had made much nearer approaches towards what we now call civilization (an appropriation of arts and sciences to the conveniences, comforts, and enjoyments of life), than at a first glance of the subject we might be led to suppose; though certainly not to that height of attainment which some ingenious and learned men have endeavoured to prove. In summing up the sources of information contained in the Bible, we think it may be discovered that the old world possessed a knowledge of astronomy, music, natural history, architecture, metallurgy, agriculture, and pasturage, and perhaps of weaving,; we may also infer, that poetical composition was familiar to them. They were governed by laws, both civil and religious; such as right of property, and relationship-the observance of the sabbath-marriage-assembling to worship God-sacrifice, and atonement for sin.

The opinion that the old world was acquainted with astronomy, is founded chiefly on the ages of Seth and his descendants being particularly set down, and the precise year, month, and day being stated on which Noah and his family, &c. entered into the ark, and made their egress from it. The apparent motion of the sun must certainly have caused the distinction of day and night. The comparison of the fourth return of the sabbath with the return of the moon to her original form, might indicate the month; and the thirteenth retrogression of the moon compared with the sun's return to his primary position in the heavens, and the effects produced to the earth by that return would point out the year. A variation between the rotations of the moon and sun easily became discoverable, from the distinction which, in a very few years, would be exhibited in the seasons: and hence it may be supposed that, though at first the calculation of time might be by lunar months or revolutions, yet the return of vegetation would dictate the solar year. The great ages of the antediluvian patriarchs, and the simplicity of their employments, assist this conjecture; which receives considerable force from the fact, that the Hebrew term for a year implies an iteration—a return to the same point-a repetition; and it is also remarkable, that the Indians, Chinese, Babylonians, Egyptians, Grecians, and other nations, deduce their origin from one, said to be versed in astronomy, which he taught their forefathers, his progeny.

With respect to natural history, it is clearly implied, that Adam,

whilst in paradise, had a perfect knowledge of the animal creation; for he named them all: "all cattle, and the fowl of the air, and every beast of the field;" and it is supposed that, in naming the animals, he did it, conscious of what best suited each, according to its principal properties. And that this information was not confined to Adam is pretty evident; for Noah was so minutely informed on the subject as to distinguish between clean and unclean beasts, and his instructions extended to every bird of every kind. Adam also knew how to distinguish herb bearing seed," and "tree, in which was the fruit. of a tree yielding seed," with " every green herb." The trees of life and of knowledge are the only ones mentioned before the fall; but in the history of Noah, the vine, the olive, and the wood of which the ark was made, are noticed in such a manner as to intimate that discernment which arises out of a knowledge of their qualities.

The antediluvians were also so far acquainted with geology as to distinguish metals; and in the description of the garden of Eden, gold and precious stones are noticed.

That they were acquainted with music is certain; for it is ex pressly said, that Jubal was the father of those who handle the kinnur and the hugab. The kinnur manifestly signifies the harp or lyre, and hugab, the ancient organ, which was similar to the pandæan pipes, being composed of reeds of different lengths and sizes, joined together. This evidently intimates considerable progress in the science; for it is not probable that the playing on both stringed and wind instruments was discovered at one and the same time, but that the principles of harmony being ascertained on one, it was by analogy transferred to the other; and Jubal, by repeated effort, became the inventor and first performer on the harp and organ.

Of Architecture, it is said that Cain builded a city, which he called after the name of his son, Chenac or Enoch. What this city was is not mentioned, except in the term itself. But if we take a view of the requisites necessary to enable Noah to erect so stupendous a fabric as the ark (a vessel capable of carrying so many tons burden) must have been, it will not be difficult to conceive that the art of building had arrived to considerable advancement before the deluge; and one cannot look at the building of Babel without a conviction that it must have been through the great patriarchs who lived in the old world, so much knowledge was obtained as to erect a tower, whose summit should reach the clouds. For, it is not likely that the builders would, of their own intuitive genius, be equal to the task which they were evidently not inspired by heaven to perform.

As for Metallurgy-this useful invention shews the degree of perfection to which the antediluvians had attained by the application of their genius. The capability of working in brass and in iron, clearly demonstrates progressive improvement; and, as in the instance of music, the adaptation of first principles produced skill in the performance on stringed and wind instruments, so the first artificer in brass pursued a similar course, until the nature and management of iron ore was developed.