LET. X. are brought forward, we muft endea- it. P. 5. "Did God create light be "fore the fun?" Moft affuredly. Why not? When the orb of the fun was formed on the fourth day, it became the appointed receptacle of light, from whence that glorious fluid was to be difpenfed, for the benefit of the fyftem. Before the formation of the folar orb, light was fupported in action by fome other means, as feemed good to the Creator. The earth might be made to revolve by the fame agency, and then another queftion is anfwered; "How could "time be divided into days, before "the "the creation of the fun; fince a day LET. is the time between fun rife and fun "rife?" tr P. 5. "How could God divide the light from darkness, fince darkness "is nothing but the mere privation "of light?" The light was divided from the darkness, as it is now, by the interpofition of the earth. This is plain, because it follows, "God called the light Day, and the darknefs he "called Night." Day was the state of the hemifphere, on which light irradiated; and Night was the ftate of the oppofite hemifphere, on which refted the fhadow projected by the body of the earth. I fee no abfurdity in all this. But may not the affertion, that "darkness is only the 66 mere privation of light," be controverted? L 4 X. X. LET. troverted? When Mofes fays, that "darkness was upon the face of the 66 deep," he did not mean that nothing was there. Of the darkness in Egypt it is faid, that it "might be "felt." And if the fire at the folar orb could be fuddenly extinguifhed, would not the whole body of the celeftial fluid inftantly become a torpid congealed mass, and bind the creation in chains of adamant? At the beginning, "light was formed "out of darkness; and therefore may not the truth be this? In fcripture language, may not light be the celestial fluid, in a certain condition, and a certain degree of motion; and darknefs the fame fluid in a different condition, and without that degree of motion, or when fuch motion is interrupted by the interpofition of an opake X. opake body? A room, for example, LET. is full of light. Clofe the fhutters, and that light inftantly disappears. But what is become of it? It is not annihilated. No: the substance, which occafioned the fenfation of light to the eye, is ftill prefent, as before, but occafions that fenfation no longer. Let philofophers confider, and determine. P. 5. "How could the firmament "be created, fince there is no firma ment, and the falfe notion of it's "existence is no more than an imagi"nation of the ancient Grecians?" Never again let critics, while they live, undertake to cenfure the writings of an author, before they understand fomething of the language in which he wrote. The Greek verfion of the LXX has indeed given us the word σερέωμα, which has produced in our translation the correfponding word LET. firmament. But these terms by no X. means furnish us with the true idea of the original word, which is derived from a verb fignifying, to spread abroad, expand, enlarge, make thin, &c. The proper rendering then is, the expanfion. But expanfion of what? Doubtlefs, of the celestial fluid before mentioned, of light, air, æther, or whatever you please to call it. In Scripture it is ftyled the heavens." Who "ftretcheth out the heavens like a "curtain!*That stretcheth out the "heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth "them out as a tent to dwell in."+ How far this expansion of the heavens extends, is another queftion. That portion of it diffused around the earth is well known by the name of the atmofphere; and it's force may at any *Pf. CIV. ↑ Ifai. XL. 22. time |