Nevada County picayune., 1890-02-12

\ and. lehoid. i' wa. VT, good t''en. 90.
 As introductory to a series of arti- cles on man, his natural status, and future destiny. propose to write a brief essay on the creation, so as Co lead the way to a more intelligent consideration oi the important -uh- jects involved We premise hy the declaration that the infinite mind. ur the Supreme Being. had no begin ing. Long before creations dawn. before the ethereal voids had been famed by the wings of >eraphim or cherubum; untold ages before the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy; far back in the misty depths of pas, eternity, the great Jehovah existed in the plentitude of his perfections, and the unapproachable grandeur of his power. No argument is needed to establish the existence. the unity, or the infinite attributes of this di- vine being
 The facts of infinite space, of end less duration, as we'll as the being and perfections of God, admit of no dispute. and challenge universal as sent. This trinity of truths is above, but not contrary to reason. because they rest on the ineXpugnable basis of invincible facts. But while it Is true that God existed throughout eternity past, without any beginning, yet creation in all it's great variety had a beginning, though learned men may differ as to the precise time of it's origination. Our appeal must he made to the Bible, the only infallible authority on this point and the plain. obvious common-sense meaning of the Biblical account of creation is by far the most reliable and satisfactory. From this inspired source we learn that in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. by which we understand the whole fabric of the material universe, whether visible or in- visible.
 The phrase. in the beginning, is vague and indefinite, giving ample room for wide differences of opinion as to the precise period in the past meant; and as geological discoveries demonstrate much greater antiquity for the world than was formerly be- lieved, it is supposed, without doing violence to the sacred records. that millions of years may have elapsed since the bare creation of crude mat ter. But at the same time this does not antagonize the current interpre- tation of the subsequent acts in the great drama of creation. The cur rent orthodox theory is, that these subsequent steps, embracing the ere ation of animals and man. occurred near six thousand years ago; and it is worthy of note that the most ad- yanced discoveries in science corroh- crate this interpretation of the Mosaic account.
 The point we wish to make right here IS, that God set the seal of his approval upon everything that he had made. including man and every other living creature under heaven. as well as the countless variety of in- animate objects evoked into eXis- tence by his plastic hand. In the simple but expressive language of Scripture, everything he had made was pronounced very good. We have in these words a beautiful pie ture of the divine complacency over the vast and countless works of His hands. It will be noted that man was the only intelligent moral agent among all the finite creatures brought into existence on this lower world, and that he commenced his career under very favorable auspices. He was made upright-able to stand but free to fall.
 Placed in garden of delights, with the command to dress and keep it, with free access to all the fruits of the garden, except the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, with congenial partner to share his joys and sorrows, with the divine presence and blessing vouchsafed to him, man starts out on his onward march to make or mar his glorious destiny. As lord of this lower world, with dominion over all other creat- nras endowed hv his Creator wi h