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friend in St. Louis, as easily as if in the same room; and perhaps a man in New York will in a second of time, very soon, converse with a man in London or in Paris; and discoveries equally astonishing may soon be made.

With such almost limitless powers of expansion, will God so soon destroy his beautiful works?

CHAPTER IV.

THE MORAL AND

RELIGIOUS STATE OF THE

WORLD WHEN MOSES WROTE THE HISTORY OF CREATION.

In the first chapter we have endeavored to show, that the first verse in the first chapter of the book of Genesis does not fix a precise date, but merely asserts a general fact, that whenever creation commenced, it was the work of God, no matter how long ago. This is an all-important and most interesting fact, in the intellectual, moral, and religious history of the world.

The state of the world when Moses wrote, as well as the present time, made the assertion necessary, and shows why this fact was so prominently exhibited.

Notwithstanding Noah distinctly knew the true God, yet very soon afterwards, as his descendants scattered abroad, they lost all just ideas of the God of the universe.

Idolatry of some kind, that is the substitution

of some creature for God, prevailed everywhere through the world.

1. There appears to have been astronomical idolaters, that is, those who worshipped the sun, moon, and stars. In the central parts of Asia, where man lived very much in the open air, by day observing the sun, and by night the moon and stars, these bodies drew much of their attention, especially the sun, so resplendent, "that goeth forth as a bridegroom from his chamber, and a strong man to run a race, spreading light, and heat, and life."

There were three remarkable particulars in the sun to attract attention.

Darkness
No

I. Light, lovely, beautiful light. shrouds everything in a mantle of black. form, no comeliness, no beauty appears; a gloom, a fearful, a terrible gloom prevails. The sun no sooner appears than the blackness of darkness is broken, and yellow, crimson, green, and blue tinge the sky, and soon pour a flood of light over the face of nature. The beautiful landscape now appears; the hills and the vales, the beautiful flowers, the useful plants, the noble trees; the springs, the streams, the rivers, the lakes, the seas; the animals of human

comfort and of human danger are now all clear to human vision, and man goeth about his labor. The sun, the fountain of all this good, necessarily called out the attention, the wonder, and the admiration of men.

II. Warmth, comfortable, kindly, genial warmth, everywhere interests man. The night season in most countries is cold and damp. Jacob complains of this to Laban, when he was obliged to tend his flocks by night in the fields, but when the sun, in its beauty, arose with light, came warmth. The chill of evening gave place to comfort, and the damp of night to dry, elastic air.

Sometimes the sun seemed to withdraw, and cold, storm, and snow changed the appearance of the whole earth; but when the sun returned all the earth seemed to rejoice, the snow melted, the storm hushed, the cold was gone. The sun appeared as a kindly friend to remove evil, deliver from distress, and bring comfort, enjoyment, and all the blessings of life.

III. Life. The sun appears essential to life; for without light and heat nothing lives; and the least attention proves the fact.

Some ingenious writer has said, “that all matter loves the sun." If a vessel be filled with a solution of salt in water, and let one half be in the sun, and the other half in the shade, the part in the sun will, by degrees form beautiful crystals, while there will be none in the shaded part. Diamonds are found in the presence of the sun, and in parts of the earth where the sun exerts his force in such a degree as to determine the crystallization of coal; the most beautiful of all gems, which is so full of light as to emit its rays in darkness, and which is so beautiful, that, although useless for food, raiment, or shelter, man, on account of his love of ornament, attaches to it an immense value.

Under the fervid beams of the sun, the seed in the earth bursts out, puts forth, spreads its branches, produces leaves, flowers, and fruits, and thus every kind of provision is made for animal life. Man soon saw all these things. The sun became the object of the greatest regard, veneration, and gratitude, and as a matter sure to follow, of worship. A moment's explanation of this word. It is an abbreviation of worthship. The word ship, so common at the end of English words, is derived from the German "shaft," to make, to do. To worship is to

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