A Help for the Understanding of the Holy Scriptures, Genesis · Chapter 1
CHAP. I.
IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.]
Many of our beſt Expoſitours, and that not without good probabilitie, conceive theſe words to be a generall propoſition concerning the whole creation (which is afterwards more particularly unfolded, by ſetting down in what time, and in what order and manner this was done, and what were the ſeverall works of the ſix dayes;) to wit, That in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, that is, that all things were at firſt created by God, the heavens, & the earth, and all the hoſt of them, as it is afterwards expreſſed chap. 2. 1. or the world, and all therein, as S. Paul ſpake, Act. 17. 24. This Moſes affirmeth here in the firſt verſe; but then how, after what manner, and in what order they were created, that is afterwards related in the following part of the chapter. Yet others again (& that I think moſt probably) underſtand this which is here ſaid, to be the work of the firſt dayes creation, to wit, that God in the beginning, on the firſt day, created the heaven, that is, the higheſt heaven, the dwelling place of the Angels, called the heaven of heavens, 1. King. 8. 27. and the earth, that whole confuſed Chaos of earth and water, which was as yet without form and void, as it is afterwards deſcribed in the ſecond verſe. And indeed becauſe it is ſaid, Job 38. 6, 7. that the morning ſtarres ſang together, and the ſonnes of God ſhouted for joy, when God laid the foundations of the earth, which is meant of the Angels; it ſeems moſt probable, that this higheſt heaven, and ſo the Angels together with it, were firſt created, and ſo was a main part of the work of the firſt day. It is true, there is no mention made of the angels, neither here, nor in any other part of the chapter; but that is, becauſe Moſes purpoſely intended to relate duplicate page duplicate page onelyonly the creation of things corporall and viſible, & that happily as having regard therein to the rudeneſſe and weakneſſe of that infant-Church of the Jews, for whom he wrote this hiſtory. For that the angels were at firſt created by God of nothing, as all other things were, is evident by many other places of Scripture, as Pſal. 104. 4. Who maketh his angels ſpirits. Col. 1. 16. By him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, viſible, and inviſible, &c. Pſal. 148. 2▪ 5. Praiſe ye him all his angels, let them praiſe the name of the Lord, for he commanded, and they were created. And though we cannot expreſly ſay, on which of the ſix dayes the angels were created, becauſe there is no expreſſe mention made of them▪ yet it is moſt likely that they were created together with the higheſt heavens, the chief place of their habitation; and that on the firſt day, becauſe then at the laying of the foundations of the earth the angels did praiſe their Creatour, as was before noted, Job 38.
Verſ. 2. And the earth was without form, and void.]
That is, the earth was on the firſt day created, and when it was at firſt created, it had neither the ſhap… nor ornaments that it hath now: it was not round, ſolid, drie, diſtinguiſht here and there with valleys and hills; it was without form, a rude and indigeſted lump; and again it was void, or emptie, not having trees, herbs, and ſlowers to adorn it, nor beaſts, birds, or people to inhabit it▪ as it hath now.
And darkneſſe was upon the face of the deep.]
By the deep, is meant that confuſed Chaos, or indigeſted Maſſe of earth and water▪ of which before he had ſpoken; by darkneſſe▪ is meant a mere privation of light: this Chaos or deep was wholy hid and involved in darkneſſe; in the whole ſurface of it▪ there was no light at all, wherewith it ſhould be ſeen.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.]
The word here tranſlated moved, is metaphoricall, taken from the motion of birds, that flutter over their young, and implies that the holy Ghoſt did ſuſtain and cheriſh this Chaos, or Deep, by his ſecret, but effectuall power and motion, even as birds do their new-hatcht young ones, by ſo fluttering over them.
Verſ. 3. And God ſaid let there be light.]
That is, God the Father, having created of nothing, this confuſed Chaos of earth and water, did the ſame firſt day create alſo the light, which was a bright ſhining quality upon the face of this deep, whereby it became apparent and viſible; and this he did by ſaying, Let there be light, that is, by his almighty word and command, 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: not any word uttered or ſpoken after the manner of men, but by his …ſſentiall Word, the Sonne of God, who is the word and wiſdome of the Father. John 1. 1. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. 1. Cor. 1. 24. Christ the power of God, and the wiſdome of God, and by whom the Father made all things whatſoever. John 1. 3. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Verſ. 4. And God divided the light from the darkneſſe.]
Hereby is implyed▪ 1. That God did not wholly aboliſh the darkneſſe all over the deep, but divided the light from the darkneſſe, ſo that whilſt there was light on one part of the deep, it was ſtill dark on the other. 2. That he ordained that there ſhould be for ever a naturall and formall repugnancy and contrariety between them, and that they ſhould mutually ſucceed and expell one the other, that ſo every where about the b…dy of the earth it ſhould be ſucceſſively, as the light and darkneſſe moved and followed each other, ſometimes day, and ſometimes night. 3. That even in the three firſt dayes of the worlds creation, before the ſunne was made (the motion whereof doth now meaſure out the day) there ſhould be a ſucceſſive going▪ and returning of light and darknes, according to the time of day & night, as well as afterwards when the ſun was created to give light unto the world, as it moved about the body of the earth.
Verſ. 5. And God called the light Day, and the darkneſſe he called Night.]
That is, he made this ſucceſſion of light and darkneſſe to be for thoſe diſtinct times▪ which his will was ſhould afterward be called Day and Night, to wit, by Adam when he gave names unto all things.
And the evening and the morning were the firſt day.]
The evening, which is the beginning of the night, and the morning, which is the beginning of the day, are here put for the whole time of night and day, which joyned together are ſaid to make one entire day, to wit, in a large ſenſe comprehending both night and day, which is with us the ſpace of 24 houres: whereas the time whiles the light ſhineth is the day ſtrictly taken, in which ſenſe Chriſt ſaith, There are twelve houres in the day, John 11. 9. Now the evening is ſet before the morning, becauſe darkneſſe was in time before the light, and thereupon the Jews alwayes began their large day at evening: Levit. 23. …2. From even unto even ſhall ye celebrate your Sabbath.
Verſ. 6. And God ſaid, Let there be a firmament in the midſt of the waters, &c.
The firmament God called Heaven, verſ. 8. It is called in the Hebrew an expanſion, or ſtretching forth, becauſe the Heavens are ſtretched forth as a curtain. Iſai. 40. 22. God ſtretcheth forth the heavens as a curtain, and ſpreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: and in Greek, Latine, and Engliſh a firmament; becauſe of the conſtant and enduring firmneſſe of it which is not worn with its continuall motion, but remaineth ſuch as it was framed of God in the beginning. So that by the firmament here is meant, whatſoever is contained in that vaſt ſpace from the ſurface of the earth, to the uppermoſt heavens, with the Regions of the aire and the heavenly Orbs, &c. Now of this firmament it is ſaid, that it was made in the midst of the waters, and that to divide the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and from hence many learned men have concluded, that doubtleſſe a great part of thoſe waters that did at firſt cover the face of the deep were on this day lifted up by the almighty command of God, above all the heavenly orbs comprehended under this word firmament, and ſo there continue ſtill as in the place appointed them of God, and are ſpread as an orb of water round about the higheſt part of the viſible heavens. But becauſe the main reaſon whereon they ground this opinion is, that by the words of Moſes they ſay it is plain, that the whole firmament muſt be in the midſt of the waters, and muſt divide the waters that are beneath from the waters that are above; and this reaſon muſt needs alſo overthrow this conceit of theirs, ſeeing it is manifeſt that there are ſome waters alwayes in the middle region of the aire, even when it doth not rain (whence it is noted as one of the marvellous works of Gods providence, Job 26. 8. He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them) and in this regard it cannot be ſaid that the whole firmament, comprehending the regions of the aire as well as the heavenly orbs, doth divide the waters above from the waters beneath, therefore it is certainly more probably held that it is ſaid here that the firmament ſhould divide the waters which were under the …irmament from the waters which were above the firmament; not becauſe there are any waters above the heavens, where the ſunne, moon, and ſtarres are ſet, vvhichwhich are a part of the firmament, verſ. 17. but becauſe they are above that part of the firmament, vvhichwhich is from the face of the earth and ſea to the clouds, vvhichwhich is alſo called the open firmament of the heaven, verſ. 20. for by the waters which are above, vvatry clouds are meant, as is evident in many other places of Scripture: Pſal. 18. 11. His pavillion round about him were dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies. Pſal. 104. 3. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, who maketh the clouds his chariot, &c. Pſal. 147. 8. Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth. Jer. 10. 13. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens. And ſo the firmament is ſaid to be in the midſt of the waters, becauſe part of thoſe vvaters of the deep forementioned vvere lifted up by the mighty povver of God, and ſpread abroad into thin vapours bound up in thick clouds, Job 26. 8. and ſo that part of the firmament wherein the birds …ly (verſ. 20.) vvas in the midſt of the waters, and divided the waters above from the waters beneath.
Verſ. 9. And God ſaid, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.]
God having the firſt day created the earth, but as yet without form, verſ. 2. a rude and indigeſted lump of a ſlimy and muddie ſubſtance, and drowned, as it were, in a deep gulf of waters, now on the third day it was by the ſame almighty power of God compacted into a ſolid Maſſe and received its form, and ſo the waters deſcended to the place that God had found…d for them, Pſal. 104. 8. They go up by the mountains, they go down by the valleys to the place thou haſt founded for them; to wit, thoſe concavities, and vaſt hollow places in the body of the earth, wherein the Seas and other waters are now held, called therefore the Storehouſes where God laid up the depth. Pſal. 33. 7, He gathereth the waters of the ſea together as an heap; he layeth up the depth in Storehouſes: and thus the earth and vvater together made an entire Globe. Nor need vve be troubled that the vvaters are ſaid to be gathered together into one place: for beſides that all ſeas and rivers are but as ſo many branches and arms of the great Ocean vvhere into they all runne (E…cl. 1. 7. All the rivers run into the Sea, yet the ſea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.) the meaning of thoſe vvords may be onelyonly this, that the waters under the heaven vvere to be gathered and runne together, each to their ſeverall place.
Verſ. 11. And God ſaid, Let the …arth bring forth, &c.]
And thus the Lord in great vviſdome, 1. cauſed the earth to yield her increaſe before the ſunne vvas created, by the heat vvhereof novv the earth is vvarmed and ſo doth fructifie that hereby we might learn to aſcribe the fruits of the …arth to God rather then to the ſunne; 2. He made ready all kind of food for the living creatures that vvere aftervvards created on the ſixth day.
Verſ. 12. And the earth brought forth graſſe and herb yielding ſeed, &c.]
Hereby is meant both that God did then by his almighty vvord give to the earth a povver to bring forth all kind of herbs and plants and trees unto the end of the vvorld, and alſo that he did at the preſent cauſe it actually to bring them forth, and that in their full perfection, the herb yielding ſeed, and the tree yielding fruit (as man aftervvards vvas created not a child, but a perfect man) and therefore vve ſee that vvhen the ſerpent tempted him (vvhichwhich vvas immediately after his creation) the tree of knovvledge of good and evil had fruit fully ripe upon it. Chap. 3. 6. The woman ſaw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleaſant for the eyes; vvhichwhich is indeed an argument of much vveight to prove that the vvorld began vvith the Autumne, and that at firſt the yeare vvas counted to begin then.
And God ſaw that it was good.]
That is, God approved them all to be good. And indeed even thoſe poyſonous herbs and plants vvhichwhich vvere on this day created are good and uſefull in their kind, and meat for ſome creatures; nor ſhould have ever been hurtfull to man, if man had not ſinned.
Verſ. 14. And let them be for ſignes.]
That is, to ſignifie things to come, both naturall and ordinary, and ſupernaturall and extraordinary. For ſo we find by continuall experience, that the divers colour and hew of the Sunne and Moon, as likewiſe the riſing and ſetting of divers Conſtellations of the ſtarres, do foreſhew fair and foul weather, ſtorms and tempeſts, &c. and hereby both ſeamen and husbandmen and phyſicians receive very helpfull inſinuations of the fitteſt opportunities for their ſeverall affairs: yea oftentimes by Eclipſes, Comets, and ſometimes by other ſupernaturall ſignes, God foreſhews the heavy calamities he intends to bring upon men, inſomuch that thoſe that dwell in the utmoſt parts of the earth are afraid at his tokens, Pſal. 65. 8. ſo it is ſaid, Luke 21. 25, 26. There ſhall be ſignes in the Sunne and in the Moon, and in the Starres, and upon the earth diſtreſſe of Nations with perplexitie, the ſea and the waves roring, mens hearts failing them for fear. and Act. 2. 19, 20. I will ſhew wonders in heaven abov…, and ſignes in the earth beneath, bloud, and fire, and vapour of ſmoke. The ſunne ſhall be turned into darkneſſe, and the moon into bloud: & yet this is no warrant for fortune-tellers and ſuch as by ſearching under what Planet men are born will undertake to for…tell and divine what good and evil ſhall befall them both in their life and death: for this is a vanitie and wickedneſſe, which the Sc…ipture doth every where deride and condemne, Deut. 18. 10. There ſhall not be found among you any one that maketh his ſonne or daughter to paſſe through the fire, or that uſeth divination, or an obſerver of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Iſa. 47. 13. Let now the Astrologers, the ſtarregazers, the monethly prognosticatours ſtand up and ſave thee from theſe things that ſhall come upon thee.
And for ſeaſons.]
To wit, Summer and Winter, Spring and Autumne, which come by the courſe of the Sunne, as that approcheth nearer to us▪ or goeth further from us: yea God hath appointed the Moon alſo for ſeaſons, Pſal. 104. 19. for thereby we account the moneths and their ſeverall ſeaſons; and the Starres likewiſe and Conſtellations which ariſe and ſet, ſome at one time of the yeare, and ſome at another.
Verſ. 16. And God made two great lights.]
However the Sunne is indeed the greateſt of all the heavenly lights▪ being 166. times bigger then the earth, yet it is well knovvn to the learned, that the Moon is the leaſt but one of all the Planets, and that it hath little or no light of it ſelf, but is made lightſome by the Sunnes ſhining upon it, and ſo by re…lection ſhines upon the earth, as a looking-glaſſe vvill do. But Moſes here ſpeaketh of the Sunne and Moon, as they appear to the eye of man▪ to vvhichwhich the Moon ſeemeth the greateſt light next to the Sunne, becauſe it is nea…eſt to the earth of all the Planets.
Verſ. 20. And God ſaid, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fow… that may flie.]
Some Expoſitours hold that this place doth no more prove that the vvaters vvere the matter of the vvhichwhich the fovvls of the aire vvere made, or the place in vvhichwhich they vvere created, and out of vvhichwhich they came, then the ſame can be proved concerning the earth, becauſe it is ſaid, chap. 2. 19. Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beaſt of the field, and every fowl of the aire. The meaning therefore is onelyonly this, that as God commanded the waters to bring forth the moving creatures, to wit, that live in the water, as fiſhes, &c. ſo he alſo commanded that fowls ſhould flie above the earth in the open firmament. But yet conſidering that the …ature and quality of fiſh and fowl are ſo like in many regards, & that the one do move in the aire much as the other do move in the waters, I ſee not but that theſe words, Let the waters bring forth abundantly, may have reference not onelyonly to the fiſh that ſwimme in the water, but alſo to fowl that were to flie in the aire; eſpecially if by the water we underſtand the upper waters, to wit, the vapours or miſts that aroſe out of the waters which brought forth fowl abundantly, even as the waters did the fiſh, and the earth afterward the beaſts. As for the place chap. 2. 19. Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beaſt of the field, and every fowl of the aire; either theſe words, and every fowl of the aire, muſt have r…ference onelyonly to thoſe words, the Lord God formed, and not to thoſe, out of the ground, as if it had been thus expreſſed, out of ground the Lord God formed every beaſt of the field, and likewiſe the Lord God formed every fowl of the aire; or elſe we muſt hold that the fowl are there ſaid to have been formed out of the ground; becauſe though the waters did at firſt bring them forth, yet there was in thoſe waters of which they were made a mixture of earth, and in that regard it might be ſaid alſo that they were formed out of the ground.
Verſ. 26. And God ſaid, Let us make man in our image after our likeneſſe.]
Having made the whole world for mans uſe, at the laſt the Lord created man, for whom all thoſe things were beforehand provided. And this he is here ſaid to have done, not without deliberation and conſultation, Let us make man, &c. wherein God ſpeaks of himſelf after the manner of men, thereby onelyonly to imply the excellency of the work he had now in hand. The perſons conſulting are doubtleſſe the holy Trinitie, the Father, the Sonne, and the holy Ghoſt, thoſe three in heaven, which are one God, the Father, the Word, and the holy Ghost, 1. John. 5. 7. who reſolve to make man after their likeneſſe and in their image; not becauſe God took upon him a humane ſhape when he created man, but becauſe, in regard of the ſpirituall eſſence of his reaſonable and underſtanding ſoul, in regard of his lordſhip and dominion over the creatures, but eſpecially in regard of his wiſdome, righteouſneſſe and holineſſe he was made like unto God, and reſembled his Creatour: Col. 3. 10. Put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge, after the image of him that created him; and Eph. 4. 24. Which after God is created in righteouſneſſe and true holineſſe.
Verſ. 29. And God ſaid behold I have given you every herb bearing ſeed, &c.]
This grant of the fruits of the earth to be for food both for man and beaſt may ſeem to imply that in the ſtate of innocency, wherein man was at firſt created, there ſhould have been no other meat requiſite or deſired for mans ſuſtenance. But that this continued thus untill the Floud, when the eating of fleſh was expreſly allowed, Gen. 9. 3. Every moving thing that liveth ſhall be meat for you, &c. ſeems not ſo probable: for 1. they wore the skinnes of beaſts, and therefore it is likely they eat alſo the fleſh; 2. had they not made uſe of cattel for food in thoſe ſixteen hundred years and upwards before the Floud, the earth would have been overburdened becauſe of their great increaſe; 3. they then offered ſacrifices of their cattel, Gen. 4. 4. Abel brought of the firſtlings of his flock, &c. and they uſed not to ſacrifice to God any thing but what God had granted to them for their own uſe.
Verſ. 31. God ſaw every thing that he had made, and behold it was very good.]
Hereby it appears, that even thoſe wicked angels, whom we call devils, were at firſt created holy and good, though afterward they abode not in the truth, but ſinned. John 8. 44. Ye are of your father the devil, he abode not in the truth becauſe there is no truth in him, &c. 2. Pet. 2. 4. God ſpared not the angels that ſinned, &c. and ſo kept not their firſt eſtate, but left their habitation, and were thrown down into hell. How ſoon after their creation it was that they ſinned, the Scripture doth no where make known; onelyonly that it was before Adam and Eve ſinned we are ſi…e▪ becauſe by the devil in the ſerpent they were ſeduced, as is afterward related in the third chapter.