all; the fentiment which Mofes, I apprehend, would inculcate being this, that the whole univerfe of beings, whenever created, doth not exift by neceffity or chance; but had a beginning, and was produced by the fole power of God.

But, as Mofes here gives us a particular account of the formation of our earth, this phrase, in the beginning, may have a special reference to the time when our earth was created. The matter of which it confists, was produced in the ftate of a Chaos, (Ver. 2.) without form and void, i. e. fhapelefs, wafte, and ufelefs; all the parts, folids and fluids, jumbled together, and furrounded with darkness, unadorned, uninhabited. But the fpirit of God moved upon the face of the waters; i. e. the influences and exertions of the divine power actuated this dark, confused mass, and digested, and reduced its parts to the beautiful state and order in which we now behold them.

On the first day, and the first thing after the production of the Chaos, the element of light was created. Ver. 3, 4, 5.

On the fecond day was created the element of air, or that body of air which we call the Atmosphere, vpn the firmament, or rather, fpacious expansion of air, where the fowls do fly, (Ver. 20.) and which is fpread abroad above, and all round the earth, including meteors and clouds, which are the waters above, or at the upper part of, the atmosphere, in contradiftinction to the waters of the fea and rivers, which are under it. Ver. 6, 7, 8.

On the third day the great God formed the element of water, by draining off the fluids of the Chaos, and caufing them to flow into large cavities prepared to receive them; that thus the earth might become one firm, compact, voluble globe, and in a fit condition to produce grafs, herbs, trees, and plants, which were then created. Ver. 9, 10, 11, 12.

On the fourth day God created the fun and moon. Ver. 14-19. The fun being the centre of our fyftem, it feems probable that the whole folar fyftem was produced at the fame time with the earth, though the defign of the writer did not lead him to take notice of the other parts of it. But we have no juft ground, from his account, to fuppofe that all the ftars, which are probably each of them the centre of a diftinct fyftem, were, on this day, all of them created. Moft of them might have been created long before, and fome of them fince, our world came into being. For that claufe (Ver. 16.) he made the flars alfo, in the Hebrew is no more than, and the ftars; the words he made being inferted by the tranflators. And therefore it may be well rendered thusVer. 16. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the leffer light to rule the night with the fars. That is to say, the moon and ftars to rule the night, as it is expreffed, Pfal. cxxxvi. 9. The conjunction fometimes hath the force of the prepofition with; as Gen. iv. 20. With his weapons. 2 King. xi. 8. Jer. xxii. 7. &c.

Hitherto our globe, and perhaps the other planets, might, by the power of God, be fufpended in the empty space, in a ftate of reft. But now, when the fun, the centre of our fyftem, was created, and the earth was reduced to a proper ftate of firmnefs and folidity, they might be thrown into thofe regular and rapid motions, about the fun,

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and their own centres, which, by the fame power impreffed upon them, continue to this day; and by their exact periodical revolutions produce that grateful and neceffary variety of day and night and feafons; namely, fpring and fummer, autumn and winter; which are certainly the effect of the annual and diurnal motions of the earth; and therefore the annual and diurnal motions might on this day commence. Ver. 14.

On the fifth day, fifh and fowl; on the fixth day, beafts and man were created. Ver. 20, &c.

There is one difficulty remaining, namely, that light was created before the fun, Ver. 3, 14, &c. Whereas the fun is fuppofed to be the fole fountain of light, by emitting luminous particles from its body. But I fufpect the truth of this hypothefis; and Mofes may be found a more accurate philofopher than is commonly imagined. It appears from electrical experiments, that light is a diftinct fubftance from all other, as much as air is from water; and that, by being properly excited, it may be made to appear in midnight darknefs. Which fhews, that it did exist in that darkness, previously to its being excited; and that it was rendered vifible by being excited. Confequently it may, and, I doubt not, doth exift, expanded through the whole vifible fyftem of things at all times, by night as well as by day; and that the fun, a fiery body, is, in our fyftem, the great exciter, by which the fubftance of light is impelled, and becomes vifible. For, were there no fubftance of light previously exifting throughout the whole fyftem, no light would appear, though ten thousand funs fhould at once be placed in our hemifphere. Juft as the ringing of the bell produces found, not by an emanation of particles from the fubftance of the bell, but by exciting the air, or the founding fubftance, without which the bell could produce no found at all. As the air will not found, fo the light will not appear without being excited. Upon this

fup

*This hypothefis, I prefume, doth not interfere with any rules of optics, the rays of light being excited according to the fame laws and directions by which they are fuppofed to be emitted. The light of a candle, upon an emi. nence, may feen at least three miles at fea, in a dark night. Therefore, according to the common fuppofition, the flame of a candle, fuppofe of one inch diameter, must emit from its body inftantaneously, and in every inftant, while it continues to burn, as much luminous matter, or fubftance, as will fill a fpherical space of fix miles in diameter, or of 113,0976 cubical miles; which, notwithstanding the divifibility of matter in infinitum, feems to me to be incredible. It is furely more probable and rational to fuppofe, that the extremely agile particles of light, which fill that large space, are actuated, or excited inftantaneously by the luminous body.

N. B. Dr. TAYLOR, fome time after he had finished this fcheme of scripture divinity, met with the fame thought and reafoning in the ingenious author of NATURE DISPLAYED; and was not a little pleafed to find an hypothefis, which he judged peculiar to himself, adopted by fo deep an inquirer

into nature.

That the curious reader may compare the paffages, he is prefented with the following extract.

"Light is vifibly pre-exiftent to luminous bodies: this may seem a paradox at first fight, but it is not therefore a lefs evident truth.-By light

Vol. III. Page 409. Second Edition.

fuppofition the element or substance of light was created on the first day, and the divine power alone might be the exciter, which made the light

appear

"we do not mean that fenfation which we experience in ourfelves, on the prefence of any illuminated body, but that inconceivably fubtle matter, "which makes an impreffion on the organs of fight, and paints on the optic nerve those objects from the furfaces of which it was reflected to us. Light then, taken in this fenfe, is a body quite different from the fun, and independent on it, and might have exifted before it, feeing now it does exist in its abfence, as well as when prefent. It is diffufed from one end of the "Creation to the other, traverfes the whole univerfe, forms a communi"cation between the moft remote fpheres, penetrates into the inmoft receffes "of the earth, and only waits to be put in a proper motion to make itself

vifible.-Light is to the eye what the air is to the ear: Air may not be "called the body of found, and it does equally exift all round us, though "there be no fonorous body to put it in motion; fo likewife the light does equally extend at all times, from the most diftant fixed ftars, to us, though "it then only ftrikes our eyes, when impelled by the fun, or fome other "mafs of fire.

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"The difference betwixt the propagation of found and light confists in "this, that the air, which is the vehicle of found, being, beyond all com

parison, more denfe than the vehicle of light, its motion is much flower. "Hence we may account for that common phænomenon, why we do not "hear the found of the first stroke of a hammer, when at a distance from it, till it is at the point of giving the following blow; whereas light is propagated with incredible fwiftnefs, though at fome fmall diftance of time "between its receiving the impulfe, and its communicating it to us; feven minutes, according to Sir ISAAC NEWTON's calculation, being fufficient for "its paffage from the fun down to us. This difference of velocity between "the progreflive motion of light, and that of found, is fenfibly demonftrated by firing a gun in a large open plain, where the fpectator, at a great "distance from it, will perceive the flash a confiderable time before he hears "the noise.

"The body of light therefore does either exift independently of the lumi"nous body, and only waits to receive a direct impulfe from it, in order to "act upon the organ of vifion; or we muft fuppofe that every luminous

body, whether it be the fun, a candle, or a spark, does produce this light " from itself, and project it to a great distance from its own body. There " is no medium between these two fuppofitions, and either the one or the "other must be true. But to affert the latter, is to affert a very great im"probability; for if a spark, which is feen in every part of a large room, fifty cubick feet in dimenfions, emits from its own fubftance a quantity of "light fufficient to fill the whole room, then there must iffue from that "fpark, which is but a point, a body, the contents of which are fifty cu"bick feet. How incredible the fuppofition!

"Suppofe the lantern on the light-houfe of Melina, to be feen only eight "cubick leagues, of which itself is the centre; it will follow, that an "eye placed in any point of thofe fix cubick leagues will difcern it, and "confequently fo much space will be filled with the light of it. Now how "incredible that a little fire, fome few inches in diameter, fhould diffuse "around it a fubftance capable of filling eight cubick leagues! Suppose the "lantern concealed, and the light immediately difappears; let it be un"covered the moment after, and it will inftantly be feen as far as before, and

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appear for the three first days of creation, until the fun, the instru mental exciter, was produced.

Further, we must remark, that although God is here faid to create the world, yet it may be true, that he employed a fubordinate agent in the formation of it; namely, the Son of God, who afterwards came into the world for the redemption of mankind. See John i. 2, 3. Col. i. 15, 16, 17. 1 Cor, viii. 5, 6. But though he was the inftrumental cause, yet it is true, that God made all things, because our Lord acted by a power derived from him. He that hath built all things is God. Heb. iii. 4. So much for critical remarks. The fubject naturally leads to the following reflections.

"Thefe are thy glorious Works, Parent of Good!

Almighty, thine this univerfal Frame,

"Thus wonderous fair; thyfelf how wonderous then!

How wonderous, how immenfe is the power, goodness, and wifdom, which gave exiftence to the ftupendous fabric and furniture of the universe!

I. POWER. How vaft and mighty is the arm which firetched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth! which fuftains numberless worlds, of amazing bulk, fufpended in the unmeafurable and unconceivably distant regions of empty space; and steadily directs their various rapid and regular motions! Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created all these things. He bringeth out all their hofts by number, he calleth them all by names, by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in Power, not one of them faileth. Ifai. xI. 26. How powerful was the command, Let there be light, and there was light-Let there be a firmament, &c. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the hoft of them by the breath of his mouth. For he fpake, and it was done; he com

manded

confequently fill eight cubick leagues of fpace with freth light: then how many times eight cubick leagues of luminous matter, will all the fucceffive inftants of illumination produce in one night's time! Sure nothing

** was ever more inconceivable.

"On the contrary, how fimple and natural is it to fuppofe, that as the air "existed before the bell that put it in motion, and caused it to vibrate into "found, fo, in like manner, the light exifted round the fire of Melina, before "the lantern was illuminated, and only waited to be put in motion by the fire, in order to make an impreffion on the eves of the mariners. The fun "and ftars do, by the fame means, make themselves visible, without fuffering any diminution of their fubftance, by continual emanations of luminous matter into thofe valt regions of space through which we behold them; “God having placed between thofe luminous globes and us, the body of "that light which we fee, and which is impreted on the organs of vision, "by their action and influence; but does not proceed from them, nor owes "its exiftence to them.The account of M's therefore, as to this par <ticular, is agreeable to truth, as well as an ufeful letion of caution, when he informs us, that God, and not the fun, was the author and parent of light, and that it was created by his almighty fat before there was a fun ** to dart it on ole part of the earth, and a moon to reflect it on the other."

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manded, and it flood fast. Pfal. xxxiii. 6, 9. Thus the Scriptures fublimely exprefs the exertion of the divine Power in Creation; as if it were done inftantaneously, and with as little difficulty as fpeaking a word.

II. And as for GOODNESS, what an infinite fulness of life and being, what an immenfe, inexhauftible treafury of all Good, muft that be, from whence all this life and being was derived! How infinitely rich is the glorious and eternal God! Out of his own fulness he hath brought worlds and worlds, replenifhed with myriads and myriads of creatures, furnished with various powers and organs, capacities and inftincts; and out of his own fulness continually and plentifully fupplieth them with all the neceffaries of exiftence. And ftill his fulness remaineth the fame, unemptied, unimpaired; and he can yet bring out of his fulness worlds. and worlds without end. How immenfely full of all life and being is the glorious and eternal God! Thus he is good in himself. And he doth good. He is kind and beneficent, willing to communicate being and good. How profufe is his bounty! He might have kept, as I may fay, the whole of existence to himself; but he has liberally fhared it out among his creatures; and of all his creatures in this world, the moft liberally to us men. Survey the whole of what may be feen in and about this globe, and fay, if our Maker hath a fparing and niggardly hand; fay, if we have a churlifh and unkind father. Certainly it is his pleasure to form creatures, and furnish them with enjoyment; and therefore his tender mercies must be over all his works.

III. His WISDOM appears illuftrious in the variety, beauty, exactnefs, order, and harmony, in which God hath formed and fixed the univerfe; in the feveral capacities and degrees of excellence he has conferred upon his creatures; the proper stations he hath affigned to them; the fubordination and fubferviency of one to another, which he hath eftablished, for the regularity and well-being of the whole. They are all, as they come out of his hands, juft what they fhould be, adjufted in the exacteft proportions to their feveral ends and connexions; all in every part and refpect fhewing the workmanship of the profoundest skill, and moft curious art. The utmoft ftretch of human understanding can reach but a fmall part of God's works; but they who study the wifdom of Creation, cannot but admire, and use the words of the facred penman, Pfal. civ. 24. (where he is furveying the feveral parts of our globe) O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In Wisdom haft thou made them all; the earth is full of thy riches!

Thefe reflections will (1) inspire the moft elevated fentiments of the most high and mighty Creator, who is exalted infinitely above the heavens, his glory is above all the earth, Pfal. cviii. 5. The Lord our God is very great, he is clothed with honour and majefty; and we should study to magnify him in our hearts by the moft raised conceptions of his tranfcending greatness. (2.) This fhould alfo fill our minds with joy, and our mouths with his high praises. This God is our God, our maker, and therefore our father. The first and most proper notion we ought to entertain of the great God is, that of a Father; our Father, and the Father of the whole univerfe. And greatly fhould we be delighted with the difplays of our Father's infinite power, wisdom, and goodnefs. Tranf

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