The national Republican. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1866-1870, 1868-04-27

IL Is atrue perception OF an actual relation
that leads US to apply the word tone by
Indications and specuiations Of the natural
philosophers arc mainly true or mostly fancy,
1t Is certain that, wherever there have been
rays Of light and differing rejecting bodies,
there have been eolorsi and wherever the
sun has shone upon falling rain, or upon
dhshing spray, there the colors Of the rainbow
II Is not necessary, with this audience, Ger.
tainly, to reply to the attempts that have been
made to show that 1t is possible there was no |
subsidence OF the waters OF a deluge 400 |!
years ago. II will be suffelent TO refer to !
some Of the most prominent. Says one divine
God must have done "somethiny new to con- |
vince Noah Of his safety 10 q restored world"
(Efieys Of Rsr. Winntng)
Again, "the signs given to Gideon and Here.
kIa6, were thing. newly caused expressly for
the purpose OF being signs, and SO must have
been that given TO Noah"
There was no ram before the deluge, for none
IL mentioned In the Bible, Gays DR.. Jackson,
Winston. and Burnett, and Bishop Patrick
The curse on the ground for Adams punish
ment was drought, tssy othersJ .,
ar, but the clouds were so disposed as never
to form q rainbow. And yet others say there
was rain, and as necessary consequence, the
rainbow; but as the position OF the sun, the
cloud, and the observer determine whether 4
bow shall or shall not be seen 10 any given
shower, and as these are now only occasion
90 IL might have been thst rainbow had never
before been seen; 1t might have been specially
| aud proyidentially kept out Of sight, to be
brought out new to man for this particular
occasion.
tits not necessary to essay a formed over.
! throw OF these propositions. Indeed, they are
too weak to stand alone, and they are no
weight.
But why does any one undertake thing so
! absurd as this attempt to show the rainbow to
be a new phenomenon four thousand years
| agol The text does not affirm II. Why then
| attempt to prove III Because, II 1t Is not shown
| to be new creation, or at least newly observed
BY man, it is very difacult to see how 1t is Of
| any value as a token, or witness Of new COW
enant. There have always been scholars who,
new phenomenon, have held that 1t was only
then first appointed to be sign, but that II
had existed from the beginning. But these
scholars have been charged, truly, with taking
away all the force and value from this won
derful token Of 4 universal coyensnt. Such
covenant was worthy Of a real and manifest
sign. How could phenomenon 81 common and
frequent observation from OF old be witness
| or token of = new covenant II Noah and his
sons had been accustomed to see rainbows
after evening showers, before the desttoyinS
lar light, after the flood, give them any as
suranec that the world would not again be
drowned
five are to attach any natural value to this
,Ivn, il is quite evident that we ought to re-
gard II as new natural fact But 1t WAS not
new, as natural phenomenon. IL must have
man can tell In years and centuries.
The geologists tells US the stratihed rock OF
the eart. is in some places as much As ten
miles in depth, and this has been gradually
formed under water. Earthly matter, eroded
from the rocks OF the primeval mountains, and
carried down BY rivers to lakes and the sea-
spread out 10 Strata BY the ocean currents and
wayes-accumulating layer above layer, In the
long ages since the Creator has wrought out
ha6ita6le world, has slowly grown to depth
thiswas in doing. Imagination IL entirely dis
tanced. But the tide was ehbing and flowing a,
far back as there are any traces OF this work Of
forming the stratided rock; and when the tide
was out, sometimes the rain-clouds poured
their garnered fulness down on the soft mud
or clay, or sand, for this 10 proved BY the IN
dcntations made by the pattcr OF the rain The
] geologist n nds the rain. ark In the upper sur
face OF strata. on the earliest rocks-long ante
dsting the commencement OF animal lie And
SO we have the testimony of the rocks, and Of
the laws Of nature to show that the rainbow II
older than the first eye who saw it, II shed
its glorious be- uty down on the barren waste;
of a lIfeless earth, centuries before there was
animal or vegetable existence:
Whist wisdom, then. or what use Is there 10
this story OF the setting OF the bow In ,he
cloud, as token OF a covenant WIN every Nv
II was a tpiriiudi hood which David Tor the
, human nature OF our Lord prays In the 1911
Psalm LET me not sink; lei me be delivered
out Of the deep waters. Let not tn
watef-loods overflow me, neither let the dec
swallow me up, and let not the pit shut he
;
. Ike that which st. John saw Issue from tn
mouth OF the Dragon with which he sought 4
destroy the woman with the man.ehild, In m
=, Apocalypse. And God coyenAnted with HI
new spiritual church tSoah,) and with ever!
, living principle In the human mind tor ever!
/ living creature Of AZ mesh thh 70 upon "a a.
swallowed up as the Adamic church had been
BY a swAmplny OF the rational faculties b.
y false petsuaslon: Issuing rom 2 eEttup'ee
, some men capsule of believing the truth, how
: ever much the majority should be III the 10y
OF doing the eylli and from no mind shoul
y the power OF believing truths opposed to tn
) eyilappetites, be wholly drownc out.
! And as perpetual sign OF nj, spiritual coy
enant the Lord set his bow in the cloud.
:, not the natural sums rainbow; but God
bow; a spiritual sun-the sun OF righteous
:, ness. And not pictured upon the clouds
!, natural earth; but upon spiritual eiouds-th
|, Obscurities Of the human mindi the meh'l
4 earth. .,
:, heavens. These are the reflections and reirA
n lions OF the rays OF the divine wisdom irol
= the minds OF angels. Mention OF such Al
u heavenly scenery. The Lord Is described :
y ing from Hin fall upon the cloud OF mai
Il beings. Angels, sefaphim and chetubiH
. surround His throne in rainbows Of spititu'
~ the glow of the Divine presence as fire, "ar
d il had brightness round about. As the appes
a. anee OF the bow that is in the cloud, 70 y
day 50 s Ss. the sh e ssS Ss
J, of the lightness round about. This was u
20 appearance Of the likeness Of the glory OF u
y LORD" St. John describes similar Appea
- Ancc Of the rainbow round about the throf
,, in the 4th chapter OF Revelations; and he 50
a. an angel coming down from Heaven WIN
"a rainbow upon his head.
:. The clouds upon which these fainbows q
~ displayed must be spiritual. They are u
clouds Of the finite mlnd-human and angel
~ mind. No finite mind can perfectly receil
u and transmit 4 single ray OF the divine wi
" dom for the finite cannot contain and cony'
~ the infinite. And no created mind 10 ev'
&c dnltely perfect. Angels are always pTogrei
ing to perfection. All imperfections are o
scurltles, and that the obscutitics OF the hnl
~. mind lin regenerating man or In perieGtil
- angels may be removed spiritual tunlig
W divine truth must fall upon these cloud
Us u obscurit!cs, and the rejection and reirac'i'
~ of that light must produce spiritual rainbow
Is These are real rAinbows, They are to /
~ spiritual Just what natural rsihbows are
III this world. They are produced ~ the sun
"a that world shining upon clouds oil tha' wof
~ Thus, there is = perfect analogy between Goo
10 bow, which in our text, he says, he sets IN I
~" cloud, and that bow, which the tol oil ear
10 1.-THE natural, the physical SUM sets IN I
~ ~ cicuds OF this world that they are clouds
ri spiritual kind as well a. OF natural X
~ every one readily sees; and that the world
~ used In the Bibls to signify some spIritu
~ thing or state is quite clear from many pi
Ia sages Thus is the 18th Psalm. His streng
81 Is In the Clouds &c. ,,.,
eI live make ourselves familiar with the GO
OF stitution OF n .tural clouds and the process
or' which they are formed from water and rails
g up TO float in the atmosphere, and how !
~ ~ rain Is condensed from the vapor and pfecI
~, tated, and how, by reiraetloh aud renectIon
re of the sunlight the rainbow u iotmeG,
- shall have formed the proper nhtutal basls
W tha clear undertaking OF our text and