SCIENCE ILLUSTRATIVE OF SCRIPTURE. 



129 



pre iionsive view of tne passages in which there 

 are allusions to such localities. In reading the 

 Evangelists, it is highly expedient to know, for 

 example, the position of Samaria, Galilee, the 

 lake of Gennesareth, and the river Jordan, with 

 respect f .o that portion of the Holy Land, denomi 

 nated Judea the situations of Bethlehem, Na 

 zareth, Jericho, Nain, Sychar, Bethsaida, Cana, 

 Tyre and Sidon, with respect to Jerusalem, and 

 their respective distances from that rnetroplis 

 and the characteristics of the inhabitants of these 

 places ; for, upon a knowledge of such circum 

 stances, our perception of the beauty and appro 

 priateness of our Saviour s discourses, and of the 

 propriety of his actions, will, in a great measure, 

 depend. In reading the history of the journeyings 

 of the Apostles, it is no less expedient that we 

 have lying before us maps of Asia Minor, of An 

 cient Greece, of Palestine, of the Eastern parts 

 of Africa, and of the islands of the Mediterrane 

 an, and that we have some acquaintance with 

 the history and character of the tribes which in 

 habited these countries in the days of the Apos 

 tles. Without such knowledge and assistances, 

 we must, in many instances, read their narratives 

 without ideas and shall be unable to appreciate 

 their labours, the long journeys they undertook, 

 the fatigues they endured, the dangers to which 

 they were exposed by sea and land, and the allu 

 sions made to such circumstances in the Aposto 

 lic Epistles.* 



5. An acquaintance with the facts of Natural 

 History and Science, and with the general pheno 

 mena of Nature, would tend to throw a light on 

 many passages of Scripture, and would enable 

 persons to perceive a beauty and an emphasis in 

 certain expressions, which they would otherwise 

 oe apt to overlook. For example, in the begin 

 ning of the hundred and thirty-fifth psalm, the 

 servants of God are exhorted to &quot;praise the name 

 of Jehovah ;&quot; and in the sequel of the Psalrn va 

 rious reasons are assigned why we should engage 

 in this exercise. One of these reasons is, that 

 &quot; He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends 

 of the earth.&quot; Many persons who read or who 

 may sing this portion of sacred poetry, would be 

 apt to overlook the circumstance now stated as an 

 argument of very inferior importance. But if 

 we examine the subject attentively, we shall find, 

 tnat this physical operation of the Almighty is 

 not only very wonderful in its nature, but that 

 upon it most of our comforts, and even our very 

 existence, depend. Evaporation is a process by 

 which water and other liquids are converted into 

 vapour. The matter of heat, combining with 

 water, renders it specifically lighter, by which 



The student of ancient geography will be assist 

 ed In his researches by a perusal of Wells &quot; Set of 

 Maps of Ancient Geography,&quot; twenty-three in num 

 ber am! Wells &quot; Sacred Geography,&quot; modernized 

 by the Editor of Calmet s Dictionary, which is one of 

 the most accurate and complete works of the kin^t 



means it rises and mixes with the atmosphere, 

 where it remains either invisible, or assumes the 

 appearance of clouds. In this state it occupies 

 a space fourteen hundred times greater than in its 

 ordinary liquid state, and consequently is much 

 lighter than the atmospheric air into which it 

 rises. It has been calculated, that, from an acre 

 of ground, during twelve hours of a summer s 

 day, more than 1600 gallons of water have been 

 drawn up into the air in the form of vapour. From 

 the whole surface of the ocean there arise, every 

 twelve hours, no less than 30,320,500 ,000,000 or 

 more than thirty millions of millions of cubic feet 

 of water, which is more than sufficient to supply 

 all the rivers that intersect the four quarters of 

 the globe. This immense body of vapour is form 

 ed into clouds, which are carried by the winds 

 over every part of the continents ; and, by a 

 process with which we are still unacquainted, is 

 again condensed into rain, snow or dews, which 

 water and fertilize the earth. Now, if this won 

 derful and extensive process of nature were to 

 cease we might wash our clothes, but centuries 

 would not dry them, for it is evaporation alone 

 that produces this effect there would be no rains 

 nor dews to fertilize our fields, and the conse 

 quence would be, the earth would be parched, 

 and the vegetable productions which afford us 

 subsistence would wither and decay, the riv 

 ers would swell the ocean, and cause it to over 

 flow a portion of the land, while, at the same time, 

 their sources would soon be completely exhaust 

 ed, and their channels dried up. In such a state 

 of things, the whole system of terrestrial nature 

 would be deranged, and man, and all the other 

 tribes of animated nature deprived of those com 

 forts which are essential to their existence 

 would, in a short time, perish from the earth. So 

 that it forms a powerful and impressive motive to 

 excite us to praise the name of Jehovah, when we 

 call to remembrance, that it is He &quot; who causeth 

 the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth,&quot; 

 and thus preserves the harmony of nature, and se 

 cures to all living creatures the blessings they 

 now enjoy. 



Again, we are informed by Solomon, (Ec- 

 cles. i. 7.) that &quot; all the rivers run into the sea ; 

 yet the sea is not full ; unto the place from whence 

 the rivers come, thither they return again.&quot; It 

 appears, at first sight, somewhat unaccountable, 

 that the ocean has not long ere now overflown 

 all its banks, when we consider that so many 

 majestic streams are incessantly rolling into its 

 abyss, carrying along with them into its caverns 

 no less than thirteen thousand six hundred cubi 

 cal miles of water every year. Solomon partly 

 solves the difficulty, by informing us, chat, &quot; to 

 the place whence the rivers come, thither they 

 return again.&quot; But how do they return ? Many 

 expositors of Scripture attempt to explain this 

 circumstance, by telling us that the waters of the 

 ocean percolate through the earth, and in sornt 



