LECTURES

ON THE

BOOK OF GENESIS,

BY THE

REV. W. K. BURROUGHS. A.M.

Curate of Grange Silva.

DUBLIN:

PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR,

BY PURDON, BROTHERS, 23, BACHELOR'S-WALK.

1848.

36,7

CONTENTS.

LECTURE I.

The Reasonableness of the Commandment-Its Holiness

-The Necessity of the Penalty-The Justice of the Com-

mandment-Its Goodness and Spirituality-The Nature

and Extent of the Penalty-The Immortality of the

Soul-This Commandment Beyond the Inventive Powers

of Man

Page

1

223

LECTURE II.

The Temptation Investigated, and its Literal Character

Established The Effect of Sin on Adam and Eve in

the Total Corruption of their Nature-The Conduct of

Adam before God-The Sentence of the Serpent-Its

Literal Character, and the Necessity for it-The Sen-

tence of the Tempter; the Necessity for this to be Con-

veyed in Terms Indicating the Destruction of the Serpent

-The Seed of the Woman Considered; His Twofold

Nature Established from the Record The Command-

ment Ceased to bring Good to Man from the Moment

of the Fall; this is since Connected with the Promise

LECTURE III.

The Necessity of Ordinances for Worship, and Command-

ments to Guide the Conduct of Men being given,

Demonstrated-What these Commandments were-What

the Religious Ordinance and the Institution of Sacrifice

-The Necessity for Adam's Expulsion from the Garden,

and its Retention, and the Curse of Barrenness on the

Earth-The Conversion of Adam.

67

iv

CONTENTS.

Page

LECTURE IV.

Eve's Mistake as to the Seed-The Character of the two

Brothers-The Motives for the Presentation of their

Offerings-How Abel came to Offer a Bloody Sacrifice-

The Probable Effect of Cain's Rejection on Adam-The

Necessity for the Death of Abel-The Change in the

Regards of Eve to Cain-The Effect of his Rejection on

Cain-His Punishment, and the Reasons for it -Part of

it Remitted-His Conversion

94

LECTURE V.

Adam's Third Mistake, and its Calamitous Results-The

Perilous Experiment Tried by the two Races: of Re-

ligion without Civilization, and Civilization without

Religion Their Idolatry-The State of Religion from

the Death of Abel to the Flood-The Necessity for that

Awful Calamity to Prepare for the Fulfilment of the

Promise

136

LECTURE VI.

The Arguments of Bishop Butler in his Analogy, and

of Dr. Chalmers in his Natural Theology, Examined

-Natural Religion Shown to have no Real Existence

185

LECTURE VII.

Incidental Proofs of Veracity from the Promise that no

Second Deluge should occur-Opinions as to the Division

of the Earth Examined-The Difficulty in the Text itself

Considered-In what the Sin of Nimrod and his Asso-

ciates Consisted-The Awfulness of their Punishment-

The Danger of Suffering Religious Truth to be Cor-

rupted The Insufficiency of the Patriarchal Religion,

and the Necessity for a New Dispensation

224

CONTENTS.

LECTURE VIII.

Brief Examination of the State of Religion among the

Heathen-The Imputation of Righteousness and Objec-

tions to it Considered-Brief Review of the Remainder of

the History-Some Proofs Offered of its having been

Written by Moses

Page

265

LECTURE IX.

Forms and Structure of the Patriarchal Religion-How far

Changed after the Dispersion-Revenues of the Priest-

hood-Structure Enlarged into National Establishments

-The Ambition and Power of the Heathen Priesthood-

The Structure of the Jewish Priesthood, and Favourable

Contrast with that of the Heathen

293