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 ■" k- 
 
 BIBLE TRUTH 
 
 VERSUS 
 
 Oppositions of Science. 
 
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^l3 
 BIBLE TRUTH M3& 
 
 VERSUS 
 
 t» 
 
 OPPOSITIONS OF SCIENCE, 
 
 FALSKLY SO CAF.LED."— 1 Tim. «: 20. 
 
 I5KINO 
 
 AN ANSWER TO CERTAIN OPINIONS 
 
 OP 
 
 PROFESSOR ALEXR. Mc KNIGHT AND OTHER WRITERS, 
 
 (..;;■ 
 
 ON CREATION. 
 
 BY JOHN G. MARSHALL, 
 
 r 
 
 HALIFAX : 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM MACNAB, 12 PRINCE STREET. 
 
 1874. 
 
 *f 
 
■ 
 
BIBLE TRUTH, 
 
 VICU8U8 
 
 OPPOSITIONS OV SlUENCE, ETC. 
 
 In the paper by Professor \icxr. McKiiight, "on Confessions and 
 Creeds," reaH by him before tlie Rvangelical Alliance, at its late meet- 
 ing at Montreal, he plainly annoiincoil as his belief, that the Divine Crea- 
 tor did not " make all things ouf ofnothiiiif, in six days ; " and says "this 
 is nowhere affirmed in Scripture." Several spec^iilative gejiogista and 
 others, — some of them infidels as to certain pirts, or of the whole of 
 divine revelation, — have, from time to time, published similar opinions 
 on the subject. Without any (kMign of roviovving the whole of tho 
 " arned Professor's pajjcr, it is iny intention, hero, to oppose that 
 opinion, and on tho direct contrary, t.) show from Scripture authority, 
 both as to its h'ttfr and obvious constructiun and viwaUi'i, that there 
 were no such sej)arate or double periods of creition, as intimated by 
 the Professor, and asserted by the other writers to whom reference 
 has been made ; but that the whole of the creation, both as to mate- 
 rial substances from nonentity, and the rest of tho divine work, de- 
 scribed in Gen. ch. I, were accomidished within the six days therein 
 mentioned. 
 
 I am well aware, that in undertaking to oppose and refute that 
 opinion of a leirned Professor of Theology, and ordained minister of 
 religion, I may, on a first thought and view, be considered by some, 
 or even many, to be charge iblo with a degree of presumption, being 
 neither such a professor, or a minister, but merely one of the laity. 
 It therefore seems proper, if not absolutely needful, to mention some 
 of the special acquirements and circumstances which may be thought, 
 in some fair degree, suflicient to qualify mo to enter upon the eontro- 
 
 Jf^ilt 
 
vorsy. Tlioy arc uh follows: More tluin nfty-fivo years n<j;o, being, 
 as I. prosuine, iiboiit t lie term oftlio iiiitiiral life of Prifessor McKni;^ht, 
 havi?ig beeome very deeply eoiieernod as to my spiritiiiil Hiilvatioti, t 
 coiniiieiieed a |)i'ayerfiil and most earnest and anxious seanMi and 
 study of tlic Hacrcil Scriptiwes throiigboiit, to leirn tbe doctrines and 
 duties of our benign and boly reHgioii, for assured belief and rigbleoiis 
 conduct; and bave contituied tbe same c:irnost ajid diligent course, 
 repeatedly every day, to tbe present time. Sbortly after its com- 
 mencement, I began and during tbosc relig ous exercises continued 
 preparing a manual of tbe ^^criptures on tbose doctrines and duties, 
 and witliin tbe last year publisbed tbem in full in a volume, intended 
 fi)r tlic use of ministers of religion, superintendents and tcacbers of 
 sabbatb scbools, bible classes, and also for private cbristians. I'Voin 
 time to time, I bave read several systcins of Tlicology ; also the His- 
 tories of tbe Churcb, by lilusebius, Mosbcim and tbe Miluer's; and, 
 in part, tbat most elaborate and comprebensivc work, " A complete 
 Body of Divinity, by tbe Itev. Tbomas Stackbouse, A.M.,'' a Divine 
 of tbe Cliurcb of England ; also Scott's and Dr. Adam Clarke's Com- 
 mentaries on tbe Scrij)tures, tbe latter repeatedly read tbrougbout; 
 also, in part, tbe Commentaries of Henry and Wbitby ; also tbe 
 Works of Arminius, Wesley, l*'let.cl.er, (^balmers, and numerous othc: 
 publications on tbeological subjects. During tbe last liftenn years I 
 publisbed answers to several writings of tbe Kov. Mr. Maturin ; also 
 to tbe seven sceptical and notorious Essays and Keviews ; and two 
 volumes in answer to tbe similar iniidel publications of IMsbop Colenso, 
 In one of wbicb answers to the Essays and Keviews, this sau)c subject 
 of tbe six days' creation, and the go'. Tjicil, and other objections 
 thereto, were discussed. I have also issued some smaller [jublications 
 on Scriptural subjects ; and further a volmne of sermons on several 
 of the most nnportant doctrines and duties of our divine religion. 
 As it will not be contended that now the laying on of bands, or any 
 other form of ordination to the sacred ministry, confers any supi'ma- 
 tuntl (jift or (jrnce, as was conveyed by the first Apostles, it must, of 
 com'se, be admitted that a layman, in the same time, and with equal 
 diligence and prayerful search and study of the Scriptures and theo- 
 logical subjects generally, may become as well acquainted with them 
 as a person ordained for the ministry. In length of time of study of 
 
 
 
! 
 
 tlic S('ri|)tiiros, 1 Imvo much "li(* .'idviiiitai^o of Prnfomor McKiiiijIit-, 
 nnt\ probably in c'lniestiniHs and (liliy;oii('o in that study am in oqiiabty 
 with liiin. Talun<; all these |)ors(mal t'aots and ciriMinHtancos into 
 ciJiHiiloration, tho advatjtii;;o oftlic^ iivirncd Pnil'ossor over ine, if any, 
 will not he f^rcat, on tho snbjoi'ts iti (piostion, which, as before rc- 
 niirixod, depend almost exclusively on tho letter of Scripture, as 
 fi;iven in our standard version. 
 
 Tlie wliolooftJie I'rofessor's Es-<ay is jjjiven in an "Extra of tho 
 Montreal Witness," which contains a full, and it may bo presumed, 
 a didy authori/od report of a!l the proceedings at that meetin«; of tho 
 Alliance. 
 
 The passages of the Professor's Essay, wliieh will here be op[)OHe(l 
 are as folloxvs : — " The doctrine of creati )ii consists of two parts, 
 Kometimes distnigiiisheil as the first and sccuiid c"0:iti m, — tho oiio 
 allirming that (Jod made sid)stance out of nothing ; and the other, 
 that He combined and arrranged those substances into tho system of 
 the universe. As the Science of the Scventeenlli Century could throw 
 no light on tlie world's eirly history, the Westminster Assembly, 
 uattirally enough, made no distinction between creation out of nothing, 
 and the work of the six days. The creation of elcmctjtary substance 
 was assumed to be part of tho first day's work. Had they lived in 
 our time, they n\ight have seen it advisable to leave a gap or gulf 
 between the two. There arc ])assagc-i of Scripture that carry 
 lis back to a time before the world was, ami are available for 
 proof of creation out of nothii\g. There are other passages descrip- 
 tive of tlic six day's work, which need not bo understood as teaching 
 that the first day of the six began with non-entity. The demand for 
 timo made by the geologist, affords a fiir reason why we should separ- 
 ate the first from tho second creation, and ce.ise to afllrm, what is 
 nowhere airirmol in the Scriptures, that (Jiod made all things out of 
 nothing in six days. * * * The one point to which I call attention is, 
 that the Biblical doctrine of creation is divisible into two parts ; and 
 that the union of tho two into one, is a stcj) in the way of system- 
 atizing which seemed unobjectionable two centuries ago, but which 
 ought to be abandoned now, in view of the present state of physical 
 science." 
 
6 
 
 These assert ioiin of the Professor, as to the "two creiit ions," and "a 
 gap or ^iiir hotsveeii tliem." I hero oppose, and as-iort to ho (lontriry 
 to the letter and inoinin;j; of Scripture on the Huhjcci, and p(»silively 
 afTirni that the creation of the niateriil snhstancos of the earth, and 
 all the creatin'os and thin;j;s therein, and eonnectod with it, were 
 coninioMce I, tornjoil, and (V)nipleted within the six days niontioncl in 
 ch. i of (Jeiie-iis The f dlowini; are the w )rils of the WrM. Jii'i' verses 
 of that ch. i^ivinjx the croiti xis of the first day :— " In the l)i'<;;iimini^ 
 (},)([ crcite 1 the hciveiH an 1 the (urth. An I the earth was withont 
 form and void, and dirkno-ts wis up )n the fico of the deep. And 
 the iS|)irit of (Jod moved upon the fico of the waters. And God said, 
 let there ho lii^ht, an 1 there wis Ii<j;ht. And (rod waw the li;j;ht that 
 it was <;o()d. And (J > 1 divi k' 1 the lii^ht from the darkness. And 
 God e;illc I the lijiiht Div, an I the dirluuM-i he iMlled Ni;j;ht. And 
 the eveninj,' and the inornin;^ were the lirst day." 
 
 The foilowinj; are the wirds in FiK'.y]. w. 11, "f)r in six days the 
 Lord made heiven and eirl .1, the se.i and all that, in them is, and 
 ro-ttel the seventh d ly." IForo we als i see that the m:ilvin<; of the 
 hoiven and oirlli am in dirc't c nine 'ti m with the makinj; of all the 
 cre.itiM'os and thinjj;-* therein. The word ini'i' must hi-.ir. have the 
 sum' nvaniiu/ ii'i cirnf (f, \'.)i' [t '[-i riii'i.iin that tlu^ beasts, birds, , sh, 
 man and woman, and other ll\in;4 creatures, were not called into 
 existence until after the creations of the first day ; anil therefore the 
 material heaven and earth were also created within the same .six <lays. 
 The wh.)le of the r/-.-a'/'o/t.s- beini]; mentioned in that one connected 
 sentence, shows that the wIidIc divine wi)rk was commcncel and 
 com|)lety 1 within that s|)eciiie I time. 
 
 Now surely Prolbssor iMcKni<i;ht him-ielf, and all who hold the 
 same opinion with him, must admit that there is not, in any of these 
 woads, the slightc-it intimation of tw ) separ.ate peri oils or times of 
 creations, or of any pause or <j;ap, as it is called, between the several 
 divine acts and procecdiu<];s mentioned in those live verses of (ion., 
 relatinjj; to the creations of that tirst day. They are just as succes- 
 sive, c.)ntinu:)us, and connected, as those of the other five days 
 describe 1 in th at first chapter. It was evidently the desiji^n of the 
 inspired writer to describe fully an.l accurately the creations of c ach 
 of the six days, and he has done it with the utmost precision. The 
 
\tMrV 
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 , wore 
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 p. Ami 
 loll s:iiil, 
 
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 njr of tlio 
 
 of all tl>o 
 
 have tlio 
 
 binls ' '^l'' 
 cralleil i'»t<> 
 rofofc tlic 
 c sixilays. 
 
 C.)lU»Cl'tC'l 
 
 i\ciu:cA ami 
 
 10 
 
 holil tho 
 ixuy of tUcHO^ 
 or time-* of 
 
 tho Hoveral 
 HCH of (»cn., 
 ^t a^ Hucco^- 
 lor five (lays 
 \cVi-n of tho 
 
 DiH of cat'h 
 iccUion. '^^^ 
 
 I 
 
 conjinK'iivo parlicN' (tml, connects the two (Irst versos, tlio first show- 
 iui* the creation, from non-entity, of ihe jnalerial Huhstnnccs or 
 elements, and the second verse descrihin;^ tlieni us then hein;^ in a 
 mixed, confused, or chaotic state. 
 
 One h'arnc I divine and commentator has written thus on thoHO 
 two lirst verses : — ■" In thi; h !ii.iiniii</J" — Before tlie creative aetd 
 mentioned in this chapter, all ams Kternity. 'rheref)ro in th' hf- 
 Ifitiiiini/, must necessarily iiiean tlie cttmnKMicement of time which 
 followed, or rather was produced by (Jod's creative acts, as an cU'ect 
 follows or is j)rodnced l)y a caii^ic." Now, if as asserted, there wcro 
 two se[)arate acts of creation, with an interval of time, or ^:i\) hetween 
 them, there nnist have hecn two Jirst (fdi/.t of cieition ; — ouf, whoii 
 tho chaotic mass of materiiil sui)stanccs was prodiucil, and the other, 
 v\hen in the third \er><e, " (»od said Let there he li)^ht and there was 
 li^ht,'" and then proceeded to perform li.e creative, arrant,'in<;, and 
 formative acts mentioned in the Hiicccediiij^ parts of the chapter. 
 IJiit there is no mention of any si:ch <hiiil first days, hut at tlie closo 
 of V. 5. the words are; — " And tlie eveniii}; and the niorninj; wero 
 the first day." The W(irl<s or acts of that day were, the creation of 
 tho elements or material sid)stances, — the |)rodiicti()n of li;^'lit.~lho 
 division hetween light and darkness, and namin<^ the lifjht, — " Day " 
 and the darkness, — " Nifi;ht." On tlie words. — " Tlie earth was 
 without form and void,"* tho same learned coinii.cniator has said : — 
 "In this place, and whcre\erel-(! the words, — ^ wit/tDiU fonn aiid 
 void, ' are used, they convoy the idea of coiijnsion and iliaonlir. * * 
 (lod seems at first to have cie.itcd (he elementary principles of all 
 things, and they formed the grand mass oi mattei", which in Ihis 
 state must be without arrangement, or any dislinction of parts. 
 AVIien this congeries of elementary principle "s brought together, 
 (jod was plea-icd to spentl six days, in assim 'aling, assorting, and 
 arranging the materials out of which ho hiiilt up, not only the earth, 
 but the whole of the solar system." On the words in cli. 22 — " On 
 thi', Seventh daij (Jod ended all his work which he h<id made ;'' the same 
 learned writer has tridy said : — " It is the general voice of Scripture, 
 that t»od finished the whole of the creation in six days and r(3sled 
 the .^^ •vonth." This has al-o been the voice of tho dewish church 
 and all the Christi churche- to the present day. There is not a 
 
8 
 
 ., Old or Now Testament 
 
 . word or any part of citte'" ''-' "' „„„ary opinion, 
 
 passnge.orworao . > ^^^^^^^^^^^^„^^t„ t„c ^^^ pe- 
 
 lc.-iptures to n, .ma or ^^ ^^_^. _^ "I';™ '" '^ .fof tl.at 1ir»t 
 
 t,,at tl,ore vva, any ce. . ^^^^,, ;„ ,^, h^t vers ^^ ^^^^ ^.^ 
 
 ,:„a between *e .__^ ^^^. ,,„ ,,„,„ w-- *;^„,„„,t Sinai, 
 
 davs. Tl.eJc«i>" tu the present day, " ^^„ 
 
 through thousands of >ea ^^^^_,^^^.,^,, j,,,, , • J^J^" ,„,„, 
 
 there was any »"<='' 7, fo.ristian churches, »;" "f ^ J^.^,, „.,Jer 
 been held by any ot th ^ . i,„t a U the U u>c ^^^^ 
 
 t,„„,.,h the lHj;^/tr ,-.- -.-''«-' tt^^'e'X ^'•^**''° 
 both dispensations, ha ^^^^^ ^,^^^„, „( that c ^^^^^^^ 
 
 -rr ;r ::ttts s -.«««». ....0^^ . t ^^^^ ^^_^^_.^^ 
 
 whole ot the trt.i ^^^^^^^^ ,„ v. o. contrary 
 
 tooh l,h.cc -tt»" : :; the >^«-'l"--rtn"„;:^her i.»eH- 
 
 ^^"'' ';:r; ">«=">• *'•: •-" ve .:;-v.^ ^odem 
 
 opnnon. I"'-" j otiicrs, »it"'" ■;. .'.,. ...elation ; and 
 
 .•„. of certain «-"''«';*;,, „, mBdel as to J'™' ^'j; ,a,„uted, 
 times, svho have been opt ^^^^ ^^^^ -"''7 ', ..ueiliation, 
 
 intheSacreiStupt"' ^o ^^tnral and other 
 
 ««""l":'ttatt™d and abounding ^'^^ ^^l^o.. opinion 
 With all that vane ^^^_ ^^^^^,4 that » j^ ,h„„id 
 
 authority which has J' ;*;',, /,„„„„d Professor ^'^^"^'J^^, „,d 
 it doe, seem '"'^'f' *''' \tat opinion, before such a se 
 have so conlhlent V av^oj. J^ extraordinary, t^t he ^^^^ 
 intellig-t asscrd,^ an* ^ ^.^„^,^ ,.,^^, ,, ,„thor>ty, P 
 
 ^IXU .--J-; r,ghrde no«inction b^- 
 nent men, it may we ^ 
 

 
 logy or soionco fj;eiier;illy, to those in more modern times, who have 
 li(!'(i, or to those who now hold that contrary opinion. 
 
 Kcv. Edward Hitchcock, Principal of Amherst College, in the 
 United States, in his volume on " Religion and (Jeology '' favours 
 that opinion of the two creations, with a very long peritxl between 
 them, l)iit he admits, that the literal and obvious meaning of Scrip- 
 ture on the point is, to the eltect, that the whole of creation was com- 
 menced and completed within the six days ; but he contends, that 
 the words of Scripture will bear that other meaning of the two sepa- 
 rate and distinct creations. 
 
 In the Essay in opposition to the Mosaic Cosmogony, by C. W, 
 ( M)0(i win, which r. reviewed in my answers to the volume of Essays 
 and lieviews ; he differs from the (;thcr geologists in their cosmogo- 
 nies, and condennis tl«em,an(l admits the plairniess aud consistency 
 of the Scripture accomit of Creation. Heferring to the discordant 
 theories of certain geologists, he say.. : — " How can it be otherwise; 
 when the task proposed is to evade the plain meaning of lang-uage, 
 and to introduce obscurity into one of the simplest stories ever told, 
 for the sake of making it accord with the complex system of the 
 universe whi(;h modern science has inifolded." He furtlier says of 
 tlie Scripture account: — " Remarkable a- this narrative is for simple 
 grandeur, it has nothing in it which can properly be called poetical. 
 It l)C!irs, on its face, no trace of mystical or symbolical meaning. 
 Things are called by their right names, with a certain scientiiic ex- 
 actness widely different from the imaginative Cosmogonies of the 
 Crrocks. 
 
 This l\rr. (xoodwin, however, gave a most extravagant and absurd 
 Cosmogony theory of his own invention. Tn fact scarcely any two of 
 those s|)eculative theorists on tlie two periods of creation agree in all 
 particulars. Sonic of them place the creation of the material sub- 
 staiues or elements, and the commencement of the supposed vastly 
 extended Chaotic State, at the end oi' the first verse of the cha[)ter, 
 and others llx it at the end of the second verse, and say that the regu- 
 lar formation of the earth, and the creation of all the creatures and 
 things therein, and belonging to it. and the whole planetary system, 
 coiumenccd with verse 3, when light was called forth. 
 
I;! 
 
 10 
 
 +Vi t it is quite improiiali^c, 
 
 any living creature f..r . .» Y .^ ., ^.,rt,„,, from ' - J^* „, 
 
 „„eeulative S;"";|;;^: ^ t production, ^''-*;;>': ;,";;" .f 'the 
 elmvter, tl«>t ""^'""7:.'^, ,„ ,„„, moon, star., or ■" ^ ,^„ti„„e<l 
 iWin. creature „f '^^"^^^^^ „„ul the .nb.e,ue«t ciaj, 
 nknetary »pte,n «ere .enutation 
 
 «".'': "f ;; vn nnn geological grounds a, ^ ^ ^,^, „„,,„ 
 
 animals, real "■ suvl» . ^„j ,vhicl the> 
 
 that tins ^ Genesis, ur. ^.nrr'ssed anil claho- 
 
 tionas giv . '".<,"• ^^,„i,erst College, has expn > ^^^_ 
 
 mentioned, ''--'-* "„t that enlarged -'">;*[; J :. „e is 
 ,.,ely en^leavoure 1 to -, ^^^^^ „ , „„, rse " '^ "J^^, ,t,,ers, 
 .. Kehgion and Oeolog), ,^,, „„ the point a.. 
 
 V->''*'-^-'rT::srtt:hedist-nrctly,n,ders^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 for he says :- ^ ,^ ,. ,i,e language ot ^<-r'l , ^,,„ 
 
 deavouring to ''"- ;^;*,,„, the first creat.on ot ,.a «« , _^^ 
 
 oV - ■'-l^""";"^"^^ billing to admit, at least i^^^. *^^ __^_,^. 
 ,„ demiurg-cda^^^^ J interpretation win -* s ^^^^^^ __^ 
 
 „g,unent, t -at the ,„,t natural «"- J ,,„,. 
 
 '■" r n: don : f e language, by adm.t.ng .;e ^the ^^^^ ^^_^ 
 ' ;;::•• r^ tothe fomndion of ^:;*^:;taeeumu,ation of ,nud, ,s 
 
 '"^ "'"*■ hi^^^ ^ much more rapid, as the la e oX ^^,,^^^.^ 
 
 ^^-.TlBhe loaded with detritus from the A i 
 
n 
 
 a delta has been forriied two miles loni^ and 900 feet thick, witliin 
 eight himdrod years.'' Why then, may not somewhat similar forma- 
 tions, and large rocks, have been produced in other j)laces, not within 
 only 800 years, but within the more than four thousdnd years since 
 the general deluge ? 
 
 This same I*rcside?it IFitchcock has had the [)resum[)tuous boldness 
 to say : — " Chemistry has demonst rated that the earth is already for the 
 most part oxidized and therefore carniot literally be burned hereafter.'* 
 And this in the face o\^ these expro-ts words of sacre.l Scripture by aa 
 insj)ired Apostle, in 2 Peter iii. 7 and 10. — " B.it tlie heivens and the 
 €arth which are now, by the s.ime word are kept in store, reserved 
 unto fire,"' &c. — " ^^\\\ the day <.){' the Lord will come, as a thief in 
 the night ; in the which the hcivciis shall piss away with a great noise, 
 and the elements shall melt with fcrvcut hcifc; the cir^li also, and 
 thevvorks that are therein shall tic burned u[)." Verse 13. " Never- 
 theless we, according to his pptjuiisc, look for new heavens and a new 
 earth." 
 
 President Hitchcock has here oven sur[);mc I the antedcluvians in 
 UiJicUef, if not imjnctii, tor they only had the word of Noah for the 
 deluge, but he has said, in ex[)re;s contradiction to those inspired 
 Scriptures, that by reason of certain discoveries or conclusions in che- 
 mistry, the Almighty Creator und (Jrod of the Universe, not only will 
 not, but caanot full 11 those his express and awt'ul declarations. — 
 Now, ;is a mci'c matter of opposition of Scietice, here is what Dr. 
 Adam Clarke, it may be presiuued as well instructed in chemistry, 
 and a far more learned as well as pious divine than President Hitch- 
 cock, has said on those passages in I'eter : — 
 
 " As the chrtric or (thcr'uil Jirc is that which in all li!^e:ihood (xod 
 will use in the general confhigratic n, the noise occasioned by the ap- 
 plication of this fire to such an iuiiiiciise coni/rrl.rs o[' (((futoifs p;i''ticlea 
 us float in the atmosphere, must be terrible in the extreme." * * 
 *' When the lire has c(»nqu(!red and decomposed the water, the ele- 
 ments, the 7if/tfrnt/('n and oxygen airs, or gases, (tiie former of which 
 is most highly inflammable, aiul the latter an eminent supporter of 
 all combustion) will occupy disl'uict regions of the atmosj)here, the 
 hydrogen, by its very groat levity, ascending to the top, while the 
 oxygen, from its superior spccilic gravit^y, will keep ufwa or near the 
 surtaco of the earth ; and tints, if difl'crent substances be once ignited, 
 
12 
 
 tlio fire wliich is supported in tliis ca^e not only by tlie oxyjn;cn. wliicli 
 is one of the constittients of atmosplieric air, but also by a fj;re;it ad- 
 ditional (juantity of oxygen, obtained from the decomposition of all 
 acpieons vapours, will rapidly .sei/.e upo7i uU other substances, on all 
 terrestrial particles, and the whole frame of nature will bo necessa- 
 rily torn in pieces, and thus the vholc earth and all itx icorls be hurnnl 
 
 Now here is science opposed to science, both merely human. Hut 
 independent of all Iniowledgc of that nature, and of all suppositions 
 or conceptions on the point, the glorious (fod of Truth, who is infin- 
 ite in wUdom, and almighty in power, has plainly declared, as we see, 
 that "the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall Ise burned 
 up;" and He can always provide ways and means to etl'ect it, and 
 therefore, all the igjiorant cavils, quibbles, and objections of fallible 
 men, are not only worthless, but in a degree, iminoiia. 
 
 This digression from the main subject in question has been made, 
 chiefly to show the little, if any, value to be attachefl to the supposi- 
 tions, arguments, and supposed proofs of Dr. Hitchcock in support of 
 this erroneous opinion as to the two separate and distinct periods of 
 creations. The late Kev. Dr. Harris, the author of that excellent 
 work called "Mammon," wrote an octavo volume on the " Pre-Adam- 
 ite earth." I have read part of the book, but would con-*ider it time 
 mis-spent to wade through the whole of it, for, notwithstanding his 
 reputation as a literary character, and a good man, it is evident from 
 Scripture and other valid authority, that neither he n> ■ ;iny other lit- 
 erary or scientific character, could, or can know anything more of a 
 Pre-Adamite earth than is contained in the first twenty-live verses of 
 the first chapter of (xeiiesis ; and which any rustic who can reul 
 them, can understand their moaning, being so plainly given, — ;just as 
 well as the Scientists or literati of any age or country, all their pro- 
 ductions on the subject being more suppositions, or little better than 
 fabulous conceptions. 
 
 As this answer to that erroneous opinion of the two times of crea- 
 tion rests entirely on the plain letter and authority of Scripture, it 
 will be quite needless to ojitcr upon any particidars or special re\ iew 
 and examination of the several alleged geological and other proofs by 
 those who hold that unsciptural opinion. It may be well however, 
 
18 
 
 rca- 
 It 
 lew 
 by 
 jver, 
 
 to p;ive here, two or tliree itistanccs or factH, well aiitlienticiited, to 
 8l)ow the iiiisomuliiess and futility of that opinion as derived from 
 geological and other alleged soiirees. 
 
 Dr. Adam Clarke, previously cited as an eminent authority on the 
 whole subject, at the close of his comments on the book of Crenesis, 
 has written in the following terms concerning these geohjgical :u)il 
 other strata and formations, and those producing them in opposition 
 to the scrij)turc account of the creati(m : — " A class of philosopliers, 
 professedly infidel, have assailed the Mosaic account of the formation 
 of the Universe, and that of the general deluge, \vilh such repeated 
 attacks, as sufficiently proved, that in their apprchensicm, the pillars 
 of their system must be shaken into ruin if those accounts could not 
 be ))roved to be false. Ti'aditioti>i sup])()rting accounts different from 
 those in the sacred history, have been l)()rrowed from the most bar- 
 barous as well as the most civilized nations, in order to bear on this 
 argument. These backed by various geologic observations, made in 
 extensive travels, experiments on the formation of different strata, or 
 beds of earth, either by inundatitms or volcanic eru[)tions, have been 
 all condensed into one appareiitly strong but strange argument, in- 
 tended to overthrow the Mosaic account of the creation. 'I'he argu- 
 ment may be stated thus : — ' The account given by Moses of the 
 time when (tocI commenced His creative acts, is too recent', for ac- 
 cording to His (lenesis, aivthoxmiul ya-xv^ litivc not yet elapsed since 
 the formation of the universe ; whereas a variety of phenomena })rove 
 that the earth itself, must have existed, if not from eternity, yet at 
 \eti>i fourleeni^ not tuwiitif thousand years.'—" This,'' the Dr. says, " 1 
 call a strani/e argument, because it is well known, that all t le ancient 
 nations in the v.Drld, the Jews excepted, have to secure the r honour 
 and respectability, assigned to themsehes, a tlundion. of the most im- 
 probable length, and have multiplied months, uieeks, and even (/«//«, 
 into years, in order to support their pretensions to the most remote 
 antiquity. The millions of years which have been assumed by the 
 Chiiiesi'. and the ffiadoot, have been ridicidel for their manifest 
 absurdity, even by those philosopliers who have brought the contrary 
 charge against the Mosaic account. So notorious are the jjretensions 
 to remote ancestry, and remote eras, in every false and fabricated 
 system of family pedigree, and national antiquity, as to produce doubt 
 
14 
 
 at the very first view of their Hiibjects, and to ciuse the impartial 
 eiKiuirer after truth to take every ste[) witli the oxtreino of eautioii, 
 knowing that in <'')in<' over such accounts he evervwiiero treaiis on a 
 kind of enchanteil ground." 
 
 When in tlie niiilst of these a writer is found, who without saying 
 a word of the syiteins of other nations, professes to give a simple ac- 
 count of the creation, and peopling of the earth, and to show the very 
 conapicious part that his own people acted am )ng the vaiious nations 
 of the world, and who assigns to the earth, and to its iidiahitants, a 
 duration comparatively l)ut; as of i/i'sti'nltti/, he comes forward with 
 such a variety of claims to be heard, read, and considered, as no other 
 writer can pretci.d to. And as he departs from the universal custom 
 of all writers, on similar sultjects, in assigning a com[)aralivcly recent 
 date not only to his own nation, but to the universe itself, he must 
 have been actual oii by motives essentially diffei'i'iit from those which 
 have go\ erned all other ancient historians anel chronologisls. 
 
 The generally acknowleilged extravagance and absurdity of all the 
 chronological systems of ancient times, the great simplicity and har- 
 mony of that of Moses, its facts evidently borrowed by others, thoiigh 
 disgraced by the fables they have intermixed with them, and the very 
 late invention of Arts and Sciences, all tend to prove at the very first 
 view tlnit the Mosaic account, which assigns the shortest duration to 
 the earth, is the most ancient, and the most likely to be true. But 
 all this reasoning has been supposed to be annihilated, by an argu- 
 ment brought against the Mosaic account of the Creation, by Mr. 
 Patrick Brydone, l'\ R. S., drawn from the evidence of different 
 eruptions of Mi)unt ^iria. The reader may find this in his " Tour 
 through Sicily and Malta," letter 7, where, speaking of his acquain- 
 tance witli the Odmnico It'cupt-ro, at Catania, who was then c... ployed 
 on writing a natural history of Mount A*!,\uii, he says : — " Near to a 
 vault whicli is now tfiirti/ feet below gromul, and has probably been 
 aluu'ying place, there is a draw well, where there arc several strata 
 of luKi (i.e., the VKjuid matter formed of stones, &c., which is dis- 
 charged from the mounttiin in its eruptions) with earth to a conside- 
 rable thickness over each stratum. R'caprro has made use of this as 
 an argument to prove the great antiquity of the eruptions of this 
 mountain. For if it requires tivo thousand years and upwards, to 
 
IT) 
 
 f(»rtn but a scaiily soil on the surface of a lavi, Ihpro must have been 
 more than that space of lime betweoii each of the eruptions which 
 have formed these strata. Mut what shall wo say of a pit they sunk 
 near to Jaci, of a ^reat depth ? They pierced throui^h t^i'ven distinct 
 hivax, one under the oilier, the surfaces of which were parallel, and 
 most of them covered wUk a (hich h'll of rich rnrtfi. Now, says he, 
 the eriipt'on which formed the lowest of tl ese laoi'tf, if we miiv be 
 allowed to reason from analofj;y, must have flowed from the mountain 
 at least /v)Hr^v'/» thnumml years a<;o ! 
 
 " Keciipcro tells me, be is ex('eedin<j;ly embarrassed by these discove- 
 ries, in writing the history of the mountain : that Moses hangs like 
 a dead weight upon him, and blunts all his zeal foren(iuiry, for that he 
 reallji hua md the conscience to nid/re his mountdin so ifoiiiuj, a< that pro- 
 phet maJces I " world, 
 
 " The Bishop, who is stretuiously orthodox, (for it is an excellent 
 see) has already warned him to be upon his guard, and not to pretend 
 to be a hotter natural historian thati Moses ; nor to presume to urge 
 anything that may, in the smallest degree, be deemed contradictory to 
 his sacred authority." 
 
 Though Mr. Brydone produces this as a sneer against revelation, 
 bishops, and orthodoxy, yet the sequel will prove that it was good 
 advice; and that the Bishop was much better instructed than either 
 Keeupero or Brydone, aiul that it would have been much to their credit 
 had they taken his advice. 
 
 Dr. Clarke further writes : — " I. have given, however, this argiunent 
 at length, and cveti in the insdious dress of Mr. Brydone, whose 
 faith in divine revelation ap])ears to have been upon a par with that 
 of S'l/nior l{i'cnj)ero, both being binlt nearly on the same foundation, 
 to show, from the answer, how slight the strongest arguments are, 
 produced from insulated facts, by prejudice ami partiality, when 
 brought to the test of sober, candid, philosophical investigation, guid- 
 ed by an increased knowledge of the {)henomena of nature.'' In 
 answer to this argument, says liishop Watson, (letters to Hibbonj 
 ' it might be urged that the time necessary for converting laixi into 
 fertile fields, must be very different, according to the different consis- 
 tencies of the hiva, and their different situations with respect to ele- 
 vation SLwd depression, or their being exposed to winds, raitis, and other 
 
 
arm 
 
 Ifi 
 
 oirciiiiistjiDccH ; as for iiisinncc, llio (iiiaiitity of aslics dopositcil over 
 tlicni (it'ler tlicv liii<l cooled, itc, &(*., Just iis tlio time in uliicli heaps 
 of iron slijf?, wliirli rcseinl)los /.Km, are covereil \\ illi verdure, ih diil'er- 
 ent Jit diHer(>n1" rnniaees, aec(»rdiM«if t(» the nature of the sla^', and 
 nitiiation of tlie t'lirnace ; and soniot'iin^ of this kind is dediicil)le 
 from the account of ihc ("anon (Weciipcro) himself, since tlie (•rcricis 
 in the strata are often full of rich j^ood soil, and have j)ietty lar'i^c 
 trees ^rowinjx upon tliem. liut should not all this he thought suHI- 
 cient to remove the ohjection, I will produce the Canon an (tiKf/ot/i/, 
 in opposition to his analogy, and which is grounded on m(»re certain 
 facts. 
 
 ' ^<^tna ami N'esuvius resemhle eacli other in the causes which ])ro- 
 duce their eruptions, in the nature of their laiut, and in the time 
 necessary to mellow them into soil iit for vegetation; or if there bo 
 any slight ditl'erence in this respect, it is j)rohal)ly not greater than 
 that which subsists between ditferent lavas of the same mountain. — 
 'J'his being admitted, which no philosopher will deny, the Canon's 
 (Uccppero's) analogy will produce just nothing at all, if we can pro- 
 duce an instance of sci'i'n ditferent ha'iis, with uitcrjncent strata of 
 V'jrtahlr enrtJi, which have (lowed from Mount Vesuvius, within tlie 
 hpiice. not tif fourteen thousand, but something less than our thousand 
 ^ii'rn hiinilr.if yoiir'i ; for then, according to our analogy, a stratum of 
 lav(( inai/ hi' onwri'd nn'th i!i(/i't(d)li' soil in about two hundred and JiftiJ 
 yearn, instead of roipiirnig two thousand for that purpose, 
 
 • The eruption of \'esuvius, which destroyed Iferculanemn and 
 Pompeii, is rendered still more famous, by the death of IMiny, record- 
 ed l)y his nephew, in his Ictlerto Tacitus. 'I'his event happened, 
 A. 1)., 70, but we arc informed by nn([uestionablc authority (Remarks 
 on the nature of the soil of Naples and its vieinitij, by Sir William Ham- 
 ilton, I'hilos. T/unmiet., vol. Gl, p. 7) that the matter which covers the 
 ancient town of Ilerculaneum is not the produce "of one eruj)ti()n <ml>/, 
 for there are evident marlxs that the matter of .s'v'.j; eruptions has taken 
 its course over that which liow iunnediately over the town, and was 
 the cause of its destruction. These strata arc cither o^ lava or burnt 
 matter, with veins of ijmd soil hetwen them. "You perceive,'' says 
 tlie ]?ishoj), "with what ease, a little attention, iinc\ increase of Iomw- 
 le.dtje, may remove a great dilHculty ; but luid wc been able to say 
 
17 
 
 1. 
 
 ndthitij^ in expliitiation of this phenomenon, \vc shouhl not have acted 
 a very rational [)art in making our i'jnoranci', the foundation of our in- 
 JiilcUtii, or suflbring a minute piiilo.sophcr to rob us of our religion." 
 " In this, as well as in all other eases," says Dr. Adam Clarke, " tho 
 foundation stands sure, being deeply and legibly impressed with God'a 
 Seal." Sec also Dr. (ipeavcs's lectures on the i'entatcuch. There is 
 a very sensible paper, written by l)»n Joacfth (jfiofni, on the eruption 
 of Etna in 1781, in which, among other valuable observations, 1 find 
 the following note: — " I was oljliged to traverse tho current of lava 
 made by the eruption i)f 17(5(5, the most (indent of any that took this 
 direction, viz: llronte. I saw several streams of lava which had croaa- 
 ^l othem, and which afl'orded us evident proofs of the fallacy of tho 
 conclusions of those who seek to oM'u ite the period of the formation 
 of the beds of lava, from the change they have uiulergone. Somo 
 Idva of fdrlier date than (tthers, ^till n-.nist the weather, and present a 
 a vitreous and unaltered surfiee, while the lava oi' later date already be- 
 gin to be covered with vegetation. Sec Pinkerton on Kock, vol. 2, 
 p. ;{95." Now, from these several facts and instances as to the lava, 
 it would bo perfectly reasonable to argue and conclude, that the dif- 
 ferent and alternate geological strata of earth, stone, and other sub- 
 Htances, which arc fouiul at various depths from the surface, have 
 been formcHl during somewhat similar periods as in those instances of 
 the lava, and all within the more than four thousand years since the 
 deluge. 
 
 Dr. Clarke has further written as follows : — "On tho (/eoloe/y and 
 astronomy of the book of (Jenesis, much has been written, both by 
 the enemies and friends of revelation, but as Moses has said very lit- 
 tle on these subjects, and nothing ii^a si/st(matic way, it is unfair to 
 invent a system pretendedly collected out of his words, and thus 
 make him accountable for what he never wrote. There arc systems 
 of this kind, the preconceived fictions of their authors, for which they 
 have sou<j;ht support and credit, by tortured meanings, extracted from 
 a few Hebrew roots, and then dignified them with the title of The 
 Mosaic si/stevi of the Universe, This luls afforded infidelity a handle 
 which it has been careful to turn to its own advantage." The Dr. is 
 perfectly right in his last remark, and it may be justly added that the 
 writings on those subjects of such men as Dr. Harris, Dr. Hitchcock, 
 
18 
 
 and Homo othcrn, tho pr >fesse(l frioiuls of divine revelation, favour- 
 ing and .sij|)|)()rtin;,', as they have done, that erroneous opinion of I ho 
 two separate j)eriods of ereation, have, it is highly probable, in some 
 or many instances, had a tendency to stren'jUua rather than to Ici^Hen 
 or remove the objections of the avowed opponents of that revelation, 
 and aNo injuriously allect the belief of other portions of the Scrip- 
 tures, among many of the general populations, and especially tho 
 youth at literary institutions. Anci here it may, once for all, be said 
 that it is more than probable, or may indeed bo almost concluded, 
 that neither the two authors above named, or few if anv others who 
 have written in support of the same opinion, have permnally seen Oj. 
 looked into any of the excavations or depths of the earth, and seen 
 and numbered their various strata, or have actually seen and exam- 
 ined the rocks, stones, supposed skeletons, and bones, and other re- 
 mains and substances :bund or said to have been found therein, and 
 given and asserted as proofs of the truth of that opinion. They have 
 had their intbrination on the sidiject chiefly, or entirely, at second or 
 third h;in(l, from others, who, as in nearly all such cases, have given 
 magnified and exaggerated accounts concerning them. 
 
 Some of tho supporters of that erroneous opini(jn of tho two pe- 
 riods of Creation, probably feeling pressed with tho fact of the No- 
 achian deluge, as being sulPiciont to account for those geological and 
 other strata and formations, aiul skeletons and other remains and 
 substances, found at various de[)ths of the earth, have been so bold 
 as to contend, that the deluge did not extend over the whole of tho 
 earth, but only over the Histern and other countries inhabited by 
 man. They have so concluded, in the face of tho Scriptures, given 
 in the plainest words that could possibly be used to express the uni- 
 versalitij of that deluge. They have either failed to look carefully at 
 the passages of Scripture on the subject, orthoy ^avo wilfully over- 
 looked or rejected those passages. 
 
 Tho following are the words of those Scriptures : — Cren. 7. 11, 12. 
 "The same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, 
 and the windows of heaven were ojiened. And the rain was upon 
 the earth forty days and forty nights." — vs. 19, 20, 21 , 22. " And the 
 waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth ; and all the high hills 
 that were uni'cr the whole heaven were covered. Fifteen cubits up- 
 
 a 
 
 V( 
 
 ol 
 di 
 
 tu 
 
MMidM*^ 
 
 19 
 
 ward") (lid tlio \V!lfcr^ prevail ; and tlio mountaitH worn covered. And 
 all fl(»-*h die I thit intvod u[) )n tho oirth. both of fowl, and of catllo, 
 and of l)oast, and of cv<iry croopinj^ thiufjj that creopoth upon tho 
 earth, and cvim'v man. All in \vho-*o nostrils was the hn-ath of iifo, 
 of all that was in tho dryland, died." 
 
 The Words in verse 10 — '* And all tho lii^^di hills that wore \Mi«!.r 
 tho wholo heivon wore covered. l''ift(>on cnbits upwards did tho 
 waters prevail, and the mountains were covcrod,'' are so precisely ex- 
 pressive and fidl, that it is impossihie to f;iv(> tncm any other mean- 
 in<^ than that of tho dohmo havinij; prevailed ocr Ih,- irhii- of our 
 (jlohi'. By the words " the whole heaven," is nu ant tlat visible fir- 
 mitient, or heaven, many iniHio?is of miles eni'trdlwi thi'i (jlohi' in rvfnj 
 direction, and which contains all the rest of tho planetary system, and 
 Wis called ^^ h'dvi'n" by Gtxl himself, as wo see in Tion. i-b. 1,8. 
 Fifteen cubits. — or about twent.y-si\ feet — above all the hi^di hills and 
 mountiiins under the whole he iven, " did the waters |)revail which 
 was (piito sulficiont to destroy all the livinji; creatures on the dry land. 
 And yet President Hitchcock, a 0.1)., ana Lecturer on Scriptural sub- 
 jects, has had the reckless boldness to say : — *' There are reasons, 
 both in natural history, and in the scripture, for supposiufj, that tho 
 dclu<j;e may not have been universal over the whole globe, but only 
 over the region itduibifed by man.'' 
 
 Now if he, or any other geologist, or any other person, holding this 
 opinion, can point us to a hill or mountain, or any other part of i\\\^ 
 gl >be, that is n')t '"■ nnh'i' th-. whil'. ha^'nx," some little n(,tice or 
 attention may be given to their utiscriptural and mere suppositions 
 and fabricated notions of a limited deluge. 
 
 The Hev. Mr. Stackhouse, in his voliuninous work, " A Complcto 
 Body of Divinity,'' previously mentioned, has written most elabon.tel/ 
 and convincingly concerning tho Dolugo, its unlvermlilij, and on va- 
 rious other points connected with it. The following are some of his 
 princij)al facts und arguments on the whole subject : — " It seems to 
 be a manifest point that the truth and certainty of a deluge was 
 always acknowledged by the ancients : nor was the extent and uni- 
 venfidllij of it ever called into qucstioii till some modern authors, 
 observing the difficilty of finding out waters sulhcient to 
 drown the u orld, in tho manner that Moses describes it, have ven- 
 tured upon a very bold expedient. They say that Noah's flood was 
 
20 
 
 no inoro tliiin a Jmtion;il immdntion, conlinoil to Jiidca and the rcj^iojiH 
 tliorcihoiits. Tfio Script iiro, (»ii the contrary, give"t ih tlic t'lillost 
 acfoimt imiiKinablo of entire doHtruction, vi/,. : that nil Jlfnh whh'h 
 tUDVcit uj)<)a thi' ctti'lh, whether noin, or oittli', or nrf/fini/ t/iin'f, or fmrl 
 of the hcmu'ii, (ill died and wore h)st, except Nodh, and surfi n.'i nu-rf 
 v'it/i him in the Ark. * * • '|'|ic Divine Historian t'lirni-thes 
 another ar«i;iiment, as de'.ionstrativo as any, \vh<Mi ho tolls us that 
 •' the lonterx prevdiled exceeiHii'iUi upon the earth, ami all the hii/h hilln 
 thi't were under the whole heaven, (and consetiiiently quite round the 
 cartli)» '"''*'' covered ; fifteen cuhilH upuiard did the watem jtrenail, and 
 the monntninH were covered. • ♦ • We cannot imagine how hills 
 and mountains of water couhl have lunig ybout .ludci as if they had 
 been cnnf/ealed ; or how a large mass tliereof coiiM iiave stood n[)o\\ 
 the ini(Mle of the earth like one great tiro/), or a tre(nhling,/V////, and 
 all the places about it ro iiain dry and untouched. All li(juid bodies 
 are diffusive, and therefore from the very nature of the element, the 
 water could not ascend to the tops of the highest mountains without 
 diffusing itself over the face of the earth ; and conse(iuently, if ever 
 there was a deluge which rose to the height which Moses describes, it 
 must, of Ticcessity, have been univer.titl.'' deferring to the objection 
 that the whole earth was not inhabited at the time of the deluge, the 
 Rev. author savs : — " 'Tis a groundless and f)rced conceit to imagine 
 that Judea only and some other parts about it in Ania were stocked 
 with people when the deluge was brought upon the old world, for if 
 we consider the lom/evitj/ of the first inhabitants, and the pretty near 
 equality of their ages, we shall so(M1 perceive that in the space of 
 sixteen hundred years mankind would become so nuinerous that the 
 chief difficulty would be where wo should fiml countries to receive 
 them." Ho then mentions, as is true, that there arc traditions con- 
 cerning the deluge am f)ng the nations of the four quarters of tlio 
 globe, Europe. Asia, Africa, and America, lie proceeds by saying 
 "If we will but turn aside the surface and look into the bowels of 
 the earth itself, we shall find arguments enough for our conviction ; 
 for the heds of sJvU/i which are often found on the tops of the highest 
 mountains, and the petrified bones and teeth of fishes which arc dug 
 up hundreds of mil(?s from the sea, are tho clearest evidence in the 
 world that tho waters have, some time or other, overflow cd the highest 
 parts of the earth. That these arc real sheila the nicest examination* 
 
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 8! 
 / 
 
 b( 
 nc 
 
21 
 
 .. 
 
 i. 
 
 hotli (»r tlio »)/ ami mi<roHi'itfh'- (1(» attest ; mid that they arc Inw hotn'^ 
 limy Ih' I'xporiiiioiitod by Ininiiii)^ tliciii, vvliit-li, as it »1oom otlior bttiics, 
 turns tlioiu first into a coal, and aftrrwards into a (vt/.r '' 
 
 On tlio words of Script niv, "all the fountains tit* the {,'n'at dcop 
 were broken up, and the windows ot* heaNen were opened," the same 
 liev. autlior bus thus written : — " My the ' opening of the windows of 
 ]Ieaven,* iniMt be understiiod tlie eausin;^' of the water ubieh \\>i;) 
 f(uspeiided in the clouds to descend upon the earth, not in ordinary 
 showers, but in Hoods, or, (as the Septua^^ist iiiter(U'ets it), in mln- 
 racts or spouts of water, it is certainly more than [irobabh;, (because 
 a matter of Divine revelation), that there is an iiiiiiiens(» body of water 
 eneloseil in tlie center of the earth, to uhich the I'salinist. plainly 
 alludes when lie tells us that (Jod \fonndi(l the ciwth upon the scdn, tt nil 
 estdh/i-ihei/ it upon the Jhnuh ; that he ■stretched out the earth (tfinvc the 
 waters ; that he ijdfheretl up the ivdtem <(s in a hd(f, (so the best trans- 
 lators have it), and laitl up tlie deep, or dfn/s^, <i!< in u Htorchoase.^ * * 
 In the Proverbs wisdom sets before our eyes, as it were, the very foriiii 
 and lijjfure of this abyss : — ' When he prepured the llearens 1 vdn 
 there, when he set u conijidKH upon the fmv of tlie deep, when he estah- 
 linhed the idouds dhove, when he str,ni/thened the fonnttiinn of the dhi/.'fn* 
 Here is mention made of the dhi/ss ami of tho fountdina of the nhi/ss ; 
 nor is there any question to be made but that the fountains of the 
 abyss here are the same with the fountains ol the abyss which Moses 
 tiientions, and were hnJee vp, as he tells us, at the dclui^e. And what 
 is observable in the text, the word wliicli we render compat^a pro- 
 perly sigiiilies a eirele or cireumforencc, or an orb, or sphere, so 
 that there was, in the beginning, a sphere, orb, or arch, set round the 
 abyss, according to the testimony of Wixdom, who was tlien present." 
 
 " Tis a groundless objection then, to suppose that there could be 
 any defect of water sullicient for a deluge, when the storehouses, both 
 of the superior and inferior regions, were so well rcpleni>hed." 
 
 Dr. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary, has also written on the 
 eame subject in the following terms : — on the words, " I do bring a 
 flood," Oen. vi. 17, lie gi\es th(! original Hebrew word mdhhul for 
 flood, and says: — " A wtird used only to designate the (/euernl delui/e, 
 being never ap|dicd to signify any t)ther kind of inundation ; and does 
 not the Holy Spirit intend to show by this that no other flood was c\er 
 like this, and that it should continue to be the sole one of the kind." 
 
22 
 
 After these iiicts ancl opinions of these eminently learned men, as 
 to the universnlitji of tlie (lelujrc, the contrary opinion or rather siip- 
 postion of President ITitchcock on the point, is of no validity what- 
 ever. Dr. Clarke writes thxM, on the words : — ' Were all the foun- 
 tains of the great deep broken iij), and the window\s of heaven were 
 opened : ' — ' Tt appears that an iirnnensc quantity of water occupied 
 the centre of the antcdcluvian earth ; and as these burst forth, by the 
 order of God. the circuinainbient strata must sink, iti order to fill up 
 the vacuum occasioned by the elevated waters. These waters, with the 
 seas on the earth's surface, might be deemed sufTicient to drown the 
 whole globe ; as the waters now on its surface, are nearly three-f )urths 
 of the whole, as lias been accurately ascertained by Dr. Long, By 
 the * openim/ of the windowa cf hmvi'n.,'' is probably i.^eatit, the preri- 
 pitating all the aqueous vapours which were suspendeil in the whole 
 atmosphere, so that, as Moses expressed it, ch. 1.7, the watem that 
 were nhove the Jinunment^ were again united to the writers which toere 
 hchw the Jlrmamciit ; from which on the second day ot creation they 
 had been separahd. Those two causes concurring, were amply sufli- 
 cient, not only to overflow the earth, but jjrobably to dissolve the 
 wliole terrence fabric, as some judicious naturalists have sui)p()Hed ; 
 ndeed this seems determined by the word, mahhul, translated flood., 
 which is derived from, hal, or hdhil, (he gives the original Hebrew 
 words) to mix, min/jh'. confound, confii'^c, because the a'jnena^ and ter- 
 ror parts of the globe were then mixed and confounded together, and 
 when the supernatural cause that jiroduced this mighty change, sus- 
 pended its operations, the different particles of matter would settle 
 according to their specific gravities, and thus form the various strata or 
 he Lf of which the earth appear-i to be internally constructed. Dr. 
 Woodward in his natural history of the earth, has rendered it ex- 
 tremely probable lltat the whole terrestrial substance was amalga- 
 mated with the waters, after whicn the different materials of its com- 
 positioTi settled in hcds or strata according to their respective gravities. 
 Some naturalists have controverted this sentiment, because, in some 
 cases, the internal strucfure of the earth dues not appear to j'istify 
 the opniion that the various portions of matter had settled according 
 to their respective gravities , but these anoniiuies may easily be ac- 
 counted for, from the great changes that have taken place in different 
 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
1- 
 
 ^10 
 
 ^^g 
 
 K$0 
 
 23 
 
 * 
 
 parts of the earth, since the^oof^, by volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, 
 &c." 
 
 The universality and the disrupting and destructi"'^ nature and ef- 
 fects of that dehige are quite sutTicient to account to every dispas- 
 sionate and unprejudiced mind, rationally and satisfactorily, for all 
 those geological and other strata, real or supposed, the skeletons, or 
 parts of animals, or other substances, or formations, which have been 
 found, either on or under the surface of any part of the earth. 
 
 There is, as has been shown, sullicient Scriptural and other author- 
 ity for believing that the outer crust of our-carth rests upon internal 
 seas, and when, as Scripture declares iii Crenesis vii. 11, "all the 
 fountains of the great deep were broken up," that crust would there- 
 by, of course, be everywhere shattered and riven asunder by those 
 seas which were divinely caused to come forth and flow over the 
 whole earth ; and the waters from above and below having, as de- 
 clared, '' prevailed thereon an hundred and fifty days," doubtless in 
 constant and turbulent motion, and also having continued, as men- 
 tioned, about one hundred days more before they were so abated that 
 " the tops of the mountains were seen,'' it is perfectly evident that 
 the incalculable nndtitude of carcases of all the varieties of beasts, 
 birds, and reptiles, and other forms of animated nature, with the 
 multitudinous remains of all other substances and objects which had 
 been on the earth would, of course, be carried by the constant and 
 violent motion of the waters in all directions, and to all quarters, in 
 inconceivable confusion. As the waters subsided and "returned 
 from off the earth," as the Scripture declares, all that confused mass 
 of carcases and other substances would, of course, descend with the 
 waters, and be conveyed and sink down into greater or lesser depths 
 of the innumerable cavities of the earth which had been caused by 
 that previous rending asunder of its crust. This reasonable view of 
 the subject is in no way opposed to the Scriptures concerning it, and 
 will perfectly account for various i^uhdances. forms, and remains being 
 found in regions of the earth to which they were not indigenous ; 
 and for shells and other marine substances being found in the tops of 
 high u)ountains ; and ilie elephant and rhinoceros in great masses in 
 Siberia, mixed with marine substances. It was a most menriful ar- 
 rangement of the wise and gracious Creator to convey from the sur- 
 face of the earth the remaining visible portion of the objects of that 
 
 *n 
 
24 
 
 ;■_■% ■ ■ ', V ' 
 
 destruction, HO that when the human race again appeared upon the 
 earth they wouhl not be oflendcd, or in any way injured by the pre- 
 sence of those objects, whii^h, for the most part, would have been of 
 quite revolting description. 
 
 And now, it may be truly and confidetitly said that there is nothing 
 in any of these facts, stateiuents, and cited authorities on the subject 
 contrary either to Scripture or to natural [)})cnomena, or to reason, 
 and ordinary sense and intelligence, but all are quite in consistency 
 with them. Their evident accordance with the letter and 
 meanifig of the Scriptures is alone sufficient to stamp their 
 reliability, and warriut their fidl b'^lief; while tliose opinions of 
 the two periods of Creation, with a long interval or gap between 
 them, and a limited. or ])artial deluge, are iiltogother destitute of any 
 »Scri[)tural sanction or support, and are the mere conceptions, or 
 rather inventions, of some' geologists, sceptical or infidel, as to (li\ine 
 revelation, and a few other spcc^d;^tive writers. Professor Mc Knight 
 has indeed positively said that "the Biblical doctrine of Creation is 
 divisible into two parts," but he has not cited or referred to a single 
 passage of Scripture to support that assertion. 
 
 No attempt ha< been made to answer, in any special or enlarged 
 maimer, any of those various geological or other books or trcati-^es 
 which }\ave been published aiul herein referred to, as erroneous, for 
 tjie stinicieut reason, that tliey .-ire contrary to the plain letter and 
 meaning of the inspired Scriptures on the subject, and therefore utterly 
 unworthy of belief. It would tlieref)re have been an useless, as well 
 as an almost endless tasl<, to have examined them all, with any spe- 
 ciality. The more modern publishers of those erroneous opinions, are 
 in fact little else than mere phn/l'inxt.^, retailing the concepticms, in- 
 ventions, and mistaken or exaggerated statements and arguments of 
 previous writers, — some of them sceptical, as to divine revelation on 
 the subjects in question. The whole of those writings embodying 
 those statements and erroneous opinions, being the mere suppositions 
 and conceptions of specidative and fallible men, the following Scrip- 
 tural censures and warnings in Col. 2. 8, and 1 Tim. G. 20, very aptly 
 ap|dy to them : — " Beware lost any man spoil you through philosophy 
 and vain deceit, after the tradition of men :" — " Oppositions of Science 
 falsely so called which some professing have erred concerning the 
 faith." 
 
 i