He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion." Jer. x. 10, &c., also Psalm xcvi. 5; cii. 25, &c., &c. In these and similar passages, where, in the most comprehensive and unequivocal manner, the creation of all things is asserted, the simultaneous creation of all is clearly indicated in the collocation of the words _the heavens_ and _the earth_, the latter being sometimes placed before and sometimes after the former. The same plural word is employed in other connections: "Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of the heavens and the earth.... I have lifted up my hand unto the Lord, the Most High God, possessor of the heavens and the earth." Gen. xiv. "Is not God in the height of the heavens?" Job xxii. "Look down from thy holy habitation, from the heavens, and bless thy people." Deut. xxvi. "O God, look down from the heavens and behold." Psalm lxxx. "The Lord he is God in the heavens above and upon the earth." Deut. iv. "Praise ye the Lord from the heavens.... Praise ye him, all his angels; praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens.... Let them praise the name of Jehovah: for he commanded, and they were created. He hath also established them for ever and ever, he hath made a decree which shall not pass." Psalm cxlviii. The Scriptures speak of one creation only; and of that, directly and incidentally, in such terms as to leave no room for the supposition that any portion of the material universe was called into existence prior to the Mosaic epoch. They exhibit nothing from which an inference can be derived that all were not created at one epoch. The contrary supposition is not founded on any authority of inspiration, but upon conjecture or assumption. It is by some assumed that by _the heavens_ Moses meant the orbs of our solar system only, or at most, the stars visible in the firmament to the unassisted eye. They think it unreasonable to suppose that in all past eternity nothing was created more than about six thousand years ago. They cannot imagine what the Creator was doing, if he did not exercise his power in creating worlds. But the same supposition might with equal reason be made with respect to any earlier conceivable epoch. For at any such earlier epoch there had been a past eternity, a duration without beginning. The terms of the supposition are solecistical and absurd, so far as relates to the Creator, and with respect to the little mind of man, they are of no significance, unless the invisible worlds are eternal.