"Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & Co., STATIONERS' HALL Court. 1847. PREFACE. THE author of the following little work having noticed with unfeigned regret the deplorable deficiency manifested by the majority of young persons in their attainment of biblical learning, indeed, the almost total ignorance on subjects so interesting and instructive, was extremely solicitous to contribute her mite towards the removal of an evil, the existence of which, all who have been engaged in the education of youth, must acknowledge. In attempting this she was induced, both by observation and experience, to attribute the defect to a too cursory perusal of the facts and statements contained in the Bible; to which, in most cases, a mere assent is given without an idea of their reality being once conveyed to the mind. The same remarks may with justice be applied to the study of nature, whether in contemplating the mysteries of vegetation, or surveying the wonders of the universe. For who possesses such an unbounded admiration for the Creator of the universe as he, whose exalted genius can embrace the whole system of revolving worlds; whose evolutions remain unnoticed by the mass of mankind; or, who can appropriate to himself such inexhaustable stores of amusement and recreation, as he who enters into the gratifying pursuits of botanical research, or becomes initiated into the arcana of the physical sciences? And yet these things really exist, as surely as if all were aware of their existence. Truly, then, it may be said that we "Find tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in every thing." It is evident that an investigation into the pages of holy writ, will repay the student for the trouble of his enquiries, by exalting his intellect, providing wholesome food for meditation, and preserving him from temptation to inferior pleasures. To induce, then, habits of reflection and consideration, by dwelling minutely on the leading events contained in one portion of that inspired volume, it may not be deemed presumptuous to hope that habits thus formed may lead to an increased desire for information, and elicit more extensive research; and thus, ultimately, conduct to a saving knowledge of those things that shall make men wise unto salvation by faith in Christ Jesus. Nottingham, June, 1847. EXPOSITIONS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. What is the Earth on which we live? IT is a globe or ball, eight thousand miles in diameter, and nearly twenty-five thousand miles in circumference, revolving round the sun at a distance of ninety-five millions of miles from that luminary, yet deriving from it light, heat, and life. How long is it since this Earth was created? Of the precise period when the materials or component parts constituting this globe were called into existence we are not informed; but according to the Mosaic account, five thousand eight hundred and fifty years have elapsed since the Almighty Being was pleased to render it fit for the habitation of the creature He designed to place upon it; creating light and separating it from darkness; converting the chaos into land and water; spreading a firmament or atmos |