to bring forth abundantly; and they immediately sprang up and clothed the earth with verdure. This finished the work of the third day.

Hitherto, the light which had been created on the first day was diffused throughout the universe; but on the fourth day God made the sun to give light by day, and the moon to give light by night. He appointed them also for signs to distinguish the seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter; and to divide time into days and years. He made the stars also, which He set in the firmament to give light by night upon the earth.

Having now, during the first four days, created inanimate things; God proceeded on the fifth day to make living creatures. So the waters were commanded to bring forth abundantly, fishes of all kinds; and winged fowls were created to fly above the earth, in the open firmament of heaven. When they were all made, God looked upon them with delight, and pronounced upon them this blessing: "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth." This closed the work of the fifth day.

On the sixth day God made the beasts, and cattle, and creeping things, that the earth, as well as the seas and the air, might be filled with liv

ing creatures. Then came the crowning work of creation, when God said, "Let us make man in our image after our likeness." The material out of which man was formed, was the dust of the ground; after which, God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and then, man became a living soul. Being thus excellently made in the image of God, he was blessed with the two great blessings of fruitfulness and dominion: for God said to him, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." Man was thus made lord over all other crea

:

tures, and God gave him the produce of the whole earth for his sustenance and pleasure. This finished the creation of the world which God beheld with pleasure and satisfaction, and declared that all He had made was very good.

2. Then came the seventh day, on which, because God had completed all His work, He rested, and which He blessed, and sanctified. This is the day which God commanded the Jews to keep holy, calling it the sabbath of the Lord their God, and forbidding them to do any kind of work on that day. Christians also keep

every seventh day as a day of rest from their labour, called the Lord's Day, because it was then that our Saviour Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

3. When God had created man, He shewed His heavenly care and goodness towards him by choosing out a beautiful spot of ground, called The Garden of Eden, or The Terrestrial Paradise, in which he placed him that he might employ his time in cultivating and keeping it, and in worshipping and serving God, and delighting himself continually in looking with admiration upon the beautiful works which God had made. God also gave him permission to eat the fruit of every tree of the garden, except one, which was called, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; of which, that he might shew to his Maker a spirit of constant fidelity and obedience, he was commanded not to eat; "for" said God, "in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die."

4. And now, as God had given to Adam the dominion of the whole earth, He brought to him all the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, that he might give them names suited to their various natures. And whatever Adam called any creature that came before him, was known

by that name.

5. But all this time Adam was alone; he had no companion to share with him his constant joys and pleasures, and the unalloyed happiness of his being. So God caused him to fall into a deep sleep; and while he slept, He took out one of his ribs and closed up the flesh again. This rib He made into a woman and brought her to Adam. How delighted he must have been when he saw her standing before him in unsullied innocence, and comeliness, and beauty! When he beheld her, he said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh." And as he had before given names to all the other creatures which God had made, he gave one to her, calling her, Woman, because she was taken out of man. He then took her to himself as his wife, declaring that they were one. How great was the goodness of God in making so suitable a provision for Adam, who, now with his wife as his constant companion, lived in the delightful garden of Eden, in a state of purity and innocence, and happiness. And though they were both naked—for innocence and purity needed no covering-they were not ashamed. They had not then sinned; their conscience was unspotted; all was chaste and comely.

6. But the blissful state of this happy pair was not of long continuance; for Satan, the chief of the fallen angels, envying Adam and Eve the enjoyment of that unalloyed happiness which they had forfeited and lost by their ambitious desires, determined to contrive some means by which he might seduce them from their obedience, and draw them into a transgression of God's command. To accomplish his purpose he made use of the serpent, which “ was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made," and by it he spoke to the woman, asking her whether it was really true that God had said, "Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden." To which the woman replied, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, -the tree of the knowledge of good and evil-God, hath said, 'Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.' ." Now the word which God declared to Adam was positive, "Thou shalt surely die;" but the woman, in repeating it, makes it only doubtful, saying, "lest ye die;" and so seemed already to be yielding to the temptation. The wily serpent, taking advantage of this, encourages her with the assurance that they

should not surely die. And he then says, "God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."

7. The woman, then, seeing that the fruit was good for food, and pleasant to look upon, and being desirous to possess the wisdom which the serpent said she would have, if she eat it; forgetful too, of the strict command of God, and the consequences which He had declared should follow, if they were disobedient, took some of the fruit and eat it. When she had done this, she gave some to her husband, who was equally desirous to possess the promised wisdom, and he, too, eat of the forbidden fruit. As soon as they had eaten, their eyes were indeed opened, but it was only to see their nakedness and misery. They had, indeed, obtained knowledge; but it was a knowledge arising from their sad experience that the wily serpent had deceived them and induced them to exchange the good which they had before, for the evil into which they had now fallen. They had brought upon themselves at once both guilt and shame. Before, though they were naked, they were not ashamed, for they were innocent: now they were ashamed to see themselves naked, so they sewed fig leaves together