natural day, but a much longer term. It is not necessary at this time to enter into a geological discussion, or to recapitulate any of the arguments by which the position of the world's greater age, on geological reasoning, is attempted to be established. It is enough to shew, that Moses intended what he said to be taken in a plain meaning, he being, as admitted, an inspired historian; and then, if he and geology be, or appear to be, at issue, there is some failure, we may be satisfied, in the rules or understanding of the latter. If the veracity of Moses were the subject in dispute, we should be allowed to call in the testimony of geology where it is capable of giving it; but, where his veracity is admitted as a principle, as it is here, the testimony of geology cannot be allowed to operate against him. Neither do I deny, that, if there were obscurity in his writing, geology, or other science, according to its just province, might, on the same condition, be brought in aid; in aid, be it remembered, not contradiction. The whole question must depend on the meaning of this writer. Moses says, that "the evening and the morning were the first day;" and, so on; and that in every such portion of time such and such work was performed as he describes. The original word can receive no other construction than "day." To give it any other, we must shew that it is elsewhere so used by the same writer, and we must, also, have some collateral evidence that it is intended to be so used in this place; and, that that other signification is consistent with the general subject in all its parts.

We have already seen that the contextual evidence is in favour of the literal meaning. That Moses intended to say, in the first chapter of Genesis, that God made the world and all things therein in six days, is testified by the institution of the Sabbath. In the second chapter it is said, "And on the seventh day God ended his works which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all the work which he had created and made." If the word “day" in the first chapter of Genesis was intended to mean a thousand years, or other larger space of time than a single day, it must have the same signification in the second, the history of the Sabbath being a continuation of the history of the world to that point. So, if each day of the first chapter were one year, or a thousand years, the first Sabbath must have occupied the space of one year, or of a thousand years, as the case might have been; and, if it mean any term not ascertained by us, where is the Sabbath? If it had not been intended that the exact time of it should be known, the Sabbath neither would nor could have been appointed. It was a commemoration; but, of what? of the ending of the works of creation; and, how could that circumstance have been commemorated, unless exact information of it had been given? We have it, accordingly, that a Sabbath was appointed, and that it comprehended the same portion of time as each of the days of the first chapter comprehended; and,

satisfied on that head, it will become us to seek for additional evidence as to what that time was. In the twentieth chapter of Exodus Moses says, by the command of God, "Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it." It is stated that God made the world in six days, that he rested the seventh day, and that therefore he hallowed it. The words "day" and "days" are used; and the conduct of the Israelites in respect of this injunction was formed upon them literally. If the time employed in creation had been otherwise, and a seventh day had been appointed, as a seventh portion of time, only because in the first instance seven portions of time, though severally of different term from itself, were occupied, there would have been a distinction expressed; but there is none; and we can, thus, give no other construction in the former than we are obliged to give in the latter case. The words in the latter are-" In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day"-and the seventh day is, on this account, commanded to be hallowed as a Sabbath to the Lord; and it was hallowed as His

Sabbath; the person who spoke, who was the instrument for promulgation of the command, being the same person who had described the works of creation in the first chapter of Genesis as completed within six days, and who had in the second given the history and design of the institution of the Sabbath. It is denied by no parties that the seventh day was from of old the Israelitish Sabbath. But why was the seventh day appointed to be the Sabbath, except as the day on which God rested; a particular, and not an indefinite portion of time,-indefinite, I mean, in the communication of the knowledge of it; and because in six days, these, also, being after the same manner particular and not indefinite portions of time, he did his work? The history of the seventh day, I repeat, is given to us as a part of the history of the world, in sequel to that of creation; and it is put into such form and in such place as to tell us, as plainly as we can be told, that it was set to the observance of man in his state of innocence, and to lead us to conclude that Adam observed it as a Sabbath. I know there are some who contend that Adam fell on the day of his creation; but hitherto I have seen no authority produced to verify the point; it rests on supposition; and supposition affords no help in the interpretation of Scripture. A future opportunity may be allowed me of entering into this question somewhat at large; the discussion of it is not demanded by our present object; if it were, I would not refuse it. I assume that Adam entered on the Sabbath day an innocent being; at least, we

have no proof of the contrary. This granted, and each day of creation comprehending, according to the objector, a space of a thousand years, or any large portion of time, the Sabbath must have consisted of the same portion of time, and the innocence of man have continued during it. Is it probable, that, at the end of the so long term required by the geological objector, the tempter should have presented himself to Eve, and then for the first time have inquired, "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" The inquiry implied a newness of creation; and, not to insist on the portion of the thousand years, or other term, which Adam, on this theory, might have lived previously to the Sabbath, how does it agree with a date of antiquity? If Adam fell on the day of his creation, calling the day the larger term, we have it that he lived in the world a considerable time, some centuries, perhaps, we know not how many, without a Sabbath; that the works of creation were never sabbatically celebrated by him in innocence, and the rest in innocence never observed or enjoyed. Further still.—The life of Adam is related by Moses, in the fifth chapter of Genesis, to have extended over a space of nine hundred and thirty years. If the word day" in the first chapter do not mean a day, does the expression of nine hundred and thirty years in the fifth mean nine hundred and thirty years, or what space of time? Making the word "day" to mean a longer term than of a day, the objector must receive the mentioned years of the life of

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