Bible Stories for the Young.

THE FIRST ERA OF THE WORLD.

FROM THE CREATION TO THE DELUGE.

B.C. 4191 TO B.C. 2524.

§ 1. The Creation.

In the beginning Almighty God created the heavens and the earth; but the earth as yet was without form or living creatures, and was all covered over with the deep waters. And all around was darkness. Then God spoke and said: "Let there be light;" and there was light. The darkness was now all gone, and the earth became bright and cheerful.

God now spoke the second time, and said: "Let there be the firmament;" and it was so. The beautiful bright blue sky came into being, and a part of the waters were changed into clouds, which went up to their place in the sky above. Then God spoke again, and said: "Let the waters that cover the earth be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear;" and it was so. The land and the sea were divided; mountains and hills rose up with their valleys;

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fountains, brooks, and rivers freshened up the dry land, and poured themselves into the sea.

God now commanded and said: "Let the earth bring forth grass and herbs, and trees bearing fruit;" and it was so again. The earth became green as if in spring-time, with its grass and herbs, and with its thousands of gay flowers and trees in their blossom.

The

After this God said: "Let there be lights in the heavens, that they may divide the days and the years, and give light to the earth;" and it was so. golden sun rose up in the heavens to give its light to the day, and the soft silvery moon shone to give light by night; the stars also without number began to glimmer forth their twinkling light.

Last of all God spoke and said: "Let the water bring forth fish, and the air winged fowl, and the earth living creatures of all kinds;" and immediately all these came into being. Fishes great and small sported in the waters; all kinds of birds filled the air; woods and fields were all alive with cattle and wild beasts; the grass, flowers, and bushes were covered with gay butterflies, winged insects, and little creeping things of all sorts. And God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good.

So Almighty God made the earth and the heavens in six days, and on the seventh day he rested from his work, and set apart this day for man, to be given to the worship of his Maker, and for a day of holy rest and joyful thanksgiving for the blessing of his crea

tion.

PARADISE.

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§ 2. The Creation of Adam.

The earth and the heavens were now made, and beautifully decked out; but on the whole wide earth there was not as yet a single human being to take his delight in it, and to praise the good and wise Creator who had made it.

Then God said: "Let us make man in our image and likeness; he shall have dominion over the fishes of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, and over the whole earth."

Almighty God then made man out of the soft moist earth, and breathed into him the breath of life. Thus man became a living soul, and God called him Adam.

§ 3. Paradise.

And God planted a lovely garden, and caused the most beautiful trees to grow in it, which bore the sweetest blossoms and fruit; flowers of every kind of colour and scent abounded in it; and from the midst flowed a sparkling spring, which dividing itself into four streams, watered the whole of the garden. Into this lovely abode God brought Adam to live, and gave it to him to dress and cultivate.

In the garden there was one very particular tree, which was called the tree of the knowledge of GOOD and EVIL. And God said to Adam: "Of all the trees in the garden thou mayest eat freely; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou mayest not eat, for in the day that thou eatest of it thou shalt die."

This was said to Adam that he might learn what it was to obey God, and not to think every thing in the world was his own, instead of being the gift of his loving and good Creator.

After this God brought all the animals of the garden into the presence of Adam in succession, and to each one he gave its own particular name. And thus Adam saw all that God had given him, and very joyfully he thanked his Maker for all His wisdom and bounty.

§ 4. The Creation of Eve.

But notwithstanding all that God had so bountifully provided for him in Paradise, Adam still found himself alone in the midst of his riches. Neither lion, nor elephant, nor any of the noble creatures which had come before him to receive their names, were fitted to be his companions. And as he had no one who could stand by, to help him in his work or to share in his joy, he was in danger of feeling lonesome and of becoming wearied of his life, even in Paradise. He had to live all alone by himself on the earth, and this was a great burden. And God said: "It is not good for man to be alone; let us make him a helpmate, like to himself." "Then the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon Adam; and while he was fast asleep He took one of his ribs, and filled up the flesh over it. And the Lord God built up the rib which He had taken from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam." And when Adam awoke out of his sleep, and saw for the first

time his beautiful companion, no words can describe his joy.

Adam and Eve continued to live together in the beautiful garden which God had planted for them, and passed their days happily in each other's company, loving their God above all things; and God showed such goodness to them as often to come and converse with them. They never knew what sorrow was, and no harm or suffering ever came in their way. In a word, they lived in the state of sanctifying grace, in happy innocence and peace, and did not in the least know what it was to be afraid of death.

§ 5. The First Sin.

One day it happened that Eve went near to the forbidden tree, and on the tree she saw a serpent. The serpent began to speak, and said: "Why has God commanded you that you should not eat of every tree of the garden?" Eve allowed herself to be drawn into conversation with the serpent, and answered with great simplicity: "We are allowed to eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; only of the fruit of this tree in the middle of the garden, God has commanded that we should not eat and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die." "No," said the serpent; "you will not die. Your God knows very well, that when you eat of the fruit of it your eyes will then be opened, and you will be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Eve began to hesitate: first she looked at the serpent, then at the tree; and the fruit seemed to her to be particularly beautiful to the eye, most fair to look

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