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the Creator and creature; He "formed" man. He did not simply say "Let man be, and it
was so".
The material out of which the body of this first man was formed is the material out of
which the bodies of all his descendants were and are formed, "the dust of the ground".
The word translated "dust" here may also be rendered "ashes" (as of an animal
that has been burnt, Numb. 9: 17), "powder" (into which the vessels and the altars of
Baal were stamped, II Kings 23: 4, 6, 12), "rubbish" (that had accumulated on the
broken walls of Jerusalem, Neh. 4: 2), and "earth" (out of which iron can be taken,
Job 28: 2). "The highest part of the dust of the world" in Prov. 8: 26 refers to the
soil, without which neither vegetable nor animal life would be possible.
We often speak of the "ground" but how many of us associate the word with the verb
"to grind"? The "ground" has literally been ground by the action of flood, fire and frost,
and so made into a comparatively fine powder. From this "dust of the ground" the body
of man was made, and to this at death his body returns. Let us now examine the
composition of this wonderful frame, and see how far the "dust of the earth" enters into
it.
The composition of the body of a man weighing a little over 150lbs. would be as
follows:
Oxygen 90lbs.,
Carbon 36lbs.,
Hydrogen 14lbs.,
Nitrogen 3lbs.8ozs.,
Calcium 3lbs.12ozs., Phosphorus 1lb.14ozs., Chlorine 4ozs., Sulphur 3½ozs.,
Potassium 3ozs., Sodium 2½ozs., Fluorine 2ozs., Magnesium 1½ozs., Silicon ½oz.,
Iron ½oz.
These are the main constituents of the human body, but there are other elements also
present in small quantities. In addition to the 150 lbs. detailed above, we have a "trace"
of the following:
Lead, Cerium, Argon, Manganese, Zinc, Vanadium, Beryllium, Aluminum,
Lithium, Chromium, Helium, Iodine, Cobalt, Boron, Neon, Arsenic, Bromine,
Scandium, Nickel, Lanthanum, Strontium, Titanium, Copper, Neodymium,
Molybdenum, Silver and Tin.
Perhaps the reader would appreciate a few further words on the essential work that
some of these elements perform.
POTASSIUM, which figures so largely in the composition of seeds, is the mineral basis
of all muscular tissues, and is essential in the formation of proteins. It can be
truly said: "No life without potassium."
SODIUM.--This is one of the principal constituents of blood and lymph. Without
sodium, lime and magnesia salts are liable to form injurious deposits in the body.
CALCIUM and MAGNESIUM.--Magnesium assists in the assimilation of phosphorus,
while magnesium, calcium and iron form the albumen of the blood. One percent