Metadata
Title
Gilbert Tennent sermons 14, "De Hexameron" (On the six days of creation), 1744
Date
1744/1756
Digital Identifier
PHS.TennentSermons014
Description
Gilbert Tennent (1703-1764) was an Irish-American Presbyterian clergyman, and one of the leaders of the Great Awakening.
In this sermon, Tennant talks about the six days of creation. In the beginning of the sermon, he cites Genesis 1:1 and Psalms 89:11. Although Tennent mentions aspects of scientific theory, the sermon is Bible-based, geocentric, with the Earth as the center of the universe and man as the being for whom the world was made. The Fall ruined the previous harmony among the animals, plants, and man, and brought about suffering. Tennent exhorts man to live up to the beauty of creation, while at the same time not placing too much value on his Earthly life and gain.
From the dates noted in the manuscript, it looks like Tennent wrote this sermon in 1744, and delivered it again in 1747, 1751, and 1756.
In this sermon, Tennant talks about the six days of creation. In the beginning of the sermon, he cites Genesis 1:1 and Psalms 89:11. Although Tennent mentions aspects of scientific theory, the sermon is Bible-based, geocentric, with the Earth as the center of the universe and man as the being for whom the world was made. The Fall ruined the previous harmony among the animals, plants, and man, and brought about suffering. Tennent exhorts man to live up to the beauty of creation, while at the same time not placing too much value on his Earthly life and gain.
From the dates noted in the manuscript, it looks like Tennent wrote this sermon in 1744, and delivered it again in 1747, 1751, and 1756.
Subject
Place
Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
Congregation
Second Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
Holding Institution
Presbyterian Historical Society
Extent
18 pages
Format (Digital)
tiff
Rights
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
Language
eng
Type
Text
Abstract
De Hexameron (On the six days of creation) reviews and discusses the factors in God's creation of the world and everything in it. The sermon contains a wealth of information in an overview of the types of creation: the heavens, the angels, the animate and the inanimate, the minerals and elements, the alternation of light and darkness, the rivers and sea, the animals and plants. It then reviews the creation in Biblical order, beginning on p. 7. Some interesting questions occur-- what is a German mile? Earth as suspended in space, or moving around the sun? Was the earth's core heated by the sun? which indicate the Reverend's decision, whether personal or religious, toward Bible-based views of our world, especially from Genesis, the Psalms, and Isaiah, evoking splendor and variety, sometimes based on his own observations, but not necessarily taking too much time to explore current knowledge. (In his sermon De creatione (numbered 4), he is satisfied that the earth is 5,000 years old.)
The "house and frame" are ready for man, who has managed to tarnish the well-arranged design of the world; the serpent has appeared, the animals are no longer tame, and man draws away from God when he should feel the profoundest gratitude to Him. People strive for worldly, perishable wealth and are slaves of earth, not lords of it. The day of rest for God should be the same for man, with due attention to the hereafter.
The "house and frame" are ready for man, who has managed to tarnish the well-arranged design of the world; the serpent has appeared, the animals are no longer tame, and man draws away from God when he should feel the profoundest gratitude to Him. People strive for worldly, perishable wealth and are slaves of earth, not lords of it. The day of rest for God should be the same for man, with due attention to the hereafter.
Thumbnail
IIIF Manifest
https://www.philageohistory.org/rdic-images/iiif.cfm/PHS.TennentSermons014/manifest
