the other case the Book of the Judges must have been written during the reigns of the kings, or we should not have the writer recording "that in those days there was no king in Israel," Judges xviii. 1; "and it came to pass in those days when there was no king in Israel," Judges xix. 1. But let us assume that these references prove that the names of these places were given in anticipation, that does not prove that the Sabbath in Eden was given in anticipation. That the Sabbath rest was to be in abeyance for 2,500 years after it was given there is not a tittle of evidence; neither can we infer that the statement in Gen. ii. is anticipatory.

Archdeacon Paley, in his "Scriptural Account of Sabbatical Institutions," chap. vii., admits that "If the Divine command was actually delivered at the creation, it was addressed, no doubt, to the whole human species alike, and continues, unless repealed by some subsequent revelation, binding upon all who come to the knowledge of it." "If the divine commend was given," writes Paley. To my mind there is no if about it. The statement is clear and decisive; and if it is to be overthrown, then perforce the laws of God must be overthrown, for the Fourth Commandment links the Sabbatical day with the order of creation.

Having replied to the objections of an Edenic Sabbath, we now pass on to consider

The Sabbath in Eden, and the purpose why God should set it

apart.

The universal belief among theologians is that Adam did not long enjoy the felicity in the Garden of Eden, and that he could have had no Sabbath in Eden, for the reason that he was not long enough in the garden to enjoy the Sabbatical rest. Now there is not any warrant in the narrative in Genesis to lead us to infer such a belief. The whole account points to a very long time that our first pare nts were in the garden-it might have been thousands of years before sin entered to mar their happiness. Let us take the narrative, together with the light that modern research has thrown upon it.

We are told that God created male and female, and the first command He gave them was to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth. That they k pt this command there can be no doubt; for it was not for disobedience to this command that they were driven out of the garden. When man had eaten of the forbidden fruit by the invitation of the woman, then came the curse, which is stated in Gen. iii. 16, "And unto the woman he said, I will

greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." Does not this language (i.e., in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children), clearly prove that conception was previously without sorrow, and that to "greatly multiply thy conception" implies that there was conception before the Fall, and that the sorrow experienced by the woman in partaking of the forbidden fruit was to be greatly multiplied also? It could be no punishment to the woman to tell her that her sorrow and her conception should be greatly multiplied if she had not experienced sorrow and conception before; neither could it have been a great social degradation to be ruled over by her husband if he had not hitherto ruled over her; therefore we arrive at no other conclusion than by believing that children were born to our first parents long before sin entered into the world; that these recognised God as their Father, hence they were His sons (i.e. sons of God); that no relationship by affinity existed, hence they were naked and were not ashamed; and when the writer informs us that Eve was the mother of all living before the birth of Cain, he intended to convey the fact that Eve was the mother of those who (like herself) had been driven out of the garden. This will explain the difficulty as to where Cain got his wife, and also prove the fallacy of supposing that Cain must have married his sister. (Both male and female would be "sons of God" when in the garden, just as all those who are in Christ (both male and female) become sons of God by adoption. For there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male or feinale, but all one in Christ (i.e., perfect equality, no distinctions.)

Having evidenced the fact that there was a race of human beings in Paradise before the Fall, these acknowledging no earthly father but God, it is clear that some time must have elapsed from the creation of our first parents to the time of the Fall-what time we know not, for both science and revelation are silent upon the point. We may safely infer, from the fact of Cain going to the land of Nod and marrying a wife, that these sons of God were no incon. siderable few; and also the fact of God placing a mark upon Cain in order to preserve his life, seems to support the view that a long time must have elapsed before sin entered Paradise. The age of Adam given by the writer of the narrative will not assist us to determine what time our first parents lived in their state of purity, for the date of his partaking of the forbidden fruit must obviously be taken as the time from which to reckon his age, and not the time of his creation.

Having shown that a race of beings existed before the Fall, and that they were the sons of God by creation, did these observe a seventh day rest? If so, was it obligatory upon them to observe this day as a Sabbath?

To the first question we reply that the sons of God did observe the seventh day, and that upon that day they sang the "Song of Creation," thereby sanctifying that day to the praise and glory of God, the song consisting of the whole of the first chapter of Genesis and to the 3rd verse of the second chapter. There is a transition here, and that which follows is not in any way connected with the "Song of Creation" that was sung by the sons of God upon the Sabbath.

When the great creative work was done, and Jehovah had pronounced the words" very good," perfection was to be seen throughout the whole realm of nature. There was not one object but that conveyed to the mind the words " very good." Man had been created in the image of his God, and therefore perfect; but man was something more than this, for God had clothed him with His own attributes, and therefore He created him with the attributes of holiness; for "without holiness no man can see the Lord." Now the question is, In what way was this idea to be conveyed to the mind? for whatever way it was conveyed, it must be through one of the five senses; for it is the only way the mind can gain a knowledge of external things. This being so, what was there in creation that could convey or suggest the idea of holiness to the mind of Adam? We answer, Nothing in the whole realm of nature that could possibly suggest this idea. The abstract idea of beauty arose from one flower being more beautiful than another, hence the idea of beauty. Every flower was beautiful, but some more so than others; thus it was by virtue of this contrast, this superlative beauty, that this idea was conveyed to the mind. The idea of glory originated in the same way. When our first parents viewed the starry heaven, it was by virtue of one star being of greater magnitude than another that gave rise to the idea of degrees in glory. The apostle presses this into service to teach the same lesson. "As one star differeth from another in glory." The idea of strength arose by contrast, suggested by the lion being stronger than the lamb. One fruit was more delicious than another, and it was this contrast that gave the idea of tastes, of liking one thing more than another. When Eve was presented to Adam, there was something more than mere liking called into existence, it was love, the highest earthly attribute that

man possesses. We have seen how primitive ideas originated, and how they were called into existence. In what way was the idea of holiness called into existence? Adam was created in the image of God, therefore holy; but how was he to be taught that he was holy, that he had this attribute? One thing is clear, that in his state of perfection, and perfection in everything, it was utterly impossible for him to extract that idea from nature, for nature did not possess it. There was only one way possible, and that was by Jehovah making it known, therefore it was a Divine revelation, and the revelation appealed to Adam's reason; for when God had created man in His own image, man became a free agent, and although there is no evidence to prove that he was created a worshipping animal, yet there was that in man which would assimilate him to the object of his admiration, and he would, therefore, respond in hymning the praises of his great Creator, and as "like begat like," and "thinking of heroes makes us heroes," as Lord Beaconsfield used to say, so it was in this case; and the way and only way for Jehovah to convey this idea of holiness was by the separating the seventh day from the sixth and resting thereon, and sanctifying that rest. That by its contrast with the other days, an idea was conveyed to the mind of the superlative holiness of this one day over the preceding six, not that the six working days were unholy; no, but that the seventh should be marked as the holiest, as it was "His" day, dedicated to Him. The way. then, that God communicated this idea was to rest and sanctify it Himself, for a command to sanctify the day and keep it holy would have been useless unless Adam had known first the meaning of sanctification and holiness, therefore to instruct Adam as to what sanctification and holiness meant, and in order to meet that law of assimilation which is in every man, God had to rest, God had to sanctify it, God had to keep it holy in order that man might rest, might sanctify it, and keep it holy. When our Lord and Saviour said "Follow Me," He was but repeating the echo of His Father at the creation-" Follow Me," "Follow Me "—and those words are ever ringing from Eden's Paradise "Follow Me." But what was the object sought? Why, when man received this idea, he clothed his Creator with this attribute of holiness; it conveyed to his mind that he himself was holy, and as Sabbath succeeded Sabbath he was reminded of the superlative holiness of his great Creator, for his mind must have been abstractly engaged in contemplation upon his great Creator, the great Giver of all good; and the effect of all this was man's responses, which found expression in

hymning the praises of Him who ha‍d bestowed those blessings upon him, hence arose "the Song of Creation." Every seventh day he was reminded that he himself was holy, and as such he could not eat of the forbidden fruit. To him it was a monument ever guarding him against eating of the forbidden fruit, for then he was specially reminded by the Sabbath that he was holy, and that God was his great Creator.

CHAPTER II.

THE SABBATH IN THE PRE-NOAHIC AGE.

HAVING evidenced the fact that the Sabbath was given to our first parents in the Garden of Eden, it is a fair subject of inquiry to learn if there is any evidence to prove that the Sabbath was observed after the Fall. In the narrative, as given in Gen. iv. 3, we read, "And in process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering."

We have here the first mention of the offering of the firstlings of the flock and of the fat thereof, and as this is the first act of worship (therefore connected with the subject of our inquiry), it is of the utmost importance that we should have a correct idea respecting the origin and necessity of these offerings.

Before the Fall there is no evidence of animal sacrifices, the obvious reason being that, as the " Song of Creation" was sung Sabbath after Sabbath, the fact would be impressed upon those who sang that song that God was the great Creator, and as such had created all animal and plant life. After the Fall, however, a new state of things was brought about; fallen man began to reason, and the result was that the truthfulness of the "Song of Creation" was called into question, for all animal and plant life was supposed to be its own creator, they judging from appearances (and ignoring first causes), the trees bear seed in themselves, and so likewise the animals; hence the idea arose that each species was its own creator, and was worshipped as creator God. Now, in order to counteract this evil, it