We were speaking
of the verse which tells us that God said, "Let there be lights in the
firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be
for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years."
I am afraid I did not make this clear to the children, for it is difficult
to understand how the sun makes one season different from another; but I
will just tell you a little about it, and you may learn more by-and-by.
You know that there are four seasons: the Spring, when the grass begins to
shoot forth its fresh blades, and the trees unfold their buds; the Summer,
when the roses bloom and the fruits ripen; the Autumn, when the corn and
fruits are gathered in; and the Winter, when the earth rests, often closely
wrapped in a soft mantle of snow.
All these changes pass before our eyes. But if we wish to understand how it
is that the sun is the cause of one season being so different from another,
we must remember that as the earth takes its yearly journey round the sun
it changes its place, getting nearer to him or farther away from him. In
our summer-time the part of the earth where we live is turned more towards
the sun, and so gets more of the light and heat which have their home
there, than at any other time. Our winter days are so short, because at
that time we are turned from the sun more than at any other. And in the
spring and autumn we are not so much turned away from him as we are in
winter, nor so directly in front of him as we are in summer.
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