its authority. The careful and religious reader will reverently bend to it, and will rather condemn himself as lacking knowledge and judgment, than think lightly of its verity and excellence.

The work of the second day was in this manner concluded. The firmament was made, and the waters were divided; they were divided, above and beneath; the one region was secured against injury from the other, while both were supplied with their proper matter and nutriment. It is for man to adore the power, wisdom, and goodness of God, which contrived and executed so marvellous a scheme; of the God, who in all the design of it looked to the safety, convenience, and general welfare, of the world he had created. The waters above the firmament, and the waters beneath the firmament, he divided, and forbade again to be commingled one with another, and so prevented them from occasioning any confusion in the system. He placed a barrier, by means whereof all hazard would be avoided, while it was so formed and established, that the waters, in regular and sufficient quantities, and likewise at seasonable times, might have their passage for fertilizing of the earth; while, moreover, by the same arrangement, the space above would be relieved from any hurtful excess. That barrier, besides, he made to be useful and agreeable to animal and to vegetable life; ordaining it, also, according to our perception and service, to be the seat of those great bodies which dispense to us a light and warmth; and, by means of all which, in beautiful harmony, giving

D

such exhalations as are both wholesome to our being and delightful to our sense. Rightly may we say, in the words of the King of Israel, rightly may we confess, and triumphantly proclaim, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handy work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world."

CHAPTER III.

GENESIS i. 9-13.

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. And God called the dry land earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said,. Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 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. And the evening and the morning were the third day.

IT pleased the Creator now to proceed to the regular disposition of the earth and the waters. We are to bear in mind, with respect to this portion of the work, that hitherto the act of creation only had been performed, and that these great component parts of the nether world had not yet been placed in their pre-designed order, or appointed to their intended services. From the whole original mass those separations had been made, from which were produced the air and the light; and the remainder consisted but of water and of earth. These formed one mass; they were mingled together in one confused heap, they were undistinguishable, the one from the other;

that is, there was no particle, however minute, which had not in it somewhat of either; and it was, at this point, necessary that they should be separated, or withdrawn from their primary and essential amalgamation, in order that they might be fitted and commanded to their proper stations and offices: now, therefore, the history tells us that "God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear”—and so it accordingly happened. Each element assumed the situation, and became ready for the duty, to which it was the divine purpose it should be assigned. There is an observation, upon this part of the work, of our commentator', which is too important to be withholden from the present notice and use; and I with the utmost satisfaction adduce it, because it is altogether built on argument of Scripturethe only safe rule by which we can in such matter be guided. "There being such large portions of matter drawn out of the chaos, as made the body of fire and air before-mentioned, there remained in a great body only water and earth; but they so jumbled together, that they could not be distinguished. It was the work, therefore, of the third day to make a separation between them; by compacting together all the particles which make the earth, which was before mud and dirt; and then, by raising it above the waters which covered its superfices, (as the Psalmist also describes this work, Psalm civ. 6.)

and lastly, by making such caverns in it, as were sufficient to receive the waters into them. Now this we may conceive to have been done by such particles of fire as were left in the bowels of the earth whereby such nitro-sulphureous vapours were kindled, as made an earthquake; which both lifted up the earth, and also made receptacles for the water to run into; as the Psalmist (otherwise I would not venture to mention this) seems in the fore-mentioned place to illustrate it, Psalm civ. 7. where he says, At thy rebuke, they (i. e. the waters) fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. And so God himself speaks, Job xxxviii. 10. I brake up for it (i. e. the sea) my decreed place, and set bars and doors. Histories also tell us of mountains that have been, in several ages, lifted up by earthquakes; nay, islands in the midst of the sea: which confirms this conjecture, that possibly the waters were, at the first, separated by this means; and so separated, that they should not return to cover the earth. For the word in the beginning of this verse, which we translate gathered, comes from a word which signifies a square, a rule, or perpendicular line: and wherefore denotes they were most exactly collected, and so poised in such just proportions, that they should not again overflow the dry land." The entire scriptural passages, on which the commentator grounds himself, are these: First, in the hundred and fourth Psalm"Thou coveredst the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted