The Religious History of Man (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. THE FIRST MAN. Ip a prophet in the Church of Israel, the whole history of which was allegorical, complained thus? 'Ah ! Lord God, they say of me, Doth he not speak parables ?' it would be very unreasonable, in the present matter-of-fact age, to expect ready acqui-' escence in such views of the Divine Economy as have been propounded in the preceding, or may be discussed in this and the following Chapters. But, as the Standard of Truth is the Word of God, and not the Opinion of Man, we shall proceed to apply to that Standard for information respecting an early world; with the more confidence, that we have circumstances afterwards to adduce from that Word, which can be explained on no principles but those which have already guided us in this enquiry. There are some subjects, the dignity and importance of which give steadiness and skill to the pen ; there are others, attended with considerations of such overwhelming interest, that the mind quails under them. Of this nature is the concluding work of creation?The Formation Op Man. In the consideration of the other works of creation, great as these works were, and inadequate!)' as they were approached, re were encouraged by the assurance, that ' the voice of Him who spake, and it stood fast,' was the Voice of the One Mediator between God and man,?of Him who afterwards said, ' Fear not; I am the First and the Last.' But, in what we have now to consider, we are introduced, directly, to the counsels of the Divine Three, and the subject is, 'Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness!' Is it possible, for any creature partaking of the nature of Adam, to hear these words, and to reflect, without trembling, on the degradation which that image has sustained ? It is equally impossible for him, without being lost in wo...