THE INFLOWINGS OF WISDOM. 83 and act. This is one of the reasons why that people were called Man, a dignity which does not appear to have been attained by any other community mentioned in the Scriptures! Some remains of this primeval excellence seem to have been recognized by the apostle, who, when speaking of the Gentiles, said, they "do by nature the things contained in the law-which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness."* It is also declared that the "Lord would put his law in the inward parts of men, and write it upon their hearts; so that he will be their God, and they shall be his people." It is, therefore, evident that there can be such an influx of intelligence from the Lord as is mentioned above. The means, however, to be employed for its communication, in the case just referred to, is the written Word. But such a medium does not appear to have existed among the Adamic people, nor could it have been necessary, so long as they remained in love to God above all things. The law and the prophets were given, after this love was lost, with the view of assisting in its restoration: they "hang upon it." In such a state they would receive instruction, in the way of internal dictate, immediately from the Lord. This would be inscribed upon their hearts, and thence there would be an influx of truth into their spiritual minds, next into their rational, and, finally, into their natural minds; consequently, into the natural scientifics which there existed: this would enable them to see the absolute distinction between spiritual and natural things; also, to perceive the correspondence which subsisted between them. Hence may be seen what is meant by the divine wisdom spoken of above, and its respective inflowings into the several orderly principles of human character which then existed. With such a people, internal and heavenly things would be perceived in purer light than those which were external and worldly, because such things would occupy their chief attention. If such a people had read the Word which we possess, the internal sense of it would, doubtless, have been presented to their minds with greater clearness than the letter, because their states, as it were, lay entirely upon the heavenly side of this revelation. In after times this condition became reversed. Man, having descended from that elevation into external and terrestrial loves, can now see internal and spiritual things only in obscurity and shadow; hence the external sense of the Word appears to him in better light than its spiritual meaning: he having passed to the worldly side of revelation. This side of it has been mercifully provided for his state, and designed, by its peculiar construction, to raise him into the light and enjoyment of the other. *Rom. ii. 14, 15. Matt. xxii. 37-40. Jer. xxxi. 33. 84 66 CHAPTER VIII. ADAM NAMING THE LIVING CREATURES. 'Any theory, on whatever subject, that is really sound, can never be inimical to a religion founded on truth; and the part of a lover of truth is to follow her, at all seeming hazards after the example of Him who came into the world that he might bear witness to the truth."-RICHARD WHATELY, D.D., Archbishop of Dublin. THE circumstance of naming the living creatures is one of religious importance, and it involves matters of peculiar interest. It is thus related :—“ Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof." * The careful reader will observe it is here stated, that "out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air;" but if he will turn to the 20th verse of the first chapter, he will there find it written, "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” Thus, in the one case the ground is said to have been their source, and, in the other, the waters. Whence arises this discrepancy? It may be admitted that the command for the waters "to bring forth the moving creature that hath life," ought to be understood as referring only to the piscatory tribes, for we find that purely land animals are spoken of as having been created on the following day. The difficulty more particularly adverted to is this, that in the first statement the waters are distinctly said to have brought forth every winged fowl, whereas in the second it is as plainly written, that "out of the ground the Lord God formed every fowl of the air." Now what can be the reason of those apparently hostile statements, occurring, as they do, so exceedingly close upon each other; and upon what principle are they to be reconciled? There is plainly a disagreement in the letter, which requires to be * Gen. ii. 19. A DISCREPANCY RECONCILED. 85 removed. The "Fragmental Hypothesis" would, perhaps, attempt it by supposing that they are merely the records of two different traditions of the same general circumstances, in which we are not to look for particular niceties of expression. But surely this cannot be satisfactory under such a view of the case, what is to become of the fact of both being equally a revelation, and consequently a divine composition? Some higher ground than the literal sense must be taken, because some superior truth is meant to be expressed, and we have mentioned the circumstance, not because we think it a difficulty, but chiefly to draw attention to the truths intended to be stated. It was observed above, that the first chapter of Genesis treated of the creation, or development, of the spiritual man, and all the living affections and thoughts which are proper to his condition; and also that the second chapter treated of the celestial man, and all the living affections and thoughts which are proper to him. Some reasons for those distinctions were likewise given; among others, that the man in the second chapter was no longer spoken of as "earth," but as "ground," and that the name of the Supreme Being was extended from "God" to "Lord God." Thus, the two chapters treat of two different states which distinguished the most ancient people. To both of those states there belonged an affection for the intellectual things of an exalted religion, but they took their rise in different sources, and therefore their origination is differently described. In the first case, the affection for intellectual things (which are the winged fowls) arose out of the general knowledge of religion, and therefore it was commanded that "the waters" should bring them forth;* but in the second case the affections for intellectual things (now called fowl of the air) sprang out of the prolifications of love, and hence they are described to have been made by the Lord God out of "the ground." Every one must know that differences of religious character exist, and that they arise from different sources. It would not indicate the distinction to say that the inferior state sprang from the same source as the superior; to describe them accurately we must employ distinctive terms, and this is precisely what revelation has done, in declaring the intellectual things of the spiritual man to have been created by God out of the water, and those of the celestial man out of the ground. There is, then, no actual discrepancy between the two statements, because they do not relate to the same, but to different circumstances. See preceding page. In speaking of the fifth day's creation, it was observed that the objects of animated nature were chosen and frequently employed in the Word, to represent the living affections of men; farther evidences of that fact were likewise promised: an occasion is here presented for its fulfilment. It is evident that some idea of the spiritual representation of animals must have been the reason why they were so extensively employed in the sacrificial worship, which, independently of that established among the Jews, was spread throughout the continent of Asia. This also must have been the source whence the Greeks and Romans adopted certain animals for sacrifices during some of their public festivities. We do not suppose those people to have attached any spiritual notion to such sacrifices; what we mean is, that if they be traced up to the sources whence they were derived, that will be found to have been their origin. Sacrifices, considered in themselves, are most irrational modes of worship,* nor could they have been adopted until men had sunk so low in the scale of religious intelligence, as to suppose that the offering up of an animal to the Lord was the same thing as the dedication of that principle to his service, which it was originally understood to signify. The animal was mistaken for the principle which it represented, and the dedication of the principle to spiritual use was corrupted into a natural sacrifice. Their origin cannot be reasonably accounted for upon any other ground. This also explains why it was that several animals among some of the older nations became objects of such peculiar attention and respect. This circumstance was very remarkable among the ancient Egyptians. Herodotus says,† "Both those which are wild and those which are domestic are regarded as sacred. If I were to explain the reason of this prejudice, I should be led to the discussion of those sacred subjects which I particularly wish to avoid." Here the historian distinctly connects their reverence of animals with some esoteric and religious views; and although he does not inform us what these were, there can be no reasonable doubt that, at some period of Egyptian history, the animals had been understood as the representatives of certain moral qualities, and that it was not until after a succession of corruptions, when their proper signification was lost, that veneration began to be attached to them. The worship of certain animals was a perversion of the respect once paid to the human principles of which they were significant. It is impossible to read with care those portions of the Scriptures * See Archbishop Magee on the Sacrifices and Atonement. + Euterpe, lxv. THE SIGNIFICATION OF ANIMALS. 87 in which beasts and animals are mentioned, and not perceive that they have a symbolical meaning; they are spoken of, both generically and specifically, under circumstances in which it is evident that spiritual things, and not natural existences, are implied. For example, the prophet, treating of the peaceable character of the Lord's kingdom, says, "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like an ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain.”* Here we have no less than fourteen different animals, besides children, referred to, every one of which is certainly intended to represent some internal affection. There are, however, two classes of them, one tame and harmless, the other fierce and dangerous; the former plainly denote the affections which are good and innocent, and the latter those which are wicked and destructive; and by their all dwelling together must be meant a state in which the influences of the good will have subdued the pernicious tendencies of the evil, and kept them in subjection to its superior sentiments. It is also written, that the Lord would "make a covenant with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven."+ That "the beasts of the field would cry unto Him;" they are also exhorted not to be afraid; § in which passages, by beasts cannot be meant beasts, but certain human affections, which they are meant to represent. These are the things with which the Lord effects his covenants; these are the principles which can cry unto Him, and may be benefited by his merciful persuasions. Ezekiel was commanded to "say unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel." || Here, likewise, it is evident that natural beasts and fowl are not meant, but, instead thereof, the affections of religious life, and the sentiments of religious thought, since these alone can attend the invitations to a religious act. So, in the Psalms, it is written, "Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl." It is plain that we are not here to understand the irrational animals which are Joel ii. 20. Isa. xi. 6-9. + Hos. ii. 18. || Ezek. xxxix. 17. ¶ Psa. cxlviii. 7-10. |