1 In theFirst of all, and before any creature was, God made heaven and earth out of nothing.beginning God created the heaven and the earth.The Argument – Moses in effect declares three things, which are in this book chiefly to be considered: First, that the world and all things in it were created by God, and to praise his Name for the infinite graces, with which he had endued him, fell willingly from God through disobedience, who yet for his own mercies sake restored him to life, and confirmed him in the same by his promise of Christ to come, by whom he should overcome Satan, death and hell. Secondly, that the wicked, unmindful of God's most excellent benefits, remained still in their wickedness, and so falling most horribly from sin to sin, provoked God (who by his preachers called them continually to repentance) at length to destroy the whole world. Thirdly, he assures us by the examples of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the rest of the patriarchs, that his mercies never fail those whom he chooses to be his Church, and to profess his Name in earth, but in all their afflictions and persecutions he assists them, sends comfort, and delivers them, so that the beginning, increase, preservation and success of it might be attributed to God only. Moses shows by the examples of Cain, Ishmael, Esau and others, who were noble in man's judgment, that this Church depends not on the estimation and nobility of the world: and also by the fewness of those, who have at all times worshipped him purely according to his word that it stands not in the multitude, but in the poor and despised, in the small flock and little number, that man in his wisdom might be confounded, and the name of God praised forever.
2 And the earth wasAs an unformed lump and without any creature in it: for the waters covered everything.without form, and void; andDarkness covered the deep waters, for the waters covered everything.darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of GodHe maintained this disordered mass by his secret power.moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there wasThe light was made before either Sun or Moon was created: therefore we must not attribute that to the creatures that are God's instruments, which only belong to God.light.
4 And God sawe the light that it was good, and God separated the light from the darkenes.
5 And God called the light, Day, and the darkenes, he called Night. So the euening and the morning were the first day.
6 Againe God saide, Let there be a firmament in the middes of the waters: and let it separate the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [were]As the sea and rivers, from those waters that are in the clouds, which are upheld by God's power, least they should overwhelm the world.under the firmament from the waters which [were] above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmamentThat is, the region of the air, and all that is above us.Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 God saide againe, Let the waters vnder the heauen be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appeare; it was so.
10 And God called the dry land, Earth, and he called the gathering together of the waters, Seas: and God sawe that it was good.
11 And God said,So that we see it is the only the power of God's word that makes the earth fruitful, which naturally is barren.Let the earth 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.
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 GodThis sentence is often repeated, to signify that God made all his creatures to serve for his glory and for the profit of man: but because of sin they were cursed, yet the elect, by Christ are restored, and serve to their wealth.saw that [it was] good.
13 So the euening and the morning were the third day.
14 And God said, Let there beBy the lights be means the sun, the moon, and the stars.lights in the firmament of the heaven toWhich is the artificial day, from the sun rising, to the going down.divide the day from the night; and let them be forOf things belonging to natural and political orders and seasons.signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lightes in the firmament of the heauen to giue light vpon the earth; it was so.
16 And God made two greatThat is, the sun and the moon, and here he speaks as man judges by his eye: for else the moon is less than the planet Saturn.lights; the greater light toTo give it sufficient light, as instruments appointed for the same, to serve man's purposes.rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heauen, to shine vpon the earth,
18 And to rule in the day, and in the night, and to separate the light from the darkenes: and God sawe that it was good.
19 So the euening and the morning were the fourth day.
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly theAs fish and worms which slide, swim or creep.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 theThe fish and fowls had both one beginning, in which we see that nature gives place to God's will, in that the one sort is made to fly about in the air, and the other to swim beneath in the water.waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good.
22 And GodThat is, by the virtue of his word he gave power to his creatures to reproduce.blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23 So the euening and the morning were the fift day.
24 Moreouer God said, Let the earth bring foorth the liuing thing according to his kinde, cattell, and that which creepeth, and the beast of the earth, according to his kinde; it was so.
25 And God made the beast of the earth according to his kinde, and the cattell according to his kinde, & euery creeping thing of the earth according to his kind: & God saw that it was good.
26 And God said,God commanded the water and the earth to bring forth other creatures: but of man he says, «Let us make…» signifying that God takes counsel with his wisdom and virtue purposing to make an excellent work above all the rest of his creation.Let us make man in ourThis image and likeness of God in man is expounded in (Eph_4:24) where it is written that man was created after God in righteousness and true holiness meaning by these two words, all perfection, as wisdom, truth, innocency, power, etc.image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the 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.
27 Thus God created the man in his image: in the image of God created he him: he created them male and female.
28 And GodThe propagation.blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29 And God said, Behold, I have given youGod's great.every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30 Likewise to euery beast of the earth, and to euery foule of the heauen, and to euery thing that moueth vpon the earth, which hath life in it selfe, euery greene herbe shall be for meate; it was so.
31 And God sawe all that he had made, and loe, it was very good. So the euening and the morning were the sixt day.
