WOKK OF FIRST DAT. 157 



endeavored to unfold the history of the developments of the 

 earth as such, speaking of the vegetable and animal creations 

 only incidentally ; while the object of Moses appears to have 

 been to speak of the successive organization of those outer 

 forms and conditions with which man is immediately, either 

 sensibly or spiritually, connected. Hence, Moses passes over 

 the first two stages of creation, or the chaotic-gaseous and the 

 nucleated stages, mentioned in our generalization, with the 

 simple and comprehensive remark, that " In the beginning God 

 created the heaven and the earth," and commences his main 

 description at an epoch when the earth was probably in a 

 state of imperfect superficial consolidation, and when much of 

 the water of the ocean was still diffused, as vapor, in the thick 

 and turbid atmosphere. The earth is hence described as at 

 that period " without form and void" that is, without arrange- 

 ment, and vacant " and darkness was upon the face of the 

 deep." This " darkness" may be conceived to have been a 

 natural consequence of the state of the atmosphere, which was 

 probably still so thick as not to be easily distinguishable from 

 the fluid portions of the earth, and from the water which rested 

 upon its surface, in which condition it would, of course, have 

 been completely impervious to the solar rays. The first Di- 

 vine operation naturally required, therefore, was to produce 

 changes in, and precipitations from, the aqueous portions of 

 the atmosphere, such as would admit of the descent of some 

 degree of solar light to the earth's surface. This operation 

 is described by Moses, in saying, " The Spirit of God moved 

 upon the face of the waters : and God said, Let there be light : 

 and there was light." This, according to the account, consti- 

 tuted the work of the first day. And here it may be remarked, 

 once for all, that the phrase, " the evening and the morning," 

 which is used as the standing synonym of the different 



14 



