Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 1 · Chapter 1
CHAP. I. Verſe 1. In the beginning]
A Beginning there was then; Ar. Phyſic. l 8. Vide Sharpei ſymphon. p. 11. Plin. lib. 1. c. 1. Veritatem qua rit Philoſophia invenit Theol… gia, &c. Jo. Picus Mirand. D. Prid. e. Cathedra.Whatever Ariſtotle fancied of the Worlds eternity. So true is that of a learned Italian, Philoſophy ſeeks after Truth, Divinity onelyonly findes it, Religion improves it. But the Philoſopher would be yet better ſatisfied. He had read (ſay ſome) this firſt of Geneſis, and was heard to ſay thereupon, …regè diei… domine Moſes, ſed quomodo probas? Well ſaid, Sir Moſes; how prove you, what you have ſo ſaid? An Ancient anſwereth, Credo, non pro bo, Auguſtin. Piſcatoribus credimus, non Dialecticis. Amb. Multò melius credendo intelliguntur, quàm in…ellig…ndo creduntur fidei Chriſtianae my…ria, Rupert. Abbas Tu…rie…ſis. Theologia non eſt argumentativa, Alſted. Ariſtotelis oc…a, ſeu Theologia, ſophiſtica eſt …mnium, quae literis unquam mandatae ſum, maximè …lulta, maximeque im…ia: Ramus in Theolog. Job 35.10. Pſal 1.9.1. Eccleſ. 12.1. Moſes was read every Sabbath, Acts 15.21. with a Lecture cut of the Prophets. Acts 13.15. Pſal. 53.6. foreign. Suidas. foreign. In P…mandro. N…m b… propria eſt H…brai verbi ſignificatio. Jun. Irride… Galenus Moſen, eò quod dicat, Deum ex nulla praexiſtente materia …ondidiſſe mundum. Buchol. 1 Cor. 2.14. foreign.I beleeve it, I need not prove it. Another, We believe the holy Penmen, before Heathen wiſemen. A third, The myſteries of Chriſtian. Religion are better underſtood by believing, then believed by underſtanding. But beſt of all, the Apoſtle, Through Fa… … underſtand, that the Worlds were framed by the Word of God; ſo that things which are ſeen, were not made of things which do appear, Heb. 11.3. Divinity doth not uſe to prove her principles (whereof this is one.) No, not Ariſtotles own Divinity (his Metaphyſicks, I mean,) wherein he requires, to be believed upon his bare words Albeit, (if Ramus may be judg) thoſe, fourteen Books of his, are the moſt idle and impious piece of Sophiſtry, that ever was ſet forth by any man. Thus, Profeſſing themſelves to be wiſe, they became fools, Rom. 1.22. Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, and what wiſdom is in them? Jerem. 8.9. God created.] Heb. Dii creavit. The Myſtery of the bleſſed Trinity, called by Elihu, Eloah Gnoſcai, God my Makers; and by David, The Makers of Iſrael; And remember thy Creators, ſaith Solomon. To the ſame ſenſe, ſweetly ſounds the Haphtara or portion of Scripture, which is read by the Jews, together with this of Moſes, viz. Iſai. 42.5. And that of the Pſalmiſt, By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the hoſt of them, by the breath (or Spirit) of his mouth: That is, God the Father, by the Son, through the Holy Ghoſt, created all. This, Triſmegiſt an ancient Egyptian (for he flouriſhed before Pharaoh) acknowledged, and thence had his name. The Hebrews alſo of old, were no ſtrangers to this Myſtery, though their poſterity underſtood it not. R. Solomon Jarchi writing on that, Cant. 1.11. We will make, &c. Interprets it, I and my Judgment-hall. Now a Judgment-hall in Iſrael conſiſted of three at leaſt, which in their cloſe manner of ſpeech, they applyed to God, who is Three in one, and One in three. Created] Made all things of nothing, in a moſt marvellous and magnificent manner, as the word ſignifieth. This Plato doubts of, Ariſtotle denies; Galen derides, as a thing impoſſible, becauſe, with Nicodemus, he cannot conceive how theſe things can be. The natural man (the meer animal, whoſe Reaſon is not elevated by Religion) perceiveth not theſe things of the Spirit of God: They are fooliſhneſs unto him. The Cock on the dunghil meddles not with theſe matters. Well might Saint Paul tell the men of Athens, (and yet Athens was the Greece of Greece, foreign Athenaeus. Acts 17.23, 24. Somniaverat Deum non cognoverat. Inſtit. l. 5. c. 14.and had in it the moſt Mercurial wits in the world,) That God, that made all things of nothing, was to them the unknown God: And Lactantius fitly ſayth of Plato (who yet merited the ſtile of Divine amongſt them,) that he dreamt of God, rather then had any true knowledg of him. He no where called God the Creator, but foreign, the Workman; as one that had made the World of a praeexiſtent Matter, coeternal to himſelf. There were four Errors (ſaith a late learned man) about the Creation: Some affirmed, Zanch.that the world was eternal; ſome, that it had a material begining, and was made of ſomething; ſome held two beginners of things: That one beginner made things incorruptible, and another made things corruptible. Laſtly, Some ſaid, God made the ſuperior creatures himſelf, and the inferior by Angels. This very firſt verſe of the Bible confutes all four. In the beginning, ſhews the world not to be eternal. Created, notes that it was made of nothing. The heaven and the earth, ſhews, That God was the onelyonly beginner of all creatures. God created all: This excludes the Angels. In the government of the World, we grant they have a great ſtroke, Ezek. 1.5, 6, &c. Dan. 10. & 11. Not ſo in the making of the World, wherein God was alone, and by himſelf, Iſai. 44.24. And leſt any ſhould imagine otherwiſe; the creation of Angels is not ſo much as mentioned by Moſes, unleſs it be tacitely intimated in theſe words, The heaven and the earth. foreign. Ariſtot. de Mundo. c. 2. Matth. 24.36. Gal. 1.8. Yates his Model of Divinity.The world and all things that are therein, Acts 17.24. Things viſible and inviſible, (Coloſ. 1.16.) Whether they be thrones or dominions, &c. called elſewhere, Angels of heaven; becauſe (probably) created with, and in the higheſt Heaven; as Chriſts ſoul was created with, and in his body, in the Virgins womb, the ſelf-ſame moment. The higheſt Heaven, and the Angels were of neceſſity (ſay ſome) to be created the firſt inſtant, that they might have their perfection of matter and form together; otherwiſe, they ſhould be corruptible. For whatſoever is of a praeexiſtent matter, is reſolvable, and ſubject to corruption. But that which is immediately of nothing, is perfectly compoſed, hath no other change, but by the ſame hand to return to nothing again.
But if this were the Heaven, Queſt.what was the Earth here mentioned?
Not that we now tread upon (for that was not made till the third day.) But the Matter of all, Anſw.that was afterwards to be created; being all things in power, nothing in act.
Verſ. 2. And the earth was without form, and voyd.] That is, as yet it had neither eſſential nor accidental perfection. The Lord afterward did form it into Light, the Firmament, the Water, and the Earth: So beginning above, and building downwards (in the new Creature he doth otherwiſe;) and in three days laying the parts of the World; and in other three days adorning them. The Rabbins tell us, Alſted. Lexic. Theol. p. 111.that Tohu and Bohu, do properly import Materia prima and privatio: and others of Tohu, derive Chaos; whence the ancient Latines called the World Chohus, and borrowed their word Incho…, &c. And darkneſs was upon the face of the deep.] That is, foreign.not of Hell, as Origen expounds it, but of the deep waters (ſee the like, Luke 8.31.) Which, as a garment covered the earth, and ſtood above the mountains, Pſal. 104.6. This darkneſs God created not, for it was but the want of Light. And to ſay, That God dwelt in darkneſs, till he had created Light, was a deviliſh ſarcaſm of the Manichees; as if God were not Light it ſelf, and the Father of lights: 1 John 1.5. James 1.Or, as if God had not ever been a Heaven to himſelf, Ere ever he had formed the earth and the heavens, Pſal 92.2. What he did, or how he imployed himſelf before the Creation, is a Sea, over which no ſhip hath ſailed; a Mine, into which no ſpade hath delved; an Abyſs, into which no bucket hath dived. D. Preſton of Gods Attributes, p. 34.Our ſight is too tender to behold this Sun. A thouſand yeers (ſaith a great Divine) are to God but as one day, &c. And who knoweth what the Lord hath done? Indeed, he made but one World to our knowledg; but who knoweth what he did before, and what he will do after: Thus he. As for Saint Auguſtine,
Praſul ad haec Lybicus,Sabin. Po…. fabricabat Tartara, dixit
His, quos ſcrutari …lia, mente juvat.
Excellently another, Cuff his Differ. of Ages, p. 22.who wanted no wit: As in the eliament of fire (ſaith he) there is a faculty of heating and inlightning; whence proceedeth heat and light, unto the external neer bodies: And beſides this faculty, there is alſo in it a natural power to go upward; which when it cometh into act, is received into no other ſubject, but the fire it ſelf: So that if fire could, by abſtractive imagination, be conceived of, as wanting thoſe two tranſient operations, yet could we not juſtly ſay it had no action; foraſmuch as it might move upward, which is an immanent and inward action: So, and much more ſo, though we grant that there was no external work of the Godhead, until the making of the World, yet can there be no neceſſary illation of idleneſs: Seeing it might have (as indeed it had) actions immanent, included in the circle of the Trinity: This is an anſwer to ſuch as ask, what God did, before he made the World? Plotin. Eun…d. 3. lib. 2. c. 2.God (ſaith Plotinus the Platoniſt) not working at all, but reſting in himſelf, doth, and performeth very great things. And the Spirit of God moved, &c.] Or, hovered over, and hatched out the creature, Ferebatur ſuper aquas non pervagatione, ſed poteſtate, non per ſpatium locorum, ut Sol ſuper terram, ſed per potentiam ſublimitatis ſuae. Eucberius. Pſal. 145 9.as the Hen doth her chickens; or, as the Eagle fluttereth over her young, to provoke them to flight, Deut. 32.11. Or, as by a like operation, this ſame holy Spirit formed the childe Jeſus in the Virgins womb, in that wonderful over ſhadowing, Luke 1.35. The Chaldee here hath it, The Spirit breathed: and David ſaith the ſame, Pſal. 33.6. He became to that rude dead maſs, a quickning, comforting Spirit. He kept it together, which elſe would have ſhattered. And ſo he doth ſtill, or elſe all would ſoon fall aſunder, Heb. 1.3. Pſal. 104.29. were not his conſerving Mercy, ſtill over (or upon) all his Works.
Verſe 3. And God ſaid, Let there, &c.] He commanded the light to ſhine out of darkneſs: He ſpake the word, and it was done. 2 Cor. 4.6. Pſal. 33.9. & 148.5.Creation is no motion, but a ſimple and bare emanation; which is, when without any repugnancy of the Patient, or labor of the Agent, the work or effect, Dei Dicere eft Efficere.doth voluntarily and freely ariſe from the action of the working cauſe, as the ſhadow from the body. So Gods irreſiſtible power made this admirable Work of the world, by his bare word, as the ſhadow and obſcure repreſentation of his unſearchable wiſdom, and omnipotency. And there was light.] This firſt light was not the Angels, as Auguſtine would have it; nor the Element of fire, as Damaſcen; nor the Sun, which was not yet created; nor a lightſome cloud, or any ſuch thing; but the firſt day, which God could make without means, as Galvin well obſerveth. This light was the firſt ornament of the viſible World, and ſo is ſtill of the hidden man of the heart, the new Creature, Acts 26.18. The firſt thing, in Saint Pauls commiſſion there, was to open mens eyes, to turn them from darkneſs to light, &c. To dart ſuch a ſaving light into the ſoul; as might illighten both Organ and Object. In which great work alſo, Chriſts words are operative together with his commands in the mouths of his Miniſters. (Know the Lord, underſtand O ye bruitiſh among the people, &c.) There goes forth a Power to heal, as it did, Luke 5.1…. Or, as when he bade Lazarus ari…e, he made him to ariſe: So here, the Word and the Spirit go together; and then what wonder, that the ſpirit of darkneſs falls from the heaven of mens hearts, Epheſ 5 8. foreign 1 Pet 2 9.as lightning, Luke 10.18. So as that, they that e…ſt were darkneſs, are now light in the Lord, and do preach forth the praiſes of him, who hath called them out of darkneſs, into his marvellous light?
Verſe 4. And God ſaw the light that it was good.] Praeviderat autèm; …sberellus.ſo one rendereth it: he ſaw this long before, but he would have us to ſee it; he commends the goodneſs of this work of his to us. Good it is ſurely, and a goodly creature: Sweet, ſaith Solomon, Eccleſ. 11.7. Comfortable, ſaith David, Pſal 97.11. Which when one made queſtion of; foreign. Ariſtot. Beatum…ſſ… hominem Deo fruentem, ſicut oculus luce. Auguſt. de Civitat. Dei. l. 8. 2 Cor. 6.14. 1 Theſ. 5.…, 6, 7. foreign. 2 Pet. 1.13. Lactant.That's a blinde mans queſtion, ſaid the Philoſopher. What is it then to enjoy him, that is Light Eſſential? The Platoniſts (who were blinde in divinis, and could not ſee far off, yet they) could ſay, that he was a bleſſed man, who enjoyed God, as the eye doth enjoy the light. And God divided the light, &c.] Let not us confound them, and ſo alter Gods order by doing deeds of darkneſs, in a day of Grace, in a Land of Light. What make Owls at Athens? or ſuch ſpots among Saints, as count it pleaſure to riot in the day time? It was a ſhame that it ſhould be ſaid, There was never leſs wiſdom in Greece, then in the time of the ſeven wiſemen of Greece. It was a worſe ſhame, that it ſhould be ſaid to the Corinthians, That ſome of them had not the knowledg of God; 1 Cor. 15. 1 Cor. 5.1. 2 Cor. 6.and that ſuch Fornication was found among them, as was not heard of among the Heathen. For what fellowſhip hath light with darkneſs? Surely none. Our morning ſhadows fall as far as they can toward the Weſt, Evening toward the Eaſt, Plutarch.Noon day toward the North, &c. Alexander having a ſouldier of his name that was a coward, he bade him either leave off the name of Alexander, or be a ſouldier.
Verſe 5. And God called the light Day, &c.] He taught men to call them ſo, Day, from the noiſe and hurry; Night, from the yelling of wild beaſts. foreignDarkneſſe he created not, but onelyonly by accident; and yet not that, without ſome notable uſe. Much leſſe that darkneſſe of affliction which he is ſaid to create, Eſa. 45.7. Ʋnto the upright there ariſeth light in darkneſſe, yea light by darkneſſe, Pſal. 112.4.as to Paul, whoſe bodily blindneſſe opened the eyes of his minde. Opera Dei ſunt in mediis co…trariis, ſaith Luther, Gods workes are effected uſually by contraries, foreign. Nazi…nz. Laer…ius.And the evening and the morning &c.] Thales (one of the ſeven Sages) had learned this truth, by going to Schoole in Egypt. For being asked whether was firſt the Day or the Night? he anſwered, that the Night was ſooner by one Day. As who ſhould ſay, afore God had created the light, it muſt needs be confeſſed that out of him, there was nothing but darkneſſe. Evening ſeperates by darkneſſe, morning by light: ſo the one diſ-joynes day from night, the other night from day. OnelyOnly this firſt evening ſeperated not, becauſe light was then uncreated. Yet was it of God appointed (even then) to ſtand betwixt light and darkneſſe. In the firſt Evening was Heaven and Earth created, and in the firſt Morning the light, 2 Cor. 11.25.both which make the civill day, called foreign by the Apoſtle. And this (which doubtleſſe is the naturall order of reckoning the day, Pli…. lib. 2. c. 7from evening to evening) was in uſe among the Athenians, and is to this day retained by the Jewes, Italians, Bohemians, Si eſians, and other Nations. Our life likewiſe is ſuch a day, and begins with the darke evening of miſery here; but death is to Saints the day-breake of eternall brightneſſe. Morning laſteth but till morning: Nay, Pſal. 30.5.not ſo long; for, Behold at even-tide trouble, and before the morning he is not, Eſay 17.14. It is but a moment, yea a very little moment, and the indignation will pertranſire be overpaſt, ſaith the Prophet; Eſa. 16.10. foreign. Heb 6.10.37.ſo little a while as you can ſcarce imagine, ſaith the Apoſtle. If it ſeem otherwiſe to any of us, conſider; 1 That we have ſome lucida intervalla, ſome reſpites, interſpiriates, breathing whiles. And it is a mercy that the man is not alwayes ſweating out a poor living, Gen. 3. Rom. 6.23.the woman ever in pangs of child-birth, &c. 2 That this is nothing to eternity, of extreamity which is the juſt hire of the leaſt ſin. 3 That much good accrues unto us hereby, Heb. 12.10. Yea this light affliction which is but for a moment, 2 Cor. 4.17.worketh out unto us that far moſt excellent and eternall weight of glory. Oh pray, pray, that the eyes of our underſtanding being enlightned by that Spirit of wiſdome, and r…vellation, we may know what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints, &c. Eph. 1.17, 18.
Verſe 6. Let there be a firmament.] Yet not ſo firme, but it ſhall be diſſolved, 2 Pet. 3.11. That it is not preſently ſo; that thoſe windowes of heaven are not opened, as once in the deluge, (having no better a bar then the liquid ayre) and we ſuddenly buried in one univerſall grave of waters, ſee a miracle of Gods mercy, and thanke him for this powerfull word of his, Let there be a firmament.] Bartholinus tells us, that in the yeare of Chriſt, 1551. a very great multitude of men and cattell were drowned by a terrible tempeſt, the clouds ſuddenly diſſolving, and the waters pouring downe againe, Barthol lib. 2 de meteoris.with ſuch a ſtrange ſtupendious violence, that the maſſie walls of many Cities, divers Vineyards, and faire houſes were utterly deſtroyed and ruined. Clouds, thoſe bottles of raine, are veſſells as thin as the liquor which is contained in them. D. H. Conte…p.There they hang and move, though weighty with their burdens. How they are upheld (ſaith a Reverend Divine) and why they fall here and now, we know not, and wonder, Job 26.8. They water our lands, as we doe our gardens, and are therefore called our heavens, Deut. 33.28.
Verſe 7. Waters which were above the firmament.] That is, the clouds, and watery meteors above the lower region of the ayre, where Gods pavillion round about him is darke waters, Pſal. 18.11. Jer. 10.13.and thicke clouds of the skies. Theſe he weighes by meaſure, not a drop falls in vaine, or in a wrong place, Job 28.15. And this is the firſt heaven: As the ſecond is the ſtarry skie, which is firme and faſt, as a molten looking-glaſſe, Job 37.18. To this heaven, ſome that have calculated curiouſly, have found it 500 yeares journey. Others ſay, that if a ſtone ſhould fall from from the eight ſphere, and ſhould paſſe every houre an hundreth miles, Burton of Melancholly. foreign. De C…lo, tex… 99. Deut. 10.14. Luke 22.42. Luke 16.22. Job. 14.2. Heb. 12.22. Heb. 11.14.it would be 65 yeares or more, before it would come to ground. Beyond this ſecond heaven, Ariſtotle acknowledgeth none other. Beyond the moveable heavens (ſaith he) there is neither body, nor time, nor place, nor Vacuum. But we have a more ſure word of propheſie. Gods bleſſed booke aſſures us of a third heaven, 2 Cor. 12.2. called elſewhere the heaven of heavens, the Paradiſe of God, the boſome of Abraham, the Fathers houſe, the City of the living God, the Country of his pilgrims. A body it is (for bodies are in it) but a ſubtile, fine, ſpirituall body: next in purity to the ſubſtance of Angels and mens ſoules. It is alſo, ſay ſome, ſolid as ſtone, but cleare as chryſtall, Rev. 21.11. Job 37.18. A true firmament indeed; not penetrable by any (no not by Angells, Yates his Modell.ſpirits, and bodies of juſt men made perfect) but by a miracle, God making way by his power, where there is no naturall paſſage. It opens to the very Angels, Job. 1.51. Gen. 28.12. who yet are able to penetrate all under it. The other two heavens are to be paſſed through by the groſſeſt bodies.
Verſe 8. And the evening, &c.] Here's no mention of Gods approbation of this ſecond dayes worke. Not for that hell was then ceated, or the reprobate Angels then ejected (as the Jewes give in the reaſon of it;) but becauſe this dayes worke was left unperfected, till the next; to the which therefore the bleſſing was reſerved, and is then redoubled. God delights to doe his workes, not all at once, but by degrees, that we may take time to contemplate them peece-meal, and ſee him in every of them, as in an opticke glaſſe. Conſider the lillies of the field, ſaith our Saviour. foreign Matth. 6.18. Prov. 6.6.Goe to the Piſmire, thou ſluggard, ſaith Solomon. Luther wiſht Pontanus, the Chancellour of Saxony, to contemplate the Starchamber of Heaven (that ſtupendious arch-worke) born up by no props or pillars, Proponit contemplandam pulcherrimam coeli concamerationem Nullis pilis & columnis impoſitam, &c. Scultet. Annal. 276.and yet not falling on our heads: the thicke clouds alſo hanging often over us with great weight, and yet vaniſhing againe, (when they have ſaluted us but) with their threatning lookes. And cannot God as eaſily uphold his ſinking Saints, and blow over any ſtorme, that hangs over their heads? An Artificer takes it ill, if when he hath finiſhed ſome curious piece of work, and ſets it forth to be ſeen (as Apelles was wont to do) men ſlight it, and take no notice of his handy-work. And is there not a woe to ſuch ſtupid perſons, as regard not the work of the Lord, neither conſider the operation of his hands? A ſino quiſpiam narrabat fabulam, Eſay 5.12.at ille movebat aures, is a proverb among the Greeks. Chriſt was by at the Creation, and rejoyced, Prov. 8.30. Angels alſo were by at the doing of a great deale, and were rapt with admiration, Job 38.4, 5, 6. Shall they ſhout for joy, and we be ſilent? Oh how ſhould we vex at the vile dulneſſe of our hearts, are no more affected with theſe indelible raviſhments!
Verſe 9, 10. Let the waters under the heaven be gathered, &c.] The water, they ſay, is ten times greater then the earth, as is the ayre ten times greater then the water, and the fire then the ayre. Sure it it is, that the proper place of the water is to be above the earth, Pſal. 104.6. Saylers tell us, that as they draw nigh to ſhore, when they enter into the haven, they run as it were downe-hill. The waters ſtood above the mountains, till (at Gods rebuke here) they fled, and haſted away at the voyce of his thunder, Pſal. 104.6, 7. to the place which he had founded for them. This drew from Ariſtotle, Lib. de mirabil.in one place, a teſtimony of Gods providence, which elſewhere he denyes. And David in that Pſal. 104. (which one calleth his Phyſicks) tells us, that till this word of command, Let the waters, &c.] God had covered the earth with the deepe, as with a garment; For as the garment in the proper uſe of it is above the body, ſo is the ſea above the land. And ſuch a garment, (ſaith the divine Coſmographer) would it have been to the earth, but for Gods providence toward us, as the ſhirt made for the murth…ring of Agamemnon, Pſal. 104.6, 9.where he had no iſſue out. But thou haſt ſet a bound, ſaith the Pſalmiſt, that they may not paſſe over, that they turn not againe to cover the earth. God hath ſet the ſolid earth upon and above the liquid waters, for our conveni…n…y: ſo that men are ſaid to goe downe (not up) to the ſea in ſhips, Pſal. 107.23. See his mercy herein, as in a mirrour, and believe, that God (whoſe work it is ſtill to appoint us the bounds of our habitations) will not faile to provide us an hoſpitium, Act. 17.26.a place to reſide in, when caſt out of all, as he did David, Pſal. 27.10. and Davids parents, 1 Sam 22.4 and the Apoſtles, 2 Cor 6.10. and the Engliſh exiles in Queen Maries dayes, Scul…et A…al.and before them, Luther, (who being asked where he thought to be ſafe? anſwered Sub Coelo) and yet before him, thoſe perſecuted Waldenſes; Rev. 12.15.after whom the Romiſh Dragon caſt out ſo much water as a flood, but the earth ſwallowed it; and God ſo provided, that they could travell from Cullen in Germany to Millain in Italy, Cade of the Church, p. 180.and every night lodge with hoſts of their own profeſſion. The waters of affliction are often gathered together againſt the godly, but, by Gods gracious appointment, ever under the heaven (where our converſation is, Tareus in loc. Philip. 3.20.though our commoration be a while upon earth) and unto one place, as the Text here hath it. The dry-land will appeare, and we ſhall come ſafe to ſhore, be ſure of it. Eſay 26.4.The Rock of eternity (whereupon we are ſet) is above all billows; waſht we may be, as Paul was in the ſhipwrack, drowned we cannot be, 1 Pet. 1.5.becauſe in the ſame bottome with Chriſt, and kept by the power of God, through faith, to ſalvation.
Verſe 11.12. Pſal. 104.Let the earth bring forth, &c. Graſſe for the cattle, and herb for the uſe of man,] and both theſe, before either man or or beaſt were created. He made meat before mouthes. He fills for us two bottles of milke before we come into the world. Herbes and other creatures we have ſtill ad eſum & ad uſum. Our land flowes not with milke onelyonly for neceſſity, but with hone too, for delight. Nature amidſt all is content with a little, Grace with leſſe. Sing we merrily with him,
Hoc mihi pro certo, Georg. Fabricius Chemnicenſis.quod vitam qui dedit, idem
Et velit & poſſit ſuppeditare cibum.
foreign,
foreign.
Verſe 12. and the earth brought forth &c.] St. Auſtine thinks that thorns and thiſtles, brambles and briars were before the Fall, Aug de Gen. … cap. ….8.though not in that abundance that now. Baſil thinks otherwiſe, and that till ſin came in, the roſe was without prickles. Its likely, there were ſuch ſhrubs at firſt created, non ut laederent hominem non pec…antem, ſed peccaturum, ſaith Pareus. Now ſince the Fall, all creatures are armed againſt man: as that ſword which Hector gave Ajax; which, ſo long as he uſed againſt men (his enemies) ſerved for help and defence: But after he began to abuſe it to the hurt of hurtleſs bea…s, it turned into his own bowels. yielding fruit after his kind.] So that men doe not gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thiſtles. Luk. 6.44. Jam. 3.12.Can a fig-tree, ſaith St. James, bear olive-berries; or a vine, figs? that were monſtrous. And ſhould not every man, in like manner, bear his own fruit (proper to his kinde, to his calling?) doe his own work? weed his own garden, Pſal. 101.2.walk within his own houſe with a perfect heart, till God come unto him? Come he will, and look for fruit in its ſeaſon. When he comes, he will turn up our leaves, and look that, like the tree of life, Rev. 22.21. we bear fruit every monethmonth: or that we be like the lemmon-tree, which ever and anon ſendeth forth new lemmons, aſſoon as the former are fallen down with ripeneſs. Or the Egyptian fig-tree; Ʋnde pomum decirpſcris, alterum ſine mora protuberat Sol. in. Polyhiſt. cap. 45. Plin. lib. 10.which, ſaith Solinus, beareth fruit ſeven times in a year: pull off a fig, and another breaks forth in the place, ſhortly after. Now if we be found, like the barren fig-tree Luk. 13. that had leaves onl…: or the Cypreſs-tree which is ſaid to be fair and tall, but altogether fruitleſs: Or the Cypar it-tree, of which Pliny affirmeth, that it is natu moroſa, fructu ſupervacanea, baccis parva, foliis amara, odore violenta, ac ne umbrâ quidem gratioſa; what can we expect, but that he ſhould ſet down his basket, and, taking up his axe, hew us down, as fewel for the fire of hell? In Hiſpania nihil Ig…avum, …ihil ſterile Solin.Spain is ſayd to have nothing barren in it, or not ſome way uſeful; and why ſhould Chriſts orchard, the Church? John 15.2. foreign, he pares and prunes our leaves and luxuriancies: Yea cuts and ſlaſhes where need requires; and all, that we may bear more fruit. Sincerity alone will not comfort a man, unleſs it grow up to fruitfulneſs; which, ſpringing from the exerciſe of grace, Iſa. 38.3. 2 Pet. 1.3.hath a ſweet reflection on the ſoul, as in ſick Hezekiah; and ſweetly ſeals up our calling to glory and vertue, as the budding of Aarons rod, did his calling to the pr…eſthood: whereupon One well obſerveth, that not only all the plants of Gods ſetting, but the very boughs cut off from the body of them will flouriſh.Queſt.
Here ſome demand, were the trees ſo created at firſt, that if ſin had never entered, they had ever flouriſhed, laden with fruit? Anſwer is made by a worthy Divine, Anſw. Brightm. on Rev.that the alluſion▪ Rev. 22.2. ſeems to intimate ſome ſuch matter. And perhaps Chriſt would elſe never have curſed the fruitleſs fig-tree, ſith the time of figs was not yet come, Mark. 11.13.
Verſe 14.15. Let there be light] The Sun, Moon, and Stars, are, as it were, certain veſſels, whereinto the Lord did gather the light, foreign of foreign Chald. Miniſtravit. Pſa. 19.5.which before was ſcattered in the Heavens. The Sun, that prince of planets, but ſervant to the Saints of the moſt High (as his name imports,) cometh out of his chamber, as a bride-groom; and rejoyceth, as a ſtrong man, to run a race. This he doth with ſuch a wonderful ſwiftneſs, as exceedeth the Eagles flight, more then it goeth beyond the ſlow motion of a ſnail: and with ſuch incomparable ſweetneſs, Eccleſ. 11.7. that Eudoxus the Philoſopher profeſſed, Plutarch.that he would be willing to be burnt up by the Sun preſently, Herodot. Chryſoſt. Hom. 8 ad pop. Antioch.ſo he might be admitted to come ſo neer it, as to learn the nature of it. Aeternùm atri et tetri ſunto & habentor, qui non tam cute, quàm corde Aethiopici, Solem, quò magis luceat, eò magis execrentur. Chryſoſtome cannot but wonder; that whereas all fire tends upwards, the Sun ſhould ſhoot down his rayes to the earth, and ſend his light abroad all beneath him. This is the Lords own work, and it ought to be marvellous in our eyes. Deut. 4.19. It illuminates and beautifies all the orbes and heavenly bodies about it, yea it ſtrikes through the firmament, in the tranſparent parts, and ſeeks to beſtow its beauty and brightneſs, even beyond the Heavens. Bolt. walk. with God.It illightens even the Oppoſite part of Heaven, (gliding by the ſides of the earth,) with all thoſe glorious ſtars we ſee ſhining in the night. Yea, it inſinuates into every chink and cranny of the earth, and concurres to the makeing of thoſe precious metals which lye in her bowels, beſides thoſe precious fruits brought forth by the Sun, and the precious things thruſt forth by the Moon; Deut. 33.14. For as the Sun by warmth, ſo the Moon by moiſture, maketh the earth fruitful: whence alſo ſhe hath her name in the Hebrew, foreignJareach, from refreſhing the earth with her cool influences. She is here called a light, and a great light: therefore She hath ſome light of her own, (as the ſtars alſo have) beſides what ſhe borroweth of the Sun, though not ſtrong enough to rule the night without light from the Sun. Galileus uſed perſpectives to deſcry mountaines in the Moone; and ſome will needs place hell in the hollow of it. It is eaſie to diſcerne that her body is not all alike lightſome (ſome parts being thicker, and ſome thinner then others) and that the light of the Sun falling on her, is not alike diffuſed through her. It is ſufficient that the Church looketh forth (at firſt) as the morning or day-dawning, ſhe ſhall be faire as the Moon at leaſt (in regard of ſanctification) and (for juſtification) cleare as the Sun, Cant. 6.10.and therefore to the devill and his angels terrible as an Army with banners. Clouded ſhe may be or eclipſed, but not utterly darkned, or denyed of light. Aſtronomers tell us, that ſhe hath at all times as much light as in the full; but often-times a great part of the bright ſide is turned to heaven, and a leſſer part to the earth. God ſeems therefore to have ſet it loweſt in the heavens, and neareſt the earth, D. Hackwels Apolog. Prefacethat it might daily put us in minde of the conſtancy of the one, and inconſtancy of the other; her ſelfe in ſome ſort partaking of both, though in a different manner; of the one in her ſubſtance, of the other in her viſage.
Verſe 16.17. He made alſo the ſtars,] To be receptacles of that firſt light, (whence they are called, Stars of light, Pſal. 148.3.) and to worke upon inferiour bodies, which they doe by their motion, light and influence, efficiendo imbres, ventos, grandines, procellas ſudum, &c. by cauſing foule or faire weather, as God appoints it. Stars are the ſtore-houſes of Gods good treaſure, which he openeth to our profit, Deut. 38.12. By their influence they make a ſcatter of riches upon the earth, which good men gather, and muck-wormes ſcramble for. Every ſtar is like a purſe of gold, out of which God throwes downe riches and plentiouneſſe into the earth. The heavens alſo are garniſhed by them, Job 26.13. they are, as it were, the ſpangled curtaine of the Bride-groomes chamber, the glorious and glittering rough-caſt of his heavenly palace, the utmoſt court of it at leaſt: from the which they twinckle to us, and teach us to remember our and their Creator, who in them makes himſelfe viſible, nay palpable, Pſal. 19 1. Haba…. 3.3. foreignAct. 17.27. his wiſdome, power, juſtice, and goodneſſe, are lined out unto us in the browes of the firmament; the countenance whereof we are bound to marke, and to diſcerne the face of the heavens, which therefore are ſomewhere compared to a ſcroll that is written. The heavens, thoſe Catholicke Preachers, declare the glory of God, &c. Their line, ſaith David, their voice (ſaith Paul, citing the ſame text) is gone out throughout all the earth; foreign Rom. 10.8. foreign 2 Pet. 2.16they are reall poſtills of his Divinity. Theſe (nay far meaner creatures) teach us, as Balaams Aſſe did that mad Prophet: to this Schoole are we now put backe, as idle truants, to their ABC. OnelyOnly let us not, as children, looke moſt on the babies on the backſide of our bookes; gaze not, as they doe, on the guilded leaves and covers, never looking to our leſſons; but as travellers in a forreigne Country, obſerve and make uſe of every thing; not content with the naturall uſe of the creature, as bruite beaſts; but marke how every creature reads us a Divinity Lecture, from the higheſt Angell, to the loweſt worme.
Verſe 21. And God created great Whales,] In creating whereof, Plin. l. 9. c. 3. Ad quas nautae appellentes non▪ nunquam magnum incurrunt diſcrimen Heid. Plin. 32. c. 1. Cur piſcos vocat reptile? Repere communiter dicuntur omnia foreign, vel quae habent pedes brevieres, ut n…ures, &c.creavit Deus vaſtitatus & ſtupores. For, as Pliny writeth of them, when they ſwim and ſhew themſelves above water, annare inſulas putes, they ſeem to be ſo many Iſlands, and have been ſo eſteemed by ſea-faring men, to their great danger and diſadvantage. Into the Rivers of Arabia, ſaith Pliny, there have come Whales 600 foot long, and 360 foot broad. This is that Leviathan that playes in the ſea, beſides other creeping, or mooving, things innumerble, Pſal. 104.25. This one word of Gods mouth, Fiat, hath made ſuch infinite numbers of fiſhes, that their names may fill a Dictionary. Philoſophers tell us, that whatſoever creature is upon the earth, there is the like thereof in the ſea, yea many that are no where elſe to be found; but with this difference, that thoſe things that on the earth are hurtfull, the like thereunto in the waters are hurtleſſe; as Eeles, thoſe water-ſnakes, are without poyſon, &c. yea they are wholeſome and delicious food. Piſ…is comes of Paſco: And in Hebrew the ſame word ſignifieth a pond or fiſh-pool, foreignand bleſſing. Many Iſlands are maintained, and people fed by fiſh; beſides the wealth of the Sea. The ill-favoured Oyſter hath ſometimes a bright pearle in it. In alluſion whereunto, we have our treaſure (that pearle of price, the Goſpell) ſaith S. Paul, foreign, 2 Cor. 4.7.in Oyſter-ſhells. And albeit now every creature of God is good, 1 Tim. 4.3.and to be received with thankſgiving of them which believe, yet under the Law, thoſe fiſh onelyonly were reputed cleane, Lev. 11.9. Deut. 14.9. Bern. Serm. 1. in die Sancti Andr…ae.that had fins and ſcales. So, ſaith St. Bernard, are thoſe onelyonly cleane in the ſight of God, qui ſquammas & loricam habent patientiae, & pinnulas hilaritatis, that have the ſcales of patience, and ſins of cheerfulneſſe. And every winged foule.] Birds were made of all foure clements, yet have more of the earth, Gen. 2.19. And therefore that they are ſo light, and doe ſo delight in the ayre, it is ſo much the more marvellous. They ſing not at all till they have taken up a ſtand to their minde, nor ſhall we praiſe God till content with our eſtate. They uſe not to ſing when they are on the ground, but when got into the ayre, or on the tops of trees. Nor can we praiſe God aright, unleſſe weanedly affected to the world. It was a good ſpeech of Heathen Epictetus, Si luſcinia eſſem, facerem quod luſcinia. Cum autem, Epiſt. Enchirid.homo rationalis ſim, quid faciam? Laudabo Deum, nec ceſſabo unquam, vos vero▪ ut idem faciatis, hortor. But concerning the creation of birds, Macrob. l. 7 c. 16there is in Macrobius a large diſpute and diſquiſition, whether were firſt, the egge or the bird? And here Reaſon cannot reſolve it, ſith neither can the egge be produced without the bird, nor yet the bird without the egge. But now both Scripture and Nature determine it, that all things were at firſt produced in their eſſentiall perfection.
Verſe 22. Be fruitfull and multiply.] By bidding them do ſo, he made them do ſo, for his words are operative. Triſmegiſt ſaith the ſelfe ſame things in effect that Moſes here doth. God, ſaith he, Morneu… de verit. relig. cap. 9.cryeth out to his works by his holy word, ſaying, Bring yee forth fruit, grow and increaſe, &c. Note the harmony here (and in twenty more paſſages) between Mercury and Moſes. God hath not left his truth without witneſs from the mouthes of heathen writers. We may profitably read them, but not for oſtentation. That were to make a calfe of the treaſure gotten out of Egypt.
Verſe 24.25. Let the earth, &c.] Loe here the earth, Act. 16.8.in it ſelfe a dead element, brings forth, at Gods command, living creatures, tame, wild and creeping: Why then ſhould it be thought a thing incredible, that the ſame earth, at Gods command, ſhould bring forth againe our dead bodies reſtored to life, at the laſt day? Surely if that ſpeech of Chriſt, Joh. 11.43. Lazarus come forth, had been directed to all the dead, they had all preſently riſen. If he ſpeake to the rocks, they rent; if to the mountaines, they melt; if to the earth, it opens; if to the ſea, it yeelds up her dead; if to the whole hoſt of heaven, they tremble, and ſtand amazed, waiting his pleaſure. And ſhall he not prevaile by his mighty power, the ſame that he put forth in the raiſing of his Son Chriſt, Eph. 1.19. to raiſe us from the death of ſin; and of carnall, Eſa. 51.16.to make us a people created againe, Pſal. 102.18? Doth he not plant the heavens, and lay the foundation of the earth, that he may ſay to Zion thou art my people? Empty man would be wiſe (ſaith Zophar, Job 11.12.) though man be born like a wild aſſe colt. Mans heart is a meer emptineſs, a very Tohu vabohu, as void of matter to ma…e him a new creature of, as the hollow of a tree is of heart of oake. God therefore creates in his people cleane hearts; Pſal. 50.10.and, as in the firſt creation, ſo in the new creature, the firſt day, as it were, God works light of knowledge; the ſecond day, the firmament of faith; the third day ſeas and trees, that is, repentant tears, and worthy fruits; the fourth day, Lightf. Miſcel.the Sun, joyning light and heat together, heat of zeale, with light of knowledge; the fifth day, fiſhes to play, and foules to flye; ſo, to live and rejoyce in a ſea of troubles, and flye heaven-ward by prayer and contemplation. The ſixt day, God makes beaſts and man, yea, of a wild aſſe-colt, a man in Chriſt, with whom old things are paſt, all things are become new, 2 Cor. 5.17. foreign. 1 Theſſ 4.And to whom (beſides that they are all taught of God) the very beaſts, Eſa. 1.2. and birds, Jer. 8.7. doe read a Divinity Lecture. Aske now the beaſts, and they ſhall teach thee, and the foules of the ayre they ſhall tell thee, Anton. Eremita ap. Aug. lib. 1. de doctr. Chriſt. Niceph. l. 8. c. 40 Clem. Alex.Job 12.8. The whole world is nothing elſe, ſaith One, but God expreſſed, ſo that we cannot plead ignorance; for all are, or may be book learned in the creature. This is the Shepherds Callender, the Plowmans Alphabet; we may run and read in this great book, which hath three leaves, Heaven, Earth, Sea. A bruitiſh man knows not, neither doth a foole underſtand this. Pſal. 9 29.They ſtand gazing and gaping on the outſide of things onelyonly, but asknot, Who is their Father, their Creator? Like little children, which when they finde a Picture in their booke, they gaze, and make ſport with it, but never conſider it. Either their mindes are like a clocke that is over wound above the ordinary pitch, and ſo ſtands ſtill; their thoughts are amazed for a time; they are like a blocke, thinking nothing at all; Eſa. 40.28.or elſe they think Atheiſtically, that all comes by nature; (but haſt thou not known, ſaith the Prophet? haſt thou not heard, that the everlaſting God, the Lord, the Creator? &c.) or at beſt, as the common paſſenger looks onelyonly at the hand of the Diall to ſee what of the clock it is, but takes no notice of the clock-work within the wheels, and poiſes, and various turnings and windings in the work: ſo it is here with the man that is no more then a meer naturall. 1 Cor. 2.15.But he that is ſpirituall diſcerneth all things; he entreth into the clock-houſe, as it were, and views every motion, beginning at the great wheel, and ending in the leaſt and laſt that is moved. He ſtudies the glory of God revealed in this great book of Nature, and prayſeth his power, wiſdome▪ goodneſs. &c. And for that in theſe things He cannot order his ſpeech, becauſe of darkneſs▪ Job 37.38, 39. he begs of God a larger heart and better language, and cryes out continually with David, Bleſſed be the Lord God, the God of Iſrael, who onelyonly doth wondrous things. And bleſſed be his glorious name for ever and e…er, and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.Plal. 72.18, 19.
Verſe 26. And God ſaid, Let us make man.] Man is the maſterpeece of Gods handy-work. Sun, Moon, and Stars, are but the work… of his fingers, Pſal. 8.3. but man the work of his hands, Pſal. 1… 9.14. He is cura divini ingenii, made by counſell at firſt, Let us make, &c. and his body, which is but the ſouls ſheath, Dan. 7.15. Animae vagina.is ſtill curiouſly wrought in the loweſt parts of the earth, that is, in the womb, Pſal. 139.15. with Eph. 4.9. as curious workmen, when they have ſome choice peece in hand, they perfect it in private, and then bring it forth to light for men to gaze at. Thine bands have mude me (or took ſpeciall pains about me) and faſhioned me, ſaith Job. Thou haſt formed me by the book, ſaith David, Pſal, 139.16. Job 10.8.yea em…roidered me with nerves, veyns, and variety of limbs, miracles enough, ſaith One, betwixt head and foot to fill a Volume. Man, ſaith a Heathen, is the bold attempt of daring nature the faire workmanſhip of a wiſe Artificer, ſaith another; foreign. Triſmegiſt. foreign Eurip. foreign. X…noph. Miraculorum omnium maximum Stoici. Gal. lib. 3. de uſu partium. Lib. 11. & 1….The greateſt of all miracles, ſaith a third. And ſurely ſhould a man be born into the world but once in a hundred years, all the world would run to ſee the wonder. Sed miracula aſſiduitate vileſcunt. Galen (that prophane man) was forced upon the deſcription of man, and the parts of his body only, to ſing a hymn to the Creator, whom yet he knew not. I make here, ſaith he, a true hymn in the honour of our Maker; whoſe ſervice▪ I beleeve verily, conſiſteth not in the ſacrificing of Hecatombs, or in burning great heaps of Frankinſence before him, but in acknowledging the greatneſs of his wiſdome, power and goodneſs; and in making the ſame known to others &c. And in another place, Now is he, ſaith Gallen, which looking but only upon the skin of a thing, wondreth not of the cunning at the Creator? Yet notwithſtanding, he diſſembleth not that he had tryed by all means to find ſome reaſon of the compoſing of living creatures; and that he would rather have fathered the doing thereof upon Nature, then upon the very Authour of Nature. Lib. 15.And in the end concludeth thus; I confeſſe that I know not what the ſoule is, though I have ſought very narrowly for it. Favorinus the Philoſopher, Nibil in terra magnum prater bomin…m, nibil in homine praeter mentem, Fav. ap. Gel.was wont to ſay, The greateſt thing in this world is Man, and the greateſt thing in man is his ſoule. It is an abridgement of the inviſible world, as the Body is of the viſible. Hence man is called by the Hebrewes Gnolam haktaton, and by the Greeks Microcoſmus, A little world. And it was a witty eſſay of him, who ſtiled woman, the ſecond Edition of the Epitome of the whole world. The ſoule is ſet in the body of them both, as a little god in this little world, as Jehovah is a great God in the great world. Whence Proclus the Philoſopher could ſay, that the minde that is in us, is an image of the firſt minde, that is, of God. [In our image, after our likeneſſe.] That is, as like us as may be, to come as neare us as is poſſible; for theſe two expreſſions ſignifie but one and the ſame thing, and therefore verſ. 27. and chap. 5.1. and 9.6. one of them onelyonly is uſed: Howbeit Baſil referreth image to the reaſonable ſoule in man, ſimilitude to a conformity to God in holy actions. Some of the Fathers, had a conceit that Chriſt made mans body with his owne hands according to the forme and likeneſſe of that body which himſelfe would afterwards aſſume and ſuffer in. We deny not, but that mans body alſo is Gods image, as it is a little world, and ſo the idea or example of the world, that was in God from all eternity, is, as it were, briefly and ſummarily expreſt by God in mans body. But far be it from us to conceive of God as a bodily ſubſtance, to thinke him like unto us, as we are very apt to doe. God made man in his owne image, Molinaeus de …gu. Dei.and men of the other ſide, quaſi ad hoſtimentum, would make God after their image. It was ſeriouſly diſputed by the Monks of Egypt, Anno Dom. 493. (and much adoe there was about it) whether God were not a bodily ſubſtance, Funcius Chron. in Commentar.having hands, eyes, eares, and other parts, as we have? For ſo the ſimpler ſort among them were clearly of opinion. Acutè obtuſi.And in the ſecond Council of Nice under Irene, John one of the Legates of the Eaſterne Churches proved the making of Images lawfull, becauſe God had ſaid in this text, Let us make man after our owne Image. And it was there decreed that they ſhould be reverenced and adored in as ample and pious manner as the glorious Trinity. D. Heylins Geog. p. 53 3.But God is a Spirit, Job. 4.4.ſaith our Saviour, who beſt knew, for he came out of his Fathers boſome. And mans ſoule is a ſpirit likewiſe, indiviſible, immateriall immortall, diſtinguiſht into three powe…s, which all make up one ſpirit. Spirit ſignifies breath, which indeed is a body. Om…s … Jebova …era ſunt ſpiritual…, ut den…t…tur Deum eſſe ſpiritum, Alſſed.But becauſe it is the fineſt body, the moſt ſubtile and moſt inviſible, therefore immateriall ſubſtances, which we are not able to conceive, are repreſented unto us under this name. Such is the ſoule of man, which (for the worth of it) the Stoicks called the whole of Man. The body is but the ſheath of the ſoule ſaith Daniel; the ſhell of it, Solam mentem dig…am eſſe quae home appelletur Stoici ſtatuunt, Sic Plato ſcripſit foreign Corpus five corpor quaſi cordis por. i.e. puer five farmus. Camerar. foreign quaſi foreign. i.e. vinculum ſ…, anima Macrob. Som. Scip. l. 1. c. 11.ſaid Zoroaſter; the ſervant, yea the ſepulchre of it, ſay others. Compared to the ſoule, it is but as a clay-wall that encompaſſeth a treaſure, as a wodden box of a Jeweller; as a courſe caſe to a rich inſtrument; or as a mask to a beautifull face. He that alone knew, and went to the worth of ſoules hath told us that a ſoule is more worth then all the world beſides, becauſe infuſed by God and ſtamped with his image and ſuperſcription. Now if we muſt give to Ceſar the things that are Ceſars, foreign, (three articles, for one in the former clauſe Matth. 22.21.) Cur non & nos animam noſtram, Dei imaginem, ſoli Deo conſignemus, ſaith Gaſpar Ens? Why give we not our ſoules to God, ſith they are made in his image?
Verſe 27. So God created man in his owne image.] There is a double image of God in the ſoule. One in the ſubſtance of it, whereof I have ſpoken in the former verſe. The other in the qualities and ſupernaturall graces, of knowledge in the Underſtanding, rightneſs or ſtraightneſs in the Will, and holineſs in the affections: In all theſe, Man, when he came firſt out of Gods mint, ſhone moſt gloriouſly. But now O! quvntum haec Niobe, &c. Ezra 3.12.Oh think of this burnt Temple, and mourn, as they in Ezra, Eber, candidiſſimum, adhibito igne, nigreſcit.
Verſe 28. Subdue the earth, and have dominion.] Make it habitable by driving out the wild beaſts, that infeſt and annoy it. Make it arable alſo, and uſefull to your ſelves and yours. Pſal. 8. Qui dominari in catera p…ſsit. Natus homo eſt.The creatures are mans ſervants and houſhold-ſluffe. God hath put all things under his feet, that he may raiſe himſelfe thereby to God his Maker. A wiſe Philoſopher could ſay, That man is the end of all things in a ſemicircle; that is, All things in the world are made for him, and he is made for God; to know and acknowledge him, to ſerve and expreſſe him, to ſay to him as David, and that Sonne of David. Lord, a body (a ſoul) haſt thou given me; Heb. 10.5.behold I come to doe thy will O God. The very Manichees, that denyed God to bee the Author of the body, faſted on Sundayes, and in faſting exerciſed an humiliation of the body. The Paternians are not worth ſpeaking of, A…ſted. Chron. p. 387.who held this hereſie (in the yeare of Chriſt, 387) that the lower parts of mans body were not made by God, but by the devill; and therefore allowing liberty of all wickedneſs to thoſe parts, they lived moſt impurely. But if ſuperſtitious perſons muſt reckon for it, Coloſſ. 2. ult.that puniſh their bodies without commandement from God, where ſhall thoſe beaſts app…ar that defile their bodies, and damn their ſoule? How ſhall all the creatures inſtead of ſerving them, take up arms for God, and ſerve againſt them? yea riſe up in judgement and condemne them, for that when all other things keep their fit and proper places in the frame, and obſerve their peculiar ends and uſes whereunto they were created, men onelyonly (as ſo many Heteroclites and Irregulars) ſhould prove unprofitable, unuſefull, nay hurtfull to the whole frame, cauſing vanity and miſery to the poor creature which groans under it, and ſo defiling the very viſible heavens that they muſt be purged by the laſt fire, as thoſe veſſells were in the Law that held the ſin-offering? Rom 8.As for thoſe that are in Chriſt, theſe are reſtored to the priviledges of their firſt creation, as fellowſhip with God, dominion over the creatures▪ &c. as appears by comparing Pſal. 8.45. with Heb. 2.6, 7. &c. where whatever is ſpoken of man is applied to Chriſt, and ſo is proper to the Church, which is Chriſt myſticall, union being the ground of communion. Chriſt is married to his people in faithfulneſs; and as part of a joynture, he hath taken and bound over the beſt of the creatures to ſerve them, & bring them in proviſion, Hoſ. 2.20, 21, 22.
Verſe 29. Behold, I have given you] By this, Behold, God ſtirs up them and us to confidence, thankfulneſs and obedience to ſo liberall a Lord, ſo bountifull a Benefactor. And ſurely as iron put into the fire, ſeems to be nothing but fire, ſo Adam, thus beloved of God, Pſal. 16.12.was turned into a lump of love, and bethinks himſelfe what to do by way of retribution. All other creatures alſo willingly ſubmitted to Gods ordinance and mans ſervice, well apaid of Gods proviſion, that great houſe-keeper of the world, that hath continually ſo many millions at bed and board. This is intimated in that laſt clauſe, And it was ſo. An undoubted argument ſurely of Gods infinite goodneſs, thus to have provided for ſo divers natures and appetites divers food, remedies, and armour, Pſal. 104. for men eſpecially, filling their hearts with food and gladneſſe, Act. 14.17.
Verſe 31. Behold, it was very good] Or, extream good, pleaſant and profitable, a curious and glorious frame, full of admirable variety and skill, ſuch as cauſed delight and complacency in God, and commands contemplation and admiration from us; like as a great garden ſtored with fruits and flowers, calls our eyes on every ſide: Wherefore elſe hath God given us a reaſonable ſoule, and a Sabbath day, a countenance bent upward, and, as they ſay, peculiar nerves in the eyes to pull them up toward the ſeat of their reſt? beſides a nature carried with delight after playes, pageants, masks, Bodin. Theas. Natur….ſtrange ſhews and rare ſights; which oft are ſinfull or vain, or at beſt, imperfect, and unſatisfactory? Surely thoſe that regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, God ſhall deſtroy, and not build them up, Pſal. 28.4. which to prevent, good is the counſel of the Prophet Amos, & that upon this very ground, Prepare to meet thy God, O Iſrael: For loe, he that formeth the mountains and createth the wind, &c. Amos 4.12, 13. when he had made man, he made an end of making any thing more, becauſe he meant to reſt in man, to delight in him, to communicate himſelfe unto him, and to be enjoyed by him throughout all eternity. And notwithſtanding the fall, he hath found a ranſome, Job 33.24. and creating us in Chriſt Jeſus unto good works, Eph. 2.10. he rejoyceth over his new workmanſhip with joy, yea he reſts in his love, Roderit. ſanctii Hiſt Hiſp. p. 4. c. 5. …xantiq. Annalib.and will ſeek no further, Zeph. 3.17. But what a mouth of madneſs did Alfonſo the Wiſe open, when he ſaid openly, that if he had been of Gods counſell at the Creation, ſome things ſhould have been better made and marſhalled. Prodigious blaſphemy!