Catechistical Guide to Sinners and Babes in Christ, Part 2 · Chapter 2
CHAP. II. Of God conſidered in his Works of Creation.
Q. NOw ſeeing we have diſcourſed of God as conſidered in himſelf, we are in the next place to diſcourſe of him as conſidered in his Works: Wherefore I ſhall firſt ask you, What are the Works of God?
A. The Works of God we ought to conſider; and althô they are manifold, yet they may be ſaid in the general to be two-fold; namely, His Work of Creation, and his Work of Government.
[Job 37.14, 16. Eccleſ. 7.13. Pſal. 77.12. & 46.8. & 111.2. Rom. 1.20.]
Q. What is God's Work of Creation?
A. God's Work of Creation, is that Work of his, whereby he hath made Heaven, the Heaven of Heavens, with all their Hoſt; the Earth, and all things that are therein; the Seas, and all that is therein.
[Nehem. 9.6. See Gen. 1. Job 38.4, &c. Pſal. 104.5, &c. and 136.5, &c. Thus ſaith the Lord thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the Womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things, that ſtretcheth forth the Heavens alone, that ſpreadeth abroad the Earth by my ſelf, Iſa. 44.24. Act. 4.24. & 14.15. & 17.24. Rev. 10.6. Thus ſaith God the Lord, he that created the Heavens, and ſtretched them out, he that ſpread forth the Earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the People upon it, and Spirit to them that walk therein, Iſa. 42.5. See Iſa. 45.12, 18. Mark 10.6.]
Q. In what manner did God create the World, and the things that are therein?
A. God by reaſon of his Will and Pleaſure, did in his Wiſdom, by his Power, and for himſelf, make, form, or create in ſix days, all things, and all very good.
[He created all things by reaſon of his Will or Pleaſure, Rev. 4.11. Thou, O Lord, haſt created all things, and for (or by reaſon of) thy pleaſure, they are and were created. See alſo before.
God created them in his Wiſdom. Pſal. 104.24. O Lord, how manifold are thy Works! in Wiſdom haſt thou made them all. Prov. 3.19.20. The Lord by Wiſdom hath founded the Earth; by Ʋnderſtanding hath he eſtabliſhed the Heavens; by his Knowledg the Depths are broken up, and the Clouds drop down the Dew, Pſal. 136.5.
He hath created all things by his Power. Jer. 10.12. 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. 32.17. Ah Lord God, behold thou haſt made the Heaven and the Earth by thy great Power and ſtretched-out Arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee; or, nothing hid from thee. See Iſa. 40.26. 2 Pet. 3.5. Pſal. 33.6. By the Word of the Lord were the Heavens made; and all the Hoſt of them by the breath of his Mouth. Verſ. 9. For he ſpake, and it was done; he commanded, and it ſtood faſt. See Pſal. 148.5. Gen. 1.3. God ſaid, Let there be Light, and there was Light. 2 Cor. 4.6. God commanded the Light to ſhine out of Darkneſs. Job 26.13. By his Spirit he hath garniſhed the Heavens; his Hand hath formed the crooked Serpent. Job 33.4. The Spirit of God hath made me, and the Breath of the Almighty hath given me Life. Prov. 16.1. He made all things for himſelf. He made all things in ſix days, and all very good, Gen. 1. and Ch. 2.1, 2. Exod. 20.11.]
Q. What are the principal Creatures that God did make?
A. The principal Creatures that God did make, are Angels and Men.
Q. What have you learn'd concerning the Creation of Men?
A. I have learn'd concerning the creation of Men, That God after he had made all other Creatures, created Man in his own Image, in the Image of God created he him, Male and Female created he them: and that God bleſſed them, and 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, Gen. 1.27, 28. Jam. 3.9.
Q. Can you expreſs more diſtinctly the Creation of Men?
A. Yes; after this manner. The Lord God created at the firſt only a Man and a Woman, called Adam and Eve. For the Lord God formed the Man [of] the Duſt of the Ground, and breathed into his Noſtrils the Breath of Life, and the Man became a living Soul. Afterwards the Lord God cauſed a deep ſleep to fall upon Adam, and he ſlept, and he took one of his Ribs, and cloſed up the Fleſh inſtead thereof. And of the Rib which the Lord God had taken from the Man, made he a Woman, and brought her to the Man to be his Wife, and a meet help unto him. Of theſe two have all others of Mankind deſcended, by that bleſſing, of Multiplying and increaſing, which God gave to Adam and his Wife, Gen. 2.7, 18, 21, 22. and 5.1, 2. 1 Cor. 11.8, 9. 1 Tim. 2.13. Job 4.17. & 32.22. & 33.6. & 34.19. Pſal. 139.13, &c. Jer. 1.5. Zech. 12.1. Eccleſ. 11.5. Job 10.8, &c. and 31.15.