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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
G E N E S I S
CHAP. I.
The foundation of all religion being laid in our relation to God as
our Creator, it was fit that the book of divine revelations which
was intended to be the guide, support, and rule, of religion in
the world, should begin, as it does, with a plain and full account
of the creation of the world–in answer to that first enquiry of a
good conscience, “Where is God my Maker?”
(Job xxxv. 10).
Concerning this the pagan philosophers wretchedly blundered,
and became vain in their imaginations, some asserting the world’s
eternity and self-existence, others ascribing it to a fortuitous
concourse of atoms: thus “the world by wisdom knew not
God,” but took a great deal of pains to lose him. The holy
scripture therefore, designing by revealed religion to maintain
and improve natural religion, to repair the decays of it and supply
the defects of it, since the fall, for the reviving of the
precepts of the law of nature, lays down, at first, this principle
of the unclouded light of nature, That this world was, in the
beginning of time, created by a Being of infinite wisdom and
power, who was himself before all time and all worlds. The
entrance into God’s word gives this light,
The
of the Bible gives us a surer and better, a more satisfying
and useful, knowledge of the origin of the universe, than
all the volumes of the philosophers. The lively faith of humble
Christians understands this matter better than the elevated
fancy of the greatest wits,
We have three things in this chapter:–I. A general idea given us
of the work of creation
II. A particular account of
the several days’ work, registered, as in a journal, distinctly
and in order. The creation of the light the first day,
of the firmament the second day,
of the sea, the earth, and its fruits, the third day,
of the lights of heaven the fourth day,
of the fish and fowl the fifth day,
of the beasts,
of man,
and of food for both the sixth day,
III. The review and approbation of the whole work,
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1 In the beginning God created the
heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the
deep. And the Spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters.
In these verses we have the work of creation
in its epitome and in its embryo.
I. In its epitome,
v. 1,
where we find, to
our comfort, the first article of our creed,
that God the Father Almighty is the Maker of
heaven and earth, and as such we believe in him.
1. Observe, in this verse, four things:–
(1.) The effect produced–the heaven and
the earth, that is, the world, including the
whole frame and furniture of the universe,
the world and all things therein,
Acts xvii. 24.
The world is a great house, consisting of
upper and lower stories, the structure stately
and magnificent, uniform and convenient,
and every room well and wisely furnished.
It is the visible part of the creation that
Moses here designs to account for; therefore
he mentions not the creation of angels. But
as the earth h as not only its surface adorned
with grass and flowers, but also its bowels
enriched with metals and precious stones
(which partake more of its solid nature and
more valuable, though the creation of
them is not mentioned here), so the heavens
are not only beautified to our eye with glorious
lamps which garnish its outside, of whose
creation we here read, but they are within replenished
with glorious beings, out of our
sight, more celestial, and more surpassing
them in worth and excellency than the gold
or sapphires surpass the lilies of the field.
In the visible world it is easy to observe,
[1.] Great variety, several sorts of beings vastly
differing in their nature and constitution from
each other. Lord, how manifold are thy works,
and all good!
[2.] Great beauty. The azure
sky and verdant earth are charming to the
eye of the curious spectator, much more the
ornaments of both. How transcendent then
must the beauty of the Creator be!
[3.] Great exactness and accuracy. To those
that, with the help of microscopes, narrowly
look into the works of nature, they appear
far more fine than any of the works of art.
[4.] Great power. It is not a lump of dead
and inactive matter, but there is virtue, more
or less, in every creature: the earth itself has
a magnetic power.
[5.] Great order, a mutual
dependence of beings, an exact harmony
of motions, and an admirable chain and connection
of causes.
[6.] Great mystery. There
are phenomena in nature which cannot be
solved, secrets which cannot be fathomed nor
accounted for. But from what we see of
heaven and earth we may easily enough infer
the eternal power and Godhead of the great
Creator, and may furnish ourselves with
abundant matter for his praises. And let
our make and place, as men, remind us of
our duty as Christians, which is always to
keep heaven in our eye and the earth under
our feet.
(2.) The author and cause of this great
work–GOD. The Hebrew word is Elohim,
which bespeaks,
[1.] The power of God the
Creator. El signifies the strong God; and
what less than almighty strength could bring
all things out of nothing?
[2.] The plurality
of persons in the Godhead, Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost. This plural name of God, in
Hebrew, which speaks of him as many though
he is one, was to the Gentiles perhaps a savour
of death unto death, hardening them in
their idolatry; but it is to us a savour of life
unto life, confirming our faith in the doctrine
of the Trinity, which, though but darkly intimated
in the Old Testament, is clearly revealed
in the New. The Son of God, the
eternal Word and Wisdom of the Father, was
with him when he made the world
nay, we are often told that the world
was made by him, and nothing made without him,
John i. 3, 10; Eph. iii. 9; Col. i. 16; Heb. 1. 2.
O what high thoughts should
this form in our minds of that great God
whom we draw nigh to in religious worship,
and that great Mediator in whose name we
draw nigh!
(3.) The manner in which this work was
effected: God created it, that is, made it out
of nothing. There was not any pre-existent
matter out of which the world was produced.
The fish and fowl were indeed produced out
of the waters and the beasts and man out of
the earth; but that earth and those waters
were made out of nothing. By the ordinary power
of nature, it is impossible that any
thing should be made out of nothing; no
artificer can work, unless he has something
to work on. But by the almighty power of
God it is not only possible that something
should be made of nothing (the God of nature
is not subject to the laws of nature), but in
the creation it is impossible it should be
otherwise, for nothing is more injurious to
the honour of the Eternal Mind than the
supposition of eternal matter. Thus the excellency
of the power is of God and all the glory
is to him.
(4.) When this work was produced: In
the beginning, that is, in the beginning of
time, when that clock was first set a going:
time began with the production of those
beings that are measured by time. Before
the beginning of time there was none but that
Infinite Being that inhabits eternity. Should
we ask why God made the world no sooner,
we should but darken counsel by words without
knowledge; for how could there be sooner
or later in eternity? And he did make it in
the beginning of time, according to his eternal
counsels before all time. The Jewish
Rabbies have a saying, that there were seven
things which God created before the world,
by which they only mean to express the excellency
of these things:–The law, repentance,
paradise, hell, the throne of glory, the
house of the sanctuary, and the name of the
Messiah. But to us it is enough to say, In
the beginning was the Word,
John i. 1.
2. Let us learn hence,
(1.) That atheism
is folly, and atheists are the greatest fools in
nature; for they see there is a world that
could not make itself, and yet they will not
own there is a God that made it. Doubtless,
they are without excuse, but the god of this
world has blinded their minds.
(2.) That
God is sovereign Lord of all by an incontestable
right. If he is the Creator, no doubt he
is the owner and possessor of heaven and
earth.
(3.) That with God all things are possible,
and therefore happy are the people
that have him for their God, and whose help
and hope stand in his name,
(4.) That the God we serve is
worthy of, and yet is exalted far above, all
blessing and praise,
If he
made the world, he needs not our services,
nor can be benefited by them
and yet he justly requires them, and deserves
our praise,
If all is of
him, all must be to him.
II. Here is the work of creation in its
embryo,
v. 2,
where we have an account of
the first matter and the first mover.
1. A chaos was the first matter. It is
here called the earth (though the earth, properly
taken, was not made till the third day
v. 10),
because it did most resemble that
which afterwards was called earth, mere
earth, destitute of its ornaments, such a heavy
unwieldy mass was it; it is also called the
deep, both for its vastness and because the
waters which were afterwards separated from
the earth were now mixed with it. This immense
mass of matter was it out of which
all bodies, even the firmament and visible
heavens themselves, were afterwards produced
by the power of the Eternal Word.
The Creator could have made his work perfect
at first, but by this gradual proceeding
he would show what is, ordinarily, the method
of his providence and grace. Observe the
description of this chaos.
(1.) There was
nothing in it desirable to be seen, for it was
without form and void. Tohu and Bohu, confusion
and emptiness; so these words are
rendered,
It was shapeless,
it was useless, it was without inhabitants,
without ornaments, the shadow or rough
draught of things to come, and not the image
of the things,
Heb. x. 1.
The earth is almost
reduced to the same condition again by the
sin of man, under which the creation groans.
See
I beheld the earth, and lo it
was without form, and void. To those who
have their hearts in heaven this lower world,
in comparison with that upper, still appears
to be nothing but confusion and emptiness.
There is no true beauty to be seen, no satisfying
fulness to be enjoyed, in this earth, but
in God only.
(2.) If there had been any
thing desirable to be seen, yet there was no
light to see it by; for darkness, thick darkness,
was upon the face of the deep. God
did not create this darkness (as he is said to
create the darkness of affliction,
for it was only the want of light, which yet
could not be said to be wanted till something
was made that might be seen by it; nor needs
the want of it be much complained of, when
there was nothing to be seen but confusion
and emptiness. If the work of grace in the
soul is a new creation, this chaos represents
the state of an unregenerate graceless soul:
there is disorder, confusion, and every evil
work; it is empty of all good, for it is without
God; it is dark, it is darkness itself.
This is our condition by nature, till almighty
grace effects a blessed change.
2. The Spirit of God was the first mover:
He moved upon the face of the waters. When
we consider the earth without form and void,
methinks it is like the valley full of dead and
dry bones. Can these live? Can this confused
mass of matter be formed into a beautiful
world? Yes, if a spirit of life from God
enter into it,
Now there is
hope concerning this thing; for the Spirit of
God begins to work, and, if he work, who or
what shall hinder? God is said to make the
world by his Spirit,
and by the same mighty worker the new
creation is effected. He moved upon the
face of the deep, as Elijah stretched himself
upon the dead child,–as the hen gathers her
chickens under her wings, and hovers over
them, to warm and cherish them,
Matt. xxiii. 37,–as
the eagle stirs up her nest, and flutters
over her young (it is the same word that is
here used),
Learn hence,
That God is not only the author of all being,
but the fountain of life and spring of motion.
Dead matter would be for ever dead if he did
not quicken it. And this makes it credible
to us that God should raise the dead. That
power which brought such a world as this
out of confusion, emptiness, and darkness,
at the beginning of time, can, at the end of
time, bring our vile bodies out of the grave,
though it is a land of darkness as darkness
itself, and without any order
(Job x. 22),
and can make them glorious bodies.
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3 And God said, Let there be
light: and there was light.
4 And
God saw the light, that it was good:
and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the
light Day, and the darkness he called
Night. And the evening and the
morning were the first day.
We have here a further account of the
first day’s work, in which observe,
1. That
the first of all visible beings which God
created was light; not that by it he himself
might see to work (for the darkness and
light are both alike to him), but that by it
we might see his works and his glory in
them, and might work our works while it is
day. The works of Satan and his servants
are works of darkness; but he that doeth
truth, and doeth good, cometh to the light,
and coveteth it, that his deeds may be made
manifest,
John iii. 21.
Light is the great
beauty and blessing of the universe. Like
the first-born, it does, of all visible beings,
most resemble its great Parent in purity and
power, brightness and beneficence; it is of
great affinity with a spirit, and is next to it;
though by it we see other things, and are
sure that it is, yet we know not its nature,
nor can describe what it is, or by what way
the light is parted,
Job xxxviii. 19, 24.
By the sight of it let us be led to, and assisted
in, the believing contemplation of him who
is light, infinite and eternal light
(1 John i. 5),
and the Father of lights
(Jam. i. 17),
and who dwells in inaccessible light,
In the new creation, the first thing
wrought in the soul is light: the blessed
Spirit captives the will and affections by
enlightening the understanding, so coming
into the heart by the door, like the good
shepherd whose own the sheep are, while
sin and Satan, like thieves and robbers, climb
up some other way. Those that by sin were
darkness by grace become light in the world.
2. That the light was made by the word of
God’s power. He said, Let there be light;
he willed and appointed it, and it was done
immediately: there was light, such a copy as
exactly answered the original idea in the
Eternal Mind. O the power of the word of
God! He spoke, and it was done, done
really, effectually, and for perpetuity, not in
show only, and to serve a present turn, for
he commanded, and it stood fast: with him it
was dictum, factum–a word, and a world.
The world of God (that is, his will and the
good pleasure of it) is quick and powerful.
Christ is the Word, the essential eternal
Word, and by him the light was produced,
for in him was light, and he is the true light,
the light of the world,
John i. 9; ix. 5..
The divine light which shines in sanctified souls
is wrought by the power of God, the power
of his word and of the Spirit of wisdom and
revelation, opening the understanding, scattering
the mists of ignorance and mistake,
and giving the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Christ, as at first, God
commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
2 Cor. iv. 6.
Darkness would have been
perpetually upon the face of fallen man if the
Son of God had not come, and given us an
understanding,
1 John v. 20.
3. That the
light which God willed, when it was produced, he
approved of: God saw the light that it was
good. It was exactly as he designed it, and
it was fit to answer the end for which he
designed it. It was useful and profitable;
the world, which now is a palace, would have
been a dungeon without it. It was amiable
and pleasant. Truly the light is sweet
(Eccl. xi. 7);
it rejoiceth the heart,
Prov. xv. 30.
What God commands he will approve and
graciously accept; he will be well pleased
with the work of his own hands. That is
good indeed which is so in the sight of God,
for he sees not as man sees. If the light
is good, how good is he that is the fountain
of light, from whom we receive it, and to
whom we owe all praise for it and all the
services we do by it!
4. That God divided
the light from the darkness, so put them
asunder as that they could never be joined
together, or reconciled; for what fellowship
has light with darkness?
2 Cor. vi. 14.
And yet he divided time between them, the day
for light and the night for darkness, in a constant
and regular succession to each other.
Though the darkness was now scattered by
the light, yet it was not condemned to a perpetual
banishment, but takes its turn with
the light, and has its place, because it has its
use; for, as the light of the morning befriends
the business of the day, so the
shadows of the evening befriend the repose
of the night, and draw the curtains about
us, that we may sleep the better. See
God has thus divided time between
light and darkness, because he would daily
remind us that this is a world of mixtures
and changes. In heaven there is perfect
and perpetual light, and no darkness at all;
in hell, utter darkness, and no gleam of light.
In that world between these two there is a great
gulf fixed; but, in this world, they are counterchanged,
and we pass daily from one to
another, that we may learn to expect the
like vicissitudes in the providence of God,
peace and trouble, joy and sorrow, and may
set the one over-against the other, accommodating
ourselves to both as we do to the
light and darkness, bidding both welcome,
and making the best of both.
5. That God
divided them from each other by distinguishing
names: He called the light day, and the
darkness he called night. He gave them
names, as the Lord of both; for the day is
his, the night also is his,
Ps. lxxiv. 16.
He is the Lord of time, and will be so, till day
and night shall come to an end, and the
stream of time be swallowed up in the ocean
of eternity. Let us acknowledge God in the
constant succession of day and night, and
consecrate both to his honour, by working
for him every day and resting in him every
night, and meditating in his law day and
night.
6. That this was the first day’s
work, and a good day’s work it was. The
evening and the morning were the first day.
The darkness of the evening was before the
light of the morning, that it might serve for
a foil to it, to set it off, and make it shine
the brighter. This was not only the first
day of the world, but the first day of the
week. I observe it to the honour of that
day, because the new world began on the
first day of the week likewise, in the resurrection
of Christ, as the light of the world,
early in the morning. In him the day-spring
from on high has visited the world;
and happy are we, for ever happy, if that
day-star arise in our hearts.
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6 And God said, Let there be
a firmament in the midst of the waters,
and let it divide the waters from the
waters.
7 And God made the firmament,
and divided the waters which
were under the firmament from the
waters which were above the firmament:
and it was so.
8 And God
called the firmament Heaven. And
the evening and the morning were
the second day.
We have here an account of the second
day’s work, the creation of the firmament, in
which observe,
1. The command of God
concerning it: Let there be a firmament, an
expansion, so the Hebrew word signifies, like
a sheet spread, or a curtain drawn out. This
includes all that is visible above the earth,
between it and the third heavens: the air, its
higher, middle, and lower, regions–the celestial
globe, and all the spheres and orbs of
light above: it reaches as high as the place
where the stars are fixed, for that is called
here the firmament of heaven
(v. 14, 15),
and as low as the place where the birds fly, for
that also is called the firmament of heaven,
v. 20.
When God had made the light, he
appointed the air to be the receptacle and
vehicle of its beams, and to be as a medium
of communication between the invisible and
the visible world; for, though between heaven
and earth there is an inconceivable distance,
yet there is not an impassable gulf, as there
is between heaven and hell. This firmament
is not a wall of partition, but a way of intercourse.
See
Job xxvi. 7; xxxvii. 18; Ps. civ. 3; Amos ix. 6.
2. The creation of it.
Lest it should seem as if God had only commanded
it to be done, and some one else had
done it, he adds, And God made the firmament.
What God requires of us he himself
works in us, or it is not done. He that commands
faith, holiness, and love, creates them
by the power of his grace going along with
his word, that he may have all the praise.
Lord, give what thou commandest, and then
command what thou pleasest. The firmament
is said to be the work of God’s fingers,
Ps. viii. 3.
Though the vastness of its extent
declares it to be the work of his arm stretched
out, yet the admirable fineness of its constitution
shows that it is a curious piece of art,
the work of his fingers.
3. The use and design
of it–to divide the waters from the
waters, that is, to distinguish between the
waters that are wrapped up in the clouds and
those that cover the sea, the waters in the
air and those in the earth. See the difference
between these two carefully observed,
where Canaan is upon this account
preferred to Egypt, that Egypt was
moistened and made fruitful with the waters
that are under the firmament, but Canaan
with waters from above, out of the firmament,
even the dew of heaven, which tarrieth
not for the sons of men,
Mic. v. 7.
God has,
in the firmament of his power, chambers,
store-chambers, whence he watereth the earth,
Ps. civ. 13; lxv. 9, 10.
He has also treasures,
or magazines, of snow and hail, which
he hath reserved against the day of battle and
war,
Job xxxviii. 22, 23.
O what a great
God is he who has thus provided for the
comfort of all that serve him and the confusion
of all that hate him! It is good having
him our friend, and bad having him our
enemy.
4. The naming of it: He called the
firmament heaven. It is the visible heaven,
the pavement of the holy city; above the
firmament God is said to have his throne
(Ezek. i. 26),
for he has prepared it in the
heavens; the heavens therefore are said to
rule,
Is not God in the height of
heaven?
Job xxii. 12.
Yes, he is, and we
should be led by the contemplation of the
heavens that are in our eye to consider our
Father who is in heaven. The height of the
heavens should remind us of God’s supremacy
and the infinite distance there is between
us and him; the brightness of the
heavens and their purity should remind us of
his glory, and majesty, and perfect holiness;
the vastness of the heavens, their encompassing
of the earth, and the influence they have
upon it, should remind us of his immensity
and universal providence.
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9 And God said, Let the waters
under the heaven be gathered together
unto one place, and let the dry land
appear: and it was so.
10 And God
called the dry land Earth; and the
gathering together of the waters called
he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
11 And God said, Let the
earth bring forth grass, the herb
yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding
fruit after his kind, whose seed is
in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth
grass, and herb yielding seed after
his kind, and the tree yielding fruit,
whose seed was in itself, after his
kind: and God saw that it was good.
13 And the evening and the morning
were the third day.
The third day’s work is related in these
verses–the forming of the sea and the dry
land, and the making of the earth fruitful.
Hitherto the power of the Creator had been
exerted and employed about the upper part
of the visible word; the light of heaven was
kindled, and the firmament of heaven fixed:
but now he descends to this lower world, the
earth, which was designed for the children of
men, designed both for their habitation and
for their maintenance; and here we have an
account of the fitting of it for both, and building
of their house and the spreading of their
table. Observe,
I. How the earth was prepared to be a
habitation for man, by the gathering of the
waters together, and the making of the dry
land to appear. Thus, instead of the confusion
which there was
(v. 2)
when earth and
water were mixed in one great mass, behold,
now, there is order, by such a separation as
rendered them both useful. God said, Let
it be so, and it was so; no sooner said than
done.
1. The waters which had covered the
earth were ordered to retire, and to gather
into one place, namely, those hollows which
were fitted and appointed for their reception
and rest. The waters, thus cleared, thus
collected, and thus lodged, in their proper
place, he called seas. Though they are many,
in distant regions, and washing several
shores, yet, either above ground or under
ground, they have communication with each
other, and so they are one, and the common
receptacle of waters, into which all the rivers
flow,
Waters and seas often, in
scripture, signify troubles and afflictions,
God’s own
people are not exempted from these in this
world; but it is their comfort that they are
only waters under the heaven (there are none
in heaven), and that they are all in the place
that God has appointed them and within
the bounds that he has set for them. How
the waters were gathered together at first,
and how they are still bound and limited by
the same Almighty had that first confined them,
are elegantly described,
and are there mentioned as matter of praise.
Those that go down to the sea in ships ought
to acknowledge daily the wisdom, power,
and goodness, of the Creator, in making the
great waters serviceable to man for trade
and commerce; and those that tarry at home
must own themselves indebted to him that
keeps the sea with bars and doors in its decreed
place, and stays its proud waves,
2. The dry land was
made to appear, and emerge out of the waters,
and was called earth, and given to the children
of men. The earth, it seems, was in being
before; but it was of no use, because it was
under water. Thus many of God’s gifts are
received in vain, because they are buried;
make them to appear, and they become serviceable.
We who, to this day, enjoy the
benefit of the dry land (though, since this,
it was once deluged, and dried again) must
own ourselves tenants to, and dependents
upon, that God whose hands formed the dry
land,
Ps. xcv. 5; Jonah i. 9.
II. How the earth was furnished for the
maintenance and support of man,
Present provision was now made, by the immediate
products of the upstart earth, which,
in obedience to God’s command, was no
sooner made than it became fruitful, and
brought forth grass for the cattle and herb
for the service of man. Provision was likewise
made for time to come, by the perpetuating
of the several kinds of vegetables,
which are numerous, various, and all curious,
and every one having its seed in itself after its
kind, that, during the continuance of man
upon the earth, food might be fetched out of
the earth for his use and benefit. Lord,
what is man, that he is thus visited and regarded–that
such care should be taken, and
such provision made, for the support and
preservation of those guilty and obnoxious
lives which have been a thousand times
forfeited! Observe here,
1. That not only
the earth is the Lord’s, but the fulness thereof,
and he is the rightful owner and sovereign
disposer, not only of it, but of all its furniture.
The earth was emptiness
(v. 2),
but now, by a word’s speaking, it has become
full of God’s riches, and his they are still–his
corn and his wine, his wool and his flax,
Hos. ii. 9.
Though the use of them is allowed
to us, the property still remains in
him, and to his service and honour they
must be used.
2. That common providence
is a continued creation, and in it our Father
worketh hitherto. The earth still remains
under the efficacy of this command, to bring
forth grass, and herbs, and its annual products;
and though, being according to the
common course of nature, these are not
standing miracles, yet they are standing instances
of the unwearied power and unexhausted
goodness of the world’s great Maker
and Master.
3. That though God, ordinarily,
makes use of the agency of second
causes, according to their nature, yet he
neither needs them nor is tied to them; for,
though the precious fruits of the earth are
usually brought forth by the influences of
the sun and moon
yet here
we find the earth bearing a great abundance
of fruit, probable ripe fruit, before the sun
and moon were made.
4. That it is good to
provide things necessary before we have
occasion to use them: before the beasts and
man were made, here were grass and herbs
prepared for them. God thus dealt wisely
and graciously with man; let not man then
be foolish and unwise for himself.
5. That
God must have the glory of all the benefit
we receive from the products of the earth,
either for food or physic. It is he that hears
the heavens when they hear the earth,
Hos. ii. 21, 22.
And if we have, through grace, an
interest in him who is the fountain, when
the streams are dried up and the fig-tree doth
not blossom we may rejoice in him.
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14 And 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:
15 And let
them be for lights in the firmament
of the heaven to give light upon the
earth: and it was so.
16 And God
made two great lights; the greater
light to rule the day, and the lesser
light to rule the night: he made the
stars also.
17 And God set them in
the firmament of the heaven to give
light upon the earth,
18 And to
rule over the day and over the night,
and to divide the light from the darkness:
and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning
were the fourth day.
This is the history of the fourth day’s
work, the creating of the sun, moon, and
stars, which are here accounted for, not as
they are in themselves and in their own nature,
to satisfy the curious, but as they are
in relation to this earth, to which they serve
as lights; and this is enough to furnish us
with matter for praise and thanksgiving.
Holy Job mentions this as an instance of the
glorious power of God, that by the Spirit he
hath garnished the heavens
(Job xxvi. 13);
and here we have an account of that garniture
which is not only so much the beauty of
the upper world, but so much the blessing of
this lower; for though heaven is high, yet
has it respect to this earth, and therefore
should have respect from it. Of the creation
of the lights of heaven we have an account,
I. In general,
where we have
1. The command given concerning them:
Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven.
God had said, Let there be light
(v. 3),
and there was light; but this was, as it were, a
chaos of light, scattered and confused: now
it was collected and modelled, and made into
several luminaries, and so rendered both
more glorious and more serviceable. God is
the God of order, and not of confusion; and,
as he is light, so he is the Father and former
of lights. Those lights were to be in the
firmament of heaven, that vast expanse which
encloses the earth, and is conspicuous to all;
for no man, when he has lighted a candle,
puts it under a bushel, but on a candlestick
and a stately golden candlestick
the firmament of heaven is, from which
these candles give light to all that are in the
house. The firmament itself is spoken of as
having a brightness of its own
(Dan. xii. 3),
but this was not sufficient to give light to the
earth; and perhaps for this reason it is not
expressly said of the second day’s work, in
which the firmament was made, that it was
good, because, till it was adorned with these
lights on the fourth day, it had not become
serviceable to man.
2. The use they were
intended to be of to this earth.
(1.) They
must be for the distinction of times, of day
and night, summer and winter, which are
interchanged by the motion of the sun, whose
rising makes day, his setting night, his approach
towards our tropic summer, his recess
to the other winter: and thus, under the
sun, there is a season to every purpose,
Eccl. iii. 1.
(2.) They must be for the direction of
actions. They are for signs of the change
of weather, that the husbandman may order
his affairs with discretion, foreseeing, by the
face of the sky, when second causes have begun
to work, whether it will be fair or foul,
They do also give light upon
the earth, that we may walk
(John xi. 9),
and work
(John ix. 4).
according as the duty of
every day requires. The lights of heaven do
not shine for themselves, nor for the world
of spirits above, who need them not; but
they shine for us, for our pleasure and advantage.
Lord, what is man, that he should
be thus regarded!
How ungrateful
and inexcusable are we, if, when God
has set up these lights for us to work by, we
sleep, or play, or trifle away the time of business,
and neglect the great work we were
sent into the world about! The lights of
heaven are made to serve us, and they do it
faithfully, and shine in their season, without
fail: but we are set as lights in this world to
serve God; and do we in like manner answer
the end of our creation? No, we do
not, our light does not shine before God as
his lights shine before us,
We burn our Master’s candles, but do not mind
our Master’s work.
II. In particular,
1. Observe, The lights of heaven are the
sun, moon, and stars; and all these are the
work of God’s hands.
(1.) The sun is
the greatest light of all, more than a million
times greater than the earth, and the
most glorious and useful of all the lamps
of heaven, a noble instance of the Creator’s
wisdom, power, and goodness, and
an invaluable blessing to the creatures of
this lower world. Let us learn from
how to give unto God the glory due
unto his name, as the Maker of the sun.
(2.) The moon is a less light, and yet is here
reckoned one of the greater lights, because
though, in regard to its magnitude and borrowed
light, it is inferior to many of the stars,
yet, by virtue of its office, as ruler of the
night, and in respect of its usefulness to the
earth, it is more excellent than they. Those
are most valuable that are most serviceable;
and those are the greater lights, not that
have the best gifts, but that humbly and
faithfully do the most good with them.
Whosoever will be great among you, let him be
your minister,
Matt. xx. 26.
(3.) He made the
stars also, which are here spoken of as they
appear to vulgar eyes, without distinguishing
between the planets and the fixed stars, or
accounting for their number, nature, place,
magnitude, motions, or influences; for the
scriptures were written, not to gratify our
curiosity and make us astronomers, but to lead
us to God, and make us saints. Now these
lights are said to rule
(v. 16, 18);
not that
they have a supreme dominion, as God has,
but they are deputy-governors, rulers under
him. Here the less light, the moon, is said
to rule the night; but in
the stars are mentioned as sharers in that government;
The moon and stars to rule by
night. No more is meant than that they
give light,
Jer. xxxi. 35.
The best and most
honourable way of ruling is by giving light
and doing good: those command respect that
live a useful life, and so shine as lights.
2. Learn from all this,
(1.) The sin and
folly of that ancient idolatry, the worshipping
of the sun, moon, and stars, which,
some think, took rise, or countenance at
least, from some broken traditions in the patriarchal
age concerning the rule and dominion
of the lights of heaven. But the
account here given of them plainly shows
that they are both God’s creatures and man’s
servants; and therefore it is both a great
affront to God and a great reproach to ourselves
to make deities of them and give them
divine honours. See
(2.) The
duty and wisdom of daily worshipping that
God who made all these things, and made
them to be that to us which they are. The
revolutions of the day and night oblige us
to offer the solemn sacrifice of prayer and
praise every morning and evening.
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20 And God said, Let the waters
bring forth abundantly the moving
creature that hath life, and fowl that
may fly above the earth in the open
firmament of heaven.
21 And God
created great whales, and every living
creature that moveth, which the waters
brought forth abundantly, after their
kind, and every winged fowl after his
kind: and God saw that it was good.
22 And God blessed them, saying,
Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the
waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply
in the earth.
23 And the evening and the
morning were the fifth day.
Each day, hitherto, has produced very
noble and excellent beings, which we can
never sufficiently admire; but we do not
read of the creation of any living creature
till the fifth day, of which these verses give
us an account. The work of creation not
only proceeded gradually from one thing to
another, but rose and advanced gradually
from that which was less excellent to that
which was more so, teaching us to press
towards perfection and endeavour that our
last works may be our best works. It was
on the fifth day that the fish and fowl were
created, and both out of the waters. Though
there is one kind of flesh of fishes, and
another of birds, yet they were made together,
and both out of the waters; for the power of
the first Cause can produce very different
effects from the same second causes. Observe,
1. The making of the fish and fowl,
at first,
God commanded them to
be produced. He said, Let the waters bring
forth abundantly; not as if the waters had
any productive power of their own, but, “Let
them be brought into being, the fish in the
waters and the fowl out of them.” This
command he himself executed: God created
great whales, &c. Insects, which perhaps
are as various and as numerous as any species
of animals, and their structure as curious,
were part of this day’s work, some of them
being allied to the fish and others to the
fowl. Mr. Boyle (I remember) says he admires
the Creator’s wisdom and power as
much in an ant as in an elephant. Notice is
here taken of the various sorts of fish and
fowl, each after their kind, and of the great
numbers of both that were produced, for the
waters brought forth abundantly; and particular
mention if made of great whales, the
largest of fishes, whose bulk and strength,
exceeding that of any other animal, are remarkable
proofs of the power and greatness
of the Creator. The express notice here
taken of the whale, above all the rest, seems
sufficient to determine what animal is meant
by the Leviathan,
The curious
formation of the bodies of animals, their different
sizes, shapes, and natures, with the
admirable powers of the sensitive life with
which they are endued, when duly considered,
serve, not only to silence and shame the
objections of atheists and infidels, but to
raise high thoughts and high praises of God
in pious and devout souls,
&c.
2. The blessing of them, in order to their
continuance. Life is a wasting thing. Its
strength is not the strength of stones. It is
a candle that will burn out, if it be not first
blown out; and therefore the wise Creator
not only made the individuals, but provided
for the propagation of the several kinds; God
blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply,
v. 22.
God will bless his own works, and
not forsake them; and what he does shall be
for a perpetuity,
Eccl. iii. 14.
The power of
God’s providence preserves all things, as
at first his creating power produced them.
Fruitfulness is the effect of God’s blessing
and must be ascribed to it; the multiplying
of the fish and fowl, from year to year, is still
the fruit of this blessing. Well, let us give
to God the glory of the continuance of these
creatures to this day for the benefit of man.
See
It is a pity that fishing
and fowling, recreations innocent in themselves,
should ever be abused to divert any
from God and their duty, while they are
capable of being improved to lead us to the
contemplation of the wisdom, power, and
goodness, of him that made all these things,
and to engage us to stand in awe of him, as
the fish and fowl do of us.
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24 And God said, Let the earth
bring forth the living creature after
his kind, cattle, and creeping thing,
and beast of the earth after his kind:
and it was so.
25 And God made
the beast of the earth after his kind,
and cattle after their kind, and every
thing that creepeth upon the earth
after his kind: and God saw that it
was good.
We have here the first part of the sixth
day’s work. The sea was, the day before,
replenished with its fish, and the air with its
fowl; and this day were made the beasts of
the earth, the cattle, and the creeping things
that pertain to the earth. Here, as before,
1. The Lord gave the word; he said, Let
the earth bring forth, not as if the earth had
any such prolific virtue as to produce these
animals, or as if God resigned his creating
power to it; but, “Let these creatures now
come into being upon the earth, and out of
it, in their respective kinds, conformable to
the ideas of them in the divine counsels concerning
their creation.”
2. He also did the
work; he made them all after their kind,
not only of divers shapes, but of divers natures,
manners, food, and fashions–some to
be tame about the house, others to be wild
in the fields–some living upon grass and
herbs, others upon flesh–some harmless, and
others ravenous–some bold, and others timorous–some
for man’s service, and not his
sustenance, as the horse–others for his sustenance,
and not his service, as the sheep–others
for both, as the ox–and some for
neither, as the wild beasts. In all this appears
the manifold wisdom of the Creator.
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26 And God said, Let us make man
in our image, after our likeness:
and let them have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of
the air, and over the cattle, and over
all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own
image, in the image of God created
he him; male and female created he
them.
28 And God blessed them,
and God said unto them, Be fruitful,
and multiply, and replenish the earth,
and subdue it: and have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the
fowl of the air, and over every living
thing that moveth upon the earth.
We have here the second part of the sixth
day’s work, the creation of man, which we are,
in a special manner, concerned to take notice
of, that we may know ourselves. Observe,
I. That man was made last of all the creatures,
that it might not be suspected that he
had been, any way, a helper to God in the
creation of the world: that question must be
for ever humbling and mortifying to him,
Where wast thou, or any of thy kind, when I
laid the foundations of the earth?
Job xxxviii. 4.
Yet it was both an honour and a favour to
him that he was made last: an honour, for
the method of the creation was to advance
from that which was less perfect to that which
was more so; and a favour, for it was not fit
he should be lodged in the palace designed
for him till it was completely fitted up and
furnished for his reception. Man, as soon
as he was made, had the whole visible creation
before him, both to contemplate and to take
the comfort of. Man was made the same
day that the beasts were, because his body
was made of the same earth with theirs; and,
while he is in the body, he inhabits the same
earth with them. God forbid that by indulging
the body and the desires of it we
should make ourselves like the beasts that
perish!
II. That man’s creation was a more signal
and immediate act of divine wisdom and
power than that of the other creatures. The
narrative of it is introduced with something
of solemnity, and a manifest distinction from
the rest. Hitherto, it had been said, “Let
there be light,” and “Let there be a firmament,”
and “Let the earth, or waters, bring
forth” such a thing; but now the word of
command is turned into a word of consultation,
“Let us make man, for whose sake the
rest of the creatures were made: this is a
work we must take into our own hands.”
In the former he speaks as one having authority,
in this as one having affection; for
his delights were with the sons of men,
Prov. viii. 31.
It should seem as if this were the
work which he longed to be at; as if he had
said, “Having at last settled the preliminaries,
let us now apply ourselves to the
business, Let us make man.” Man was to be
a creature different from all that had been
hitherto made. Flesh and spirit, heaven and
earth, must be put together in him, and he
must be allied to both worlds. And therefore
God himself not only undertakes to make
him, but is pleased so to express himself as
if he called a council to consider of the
making of him: Let us make man. The
three persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost, consult about it and concur in
it, because man, when he was made, was to
be dedicated and devoted to Father, Son and
Holy Ghost. Into that great name we are,
with good reason, baptized, for to that great
name we owe our being. Let him rule man
who said, Let us make man.
III. That man was made in God’s image
and after his likeness, two words to express
the same thing and making each other the
more expressive; image and likeness denote
the likest image, the nearest resemblance of
any of the visible creatures. Man was not
made in the likeness of any creature that
went before him, but in the likeness of his
Creator; yet still between God and man
there is an infinite distance. Christ only is
the express image of God’s person, as the
Son of his Father, having the same nature.
It is only some of God’s honour that is put
upon man, who is God’s image only as the
shadow in the glass, or the king’s impress
upon the coin. God’s image upon man consists
in these three things:–
1. In his nature
and constitution, not those of his body (for
God has not a body), but those of his soul.
This honour indeed God has put upon the
body of man, that the Word was made flesh,
the Son of God was clothed with a body like
ours and will shortly clothe ours with a glory
like that of his. And this we may safely say,
That he by whom God made the worlds, not
only the great world, but man the little
world, formed the human body, at the first,
according to the platform he designed for
himself in the fulness of time. But it is the
soul, the great soul, of man, that does especially
bear God’s image. The soul is a spirit,
an intelligent immortal spirit, an influencing
active spirit, herein resembling God, the Father
of Spirits, and the soul of the world.
The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.
The soul of man, considered in its three
noble faculties, understanding, will, and active
power, is perhaps the brightest clearest looking-glass
in nature, wherein to see God.
2. In his place and authority: Let us make man
in our image, and let him have dominion. As
he has the government of the inferior creatures,
he is, as it were, God’s representative,
or viceroy, upon earth; they are not capable
of fearing and serving God, therefore God
has appointed them to fear and serve man.
Yet his government of himself by the freedom
of his will has in it more of God’s image
than his government of the creatures.
3. In
his purity and rectitude. God’s image upon
man consists in knowledge, righteousness,
and true holiness,
He was upright,
He had an
habitual conformity of all his natural powers
to the whole will of God. His understanding
saw divine things clearly and truly, and
there were no errors nor mistakes in his
knowledge. His will complied readily and
universally with the will of God, without reluctancy
or resistance. His affections were
all regular, and he had no inordinate appetites
or passions. His thoughts were easily
brought and fixed to the best subjects, and
there was no vanity nor ungovernableness in
them. All the inferior powers were subject
to the dictates and directions of the superior,
without any mutiny or rebellion. Thus holy,
thus happy, were our first parents, in having
the image of God upon them. And this
honour, put upon man at first, is a good
reason why we should not speak ill one of
another
(Jam. iii. 9),
nor do ill one to another
(Gen. ix. 6),
and a good reason why we should
not debase ourselves to the service of sin, and
why we should devote ourselves to God’s
service. But how art thou fallen, O son of
the morning! How is this image of God
upon man defaced! How small are the remains
of it, and how great the ruins of it!
The Lord renew it upon our souls by his
sanctifying grace!
IV. That man was made male and female,
and blessed with the blessing of fruitfulness
and increase. God said, Let us make man,
and immediately it follows, So God created
man; he performed what he resolved. With
us saying and doing are two things; but they
are not so with God. He created him male
and female, Adam and Eve–Adam first, out
of earth, and Eve out of his side,
It should seem that of the rest of the creatures
God made many couples, but of man did not
he make one?
(Mal. ii. 15),
though he had the
residue of the Spirit, whence Christ gathers
an argument against divorce,
Our first father, Adam, was confined to one
wife; and, if he had put her away, there was
no other for him to marry, which plainly intimated
that the bond of marriage was not to
be dissolved at pleasure. Angels were not
made male and female, for they were not to
propagate their kind
but man was made so, that the nature might be
propagated and the race continued. Fires
and candles, the luminaries of this lower
world, because they waste, and go out, have
a power to light more; but it is not so with
the lights of heaven: stars do not kindle
stars. God made but one male and one female,
that all the nations of men might know
themselves to be made of one blood, descendants
from one common stock, and might
thereby be induced to love one another.
God, having made them capable of transmitting
the nature they had received, said to
them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
the earth. Here he gave them,
1. A large
inheritance: Replenish the earth; it is this
that is bestowed upon the children of men.
They were made to dwell upon the face of all
the earth,
Acts xvii. 26.
This is the place in
which God has set man to be the servant of
his providence in the government of the inferior
creatures, and, as it were, the intelligence
of this orb; to be the receiver of God’s
bounty, which other creatures live upon, but
do not know it; to be likewise the collector
of his praises in this lower world, and to pay
them into the exchequer above
(Ps. cxlv. 10);
and, lastly, to be a probationer for a better
state.
2. A numerous lasting family, to enjoy
this inheritance, pronouncing a blessing
upon them, in virtue of which their posterity
should extend to the utmost corners of the
earth and continue to the utmost period of
time. Fruitfulness and increase depend upon
the blessing of God: Obed-edom had eight
sons, for God blessed him,
1 Chron. xxvi. 5.
It is owing to this blessing, which God commanded
at first, that the race of mankind is
still in being, and that as one generation passeth
away another cometh.
V. That God gave to man, when he had
made him, a dominion over the inferior
creatures, over the fish of the sea and over the
fowl of the air. Though man provides for
neither, he has power over both, much more
over every living thing that moveth upon the
earth, which are more under his care and
within his reach. God designed hereby to
put an honour upon man, that he might find
himself the more strongly obliged to bring
honour to his Maker. This dominion is
very much diminished and lost by the fall;
yet God’s providence continues so much of it
to the children of men as is necessary to the
safety and support of their lives, and God’s
grace has given to the saints a new and
better title to the creature than that which
was forfeited by sin; for all is ours if we are
Christ’s,
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29 And God said, Behold, I have
given you every herb bearing seed,
which is upon the face of all the
earth, and every tree, in the which is
the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it
shall be for meat.
30 And to
every beast of the earth, and to every
fowl of the air, and to every thing
that creepeth upon the earth, wherein
there is life, I have given every green
herb for meat: and it was so.
We have here the third part of the sixth
day’s work, which was not any new creation,
but a gracious provision of food for all flesh,
He that made man and
beast thus took care to preserve both,
Here is,
I. Food provided for man,
Herbs and fruits must be his meat, including corn
and all the products of the earth; these were
allowed him, but (it should seem) not flesh,
till after the flood,
And before the
earth was deluged, much more before it was
cursed for man’s sake, its fruits, no doubt,
were more pleasing to the taste and more
strengthening and nourishing to the body
than marrow and fatness, and all the portion
of the king’s meat, are now. See here,
1. That which should make us humble. As we
were made out of the earth, so we are maintained
out of it. Once indeed men did eat
angels’ food, bread from heaven; but they
died
(John vi. 49);
it was to them but as
food out of the earth,
There is
meat that endures to everlasting life; the
Lord evermore give us this.
2. That which
should make us thankful. The Lord is for
the body; from him we receive all the supports
and comforts of this life, and to him
we must give thanks. He gives us all things
richly to enjoy, not only for necessity, but
plenty, dainties, and varieties, for ornament
and delight. How much are we indebted!
How careful should we be, as we live upon
God’s bounty, to live to his glory!
3. That
which should make us temperate and content
with our lot. Though Adam had dominion
given him over fish and fowl, yet God
confined him, in his food, to herbs and
fruits; and he never complained of it.
Though afterwards he coveted forbidden
fruit, for the sake of the wisdom and knowledge
he promised himself from it, yet we
never read that he coveted forbidden flesh.
If God give us food for our lives, let us not,
with murmuring Israel, ask food for our
lusts,
see
II. Food provided for the beasts,
Doth God take care for oxen? Yes, certainly,
he provides food convenient for them,
and not for oxen only, which were used in
his sacrifices and man’s service, but even the
young lions and the young ravens are the
care of his providence; they ask and have
their meat from God. Let us give to God
the glory of his bounty to the inferior creatures,
that all are fed, as it were, at his table,
every day. He is a great housekeeper, a
very rich and bountiful one, that satisfies the
desire of every living thing. Let this encourage
God’s people to cast their care upon
him, and not to be solicitous respecting what
they shall eat and what they shall drink.
He that provided for Adam without his
care, and still provides for all the creatures
without their care, will not let those that
trust him want any good thing,
He that feeds his birds will not starve his
babes.
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31 And God saw every thing that
he had made, and, behold, it was
very good. And the evening and the
morning were the sixth day.
We have here the approbation and conclusion
of the whole work of creation. As for
God, his work is perfect; and if he begin
he will also make an end, in providence and
grace, as well as here in creation. Observe,
I. The review God took of his work: He
saw every thing that he had made. So he
does still; all the works of his hands are
under his eye. He that made all sees all;
he that made us sees us,
Omniscience cannot be separated from omnipotence.
Known unto God are all his works,
Acts xv. 18.
But this was the Eternal
Mind’s solemn reflection upon the copies of
its own wisdom and the products of its own
power. God has hereby set us an example
of reviewing our works. Having given us a
power of reflection, he expects we should
use that power, see our way
(Jer. ii. 23),
and think of it,
When we have
finished a day’s work, and are entering upon
the rest of the night, we should commune
with our own hearts about what we have
been doing that day; so likewise when we
have finished a week’s work, and are entering
upon the sabbath-rest, we should thus
prepare to meet our God; and when we are
finishing our life’s work, and are entering
upon our rest in the grave, that is a time to
bring to remembrance, that we may die repenting,
and so take leave of it.
II. The complacency God took in his work.
When we come to review our works we find,
to our shame, that much has been very bad;
but, when God reviewed his, all was very
good. He did not pronounce it good till he
had seen it so, to teach us not to answer a
matter before we hear it. The work of
creation was a very good work. All that God
made was well-made, and there was no flaw
nor defect in it.
1. It was good. Good, for
it is all agreeable to the mind of the Creator,
just as he would have it to be; when the
transcript came to be compared with the
great original, it was found to be exact, no
errata in it, not one misplaced stroke. Good,
for it answers the end of its creation, and is
fit for the purpose for which it was designed.
Good, for it is serviceable to man, whom God
had appointed lord of the visible creation.
Good, for it is all for God’s glory; there is that
in the whole visible creation which is a demonstration
of God’s being and perfections, and
which tends to beget, in the soul of man, a
religious regard to him and veneration of
him.
2. It was very good. Of each day’s
work (except the second) it was said that it
was good, but now, it is very good. For,
(1.) Now man was made, who was the chief of
the ways of God, who was designed to be the
visible image of the Creator’s glory and the
mouth of the creation in his praises.
(2.) Now
all was made; every part was good, but all
together very good. The glory and goodness,
the beauty and harmony, of God’s works,
both of providence and grace, as this of creation,
will best appear when they are perfected.
When the top-stone is brought forth we shall
cry, Grace, grace, unto it,
Zech. iv. 7.
Therefore judge nothing before the time.
III. The time when this work was concluded:
The evening and the morning were the
sixth day; so that in six days God made the
world. We are not to think but that God
could have made the world in an instant.
He said that, Let there be light, and there was
light, could have said, “Let there be a
world,” and there would have been a world,
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, as at
the resurrection,
But he did
it in six days, that he might show himself a
free-agent, doing his own work both in his
own way and in his own time,–that his wisdom,
power, and goodness, might appear to
us, and be meditated upon by us, the more
distinctly,–and that he might set us an example
of working six days and resting the
seventh; it is therefore made the reason of
the fourth commandment. So much would
the sabbath conduce to the keeping up of religion
in the world that God had an eye to it
in the timing of his creation. And now, as
God reviewed his work, let us review our
meditations upon it, and we shall find them
very lame and defective, and our praises low
and flat; let us therefore stir up ourselves,
and all that is within us, to worship him that
made the heaven, earth, and sea, and the
fountains of waters, according to the tenour
of the everlasting gospel, which is preached
to every nation,
All his works,
in all places of his dominion, do bless him;
and, therefore, bless thou the Lord, O my soul!
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