"the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God "divided the light from the darkness." Or rather, according to the original, "God divided," or made a separation between the light and the darkness.* The sacred historian then proceeds to show the formation and order of the natural heavens and earth, the sea and the dry land, and the natural productions and established order of each. "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 66 was so."

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Thus the fixed and unalterable laws of nature were established in the fruits; each kind must bring forth fruit according to its nature. It was therefore contrary to the nature of the oak to bring forth oranges, or for the fig-tree to yield peaches. The seed of the melon could not produce cucumbers, nor the flaxseed bring forth barley. The laws of nature could not be violated, in this respect, in any part of the vegetable creation.

"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven, "to divide the day from the night: and let them be for signs, and "for seasons, and for days and years: and let them be for lights "in the firmament of heaven, to give light upon the earth: and it "was so." Here we see that when these sources of natural light were created, and established "in the firmament of heaven to give "light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, "and to divide the light from the darkness," God at the same time, ordained that they should be "for signs and for seasons,” as well as "for days and years." Thus it appears that Divine Wisdom has ordained that the things of the natural creation, under the government and influence of these lights, should be regulated by times and seasons; and these are for signs to those who walk in the light. But this subject will be more particularly noticed in the sequel. The account thus proceeds.

"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. And God created great "whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters "brought forth abundantly after their kind, and every fowl after "his kind. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multi"ply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the "earth. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living crea"ture after his kind, cattle and creeping thing, and beast of the "earth after his kind: and it was so.' Thus all these things were created and established in their order, and endowed, by the laws of creation, with the power of generating their own species, in their * See marginal Bible.

order, and according to the times and seasons appointed by the Creator.

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and "over the fowl of the air, and over the earth, and over every creep❝ing thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man "in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male "and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God "said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, "and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and <6 over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God saw every thing that he had made, "and behold it was very good."

Thus man was appointed the sole lord of the creation; his power and dominion was over all. But as he was constituted God's representative on earth, who best knew his situation, and the danger to which he was exposed, it was necessary that he should yield perfect obedience to the commands of his Creator, as the only possible means by which he could retain that power and dominion which the Creator had given him.

From the foregoing statement the following observations may be drawn.

1. It appears that the natural creation was gradually formed and brought into order: that this order, which extended through the whole creation, was supported and governed by certain laws and regulations, which constituted the beauty and harmony of the creation, and which could not be broken without creating confusion; and that every thing in its proper order and place was pronounced good, and placed under the dominion of man.

2. In the creation a separation was made between light and darkness, day and night, and many other things of different and opposite qualities which, when contrasted, clearly represented good and evil, and were calculated to present to the mind of man the qualities of things beautiful and ugly, lovely and hateful, harmless and hurtful, and were doubtless necessary to impress upon his understanding a sense of good and evil, happiness and misery.

3. These things, so different and opposite in their nature, were entirely separate and distinct from each other; and as each in its place was designed, as a sign or figure, to represent that which was good or evil among spiritual things, it was therefore necessary for man, in all his transactions, to keep that distinction in view, and to govern himself accordingly.

To the spiritually minded the comparison between natural and spiritual things is plain and obvious. The light of the sun, being the source or fountain of light in the natural creation, is a most striking figure of the Fountain of spiritual light, the bright Source of everlasting life, the glorious Light of Heaven, of which all souls

who shall be found faithful to improve the light which God has given them, will be made partakers. The darkness of the night evidently prefigures the shades of spiritual darkness, and the gloomy mansions of hell, where all souls who chuse darkness rather than light, must sink at last. The beautiful and harmonious songsters of the grove are so many emblems of happy spirits, whose blessed influences communicate happiness to all around them. The voracious raven, the midnight screech-owl, and the like, are emblematical of those destructive and tormenting spirits which haunt the infernal regions, and torment the wicked.

Similar comparisons may be made relative to good and evil beasts, beautiful and ugly animals, and useful and destructive creatures of every kind. The fruits of the earth, the plants and herbs of the field, and every thing that grows upon the earth, as well as all living creatures which inhabit the watery world, or fly in the airy regions, are either useful or destructive, pure or impure, and are figurative either of spiritual good or evil, purity or impurity: for God has created nothing in vain. Therefore, tho all these things are temporal, as to their existence, and must soon perish, like all other works of time; yet in their creation, infinite Wisdom evidently had real and essential objects in view, as spiritual substances, to be typified or pointed out by these created objects.

It may be asserted as an objection to the foregoing doctrine, that these things were created for the use and subsistence of man. Admitting this to be true, it does not prove that they were not, at the same time, intended as figurative representations of spiritual things. But there are evidently many kinds of living creatures, as well as many other things in the natural creation, for which mankind have never yet found any use, and perhaps never will in this world; and certainly they were not created in vain. What then could have been the object of their creation, if it was not to represent something of a spiritual nature to be revealed hereafter?

The fact that sheep and lambs, as well as a variety of other creatures, were given to be slain, both for food and for sacrifice, did not prevent their being used as figures to typify the sacrifice to be made for sin, and to represent the meek and innocent character of the Savior, who was "brought as a lamb to the slaughter."* Nor were they, on that account, less typical of the meek and innocent character of his people, whom he calls his sheep and his lambs. So also the best fruits of the earth, which were evidently created for the immediate use of man, and expressly given for his subsistence, are no less figurative on that account; but even the very circumstance of their being given for food, was intended to

How aptly does the circumstance that man is dependent upon the sheep and lambs of the flock for the clothing of his natural body, show our dependence upon the Lamb of God for the garments of salvation," of which our natural garments are a figure!

† See John xxi. 15, 16, also chap. x. 11 to 16,

show that they are figurative of that spiritual fruit with which the righteous will be fed in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus Christ had reference to this, when he said to his disciples, "I will not "drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I "drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom.'

It is well known that those who are born into this world, must be nourished with temporal food, or they would soon perish. And it is as certain that the new born soul, who has been begotten in the regeneration, and brought forth in the new creation, by the renovating power of Christ, as really requires spiritual food, as the natural man requires that which is natural. Even the pure waters of the fountain, so refreshing to a thirsty man, are figurative of those spiritual waters which flow from the fountain of everlasting life, and without which souls in the spiritual world must suffer, and be constrained to cry out, like the rich man in the parable, for a drop of the water of life to cool their tongues.

These figures extend to every thing which pertains to the natural creation: nor do they stop here. All the useful and important works of man, which are produced by the exercise of his natural faculties, are also figurative of the good works to be wrought by his spiritual faculties hereafter. And he who is faithful in performing his duty here, whether in things which are in themselves great or small, will be honored with a glorious employment in the heavenly world, compared with which his greatest works in this world are but a shadow. "If therefore, ye have not been faithful in the "unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true rich66 es?" And as the difference between the faithful and the unfaithful, in this world, is manifested by their works; so in the world of spirits, the difference will appear as much greater, as heavenly and divine things are greater than those which are earthly. The faithful will be honored and the unfaithful degraded; the former will have his talents doubled to him, and the latter will have his taken from him. The parable of Jesus Christ concerning the talents, is a striking illustration of this subject.

CHAPTER IV.

The established order of times and seasons in the natural creation, together with the primeval state and probation of man.

WHEN God created the world, he established in it certain laws by which it was to be governed. Among these were included the order of times and seasons. These laws being established by the Almighty, could not be altered by any inferior power. The established order of the sun, moon and stars, which rise in the east

* Matt. xxvi 29.

† Luke xvi. 11.

See Matt, xxv. 15.

and set in the west, could not be broken, nor their courses chang. ed, so as to rise and set in an opposite direction, and at different periods of time. Nor could the established order of the seasons be changed, so as to produce effects contrary to the designs of infinite Wisdom. Day and night, heat and cold, summer and winter, seed time and harvest must have their appointed courses; nor was it in the power of any human being to change them. It would have been utterly inconsistent with Divine Wisdom to subject, to the control of man, the established laws of nature by which the creation was governed; therefore these laws were necessarily independent of all human power.

When God brought forth the vegetable creation he established in it the laws of vegetation, which required that every thing pertaining thereto should bring forth fruit, each according to its kind, and be regulated by times and seasons. Hence every different kind had its allotted period to grow to maturity, to bud and blossom, and to bring forth fruit. Thus established and regulated, the order and harmony of the vegetable creation was rendered beautiful and glorious; no violation of nature, nothing disorderly to corrupt and mar its beauty nor destroy its harmony. Similar laws

were also established in the animal creation. They too, in their various orders, had their appointed times to grow to maturity, and their seasons to generate and bring forth their offspring according to their kind.

Man also had laws given him according to his lot and order in the creation. As he was made superior to all the rest of God's creatures in the natural world, being endowed with superior faculties and a rational soul, it was necessary that he should be governed by superior laws. The vegetable creation was regulated by the periodical seasons of the year, and these were sufficient for it. The animal creation, in addition to the rotation of the seasons, was endowed with the law of natural instinct, which was necessary to guide and regulate the various kinds of animals in procuring sustenance, and in the propagation of their species, according to their different classes and orders, in their times and seasons.

But man, being superior to all other creatures, had not only the rotation of the seasons, and the law of nature, in common with the animal creation; but he had also a superior law, by which he was made capable of overruling and governing all the dispositions and propensities of his animal nature. The rational powers of his soul were superior to his animal faculties, and constituted him a rational being, and brought him into a near relation to his Creator; he was therefore capable of receiving the law of his Creator to govern and direct his rational soul, in all its movements. Hence he was enabled, not only to keep the law of nature, and

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