Genesis And Geology Hand In Hand.

can be no space in God ' s universe where heat , cold , moist , or dry can be irregularly striving for the mastery , for God ' s creation is all of order , harmony , and beauty . Neither are the suppositions of heathen mythology any grounds for proof of the existence of chaos . All heathen nations of

antiquity believed in chaos as a rude and shapeless mass of heterogeneous matter , a confused assemblage of active and inactive elements . This theory was first taught by Hesiod , 900 B . C ., copied from the annals of Sanchoniathon , 1274 B . C ., supposed to be obscurel y drawn from the Mosaic

cosmogony . There is no such chaos in the Bible , for there can be no chaos , as such , in God's works , for the work of God , being in perfection , harmony beauty , and design , could neither be in confusion nor be capable of being annihilated or ruined . The only biblical description is simply Genesis i . 2 , "And the earth was without form and void . " That

is , I ., the existence ofthe earth , " The earth was ;" and , II ., the state of the earth , that it was " without form and void . " I . That the earth was—i . e , was in existence—must be believed , for " in the beginning God" had " created the heavens and the earth , " " and" ( or more literally ) " now the earth

was , " but was not in a state fit for animal or human habitation , "for darkness was over the deep , " and the deep—i . e ., the waters—were over the earth , for " the spirit of God moved" ( over all ) " upon the face ofthe waters . " It is clearly to be understood that the earth

was in existence , and , excepting the surface and changes from internal convulsions , exactly in the same state in which we have it now to enjoy , for its upper surface shows evidence of formation within the last 6 , 000 years . Under the surface of the earth God had laid up

for man—water , coal , metals . Water , for the earth in its depths is its only safe reservoir , as it is also the only purifying filter in the creation , at least

within the reach of man . The sea being such a mass , under the influence of the sun , requires to be salt , to keep it always fresh ; the clouds , being watery vapour , condensing as required for the cleansing of the atmosphere , for the washing down the electrical effects—impurities for man to breathe

and bringing those particles or states of atmospheric decompositions down to the ground to refresh it , and to top-dress it . Coal , for it is to be believed—that is , accepted from clear and certain proof—that every particle of coal we find , or burn , was in existence exactlas we hare itit may be

y , , countless ages before Adam . It affords man—directly , warmth and light ; indirectly , health and strength—an evidence of God ' s goodness in laying up his fore-appointed store for man ' s economy and welfare . He laid up the heat and the lihtif not the sunshinewhieh

g , , gladdened the face of the earth ages before the time of Adam . He laid them up to increase our store , and in such a perfect and portable manner that we can receive both hoat and li ght exactly

where we most need them , and when we receive least from the sun direct . He laid up for centuries of man's life the warmth and heat of the preceding ages . And as to metals , we require to suggest an idea which we cannot realise , even the want of metals ,

to offer the Creator heartfelt thanks for them , for unless he had given us dust of gold , veins of silver , stores of copper , and stones of iron , we know not humanly speaking-, how we should have been provided for to meet all the multifarious requirements for the very existence , or , at least , continuance , of human nature .

These things being in order and harmony prove the goodness ancl the design of the Great Creator and loving Architect of the universe . Butcoal , in its verycomposition , proves previous existence of forests and plants ; they must have been destroyed , but such destruction is not ruin ,

for it is only a designed change into a form in which they keep without loss of depreciation . Nothing of God ' s creation could ever fall into ruini . e ., uselessness or disorder—or be destroyed—i . e ., be annihilated . II . The Bible tells ns , Genesis i . 2 . that the earth was " without form and void . "

To understand the meaning of this expression , we must analyse it . The words are Tholm va-vohu , the literal meaning of which is " desolate and empty . " In the Septuagint version of the scriptures the words are rendered " invisible and

unfurnished , " which perhaps as clearly might be " waste and uninhabited . " The words may , therefore , be understood to describe the state the earth showed after some convulsion , intended of God , and suffered by nature , being the one , or one of a series , which it was necessary the earth should

experience before it could become the healthy and provident habitation of mankind , and the support of the lower animals , which were to exist contemporaneously with man . The Tholm va-vohu of Moses , inspired of God , may mean " Invisible and unfurnished . " Invisible ,

both because the ocean covered the present land , and also darkness was upon the face of the deep , and unfurnished or uninhabited , because as yet no land nature , either man or animal , as now on the earth , had been called into existence . This is the meaning of the oldest Jewish writers understood from the words , and Rosenmuller remarks that it is wonderful how the idea of chaos could be

associated with Tholm va-vohu . If we follow the association of the term we may learn a confirmation of its meaning from its occurrence elsewhere . There are two passages in the Hebrew Scriptures where the compound term Thohu va-vohu occurs . 1 , Genesis , 1 , 2 , " and the earth was without form and void . "

2 , Jeremiah , 4 . 23 , " I beheld the earth , and , lo , it was without form and void , " where the Prophet is fortelling the desolation of the land of Judah ,