he began to make the world. The first thing that he created was light. He made that by speaking. He had only to say, "Let there be light, and there was light." The Bible tells us, "God saw the light, that it was good."

3. Men can not create things without materials; that is, without having something out of which to form the thing they wish to make. God made all things of nothing by the mere word of his power. He said, "Let them be made;" and they were made.

4. So the beautiful light which gladdens our eyes came at God's command. When he had made the light, and pronounced it good, he divided it from the darkness, so as to make day and night. Then he made the air which is all around us.

5. We can not see the air; but we can hear it, and feel it, and breathe it; and we know that we could not live without it. If any one were shut into a chest, or box, where no air could come, he would soon die. There were no human beings living before God made the light and the air.

6. God knew that he was going to make man, and so he made every thing ready that man would need. Light was made for our eyes, for God did not need the light himself; and the air was made for us to breathe. The light and air should make us think of God.

Where do we get our account of the creation of the world? What is the first verse of the Bible? What was the first thing which God made? What did God make which we can feel and hear but can not see? What would become of us without air?

dif-fer-ent

ev-e-ry

wis-dom

per-fect

PART SECOND.

CLOUDS AND SEAS.

W

HEN God had made the light and the air he gathered the waters, and divided them. He placed part of them above us in the form of clouds, and part of them in deep places which he called seas. Small bodies of water we name lakes, sounds, bays, rivers, creeks, and brooks.

It is very

2. The sea is often called the ocean. large, and is always in motion. When the wind blows hard, the sea roars loudly, and its waves rise high; but it can not get out of the deep place where God has put it, for he has said to it, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed."

3. The waters which God divided lie between different countries, or between different parts of the same country. He who gathered and divided them thus by his power has by his wisdom taught mankind how to go across them.

4. We swim the brooks and creeks, or row our boats over them; we travel down the rivers and lakes, and across the ocean, in our vessels and ships, by sails or steam. But it is God who gives us wis

dom or skill to do either; for every good and perfect

gift comes from him.

What did God do to the waters?

water. What is the sea often called?

Name the different bodies of

What is said of it? Why

can not the ocean get out of its deep bed? Who taught mankind how to go on the water?

WHE

made the dry land appear: this he called the Earth. There was nothing green upon it at first; but God spake, and bade things grow from the ground, and they did so. Five sorts of things sprung up in obedience to the divine command.

2. Beautiful and stately trees came to give fruit and shade, and for other needful purposes. Vegetables grew for the use of the living creatures God was yet to make. Corn, which is the general name for all kinds of grain, appeared from the earth. Soft green grass spread itself upon the ground. Flowers of every shape and color added their beauty and

sweetness.

3. Thus the earth was furnished for the support and comfort of the coming race. How beautiful it

must have looked to God and the angels!-a world newly made, fresh and bright and clean from the hand of its almighty Creator.

4. No thorns or thistles then made it unlovely. No sin defiled its purity. No ambitious or rebellious human passion had stained it with blood. And the Bible tells us that when the corner-stone of the earth was laid “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy."

What did God call the dry land? he make to grow from the ground? any thorns or thistles then? What the earth was made?

How many sorts of things did Name each sort. Were there sang, and who shouted, when

1.

LESSON IV.

PRAISE TO THE CREATOR.

WAS God who made this world so fair,

WAS shining sun,

The shining sun, the sky, the air;

'Twas God who made the sea, the ground,
And all the things I see around.

2. When he began the world to make,

These were the mighty words he spake :

"Let there be light!" His voice was heard, And the obedient light appeared.

3. The angels saw the light arise,

And with their praises filled the skies:

"How great our God! how wise, how strong!" Such is their never-ending song.

GOF

THE CREATION.

PART FOURTH.-SUN, MOON, AND STARS.

NOD made the bright sun to give light and heat from one end of the world to the other. The earth moves around the sun, and turns as it moves. This double motion gives us summer and winter, night and day.

2. The sun looks very small to us; but this is only because it is so far from us. The distance from the earth to the sun is ninety-five millions of miles. And, though the sun looks so small, it is more than a million times as large as the earth.

3. God also made the moon and the stars to give us light in the night. They are not so large and bright as the great light which he made to rule the day. But the day is made for labor, and the night for rest. So the sun and moon are each wisely or

dered.

4. We read in the Bible: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge."

What does the sun give us?

What does the earth move around?

What do its motions cause? Why does the sun look small to us? What is its distance from the earth? How many times as large is it? What is said in the Bible about the heavens ?