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02 - Commentary on The Book of Genesis · Philosophy and Faith

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Chapter one, Part two, Verses twenty four and twenty five. And God
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said, let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle
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and creeping thing, and beasts of the earth after his kind. And it
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was so. And God made the beasts of the earth after his kind,
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and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his
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kind. And God saw that it was good. We have here the first
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part of the six days work. The sea was the day before replenished with
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its fish, and the air with its fowl. And this day were made
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the beasts of the earth, the cattle, and the creeping thing that pertained
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to the earth. Here as before one, the Lord gave the word.
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He said, let the earth bring forth, not as if the earth had
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any such prolific virtue as to reduce these animals, or as if God resigned
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his creating power to do it. But let these creatures now come into being
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upon the earth and out of it, in their respective kinds, conformable to
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the ideas of them in the divine councils concerning their creation. Number two.
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He also did the work. He made them all after their kind, not
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only of divers shapes, but of divers natures, manners, food, and
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fashions. Some to be tame about the house, others to be wild in
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the fields, some living upon grass and herbs, others upon flesh. Some
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harmless and others ravenous, some bold and others timorous. Some for man's service
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and not his sustenance, as the horse, others for sustenance and not a
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service, as the sheep, others for both, as the ox, and
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some for neither, as the wild beasts. In all this appears the manifold
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wisdom of the Creator Verses twenty six through twenty eight. And God said,
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let us make man in our image after our likeness, and let him have
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dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
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and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every
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creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God cray a man in his
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own image, in the image of God, created he him, male and
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female craved he Him. And God bless them, and God send to them,
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be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it, and
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have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the foul of the
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air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. We have
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here the second part of the Six days work, the creation of Man,
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which we are in a special manner concerned to take notice of, that we
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may know ourselves observe one that man was made last of all the creatures,
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that it might not be suspected that he had been any way a helper to
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God in the creation of the world. That question must be forever humbling and
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mortifying to him. Where wast thou or any of that kind? When I
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lay the foundations of the earth? Job thirty eight, verse four. Yet
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it was both an honor and a favor to him that he was made last.
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An honor for the method of the creation was to advance from that which
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was less perfect to that which was more so, and a favor, for
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it was not fit he should be lodged in the palace designed for him till
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it was completely fitted up and furnished for his reception. Man, as soon
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as he was made, had the whole visible creation before him, both to
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contemplate and to take the comfort of Man was made the same day that the
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beasts were, because his body was made of the same earth with theirs.
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And while he is in the body. He inhabits the same earth with them.
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God forbid that by indulging the body and the desires of it, we
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should make ourselves like the beasts that perish. Number two, that man's creation
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was more sick an immediate act of divine wisdom and power than that of the
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other creatures. The narrative of it is introduced with something of solemnity and a
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manifest distinction from the rest. Hitherto it had been said, let there be
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light, and let there be affirment, and let the earth or waters bring
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forth such a thing. But now the word of command is turned into a
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word of consultation. Let us make man, for whose sake the rest of
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the creatures were made. This is a work we must take into our own
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hands. In the former he speaks as one having authority in this, as
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one having affection, for his delights were with the sons of men Proverbs eight,
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verse thirty one. It should seem as if this were the work which
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he longed to be at, as if he had said, having at last
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set the preliminaries, letus now apply ourselves to the business. Lets make man.
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Man was to be a creature different from all that had been hitherto made.
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Flesh and spirit, heaven and earth must be put together in him,
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and he must be allied to both worlds. And therefore God himself not only
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undertakes to make him, but is pleased so to express himself, as if
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he called a council to consider of the making of him. Let us make
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man. The three persons of the trenity, Father Son, and Holy Ghost,
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consult about it and concur in it. Because Man, when he was
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made, was to be dedicated, devoted to Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
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Into that great name. We are with good reason baptized, for to
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that great name we owe our being. Let him rule Man who said,
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let us make man Number three, that man was made in God's image and
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after his likeness, two words to express the same thing in making each other,
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the more expressive image and likeness to note the likest image, the nearest
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resemblance of any of the visible creatures. Man was not made in the likeness
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of any creature that went before him, but in the likeness of his creator.
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Yet still between God and man there is an infinite distance. Christ only
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is the express image of God's person as the son of his Father, having
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the same nature. It is only some of God's honor that is put upon
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man, who is God's image only as the shadow in the glass or the
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king's impress upon the coin. God's image upon man consists in these three things
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number one, in his nature and constitution, not those of his body.
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For God has not a body, but those of his soul. This honor,
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indeed, God has put upon the body of man that the Word was
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made flesh. The Son of God was clothed with a body like ours,
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and will shortly clothe ours with a glory like that of his. And this
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we may safely say the he by whom God made the world, not only
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the great world, but man, the little world, formed the human body
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at the first according to the platform he designed for himself in the fullness of
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time. But is the soul, the great soul of man that does especially
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bear God's image. The soul is a spirit, an intelligent, immortal spirit
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and influencing active spirit, herein resembling God, the Father's spirits, and the
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soul of the world. The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.
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The soul of man, considered in three noble faculties understanding, will and
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active power, is perhaps the brightest, clearest looking glass in nature wherein to
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see God. Two in his place and authority, let us make man in
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our image, and let him have dominion as he has the government of the
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inferior creature. He is, as it were, God's representative or viceroy upon
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earth. They are not capable of fearing and serving God. Therefore God has
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appointed them to fear and serve man. Yet his government of himself, by
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the freedom of his will, has in it more of God's image than his
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government of the creatures. Three. In his purity and rectitude, God's image
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upon man consists in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness. Effusions four,
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verse twenty four. Colossans three, verse ten. He was upright Ecclesiastes seven,
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verse twenty nine. He had a habitual conformity of all his natural powers
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to the whole will of God. His understanding saw divine things clearly and truly,
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and there were no errors nor mistakes in his knowledge. His will comply
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readily and universally with the will of God, without reluctancy or resistance. His
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affections were all regular, and he had no inordinary appetites or passions. His
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thoughts were easily brought and fixed to the best subjects, and there was no
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vanity nor ungovernableness in them. All the inferior powers were subject to the dictates
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and directions of the superior without any mutiny or rebellion. Thus, holy,
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thus happy were our first parents in having the image of God upon them.
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And this honor put upon man at first is a good reason why we should
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not speak ill one of another James three, verse nine, nor do ill
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one to another, just as nine verse six, and a good reason why
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we should not debase ourselves to the service of sin, and why we should
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devote ourselves to God's service. But how art thou fallen of sun of the
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morning? How is this image of God upon man defaced? How small are
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the remains of it? And how great the ruins of it? The Lord
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renewed upon our souls by his sanctifying grace. Number four, that man was
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made male and female and blessed with the blessing of fruitfulness and increase. God
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said, let us make man, And immediately it follows so God created man.
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He performed what he resolved with us. Saying and doing are two things,
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but they are not so with God. He created him male and female,
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Adam and Eve, Adam first out of earth, and Eve out of
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his side. Chapter two. It should seem that of the rest of the
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creatures, God made many couples. But if man did not he make one
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Malachi two, verse fifteen, though he had the residue of the spirit.
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Whence Christ gathers an argument against divorce Matthew nineteen, verse four and five.
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Our first father, Adam was confined to one wife, and if he had
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put her away, there is no other for him to marry, which plainly
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intimated that the bond of marriage was not to be dissolved at pleasure. Angels
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were not made male and female, for they were not to propagate their kind
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Luke twenty verses thirty four through thirty six. But man was made so that
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the nature might be propagated, and the race continued. Fires and candles the
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luminaries of this lower world, because they waste and go out, have a
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power to light more. But it is not so with the lights of heaven.
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Stars do not kindle. Stars. God made but one male and one
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female, that all the nations of men might know themselves be made of one
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blood, descendants from one common stock, and might thereby be induced to love
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one another. God, having made them capable of transmitting the nature they had
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received, said to them, be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth.
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Here he gave them one a large inheritance, replenish the earth. It
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is this that is bes stowed upon the children of men. They were made
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to dwell upon the face of all the earth, Acts twenty seven, verse
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twenty six. This is the place in which God has set man to be
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the servant of His providence in the government of the inferior creatures, and,
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as it were, the intelligence of this orb, to be the receiver of
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God's bounty, which other creatures live upon but do not know it, to
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be likewise the collector of His praises in this lower world, and to pay
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them into the exchequer above Psalms one hundred and forty five, verse ten.
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And lastly, to be a probationer for a better state number two. A
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numerous lasting family to enjoy this inheritance, pronouncing a blessing upon them in virtue
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of which their posterity should extend to the utmost corners of the earth and continue
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to the utmost period of time. Fruitfulness and increase depend upon the blessing of
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God. Obed Edom had eight sons, for God blessed him first Chronicles twenty
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six, verse five. It is owing to this blessing which God commanded at
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first, that the race of mankind is still in being, and that as
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one generation passeth away, another cometh. Number five that God gave to man
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when he had made him a dominion over the inferior creatures, over the fish
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of the sea, and over the foul of the air. Though man provides
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for neither, he has power over both, much more over every living thing
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that moveth upon the earth, which are more under his care and within his
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reach. God designed hereby to put an honor upon man, that he might
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find himself the more strongly obliged to bring honor to his maker. This dominion
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is very much diminished and lost by the fall. Yet God's providence continues,
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so much of it to the children of men as is necessary to the safety
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and support of their lives. And God grace has given to the saints a
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new and better title to the creature than that which was forfeited by sin.
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For all is ours if we are Christ Verse Corinthians three, verse twenty two,
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Verses twenty nine through thirty. And God said, behold, I have
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given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth,
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and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed.
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To you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the
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earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth
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upon the earth wherein there is life. I have given every green herb for
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meat. And it was so we have here the third part of the Six
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days Work, which was not any new creation, but a gracious provision of
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food for all flesh Psalms one hundred thirty six, verse twenty five. He
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that made man and beasts thus took care to preserve both Psalms thirty six,
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verse six. Here is one food provided for man verse twenty nine. Herbs
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and fruits must be his meat, including corn and all the products of the
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earth. These were allowed him. But it should seem not flesh till after
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the flood Chapter nine, verse three, and before the earth was deluged,
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much more before it was cursed. For man's sake, Its fruit, no
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doubt, were more pleasing to the taste, and more strengthening and nourishing to
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the body. Than marrow and fatness, and all the portion of the King's
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meat are now see here. Number one that which would make us humble.
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As we were made out of the earth, so we are maintained out of
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it. Once indeed, men did eat angels food bread from heaven, but
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they died John six, verse thirty nine. It was to them but his
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food out of the earth. Psalms. One hundred and four, verse fourteen.
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There is meat that endures to everlasting life. The Lord evermore gives us
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this. Number two, that which should make us thankful. The Lord is
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for the body. From him we receive all the supports and comforts of this
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life, And to him we must give thanks. He gives us all things
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richly to enjoy, not only for necessity, but plenty dainties and varieties for
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ornament and delight. How much are we indebted? How careful should we be
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as we live upon God's bounty to live to his glory. Number three,
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that which should make us temperate and content with our lot. Though Adam had
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dominion given him over fish and fowl, yet God confined him and his food
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to herbs and fruits, and he never complained of it, though afterwards he
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coveted forbidden fruit for the sake of the wisdom and knowledge he promised himself from
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it. Yet we never read that he coveted forbidden flesh. If God gives
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us food for our lives, let us not with murmuring Israel, ask food
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for our lust Psalm seventy eight, verse eighteen and Daniel one, verse fifteen,
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number two food provided for the beast verse thirty. Doth God take care
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for oxen? Yes, certainly he provides food convenient for them, and not
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for oxen only, which were used in his sacrifices in man service. But
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even the young lions and the young ravens are the care of His providence.
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They ask and have their meat from God. Let us give to God the
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glory of his bounty to the inferior creatures, that all are fed, as
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it were, at his table every day. He is a great housekeeper,
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a very rich and bountiful one that satisfies the desire of every living being.
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Let this encourage God's people to cast their care upon him, and not to
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be solicitous respecting what they shall eat and what they shall drink. He that
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provided for Adam without his care, and still provides for all the creatures without
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their care, will not let those that trust him want any good thing.
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Matthew six, verse twenty six. He that feeds his birds will not starve
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his babes verse thirty one. And God saw everything that he had made,
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and behold it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the
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sixth day. We have here the propbation and conclusion of the whole work of
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creation. As for God, his work is perfect, and if he begins,
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he will also make an end in providence and grace, as well as
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here in creation. Observe one the review God took of his work. He
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saw everything that he had made, so he does still. All the works
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of his hands are under his eye. He that made all sees all,
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He that made us seize us Psalms one hundred and thirty nine, verses one
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through sixteen. Omniscience cannot be separated from omnipotence. Known unto God are all
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his works Acts fifteen, verse eighteen. But this was the eternal minds solemn
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reflection upon the copies of his own wisdom and the products of its own power.
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God has hereby set us an example of reviewing our works, having given
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us a powered reflection. He expects we should use that power see our way
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Jeremiah two, verse twenty three, and think of it Psalms one hundred nineteen,
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verse fifty nine. When we have finished a day's work and are entering
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upon the rest of the night, we should commune with our own hearts about
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what we have been doing that day. So likewise, when we have finished
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a week's work and are entering upon the Sabbath rest, we should thus prepare
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to meet our God. And when we are finishing our life's work and are
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entering upon our rest in the grave, that is the time to bring remembrance
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that we may die repenting, and so take leave of it. Number two
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the complacency God took in his work. When we come to review our works,
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we find to our shame that much has been very bad. But when
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God reviewed his all was very good. He did not pronounce it good till
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he had seen it, so to teach us not to answer a matter before
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we hear it. The work of creation was a very good work. All
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that God made was well made, and there was no flaw nor defect in
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it. One it was good good, for it is all agreeable to the
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mind of the Creator, just as he would have it to be. When
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the transcript came to be compared with the great original, it was found to
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be exact, no erata in it, not one misplaced stroke. Good for
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it answers the end of its creation, and is fit for the purpose for
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which it was designed. Good for it is serviceable to man, whom God
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had appointed the lord of the visible creation. Good for it is all for
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God's glory. There is that in the whole visible creation, which is a
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demonstration of God's being and perfections, and which tends to beget in the sole
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of man a religious regard to Him and veneration of him. Number two,
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it was very good of each day's work, except the second it was said
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that it was good. But now it is very good for number one,
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Now man was made, who was the chief of the ways of God,
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who is designed to be the visible image of the Creator's glory, and the
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mouth of the creation in his praises. Number two, now all was made.
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Every part was good, but altogether very good. The glory and goodness,
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the beauty and harmony of God's works, both of providence and grace,
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as this of creation, will best appear when they are perfected. When the
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topstone is brought forth, we shall cry grace, grace unto it zach cry
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of four verse seven. Therefore, judge nothing before the time number three,
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the time when this work was concluded. The evening and the morning were the
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sixth day, so that in six days God made the world. We are
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not to think but that God could have made the world in an instant.
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He said that let there be light, and there was light. Could have
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said, let there be a world, and there would have been a world
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in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, as at the resurrection
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on Corinthings fifteen, verse fifty two. But he did it in six days
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that he might show himself a free agent, doing his own work, both
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in his own way and in his own time, that his wisdom, power,
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and goodness might appear to us and be meditated upon by us, and
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more distinctly, and that he might set us an example of working six days
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and resting the seventh. It has therefore made the reason of the fourth commandment.
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So much would the Sabbath conduce to the keeping up of religion and the
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world, that God had an eye to it in the timing of his creation
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and Now as God reviewed his work, let us review our meditations upon it,
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and we shall find them very lame and defective, and our praise is
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low and flat. Let us therefore stir up ourselves and all that is within
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us, to worship Him that made the heavens, earth and sea, and
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the fountains of waters. According to the tenor of the Everlasting Gospel, which
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has preached to every nation Revelations fourteen, verses six and seven, all his
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works, in all places of His dominion, do bless him. And therefore
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bless thou, the Lord O my soul. End of Chapter one, Part two,