God is a Spirit whose intelligence is infinite, whose activity is without limit, whose omniscience1 penetrates 2 the past, the present, and the future, and whose complete3 unity excludes 4 all idea of parts, of divisibility, or of finality.6 Yet in God there are three persons-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; so that there is trinity of persons and unity of nature. This is the mystery7 of the Holy Trinity. In order to give some idea of this mystery, God the Father has been represented as a venerable old man—as a type of eternity. God the Son appears more youthful, on account of his title, although He is eternal as the Father. God the Holy Ghost is represented as a dove, because He manifested 9 Himself in this form. We must remember that these figures are only allegorical.10 The Son of God is also named The Word;' as St John says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John i. 1.) Another symbol11 used to represent the Holy Trinity is an equilateral triangle. 12 This is intended 13 to shew that the three persons are co-equal, and form one whole. God having existed from all eternity, and no other being having co-existed with Him, it pleased Him to create the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein; and thus to make manifest His wisdom and His power. He first created out of nothing the material of which He intended to compose the universe, and those creatures He destined to govern it under His supreme sovereignty; and, in order to shew that this creation was not the effect of any 1 Omnis, all; scio, I know. Syn.-all-knowing. 2 Penetrates, pierces. Celtic, pen, a point or top. 3 Con, together; pleo, I fill. Syn.-full. Ex, out of; claudo, I shut. Syn.-shuts out. 5 Idea, a Greek word for image, or picture in the mind. Finis, end; finality, ending. ? Mystery, Greek, muo, muso, to shut; mueo, to irritate. Type, from a Greek word meaning figure. • Manifested, made plain. Etymology uncertain. Latin, manifestus; Celtic, meanan, plain, 10 Allegorical, figuratively descriptive of real parts, from the Greek, allos, another; agoreuo, to speak. 11 Symbol, the sign of a moral thing by the image of a natural thing, from Greek sun, together, ballo, to throw, to compare. 12 A figure in geometry shut in by three equal lines, thus A. In, against; tendo, I stretch. Syn.-meant. necessary cause, but the production1 of a voluntary 2 act, God gave to this work successive3 degrees 4 of perfection in an admirable 5 order. CHAPTER II. THE first day God made the light, that fluid which is everywhere diffused,7 and is probably the same as heat. It is thought that on this day God created the angels-celestial8 spirits who serve God in making known and in executing9 His will. The second day God created the firmament, 10 and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and to each fluid He gave the density 11 requisite 12 to form that harmonious 13 balance established by God for the general good. And God called the firmament heaven. The third day God separated 14 the waters from the dry land, gathering the former into those great basins called seas, and raising up the dry land, which God called earth. On this day were also produced all plants bearing seed which cover and embellish 15 this terrestrial 16 globe, from the cedar to the hyssop, from the cactus to the violet. The fourth day God made the sun, the moon, and the stars, to give light and heat to the seeds and the plants, as well as to serve as a salutary 17 influence 18 to more perfect creatures, and to celestial beings. The fifth day the waters brought forth abundantly every kind of fish, and the air was peopled with birds-living creatures, which not only vegetate 19 like plants, but have, moreover, 1 Pro, before; duco, I lead. Syn.-bringing forth. 2 Voluntary, with free will. 3 Sub, under; cedo, I go. Signifies, one after the other. • From gradus, a step. 5 Ad, to; miro, I look. Syn.-wonderful. 6 Fluo, I flow. Anything not solid. 7 Prefix dis, asunder; fundo, I pour. Syn.-spread. 8 Celestial. Syn.-Heavenly, from cœlum, heaven. 9 Ex, out of; sequor, I follow up. Syn.-to carry out. 10 Hebrew, expanse. 11 Densus, thick. Syn.-thickness. Syn.-sought. 12 Re, back; quæro, I seek. 16 From terra, the earth, meaning earthly. Syn.-health-giving. 19 Vegetate. Syn.-to grow. the faculty of movement, and which swim or fly according to the element to which they belong. The sixth day were created the animals destined to people the earth, and to serve the chief to whom God was to give dominion 2 over them. This chief was man, of whom it is said that God created him to His own image; that is, he not only received a body like the lower animals, but also a soul, in which he was like unto God-having the faculty to perceive3 and to will, to know and to love. Thus, man being endowed with intelligence and free-will, is left at liberty to choose between a good or a bad use of these faculties, and he is either acceptable to God or culpable in His sight, according to the choice he makes between good or evil. The first man was called Adam,5 and the first woman Eve.6 God gave her to be a companion unto Adam, and their union was the origin of marriage. The seventh day God rested from all His work which He had made; and God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, and ordained that it should be kept holy. Therefore, on the Sabbath-day,7 man is to rest from his labours, and to meditate upon the works of God,-to adore Him, and thus to prepare himself for that eternal repose for which God has destined him. Unhappily, Adam and Eve made a bad use of the privileges 8 which God had bestowed upon them. They had been placed in the garden of Eden,9 which the Lord God had planted, and in which He had made to grow every tree that was pleasant to the sight and good for food; especially the tree of life, the fruit of which preserved them in health and strength. Adam and Eve were destined to dress and to keep this earthly paradise; 10 this happy lot was to be theirs until the time when God should transport them to heaven, there to enjoy, in His celestial paradise, the infinite happiness of complete union with God. 1 Faculty. Syn.-power. 2 3 Dominus, Lord. Syn.-lordship. 3 Prefix per, thoroughly; capio, I take. Syn.—to take in. 8 Privilege. Privus, separate; lex, a law. Sabbath means rest. Peculiar advantage. 10 Paradise means a park or garden. But God wished to teach these rational1 and free beings. that He had given them far higher capacities2 than those for mere material enjoyment, and that gratitude3 and obedience to Him for so many benefits 4 would complete their own happiness as well as the glory of God. In order, therefore, to try their love and obedience, God commanded them not to eat of one tree, which grew in the midst of the garden of Eden. This was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Of every other tree they might freely eat. This slight privation did not disturb 5 their happiness. Their obedience would have been meritorious- -their disobedience would be punished; for God had said, "Of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat: for in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death." (Gen. ii. 17.) CHAPTER III. Now, one of those angels created by God to serve Him, but who had incurred 6 the wrath of his Creator for the sin of pride, and had, with other rebellious angels, been precipitated? into hell, became envious of the happiness and the innocence8 of Adam and Eve, as well as of the many favours and the love which God had conferred upon them. This fallen angel, called the devil,10 undertook to make our first parents rebellious,11 and thus to bring about the fall of man by disobedience, as he and the rebel angels had fallen by pride. The devil took the form of a serpent, and tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit; she gave also unto her husband, and he did eat. 1 From ratio, reason. Syn.-reasonable. 2 From capax, roomy, or holding. Syn.-grasp, or power. 3 Gratus, thankful. Syn.-thankfulness. 4 From bene, well; and facio, I do. Syn.-good deeds, or well-doing. 5 Prefix dis, a part; and turbo, to trouble. Syn.-break up, or trouble. • Prefix in, against; curro, I run. Syn.-dared. 7 From præceps, headlong; meaning tumbled headlong. 8 In, not; noceo, I hurt. Syn.-harmless. Prefix con, together; fero, I bear. 10 Staßaλλo, I pierce through-slander; Staßoλos, devil. The word devil is connected with the Persian div, angel, and the Latin deus, God. 11 Prefix re, again; and bellum, war. Their disobedience was soon punished. God first cursed the devil who, under the form of a serpent, had beguiled Eve, but promised1 a Saviour to redeem 2 man from his power, and to bruise his head. Then God sentenced Adam and Eve to suffering and to death, and said, "Cursed is the earth in thy work; with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.” (Gen. iii. 17, 19.) The sin of Adam was not only punished in a material sense, but the soul of man also underwent a terrible3 change. Instead of being adorned with intelligence and goodness, he became alienated 4 from God, and subject to every evil inclination.5 Thus, having forfeited6 God's favour, he became liable to eternal punishment in hell with the devil and his angels. This sad inheritance of suffering and death was handed down by Adam to his posterity;7 but God in His mercy did. not leave the human race without hope. Adam and Eve were permitted to know that their sin would be repaired, and that their repentance would be accepted 9 through the merits of the coming Redeemer; and He was to crush the serpent's head, as God had announced 10 to them. Thus Adam lost paradise, and was driven forth to till the ground from whence he was taken; and God placed cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life, lest man should eat of it and live for ever. CAIN 11 was the born of all men. keeper of sheep, CHAPTER IV. eldest son of Adam and Eve, and the first Abel 12 was their second son; and Abel was a but Cain was a tiller of the ground. Both 2 Re, back; emo, I buy. 1 Pro, before; mitto, I send. 3 Terrible, from terror, fright. Meaning of terrible, fear-inspiring. 4 Alienus, foreign. Syn.-estrange. Prefix in, against; clino, I lean. Syn.-leaning. Forfeited. Foris, abroad; facio, to make. Middle-age Latin. Per, through; mitto, I send. Syn.-to give leave. Ad, to; capio, I take. Syn.—taken up. 10 Ad, to; nuntio, I tell. 11 Cain means Creature, or Child.-Ewald's History of Israel, v. 1. 12 Abel means Grief.-Gesenius's Hebrew Lexicon. |