duties," In which cnn be cletcctecl n refcrcnco enjoy u11i11tcrruptcd hnp1,incs~, in a region to something which is eaton Ly the stomach, free from sin.ifolly, ,.iolence, poverty, deform, to the cluty of clnily invocation of the Deity, ity. The Teutonic Edclas have a glimpse to the do.uger of lenving Gocl's fcnr, in which of tl,o same truth in their magnificent clrink- alone they can be holy, and to the propriety ing balls, glittering with burnished golcl, of trusting only a. friend ; and on its reverse where the primeval race enjoyed a life of what resembles a. discourso to the first woman perpetual festivity. Traces of a similar belief on her duties, in which occur the words, arc found among the Thibctans, Mongolians, ff With the lord of thy beauty thou shalt be Cingalese, ancl others (Rawlinson's • Hist. faithful : to do evil thou shnlt not approach Illustrations of Scripture,' p. 10). The him" ('Chalde:m Genesis,' pp. 78-80), Weatern traditions are familiar to scholars '.l.'ho Persian legend describes .Mcschia and in the pages of Hesiod, who speaks of the Meschiane, the first parents of our race, as golden nge when men were like the gods, living in purity and innocence, and in the free from labours, troubles, cares, ancl all enjoyment of happiness w~ich Ormuzd pro- evils in general ; when the earth yiclcled her mised to render perpPtunl 1f they persevered fruits spontaneously, and when men were in virtue. But Ahriman, e.n evil demon beloved by the gods, with whom they hehl (Dev), suddenly appeared in the form of a uninterrupted commnnion (Hesiorl, ' Opern serpent, and gave them of the fruit of a et Dies,' 90). Ancl of Ovid, who adcls to this wonderful tree. The literature of the Hin- picture the element of moral goodness as a doos distinguishes four ages of the world, characteristic of the aurea II!t<U ('Met.am.,• i. in the first of which Justice, in the form of 89). .Macrobius (' Somn. Scipionis,' ii. 10) a. bull, kept herself firm on her four feet ; e.lso depicts this period u one in which when Viltue reigned, no good which the reigned simplicit<U mali nescia et adhuc mortals possessed wns mixeu with baseness, astutuz ine:cperta (Macclonalcl, ' Creation and man, free from diseo.se, saw all his and the Fall,' p. 147). ff These coincidences wishes accomplished, nnd o.ttaincd an age affect the originality of the Hebrew WTitings of 400 years. The Chinese also have their as little as the frcqu~nt resemblance of Mosaic afae of happy men, living in abundance and heathen laws. They teach us that all o food, and surrounded by the peaceful such narratives have a common source; that beasts(' Kalisch on Genesis,' p. 87). In the they are reminiscences of primeval traditions Zenclavesta, Yima, the first Irnnic king, lives modified by the different nations in accord- in a secluded spot, where he and his people ance with their individual culture" (Kalisch),.
HOMILETICS. Ver. 22.-Tlie fi1·st marriage. I. THE LONELY MAN. 1. Nobly born. Sprung from the soil, yet descended from above. Fashioned of the dust, yet inspired by a celestial breath. Allied to the beasts, yet the offspring of God. 2. Comfortably placed. His native. country a sunny region of delights (Eden, eh. ii. 8) ; his home a beautiful and fertile garden (eh. iii. 5); his supplies of the amplest possible description (eh. i. 30; ii. 16); his occupation light and pleasant (eh. ii. 15); his restrictions slight nnd trivial ( eh. ii. 17) ; his p1ivileges lnrge ( eh. ii. 16). 3. Richly endowed. With immortality (eh. ii. 17), intelligence (eh. ii. 19), social capacities and instincts (eh.ii. 18), the faculty of speech (eh.ii. 20). 4. Highly exalted. As God's offspring, he was invested with world-dominion (eh. i. 28; Ps. viii, 6), symbolised in his naming of the creatures ( eh. ii. 20). Yet-5. Essentially alone. Not as entirely bereft of companionship, having on the one hand the society of Jehovah Elohim, and on the other the presence of the animals ; but in neither the Creator nor the creatures could he find his other self-his counterpart and complement, his consort and companion. On the one hand Jehovah Elohim was too high, while on the other the creatures were too low, for such partnership as Adam's nuturc crn,·cd. And so Adam dwelt in solitude apart from both. "But for Adam there was not found an help meet for him." II. THI!: PROVIDED PARTNER. 1. Divinely fasliioned (ver. 22). (1) Woman was the last of God's creative works; presumublv, therefore, she was the best. "Eve's being made after Adam puts an honour upon that sex us the glory of the man (1 Cor. xi. 7). If man is the head, she is the crown-a crown to her husband, the crown of the visible creation" (M. Henry). (2) Woman was not made till everything wns in the highest stute of readiness for her reception. Before her creation, not only must there be a home for her reception, provision for her m!linten!\nce, and serrnnt11 54 Trm TIOOK OF GENRSiS. [err. n. 18--25.