Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Genesis
Book: Genesis
Chapter: 1
Overview:
God creates
Heaven and
Earth.
(1,2) The
Creation of
Light.
(3-5) God separates the
Earth from the waters, and makes it
fruitful.
(6-13) God forms the
Sun,
Moon, and
Stars.
(14-19)
Animals created.
(20-25) Man created in the image of
God.
(26-28) Food appointed.
(29,30) The work of
Creation ended and
approved.
(31)
1,2 The first verse of the
Bible gives us a satisfying and
useful account of the origin of the
Earth and the heavens. The
Faith of humble Christians understands this better than the
fancy of the most learned men. From what we see of
Heaven and
Earth, we learn the power of the great Creator. And let our make
and place as men, remind us of our duty as Christians, always to
keep
Heaven in our
Eye, and the
Earth under our feet. The Son of
God, one with the
Father, was with him when he made the world;
nay, we are often told that the world was made
By him, and
nothing was made without him. Oh, what high thoughts should
there be in our minds, of that great
God whom we
Worship, and of
that great
Mediator in whose name we pray! And here, at the
beginning of the sacred volume, we read of that Divine
Spirit,
whose work upon the
Heart of
Man is
So often mentioned in other
parts of the
Bible. Observe, that at first there was nothing
desirable to be seen, for the world was without form, and void;
it was confusion, and emptiness. In like manner the work of
Grace in the soul is a new
Creation: and in a graceless soul,
one that is not born again, 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 Works a change in us.
3-5 God said, Let there be
Light; he willed it, and at once
there was
Light. Oh, the power of the
Word of God! And in the
new
Creation, the first thing that is wrought in the soul is
Light: the blessed
Spirit Works upon the will and affections
By
enlightening the understanding. Those who
By Sin were
Darkness,
By Grace become
Light in the
Lord.
Darkness would have been
always upon fallen
Man, if the
Son of God had not come and given
us understanding, 1Jo 5:20. The
Light which
God willed, he
approved of.
God divided the
Light from the
Darkness; for what
Fellowship has
Light with
Darkness? In
Heaven there is perfect
Light, and
No Darkness at all; in
Hell, utter
Darkness, and
No
gleam of
Light. The
Day and the night are the
Lord's; let us use
both to his honour,
By working for him every
Day, and resting in
him every night, meditating in his
Law both
Day and night.
6-13 The
Earth was emptiness, but
By a
Word spoken, it became
full of
God's riches, and his they are still. Though the use of
them is allowed to
Man, they are from
God, and to his service
and honour they must be used. The
Earth, at his command, brings
forth
Grass, herbs, and fruits.
God must have the
Glory of all
the benefit we receive from the produce of the
Earth. If we
have, through
Grace, an interest in Him who is the
Fountain, we
may rejoice in him when the streams of temporal mercies are
dried up.
14-19 In the fourth
Day's work, the
Creation of the
Sun,
Moon,
and
Stars is accounted for. All these are the
Works of
God. The
Stars are spoken of as they appear to our eyes, without telling
their number, nature, place, size, or motions; for the
Scriptures were written, not to gratify curiosity, or make us
astronomers, but to lead us to
God, and make us saints. The
lights of
Heaven are made to serve him; they do it faithfully,
and shine in their season without fail. We are set as lights in
this world to serve
God; but do we in like manner answer the
End
of our
Creation? 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.
20-25 God commanded the
Fish and fowl to be produced. This
command he himself executed. Insects, which are more numerous
than the birds and beasts, and as curious, seem to have been
part of this
Day's work. The Creator's
Wisdom and power are to
be admired as much in an
Ant as in an
Elephant. The power of
God's
Providence preserves all things, and fruitfulness is the
effect of his blessing.
26-28 Man was made last of all the creatures: this was both an
honour and a favour to him. Yet
Man was made the same
Day that
the beasts were; 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!
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.
God said, "Let us make
Man."
Man, when he
was made, was to
Glorify the
Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost. Into
that great name we are baptized, for to that great name we owe
our being. It is the soul of
Man that especially bears
God's
image.
Man was made upright, Ec 7:29. His understanding saw
Divine things clearly and truly; there were
No errors or
mistakes in his knowledge; his will consented at once, and in
all things, to the will of
God. His affections were all regular,
and he had
No bad appetites or passions. His thoughts were
easily brought and fixed to the best subjects. Thus holy, thus
happy, were our first parents in having the image of
God upon
them. But how is this image of
God upon
Man defaced! May the
Lord renew it upon our souls
By his
Grace!
29,30 Herbs and fruits must be
Man's
Food, including
Corn, and
all the products of the
Earth. Let
God's people cast their care
upon him, and not be troubled about what they shall eat, and
what they shall
Drink. He that feeds his birds will not starve
his babes.
31 When we come to think about our
Works, we find, to our
shame, that much has been very bad; but when
God saw his work,
all was very good. Good, for it was all just as the Creator
would have it to be. All his
Works, in all places of his
dominion,
Bless him; and therefore,
Bless thou the
Lord, O my
soul. Let us
Bless God for the
Gospel of
Christ, and when we
consider his almighty power, let us sinners flee from the wrath
to come. If new-created unto the image of
God in
Holiness, we
shall at length enter the "new heavens and new
Earth, wherein
dwelleth
Righteousness."