I have gathered thee as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings!' is an affecting illustration of the divine σropy, and his own yearning compassion in the fond workings of that creature. But who in this dark state of things can trace the thought in its full extent, or discover the resemblances, ends, and uses of but a few particulars? This will be the delightful employment of glorified spirits, and the growing wonder of eternity." a a Adams, p. 265. CREATION. BUT for repentance Eternity is too long, for it is without beginning and without end; for repentance Eternity is too short, for it is an everlasting present, and has no past, no future. TIME was therefore given for repentance. But Eternity is forgiveness. As yet, while good and evil are contending in primæval strife, around and on every side extends that dark "Illimitable ocean, without bound, Without dimension; where length, breadth, and height, Then goes forth the breath of Omnipotence. He wills the mysterious origin of development; the primal element appears, and fills the infinity of space but attraction follows; the material universe is created, the earth and the heavenly bodies roll onwards in their appointed courses, a Paradise Lost. - and TIME begins. Then "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man a became a living soul." The soul in eternity is spiritually "dead in trespasses and sins;" but the "Holy Spirit" is united to her Being; she then becomes a "living soul," and is imprisoned in the body of flesh. And thus was Adam formed of body, soul, and spirit: the body, which "shall return to the dust as it was; the spirit, which shall return to God, who gave it ;" and the soul, which "is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." The body, which is material, limited, and temporary; the soul and the spirit, which are spiritual, infinite, and eternal. By the influence of the Spirit, the all-merciful gift of forgetfulness is received, and the soul no more remembers the eternal evil of her nature, or the infinite depth of her iniquity. And now Time and Eternity reign together, and are known upon earth; the hushed and subdued spirit of evil and the breath of eternal life are united in the bodily a Gen. ii. 7. b Spiritual death is scripturally opposed to spiritual life. See Eph. ii. 1. "Heart is used for the soul and all the powers thereof." . Buck. form of man; mercy and truth are met together: righteousness and peace have kissed each other; "a and the means of salvation are given. Then "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." b The first man was made free to stand or fall; for, had he been placed in a position of infallibility, the all-merciful mystery of spiritual restoration could not have been fulfilled. "Purity of heart, mind, and conscience, does not consist in freedom from temptation, or total insensibility, but in abstinence from the outward act of sin, and suppression of all inward motions and tendencies to it, in the fear of God, and with a steady choice of his will." Therefore, Therefore, "the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely cat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."d C Thus was provided a test of obedience and returning love and it was a test, too, of man's steadfastness in virtue; since, in yielding to temptation, he committed every sin that could a Ps. lxxxv. 10. b Job, xxxviii. 7. d Gen. ii. 16, 17. then be known. "It was ingratitude: God had of his free bounty given to man everything that could be conducive to his happiness; yet he could not refrain from that one fruit which God had reserved for his own purposes. It was breach of trust: he was placed in the garden to keep and to dress it; everything else was his own; yet he availed himself of the confidence placed in him, to take what God had told him was to be reserved. It was rebellion: he knowingly put forth his hand to do what God had prohibited. It was intemperance: Eve saw that the tree was good for food, and pleasant to the eyes; and she did eat, and gave to her husband also, and he did eat. It was ambition: they imagined they were to become as gods, knowing good and evil. It was charging God with falsehood: God had said, In the day thou eatest of it thou shalt surely die. Had Adam believed that declaration, he would as soon have eaten of the most deadly poison as of that fruit. But the serpent said, Ye shall not surely die; and Adam believed the serpent rather than God." a But was not the prohibition from eating of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil more a Carlisle on the Deity of Christ, p. 416. P |