THE

WORLD'S BIRTH-DAY.

CHAPTER I.

"IN THE BEGINNING."

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."- GEN. 1 1.

THE Book of Genesis is the most ancient and the most venerable, the most instructive and the most indispensable of all books. It is the foundation, the beginning, and the anticipated explanation of all others.

How necessary it is, then, before beginning the study of this book, that we should pray to God that his Spirit may give us understanding and a teachable spirit—a spirit of meditation and prayer.

You already know, doubtless, what is meant by the Greek name "Genesis," which we are

accustomed to give to this book. The ancient

Jews called it Bereschith-that is to say, "In the beginning"-because they were accustomed to name each book of Moses after the two or three first words of it. Thus, for example, they named Exodus Veéléhschemoth ("Now these are the names"); Leviticus was named Vajikra (" And he called”); and Numbers, Bemidbar ("In the wilderness").

The name "Genesis" means the birth. In the time of our Lord this book was so named by the Jews who spoke Greek, because it was by this word Genesis that they translated the word "generations" in the fourth verse of the second chapter. The expression used in our translation is, "These are the generations [or births] of the heavens and of the earth." They had translated it thus: "This is the book of the genesis of the heavens and of the earth.” It must be acknowledged that this title is a most suitable one to be given to the first book of the Bible, for it makes known to us the birth of all things,—the birth of the world; the birth of the earth and of the heavens; the birth of the light; the birth of the atmosphere; the birth of the great lights of heaven; the birth of continents and seas; the birth of moun

tains and valleys; the birth of plants, birds, fishes, and quadrupeds; then, last of all, the birth of the first man and woman; and then, soon after, alas! the birth of sin, and death by sin; but also the birth of the gospel, or of the good news of the promise of grace in Jesus Christ; then the birth of the Church of God in the world; then again the new birth of the earth after the flood, and the birth of the nations who repeopled it; and lastly, the birth of the nation of Israel, by whom the Saviour of the world was to be waited and looked for, and among whom the Saviour of the world was to be born.

So much for the title of the book. Now let us speak of its Author.

You all know that it was dictated to Moses from on high, that he was inspired by God to write it while he was miraculously leading across the desert the millions of Israel; and you also know that at his death Moses left it to be studied by them from age to age; and after them, also, by all Christian churches in every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. "These words, which I command thee this day," said Moses to the people of Israel,

"shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up""Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons" (Deut. vi. 6, 7; iv. 9).

You see, then, my friends, that it is in obedience to this holy command that I am now trying to explain these words to the children of this school.

I told you that Genesis is the oldest of books; but you may judge better how old it is when I tell you that it was written 1491 years before the time of our Lord Jesus Christ; or, in other words, about 738 years before the old city of Rome was founded, or about 869 years before the fall of Nineveh,-that is to say, 869 years before the time at which the books of profane history generally begin their narratives.

Genesis surpasses all other books in an

tiquity, and it is one of the most instructive and indispensable of all books. You may judge of this also when you consider that if we had not the Book of Genesis, we should be ignorant of nearly half of the history of mankind on the earth. From Adam to Jesus Christ was a period of 4004 years, and from the time of our Lord Jesus Christ to our time 1859 years; which, added together, gives a period of 5863 years for the whole time that man has been in the world from his creation to our day. Now, Genesis alone gives us the history of the world for 2368 years; that is to say, during the 1656 years from Adam to the Flood, and the 712 years from the flood to the death of Joseph. You see, then, that the entire history of mankind, from the first man to the present time, is not so much as twice and a half the period the history of which is related in the Book of Genesis alone.

Think how indispensable this sublime book is also from the things which it makes known to us. Without this, the first book of the holy Scriptures, what should we know of all that is necessary to be known before we can understand any of the other books?-nothing