The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1871-10-31

maui pue oACiusiNeiJ hppToprlhtou 10
God, aud God alone is called Bare, Crea.
tor. Creation is, therefore, a Divine
act, something that eau be performed by
God alone.
But, am asked, is this creation of the
world out OF nothing? So we understand
it. But the very scientific body under
review, or their scientific mouth.piece,
"can conceive of beginning Of the solar
system, but none to the matter of which
it is composed" They "can conceive of
a boundary to the solar system but none
to the universe" Verify th.ir conception
and now, conceptions are surprising. So
+ then we have an eternal universe, but
temporal solar system. With them "the
universe is self sufficient" Natural law
does all. The universe is great clock
wound up by natural law" and keeps
on striking time for infdelity alone. The
eternal thing with this spirit conventions
is matter after all. Why we had all
: along called them spiritists par erceueuce.
But they turn out, to be materialists of the
toughest sort. What transformation next?
Matter is eternal, is it? But allow me
to ask, how you know? By what scien-
tihc process do you prove it2 Mere as.
sertion don't pass. AS you are not etern-
al, we cannot take matter to be on your
word. Do you say it is because it is in
distructible? You may say 30. Human
power can not destroy it. But then, all
this is negative. To sustain your positive
assertions give as some positive proof
Till then, We dismiss your nonsense about
the eternity of matter.
Moses don't pretend to give us the hose
Of creation, the link between the Divine
: will, aud the realization. doubtless a pro.
found mystery. But he does give the
fact that neither the world, nor the mat
ter Of which it is composed is eternal or
saf-ezisteAt that it is not pantheis the
emenation, the sort Of thing spiritist
: clamor for, but work Of the Divine will
aud power, doctrine ia accordance with
all sound reasoning and which has not
been shaken by any discoveries or theor
is of science.
God created the heavens and earth
This our third proposition; for we take
the first verse to be part of the history
of creation? What did he create? The
materials out of which the heavens and
the earth were afterwards formed? No.
but just what he said he created, "heavens
and earth," materials arc included but
they arc not mentioned Moses is clear
and precise in this statement, however
chaotic he may he to skeptical eyes in
other places.
The first thing, then. which he created
was "tne heavens" What was that ?
Was it the armament" the creation Of
the second day as our scientific Spiritists
"reasonably" as they say, ignorant,y, as
We say, ''conc uie ?" We call it
"heavens' the word is plural, and has no
singular in the Hebrew. Then, is you
look at the order of the narrative what is
more evident, than that something differ.
ent from the armament is intended ?
What does it say-that God created the
earth and the heavens No, but the
heavens first, and then afterwards, the
earth. Then it is related, that the earth
was without form and void; darkness
was upon the face of the deep; the Spirit
of God moved upon the face OF the wa.
ters; God said let there be light. Then,
on the second day, God made the frma.
mcnt, and called it "heavens." Notice.
now, that the heavens of the first verse
we're made in former duration, before
the moving of the Spirit, before the ap.
rearance of light. The heavens Of the
seventh and eighth verses were made on
the second day. after the earth and after
light. Who does not sec, and who not
convinced, but those who neither wish to
see nor be convinced that the difference
Of time proves a difference of subjects,
just as there is difference between the
, of the tenth verse, which is only the dry
land ? But again look at the fourth
verse of the second chapter-"These are
, the generations of the heavens and the
earth when they were created. in the day
that the Lord God made the earth and
the heavens" Notice the distinction
here given. Reference is had in the irst
) half Of the verse, to the primitive crea.
. tion, and in the second half, to the earth
in its empty state, and the subsequent
making Of the armament, and 30 earth is
J put first, before heavens, an intentional
inversion doubtless, because the ordinary
} way Of expressing it in Scripture, is
"heaveus and earth" and in but one
other place in the Bible is it put "earth
: and heavens" (Ps. las: 49,
What then is the meaning Of heavens
in Gen. Ill? We answer the Uni.
, rerse. While the second earth and
heavens takes in only the earth and that
portion of the universe, Immediately con-
5 nected with it. The object of the writer,
is first to assert that God is the author Of
. all created things, invisible as we'll as
8 visible, then, to narrate the manner in
which this earth was prepared for the
, abode Of man, by the same Almighty
, Being; so as to leave no room for the
, eternity of matter, nor yet for two Crea-
; tors, one of whom made the higher and
/. holy spiritual world, the other, this lower
! and material world"
: Before this earth was fashioned for
8 man, long before then, we're the heavens,
: morning stars and angels. Thus broad
{ and thus truthful, in accordance with our
l. sound scientific discoveries, there are the
9 writings of Moses iu Genesis. This will
D be more apparent as VIC proceed.
l A. F. BAILEY.
h. Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Ex-
o egesi,, Kings Collsge, London.
For the Register.
EXTRACT FROM PRIVATE LETTER