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The creation of

Before CHRIST 1004.

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face of the deep. And the Spirit | waters, and let it divide the waters of God moved upon the face of the from the waters.

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to make the Creator of all the founder of his laws, begins with Him. As if he had told the Hebrew nation, that He, who gave them the law contained in these books, was the King and Lawgiver of the whole world, which was, like a great city, governed by Him: whom therefore he would have them regard, as the Enactor, not only of their laws, but of those also which all nature obeys. Bp. Patrick.

Moses, though divinely inspired, does not go about to prove that there is a God: he justly supposes, that whoever considers the works of creation must be convinced, that a Being of infinite perfections, wisdom, and power, whom we call God, was the Creator of all things. Bp. Wilson.

1. God created] The Hebrew word Elohim, which is here, and generally throughout the Old Testament, rendered "God," is a plural substantive, and yet is here and elsewhere joined to a singular verb. By which sort of expression it is very reasonably supposed, that the inspired writer designed to intimate the Trinity of Persons in the Unity of the Godhead: namely, as the plural noun denotes the plurality of persons, so the singular verb joined to it denotes the unity of the Godhead. Dr. Wells. See note on ver. 26.

-the heaven and the earth.] Or the world: in the scripture-phrase "the heaven and earth" are used to express what is otherwise called the world or universe. Bp. Kidder.

The ancient Hebrews seem to have had no word in use among them, which singly of itself signified the world; and therefore they used in conjunction the "heaven and earth," as the grand extremities, within which all things are contained. Bp. Pearson.

2. And the earth was without form and void;] A confused indigested heap, without any order or shape. Having no beasts, nor trees, nor herbs, nor any thing else, with which we now see it adorned. Bp. Patrick.

and darkness was upon the face of the deep.] Nothing was to be seen for want of light; which lay buried, as all things else did in that great abyss, or vast confused heap of matter, before mentioned. Bp. Patrick.

the Spirit of God] The third Person in the blessed Trinity. Dr. Wells.

the Spirit of God moved &c.] That is, the Divine Spirit, by moving on the waters, operated toward the order and ornament of what was confused before. Bp. Kidder.

The word we here translate moved, signifies literally brooded upon the waters, as a hen doth upon her eggs. Bp. Patrick.

The word seems used to express that act of the Holy Spirit, by which He imparted motion, activity, and life to the particles of matter, lying yet in a mixed and shapeless heap. Dr. Wells.

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7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

Before CHRIST 4004.

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3. And God said,] Wherever in the history of the creation we read these words, He said, the meaning must be understood to be, He willed. Bp. Patrick. For this is the admirable power of God, that with Him to will is to effect, to determine is to perform. Bp. Pearson. -Let there be light :] Not of the sun or stars, which were not yet created; but a common brightness only, to distinguish the time, and to remedy the former confused darkness. Bp. Hall.

4. And God saw the light, that it was good:] He approved it, as agreeable to his design and accommodated to the use of the world. Bp. Kidder.

and God divided the light from the darkness.] Appointed that they should constantly succeed one another. Bp. Patrick.

5.

day.]

And the evening and the morning were the first By the evening is here denoted one whole course of darkness; and by the morning, the next following whole course of light. The evening is mentioned before the morning, probably because the darkness was before the light, according to the history of the creation. Dr. Wells. Hence the natural day of the Jews began in the evening. Levit. xxiii. 32. bp. Kidder.

Instead of making all things at once, it is probable that God was pleased to divide his work into six days, partly to give us occasion for considering his works with more attention and seriousness; and partly to lay the foundation for the weekly sabbath. Stackhouse.

6. And God said, Let there be a firmament &c.] Then God willed that there should be a large, clear, airy distance, betwixt those upper waters, which are gathered into clouds, and these below. Bp. Hall.

The Greek version has given us a word, which has produced in our translation the corresponding word firmament. But this term by no means furnishes us with the true idea of the original word, which is derived from a verb signifying, to spread abroad, expand, enlarge, make thin, &c. The proper rendering then is, the expansion: as it is said in other parts of Scripture, "Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain!" "That stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in,” Psal. civ. 2; Isaiah xl. 22. Bp. Horne.

7.- divided the waters &c.] Under the firmament : namely, in the seas and rivers, &c. Above the firmament; namely, in the clouds, which are said therefore to cover the heaven, (Ps. cxlvii. 8; compare Prov. viii. 28,) that is, the air or lower heaven. Compare 2 Sam. xxi. 10. Bp. Kidder.

9.- Let the waters &c.] This work of God, whereby the waters were sent down into their proper channels, and the earth made dry, and fitted for the habitation of such creatures as were afterwards created, is observed by Strabo, a Greek geographer, as an act of Divine Pro

the sun, moon, and stars,

Before CHRIST

grass.

4004.

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4004.

10 And God called the dry land | firmament of the heaven to give CHRIST Earth; and the gathering together light upon the earth, of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, Let the earth +Heb. tender bring forth + grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth and it was so.

Ps. 136. 7.

12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14 And God said, Let there be f Deut. 4. 19. flights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the tween the day night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

† Heb. be

and between

the night.

+ Heb. for the rule of the day, &c.

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16 And God made two great lights; the greater light + to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night he made the stars also.

:

17 And God set them in the

vidence. 66 Because," says he, "the water covered the earth, and man is not a creature that can live in the water, God made many cavities and receptacles in the earth for the water; and raised the earth above it, that it might be fit for man's habitation." Bp. Patrick.

11.-whose seed is in itself,] The meaning is, that the plant should include in itself its proper seed, by means of which it should be afterwards propagated from one generation to another. Dr. Wells. 14.

Let there be lights] Or luminous bodies, by which light is communicated. The light produced at first was now distributed into several luminaries, distant from the earth, "in the firmament of heaven;" or in those upper regions, where the sun and the planets are placed. Bp. Patrick.

to divide &c.] Partly to make a perpetual and constant division between day and night; and partly to be certain and natural signs for man's direction, in his course of judgment and practice, for sowing, planting, sailing, and such other common affairs; and partly, to make a distinction of seasons, summer, winter, spring, autumn, years, months, weeks, days, hours. Bp. Hall. As also to direct mankind afterwards in their solemn festivals. Bp. Kidder.

18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

g Jer. 31. 35.

47.

Or, creep

20 And God said, Let the h 2 Esdras 6. waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath + life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

ing.

+ Hleb. soul.

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Heb. face

of the firmament of

heaven.

& 9. 1.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill i Chap. 8. 17. the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing,

of every thing, whereby it always keeps itself within such bounds, and acts according to such rules, as God hath set it, and by that means shews forth the glory of his wisdom and power. Bp. Beveridge.

15. And let them be for lights &c.] Let them there continue to give constant light and warmth to the earth and its inhabitants, which is their principal use. Bps. Hall and Patrick.

16.-two great lights;] That is, which appear to us greater than all the rest; namely, the sun and moon. With regard to the inhabitants of the earth, the moon, though certainly an opaque or dark body, and less than most of the planets, may be not improperly called a great light: since, on account of its nearness, it communicates more light, and is of more use and benefit to us, than all the other planets put together. Dr. Wells, Bp. Patrick, Stackhouse.

to rule the day, &c.] As the sun is said "to rule the day," because he then only appears in the firmament; so the moon and stars are said to rule the night," because they then appear with splendour, and give a supply of light, which the sun does not then immediately afford. Dr. Wells, Bp. Kidder.

17. And God set them &c.] By repeating this so often, Moses intended to fix in the people's mind this notion; that though the heavenly bodies be very glorious, yet they are but creatures made by God, and set or appointed by his order, to give us light. And therefore He alone is to be worshipped, not they. Bp. Patrick. This supposition is the more probable, because the most early idolatry is reasonably judged to have been that of worshipping the host of heaven, or the celestial lights. Dr. Wells.

We must distinguish betwixt God's saying, Let such a thing be, and let such a thing do, so or so. By the first He produced the thing out of nothing: by the other He gave laws to it, then in being. As, when He said, "Let there be light," by that word, the light, which was not before, began to be: but when He said, "Let there be lights in the firmament, to divide the day from the night, &c." He thereby gave laws to the light He had before made, where He would have it be, and what He would have it do. This is what we call the law of nature: that law, which God hath put into the nature | Wells.

21.-whales,] Or great fishes of all sorts. Dr.

The creation

Before CHRIST 4004.

GENESIS.

and beast of the earth after his kind: | and let them have dominion over the
and it was so.
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of
the air, and over the cattle, and over
all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his k Chap. 5.1. kind: and God saw that it was good. 26 ¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:

& 9. 6.

1 Cor. 11. 7. Ephes. 4. 24. Col. 3. 10.

26. And God said, Let us make man] God not only reserved man for the last of his works, but, as it were, advises and consults about his production; not to signify any deliberation within Himself, or any difficulty in the work but to represent to us the dignity of man, and that he was made with admirable wisdom and great prudence. It is to be observed also, that God does not say, "Let the earth bring forth man,' as He said before of other animals; and that for the same reason: namely, to represent man as a far more noble work, than any other upon earth. Bp. Patrick.

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Let us] The ancient Christians looked upon this as a plain intimation of a plurality of persons in the Godhead. Epiphanius says, "This is the language of God to his WORD and only begotten, as all the faithful believe;" and again, Adam was formed by the hand of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost." Bp. Patrick.

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of man,

Before CHRIST 4004.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; 'male and female created he 1 Matt. 19. 4. them.

Wisd. 2. 23.

no figure of speech that will allow any single person to say, one of us,' when he speaks only of himself. It is a phrase that can have no meaning, unless there be more persons than one concerned."

It is the language of St. Barnabas, one of the apos-portant to the human race, was communicated from the tolical Fathers, "And for this cause the Lord was content to suffer for our souls, although He be the Lord of the whole earth; to whom God said, before the beginning of the world, Let us make man, &c." Abp. Wuke.

St. Chrysostom concludes some observations on the same passage in the following eloquent terms: "Who was He, to whom God said, Let us make man? Who else but He, the Angel, of the Great Council, the Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty One, the Prince of Peace, the Father of the future age, the only-begotten SoN of GoD, the equal to his Father in essence, by whom all things were made? To HIM it was said, Let us make man."

"Let us make man." Us.-He speaks to one who has the power of creating. John i. 1, 2, 3. Bp.

Wilson.

66

66

The phraseology, in which this resolution is couched, is remarkable. Let us make man :" but the Old Testament furnishes more instances of a similar kind: 'Behold, the man is become as one of us;" "Let us go down, and there confound their language;" "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" These plural forms, thus used by the Deity, demand our attention. Gen. iii. 22; xi. 7; Isaiah vi. 8.

Three solutions of the questions have been offered. The first is that given by the Jews, who tell us, that in these forms God speaks of Himself and his angels. But may we not ask upon this occasion, "Who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counsellor?" With which of the angels did He at any time vouchsafe to share his works and his attributes? Could they have been his coadjutors in the work of creation, which He so often claims to Himself, declaring He will not give the glory of it to another?

A second account of the matter is, that the King of heaven adopts the style employed by the kings of the earth. But doth it seem at all reasonable to imagine, that God should borrow his way of speaking from a king, before man was created upon the earth? Besides, as it hath been judiciously observed, "though a king and governour may say us and we, there is certainly

What then should hinder us from accepting the third solution, given by the best expositors ancient and modern, and drawn from this consideration, that in the unity of the Divine Essence there is a plurality of Persons, coequal and co-eternal, who might say, with truth and propriety, "Let us make man," and "Man is become as ONE OF US?" Of such a personality revelation informs us: it is that upon which the economy of man's redemption is founded; his creation, as well as that of the world, is, in different passages, attributed to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; what more natural therefore than that, at his production, this form of speech should be used by the Divine Persons? What more rational than to suppose, that a doctrine, so imbeginning, that men might know whom they worshipped, and how they ought to worship? What other good and sufficient reason can be given, why the name of God, in use among believers from the first, should likewise be in the plural number, connected with verbs and pronouns in the singular? It is true, we Christians, with the New Testament in our hands, may not want these arguments to prove the doctrine: but why should we overlook, or slight, such very valuable evidence of its having been revealed and received in the Church of God, from the foundation of the world? It is a satisfaction, it is a comfort, to reflect, that in this momentous article of our faith we have patriarchs and prophets for our fathers; that they lived, and that they died in the belief of it; that the God of Adam, of Noah, and of Abraham is likewise our God; and that when we adore Him in three Persons, and give "glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost," we do, "as it was" done "in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be." Bp. Horne.

in our image, after our likeness:] Approaching to the Divine likeness in understanding, freedom of choice, spirituality, immortality, &c. in righteousness, and true holiness likewise, as may be gathered from the Apostle, Eph. iv. 24. Bp. Patrick. Of man's distinguishing excellencies we are taught to entertain the most exalted sentiments, when we are told, that he was made "in the image and likeness of God." For what more can be said of a creature, than that he is made after the similitude of his Creator. Bp. Horne.

We should learn to be cautious, lest we charge God foolishly, by ascribing that to Him or the nature He has given us, which is owing wholly to an abuse of it. Men may speak of the degeneracy and corruption of the world, according to the experience they have had of it; but human nature, considered as the Divine workmanship, should methinks be treated as sacred for in the image of GOD made He man. Bp. Butler.

27.-him;] God thought fit to make one man to be the head and parent of the whole race of mankind, that men might not boast and vaunt of their extraction and original, (as the Jews have observed,) and that they

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might think themselves under an obligation to love and
assist each other, as proceeding from the same original
and common parent. Acts xvii. 26. Bp. Kidder.
male and female] That is, one male, and one
female; and the female from the male. Polygamy and
divorce were not from the beginning. Compare Matt.
xix. 3, 4. Bp. Kidder.

He made woman the same day He made man, as He did both sexes of all other living creatures; also He made woman, as well as man, "in the image of God;" forming the male of the matter of the earth, and the female afterwards of the male, of which a more particular account is reserved for the following chapter. Bps. Patrick and Hall, Dr. Wells.

given every green herb for meat: and
it was so.

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of food.

Before CHRIST 4004.

o Ecclus. 39.

31 And God saw every thing that
he had made, and, behold, it was very 16.
good. And the evening and the
morning were the sixth day.

CHAP. II.

1 The first sabbath. 4 The manner of the
creation. 8 The planting of the garden of
Eden, 10 and the river thereof. 17 The
tree of knowledge only forbidden. 19, 20
The naming of the creatures. 21 The mak-
ing of woman, and institution of marriage.

THUS the heavens and the earth
were finished, and all the host
of them.

The narrative contained in this chapter redounds greatly to the honour and glory of God: for the work of creation is an illustrious display of the Divine Wisdom, Power, and Goodness. When the Holy Psalmist had enumerated the great mercies of God to his creatures in various instances, Ps. civ. he exclaimed, ver. 24, "O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches." Every thing indeed is wisely contrived and adapted to the ends for which it was designed. 2dly, The works of Creation demonstrate the all-sufficient Power of God, who made heaven and earth by his word, and "all the hosts of them by the breath of his mouth" nay, who can produce a world with no more labour than by barely willing it to be. Lastly, the Divine Goodness is highly magnified in the works of Creation. There was a time, when there was nothing but God: but there was no time, when He was not infinitely happy; therefore He was infinitely happy in Himself, and wanted not his creatures to add any thing to Him. But his good pleasure and free grace disposed Him to create them, and impart a share of his own happiness to them. Some of them He hath placed in heaven; and "the earth hath he given to the children of men:" which would have been a secondary heaven to us, had we not brought death into it by sin. Neverhave dominion] The divine writers have in-theless this death shall prove the beginning of eternal formed us, that God at the beginning gave mankind dominion (that is, an impressed awe and authority) over every living thing that moveth upon the earth, as a defence and security against the beasts of prey, which would otherwise have destroyed them. Dr. Bentley.

28. And God blessed them,] That is, besides the excellent endowments which He bestowed on them, He gave them power to multiply and increase their kind. See Psalm cxxviii. 3, 4. Bp. Kidder. This power He had before bestowed upon other creatures: He adds to it here two other things, "replenish the earth, and subdue it." He gives them the whole earth for their possession, with a power to "subdue" it; that is, to make it fit for their habitation, by bringing under, or driving away wild beasts. For, secondly, He gives them the "dominion" over all other creatures, whether in the water, air, or earth. Bp. Patrick.

By the dominion God gave him over the creatures, Adam, though naked and defenceless, had full security that they could not hurt him; and he had a convincing proof of this by their obedience, when they were brought before him. Bp. Wilson.

29.-Behold, I have given you &c.] Here He assigns them their food; and makes no mention at all of beasts, but only of plants and fruits of the earth. The allowance was expressly enlarged after the flood, when He gave them every living thing for meat, as well as the herbs, Chap. ix. 3. Bps. Patrick and Kidder.

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very good.] Exactly fitted to the ends and uses, for which He designed it; and contributing, as much as it could, to the manifestation of his glory. Bp. Beveridge. The least or worst of creatures in their original is not any way derogatory to the Creator. Whatsoever is evil, is not so by the Creator's action, but by the creature's defection. Bp. Pearson.

life to all those, who serve God in the faith of his Son Jesus Christ, who hath "opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers." Reading.

The Mosaical account of the Creation of the World is distinguished for its simplicity and perspicuity, above all the accounts of the Romans, Greeks, Phenicians, Egyptians, and Chinese; which still, however, tend to confirm and verify it in the leading circumstances. Dr. Hales.

Chap. II. Moses, having given a short account of the orderly production of all things, from the meanest to the noblest, explains more largely in this chapter some things, which, in the foregoing, were delivered briefly, because he would not interrupt the connexion of his discourse about the works of the six days Particularly he relates how Eve was made; and also further illustrates the production of Adam, &c. Bp. Patrick.

Ver. 1.all the host of them.] That is, of each of them. The word "host" is plainly used to signify every thing that is in heaven or in earth; or, as we say, in the whole world, which in Hebrew is always expressed by these two words, "heaven and earth." Bp. Beveridge. The several creatures are called "host" or army, be

The first sabbath.

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a Exod. 20.

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Or, a mist

2 And on the seventh day God | rain upon the earth, and there was ended his work which he had made; not a man to till the ground. and he rested on the seventh day 11. & 31. 17. from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God + created and made.

6 But || there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face which went of the ground.

Deut. 5. 14. Hebr. 4. 4.

+ Heb. created to make.

4¶ These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew for the LORD God had not caused it to

cause of their vast variety and excellent order. Bp. Patrick.

2. And on the seventh day God ended his work] Or rather, had ended, (as it may be translated,) for He did not work on the seventh day. Bp. Patrick. The verse may be rendered, agreeably to the translation of the Seventy, "On the sixth day God ended his work which He had made and He rested on the seventh day from all his work which He had made." Dr. Wells. An emblem of the rest that we shall have, when we have done our work faithfully, and left none undone. Bp. Patrick.

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3. blessed] That is, ordered it to be observed, as a day for praising Him, and for obtaining his blessings: and no doubt it was so observed by all good men from Adam to Moses. Bp. Wilson. -sanctified] That is, set it apart, that it might preserve to all ages the memory of the Creation and the Creator; man being by an express law obliged to commemorate them fifty-two times a year. And as the neglect of this law brought in idolatry and infidelity, so the breach of it has ever since been punished most remarkably, by a judicial hardness of heart, forgetfulness of God, and exemplary judgments; as numberless offenders have confessed. Bp. Wilson.

4. These are the generations &c.] This is a faithful account of the generation, or original, of the world. Bp. Patrick.

in the day] Or, at the time, "that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens." From henceforward the Supreme Being is called "Lord," having been hitherto called only "God." The Hebrew doctors observe, that JEHOVAH ELOHIM (LORD God), joined together, is the full and perfect name of God; and therefore fitly reserved till this place, when the works of God were perfected. Bp. Patrick.

7. — of the dust of the ground,] Not dry but moist dust, or clay; such as is used by potters: as the Greek and Hebrew words are thought most properly to signify. Upon this original of man's body the ancient Fathers make many pious reflections; but none better or shorter than this, that it is intended to teach us, that when we are inclined to be lifted up, because we are made after God's image, the thoughts of the dirt, out of which we are taken, may humble and lay us low. Bp. Patrick.

In this instance, as in another since, God seemeth to have chosen the base things of the world, to confound things honourable and mighty, when of the dust of the ground He composed a frame, superior, in rank and dignity, to the heavens and all their hosts. Bp. Horne.

up from, &c.

of the ground.

7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and + Heb. dust breathed into his nostrils the breath B1 Cor. 15. of life; and man became a living soul.

c

8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst

47.

c 1 Cor. 15. 45.

breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;] This being said of no other creature, leads us to conceive, not only that the soul of man is a distinct thing, of a different original from his body; but that a more excellent spirit was put into him by God (as appears by its operations) than into other animals. For though the simple phrase of inspiring him with "the breath of life" would not prove this, yet Moses speaking in the plural number, that "God breathed into him the breath or spirit of lives," it plainly denotes that spirit, which makes man not only breathe and move, but think also, reason and discourse. Bp. Patrick.

8. And the Lord God planted a garden] Or had planted, probably on the third day: "eastward," that is, eastward of Judea, or of the desert of the Amorites, where Moses wrote these books, in a country, long after called Eden" from its pleasantness and fruitfulness. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells.

When we think of Paradise, we think of it as the seat of delight. The name EDEN authorizes us so to do. It signifies PLEASURE; and the idea of pleasure is inseparable from that of a garden, where man still seeks after lost happiness; and where, perhaps, a good man finds the nearest resemblance of it, which this world affords. "What is requisite," exclaims a great and original genius, (Dr. Young,) "to make a wise and happy man, but reflection and peace? And both are the natural growth of a garden. A garden to the virtuous is a Paradise still extant; a Paradise unlost." Bp. Horne.

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-and there he put the man &c.] We cannot conceive such a creature, as man, to be put into a more happy state than this. The ground naturally, without any labour or trouble, brought forth every thing that was necessary and convenient, and also every thing that was pleasant and delightful. So that there was nothing for man to do, but to dress and to keep the garden for his diversion, and to satisfy himself with all the variety which it afforded. Dr. John Clarke.

9.

the tree of life] So called, because he, that ate of it, would have lived for ever, either by virtue of that tree, or by the appointment of God; as the sacraments are means of grace. Bp. Wilson. This garden being a type of heaven, perhaps God intended by this tree to represent that immortal life, which He meant to bestow upon man with Himself. Rev. xxii. 2. In other trees there was a nourishment for man; but in this also a sacrament. For it was a symbol both of that life, which God had already bestowed upon man; (who was hereby put in mind that God was the author of his being, and

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