is the eighth of the hundred and eighteenth Psalm. The twenty-first verse of the seventh chapter of Ezra, in the English version, has all the letters of the alphabet in it. The nineteenth chapter of the second book of Kings and the thirty-seventh chapter of Isaiah are alike.

CHAPTER XIV.-ANALYSIS OF THE BOOKS OF THE
OLD TESTAMENT.

GENESIS,

Comprising a period of 2369 years.

GENESIS is a Greek word, which signifies creation or production, and the first book in the Bible is so called, because it relates the history of the creation and production of all things by the word of Almighty God, and of the peopling of the earth by his blessing and providence. The book of Genesis is the oldest volume in the world, and contains the most information: it was written by Moses, the deliverer of the Israelites from Egypt, and it embraces a period of about two thousand three hundred and sixty-nine years, from the creation of the world to the death of Joseph in Egypt.

Genesis contains fifty chapters: but every chapter does not relate to a distinct and complete subject. A chapter is sometimes only part of a section, which includes several of these divisions. In Genesis there are eleven principal sections.

Section I. Includes the first and second chapters, which relate the wonderful history of the creation of all things in the heavens and on the earth.

Sec. II. The fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve, from their state of holiness and happiness, by transgression; their expulsion from Paradise, to labour in sorrow till death; and the promise of Messiah as a Saviour, ch. iii. Sec. III. The history of Adam and his descendants to the time of Noah, ch. iv. v.

Sec. IV. The increase of wickedness upon the earth,

and the destruction of the whole race of mankind, except Noah and his family, by the universal deluge, ch. vi. vii. Sec. V. The repeopling of the earth by the family of Noah, ch. viii.—

-x.

Sec. VI. The impious attempt to build the tower of Babel,-the confusion of languages, and the dispersion of mankind over the earth, ch. xi.

Sec. VII. The history of Abraham and his family, ch. xii.-xxv.

Sec. VIII. The history of Isaac and his family, ch. xxvi. xxvii.

Sec. IX. The history of Jacob and his family, ch. xxviii.-xxxvi.

Sec. X. The story of Joseph and his brethren, ch. xxxvii.-xl.

Sec. XI. The history of Joseph's prosperity in Egypt and his kindness to his father and his brethren, till his death, ch. xli.-1.

In the book of Genesis there are contained several things which deserve to be considered and remembered, more particularly by every young person. There are seven things especially of which no other book can give us true information.

1. The creation of all things by the omnipotent word of God.

2. The fall of our first parents from innocence and happiness by sinning against their Creator; whereby all mankind are sinners, and liable to sickness, pain, and death.

3. God's gracious promise of a Saviour.

4. The great age to which men lived in the early period of the world.

5. The destruction of the world by a deluge, on account of the great and universal wickedness of mankind.

6. The confusion of speech at Babel, as the origin of different languages.

7. The calling of Abraham from the Chaldean idolatry, for the purpose of preserving true religion in the world;

and the separation of his family from all people, as the Messiah was promised to descend from him.

Besides these and some other memorable things, there were, in the first ages of the world, several persons of remarkable eminence: among whom were Adam and Eve, our first parents—the first of human beings; Abel, the first who died, being murdered by his wicked brother Cain; Enoch, who, after pleasing God in a holy, active, and useful life, was taken to heaven without dying; Methuselah, the oldest man, who lived 969 years; Noah, who was saved when the world was drowned; Abraham, who, in faith, sacrificed his son at the command of God; and Joseph, who was sold to slavery by his own brethren, and who, afterwards, became lord and ruler of all Egypt.

From this divine record of those two most stupendous subjects, Creation and Providence, almost all the ancient philosophers, astronomers, chronologists, and historians, have taken their respective data; and all the modern improvements and accurate discoveries in different arts and sciences, have only served to confirm the facts detailed by Moses. The great fact of the Deluge, omitting the mention of every other, is not only fully confirmed by the remains of marine animals in every quarter of the globe, but is attested with more or less correctness by many ancient pagan writers. In fine, without this history, the world would be in comparative darkness, not knowing whence it came, nor whither it is going. Even in the first page, a child may learn more in an hour, than all the philosophers in the world learned without it in four thousand years.

'Reader, thou hast now before thee the most ancient and the most authentic history in the world; a history that contains the first written discovery that God has made of himself to mankind: a discovery of his own being in his wisdom, power, and goodness, in which thou and the whole human race are so intimately concerned. How much thou art indebted to him for this discovery he

alone can teach thee, and cause thy heart to feel its obligations to his wisdom and mercy. God made thee and the universe, and governs all things according to the counsel of his own will. While under the direction of this counsel thou canst not err; while under the influence of this will thou canst not be wretched. Give thyself up to his teaching, and submit to his authority; and after guiding thee here by his counsel, he will at last bring thee to glory."-Dr. A. Clarke.

A period of 145 years, from A. M. 2369 to 2514. Exodus is a Greek word, which signifies going out, or departure; and this book is so named, because it relates the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt. The book of Exodus was written by Moses. It was designed to serve as a memorial, 1. Of the wonderful deliverance of the Israelites from the horrors of Egyptian slavery; 2. Of their being formed, in the wilderness, into a religious community for the support of the public and constant worship of God; 3. Of the divine origin and obligation of their religious and political institutions, God graciously condescending to acknowledge himself as their King and their Father. The book of Exodus

was further designed to show the exact fulfilment of the prophecies and promises delivered to Abraham, Gen. xv. 5-16. Exod. xii. 35, 36, 40, 41. that his descendants would be afflicted in a strange land, whence they should depart in the fourth generation with great substance.

Exodus is divided into forty chapters, and it contains eight principal sections.

Section I. Relates the surprising increase of the descendants of Jacob, while in Egypt, and their grievously oppressed condition, ch. i.

Sec. II. The birth and life of Moses till he was called and ordained by the Lord to be the deliverer of Israel from their bondage, ch. ii.—vi.

Sec. III. The wickedness of Pharaoh, and the ten plagues inflicted upon the land and people of Egypt, ch. vii.-xi.

Sec. IV. The institution of the passover, and the deliverance of the Israelites, ch. xii. xiii.

Sec. V. The miraculous passage of the Red Sea by the Israelites, and the overthrow of Pharaoh with his army, ch. xiv. xv.

Sec. VI. The account of several miracles wrought for the relief of the Israelites in the Arabian desert, ch. xvi.-xviii.

Sec. VII. The giving of the laws to Moses, by God, on the mountain of Sinai, ch. xix.-xxii.

Sec. VIII. The costly establishment for the public worship of God, with the manner of the ceremonies and sacrifices, ch. xxiii.—xl.

The things most deserving to be remembered, as recorded in the book of Exodus are seven:

1. The ten plagues, brought as a punishment from God upon the wicked Egyptians.

2. The institution of the passover to commemorate the deliverance of Israel.

3. The Red Sea opening a passage to save the Israelites, and its closing upon the Egyptians for their destruction.