(1 Tim. iii. 16.) A LESS glorious Being than this could not have redeemed man, a GREATER THERE WAS NOT,-could not be. On Him, and on Him alone, never came yoke. He was "the uncreated Son of the Blessed." This, then, is the first truth I am anxious, and more than anxious, to impress on your earliest thoughts, that when you look around on the earth's beauty-beautiful in its ruins (and destined to be all glorious), you may remember, and never cease to remember, by whom it. was created, by whom it was redeemed, and by whom it shall, ere long, be reigned over in righteousness and peace. Having thus considered the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Creator of all things, we will now look at the Creation itself. The first verse of the first chapter of Genesis brings before your minds this simple but sublime truth, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved* upon the face of the waters." Whether, my dear children, this Creation of the heavens and the earth immediately preceded the first day is not expressly revealed (though Job xxxviii., before quoted, strongly favours the idea), but the ordering of the six days themselves is very manifest; and Exod. xx. 8-11, where the Lord, speaking from Mount Sinai, says, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth," is evidence, to me conclusive, that the days of creation were periods of twenty-four hours of time; and this, I think, is further proved by the concluding sentence of each day—" and the evening and the morning were the first day," and so on. Whether therefore the globet had been created a long or a *The word used in Deut. xxxii. 11,-"As the eagle fluttereth over her young," is the same as here translated moved. As there is no account of the earth, after its creation, being formed into a sphere or globe, the conclusion is, that it came as such in the beginning from the hands of its great Creator, and the glory of the six days shed light, life, beauty and order over all; until at the close of the six days, God saw all He had made, and behold it was "very good." THE SCRIPTURE ACCOUNT. 21 short period before the six days, as I before remarked, is not expressly recorded; but there it lay in space, doubtless revolving in its own orbit, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And now came forth that most blessed word-"God said, Let there be light, and there was light;" or, as it is literally, “Light shall be, and light is."* Instantly, at the command of God, light, in all its indescribable glory, burst upon the darkness; not indeed wholly dispersing it, for part of the earth still remained enveloped in the shades of night; but this also in its turn became illumined; for the earth, revolving on its axis, according to the order of its creation, the alternation of day and night took place; and thus God divided the light from the darkness, and the evening and the morning were the first day. And here it will be well to show you, that on each day of creation, the succeeding days were contemplated by the great Creator, and the happiness of man and every other creature was perpetually before Him. This we see especially in the alternation of day and night; for whilst the light of day is so precious to us, that without it would be gloom and wretchedness-indeed death would reign around on every side-yet the shades of the evening and the curtain of night, seeing how transient are their duration, come to man and every living thing as positive blessing, inviting to repose, and extend also to the vegetable world, which is refreshed and nourished thereby; and how sweet is that word of the Psalmist, "Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening." (Ps. civ. 23.) And how soothing to his wearied spirit, as the light begins to fade away, to see the birds, some seeking the branches of trees, and others the cavities of rocks, for rest during the night; and thus, as Paley so beautifully says on this subject, "they give way to that sweet repose-that soft necessity." It is also in the night that the silent dew lights so gently and softly, that even the most fair and delicately pencilled flower is not injured but refreshed by it. "Light is," gives the full idea of an instantaneous answer to the call of the Almighty Creator. A difficulty has presented itself to some minds, how light, which is now so dependent on the sun, could have existed without it. But, my dear children, this is only one of the many things that are hidden from us for a time, but which in its season, if we but wait, the Lord, either here or hereafter, will explain. And indeed within the last few years, it has been proved, both in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, that light can exist independent of the sun. But even if we did not know how it was, yet God's word simply tells us that it was so, and to the mind that bows to God's word, this is enough. GOD SAYS IT, and what I cannot now comprehend, I shall understand here or hereafter, and this to me is sufficient. Light did exist the first day, and illumined the waste of waters, and, on the fourth day, the Lord gathered it into its bright and glorious tabernacle, and the Sun and light thenceforth became inseparable. Had we not certain facts by which to ascertain the amazing velocity with which light travels, we should think the statements of philosophers past belief. Sound comes to us quickly, but sound creeps when compared with the darting rapidity of light. You remember the other day when we saw a ship at sea fire a gun, after we saw the flash it was some moments before we heard the sound; the light and the sound actually set off on their journey at the same moment; but the rapidity of light left the sound as a wearied traveller in his course. But I will illustrate this by an example more familiar to you :standing a few days since on the hills, we saw a man in the valley at his work, but his mattock was partly in the air again before the sound telling us that it had just struck the earth came to our ears. Watching the eclipses of the satellites of Jupiter from the earth, from the nearest and from the most remote part of her orbit (which will come under our observations when contemplating the starry heavens, on the fourth day), we get a demonstration of the rapidity with which light travels. Light moves at the rate of about one hundred and ninety thousand miles in a second, while sound passes at the slow and tardy rate of only THE CONSUMMATION. 23 23 thirteen miles a minute. The difference between the velocity of sound and light is also perceived in a thunder storm; if an interval elapse between the lightning and the thunder-clap, every one at the table says, "Now the storm is at some distance," but if the flash be instantly followed by that fearful and terrible peal, then paleness steals on the countenance, and the next shock is waited for in awful expectancy. Happy, my beloved children, is it to be at peace with God, and then, though it were "the fire going before Him, and the whole atmosphere very tempestuous round about Him," yet should the word be full of consolation from the lips of a Father :"Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." (Isa. xxvi. 20, 21.) But though the Lord shall indeed come forth in indignation, and be "revealed in fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ;"-yet not so to his people; no, in them, even his saints, as the next verse is, "He shall come to be glorified, and admired in all them that believe." (2 Thess. i. 7-10.) How beautiful is the word of that hymn you so well remember, "Jesus, thy blood and righteousness My beauty are,-my glorious dress; But as the fourth day's creation will afford us a more ample field for the contemplation of light, I will now close this long letter; and in my next, ere I leave this subject, I hope to bring before you some of those beautiful passages, from the Scriptures, where the Spirit of God sets forth divine truth by the gracious emblem of Light. Ever believe me, My beloved Children, Your affectionate Father. LETTER II. I am the light of the world.-John viii. 12. MY DEAR CHILDREN, I HAVE Sometimes imagined the dismay and terror that would strike all things living, if, suddenly, at noon-day, a total darkness were to cover the whole earth; or if, instead of the sun's rising, a darkness deeper than that of night were to spread over all things. Such, doubtless, was that of Egypt (Exod. x. 21), which lasted three days-a darkness that might be felt; and such also the awful darkness that was over the whole land (Matt. xxvii. 45) when our blessed Lord, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree, died the Just for the unjust, under the curse of God. But the darkness of Egypt, in God's mercy, had an end; for He is long-suffering: and the darkness of Calvary had an end; because the sufferer paid to the full the amazing debt of death, and satisfied divine justice. (Gal. iii. 13.) But there is a darkness hastening on; and oh! the terrors of that darkness that shall be eternal! It is called emphatically "the outer darkness,”—and who may abide it? But we will turn from this contemplation to one as much filled with joy, as this is with sorrow. Let us go and meditate on His love, who, when He beheld the world buried in darkness, and judgment impending, stood forth at the call of the Father, and came a Light into the world. Yes, "He was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John i. 9); for if He had not taken on Him the seed of Abraham, and stood on this earth God manifest in the flesh, death must have reigned, and darkness would have been over the earth for ever-even for ever and ever. But Jesus came the Light of the world; and "whosoever followeth Him shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John viii. 12.) |