"Upon some of these inventions men have labored their whole lives, and have expended vast fortunes to bring them to that state of perfection which we here witness. But, after all, what are these models of human skill, to the wisdom and power of God in the work of creation! These are made from material already existing. God created the world from nothing. The inventors of these articles passed, in many cases, their whole lives in toiling to attain their prize. God spoke the world into being by the word of his power.
"'He spake and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast.'
"Can you tell me, Walter, how many days God was in making the world?"
"Six days."
"For whom did God create all things?"
"I suppose he made them at first for Adam and Eve."
"Solomon says in the Proverbs,—
"'The Lord hath made all things for himself.'
"Can you tell me for what purpose?"
Walter shook his head, and his father, taking a small Bible from the table, turned to the first verse of the nineteenth psalm, and gave it to him to read.