THE

BAPTIST QUARTERLY REVIEW.

ARTICLE I.

THE CURSE UPON NATURE.

BY FRANKLIN JOHNSON, D. d.

THE principal passages relating to my subject are Genesis iii, 14-19, and Romans viii, 19-23. In the first Jehovah distributes to the actors in the tragedy of the fall their several punishments. In the second the apostle Paul represents the "whole creation" as groaning in a woe which is to continue till "the revealing of the sons of God" at the last day.

Two other passages have been cited as referring to the same theme, but without sufficient reason. In Genesis viii, 21, it is stated that "Jehovah smelled a sweet savor" from the sacrifice of Noah after the flood, "and said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake." A few writers have found here a mitigation, though not a removal, of the sentence pronounced upon the earth immediately after the transgression of the first pair. It is more simple and natural, however, to refer the language merely to the deluge, and to make it strictly parallel with the subsequent member of the sentence in which it occurs: "Neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done."

In Romans v, 12, the apostle Paul tells us that "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin." Some have inferred from this declaration that animals did. VOL. VI, No. 22-10

not die before the fall of Adam, and that they became mortal owing to the curse of God upon nature as recorded in Genesis. But the very next words show that the writer is thinking only of the human race: “And so death passed upon all MEN, for that all have sinned." The entire context, indeed, sustains this view. We shall see later that there is a sense in which the suffering and the mortality of animals may be connected with the transgression of him who was created to be their lord, though nothing is said of the matter here.

Let us look, now, at the curse in Genesis iii, 14-19. That part of it which most clearly relates to nature is brief: "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee.”

To the so-called "new school" of critics the whole narrative of the creation and the fall is a myth from the childhood, if not from the infancy of our race, an effort of the reason in its puerile state to account for the existence of such a world as ours, a legend in which God, in accordance with the conceptions of primitive ages, is stripped of his more majestic attributes, and made an ordinary denizen of the earth. I shall quote a few sentences from Wellhausen to illustrate the tone of these scholars: "Jehovah plants the garden and waters it. He forms the man and blows breath into his nostrils. He constructs the wife out of the ribs of the husband, after failing to hit the mark in the effort to procure society for him: the beasts are living witnesses of the futility of his experiment. Also in other things he acts as a human being. Of evenings, as it grows cool, he takes a walk in the garden, and thus he discovers the transgression by accident. He conducts an investigation, in which he makes not the slightest use of his omniscience." To writers like this the curse upon nature would be nothing more than the attempt of early man to account for the hardships of his lot by connecting them with his consciousness of wrong-doing; it would possess no theological teaching

for us, and no historic truth whatever. The passage in Romans would probably be regarded as a mere echo of it.

Turning from this flippant school of critics to those who are more serious, we find a remarkable agreement from the earliest times to the present. The opinions of commentators before the age of the physical sciences is represented by Milton in the well-known passage of the "Paradise Lost," in which he describes the effects of the fall. Previous to that dread event there were no earthquakes, no storms, no pestilences; and animals did not prey upon one another. The same opinion, in substance, is entertained by modern. orthodox scholars in general. The majority of them regard Genesis iii, 14-19, and Romans viii, 19-23, as referring to the same thing. Thus Hengstenberg speaks of "the great change which, after the fall of man, affected all nature, according to which the entire animal creation had impressed upon it, previous to the fall, the image of peace, and the law of destruction did not pervade it." So, also, for substance, Delitzsch and Conant.

We have a his

But this view can not be maintained. tory of the earth written upon its rocks, and this assures us that before the creation and fall of man there were earthquakes and hurricanes and beasts of prey, and all the violence and pain in nature which exist to-day. This is not a doubtful hypothesis of science: it is an elementary truth of geology, it is undisputed, it is a thing that we know. It is curious that commentators have been so blind to it. Murphy stands almost alone in his recognition of it, and his words are worth quoting, if only to show how greatly he is embarrassed by it: "The ground, without any change in its inherent nature, but merely by the removal, it may be, of the tree of life, is cursed to man, as it demands that toil which is the mark of a fallen race." That is, if I understand the statement, the tree of life would have been taken by man into all parts of the earth had he remained upright, and would have subdued the ground for him; but, being deprived of it, he was under the necessity of contending in person

in the earthly life of Jesus, as recorded in the Gospels, endeavoring to give a just estimate of their importance and influence. In order to fix a proper estimate upon the "works" he did, his recorded discourses, inseparable from his acts, had to be carefully analyzed and weighed. This our author has done with rare discrimination, and so happily expresses the significance of both incident and discourse as to give a life-like picture.

Pulpit Prayers. By eminent preachers."

It is refreshing to read such prayers as given in this collection. They cover a vast range of subjects, embracing the widest scope of human experience, and pour forth a broad and lofty sweep of thought, accompanied by expressions of the deepest, tenderest feelings. But unaccompanied by the names of those who uttered them, and isolated from the occasions and needs which gave birth to them, they, of necessity, lose much both of value and interest. Properly used, as helps in studying our own needs and the condition of those for whom we are to pray, as aids in preparation for either closet or public prayer, they may be beneficial. As mere forms they will be detrimental, as all forms are, except for a literary and æsthetic effect.

Sermons Preached in Manchester (England). By ALEXANDER MACLAREN.†

IN the volumes before us we observe the same depths of thought, close adherence to Scripture teaching and elegance of diction which characterize those which so favorably introduced Dr. MacLaren to American Christians as one of England's ablest and most effective preachers.

Life of Luther. By JULIUS KOSTLIN.

THIS is justly held to be the best biography of Luther that has been published in English. Others have more clearly portrayed certain prominent traits of his character, and with clearer vision surveyed his work as a leader and as a theologian, but none have given so much both of Luther in person and work, and of what *New York: A. C. Armstrong & Son. For sale by Robert Clarke & Co., Cincinnati. Price, $1.50.

† London: McMillan & Co. For sale by McMillan & Co., New York. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

surrounded him. Although this is an abridgment of Dr. Kostlin's larger work, "Martin Luther, His Life and Writings," it is almost a complete history of Germany, yea, of Europe, during the period of his public life. Personal and religious prejudice leads the author, as many others have been led, to praise or be silent where we should lament or censure. But it is a work of superior value.

A Dictionary of English Phrases. By R. C. KWONG KI CHIN.*

It seems to be remarkable that the need and demand for a compilation of English phrases, with explanations, should be overlooked by all our keen eyed scholars, born to the English tongue, to be seen and accomplished by a Chinaman. But so it has come to pass, and Mr. Kwong has accomplished a great task in a very acceptable manner. The compilation is as near complete as one man could well make it, and his definitions clear and full. It is to be hoped that one of such clever gifts and linguistic attainments will let his hand remain visible among American inkstands for years to come.

Scriptural Baptism. By RICHARD FULLER.†

THE Publication Society have acted wisely in issuing this republication-so much of Dr. Fuller's work as relates to the act and subjects of baptism. It is a cogent presentation of Bible teaching, a masterlpiece from a masterly pen, and should be kept before the public.

Beyond the Gates. By ELIZABETH STUART PHELPS.‡

THE author of this entertaining little volume is well known. as a vivacious writer and independent thinker. She expresses herself in a kind of direct indirection which attracts attention, alike for its deflection from orthodoxy and its slanting salute to heterodoxy. Her mind revels in the future and her fancy seems to have persuaded her that she has some new knowledge upon eschatological matters which she should impart with positiveness both to querying minds and to dogmatic theologians. She takes *New York: A. S. Barnes & Co. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co.

† Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society. Price, $1.00. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co. For sale by George E. Stevens, Cincinnati. Price, $1.25.