CRITICAL NOTES.—
Genesis 1:11. Kind] Prop. “form” or “shape,” hence “species,” “kind.” Comp. 1 Corinthians 15:38, where note the aorist tense = “as it (originally) pleased him:”—a hint on “the perpetuity of species.”
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Genesis 1:9-13
THE SEA AND THE DRY LAND
I. The Sea. “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place.”
1. The method of their location. The great waters which covered the earth were swept into one place, and were environed by the decree and power of God, so that their wild waves would not advance further than the Divine permission. This allocation of the waters may have been instrumentally accomplished by volcanic agency. The land may have been broken up, and, amidst the general crash, the waters may have rushed to their destined home. When it is said that they were gathered into one place, it simply intimates the interdependence of seas and rivers, and also their unity as contrasted with the dry land.
2. The degree of their proportion. We must not imagine that the limit and proportion of the sea to dry land is arbitrary—that it is fixed by chance, but by the utmost exactitude. If the sea were more or less in extent it would be of great injury to the world. If it were smaller, the earth would cease to be verdant and fruitful, as there would not be sufficient water to supply our rivers and streams, or to distil upon the fields. If the sea was larger, the earth would become a vast uninhabitable marsh, from the over abundance of rain. Hence, we see how needful it is that there should be a due proportion between the sea and dry land, and the wisdom and goodness of the Creator, in that it is established so exactly and beneficently.
3. The extent of their utility. They not only give fertility to the earth, but they answer a thousand social and commercial purposes. The sea is the highway of the nations. It unites the world in the sympathy of common wants; in the hope of common friendships; and through travel on its waters, men gather a breadth of thought and life, that otherwise, would be impossible to them. The men who go down to the sea in ships, carry on the great business of the world. If they were to cease their occupation, society would receive a serious check. Many of the necessities of life—many of our home comforts are imported from foreign shores, and these we could ill afford to dispense with. Not only are our trade relationships sustained by the passage of vessels from shore to shore, but also our political. In this way, other people see our enterprise, and gather an idea of our national prowess. Especially have we, as a nation, cause to be thankful for the billows which surround our Island home, as our protection from the invasion of a foreign foe, and as our discipline in the event of war. True, the seas of the world are often strewn with wrecks, caused either by fire or storm; they are the resting place of a vast army of once living creatures; they separate loving hearts; but notwithstanding, in the present condition of society, they are far more the occasion of joy and help, than of sorrow or impediment. They make the nations brotherly. But the time is coming when there will be no more sea; its commerce will be ended, and men, living in one great home, will never hear the mutter of the storm, or the music of wave.
II. The dry land.
1. The dry land was made to appear. The land had been created before, but it was covered with a vast expanse of water. Now the waters are removed, the earth is unveiled, and dry land appears at the call of God. Even when things are created, when they merely exist, the Divine call must educate them into the full exercise of their utility, and into the complete manifestation of their beauty. The call of God gives harmony, adaptation, utility, perfection to all human being. It can command the sea into one place of repose. So it can remove the tide of passion from the soul, and make all that is good in human nature to appear.
2. It was made to be verdant. “And let the earth bring forth grass.” The plants now created are divided into three classes: grass, herb, and tree. In the first, the seed is not noticed, as not obvious to the eye. In the second, the seed is the striking characteristic. In the third, the fruit. This division is simple and natural. It proceeds upon two concurrent marks, the structure and the seed. This division corresponds with certain classes in our present systems of botany. But it is much less simple and complex. Thus was laid the beautiful carpet of green, that is now spread throughout the world, and that is so welcome to the eye of man. God ordered its colour, that it might be the most restful to human vision. When the eye is weak, we often place a green shade over it to obtain ease. Nature might have been clad in a garment gay and unwelcome to the vision of man, but not so, she is either white in the purity of snow, or green in the verdure of spring.—
“He makes the grass the hills adorn,
And clothes the smiling fields with corn.”
3. It was made to be fruitful. “And the fruit tree yielding fruit.” The earth is not merely verdant and beautiful to look at, but it is also fruitful and good for the supply of human want. It presents attractions to the eye. But even these are designed to win man, that they may satisfy his temporal need. Nature appears friendly to man, that she may gain his confidence, invite his study, and minister to the removal of his poverty.
III. And it was good.
1. For the life and health of man.
2. For the beauty of the universe.
3. For the commerce and produce of the nations.
VEGETATION
I. That it is the result of a combined instrumentality.
1. There was the Divine agency. It was the Power of God that gave seed and life to the earth. For it is very certain that the earth could not have produced grass, and herb, and tree of itself. But when empowered by the Divine mandate there would be no limit to its verdure and fertility.
2. There was the instrumentality of the earth. “And God said, let the earth bring forth grass, &c. So when called by God the most barren instrumentalities become life-giving and verdant. When the Divine Being is about to enrich men, he gives them the power to help themselves. The soil that is to be fruitful must aid the growth of its own seed.
II. It is germinal in the condition of its growth. “Seed.” Fertility never comes all at once. God does not give man blade of grass or tree in full growth, but the seeds from which they are to spring. Germs are a Divine gift. This is not only true in the physical universe, but the mental and the moral. God does not give man a great enterprise, but the first hint of it. He does not make men splendid preachers all at once, but gives only the germinal conditions of the same. Hence, He finds employment for the world. The cultivation of germs is the grandest employment in which men can be engaged.
III. It is fruitful in the purpose of its life. “Yielding fruit.”
1. Life must not always remain germinal. The seed must not alway remain seed. It must expand, develope. This must be the case mentally and morally. Life, when healthy and vigorous, is always progressive and fruitful. The world is full of men who have great thoughts and enterprises in the germ, but they never come to perfection. The fruit must be:—
1. Abundant.
2. Rich.
3. Beautiful.
4. Refreshing.
IV. It is distinctive in its species and development. “Fruit after his kind.” What will Mr. Darwin say to this? Is it not a refutation of his elaborate theory on the origin of species. The growth will always be of the same kind as the seed. There may be variation in the direction and expression of the germinal life, but its original species is unchanged. This is true in the garden of the soul. Every seed produces fruit after its kind.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Genesis 1:9. We must learn to leave our private sphere of life to enhance the common good:—
1. Because all creatures are ordained, not for themselves, but for God’s honour, for their mutual support, and for the preservation of the community.
2. Because we enjoy nothing in our own exclusive right, but have all of God’s free gift.
3. Because the applying of ourselves to the furthering of a common good, is our greatest honour, profit and safety.
All creatures in the world obey the Voice of God:—
1. Why should that voice not command them, which made them.
2. Otherwise, it were impossible for God to do all things in righteousness.
3. Let us tremble at the Power of Him whom the winds and seas obey.
Let all men lay it to heart, and bless the Author of this great mercy, when they look upon the firm foundation of their houses, the fruits of the grounds, the increase of their cattle; when they enjoy the air to breathe in, the dry ground to walk on, and the seas to wade in. And let men walk in fear before that God who might as easily let loose the sea, as keep it within the bounds that He hath set [J. White].
The use of the sea:—
1. To fill the hearts of men with fear of that Great God, by beholding so vast a creature ordered by His power.
2. By observing that by it way is made to the discovering of the large circuit of the earth.
3. Beneficial to the life of man by enlarging his sphere of work and intercourse.
Genesis 1:10. To God belongs the naming as the making of His creatures; the seas are the waters gathered into their due place. Good is this globe:—
1. Suitable unto God’s mind.
2. Suitable to His own idea of it.
3. Suitable for the residence of man. The beauty of the earth; the sublimity of the sea. The creatures of God’s making are good.
Genesis 1:11. It is God’s word that makes the earth fruitful. Propagation of fruit, as well as the first being of it, is by God’s word; He makes the seed and enables it to multiply.
Genesis 1:12. God will have nothing barren or unprofitable:—
1. Not the earth.
2. Not the herbs nor plants.
3. Not the beasts, fishes, fowls.
4. Not the sun, moon, nor stars, which cherish all things by their light.
5. Certainly not man. Why?
1. Because all things were made to be fruitful.
2. That they may testify to the overflowing bounty of God.
Even the grass, herbs, trees, are God’s creatures:—
1. Let us take notice of them as such.—
(1.) Their infinite variety.
(2.) Their beautiful shape.
(3.) Their marvellous growth.
(4.) Their life, which kings cannot give nor art imitate. God draws life out of death.
1. God can do it—He is the Life.
2. It is fit He should do it to His glory.
3. Let not the Church despair.
God provides for all his creatures, that though they decay daily, yet they shall not wholly perish:—
1. To shew His own unchangeable continuance by the mutability of His creatures.
2. To quicken us into a desire for heaven, where all things are constant and durable.
3. To shew, in the variety of His works, His eternal wisdom.
The teaching of the plants—
1. To have a life full of good seed.
2. To let the goodness of our moral nature come to maturity.
3. To care for our posterity.
4. To aid the life and enjoyment of others.
Fruit resembles the nature of the stock from which it comes—
1. Therefore let good men shew forth the renewing of their nature by the works of the spirit.
2. Abhor all hypocrisy.
Genesis 1:13. The evening—
1. A time for thought.
2. A time for prayer.
3. A time for fear.
4. An emblem of life.
The morning—
1. A time for praise.
2. A time for hope.
3. A time for resolution.
4. A time for work.
SUGGESTIVE ILLUSTRATIONS
Land and Water! Genesis 1:10. The actual distribution of sea and land over the surface of the globe is of the highest importance to the present condition of organic life. As Hartwig asserts, if the ocean were considerably smaller, or if Asia and America were concentrated within the tropics, the tides—the oceanic currents—and the meteorological phenomena, on which the existence of the vegetable and animal kingdoms depend, would be so profoundly modified, that it is extremely doubtful whether man could have existed. It is absolutely certain that he could never have risen to a high degree of civilization. But now nations, by means of commerce and missionary enterprise, are holding communion with nations and mutually enriching each other by the stores of knowledge, experience, and religious education which they have each accumulated apart. Christianity is rapidly melting the separate nationalities into one; but the fusion of these discordant elements into one glorious harmony—pure as sunlight—inspiring as a strain of music—will never be accomplished until the Son of God shall come in the clouds of heaven to set His throne upon the borders of the sea of glass mingled with fire—
“And on that joyous shore
Our lightened hearts shall know
The life of long ago;
The sorrow-burdened past shall fade for evermore.”
Flowers! Genesis 1:11. A pleasant writer tells of a Texas gentleman who had the misfortune to be an unbeliever. One day he was walking in the woods reading the writings of Plato. He came to where the great writer uses the great phrase, “Geometrizing.” He thought to himself, “If I could only see plan and order in God’s works, I could be a believer.” Just then he saw a little “Texas star” at his feet. He picked it up, and thoughtlessly began to count its petals. He found there were five. He counted the stamens, and there were five of them, He counted the divisions at the base of the flower, and there were five of them. He then set about multiplying these three fives to see how many chances there were of a flower being brought into existence without the aid of mind, and having in it these three fives. The chances against it were one hundred and twenty-five to one. He thought that was very strange. He examined another flower, and found it the same. He multiplied one hundred and twenty-five by itself to see how many chances there were against there being two flowers, each having these exact relations of numbers. He found the chances against it were thirteen thousand six hundred and twenty-five to one. But all around him there were multitudes of these little flowers; they had been growing and blooming there for years. Now, he thought, this shows the order of intelligence; the mind that has ordained it is GOD. And so he shut up his book, and picked up the little flower, and kissed it, and exclaimed, “Bloom on, little flowers; sing on, little birds; you have a God, and I have a God; the God that made these little flowers made me.”
Your voiceless lips, O flowers, are living preachers;
Each cup a pulpit—every leaf a book.”—Longfellow.
Flowers! Genesis 1:12. Nothing can equal the immense variety of flowers—their charming colours—or their delicious fragrance. Without the flowers, the variety of perfumes which regale our sense of smell would be but small; without them its faculties of enjoyment would not have harmonized with the outer world. Those who have studied most about flowers reckon that there are about 80,000 different kinds already known. An English gentleman, who was travelling in Persia lately, says that on one occasion he was invited into the garden to breakfast, where the flowers were so numerous that a great pile of rose-leaves was heaped up for a table before each guest. A carpet was laid over each pile. Cleopatra, the beautiful but profligate queen of Egypt, made a very poor use of the flowers which God in His goodness has caused to grow for our pleasure, when she wanted to give a splendid feast to Antony, the great Roman general, she procured roses enough to cover the floor of the large dining hall three feet thick all over; mats were then spread over the floor, and the guests sat down to feast. This was a pitiful return to Him who has
“Mantled the green earth with flowers,
Linking our hearts to nature!”—Hemans.
Nature! Genesis 1:12. When we see a cottage with honeysuckle and roses twined round its porch, and bright flowers trained in its windows and growing in its little garden plot in front, it is a sign to us, says one, that the evils of poverty are unknown in that home—that the inmates are raised above the fear of want—and that, having the necessary food and raiment provided for them, the head of the home is at leisure and liberty to devote his care to the simple pleasures of natural life. And so, when we see in this great house—this earth of ours—bright flowers growing in every window and doorway, and associated with all the uses of domestic economy, we cannot but regard the circumstance as a proof that the great Householder attends both to the lower and to the higher wants of His family. In other words, if God has provided the superfluities of nature—i.e., flowers—it is a pledge and guarantee that He will provide the things which are necessary—that, in fact, food and raiment shall not be wanting.
“Heart, that cannot, for cares that press,
Sing with the bird, or thy Maker bless”
As the flowers may, blooming sweet,
With never an eye but God’s to greet
Their beauty and freshness, learn to trust!
Lift thy thought from the earthy dust!
Flower-lessons! Genesis 1:13. An old woman lived in a cottage, and had long been confined to her bed with sickness. Near her lived a little girl, whose mother was very poor, and had little to give to her stricken neighbour. The maiden had a geranium which some one had given to her. It grew in a flower-pot in the window; and when it bore flowers, both mother and daughter found sweet pleasure in watching their bloom developing. The little girl plucked the nicest of these blossoms, and carried it to the sick woman, who was lying in her bed, suffering great pain. In the afternoon a lady called, and observed the beautiful geranium flower in an old broken tumbler on a little stand by the old woman’s bed. “That flower makes me think what a wonderful God we have; and if a flower like this is not too little for Him to make and take care of, I am sure He will not forget a poor creature like me.” During the great Manchester cotton-famine some years ago there was much distress, and many were in a state of starvation. Among them was an aged couple, who sold everything that could be turned into bread. They could not, however, sell a beautiful flower which they had in a flower-pot; so that they lived in an empty room, with only this gem of nature. “That flower has been such a comfort to us in all our trouble; for when we look at it morning after morning, it seems to preach to us all the time, and to tell us of trust in God.” Yes, God sent them
“To comfort man—to whisper hope,
Where’er his faith is dim;
For He who careth for the flowers,
Will care much more for him”—Howitt.