CHRONOLOGY. 37 



ration of beings into years, months, weeks, 

 days, hours, minutes and feconds. It may feem 

 flrange to an aftronomer, or chronologift, to read, 

 in the firft chapter of Genefis, that God did not 

 create the fun, moon and ftars till the fourth 

 day, and that there were days and nights be- 

 fore there was any fun. But who can fay what 

 is there precifely meant by the word day ? Mo- 

 fes, who lived about three thoufand years after 

 the creation, wrote the origin and hiftory of the 

 Jews. In order to which he recurred to the 

 origin of all things : he began with the crea- 

 tion itfclf : but he wrote to men, and to men 

 who were even lefs enlightened than we are, 

 efpecially in matters of aftronomy. He was 

 therefore obliged to make ufe of expreflions that 

 were to them intelligible. The fcriptures were 

 moreover given to mankind to ferve them as 

 guides in matters of religion, and not to teach 

 them aftronomy , of which were they ignorant, 

 they would be obliged to believe, for example, 

 that the fun moves round the earth, and that it 

 was (topped, though a thoufand times greater 

 than the whole terreftrial globe, by the defire of 

 Jofhua at Gibeon , and that the moon halted in 

 the valley of Ajalon, &r. all which is directly 

 contrary to the eternal laws of nature, and 

 therefore, taken in the ftrict letter, cannot betrue. 

 But who knows what means Providence may have 

 employed to produce thefe appearances ? With- 

 out making further inquiry into thefe matters, 

 Jge the gooGnefs of the Holy 



Spirit 



