THE RAINBOW.

GEN. 9. 13. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a Covenant between me and the earth.

AT the end of the 8th Chapter we read that Noah offered a great sacrifice unto the Lord. "And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast and every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings upon the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of mau's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seed time and har vest, cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease." Gen. 8. 20. 21. 22. This was the resolution of Jehovah, after which he blessed Noah and his family. He gave them dominion over every beast of the earth, every fowl of the air, and over all

that

that moved upon the earth, all the fishes of the sea were delivered into their hands, He then gave them four precepts or commands. 1. That they might eat flesh, but not from the animal alive, as the Abyssinians and some other nations do. 2.-That we must not take away our own life, that is to say we must not kill ourselves, by shooting or hanging, or drowning ourselves. 3.-That beasts must not be suffered to hurt us, or to cause our death. 4. That those who commit wilful murder, must be put to death: "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made he man." After which God made a promise to Noah that he would not again destroy the earth by the waters of a flood any more. As a token or sign of the truth of this promise, God placed the bow in the cloud. And "the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature ofall flesh that is upon the earth."

I. Let me endeavour to inform you what a RAINBOW is. A NATURAL RAINBOW. The Rainbow is a beautiful arch in the heavens,

heavens, ornamented with various colours. The Rainbow is caused by the reflection" and trefraction, of the sun's light upon the falling drops of rain. Every ray of light is a compound body, consisting of those colours. of which the rainbow is composed. The rays of light always move in strait lines, that is, right forward. These rays of light are broken by the drops of rain, and reflected or thrown back upon our eyes, and we behold all those beautiful colours of which the Rainbow is composed. The colours of the RAINBOW from the upper part to the bottom are seven in number, violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red. These are the seven primitive colours, and are reducible to three, red, blue and yellow. The ancient Philosophers were struck with amazement when they beheld these beautiful colours. They admired the Rainbow, but could not explain the cause of

In the act of throwing back. + Variation of a ray of light.

NOTE. It is supposed by some, that before the flood, there was no rain, but that the earth was watered by a mist. If so, this bow must appear Noah as a very remarkable appearance.

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of it. These colours may be mixed in such a manner, as to produce the appearance of a dusky white. The Rainbow is a remarkable instance of the separation of the primary colours of light. There are generally two Rainbows seen at the same time; a bright one, and another which is fainter, sometimes scarcely visible. The former is occasion d by two refractions, and one reflection; the latter by two r.fractions and two reflections. The faintness of the latter is owing to a double reflection, for there is a loss of nearly half the light. The colours of the Rainbow may be produced by making the rays of the sun pass thro' a transparent prism of glass. The colours of the Rainbow are frequently visible among the waves of the sea, the tops of which are blown by the wind into small drops. They are sometimes seen on the ground, when the sun shines upon a thick dew. terfalls and fountains frequently exhibit the appearance of Rainbows. There is said to be a fountain at Rome, which, while the sun shines, makes a continual Rainbow. At that part of the river St. Lawrence, in Canada, in North America, where the water falls 150

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feet

feet at least, there the rays of the sun make a Rainbow of the most beautiful colours. A Rainbow is never seen, except during rain, and when the sun shines. In 1619, three Rainbows were visible at once, at Vienna, in Germany.

This was the Rainbow, that God placed in the cloud, as a token of his covenant, and which Noah saw.

There are other Rainbows, that sometimes appear by night, in the moon shine; these are called lunar Rainbows. They are formed exactly in the same manner by the bright beams of the moon striking upon the bosom of a shower. A lunar Rainbow is a very uncommon sight.

There is a third Rainbow, that is called a HALO. This a bright circle or ring of light, that is sometimes seen round the moon, coloured like a Rainbow. In England we sometimes call it a Burr. When it is seen at sea, the sailors say that it a sure sign that there will be a gale of wind, before 48 hours are past. This kind is always seen in thick, foggy weather, or in a frosty night. Sir Isaac Newton says, it arises from the

moon's

shining