vide the several seasons of the year: eminency, Mark xvi. 15. By the crea the stars were also made this day.ture or creation, that waits for a deliThe fifth day, God created all the verance into the glorious liberty of the fishes and inhabitants of the waters, sons of God, some will have the Heaand also the fowls of the air, which then nations to be meant: but, how were likewise produced out of the these were unwillingly made subject to water. On the sixth day, God made the bondage of corruption, or how they all the terrestrial animals, the cattle, waited and longed for a gospel decreeping things, and beasts of the liverance, I could never understand. field. And last of all, he created Is it not more easy to understand the man, forming his body out of the creature or creation, of the irrational dust of the earth, and animating him part of our world, which by the prowith a living soul; and out of man vidence of God is subjected to vahe made woman, taking her out of nity for man's sin, and is often used his side; having first cast him into a instrumentally in wickedness, and profound sleep, id. ii. 21, &c. which, at the last day, shall be perCapellus, and others, would have the fectly delivered from this vile abuse? creation effected in the Spring, the Rom. viii. 19—23. The principle first day of it, about the 11th of April. of grace, and the man who possessBut as sundry of the most ancient Hea- eth it, are called a new creature; it thens reckoned the beginning of their is formed by the almighty influence year from harvest; nor do we know of the word and Spirit of God; it is of any other reckoning, till the Jews' quite new, and entirely opposite to departure from Egypt; as the trees the old principle of natural corrup and herbs bore seed on the day of tion, Gal. vi. 15. 2 Cor. v. 17. their creation, we are inclined, with CREDITOR, one to whom we the great Usher, and others, to think owe a debt, 2 Kings iv. 1, 7. God the world was created in harvest; is our creditor; there is a debt of but whether on the 22d day of Oc-duty, which as creatures, we owe to tober, as Usher, or about the first of our Creator, and upon the non-paySeptember, as Scaliger and Span- ment of that, there ariseth a debt of heim, we shall leave undetermined, punishment; in default of obedience though the latter opinion appears the to the will of God, we become obmost probable. As Moses's account noxious to the wrath of God. A of the creation is very short, Descar-debtor is liable to process, so are we tes, Thomas Burnet, Whiston, Buf- A malefactor is a debtor to the law, fon, and others, have attempted also are we as sinners.-What kind of philosophie explication, if we might creditor God is, may be seen, Luke not sometimes say, a confutation, vii. 41-43. Surely such as have thereof; but as we believe Moses's had most forgiven, should love him informer knew better how it was ef-most!

fected than any of these learned CREEK, a small bay of the spa, gentlemen, we shall not disgust the where it juts into the land; or a corserious reader with any of their fan-[ner of an harbour, Acts xxvii. 39. çies; and we know the learned can Judg. v. 17. easily form as solid notions for them- To CREEP, (1.) To crawl on the ground, Gen. i. 29. (2.) To enter with subtilty and privacy, 2 Tim. iii. 6. Jude 4.

selves.

CREATION, not only signifies the act of making things out of nothing, but also the creatures or things form- CRESCENS, growing, increasing, ed from nothing, 2 Pet. iii. 4. Rev. one of Paul's fellow preachers, who iii. 14. CREATURE sometimes de- departed from him, while he was at notes all created things, Rev. v. 13. Rome, to go to Galatia, and perand sometimes only men, whom the haps he carried the inspired epistle to Jews called the creature, by way of that church, 2 Tim. iv. 10.

CRETE, carnal, fleshly, an island are cruelty, oppression, murder, situate in the Mediterranean Sea, ex- Ezek. vii. 23. tending from east to west 270 miles CRIMSON, one of the seven red long, and being about 50 broad; colours of the diers. Some think, some say 150 long, and from 15 to that which is translated crimson in 45 broad; now called Candia. It scripture is the same with scarlet, formerly contained 100 cities, and though others believe it to be a deeper was therefore denominated Heca- die. In the Hebrew, it is called tompolis. Crete is nearly equidis-Tolahat Schani, that is, the double tant from Europe, Asia, and Africa.worm, or the worm Schani, as if SchaThis island was much celebrated by ni were the proper name of this the ancient poets, the river Lethe worm. In the Arabic it is called being one of its largest rivers, and Kermes, or Karmes, whence comes mount Ida covering the middle. The the word crimson, because they made vallies are full of vineyards, olive- use of this little worm to die this coyards, myrtles, laurels, oranges, and lour. The kermes is a small round lemons, intermixed with other fruits, shell, membranous, thin, smooth, and and fine corn-fields. The wines of shining, of a reddish brown colour, Candia are exquisitely delicious. Ti-mixed with a whitish ash-colour; tus was appointed by Paul superin-about a quarter of an inch diameter, tendant of the church in this island. generally divided into two equal cathe inhabitants of which he desired vities, the greatest of which is full of Titus sharply to reprove, since they a vast number of little oval eggs, were according to one of their own very red, or vermilion; and the poets, Epimenides, "always liars, smaller cavity is full of a kind of lievil beasts, slow bellies," Tit. i. 12. quor, which is red likewise. This The siege of Candia, the capital of shell grows upon a kind of green oak, this island, lasted more than twice common in Palestine, in Provence as long as the famous siege of Troy, and Languedoc in France, and in so much noticed in ancient history. some parts of Spain, and elsewhere, The Turks invested it in the begin- growing only to the height of a shrub. ning of 1645, and the garrison held They loosen these buds or shells from out till the latter end of September the leaves to which they are fasten1669, when it surrendered upon ho- ed; and the worms, of which they nourable terms, after having been are full, come out at the hole made stormed 56 times. The Venetians by taking them from the leaf; they lost upwards of 80,000 men, and the separate these little animals from the Turks 1,800,000, during the siege! shells with a sieve, and put them toFor what was all this slaughter? gether, by pressing them lightly, and truly the ambition of a prince, who making them into balls of the bigness was not satisfied with the vast do- of a pullet's egg. Linnæus makes mains he possessed in Europe, Asia, the kermes a species of coccus. and Africa, but was still eager to There is frequent mention of crimrob his neighbours, that he might add son in scripture, as in 2 Chron. ii. 7, wealth to wealth. O ambition! what 14. and iii. 14. in Isa. i. 18. and in crimes hast thou to answer for? Mur-Jer. iv. 30. der is no bar to thine insatiate appetite.

See CAPHTOR.

CRIB, a stall for cattle, Prov. xiv. 4.

CRIME, a fault that incurs punishment, Acts xxv. 16. Adultery is an heinous crime in the view of the mildest judges, and punished by them, Job xxxi. 11. Bloody crimes,

CRISPING-PINS, pins for curling the hair: but CHARITIM, I suppose, rather signifies bags for the hair, or clasps, Isa. iii. 22.

CRISPUS, curled or crisped, chief of the synagogue at Corinth, converted and baptized by Paul, Acts xviii. 8. 1 Cor. i. 14. about A. D. 52.

CROCODILE, a large animaf of

the lizard kind, supposed by some to agreeable, Lam. iii. 9. Eccles. i. 15. be the leviathan of Job, ch. xli. Mo- and vii. 12. He makes crooked places ses, in Lev. xi. 29. notices an animal straight, when he removes every impediment, and renders a work easy to his servants, Isa. xlv. 2.

CROP, the craw of a fowl, Lev. i. 16. TO CROP, is to cut off the top of a plant, Ezek. xvii. 4, 22.

of this nature, which in Hebrew is called Choled, translated by the Septuagint, land crocodile, as it is by most other interpreters; but what could have induced our translators to render it tortoise, we are at a loss to CROSS, a kind of instrument for determine. The crocodiles which are the execution of criminals, made with so much known in Egypt, being found two pieces of wood, placed crossin great numbers upon the Nile, lay wise, whether they cross with right their eggs upon the ground, or on the angles at the top like a T, or in the sand near the banks of the rivers. middle of their length like an X. These eggs greatly resemble those of The cross to which our Saviour was a goose, and sometimes they lay 60 fastened, and on which he died, it is of them, which they cover with sand, thought, was of the former kind. and the natural heat of the sun act- The punishment of the cross was ing upon the sand soon hatches them. common among the Syrians, EgypThe crocodile is covered with very tians, Persians, Africans, Greeks, Rohard scales, which are not to be mans, and some say, Jews. pierced without great difficulty, ex- The death of the cross was the most cepting under the belly, where the dreadful of all others, both for the skin is tender. It has a wide throat, shame and pain of it; it was so with teeth sharp and separate, scandalous, that it was inflicted as which enter one within another: of the last mark of detestation upon the these it has several rows. Its feet vilest of people. It was the punishare very short, yet it runs with great ment of robbers and murderers, proswiftness, but does not easily turn it-vided that they were slaves too: but self, being between 20 and 30 feet in otherwise, if they were free, and had length. When their bowels are ta- the privileges of the city of Rome, ken out, or they are wounded, it is this was then thought a prostitution said their smell is very agreeable. of that honour, and too infamous a They are caught several ways; some- punishment for such a one, let his times with hooks baited with hog's crimes be what they would. flesh, which they are fond of; at body of the criminal was fastened to other times they are taken in pits the upright piece, by nailing the feet prepared for them. The Egyptians paid divine honours to it.

The

to it, and on the other transverse piece, generally by nailing the hands on each side. Now, because these parts of the body, being the instruments of action and motion, are provided with a much greater quantity of nerves than others have occasion for, the sense of pain must needs in proportion be more quick and tender.

CROOKED, bowed, turning in and out. A crooked nation or generation, are such as rebel against God, have their inclinations and practice quite disagreeable to the even rule of his law, and unanswerable to their own profession, Phil. ii. 15. Deut. xxxii. 5. Crooked ways, are prac- Before crucifixion, the criminal was tices and customs, inconstant, un- generally scourged with cords: somecandid, uncomely, and not agreea- times little bones, or pieces of bones, ble to the law of God, Prov. ii. 15. were tied to these scourges, so that God makes men's lot or path crooked, the condemned person might suffer when he inflicts on them changes more severely. Our Saviour was from prosperity to adversity, or from cruelly scourged during his passion. one trouble to another, and renders Pilate having pronounced sentence their condition unsightly and dis-against him, ordered him to be scourg