the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Creator; or his concerting together with them the work of creation, that he is therein viewed as being himself the beginning of the work, and laid as the foundation in the profecution of the defign.

It is certain, from the fcriptures, that a transaction took place, refpecting Christ, previous to the existence of the heaven and earth, which is to be confidered as properly the beginning of the creation, as the laying of the foundation is to be confidered the beginning of the fabric. And it is all important to the attainment of clear ideas of the divine character and counsel, to know that the beginning of all the works of God was in the establishment of a Chrift, and a Chrift alone; and that in Christ, as the foundation, all God's works from eternity were completely embraced.

The knowledge of a relation sustained by Chrift to the creation, as of the foundation to the superstructure, or head to the body, by a conftitution of divine counsel, distinct from the idea of a relation by mere efficien. cy, is abfolutely neceffary in order to account for the existence of the creation; or, indeed, to conceive of the divine efficiency in the creation of worlds; for, we can have no rational idea of God's being connected with creatures, otherwise than by fome infinitely meritorious medium.

And, after all the boafted theories of creature-excellence and merit, fuggested by the pride of man, the theory of Chrift, or that of a

conftitution, divinely framed, uniting the creatures with the Creator, as by a foundation or head, or crown of glory and honor, can only explain the poffibility of God's fuftaining the relation of Creator. Without the knowledge of Chrift, man is in utter darknefs; and, if he attempts to explain his own exiftence, or to take one step in moral philofophy, he muft neceffarily ftumble upon the dark mountains of atheism or idolatry. But we are now entering upon that part of the work, which is to confift chiefly of a statement of facts, and, at prefent, we mean only to ftate this revealed fact concerning the creation of the world.

The truth of Chrift, as being the head of all things that are in heaven and that are in earth, vifible and invifible, is clearly exprefsed by the names in which he appears in the work of creation; Here he is called the Beginning. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, Gen. i. 1. This name, Rev. iii. 14. is written out at full length, viz. The Beginning of the creation of God.-The Lord, by wifdom, hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens, Prov. iii. 19.-By him all things confift, Col. i. 17.-Who, being the brightness of his glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon, and upholding all things by the word of his power, Heb. i. 3.-Chrift is often referred to in the peculiar fcripture expreffion, which, perhaps, may alfo be confidered as one of his glorious names, the Foundation of the World. In many fuch paffages Chrift is clearly revealed, as the

Head, Institute, or Foundation of the Creation.

The many plain paffages of fcripture, attributing the work of creation equally and directly to the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, leave no room for the fuppofition that Chrift was used as an inftrument in that work, otherwife than as a constituted Head, or an Archetype, may be called an inftrument. The idea of a fecondary agency, or efficiency, is unwarranted and irreconcilable both with the fcriptures and reafon. The repeated divine declarations therefore, that all things were created in Chrift, and by Chrift, teach us, that he is the medium, foundation, or conftituted head of the creation.

The Apostle to the Ephefians, chapter iii. unfolding the mystery and unfearchable riches of Chrift, that the Gentiles Thould be fellow heirs, and of the fame body, and partakers of the promife in Chrift; Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named; goes back to this foundation of the whole creation, and obferves, that this divine myftery, or deep counfel of God, of the whole family in heaven and earth being named of Chrift, was from the beginning of the world hid in God, who created all things by Jefus Chrift: By which it is plainly intimated, that in this truth of God's creating all things by Jefus Chrift, is the grand disclosure of the divine fcheme.-O, what manifold wisdom of God might be known, and fhall be made known by the church, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Chrift Jefus our

Lord! For of him, and to him, and through him, are all things, to whom be glory for ever.-Amen.

THE fubject of natural philofophy, though it results from the divine theory, and affords vaft prospects and entertainments to the mind, as far as poffible, must be difpenfed with in this work: for it has not been fo much the object of my enquiry; and numer ous principal facts, relative to the difpofition of natural things, are beyond the reach of my means of knowledge.

I am fenfible that it is reverfing the com mon obfervation, yet there is reason to fuppofe, that we may come to the knowledge of the truth of divine things with much greater certainty, than we can to the knowledge of natural things; for the Bible was written to inftruct us, not fo much in the philosophy of nature, as in the knowledge of God; we can depend upon the fcriptures, as a general record of facts of a divine nature; but we have no history that will give us the fame advantage on natural ground. The great object to engage our attention in fearching for truth, in all cafes, is to find the facts; when they are known, it is not fo difficult to apply a principle.

But it appears neceffary to our defign, to offer fome view of the natural frame of the world; fo far, at leaft, as this is done in

-I fhall,

Mofes's account of the creation. therefore, in this place exhibit, very briefly, that view of this fubject which appears to refult from the theory, and to be offered in the fcriptures, and likewife to comport with the best observations and experiments we are capable of making upon things of this nature, At the fame time I would have it understood, that I do not confider this as being properly a part, but only as an appendage to the Divine Theory.

Mofes evidently connects the frame of na ture with the beginning; and his account contains, undoubtedly, a connecting link between things invifible, and of an eternal frame, and that difpofition or fafhion of things, which is visible and temporal.

The work of the four firft days of creation completed the frame of the world, which is the fubject now in view: And it may be obferved, that Mofes defcribes this as four diftinct and fucceffive operations of the divine will; and that the first prepared and opened the way for the fecond, and the fecond for the third, &c. and that the work of each fucceffive day was wrought in continu ance of the first operation, and was, as it were, a new movement forward of that power which commenced this glorious scene of divine action.

From the grounds of the remark made in the fiatement of the divine principle, that all we can know of the works of God is their difpofition answerable to his purpose or will'; and from the observation made in the first