ness, whose ever-rising beams of heat and light impart the all of life to all. This proximate divine sphere, as the Sun of Righteousness, ever going forth in creative power, formed the natural sun, consisting of pure elementary fire, as a medium by and through which the worlds revolving in its system were brought forth, and by whose constant influence they are perpetually nourished and preserved. These created worlds are children of the sun, as a mediatory parent, constantly revolving round, and looking to him for nourishment and support. These children, in process of time, became also in their turn mediatory parents, and brought forth forms of vegetable and animal life in abundance. The earth first brought forth grass, herbs, fruit-trees of various kinds, whose seed was in itself. The waters too brought forth living creatures to sport in the mighty deep; and every winged fowl and bird came forth. The earth next brought forth beasts and creeping things after their kind, all possessing, by virtue of a connection with the creative life of deity, a power to become mediatory parents, propagating their kind, so that creation might be constant and perpetual. But man, the image and likeness of God, is the most perfect of all created forms of life, and hence the process of his creation is altogether different. Neither the earth nor waters brought forth man; he was to be in the divine image and likeness, and therefore the three essentials of Deity,—Love, Wisdom, and Power, were immediately engaged in his creation—"Let US make man!" (Gen. i. 26.) Man is a recipient of life direct from God, and not mediately through the lower created forms of animal and vegetable life. He is, therefore, endowed with reason, and because he can
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