them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in One." (John xvii. 23.)

In laying before the reader the system which, in all cases, will give a faithful and correct interpretation of Holy Scripture, we propose to commence with the creation of the world, and to show that this great work, in its beginning, progression, and completion, shadowed forth the love, wisdom, and power of the Creator, and that all the objects in Nature are so formed, as to be either remotely or proximately connected with God, the Supreme First Cause. This connexion necessarily renders the Lord's presence, in the created universe, full, perfect, and complete; and hence arise the attributes ascribed to the Divine Being of omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. By love, as the end or intention of creation, God is present in all; by wisdom, he knoweth all; and by his operative influence, he is powerful in all. Without his goodness, wisdom, and power, nothing could exist; God is, undoutedly, the ALL in all.

If, then, God be present in his works, as their actual existence evidently proves, it follows that there must be some close resemblance, affinity,

and correspondence between him and them, and that a Divine influx of life, flowing momentarily from him into them, supports and sustains the whole. This affinity not only exists between God and his works generally, but there is also a correspondence between all parts of his works from the highest to the lowest: all creation is one grand chain, harmoniously fitted and linked together by the wisdom of him who cannot err. Who, then, can apprehend danger, while reason, enlightened by revelation, declares the first link of that chain to be in the hand of God? Assuming, for the present, this theory to be correct, we must see that a right understanding of this corresponding connexion is essentially necessary to a just knowledge of the works of God; and that which opens to the mind true views of his works, must correctly explain the wonders of HIS WORD.

With respect to the creation of the world, we may truly say, it is so vast and profound a subject, that the mind seems lost in wonder, and trembles at the thought of entering upon an inquiry into that which, by an almost impenetrable veil of mystery, seems to be hid from

human ken. We cannot suppose that man, whose faculties and intellectual powers are finite, and consequently limited, can, however ardent he may be in search of truth, arrive at a full and perfect knowledge of all the minutiæ, those singulars and particulars, which enter into and make up the fulness of creation's mighty work a kind of general knowledge concerning it, is all we can expect.

In looking at creation as a whole, we behold beauty, regularity, and order; we see how each part performs its appointed use, and that the whole, by the action of its several parts, is maintained entire; free from any appearance of dissolution, and exhibiting to the beholder not the slightest symptoms of decay. The same sun which "in the beginning" warmed and enlightened our earth, shines still upon it with unabated vigour and power; the moon which then shone with its borrowed light, still rides majestically in the blue-arched sky; the rain still descends to water our thirsty plains, to fertilize our fields, to make the earth yield her increase, for the purpose of affording to man in all generations, "seed to the sower and bread to the eater."

Heaven's breezes still continue to kiss the mountains, and to impart health, vigour, and prolification to animal and vegetable life; every animal is furnished with an organized body exactly adapted to the element in which it lives. In fact, all creation seems to be constantly singing one universal song of praise, that “God is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works." These phenomena, with ten thousand others that might be named if necessary, but which the reader is left to supply for himself, are among the strongest evidences of contrivance and design. These again lead unquestionably to the acknowledgment of a Designer, whom we call the Great First Cause, the omnipresent, omniscient, and immutable God.

No wise man can find the least difficulty in attributing the creation of the material world to an Almighty Hand-to that hand which received (if we may so speak) its impetus from the purest love, and was directed by infinite wisdom; and as we must consider the Divine Being to be a God of the most perfect order, it follows that creation, springing from him, must be viewed as an orderly, progressive, and

gradual work. We have no hesitation in saying, that if creation shall ever admit of a rational and satisfactory explanation, it must be in agreement with the strictest principles of true philosophical and scientific knowledge.

Although upon the creation of the world much has been written by divines, philosophers, and poets, yet but little, that has yet appeared, has been satisfactory. The subject, strictly speaking, is not theological, but purely one of philosophical and scientific research. It is now pretty generally acknowledged by the most able and learned divines, that the first chapters of Genesis are an allegory, and that they contain, not literal history, but spiritual and divine subjects reduced to an historical form. Literal history, in which, nevertheless, are contained spiritual truths, relating to the church of God, heaven, and the soul of man, commences at the twelfth chapter of Genesis, with the call of Abraham. It was not only the opinion of many of the ancient fathers of the church, that the first chapters of Genesis were written in an allegorical style, but that the whole Word of God, comprehending the Law, the Prophets,