Commentary on the Holy Bible

Toot there are a few things in the Pentateuch which seem to have been added by a later hand, there can be little doubt; among these, some have reckoned, pertiaps, without reason, the foUowii^ passage Gen. xii. 6. And the CaatuiaiU was Ihtn in the land. But see the note on this place. Num. xxi. li. Tn the book ttf the war> the Lerd, was probably a marginal note, which in process of time got into the text: see the note on this passage also. To thMe be added tixejb>ejr»t verses <k Deuteronomy, chap. i. — the tweifOi of olu^. ii. and the eight concluding versea oflbelaMtliuiter,invrbiehwebaveanaeeountfifibe«alhofHoee8. Inese last wonts could not hare been added by Moaes himself bat ate voy probably tlta work of Ein, bv whom, aaetnding to muDiemipted traditioii among theJew^ the various books, which constitute the canon of die Old Testament were collected and arranged, and such expository notes atUed, as were essential to connect the lUilbmitpaita: biUaa be acted under divine t»iNnw^ the addittonamn lie eonsidered of equal auihori^widi the text. A few oOJer places might be added, but they are of little importaitco, am are mentioned in the notes. '

The book of GENESIS, riMn^, baa its name from the title it bears in the Slep^uag^nl b>j3>.ic rtMrt-f (eh. it. v. 4.) wbich "C"'**" the book qf the generation, but it ia called in Hebrew rvvx^a Bereehith, "In the beginning," from ito initial wad: it is the moat ancient hisUMy in the worU; and from the great varie^ of iu singular detaiu, and moat inierestingaeeoimla, is as flv superior in ita value and importance to all othm as it is in its antiquiiv. This book oontaina ■aaooonntof the creation of the world, and ila first ihhamtanta; the original innoccaee and flul of man; the riae of religion; the invention of arts; the general c<Mrruption and degeneracy ctf mankind } the universal detuge; the repeopling and division of the earth { the origin of nations end kingdoms j and a particular histoy of thejMfnanAs from AdMH down to the death otJooeph, including a space at die least computation of 2369 years.

It may be asked, bow a detail so circumstantial and minute could have been pieeeiTed, when there was no tmtin^ <rf any kind; and imea the earth, wboae histivy is here given, had already existed more than 2000 yean 1 To this inquiry a very aatisbctory answer may be given, lltere are only Mrss ways in which these iinnorlant records could have been preservedandbriN^tdowntodietimetrfHoaes: yim.iariiing, tradition, ajiiDivint Revelation. In the antediluvian wfirld, when the Use of man was so protracted, there was, eomparativefy, little need for vriting of any kind: and peiiiaps no alphabetical writing then existea. TVatmionansweredevery purpose to whidv writing in any kind of characters could be subservient; and the necessity of erecting monumtnl* to perpetuate public events, could scarcely have suggested itseUI as during those times there coulo be little duiger g^preheoded of any important foct becoming obsolete, as its lustMy had to pass throufdi very few hands, and all these,/neiw and relativ£s.in the most proper sense of the terma; ftrthtry lived in an insulated state, under a patriarchal government

IIhis it was easy for Hoees to be satisfied of the truth of all he relates in the book of <7ene»t«, as the accounts came to lflathro4||h the medium of very few persons. Prom Adam to Noah there was but one man necessary to the correct tnasmission of the history of this period of 1666 years. Now this history was, without doubt, perfectly known to Methuselah who lived to see them both. In like manner, Shtm connected Noah and Abraham, having lived to converse with both; as Itaae did with Abraham and Jbs«A, from whom these things mi^t be easily conveyed to Motet bj Amram, who was contemporary with JbsepA. aupposin|b then, all the cunous mcu recorded in the book of Oauno had no outer nthority than the tra<fMonalmdyrenmd to, ib(7 would St of ciedibili^ mperior toainthattbeinoatrepotaUeoftheaneieiitaredEandLalin historians can boast Yet, to preclude all possibili^ of mistake, the uiterring Spirit of God directed Moses in the selection of his,^id!^ and the ascertaining of his (wu. Indeed the narrative ia so simple; so much like tnttbi socmsistentevery where with itself; so cMxect in iu dates; so impartial in its biography; so accurate in iU|^Ioai^^ue«ldetaila} so pure in ita morali^; oixl so benevolent in its design, as amply MdenoMraie that it never ooaUuve bad aDeorAfy origin. In tbiaeaieauO) Moses conatmcledeveirdiiiigMewdiDg to the pattern wluehOodriwwed him in the mount rl the ■b^rumiiif ^God created the hearens and the earth.

2 * And the earth was without form and void;

NOTES ON CHAPTER L Yene X. rwn nio o«wn nn otvjm im rwnro flereahiih bara Klohin tHi haahamayim xeeOi kaareit. OOD in Iht beginning creaUd the luavau and the tarth.]

Htuiy kttem|Ka have been made to define die term QOD: aa to this word iiael^ it ti a pure Anglo-Saxon, and among our aaceaUrs ngnified not only the DivinB Being, dot commonly deai^ated bjr the word, but alu goodi aa in iheir qtprdieaaion, H appcsra, thai God ana good iran •onelauve tenni { and whan they thought or apoke of him they were ever led, from the word ttael^ to eomider him as Thx Good Bkino, a fountain of infinita benevolence and beneficence towardi hii ereaturea.

A general definition of thia great PirMCaaBe,aafitraa human worda dare attempt one, may be Jhua given, "nte eternal indqieiideni, and aeU-ezialent Being: uie Being wboin purfwaaa and ■etimia aprinff from hinsel^ without fbrvign nouve or influence: He who ia abaoluie in dominimt tbe moat pure, moat limple, and moat Biriritual of all Easencea: infinitely benevotenC beneficent, true, and holy: the Cause of all banc, tbe Upholder of all things: infinitely happy, because innnitely good; and eternally wlf-aufikient, needing nothing that nehaa inade. Illimitable inhiaimroenaitT, ineonoeivanle in his mode of eziatenee, and iodeaeribabie in hia eaMnoe i known frilly only to HimaeIC beoanw an infinite mind can oidjr be eompreheiKled \j itaeiC In a word, a Beiiv whoi from bi> mfinlte wisdom, cannot err or be deceived; and whcs from his infinite goodness, can do Dotbing but what ia eternally Just, right, and kind. Reader, such is the God of tbe BiUe^ but Mw widefy di&rent from the Qod of moat human creeds and apprehenaiooat

•Hta niginal word vntm SUUm, Ood, ia certainly the fdoral form ^ Stt and baa long been supposed by the nOBtaninently learned and pious men, u> imply a pltuwify of Persons in the Divine nature. As this phiralitr awears in to JOKoj parts <^ the Sacred Writinni, to be cottfmed to thrte Persons, hence the doctruie of Uie Tnnnrv, which has tmned a jHtrt of the creed of all (hose who have been deemed aoona ioAe fkith, from die earliest ageairf Cbrisliani^. Nor an die C&ntMoiunngnlar in reeeiviur diia doctrine, and ia deriving it from the first wmds of Divine Bevelaoon. An eminent Jewudi rabbin, Simeon ben Joachi, in his comment on the sixth section of Leviticas has (base remarkable words: " Come and see the mystery of the word EUdiim: there are thrtt degreea, and eaen degree by ttaelf alone, and yet, notwithstanding, they are all one, and Joitud together in one^ and are not divided fromeaeh ot&r." He must be stmngelypreiudieed indeed, wtw cannot aee that the doctrine « a Trinity, and of a Trinity in Unity, is clearly ex|ffesaed in the abore words, nteveibina dora, he created, being joined in thesingi' ausdier with ifais phirtl noan, baa been eonsiderM __ poialinff out, and not obacorely, the Unity of the Divine

9l.se. Tto OMlioBoCnBlaUM mTiii hMiis liiMi hiiiaii Tfll irM*M|«ia!l^

and darkness vxu upon the fiiee of the de^. <■ And the Spirit of God moved upon the face or

Persona in this work of ereation. Ia tbe ever-blessed Trini^. from the infinite and indivisible unity of the Parsons, tnere can be but <me will, one purpose, and one infinite and uncontrollable enervy.

" t<et thoae who have oot doubt wbedier o^iSm ElMm, when meaning the true God, Jdiovah, be jttural or not, consult tbe following passages, where they will find it joined with adiecUves^ verbs, and pronnms slunt/.

As the word Elokim is tbe term by which the Divine Being is most generally expressed in tbe Old Testament, it nn^ be neceasur to ccsmder it here more at la^ It is a nuudm that admits of no oontroversy, that every noun in tbe Hebrew languaM is derived from a verb, which ia usualhr termed the ra(£« or root, from which not only the noun, out all the different flexions of the-veris siliring. IVis radix is the third person singular of the preterite or past tense. IIm t<ieai meaning of this root expresses some essential property of the thiiw which it deaignatas, or of which it IS an i^ipellativc lite root in Hfbr*w, and in its sister language, the Arabic, generally oonsiBtB of thm letters, and every word must be traced to its root in order to ascertain iu genuine meaning, for there alone is thia meaning to be found. In Hebrew and Arabic this is easentiaUv neeeasary, and no nan can safely eritieiae on any won in ddier of these language^ who does not ear^Jully attend to this point

I mention the Arabic with the BArew for two reasons. 1. Beesnse the two languages evidently si»ing from tbe same sotiree, and have very nearly the same mode of construction. 2. Because the deficieDt roots in the Hebrew Bible are to be sought for in the Ar^c languwe. Tbe reason of this must be obvious, when it is considered that the whole of ibe Hebrew lanoiBge is lost, except wbai ia in the Bible, and even a part M this is written in ChaMss.

Now, as the £n^/£s/i SjUs does not eontain dwirbolo of the EngUeh lanruag*, so dw Hofaiew BiUe does not contain tbe whole of the Hebrew. If a man meet with an English word which he cannot find in an ample eoncordanee or diettonary to the Bible, be must of course seek for that wOTd in a general E^li A dictiom^. In lika manner, if a particular farm of a Hebrew word occur that cannot be traced to a root in the Hebrew Bibl& because the word does not occur in the third person singular of the past tense in the Bible, it is expedient, it is perfectly lawfril, and often indispensably neeeasary, to sedc die defieiettt root in the Arabic. For, aa the Arabic is still a living language, sad perlufw the most oopiouB in die universe 1 itmanrweU be enoeied to ftmidi those lannsirhidi m defioentin

3 T * And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light that it vas food: and Crod < divided " the light from the darRnees.

5 And God called the light • Day, and the

the Hebrew Bible. And the reasonablenen ot thia li fiwnded on another maxim, viz. that either the Arabic waa derived frcnn the Hdwew, or the Hebrew from the Arabic I ahall not enl«r into this controveri^; there are great namea on both lidea. and the deeiaion of the question m either way, will have the uune effect on mj argument For, if the Arabic was derived from the Hebrew, it must have been when the Hebrew waa a living aad coit^>Ute lanipage; because luch ia tba Andiic now; aid therefore all ita eMential roots we may reasonably expect to find there: but i^ as Sir William Jones suppmed, the Hebrew was derived from the AraUe; the same expectation is justified, the defieient roots in Hebrew may be aou^it for m the moiher tongtie. for example, we meet with a term in our ancient Eogliah language, the meaning of which we find difficult la ascertain i conunoo sense teaches us that we should srak for it in the Anglo-Saxon, from which our lanfuage springs, and, if necessary, go up to the Taiionic, from which the Anglo-Saxon was derived. No person disputes the legitimacy of this measure) and we nod it in constant practice. I make these observations at the very threshold of my wotIel because the necessity of aetiiw on this principle (seeking deficient Hebmr roots in the Arabic) ma^ often occur; and I Kidl U> speak once for alt OR tlte subjeel.

The first sentenoe in the Scripture shows the piK^iety of havinc recourse to thia phnsiple. We have seen that the WortT a-r/jH Elohitn is plural; we have tracod our term God to its source, and navo seen its aignificatioo; aod also a geseral definiiioQ of the thing or being included under this term, has been tremblingly attempted. We should now traee the ortginat to ita roof; but this root does not ^pear in the Hebrew Bible. Were the Hebrew a compute language, a pious reason might be given for this omission: vii. "As God is without beginning and widiout cause, as his being is infinite and undtritM, the Hebrew langiuge eonsulta strict propriety in giving ao rolU whence his name can be dtducetL" Sir. Parkhurst, to whoM pious and learned labours in Hebrew literature EMat Biblical students are indebted, thinks he haa found the root in rfttt cdak, As sisore, Jmimd himself by oath; and hrace he calls ctvhH Elohim, the ever-blesaod Trini^, as fretnc bound by a conditional oath to redeem man, dtc. &c Most pious minds will revolt front such a definitioa, and will be glad, with me, to find both the noun and tba reo< preserved in Arabic Allah jfjjf is the common name lor Qon in the Ar^ic tongue, tad ofrea the ■mp*^"* <• used, ihe very same lettos as iboso in n^^M eiohint, the « ycd being dropped, and the S lamed doubled. Now both these words are derived from the root v/f aloha, he worthij^Md, adored, loaa atruek vitk a*- toniahnunt, fear, or t4rror: and hence he adartd with waerai horror and vmera/um, cum sacra horrpre. ac veneratkms eoluit, adoravit. Wilkkt. Hence, ]t3)l f&iAtm, fear, veneration, and •kolft«()&Jec<^rel^ioiM /ear, the Dtitv, the supreme Ood, ihs trmuadtuM Bthig. oUs is no! a new idea) Ood was considered among the andeot Hdirewa as the foaxful or Atemeiw^otw Being: and hence Jacob swears by ihejiar of his &iher Isaac, Geo. xxxi. 63. To oomplets the de&aition, Golius renders }fU aiaha; hoM, hberavit, et lulaius Aiu, "be sueconred, Tibeialed, kept in safety, or defisnded.'' lim^ from the toeol meaning of this most expressive root, we acquire the mpal correct notion of the diviiM nature; for wa learn that God ia the »oU object <^ adorotion, that the perfectiona of his nature are such as must utonisA all uoaa who piously eontenqrlate tfaem, and fill with Aorror all who would dara to give his glory to oavAhKr, or break his conuoandments: Aat eonsequsntly be should be ^gorohi-pped with and rsKgiou* fear,- and that every sincere worshipper may expect fr«m him divine help in all his weaknesses, trials, difficulties, temptations, <tc frttdom. from the power, ^It, nature, and ooasequencea of sin; and to be stmorte^ d^mdod, and saved to the uttermost and to

Herat then, is one proof; amrag multitudes whioh shall be addooed in dM ooum o( dkia wori^ of die importance, ntilttf, and naoessi^ of tnaim op these saerad words to. tfwir asuTMs; and a proof aSo^ that Bub)aots whidi aw I ■uppoaed 40 be out of the laaA of the common pet^ I darkness he called Night. 'And the evei^ng and the mornuig were the firat day.

6 1 And God said, < Let there be a ^ firma ment in the midst of the waters, and let it.divide the waters from the waters.

may, by dtu managewunt, be braught on a lerel with the most ordinary capaci^.

In the beginning] Before the creative acU mentioned in this chapter, all was eternity. 7\mc signifies duration measured oy the revolutions of the heavenly bodies; but prior to the creation of these bodies, (here oouid be no measurement of duration, and eonaequently no time; therefore, In the beginning must necessarily mean the commeocement of tune which followed, or rather was produced fay God's creative acta, as an effect fellows, or ia produced bv a cause.

Created] Caused that to exist which, previously to this moment, had no being. The rabbins, who ore legitimate juilgcs in a case of verbal criticism on their own language, are unanimous in asserting that the word uro 6ara, expresses the commencement of the existence of a thio^: or Its egressitm from nonrati^ to entity. It does not, u its prlnuiy meaning, denote the preaervtng or nets forminff things that had previously existed, as some I'mo^ne; but creation, ia the proper sense of the term, though It baf some other acceptations in other places, l^e supposition (hat God formed all things out of a pre-existing eternal nature, ia certainly abaord: for, if there vraa an eternal nature besides an eternal God, there must have been two sel^xtstinz, independent, and eternal beings, which is a most palpwle cwilradiciion.

O'lorn rw eth hashomayim. The word nw etby which is generally considered as a partieU simply denoting that the word following is in the accusative or oblique case, is understood by the rabbins in a much more extensive sense. "Tho panicle JW eth," says Ebeo Etro, "signifies the tubtbaut of the thing." The like definition is given by Kimchi ia bis Book qf RooU. " Tim particle," says Mr. Ainswar^ "baring the first and Uut letters of the Hebrew alphabet in it, is supposed to comprise the mm and suis&incs of all Ainga. " The particle rat cA," (says Buxtor^ Talmudio Lexicon sub voccj "with the Cabolists, is often mystically put for tlie beginning and end, as A alpha, ana a omega, are in the apocalypse." On ibis ound dicse words should be translated: "God in the ginning created the tnb^anee of the heavens, and the iilajice of the earth:" i. e. the prima materia, or firat elemems, out of which the heaven* and the earth were successively formed. The Sj-riac translator understood the word in this aense, and to express this meaning boa used the word^S^yon, which has this signification, and is very properly lionsliUed in Walton's Polyglott, sssb eotiet ESSE terra, "Ihe &stRj'or«u&sfanMof the heaven, and the bmng or sutsfonce of the earth." St. Ephraim Syrus, in his comment on this place, uses the tame Syriac word, and (^>pea^ to understand it precisely in the stune way. Though the Hebrew word is certainly no more than the notation of a com in most places; yet understood here in tlw sense above, it argues a wonderful philosophic aecurw? in the statement of Moses, which brings before us not a JtnUiud heavens and earth, as every other translation appears to do, ihouf^ afterward the process of their formation ia giTen in detail, but merely the materiaU out of which God built the irtwle aysiem m the six following

"Ilu Juavent and 8m earth] As the word o^ov Aamayim is plural, we may rest assured that it means more than the o^tnospAcre, to express which some have endeavoured to rcstriet its msaniiig. Nor does it appeu- that the atmoaphera is particularly mtended hercas this is spoken of ver. 5. under the term firmament. The word Acarens must therefore comprehend the whole 9olar tyetem; as it is very likely the whole of this was created m these six days: for, unless the earth had beeo the centre of a system, the reverse of which is sufficiently demonstrated, it would be unphilosopbic to suppose it was created independently of the other ports of the system. Indeed we must have recourse to me almighty power of God, to suspend tho influence of the earth^s CTavitating power, till tne fburth day, when the sun was placed in the centre, round which the earth began then to revolve. But as the design of the inspired penman was to relate what especially befonged to our world and its iidwbitanU, therefore he ptwscs m the rest of the planetary system, leaving it sinmiy inclu«d in the plural woid AsoMiit. In the word earth, vntf wiag,.

7 And God mad* the firmament: 'and divided Ihe waters which were under t.fie firmament, from the waters which were ^ above the firmament: fuid it was BO.

8 And God called the nrmamant Heaven. And the evening and the,, morning were the aeeond day.

relative to the temque-Rrial elobe it included; that is, all that belooga to the Bottd and duid part* of oar world, Vith itM ■urrouAding: atmoaphere. Am therefore I suppose As whole solar syaten was creaud at this tim^ I think it

9 ]f And God said, ' Let the waters under the

heaven be gatlxered together unto one place and let the dry land appear: and it wus so.

10 And God called the " dry iand Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seae: and G«od saw that il -was ffood.

11 And Giod said, Let the earln 'bring fOTth

perfectly in place to give here a general view of all the planets, with eveiT tmng curious and important hitherto knovnrelative to their revolutions and principal nffecdons.

A GENERAL VIEW OF THE WHOLE SOLAE fiiySTEM. TABLE I. THE REVOLimOITS. DISTANCES, Oe. &e. OF ALL THE PRIMARY PLANETS.

lirvum 4u*iM Inm the EmtUi ia iMiMiniii iifiihiii r i|iiitnr

BMAmoOoD hi tbdr oWl kiBflv

Ihfl ftUowing celestial bodia^ commonly called planets, rarolvuig between Jupittx and Mm have been recently diseovered: all that is known of their magnitude luriacei diameter, and distance, I here sulqoin.

•grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fmittree yielcUog * fruit afler his kind, whose seed is ia itsell', upon the earth: and it waa so.

12 And the earth brought forth ^rass, and herb jieldin^ fleed after his kind, ■ and the tree vielding fruit, whose seed -was in itself, after hin kind: and God saw that it was good.

4»8BaTATIOira ON THE PKECEDINO TABLfiS. Ih lUle I. th« quantity of the periodic and sidereal fwolutiona of the ploneta u expressed in common years, SSi^ eoDtainin^ 365 da^Bj as e. the tropical revolution tS Ji^tOT by the table, 11 years 315 days 14 hours 39 Tiiiiw<fT 2 ■eeoods; *. e. the exact number of days is equal to 11 years multiplied by 365, and the extra 315 u^b added to the product, wnich make in all 4330 days, l^e suUrtal 9XiA periodkc times are also set down to the nearest second of time, from numbers used in the construction of the tablet in the third edition of M. de la Lande's Aatroninny. *Vt» columns eontaininf the mean diatance of the lAiueUi from the sun in English miles, and their greattst and leaat diatance from the earth, are such as result from the beat observations of the two lost transits of Venus, «4iieh gave the solar parallax to be emial to 8 three-fifths seconds of a degree 1 and consequently tne earth's diameter, as seen from the aun, must be the dcnible of 6 3-5 seconds, or 17 1-6 seconds. Prom this last quantity, compared widi ttie apparent 'fiiL>>ii;f«'ri of the pHncts, as j^en at a distance ufmVi <k&t tii <ti( wth St ner. mtan d^lance from the mTi, &ie diatMiers iff Qu pbuvd^ in BngUak miUt, as «ml&in?'l in the spTBEith cftlumfl, h^ve bwfl carefully compufid. In 'tic cotumnentitlcij, " Prop*?rti-n of buJic, Hit eajth being 1." the who-le niiTnViera cTiirn!*" ihe number of Ihaes llie oihif plim^t (*ont<!iin'' rauir rubi'- miles, &c. than the esrtlij and if th« nMinbT of intisr mil'^s in the earth ea, the ni-imVier of cnhia inile» ii* amy j>laaet may be ^' taaad by muUiplying thfrf^^nnii contained in flStth Iky lh<! numDcr in tho sdnaB^ Vld the product Wifl "bs [he quMiiity wqnirwi, pyatemi bn( to' ileacriW it fuLly ianll ]t( VT>nwn revolutions Hid COdlKxiDDe, in all its nitonjc^i'- ' ' mu h.'. uid influence, Jn ixt wnndBrfii] plan, struetur". "| ' 1 - >. and reaults, Wmillil iiigiiiiii innrfi TOhunu thivn con \y: devoted to the

Hl7liB4B'%9 "Aid here on » mibjwt r vnat, it may appear to some improper to introduce it at all; but to any rtaervstion of this kind I must be permitted to reply, that I should deem it unpardonable not 10 give a geniral view of the solar system In the very place miere its creation is first introdueed. If these wotks be stupendous and magnifioeDt, what most HE be who fbnned, guidea, and supports tnem sll by the isoni of his powor I— Reader t stand In ftwe of this God, and tin noL Make him Hby friend through the Son of his love; and when these heavens and thia Murth are no more, thy sixd ihall azot in oontommste u)d onutterabla feUei^.

See the remarks on the «un, moon, and vfars, afkar

Verse 2. TTu earth wot tdthout Jbrm and toid\ Tic original terms >nn tohoo and ^3 boAoo, which we translate without form and void, are of uncertain etymology: but in this place, and wherever else they are used, uiey convey the idea of conjitnon and ditorder. From these terms, it is probable, tnat tlie ancient Syrians and Egwtians borrowed their gods, TheuUi and BaU, and me Greeks their Chao*. God seems at first to have created the elementary principles of all things: and thia formed the grand mass of matter, which in this slate must be without arrangemtTit, or any distinction of parts: a vast system of indescribable confusion, of nameless entities fltrangelv mixed; and wonderfully well expreaaed bjr an ancient neadisa poet

SBon dhun Chua; ndb IndlfMiiqu Mte, vnuioquMDriidpBailiHiiHn; congouqniiednn. Ndo bsne ]——'■"■— Aacocte MiiH isub^OpM.

Avl hMnn'i bish fiiLnipy iJui uv« ul;

One wu UK bc« a( nuun i if ■ bca;

A lUev himp, mlMnoned and niiiHinM,

The most ancient of the Greeks have spoken nearly in the same way of this crude indigested state cnf the pnmitive <diaotic moss.

When diis congeriee of elementary principles was brought together, God waa pleated to apend six days in assimilating, oasortiBg, and arrangiiw the materials, out of which ns built up, not only the earui, but the uriiole of the solar ey stent.

The Spirit qf God\ This has been variouslv and strangely understood. Some think a violent void it meant, becauae ruac& often signifies vind ss well as 9pirii f as iTTii,^. dbes in Greek; and the term God it connected with it merely, as they ^ink, to express the mperlative degree. Others understand by it an eUtneniary Jire. Others the ran, penetrating and drying up the eartn with hit mys. Others, the an^da, who were suppoeed to have been employed as agents m creation. Others, a certain oceuU principle, termied the anima mundi, or ntd the world. Others, a magnetic attraction, by which all diings were caused to gravitate to a common centre. But it it sufficiently evident, from the use of the word in odier

ElocM, that Ihe Holy Spirit of God is intended; which our leased Lord represents uitdcr tlie notion of irind^ John

13 And the eveniag and the morniog were the xlurdda:

U V And Qod nid. Let there be 'lighU m iiL 8. Bitd which u a mighly rudting wind on the da^ of peotecoat, filled tfae bouse where the disciples were littuig, Acu ii. 2. which waa immediately followed by their Bpeakwith other UmAwp, because th^ were filled with the fioly Ohoat, ver. A. These Kripturea aufficieotly aacertaia the aense in wtudi the iTord la uaad Homi.

MB9«d\ name merachepheA, was brooding over, for the word expressea that tremuloua motion made by the hen wialfo either AofeUftf her eggs or f ottering her ^oung. It here probably aignifiea the communieatiDg a vtlal or prelijle priadple to the waters. As the idea otineubaHon, or hatchiiu an egg, is implied in the original word, hence probably the notion, which prevuled among the atKsiencs, that the world w&i generated firom an egg.

Verse 3. And Qod taid. Let tha-ebe li^hi, iik tt* txri Atra, va yAi atir. Nothing can be conceived more dignified than ttus form of ezpreuion. ^It a^ues at once uncontrollable authority, and omnifie power 1 and in hinpaa languegft it ia seaieely poaaiUe lo conceive thai Ood can spfalr more like lumael£ Thit passage in the Greek traralation of the Seplu^gint fell in the my of Diooysiiia Longinus, one oi the most judicious Greek critics that ever lived, tni who is highly celebrated over iheciTiliied world Ibrabeatisehewrote, entitled npiuiivf. ctMflemuw the asnoni, both in p«ae and poetir) of this [msM|.i i,_ utoug^ a heathen, ha speaks in di« fiulowiug

T* iirAtM yfa^ar rmr t^ftrnt, SltlBH O OZOS, fn", Ti; FKNEZea MIX BM tyiuTO- rSNUSa m* am ij-imt*.— ** So likewise the Jewidi lawgiver (vrtio was no oidioary nan) having conceived a juSt idea of tbe divine power, Iw «xpreaaed it in a diRnlfied manner; for at die beginning ot his hiwa he thus speaks: GOD SAID— 11^7 LET THERE BE UOHTI and tkm wiu Hghi. LET THERB BE EARTH I and tiure waa earth." Longi'n. Sect viiL ediL 1663.

Ifoay have asfced, "Hnw could liaht bfe produced aa iiiBjfrwtdajf, and tmsim, the fMiiit«mor it, not created till the JimrUt OayV' - With the various and often unphilosMihieal aiuwera which have been ^ven to this question I will not meddle % but shall observe mat the original word mt aur, signifies not only Ught, btUJlre, see Isai. xxxi. 9. &ek. V. 2. It is used for the sun. Job xxzi. 26. And for ihe eUctrie Jtuid or uasnnMe, Job xxxvii. 3. And it is wordiT of remark, that it ia used in Isai. zliv. 16. for tfae krnt derived from rM esft, the Jtrt. He banielh part thereof in the fire, <m «3 fremo <sA.)— Tea, he warmeth l>iiii>^i^ mni taith ahal — I have seen tbe nre, "yw vyw^ fweefi oar, which a modem i^losopher, who understood the bagoace, would not scruple to translate^ I have neeivea cakner or an addtdoDal portion of dw matter of luaL I therefore conclude, that as God has diffused the natter of coioric or latmt luat dirough every part of nature without wlw^ ihera couM be nrilner v^taiton nor ■nimal life, that it is caiorie or latent heat which is prindpally intended bv the original word.

That there is laterU light, whidi is probably the same with UUmU heat, may be easily dMnonrtraled: take two pieces of smooth ro^ crystal, agatCLconieliRn, or flint, and nib them Kwelher briskly in the Awk, aod die latent light or matter oT calorie will be immediately produced and oeeome visible, the light or caloric, Aua disengaged, does not operate in the same powerlvil manner as the beat or,fin which is produced bv striking^with flint and steel; or that produced by eUctnc friction. Tbe existence of this eoiorte, latent or primitive light, may be ascertained in various other bodies; U can be produced by the flmt and steel, by ndUiw two hard sticfar togeter, by hammering cold iron, iriiich in a short time becomes red hot; and by the strong and sodden compression of atmos[Aieric air in a tube. Friction in general produces both fire and Ught. Ood dterefim created this umveraal agent on the first day, beeaoae without it no (^wraticn of natus could be carried on or perfaeted.

Li^istmeof the moat astonishing productions of die flfeMm skill aod power of Ood. It is the grand medium by whieh all his other works are discovered, examined, and understood, so fiu- as they can be known. Its immense dif- Ibsion, add extreme velocity, are alOne suflSeient to demon, strate the being and wisdom of God. Li^faaa been proved tnrmany experiments to travel M the astoniriiing rate of 194, iBBmiMaiii one second of timel and OMoea from the aan (o tbe eard) in eight vtimOee, llii tecmig. a distanee of 96^13iTMEogTishimkir^ "

the firmament of the heaven, to divide tbedar from the night J and let them be for eigiv, au • Tor aeascHiB, and for days, and years:

Verse 4. Ood divided the lighiJHm As darkneee, &&] This does not imply thatltg'UaAdtfarftncM are two distinct substances, seeing darkneet ia only the privaHon, of lig^t; but the words simply refisrui, by antieipuitA, to the rotation of the earth round its own axis once in tvaU^thtie Kowt. fifty-fix tninuiee, seconds, which is dw oMe et the distinction between day and ninit, by bringing the different parts of the surfiue of the earth successively int<^ and from under, the solar rays; and it was profaablv at this moment, that Qod gave this rot&ti(»i to the earn, to prodaoa this merciful provision of day and night — For (be fMmtMrt in whidi li^t ia Bt^poeed to be proouoed, see verse 16, under tbe word sun.

Yerse 6. And God eaid. Let there be afirmamtni.'] Oar translators, by following the firmamentum ol the Tulgat*, irtiich is a translation of the •^•^••/■a of the Septuagint, have deprived this passage of all sense and meaning. i1m Helvew word TP'^rakeedfrom yp^ ral^ to apreM out at the atiiaine ^ a tent or pavilion, simply signifiea an «- ponse or ^Mtce, and conseouently, that auvuDwmbiaiit qMoe or expansion, separating (he dotus which Are in die Inner regions of it, from the seas, &c. which are below iL Thia we call the aimoepkere, the orb of atoms, or inconceivably small particles: but the word ^ipears to have beeA used n Hoses in a more extensive sense, and to include die whob of die planetary vortex, or tbe i^iooe which if eeetqiiedbf (he whole tolar system, ^

Verse 10. And Ood called the dry iand EaTl\and At gathering togeSter ^ As waters eaOed he Seoe. J 3heM two coostimte what ia called die tormqawNw gknOj in which the earth and the water exist in a moat jixUotoua proportion to each other. Dr. Long took the papers vrtuoh cover the sorf^ of a seventeen inch terrestrial ^obe, and having oerefiilly separated the land fr«n the sea, be weia^ ed the two coUeciioos of papers aocuratdv, and foundtnat die ssa-papera wei^ied three bimdrea and Ew^-nins grains,aDd the landiipapere only one bundled and twsn^- lour 1 by wUoh sxpariiMnt it ^MMaia that nesrly fftrssfourAa of the surboe of our globe, from dw arebc to As antarctic polar circlei^ are covered with vrater. He dootor did not wei^ iho paita within the polar circlp, because diere is no certain measurement of the pr<^>ortion of land and water which they cMKoin. This pc«^Mrtion oS ffbrso* JburA* water may be cmsidered as too great, if not us** less: but BIr. Ray, by most accurate axperimeats made ctt evaporation, has proved that it reqoirea so much aqaeoua sumacs to yield a suSeieoey of vapours for the purpoaa of coolii^ the atmos|diere, end watering tbe earth. See Ray's Phjfaieo-theologieal Dieocmneg.

An eminmt chymtst and pbilosoidisr has very pKmer^ observed, that it seems pkua dmt Mosea conMoned the ^ole temqneous globe as being created in a jCttid stats^ the earthy and other particles of mauer beiqg mingled with the vmler. The present form of (he earOi demmstralea the tmth of (he Mosaie aocount; for it is well known dwt if a soft or elastic globular body be nmi^ whirled round on its axis, the parts at the poles will be mtftened, and the ports on the eqwuor, midwi^ between the north and soudt poles, will be raised np. litis is wecHely die shabe Of our eerdi) Ithasdie figim of anoMofe spMrott^ afigura pretty muoi resembling the ^pe of an erofU's. It nas been demonstrated by admeasurement, that the earth is fitted at the poles, and raised at die equator. This was first conjectured by Sir Isaac Newton, and afterward ooofirmed by H. Cassini end others, who measured scveml degrees of latitude at die equator and at (ha north pole, arn found that the difibrenee perfect^ Jnsdfied Sir lease Newton's oonjectore, and consequently conflrroed the Mosaic aecounL The result of the expmmeiMs instituted t« determine this poin^ proved, dmt the diameter of (ha earth at the equator is nmter by more dun twenty-Ar^ miles than it is at the poW

And Ood taw that it was OToii] This is dwiudgmeilt whieh God pronounced on his own works. Tkmif wste beaat{fvl and perfect in their kind, for sui^ is the import of (he word aio Mih. Ihey wm in weight and meaMniL porfret and entire lacking nuthing. But the reader will think it strange duit (his approbation should be sxpiesaad; onceo-aHiti fiMtfourat,fiph, and eisOi^Kfet twice on the third, and not at all on tbe tuondt I snppooe that the words, Ai\d Ood taw Oust U vm good, have been eidier lost from the conclusion of die' eighth verse, or that the clause in (he tenth verse originally belonged to the MghA. It a^ears from tbe Swtuagint Iranskhonf that

15 And let them be for lij^hts in the firmament or the heaven, to give li^ht upon the oorth: aod it was so.

16 And Gfod ■rtiEule two great lights: the

the words in mieation existed orifinttll/ at the close of the ngfaUi vene, in the copies which they lued; for in that vttmm we still find ■■• utir « cti mx**. And God gate OuU it was good. This reading, however, is not acknowledged b7 any of Kennioot^s or De Bosai's MSS. nor any of the other Versions. If the account of the •ocoikI day stood originally &■ it does now, no satislactory KttsoD can be given for the omission of this cjcpressioa of tbo-Divine ap[u«bation of the work wrought by his wisdom and power on that day.

Verse li.lMAe earth bring /orih gran ■herb^-^ruU tret»,—&£.] In tbew general ezprcMiotM bU kinds of vegetable prodaciioai are uteloded. fVuit tratt are not to be understood here in the restricted sense in which the term is used among us; it signifies all trees, not only those which bear fruit, \^ich may be apolied to the use of men •nd cattle, but also those which had the power of propagating themselvea by seeds, &c Now as God delights to manifcet himself in (he liUU as well as in the g^^"** he has shown his oonsummate wisdom in every port of the vegetable creation. Who eaa aceotmt for, or comprehend the structure of a single tree or plant 1 "nie roots, the ■tem, the woody fibres, the bark, the rind, the air-vessels, tha Blip-vessels, the leaves, the nowers, and the fruits, are ■0 wan mystwies. All the skill, wisdom, and power of men and angels could not produce a aiiwle grain of lo/uat! A serious arw reflecting miiKl can see the grandeur of God not only in the immense cedars on Lmuton, but also in the encUeasly varied foreH* that appear through the microscope iu the mould of clieese, stale paste, Stc Ac.

Verse 12. Whoae was in iUt^\ Whi<^ has die power of multiplying itself by seeds, slips, roots, dec ad infinitmn: whidi contains in itself all the rudiments of the future plimt through its endless generations. This doctrine has been abuooantly confirmeabv the most accurate otoervalions of the beat modem phfloBopbers. The Bstonidiing power with which Ood has endued the vegetidile creation to multiphr its difiereni species, may be iiutanced in the seed of the elm. This tree produces me tkmtMand five hundred and eighty millioiu of seeds) aod. tach ^ thtM Med* has the power of producing the tamt numbtr. How astonishing is this prodiue I At first, one seed is deposited in theeorth; from this one a tree springs, which in the course of its vegetative life produces one AauMondJhe hundred wad eighty miilum* of aetd*. Tbia is the jtrft generation. aeonui generation will amotuit to two thoutand, Jbur hundred and ninety-six bUHons •nd Jour hundred miUiooM. Tlie tiurd generation will amount to Sine Bunuand nine hundred aod JoHtfJour trilUona, and three hundred and ttwfee biUtmiaf And iheTiwrU genemtion from these would amount to tix eex' HlUont, too hundred aod tMrfy-two thoutand and twelve fufn/tttums, and ninehattdrvaandeixtythmuandquad' riliims! Sums too immense for the htmian mind to conceive; and when we allow the most confined space in which a tree can grow, it i^ipears that the seeds of the third generation from one elm would be many myriads of times more than sufficient to stock the whole siiperficies of all the planets in tte solar systsm I

Vene 14. And CM taid, Lit0urebelighU, Ac] One principal office of these was to divide between day and ni^t. When night is considered a etate of comparative darhute, how can lighta divide or distinguish iti The answer is easy: the sun is the monarch of the day, die state of light; the moon of the ni^t, the state of darkness, "nie ra^ of the sun fidUng oo the atmosphere, are refracted and difiused over the whole of that hemispliere of the earth immediately tmder his orb; while those rays of that vast luminary, which, because of the earth's smallneas in comparison of the sun, are difiused on all sides beyond the earth, fidling on the t^mque disk of die moon, are rejected badt upon what may be called the lower hemisphere^ or that part of the earm whidt is opposite to the psrt wmdi is iHumtnaled by the sun? and, as the earth eompletei a revolution on its own axis in about twen^- feur hours, consequently each hetnin)here has alternate day and ni^iL But as the solar light reflected from the hat of the moon is computed to be 6(^000 times less in intensi^ and eflbct than the light of the sun, as it comes direotly from himself to gar eonh, (for light dtcreaaea in its iniansi^ as the distancs it travels from the sun i»- crcosMf) taerefere a sufficient distinotioD is made between d^aod niriu, or liriitmad dariowas, netwithstandiiw eadi ainiM awl dsWiMnud by ooB of tbessftM great Ughtt^ greater lisht ^to rule the -day, and *the lesser nght to rule the night: he made ^the stars alaoL 17 And Gtxl set them in the finoamnat of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

The moon ruling the night, i. e. reflecting from her own surface, back on the eorui. the rays of light which dta receives from the sun. Thus both hemispheres are to a certain degree illaminated^ the one on which the mm shines^ completely so; this is day: the Other on trttidttfaa sun's light is reflected by the moon, partially; this is night. It is tnjK^ that both the planets and fixed stars afford a considerable portion of hght during the night, yet they cannot be said to rule or to predominate ^ am IMi^ because their rays are quite lost in the superior s|denaour of the moon's h^t.

4ndlttthenibejbrtigful rtni6 ftf-^AoA. Let them ever be considerea as continual tfflcens cf Ood'a teiidcr care for man, and as standing proofr of his continual miracidouM interference; for so the word rm oth, is often used. And is it not the almighty energy of Ood that upholds them in being 1 The sun and moon also serve as eigne of the different chmgea which take place tn the atmosphere, and whidi are so essential fbr all purpoees of agriculture, commerce, &o.

For aeaeone] omrtD moStUem, for the determinatioii of the times on which the eacred JeetivaU sbouM be heltL In this sense the word frequently occurs; and it was ri^t that, at the very opening of his revelation, God should laform man that there were certain festivals which ritould be anrtoally celebrated to his glory. Some think we should uiidervtand the original word as signifying mmthe, for which purpose we know the moon esaentially aem% dirough all the revolatiDns of time.

days] Both the hours of the day and night, as well as the different lengths of the days and nights, are distinguished by the longer and shorter spaces the sun is above or below the horizon.

fW yeare] Those grand divisions of tiaw, by which all eucoeeeion in the vast l^M of duration is diatii^ptiAed. This refers prineqially to a complete revohilion of the earth rouod me sun, mtidiisaoooinphshedin386d^% A hours, 48 miiutes, and 4S seeonds; wr, though the revo> lution is that of the earth, yet it cannot be determined but by the heavenly bodies.

Verse 16. And Gad made two great Ughie] Most* ■peaks of the sim and moon here, not sccoiuing to their ouUc or sottd content; but acoording to the prvporiion ^ Ught they sited on the earth. The expramon has beta caviled at by some who are as devoid of mental caparity as of candour. " The moon," say they, " is not a great body; on the contron', it is the very smaJleat in our ^etem." Well, and has Moses said tlie contrnryl He has Mid it is a great Light; had he said otherwise, he had net spoken the trbth. It is, in refersnce to the eartl^ next to the sun himself the greatest light in the si^ system; and, so true is it, that the moon is a great light, that it alTonls more li^t to the earth than all the planets in the solar system, and all the iBnumersble stars in the vault of heaven put together. It is worthy of remarlb that on the fourth day of the creation the sun was formed and then "first tried his beams athwart the gloom profounit;*' and that at the conclusion of thm fourth miUtnary from the creation, according to the Hebrew, the Sun os righleQuaness abone upon the worlt^ as deeply sunk in that mental darkness produced by sin, as the ancient world was while teeming darkness held the dominion, till the sun was created as the dispenser of light. WluU would the natural world be without the stm 1 A howling wast^ in ^vhicb neither animal nor vegetable life eould possibly exist. And what would the monu world be without Jesus Christ, and the light of his word and Smritl Just what those parts of it now ore, where his light has not ^et ^one — " Dark places of the earth, filled with the ha)ttia> tions of cruelty, whve error prevails without end; and superstition engendering false hopes and fitlse fears^ d^jildBS aim debases the piind ot man.

Many have supposed, that the day* of the creation answer to so many tliousands of years; and iba^ as God created all in *ix days, and rested die teventh, so the world shall last eix thotuand yeare, and the seventh shall be the eternal rest that remains for the people of God. To this conclusion they have been led by diese words of the apostle, 2 Pet. liL 8. One day i* vnth the Lord a* a Ihoueandyear*! and a ihoiaana yean a* one day. Secret thinn belong U Ood: those Ibet ore revealec^ to us aiu our Stildren.

He mads t&e stars olsDi] Or rather, A# mods Astesssr tight, vUh At riare to mis Ae tugU.

18 And to *■ rule OTcr the day and over the ni^ht, and to divide the light from the darkaess: and Ctod saw that U icas good.

19 And the eveninc ana the morning were the Iburtb day.

20 V And God Baid^ Let the waters bring forth abundantly the ^moving creature that hath *lif%, and <>fowl thai may fly above the earth in the •open firmament of heaven.

21 And ^Crod created great whales, and -every

On natore dw M then have Inea Tariolu conjeeture*. It waa long tboujjit that be vaa a vaat gUibe ^ /re, 1,^462 times larger than the earth; and that he wai continually emitting from hia body innumerable millions of JUry particles, which beine extremely divided, aa>wered for the purpose of l^^hi ana haat^ without oocoaioning any tmtAon or btiraxng, except when collected in the focua ol a convex lens or buming-glase. Agunit fiiia opinion, however, many aerioua and weub^ oUeetitnia have Men made; and it has been >o preHsed wiib oifficalties, thai philosophers have been obliged to look for a theon less repugnant to nature and probability. Dr. Herechel s diacoveriet^ by means of bii immensely magnifying tele- ■etms^ have, by the general content of philosopherB, added a new habilabh xcorid to our system, which is the strs. Without stopping to enter into dtiail, which would be improper hero, it is sufficient to say, that thew discoveries tend to prove, that what we call Uie sun is only the atmMphtrt of that luminary \ " that this atmosphere conaists of various tiaalie Jluid*, that are more or less lucid and tranq>arent; that as the clouds belonging to our earth are probably decompositions of some of the elastic fluida belonging to the atmosphere itsell^ so we may suppose that in the vast atmosphere of the sim, similar deieompositions may take place, but «-ith this difference, that the decompositions of the elastic fluids of the sun are (tf a phogpnoric nature, and are attended by lucid appearances, hy giving out light." TTie body of the sun he considers «0 bidden generally from us, by means of this luminous atmoipbere; but what are called the macula or «pot« on tte SOD, ure real optning* in this atmosphere, through vbiidi the opaque body of the sun becomes visible; that thia atmoauhere itself ia not^ery nor hot, but is the instrunent which God designed to act on the caloric or latent beat; and that heat ii only produced by the solar light acting upon and combining with the caloric or matter of fire containea is the air, and other substances which are heated tv iL lUa ingenioui theory ia sumorted hf mai^ j>launble reasons ud illustrations, wbicli may oe seen m the ])aper be read befiwe the Royal Society. On this ndijeet, Me (be note on verse 3.

Huts is scarcely any doubt now remaining in the philosophical world, tlul the moon is a hahitabXe globe. The most accurate observations that have been made with the most powerftil teleaeopea, have confirmed the opinion. Tile moon seems, in almost every respect, to be a body aimilar to our earth, to have its surface diversified by hill and dale, mountains and valleys, rivers, lakes, and seas. And there ia the fullest evidence that our earth serves aa a moon to the moon herself^ diSerine only in this, Uiat as earth's surface is thirietn times larger than the moon's^ •0 the moon receives from tlie earth n liKht thirlun timet greater in splendour than that which she imparts to us; and by a very correct analogy, we are led to'inier, that all the ^anett and their MotSlUea, or attendant moons, are inhmiUd: for maner aeems only Id exist for the salte of faiteltigent beings.

"Hie sTAiB, in general, are coiutdered to be suns, similar to that in our s^tem; each having an appronrlate number of planets moving round it: and that, as tnese scars are innumerable, consequently there are innumerable worldsj all dependent on the power, protection, and providence of Clod. wberethestarsareingreatabundance,Dr.Merscbel auppoaea they fbrro primarua and secondaries; L e. suns revolving atiout suns, as plaoeu revolve about the sun in our system. He considers that this mnat be the case in what ia called tlie milky vay; tlie Stars being there in prodigious qiuniity. Of this he gives the followmg proof: on August 23, 1792. he found that in 41 minutes of time, not less than 2B8,000 stars bad pasaed through the field of view in his telescope. What mustjQod he, who has made, nvems^ and «ipport« so many worlds I— For the magniiudu, dittmke*, rttabUiona, 4^. of the tun, moon, pimult, end ihor *«t*aiteo, see the pieoeding tabus.

living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly idter their kind, and every^ winged fowl afler his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, 'Be fVuitflil, and nniltiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

34 IT And God said. Let the earth bring forth

Vene 20. Lei As vqtert bring forth abundantly] There is a tneaitiiig in iluse words wnicb is seldom QotioH. Innumerable millions of animalcula are fbund in wMer. Eminent naturalists have discovered not less than 30,000 in a single drop I How inconceivably small must each be, and yet each a perfect animal, fumistied with the whols apparatus of bones, muscles, nerves, heart, arteries, vein% hings, viscera in general, animal spirits, &c. &c. What aproof is this of the manifold wisdom of Ood I But the jSatndUjf at fishes is another point intended in the text: no creatures are so prolificaa these. A txhch lays 1000 cKgs, a CAKP 20,000, and Leuwenhoek counted in a middlmg-sized coo, nine mii^ion, 364,0001 Thus, according to the purpose of God, the tcaien bring fortk abundantly. And what a merciful provision is this for the necessities of manl Many hundreds of thousands of the earth's inhabitants live, for a great part of the year, on JM only. Fish afford not only a wholesome, but a very mitriiive diet: they are liable to few diseases, and, generally come in vast quantities to our shores, when in Uieir grea^t perfection. In this also we majr see that the kindprovicfence of Ood goes hand in bond with bis creating energy. While he manifests hia wisdom and his power, bs ia making a permanent provision fen* the sustenance of man tbnnigfa all his generatiims.

Verse 21. And Godcreaitd great lehalti^a-'jiiTi opinn ha-tanneenim ka-gtdoUtm.] Though this is generally understood by the different vereione as sienifying vAaleo, yet the original must be understood rather as a^cneroi than a particular term, compriaing all the great aquatio animalfc such as the varioiu spedei of \rtiales, the porpoise^ the dolphin, the monoceros or norwal, and the diark. God delights to show himself in littU as well aagreat things: bsDce he forms animals so minute, that 30,000 can be contained in one drop of water; and others so great, that they seem to require almost a whole sea to float in.

Verse 22. Ltt fowl muUljdy in tkt earth.] It is truly astonidiing with what care, wndom, and minute skill God has fbnned the di^renl genera and.spetnes of biidi^ whether intended to live chiefly on land or in water. The structure of a single feather affords a world of wonders; and as Ood ma<k me fowls that they might Jty in tiia frmament heaven, ver. 20. so he has adapted the/orta of their bodies, and the structure and disposition m their plumage, for that very purpose. The head and neok in nying, are drawn prineipatly witiiin the breast- bone, so that ue whole under-part exhibits the anwaiance of a ship's hull. "Hie wings are made use of as sails, or rather oars, and the tail as a helm or rudder. By means of ibes^ the creature is not only able to preserve the centre of gravity, but also to go with vast speed throu^ the air, either straight fbrvnurd, circularly, in any kind of angles, upwards or downwards. In these also Ood baa ^own his skill tmA his power in the great aodln the little in the vast otlritn and caMoteary, and in the beaiilifhl humming-bird, which in plumage excels the ralendour of the peacock, and in size is almost on a level with the bee.

Verse 24. Let the earth bring forth Ae living creature, &c.] rr^n vbi ntphesh dtaiyah, a general term to expreea all creatures endued with animal life, in any of its infinitely varied gradations, from the half-reasoning elephant down to the stupid potto, or lower still, to the polvptti whidi seems equally to share the vegetable and animaj life. Hie word in'n ehaiyeto, in the Isiter part of the verse, seema to signify all ivi/a animals, as lions, tigers, &c. and especially such as are camicorous, or live on _fie*h, in coniradistinction from domestic animals, such as are ^ raraintvorotf^ or live on grass and other vegetables; sdid are capable of being lamed, and applieil to domestiG purposes. These latter are probably meant by noro behemah, in the texti which we translate ealUe, such as horees. /cine, eheep dogt, &c Creeping thing, va'< remee, all the different geiMfii of KTpents, worms, and such animals as have no feet. In beasts also God has shown his wondrous skill and power) in the vast dephant,.ot still more eoloasal ffiammoA, or mtgalonjpt, the whole race of whieb appeara to be sxtine^ a ftwakMelons only remaining. ThisiLqimal, an aaloKM^

the living creature after hU kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his

25 And God made the beast of the earth after hie kind, and uattte alW their kind, and e7er;r ^ng that creepeth upon the earth after hu kind: and God saw that it via* good.

26 IT Aod God said, ' Let us make man in our image, after our tikenees: and ^■let them have dommion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, 'in the image of God created he him; meue and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, ■ Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish

the earth, and nibdna k: and have domitdtm over the fish of the sea, end over the fowl of

the air, and over every living thing that ' moreth upon the earth.

29 D And God said, Behold, I have given yoti every herb 'bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which it the fruit of a tree yielding seed; * to you i* shfdl be for meat.

30 And to > every beast of the earth, and to every *fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is i life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31 And " God saw every diing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth

ingeflfect of Ood'a p<mer, He seems to hsva produced merely to show irbathecoulddo; ajid, after suffer^ a few of them U propu;ate, be extinguished the nee by a mercifid providenoe, wst they might not dMtn^ both man sod oeaat. TYm mammotlL or meg&lonyx, is a eamivoroiu animal, as the structure of the teeth provee; and of an immenae nzc; from a considerable part of a skeleton which I have seen, it ia computed that the animal to irtiioh it belonged must have been nearly twenty-Jtve feet high, and nJrfy in length I The bones of one toe are entire; the toe upwards of tkrte feet in length. Paw elephants have ever Men found to exceed eleven feat in faei^t. How wondroas an the works of God 1 But hii skill and power are not less seen in the beautlfid ditvrotin, or tragutua, a creanne of the antelope kind, the smallest of all bijtd or cloren-footed animals, whose delicate limbs are scarcely so large as an ordinary goose-qi^t and also in the mrea mouM, perhaps the imaUest of the many-toed quadrupeds. In the rtptile kind m see alM the same skill and power, not only m the immense snalu called Boa eonatrictor, the mortal foe and eooqueror of the rcTal tiger; but also in the CebTa tU Ma' nHU, a venomous serpent only a little larger than a common aewing needle.

Yawn 2B. -And God made Aebtfutqf the aarOiafttr hit MuL dbo.] Every thinf, both in the animal and vegetable world was made so accwding to its kind, both in genu* and specie^ as to ivochice t(s otm Mtwi through endleoe generatuna. Thus the several races of animals and plants have beaa kept distinct from the foundation of the world to the present day. Tim m a proof d>at all future generations of plants ana animal^ have been seminally included in those which Ood formed in the burning.

Terse 26. And God taia^ Let tu make mon] It is eri- (bot that Ood intends to impress tfte mtnd of man with a sense of something extraordinary in the Cmnation of his body and soul, wbni he introduces the acooont of his creation thus! Let US make man. The word crm Adam, Whidi we translate man, is intended to designee the tpecUe of animal, as^n^ncAaieto, marks ihevildteattt, OiatliTe in general a solitary life i nona behemah, domtetic or gregarious animals j and rat r«me«, all kinds of rtfUUe, from the largest snake to the microscoiric eeL TTjough the aame kind of or^ization may be found in man, as appears in the lower animals, yet there is a variety and complication in the parts, a delicacy of structure, a nice arrangement, a judicious adaptation of the difierent members (o their great offices and fonotions, a dignity of mieii, and a perfection of the whole, which are sought for in vain in all odtor ereatnres. See cn. iii. 22,

In our image, after our Ubeness] What is nid above refers only to the body of man; what is here said refers to his sou/. This was made in the image and Ukeneu of Ood. Now, as the Divine Beii^ is infinite, he is neidier limited by parts, nor definable by passions; therefore he can have no wrj>oreal image after wnich he made the body of man. Ihe image and liksDcas must necessarily be intelleetnal: bisminOihisBOuLmuathavsbesnfomiedaftertbe nature and pCTfeetiona of his God. lite human mind is •till endowed with most eztmordinary capacities; it was more so when issuing out of the hands of its Creator. God was now producing a spirit, and a spirit too. formed after the perfections of bis own nature. God is the fcuntain whence tliis spirit issued; hence the stream must resembis the Spring irtiiA produced it. Godisholy, just, wise, good, and p«rfisct: so must be the soul that sprang from Dim; thersesnU be in it nodiii^ import imjusb ignorant, «ffU, low, base, mean, or vile. It was created after tb« image of God; and that image, St. Paul tells us, eonsuted in rtgiUeoueneee, true Aotiness, and Jenoteledge, E^. iv. 24. Coloss. iii. 10. Hence man was wise in his muaa, ho^ in his heart, and riglUeous in his attioiu. Were evea the woid of Ood silent on this subject, we could not inftr less from the lights held out to us by reason and common sense. The text tells us, he was the work of Elohuh, the Divine Plurali^ marked here more distinctly by the plunJ pronouns US and OUB; and to show that he was the masterpiece of God's creation, all the persons in the Godhead are represented as united in counsel and effort to produce this astonishing creature.

And M them, have dominion] Hence we see that the dominton was not the image. God created man capabia of governing the worki; ana when fitted for the office, ho fixed him in it. We see God's lender care and parental solicitude for the comfort and well-being of this master-piees of his workmanship, in creating the world previous to tbo creation of man. He prepared every thbig for his subsistence, eenvenienee, and pleasure, before he brought him into being; so that comparing little with great (hmes, th« house was builded, Aimisheo, and amply stored, by the time the destined tenant was ready to occupy it.

It has been supposed by some that Ood speaks here to the angels, when he says, Let tw make man: but to mak« this a Iikeiy interpretation, these persons must prove, 1. lhat angels were then creiUcd. 2. That angels could assist in a work of creation. 3. That angels were dtemselns msde in the image and Hkeness at Ood. If they were not, it could not be said in ova image; and it does not appnr ttom any part in the Sacred Writings, that any creature but man was made in the image m Ood. — See the note on Psalm viii. 6.

Verse 2a And God blteted 0um] Harked them as being under his especial protection, and gave them powar to propagate aud multiply their own bind on the eaitb. A large vdume would be iiwiffieient to contain what we ktwte at the excellence and perfection of man, even in hts present de^^raded fallen state. Both his body and soul are adapted with astonishing wisdom to their ruidenee and oeevpoHone; and also the jrfoce of their residence, as well as tne surrounding obiects, in their diversi^. color, and mutual relations, to tne mind and body of this lord of the creation. The contrivance, arrangement, action, and reaction of the different parts of the body, show the admirable skill of the w:ondrous Creator; while the various powers and faculties of the mind acting on, and by, the different organs of this body, proclaim the souTs divma origin, ana demonstrate, that ne who was made in dw image and likeness of God, was a transcript of his own excellency, destined to know, lovc^ and dwell with his Maker ttmnwbout eternity.

Verse 30, I have given eoery green, herb for meat} It seems from this, says an eminent philoaof»ier, that man was originally intended to live upon TegUablu only; and as no uoi^ was made in the structure of men's bodiea after dte Ami), it is not prolnble that any change was made in the articles of their mod. It may also be inferred from this passsge, that no animal whatever was originally designed to prey on others; for nothing is here said to M nven to any^beost of the earth, besides green kerb: Dr. Prieetley.-^Before ein entered into the world, there could b&at least, no violent deaOu, if any death at all.

Verse 31. Andbduild,itiBa»verj/good\ ikd ar« lobh meod. Supa-lativeljt, ttr only good: as good as Utey could be. The plan wise, the woric well executed, the dififSBt paru pnqpsrly ariuiged, their satuie, liBkitih

THUS the heavens and the earth were finished, and ■ all the host oT them. 2 ^Aod on the seventh ilav God aided his work which he had made; and he rested on the

of •xisl«ne& numner of prDpantion, habiu, mode of ■uBtenanoe, Ac Ac properly ana permueatlyectKMuhed and Mcured; for evuy thing waa formed to the uUnoat perfection of iu nature, ao that nothiiig eonld be added or ^nuniahed without encumbering the operationa of matter and apirit on ifae one hand, or rcnderiue them inefficirat to 'the end proposed, on the other; and God haa so done all these marvelloua irorki^ aa lo be gloriAed m all, &y all, tuA tSnmgk »U.

And Uu ewenmg and th* mamittg wort At tiiA day.] Ibt 3>V «rd). wUch we tranalala evening', eomea from dM root av orofr to mingU, and properly aignifiea that •tale in which neither abaolute darkneas nor full light preTaila. It has nearly the same grammatical aigni^ation with our tteUi^M, the lime uat elapaes from the ■etdng at the bud nil be ia eighteen du^eca below the horiio% and eigfateeia d^reea beCbre be ariaea. Thua we have the morning and evening twilight, or misrtxm of light and daitnesa, in which neither prevails; because, while the aun is within eighteen degrees of the horizon, «iiher after his settings or before his neinA the atmoai^iere has power to refract the raya of light and send them baek «a the earth. Hie Hebrews extcDded the meaning of this term to the whole Auatton of mght, beeauae it was ever a mimgUd state, the Buxm, the fuaaet^ or the stars, tempering tba darKneaa with some raya a li^it. Prom the treb of Moses came the Ep,£>( JSrtbuM, ^ Heaiod, Aristopbanes, and ether beadieoi, which tbtv daifi^ and mad^ with N<ut, or night, tba parent of all things.

TIs nwmtng] ip3 oojuer. from ipa fromuu-, be bokad oui— abeautifo] figure, which repreaeots the moraine aa Isafttnf otrf at the cu^ and ilhiminating ttw whde 01 the oilier nemii^tbere.

Tmm ends ach^er eoatainiog the most extensive, most profound, and most sublime truths, that can poisibly oome within tbe reach of the human intellect. How un^teakahly •re we indebted to God for giving us a rerelatioD of bs wnx and of his wobkb 1 Is it pMkible to know the mind of God but from himself 1 It is impossible. Cm iboee Ihi^ and aerviees which are worthy of, and plaasiag to. •n infinitely pure, perfect, and holy Spirit, be ever found out by T^oMOning and eonjatiure? Never I for the Spirit ni God alone can know the mind of God j and by this Spirit he has revealed himself to man: and in diis revelatioo has lauriit him not only to kiiow the glories and perfections of the Creator, but also his own origin, duty, and iDlereat. Tluis for it was eMentiallv neeesaary that God dKwU reveal hia wiu.: but if be rutd not given a KvalatioD of bis wous, the origin, eooatitutira, and nintra of tbe universe, eowd never nave been adequately knowD. ■ Tlu vtrid fry wisdom knno not God t this u deawnsl rated by die writings of dte moat learned and intelligent baatmna. "nmj bad no juat, no rational notion at tbe origin and derign « dw lumne. Hosea aloM^ of aUaneieecwriia^giveaaeonsiaientaod ntioaal aeoovnt •r dw Creadon I an aaeoimt wfaidi baa been eoofirmed tif tbatBveatigatioaBof tfiemoataeeurate phUoecqibera. But vAsrs did 1m learn this t "InEgypt.^' lYiat ia impoe- •iUa: for tbe Egyptians dMmselves were destitute of Aaa kaow ledge. The remains we have of dteir oM historians, •II postowr to the time of Hoses, are egrcgiooa for their eawradirtiooa and ahswdity s and the most foamed of the Greeks, who borrowed fnmi ihem, hav* not been able to Mke omt, from tbeir eonjotnt atook, any eonsiatent and mdiUeaoeonnt. Mosea baa rcrvealed dte mystery that lay hid from all preceding ages, becauaa he was taught it Ay lk€ inniralion ^ tlu ASnighiy.

Heaoer, tfaou hast now before thee tbe most ancient and noet aotbentic bistory in the world, a history dwt eonlaba the first written diaoovsry that God baa made of himself to mankiod. A discovery at his own Being in hia vUdm, pomr, and goodnessi in wfawh tkmi and Sa whole human nas an ao intimaiely caieerDed. How muab tboa art imUbnad to Himfor dda diM0TMT,& alone ean teach tfaeej anl nam Imn lo ftel its oUigMioBa tn his

seventh day from all his work which he had made.

3 And God 'blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested Irom all his work which God <i created and made.

4 T[ • These are the generationa of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

5 And every ' plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herh of the field before

wisdom and mercy. Btad so as to uoderstaud. far dwse things were written for thy leamkig.- therefore mark what thou rendeat, and inirndfy digett, deeply and a«iiously meditate on what thou hast marked, and pray to tba Father of lights that he open thy undcmtandin^ that thou mayest know these Holy Scripture^ which are aUa to make thee wise imto salvation.

Ood made thee and tbe universe, and govemi all dungs aoeording to die counsel of his will; diat will is infimta goodness, that counsel is unerring wisdom. While under toe direclicn of this counsel, thou canst not err i wbilt under the influence of this will, thou eanat not be wretelied. Give thyself up to his teaching, and submit to his authority; and after guiding thee her* ay bis counsel, be will at tut bring thee to his glory. Every objeat that meets thy ey^ ahculd teach thee reverence^ submission, and gratitude. Tbe earth and its produetioiu were made for «se; and the providence of tny heavenly Father, infinitely diversified in ita (^r^ons, watches over and provides for thee. Behold the firmament of hie power, the sun, mooik planets, and stars, which he has formed not for htmsel( for he needs none of these things, but for his intelligeot offimring. What endless gralifiaition has he dengned Smo, in pladng within thy readi these astonidtingeflects of bis wisdom end power, utd in rendering thee capable of searching out their wonderftil relations and connexions i and of knowing himself the source of all perfectioii, by having made tlwe in his own image, and in ais own likeness! It ia true, thou art follen: but he has found out n RansouL God ao foved thee, in conjunction with tba worM, that be gave bis only-b^tlen Sml that whosoever beliaveth on him Aould not perid), bat nave sverlasting life. Believe on bim, through him oions cometh salvation i and die foir and holy image of God, in which thou wert created, dull be ags^ restored; he will build thee aa at the first, restore tny judgee and counsellorsas at the beginning, and in thy aecora creation, as in thy first, will pronounce thee to be very good, and thou dialt show forth tbe virtues U Him, by whom dMU art created anew in

Verse 1. And all the hcot qf Hum.] The word hoM signifies literally ao army, composed of a mmiber of com* poiuea of soldiers under their respective leaders t and seems here elegantly applied to the various celestial bodies in our system, placed by the Divine Wisdom under the influence ot tbe ran. Prnn the original word Kai baba, n host, aome luppoae dw BiAtana &d dieir name, because of their paying divine boaours to the heavenly bodies. Prom the Septuagint version of this place, t»( i itrfu* •nrmr, oU their omomtntt, we learn the true metmiDg 01 the word air^ir. commonly translated vorld, whi^ signifies a deeoraied or adorned iriwle or system. And tbin refers to die beauiiAit order, barmoiqri and regularily, irtiieb aubeist among die various parts of tba etoation. lUs translation luut impraas the reader with • veiy bvourabte opinion of dtaas aneisnt Greek tnuahlorst hod they not examined the works of God with a phUo- •ophic eye, tbqr never eould have given this turn to Aa enginal.

verse 2. On A« stwitb day Qod endtd, &c.] It Is tbe general voice of Scripture, that God finished the wbols of the ereatioo in rix days, and rested the seventh; giving us ao example that we m^t laboat ttx days, and rest di* seventh fhnn all manual exercises. It ia wortl^ of notiecL that the Septuagint, tbe Syrioc, and the Samaritan, read die siriA dvr inatead of the wvenffi; and this should b* considered the genuine reading, which appears from thasa versions, to have been originaTly that of the Hebrew text. How dte word surtt became wangcd into MwnA, be easily ooiKeived from this dreumatance. It is very likely that, in ancient liroe% all nomenla were sinjifiea by /stfsrs, and not ^ words at foil length. lUa is tbo easaintbe most sn^ent Oredc and Lkiin MSS.ftid ia almoat all die tabtsnin^ writings. Wb«a duas muMfaJ

It grew. Sot the Lord God had not ■ caused it to rain upon the earth, and tAere vas not a man >> to till the ground.

6 But < there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

Icuen beeams chtoiged for words at fiiU length, tvo letters, Dearly Bimitar, raignt be mistaken for each other; > oau stands for six, i zain for teten; how easy to mistake these letters for each other, when writing the words at full length, and so give birth to the reading in question t

Yerae 3. And God biased Qu sevmih day] The orljinal wnd fia barae, wrhicb is generally rendered to Uew, hu a very extensive meaning. It is frequently used in Seriptare in the sense of making gopd <if m to & person; and hence literally and properly rendered by the Beptuagint ivKtytnt from <», Food or v>eU, and '•ly, I meak. So Ood 1mm rpokm weU of the sabbath, and good & lAcm who consctentioualy observe it. Bltxaing is api^ied both to God and man; but when Ood is sam to bfeM, we generally understand by the expression that he etrmmunico/ec some good: but when man U said io hlttt Ood, we surely cannot tmacine diat he bettowa any gift or confers any benefit on his vlaker. Tbe truth i«, that when Ood is said to bUaa, either in the Old or New Testament, it signifies his tpeaking good to man; and this comprises the whole of his exceeding great and precious promiwt. And when man is said to blaa Ood, it ever imphes that he tpeaka good or him, for the giving and, fulfilment of his promises. This observation will be of general use in considering the various places where the word occurs in the Sacred Writings. Reader, God blesaea thee, when, bv his

Eromises, he ipeaicM good to tJtee; and thou doat bless im, when, from a consciousness of his kindness to thy body and soul, thou art tbankfU unto him, and »peake»t goodoFhi* name.

Became that in it he had Teeted\ nav shefcoiA, from thabaOu, he rested; and hence, tabbath, the name of the seventh day, signifying a day qf reat — Rest to the body from labour aotTioil; and rest to the soul from all worldly care and anxieties. He who labours with his mind m worldly sidiemea and plane on the sabbath-day, is as culpable as he who labours with his hand* in his accustomed calling. It is by the authority of Ood that the sabbath is set apart for rest and religious purposes, as the six days of the jreok are appointed for labour. How wise is this provision I It is essentially necessary, not only to the body of man, but to all the animals employed in his service. Titke this away, and the labour is too gr«u; both man and beast would bil under it. Without this consecrated day, religion itself would fail, and tlie human mind, becoming Bcnmialized, would soon forget its origin and end. Even as political regvilation, it is one of the wisest and most beitencent in its eSects of any ever inatUuied. Those M/ho habitually disregard its moru oblieatini, are to man not only good for nothing, but are wretched in themselve*, a curse to society, and of^n end their lives miserably. See ihe notes on Exod. xx. 8. xxiii. 12. xxiv. 16. and xxxi. 13. to which the reader is particularly desired to refer.

As Ood formed both the mind and body of man on principles of activity, so lie assigned him proper employment; and it is his decree, diat die mtna anitll improve by exercise, and the body find increase of vigour and health, in honest labour. He who idles away his time in the sir days, is equally culpable in the sight of Ood, as he who works on the aevenih. The idle person is ordinarily clothed with rags; and the sabbath breakers frequently come to an ignominious death. — Reader, beware!

Yerse A. in thx day that the Lord Ood made, &cl Tlie wad nvf YAotah, i« fi» the first time mrationed here. What it signifies, see on Ezod. xxxiv, 6, 6. — wherever this word occurs in the Sacred Writings we translate it Loan, which word is, through respect and reverenee, alvrays printed in capitals. 'Diou^ our English term Lord does not give die particular meaning of tlw orinnal word, yet it eonve3ra a strong and noble sense. Loni IS a contraction of the Anglo-Saxon hla<>a)ib, kiafird, afterward written Lovsjib, btBtrd, and lastly Lord; from hlap, hlaf, bread; henee our word loaf! and jojib, fiird, to supply, to give out The word, therefore, implies the giver of bread: i. e. he who deals out oJl die necessaries of life. Our ancient English noblemen were accuatiMned to keep a continual open house, where all dietr vassals, and all strangers, had full liber^ to enter, and eat M much as they would; and henee those noblemMt iud I)m hoDoursU* name of iffrdi^ L e. Abe rfisfMMMr* braod

7 And the Lord God formed man * q/* the * dust of the eround, and ' In-eathed into him > nostras the hreath of life; and '■man became a living souL

8 IT And the Lord God planted > a gs^en

There are about Utree of the ancient noUlity who still keen up this honourable custom, from which the very name of their nobility is derived. We have already seen, ch. i, 1. with what judgment our Saxon ancestors expressed Deu», the Supreme Being, by the term God; and we see the same judgment consulted by their use of Ihe term Ziord^ to express the word Dominm, by which terms the Vulgate version, which th^ used, einresaes Blokim and Jehovah, which we translate Loan Ood. Ood is the good Being, and Losd, is the dispenser of bread, the Giver of every good and perfect gin, who liberally ajbrdt the bread that perisheth to every man; and has amply provided the Dread that endures unto eternal life km- every human soul. With what propriety then does this word apply to the Lord Jesiu, who is emphatically called Ika Bread Hfe, the Bread of God, vhuA conulh demt from heaven, and vhidt ia given Jar ihe life iff the tCoHdt John vi. 13. 49. fil. What a pity that this moat impre*- sive and inatnictive meaning of a word- in such general use, were not more extenaively known, and more particularly regarded!

Verse 5. Every plant of ffte Jlebl b^ore it viu in tha earth] It i^ipears that God created every thing, not only perfect as it respeets its nature, but also in a state of maturity; so that every vegetable production appeared at once in flill growth) ana diis was neceaaoir, that man, when he came into being, mi^ find every fbiag ntdy for his use.

Yerse 6. 7%ere vent up a miet] Hiis passage appears to have p«atly embarrassed many commentators. The plain meaning seems to be this: that tlie aqueous vapoors ascending from the eordi, and becoming cwidensed in die colder r^^kms of the aUnosf^iere, fell back upon the eardi in the form of dews, and by this means an equal portion of moisture was distributed to the roots of plants, &c. — As Hoses has said, verse 6. diat the lard Aoo not eauaed it to rain upon ihe earth, he probably designed to teach us in verse o. how rain is produced, vie. by the condensation of the aqueous vapours, which are generally, dirough the heat of the sun and other causes, raised to a considen^ ble height in the atmosphere, where, meeting with cold air, the watery particles, which were before so small and light that they could float in the air, becoming condenaed, j. e. many drops being driven into one, become too heavy to be any longer suspended, and then, through their own gravity, fall down in die form which we term rafn.

Verse 7. God formed man of the duel] In the most distinct manner God shows us that man is a compound being, having a body and a soul, distinctly and separately created; the body out of ihe dust of the earth, the soul immediately breathed from God himself. Does not this strongly mark, that the soul and body are not the same thing 7 'Oie body derives Ita origin from the earth, or, as •\Ky SpAer implies, the dueti hence, because it is earthy, it ia decomposable, and perishable. Of the soul it is saii^ Ood breamed intohtanaatrtlaihabrta^^l^: ruaeh diavam, the breath of ltveb; f. e. uliinal and intellectual. While this breath of Ood expanded the hmga. and set them in play, his inspiration gave both spirit and understanding.

Verse 8. A garden eaattvard in Eden] Though die word PIT Edmagni&eu pleasure, or deiight, it is certainty the name of a place. See ch. iv. 16. 2 Kings xiz. 12. Isa. xzzvii. 12. Ezek. xxvii. 23. Amos i. 5. Aitd sudi plaoM probably received dieir name from HiaTferiiliiy, j^aaaant aituation, Ac In this li^t the Septuagint have viewed it, as they render the passage dnis; lavmrtr • em; «p- ■fMrtt fr Bji^, Ood plantad a paradiae in Eden. Hence the word paradise has been introduced into die New Teatament, and is generally used to signify a place of exquisite pleasure and delight. From this the ancient heathens borrowed dteir ideas of the gardena qf the Baaperidea, where the trees bore golden fniit; the gardens of Adonis, a word which is evidently derived from the Hebrew py Aden; aitd hence the origin of aacred gardens, or enclosures^ dedicated to purposes of devotion, stMiie comporativelyinnoeent,othersimpure. llie wordfxiradfss is not Qraek; in Arabie and JPeraian it signifies agarden, a vineyard, wad ^so the nloee of the blessed. The HofauaiMdHU say, that Qoa created the ^4j&i41f Oi^

■ * eastward in Eden: and there • he put the man whom he- had formed.

9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow ' every tree that is pleasant to the Bight, and good for food; • the tree of iife also in the midst of the garden, ' and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

10 H jCid a river went out of Eden to water

JamaalFeTdotm, the garden of paradiae, from liriit, and the prophet* and wise men ascended thither. Wilmet pWea it after the root o>3 farada, to t^taraie, eapecially a peraoD or place, for the pnipoaeB of devotion, but euj^ poMS it to tie originally a Persian word, vox originU I*ernca tjuam in sud UnguS coruervarum ArmenL Aa it ia a word of doubtftil origin, ita ecology ta uncertain.

Vene 9. Every tree that i$ pUaaanttoBunght, &e.] If we take up these ezpreastoiia literally, they may bear the following interpretaaon: the tree pleasant to the eight, may mean every beautiful tree or plant, wiiich for thape, eoMur. mfragranct, delighu the aeiMea; such aa flowerinfahrulM, sc.

'Ilu. tree that iflAWod /or /oodj All fruit-bearing treee, vfaetlier of the pulpy fraiti^ aa applea, Ac. or of the kernel or nut kinL such aa dtOea, and mita of difibrent aorta, together with all eacuZm/ vtgetdbla.

The irte qf If/e] o«n Ammm, of livu, at life-giving tree, every mtdicinal tree, herb, and plant, whose healing virtues are of great consequence to man in his present slate, when, through sin, diseases of various kincfs have aaized on the human frame, and have commenced that proeesa of dissolutton which is to reduce them to their prinitivfl thiat. Yet, by the ua of these frees iff life, those different vegetable medi^neB. the health of the body may be preserved for a time, and death kept at a distance. Though the exposition given here mar be a general meanins for these genenl termi^ ret it is liitely that thit tree qf whieh was placed in uu mida y the gardm, was intended as an emblem of that life which mas should ever)iv& provided he continued in obedience to hia Maker. And probably the use of this tree was intended aa the m*an» ot- preserving the body of man in a state of continual vital energy, arvd an antidote l^raiIlst deaih. Tlis seems strongly iiuicated from ch. iii. 72.

And the tree of knowledge qf good and evi(\ Consklering this also in a merely litorBrpoittt of view, it may meaa any tree or plant which possessed the proper^ ik inenanng the knowledge of what was in naUure, as the esculent vagetables had of increasing bodify vigour; and that there are some alimrau whteh, from their physical influence, have a tendency to strengthen die understanding and invigorate the rational bculty, more than others, has been supposed by the wisest am best of men: yet here much more seems intended; but vhat, is very difficult to be aacertaiiked. Some very emiitent men have contended, that the passage Aould be understood aUegoriedUy; and that the tree of the knowled^ ^ood and evil, means -simply that prudenee, which is a mixture at knowledge, care, eaut^0I^ sod judgment, which was prescribed to regulate the whole of man's conduct. And it is oertain, that to hum good and evil, in different parts of Scripture, mean* such knowledge and discretion aa leads a man to understand what is^ and unfit; what ia not proper to be done^ and what whwdd be perKnioed. Bat how could the ■equiaition of such a faculty be a sin? Or ooa «• eiq>- posa that such a facul^ could be wantinr when man was in a state of perfection l To this it maylie answered, the imbibition was intended to exercise this faculty in man, that it should constantly teoch him this moral lessMi, that there were some (hings fit and others unfit to be done j and that, in reference to Otis point, die tree itself should 6e both a constant teacher and monitor. The eating at its fruit would not have increased this monU faculty, but the pndubition was intended to exeretse the faculty he already possessed. There is certainly nothing unreasonable in diis explanation; and, viewed in this liriit, the passage loses much of its obsoirity. Vithnga, in nis Dissertation D4 Arbore pntdmttm m aaradUo, e^tsjiu mjftltrio, strongly contends far this mierpvlatioa.— See m«e on chsp. iii. 3.

verse 10. A river ivmt out of Eden, Ac] It would astonish on ordinary reader, who should lie obliged to consult different commentators and critics on the tituaUan qf the terrMtrial paradUe, to see the vast variety of opmfans by which they sie divided. Some place it in the Ihiirihanni others m thsfimdii «ou within dM orUt the garden; and ft-om thence it was parted, and hecarae into four heEids.

11 The name of the first i» Pison: that U it which compasseth < the whole land of Havilah, where there ia gold;

12 And the gold of that land is good: ^ there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river uQihon:

of the moon, others in the moon itself; some in the middle rtgions of the air, or bqrond the earth's attraction i some on the earth, others undw the earth, and others witliin the earth; some hare fixed it at the north pole, others at the sOuih; some in Tarlary, aome in China; some on the borders of the Ganges, some in the island of Ceylon; some in Armenia, others in Africa, under the equator; some in Mesopottuniot others in Syria, Peru^ Arabia, Babylon, Assyria, oud in Palestine; some have condescended to place it in Europe, and others liave eontended, it either exists not, or is mvisible, or is merely of a spiritual nature, and that the whole account is to be spiritually understood t. Tliat there was such a pUuv once, there ia no reason to doubt; the description given by Moses is too particular and ciTcumttanHai to be capable of beins understood in any spiritual or allegorical way. As well mieht we contend, that the pereona of Adam and Eve were MegoricaJ, as that the place Ot their residence was such.

"Hie most probable account of ita situation is that given by Hadrian Reland. He Btmposea it to have been in A'menia, near the sources of the mat rivers Euphratee, Tigris, PhoM, and Araxea. He thinks Pison was the Phtuie, a river at Cbolehic emptyiiw itself into the Euxina sea, where there is a city ciuled Cnofti/a, the pronuDciation of which is nearly the same with that of Havilah, or vtfim Chavilah, according to the Hebrew, the vau i being changed in Greek to bdA '. This country was famous for gotd, whence the fable of the Golden FUeet, attempted to be carried away from that country the heroes of Greece. The GOwn be thiidm to be the Araxes, which runs into the Caspian sea, both the words having me same signification, viz. a rapid moHon. The land of Coshi washed by this river, he aupposes to be the country of the CuMemi of the ancients. The Hiddekd all agree to be the Tlgria; and the Other river, Phrat, or n-ui Perath, to be the Evphratts. All these rivers rise in the same tract of mountainous eonntry, though th^ do not arise from one head.

Verse 12. There is bdelttum (rfj'a beddadi) and the onyx stone, omm ]M Bben ha-^toham. Bochart thinks that the bedoloch, or bdellium, means the pearl-oytter; and tfwhatn ia generally understood to mean the onyx, a precious stone, which has its name from erv^'amon'^natJ^ to the colour of which it nearly approaclies. It is impossible to say what is the precise meaning of the original words; SIM at this distance of time and place it is of little eonseKjiienee.

Vove 15. Put Hn into the garden to dreu and to keep if.] Horticulture, or gardemng, is the first kind of employment on record; and that in which man was engaged, while in a slate of perfection and innocence, lliough the gitrden may be aopposed to produce all thinn a;wnfaneotM^, as the whole v^etable surfsee of the eailn certainly did at the creation) yet dressing and tilling were afterward naeesaary, to mainlain die different kinds of

RIants snd veffelwes in their peHeetion, and to repress ixurionce. Even in a state of innocence, we cannot conceive it possible that man could have been happy if inactive. God gave him work to do^ snd his empltiyinent contributed to his hsKtiness: for the structure gf nia body, as well as of bis mind, plainly proves tlutt he was never intended for a merely contemplative life.

Terse 17. Of the tree <f knovledge—thau ehalt not eat] This is the itrsf precept Ood gave to man, and it was pnn oa a test cm ofaedience, snd a proof of hia being in a amendcnt, proboUonary state. It was necessatv, that while constituted lord of Ihia lower world, he ahoulokmnr that he was only God's vieegerenf, and must be account* able to him forihe useof faismenisjand corporeal powers, and for theuse bemadeof ihedifierent creatures put under • hia care. The men, from whose mind the strong impression of this depoidenoe and reqionsibility is erased, necessarily loses sinil of his origin and end, and ia capable of any species oi wickedness. As God is sovereign, he has a rif^t to give to his creatures what commands be thinks proper. AaintelUgemcrenlur^wiiboinatatPtoregalBfff the Rame ts it that cotnpasseth the whole land ol'* Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river it Hiddekel: that i» it wliich goeth ' toward the eaat of Aaayria. And the fourth river i« ■'Euphrates.

15 y And the Lord God took ' the man, and ' put nim into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the LoRo.Ood commanded the man, saying. Of everytreeof thesardenithoamayeat freely eat:

17 ^ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, < thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eateet thereof ^ thou shalt surely die.)

18 TH And the Lord God said, A ic not good that the man should be alone; " Iwill make an help ■ meet for him.

19 'And out of the ground the Lobd God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl

his oowhwL ii n atMuntityi this would destroy, at oitee, &e idea of his dependency «nd •ecouotehleneas. Han must ever feel Ooa m his Boveretgn, and act under his authority, which he cannot do, unless he have a rule of oooduct. This rule God gives; and it is no matter of what kind it is, as long as obedienee to it is not beyond the powers of the creanne who is to obey. God sayi^ there is a eolain fruit-bearing treat Akm shut not eat « if* fruit; but (rf all the other fruits^ and thef are all that are neoesaary for thee, thou mayest fredy, liberal^ eat. Had he not an abaolule right to atj so 1 And was not man bound toobey?

7%m sAott surthF tiie.] rnon ne MsA fomuA, literally « deoA Ihou thalt dU; or, dt/mg tkmt akatt die From tftat moment thOu ahaU become mwtal, and shalt continue is a dyiM $taU till thou tUe. Thiw we find literally aecompliflhed: every moment of his life, man may m eonsidered as dying, till soul and body are separated. Other meanings have been given of this passage^ diay are in general either fancifiil or incorrect.

Verse 18. it is not good that the man thould be aZons] visSle&tufafe, only himself. IipiUmakekim amu hkst for him; viua vp izer kaugedo, a help, a counterpart of himself one formed from him, and a perfect resenwlanoe of his person. If the word be rendered seiupulouily literal, it signifies one Hke, or as AfmssK standing oppoaiU to, or b^ort him. And this implies, that the woman was tobeaperfeet resemUaneeof tneman, possessing neither infiuionw nor superiority, but being la all things Wk and aguol to nimfclf. As man was made a social creature, it was not proper that he* should be alone; for to be alone, i. e. without a matrimonial companion, imm not good. Henee we find, that eelibary is a thing that it not good, whether it be on the side of the man or the woman. Men may, in opposition to the declaration of Ood, call this a ■tale of excellence, and a state of perfection t but let them remember, that the word of God says the reverse.

Verse 19. Out ^ the ground, Ac] Cooeeming the tbrmadon of the diffisrent xinds of animals, see the preceding ehu)ter.

Verse 20. And Adam gave names ta all eatiUI Two things God appears to have in view by causing man to name all the catde, dec 1. To show him with what oomprdiensive powers of mind his Maker had endued him; and 2. To show him tliat no creature, yet formed, could make him a suitable companion. And that this twofold purpose was answered, we shall duntly see: for,

1. Adam gave nanus, but howl From an intimate knowledge m the nature and propertiea of each creature. Here we see the perfection of hia knowledge; for it is wdl-knawn, that the names attzed to the difikrent animals in Scripture always express some promiitent feature and eesentUl characteristic of the creatures to which th^ are applied. Had he not possessed an intuitive knowledge of the gruid and distinguishing prrjperties of those animals, he never eould have given them such names. This one eireurastanee is a strong Pfoof <^ die original perfeetioa andezcelleneaof man,w(ul«inaslaleor mnoeoicei dot need we wonder at die aeeoanL Adam was the work of an infinitely wise and perfect Being, and the ej^eet must resemble the eauee that produced it

2. Adam was convinoed, that none of these ereatorss cooU bo a sninAle eonmaoioa Cor Mm; and tha^ theia-

of the air: and Pbroueht them unto ^ Adam to Bee what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every Uying^ ereatore, that uw the name thereof.

20 And Adam ' gave named to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beaat of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

21 1[ And the Lord God caused a * deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, ana closed up the flesh instead thereof;

23 And the rib. which the Lord God had taken from man. • made he a woman, and " bron^^ her unto the man.

23 And Adam said, This u now * bone of my btmes, and flerii of my flesh: she shall be called '.Woman, because she was 'taken out of ' man.

84 ■ Therefore shall a man leave his ^tber

fore, he must continus in the state was net good, or be a farther debtor to the bounty of his Maker; for, amoag all the animals which he had named, Ihtrevaanet^taut a help meet /or him~ Hence we rwd,

Verse 21. Tht iMrd osu*«d a deep eleep to /ail upon Adam, dkc] This was neither sworn nor tettaejf, but what our translation very properly terms a deep sfe^

And he took one qf Jus nbe] It is immaterial iriiether we render tVs toeti a rib, or a part of his side: for K may mean eitkert some part of man was to be used on the occasion, whether bone or Jteeh, it matters not, though it is likely, from verse 23, that a part of both was twent for Adam, knowing how the woman was fbrme<^ sai^ l^us is jieeh at my Jleeh, snd bone of my tones. Ood could have formed the woman out <rf the dust of the earth, as be had formed the man i but had be done so, she must have appeared in his eyes as a distinct being, to whom be' had no imtuial relation. But as God formed her out of a part of himaeif, he saw she was of the same nature, the same identical fiesh and blood, and of the same constiiatioB in all reepeels, and cmsequendy havti^ equal Ppwen^ fikoulties, and rights. — TTiis at onee ensured bis aJnetiOl^ sikI excited his esteem.

Verse 23. 4dafn eaid, thio it now bone tf my boits^ Ac.] 'niere is a very delicate and expressive meaning hi the origiiwl, which does not appear in our version, when the dinereot genera of creatures were brought to Adam, that bemi^tassign them their proper names, it is probable that they passed m purs before him, and as iliey pasae^ received their names. To this circumstance the w«rds is this place seem to refer. Instead of thie note it, eapsn rm xot happaim, we should render more literally Ate turn, this creature which now possee, or appeers before me, is fleA of my fl«h, Ac "nte creatures that had patted already before bim, were not suitable to him, and therefore it was said. fVr Adam there wot not a help meet found, verse 20: tat when the woman came, formed out of hin- Bel( he wit all that atuaetion which cotuanguint^ eould produce, and at the same time saw thai she was, in her per- Bcm and mber mind, every way suitable to be hia companion.

iSfte ihall bo called lootnon] A literal vernon of the Hebrew wouM ^>pear strange, and yet a literal version is the only proper one. tnt /m, sigikifies man; end the word used to express what we term woman, is the sarne^ with a feminine twmination, nm tshaA, and literally means sAs-mon. Most oif die aneient verskms have Mt the force of the term, and have endeavoured to express it 'as literally as possible. The intelligent reader will not regret to see thton hei*. The Vulgate Latin renders the Hnrew oirtigo, which is a feminine form of tir, a man. Symmdms uses »wSftf andrii, a female form of wnf, ansr, a man. The Arabic imrat, she-man, from fmrM^ man. Our own t«rm is equally proper, wh«i understood. IFoman has been defined by many as compounded ot we and man, as if called man's idol because she tempted him to eat the forbidden fruit: but this is no meaning of the original wwd, nor could it be intended, as the transgression was not than committed. Tlie truth is, our term is a proper and litMal mnalation of the wiginal; and we may thank the discernment of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors for giving ic lUooAman, of which woman is a contraction, means the man wiA the uomb. A very appropriate version of Ihs Hebrew rwK ithah, rendered by terms which signify

25 ^ And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ^ ashamed.

Verae 24. Thar^ort ahaU a man leave kU faOur and VMtker] There riiall be, by the order of God, a m«e intiibUe eonnexioa formed between the man and woman, tbaa can mbdat e«en between parent* and ehitdren.

And th^ WioU fre 9tM jIcm] Thaw worda may be understood in a twofold eenBe. 1. 77u»« tv<o tkaU be one JhA, shall be considered as one body, haring no sepantte or independent ri^ita, privilegea, cares, concema, &e. each being equally intereated in all diings diat ooneem the marriage slate.!l llteae two shall be/or (fccvrocbuljon flfonefleahj from their ibiIod a poatarity shall ^niw,Ba exactly resembling ihemaelvea as tbey do each other. Our Lord qootes these word% Matt. xiz. 5. with some wiatktt trpta the text; Oay twaih AaU be on» jfesA. So in Xarkz. 8. Su Paul quotes it in the same way, 1 Cor. vi. 16. and in Eph. 31. The Vulgate l^o, the Septuagint, the Syriacjlne Arabic, and the ^laaritao, all read the word TWO. Tiiat diis ia the geimine reading, I have no doubt. The word ormv ahm^/ktm, HUy iw, or boA nf than, was, I simpoae^ nniued at first from lbs Hdbm^ tsxt, 1^ mitTnW. becaose it oeeiirs Arss words after in the following Tsrae; or more probably it originally oeourred in the 2«h verse, and not in the 2Gth; and a copyist having ftuod that he had written it twice, in correcting his copr, ■truck oat the word in the 24th totso instead M the 26tti. Bat of what consequence ia it 1 In the oonlroversy eoneeroing potynmy, it has been made of very great consequence. WtOmit the woid, some have contended, a man ra» have a» nutny urivcs a* he Aoimt, as the lenna are inMjbiUe, thst thali be, Ac tnt mA the word, marriage ia restricled. A man can have in legal wedlock but om wife at the aame time.

We have here dte first instintiofi of marriage, and we see in it several psrticulara wnrthy of our most serious regard. 1. Ood pronounces the state of oeliba^ to be a MO stale I or, if the reader please, ma a good on*; and Ae Lord Ood said, B ianai good for man to be alone. litis ia Ooo'a judgment. Councils, and ftthm, and doctors, and nnaaa, nave given a diSerent judgment; but OQ mieh s subject th^ ate wortl^ of no atteadfRi. "Hie wordof Ood abidethliirsTar. Z CKid made the woman die man; and ifaiw be has shown ua that every son of jUam drauld be tmited to a daughter of &n to the end •f the world. See oa 1 Cor. vii. 3. God made the woman ovt of the man, to intimate, that the closest onion, and the moataftetionsis altsehmeni, should subsist in the matrimonial eonnezioi^ so dwt die man should ever cdbiiderand treat the waauaitm* jiortitf ktmttfft and aa aoooe ever hated hia own fleah, but nouriahea and anpport» il^ ao dMNtld a man deal with his wife i and, oa the other hand, the woman ahouki coiksider, that ibe man was not made for her, but that ^ waa made jfbr Iht man, and derivet^ under Ood, her being from bim; therefore the wife shouM see that she reverence her husband. Eph. ». B. Hw 23d and 24 ih verses contain the very wrda of tfts Bwrriue eerenony— 7*Au U JUek ^ myJUth— fibartfbra mall a man Uave father and mother. How happy most such a state be, where ChMfa instituticni is properly regarded ( where the parties are married, aa the uoatle expresses it, in Qu Lord; where each, by acts tk At tenderest kindiwss, Hvea only to prevent me wirites, and eontributa in everr passible w^ to the comfort and ■■IHnuess c4 the odurl Blarriage might still be what it aas In iu oriffinal institution, pure and auitabte t and in fa first exereise, affeetionate and ha{my: but how few ■sAmarriagaaaretfaereiobefoundl /'ossten, tmbuient sad in«nlar,Dot Rdtgiont Oi«tom,foimded by dwae