their king as an expiatory sacrifice for the general redemption of the people. In this manner, says M. Mallet, the first king of Vermland, in Sweden, was burnt in honour of Odin, to put an end to a great dearth. The kings, in their turn, did not spare the blood of their subjects; and many of them even shed that of their children. Hacon, king of Norway, offered his own son in sacrifice, to obtain of Odin the victory over his enemy, Harold. Aune, king of Sweden, devoted to Odin the blood of his nine sons, to prevail on that god to prolong his life. The ancient history of the north abounds in similar examples.

The Druids of our own country immo. lated human victims at their public festivals. The wretched beings were enclosed in a huge machine, composed of wicker work, and perished by fire. But the most extensive instance of man offering up his fellowman as an expiatory sacrifice, to appease a vindictive being arrayed in imaginary terrors, is found amongst the savage wilds of America, in which the Mexicans, on one occasion, immolated five thousand prisoners of war to Tescalipuca. Marmontel has drawn a sublime description of this insatiate monster, with which I shall conclude my paper.

Montezuma, the Mexican king, applied to the chief priest of his religion for advice, and was thus addressed. "Sir," said the pontiff, "I would not have you to be surprised at the weakness of our gods, or at the ruin which seems to await your empire. We have called up the mighty god of evil, the fearful Tescalipuca. He appeared to us over the pinnacle of the temple, amidst the darkness of the night. Clouds, rent by lightning, were his seat. His head reached up to heaven; his arms, which stretched from north to south, seemed to encircle the whole earth; from his mouth the poison of pestilence seemed ready to burst forth; in his hollow eyes sparkled the devouring fire of madness and of famine; he held in one hand the three darts of war, and in his other rattled the fetters of captivity. His voice, like the sound of storms and tempests, smote our ears. Ye mock me; my altars thirst in vain; my victims are not fattened; a few half-starved wretches are all the offerings ye bestow on me. Where

is now the time when twenty thousand captives in one day lay slaughtered in my temple? Its rock returned no other sound but groans and bitter wailings, which rejoiced my heart; altars swam in blood; rich offerings lay scattered on my floor. Hath Montezuma forgotten, that I am Tescalipuca, and that all heaven's plagues

are the ministers of my wrath? As for the other gods, let him send them away empty, if he will; their indulgence exposes them to contempt; by suffering it, they encourage and deserve it; but let him know that it is folly in the extreme to neglect a jealous god, the god of evil.'"

Terrified at this portentous intelligence, Montezuma gave instant orders that the captives should be surveyed, and a thousand of them picked out to immolate, to their incensed god; they should be fattened up with all possible expedition; and that as soon as every thing was ready, they should be offered up in solemn sacrifice.

GEO. OLIVER.

Great Grimsby, Feb. 14, 1831.

CREATION.-NO. III.

IN Essay No. 2, the creation and properties of light were dwelt upon, and the survey thereof by the Creator, when he pronounced it to be "beautifully perfect." The sacred volume then adds, "God divided the light from the darkness;" or distinguished the light from the darkness, perhaps by the immediate action of the Spirit of God thereon, in common with the atoms of the universe; which action would cause it to shine forth as conspicuously as the agency of the sun afterwards did, on its appointment to that office by the Creator. Light being called into existence by Elohim, occupied the whole space allotted for the reception of this universe, but it was latent, and therefore needed the impulse of the Creator, in order to call it into action. By these impulses it was incorporated with the abyss of atoms, also with the space allotted to the universe; and, dispelling chaotic darkness, it shone forth, and possessed the whole. Then Elohim beheld the light, and he called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Elohim was the sun of this universe during the first day which shone thereon: he dispelled original night, and produced the primitive day. From this moment the last remnant of chaos ceases, and light and perfection mark every stage of creation. As Elohim was the first sun to this universe, so when gross darkness had again enveloped the earth, on the fall of man," he was the Sun of righteousness which arose with healing in his wings," and he will ultimately be the Sun of the celestial throng, who, out of every nation, shall enter into the New Jerusalem: "for that city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon,

to shine in it; for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."

We have here the first note of time on record; and the period is a day. The evening and the morning were the first day. Our ideas of a day are twofold. First, the period of the continuance of light; and, secondly, a complete revolution of the earth round its own axis, including night as well as day. The last is the period here alluded to. Day is a fugitive upon the face of a rotary sphere-every moment it is commencing, it is meridian, and it is terminating, on certain points upon the earth, and never is, during a single second, in precisely the same state. A day, there. fore, upon the face of a rotary sphere, is that period wherein every portion of its circumference has equally enjoyed the light. But that period necessarily includes the nignt as well as the day; because both are always in existence upon the face of a rotary sphere, and the whole sphere can only enjoy its day by the successive passing of night and day around it.

Predicating rotary spheres and a central sun, the language of the Creator is similar, as to the first day, which was produced by an immediate act of Divine power, to the language used when the celestial spheres were called into action. But it may be fairly presumed, that a rotary motion was induced, by the tremulous brooding of the Spirit of God upon the great abyss of atoms, and that one of its revolutions was the first day. Darkness was upon the face of this abyss in the first instance, and light came in the order of succession; darkness was therefore first in order, and it is accordingly, here and elsewhere, first noted, throughout the whole of the inspired history of crea tion. In conformity with these records, the descendants of Abraham, even to this hour, commence their day so soon as light departs from the place they sojourn at in the evening, and terminate it in a similar manner on the following evening: while we, regardless of the first institution, commence our day immediately after midnight, and terminate it on the succeeding midnight.

A day is a short period, and therefore diurnal notes ought, in accordance with the time, to be brief; but who can be brief when his theme is creation, taking into the account, that only six days were occupied in the creation and formation of the universe, and all things therein? The subject is big with matter, and the only struggle is to epitomise effectually-to be brief, yet clear to leave no important subject un

touched, and yet to touch, rather than dilate upon any one of these.

This is called the first day, and in this day was the beginning of time. Time, compared with eternity, is like the segment of a circle; it has two points, the beginning and the end; while eternity is like the whole circumference, without points, having no beginning and no termination-time is thus a segment of eternity. No sooner does time begin, than the very days, those fragments of its duration, are noted, and the beginning and termination of its six first days form so many eras, which, to the intelligent mind, convey a record of the birth of things-things whose seeming, big with importance, promise to the philosophers of future days, materials for endless discussion.

If from the beginning of this universe we turn to the past, how vast is the scope! too vast for human comprehension. To contemplate duration which knew no beginning-years, yea ages, would lose themselves in endless multiplications; and when the intellect had wearied itself to satiety with computations, it would have made no sensible approach to the mighty sum of eternity; it defies all numeration, and sets at nought the calculations of the most consummate arithmeticians.

There was a period when angels were created by Elohim, there was a period when the first star was called into existence by the Omnipotent, a time when the second star arose, and so on of all the rest. These periods, in all probability, were so remote from the first day of the universe, that all the notes of time men could accumulate, would barely, if at all, suffice to convey an idea of the distance between each. But when we enter upon eternity, the habitation of God, (for the high and lofty One, whose name is Holy, inhabits eternity,) all period vanishes. He never began to be; before angels were, I AM was characteristic of Jehovah Elohim; it has equally been so ever since that period; and will for ever continue the

same.

How many systems have been called into existence since the first day of the solar system, who among us can determine? Not one. Stars have appeared, in various ages, in situations where no star had been previously abserved. What, if these are suns, created since our sun! There may be also suns created since our sun, in so remote a portion of space, that the light emitted by them has not yet voyaged down to us. What a field is space! What a duration is eternity! What a Being is the Eternal! Far too wonderful

to shine in it; for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."

We have here the first note of time on record; and the period is a day. The evening and the morning were the first day. Our ideas of a day are twofold. First, the period of the continuance of light; and, secondly, a complete revolution of the earth round its own axis, including night as well as day. The last is the period here alluded to. Day is a fugitive upon the face of a rotary sphere-every moment it is commencing, it is meridian, and it is terminating, on certain points upon the earth, and never is, during a single second, in precisely the same state. A day, there. fore, upon the face of a rotary sphere, is that period wherein every portion of its circumference has equally enjoyed the light. But that period necessarily includes the nignt as well as the day; because both are always in existence upon the face of a rotary sphere, and the whole sphere can only enjoy its day by the successive passing of night and day around it.

Predicating rotary spheres and a central sun, the language of the Creator is similar, as to the first day, which was produced by an immediate act of Divine power, to the language used when the celestial spheres were called into action. But it may be fairly presumed, that a rotary motion was induced, by the tremulous brooding of the Spirit of God upon the great abyss of atoms, and that one of its revolutions was the first day. Darkness was upon the face of this abyss in the first instance, and light came in the order of succession; darkness was therefore first in order, and it is accordingly, here and elsewhere, first noted, throughout the whole of the inspired history of creation. In conformity with these records, the descendants of Abraham, even to this hour, commence their day so soon as light departs from the place they sojourn at in the evening, and terminate it in a similar manner on the following evening: while we, regardless of the first institution, commence our day immediately after midnight, and terminate it on the succeeding midnight.

A day is a short period, and therefore diurnal notes ought, in accordance with the time, to be brief; but who can be brief when his theme is creation, taking into the account, that only six days were occupied in the creation and formation of the universe, and all things therein? The subject is big with matter, and the only struggle is to epitomise effectually-to be brief, yet clear to leave no important subject un

touched, and yet to touch, rather than dilate upon any one of these.

This is called the first day, and in this day was the beginning of time. Time, compared with eternity, is like the segment of a circle; it has two points, the beginning and the end; while eternity is like the whole circumference, without points, hav. ing no beginning and no termination-time is thus a segment of eternity. No sooner does time begin, than the very days, those fragments of its duration, are noted, and the beginning and termination of its six first days form so many eras, which, to the intelligent mind, convey a record of the birth of things-things whose seeming, big with importance, promise to the philosophers of future days, materials for endless discussion.

If from the beginning of this universe we turn to the past, how vast is the scope! too vast for human comprehension. To contemplate duration which knew no beginning-years, yea ages, would lose themselves in endless multiplications; and when the intellect had wearied itself to satiety with computations, it would have made no sensible approach to the mighty sum of eternity; it defies all numeration, and sets at nought the calculations of the most consummate arithmeticians.

There was a period when angels were created by Elohim, there was a period when the first star was called into existence by the Omnipotent, a time when the second star arose, and so on of all the rest. These periods, in all probability, were so remote from the first day of the universe, that all the notes of time men could accumulate, would barely, if at all, suffice to convey an idea of the distance between each. But when we enter upon eternity, the habitation of God, (for the high and lofty One, whose name is Holy, inhabits eternity,) all period vanishes. He never began to be; before angels were, I AM was characteristic of Jehovah Elohim; it has equally been so ever since that period; and will for ever continue the

same.

How many systems have been called into existence since the first day of the solar system, who among us can deter mine? Not one. Stars have appeared, in various ages, in situations where no star had been previously abserved. What, if these are suns, created since our sun! There may be also suns created since our sun, in so remote a portion of space, that the light emitted by them has not yet voyaged down to us. What a field is space! What a duration is eternity! What a Being is the Eternal! Far too wonderful

for us to become familiar with; yea, too vast for our utmost comprehension.

If we are privileged with a retrospect, why not, from this first day, adventure a prospect? Nearly six thousand years of the then prospect have passed away, and the present generation looks back thereon, as upon a dream; like a drop of the bucket, it has descended, and is lost amidst the ocean of eternity; the ceaseless roll of which, swallows up time like an atom. What is before us? A short time of woe, and a lengthened time of great felicity, Then will the Ancient of days, enthroned in light, sit in judgment, and all these systems, yea, and time itself, will pass away, and be no more. But his days fail not. He was-He is-He will be for ever. He who called angelic intelligences into being; He who created all the systems throughout space in succession, and called forth their suns; He who commanded, "Let there be light, and there was light," on the first day of this universe; the Elohim, he sways his exalted sceptre over the day in which we live. Nor does he less take charge of this day than he did of the first; for all his creatures are under the government of his providence, which slumbereth not; and omnipotence is equally in exercise on this day, as on the first day of his creations.

than one.

God is truth, and he hath declared it; therefore there must be a plurality in the one Deity.

When the second person of the Holy Trinity became incarnate for the redemption of fallen man, the number of persons in the unity of Deity is clearly revealed. See Matthew iii. 16, 17. "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and, lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Here we behold Jesus, the incarnated Son, who was baptized; the Spirit of God, which descended like a dove; and the Father, who cried from heaven, "This is my beloved Son." There are, therefore, three persons in the one God.

The plurality of the name by which the Creator reveals himself in the first sentences of the sacred volume, as it is calculated to make a first impression, which is always the strongest in man, ought not to pass unnoticed. Elohim is certainly plural. Plural, however, does not fix the number of persons in Deity to three; for two would be plural, or four, equally with three; but it does indicate a plurality, viz. more Yet while the noun in the first sentence is plural, the verb is singular; this would render the sentence ungrammatical upon any other ground than that of unity in the Being of whom it is spoken. We behold, therefore, in the very first sentence of revelation, the Creator of heaven and earth unfolding himself to man as a plurality in unity. In this same chapter, verse 26, we read, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Us and our are certainly plural; and we might cite many other passages of the sacred volume to the same effect. God, who is infinite in wisdom, has language at command, and cannot, therefore, be under any necessity to employ ambiguous or erroneous words; and the high and lofty One, whose name is IIoly, is too exalted and too pure to descend to duplicity.

We behold the order, as well as entity, of these persons, Matthew xxviii. 18, 19, and 20. "And Jesus came, and spake unto them, (his disciples,) saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." I conceive, therefore, a trinity in unity is the Creatorthe God revealed to us in the Bible; and this God I adore and serve. Quotations might be multiplied, if more were needful, but I conceive those already adduced prove the case in hand.

We cannot omit to notice the remarkable operation of the Holy Spirit. "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the fluids"-the face of the abyss of atoms, which, on the first day were fluid, like water. Whoever has, with the eye of science, surveyed the surface and crust of this sphere, above, beneath, around, upon an extended scale, must have perceived energies and aptitudes in great abundance, in the substances around him, which cannot be properties of dead matter. In crystallization, attraction, repulsion, composition, decomposition, &c. &c. such properties abound. Whence are the sources of these energies? We may trace a certain portion of them to the action of light; but to many important energies, not referable to light, we must impute the impregnating powers of this genial brooding of the Spirit of God, over and within the original matter of the universe; and these energies, in the aggregate, are so important, that the universe