The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1891-05-27
CREATION WEEK.
Gods Wonderful Work In the First
Six Days of Time.
A world and Everything ON It Created In
= Most Marvellous way-Rew DR..
Taimage Makes . Strong Plea
for the Orthodoxy OF David.

In his sermon last Sunday DR.. Tai.
mage dealt with topic Of interest to
all who have watched the, discussions
now agitating the churches Whenever
the question of the inspiration Of the
Bible Is raised, the trustworthiness Of
The Mosaic narrative Of the creation is
always assailed. Dr. Talmage places
himself clearly on record on the side Of
orthodoxy. His text was Genesis l, 81:
"And the evening and the morning
were the sixth day" The sermon fol-
lows: yW
From Monday morning to Saturday
night gives US weeks work. II we
have filed that week with successes,
we are happy. But am going to tell
you what God did In one week Cosmog-
any, geology, astronomy, ornithology,
lchthyology, botany, anatomy are such
vast subjects that no human life Is long
enough to explore or comprehend any
Of them. But have thought might
In an unusual way tell you little Of
what God did In one week and that the
6rst week. And whether you make II
Aweek OF days or week Of ages, /
sare not for l shall reach the same
practical result Of reverence and wor-
ship.
The first Monday morning found
swinging in space the piled-up lumber
Of rocks and metal and soil and water
from which the earth was to be builded.
God made up his mind to create hu-
man family and they must have house
70 live In. But where? Not roof. not
wall, not a door, not room was at
for human occupancy. There is not a
pile of black basalt In Yellowstone park
or IN extinct volcano In Honolulu SO in
appropriate for human residence as was
This globe at that early period. More
pver, there was no human architect to
draw plan, no quarrymen to blast the
foundation stones, no carpenter to hew
out beam, and no mason to trowel q
wall. Poor prospect But the time was
coming when being called man was to
be constructed and he was to have q
bride; and where he could find home
stead TO which he could take her must
have been wonderment TO angelic In
telligences There had been earth
quakes enough, and volcanoes enough,
and glaciers enough, but earthquakes,
and volcanoes, and glaciers destroy in
stead Of build. A worse looking world
than this never swung. 1t was heaped
up deformities, scarifcations and
monstrosities. The Bible says II
was without form. That is, II
was not round, II was not square,
II was not octagonal, II was
not a rhomboid God never did take
any one in his counsels, but II He had
asked some angel about the attempt to
turn this planet into place for human
residence, the angel would have said:
mo. no; try some other world; the
crevices Of this earth are too deep; It's
crags are too appalling; it's darkness is
too thick" But Monday morning came.
think II was spring morning and
about half past o'clock. The first
thing needsd was light II was not
needed for God TO work by, for He can
work as well In the darkness. But light
may be necessary, for angelic intelli-
gences are TO see in It's full glory the
process Of world building. But where
are the candles, where are the candel-
abra, where Is the chandelier? No ris-
ing sun will roll In the morning, for II
the sun is already created, It's light will
not yet reach the earth in three days.
No moon or stars can brighten this
darkness The moon and stars are not
born yet, or, II created, their light will
not reach the earth for some time yet
But there is need of immediate light
Where shall IL come from? Desiring to
account for things in natural way you
say, and reasonably say, that heat and
electricity throw out light independent
OF the sun, and that the metallic bases
throw out light independent of the sun,
and that alkalies throw out light indie
pendent Of the sun. o, yes; all
/, that Is true, but do not think that Is
the way light was created. The record
makes me think that, standing over this
earth that spring morning, God looked
upon the darkness that palled the
heights Of this world, and the chasms Of
Il, and the awful reaches of II, and ut
tered, whether In the Hebrew OF earth,
or some language celestial know not,
that word which stands for the subtle,
bright, glowing, and all prevailing fluid,
that word which thrills and garlands and
7 lifts everything II touches, that word,
the full meaning of which all the chem
ists of the ages have busted themselves
in exploring, that word which suggests
force that hies one hundred and ninety
thousand miles In second, and by un-
dulations seven hundred and twenty
seven trillions In q second, that one
word God utters-Lightl And instantly
the darkness began TO simmer, and the
thick folds Of blackness TO lift, and there
were seintillations, and coruscations
and flashes and billowing up Of re-
aplendence, and In great sheets IL spread
out northward, southYard, eastward,
westward, and radiance filled the at
mosphere until itcouid hold no more OF
the brilliance. Light now 10 work by
while supernatural intelligences look
on. Light the first chapter Of
the first day Of the week. Light,
the Joy Of all the centuries. Light
the greatest blessing that ever touched
the human eye. The robe Of the AL.
mighty Is woven out Of II, for He covers
Himself with light as with garment
OH blessed light | am so glad this
was the first thing created that week.