John Wesley, Notes On the New Testament (1755):
We have here the approbation and conclusion
of the whole work of creation. Observe, 1. The review God took of his
work, he saw every thing that he had made-So he doth still; all the
works of his hands are under his eye; he that made all sees all. 2. The
complacency God took in his work. When we come to review our works we
find to our shame, that much has been very bad; but when God reviewed
his, all was very good. 1. It was good. Good, for it is all agreeable to
the mind of the creator. Good, for it answers the end of its creation.
Good, for it is serviceable to man, whom God had appointed lord of the
visible creation. Good, for it is all for God's glory; there is that in
the whole visible creation which is a demonstration of God's being and
perfections, and which tends to beget in the soul of man a religious
regard to him. 2. It was very good-Of each day's work (except the
second) it was said that it was good, but now it is very good. For, 1.
Now man was made, who was the chief of the ways of God, the visible
image of the Creator's glory, 2. Now All was made, every part was good,
but all together very good. The glory and goodness, the beauty and
harmony of God's works both of providence and grace, as this of
creation, will best appear when they are perfected. 3. The time when
this work was concluded. The evening and the morning were the sixth
day-So that in six days God made the world. We are not to think but that
God could have made the world in an instant: but he did it in six days,
that he might shew himself a free agent, doing his own work, both in his
own way, and in his own time; that his wisdom, power and goodness, might
appear to us, and be meditated upon by us, the more distinctly; and that
he might set us an example of working six days, and resting the seventh.
And now as God reviewed his work, let us review our meditations upon it;
let us stir up ourselves, and all that is within us, to worship him that
made the, heaven, earth, and sea, and the fountains of waters. All his
works in all places of his dominion bless him, and therefore bless thou
the Lord, O my soul.
Adam Clarke's Commentary:
And, behold, it was very good.
tob meod, Superlatively, or only good;
as good as they could be. The plan wise, the work well executed, the
different parts properly arranged; their nature, limits, mode of
existence, manner of propagation, habits, mode of sustenance, &c., &c.,
properly and permanently established and secured; for every thing was
formed to the utmost perfection of its nature, so that nothing could be
added or diminished without encumbering the operations of matter and
spirit on the one hand, or rendering them inefficient to the end
proposed on the other; and God has so done all these marvellous works as
to be glorified in all, by all, and through all.
And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.] The word
ereb, which we translate evening,
comes from the root 
arab, to mingle;
and properly signifies that state in which neither absolute darkness nor
full light prevails. It has nearly the same grammatical signification
with our twilight, the time that elapses from the setting of the sun
till he is eighteen degrees below the horizon and the last eighteen
degrees before he arises. Thus we have the morning and evening twilight,
or mixture of light and darkness, in which neither prevails, because,
while the sun is within eighteen degrees of the horizon, either after
his setting or before his rising, the atmosphere has power to refract
the rays of light, and send them back on the earth. The Hebrews extended
the meaning of this term to the whole duration of night, because it was
ever a mingled state, the moon, the planets, or the stars, tempering the
darkness with some rays of light. From the ereb of Moses came the erebov
Erebus, of Hesiod, Aristophanes, and other heathens, which they deified
and made, with Nox or night, the parent of all things.
The morning
boker; From
bakar, he looked out; a beautiful
figure which represents the morning as looking out at the east, and
illuminating the whole of the upper hemisphere.
The evening and the morning were the sixth day.-It is somewhat
remarkable that through the whole of this chapter, whenever the division
of days is made, the evening always precedes the morning. The reason of
this may perhaps be, that darkness was pre-existent to light, (Ge 1:2,
And darkness was upon the face of the deep,) and therefore time is
reckoned from the first act of God towards the creation of the world,
which took place before light was called forth into existence. It is
very likely for this same reason, that the Jews began their day at six
o'clock in the evening in imitation of Moses's division of time in this
chapter. Caesar in his Commentaries makes mention of the same
peculiarity existing among the Gauls: Galli se omnes ab Dite patre
prognatas praedicant: idque ab Druidibus proditum dicunt: ab eam causam
spatia omnis temporis, non numero dierum, sed noctium, finiunt; et dies
natales, et mensium et annorum initia sic observant, ut noctem dies
subsequatur; De Bell. Gall. lib. vi. Tacitus likewise records the same
of the Germans: Nec dierum numerum, ut nos, sed noctium computant: sic
constituent, sic condicunt, nox ducere diem videtur; De Mor. Germ. sec.
ii. And there are to this day some remains of the same custom in
England, as for instance in the word se'nnight and fortnight. See also
Aeschyl. Agamem. ver. 273, 287.
Thus ends a chapter containing the most extensive, most profound, and
most sublime truths that can possibly come within the reach of the human
intellect. How unspeakably are we indebted to God for giving us a
revelation of his WILL and of his WORKS! Is it possible to know the mind
of God but from himself? It is impossible. Can those things and services
which are worthy of and pleasing to an infinitely pure, perfect, and
holy Spirit, be ever found out by reasoning and conjecture? Never! for
the Spirit of God alone can know the mind of God; and by this Spirit he
has revealed himself to man; and in this revelation has taught him, not
only to know the glories and perfections of the Creator, but also his
own origin, duty, and interest. Thus far it was essentially necessary
that God should reveal his WILL; but if he had not given a revelation of
his WORKS, the origin, constitution, and nature of the universe could
never have been adequately known. The world by wisdom knew not God; this
is demonstrated by the writings of the most learned and intelligent
heathens. They had no just, no rational notion of the origin and design
of the universe. Moses alone, of all ancient writers, gives a consistent
and rational account of the creation; an account which has been
confirmed by the investigation of the most accurate philosophers. But
where did he learn this? "In Egypt." That is impossible; for the
Egyptians themselves were destitute of this knowledge. The remains we
have of their old historians, all posterior to the time of Moses, are
egregious for their contradictions and absurdity; and the most learned
of the Greeks who borrowed from them have not been able to make out,
from their conjoint stock, any consistent and credible account. Moses
has revealed the mystery that lay hid from all preceding ages, because
he was taught it by the inspiration of the Almighty. READER, thou hast
now before thee the most ancient and most authentic history in the
world; a history that contains the first written discovery that God has
made of himself to man-kind; a discovery of his own being, in his
wisdom, power, and goodness, in which thou and the whole human race are
so intimately concerned. How much thou art indebted to him for this
discovery he alone can teach thee, and cause thy heart to feel its
obligations to his wisdom and mercy. Read so as to understand, for these
things were written for thy learning; therefore mark what thou readest,
and inwardly digest-deeply and seriously meditate on, what thou hast
marked, and pray to the Father of lights that he may open thy
understanding, that thou mayest know these holy Scriptures, which are
able to make thee wise unto salvation.
God made thee and the universe, and governs all things according to the
counsel of his will; that will is infinite goodness, that counsel is
unerring wisdom. While under the direction of this counsel, thou canst
not err; while under the influence of this will, thou canst not be
wretched. Give thyself up to his teaching, and submit to his authority;
and, after guiding thee here by his counsel, he will at last bring thee
to his glory. Every object that meets thy eye should teach thee
reverence, submission, and gratitude. The earth and its productions were
made for thee; and the providence of thy heavenly Father, infinitely
diversified in its operations, watches over and provides for thee.
Behold the firmament of his power, the sun, moon, planets, and stars,
which he has formed, not for himself, for he needs none of these things,
but for his intelligent offspring. What endless gratification has he
designed thee in placing within thy reach these astonishing effects of
his wisdom and power, and in rendering thee capable of searching out
their wonderful relations and connections, and of knowing himself, the
source of all perfection, by having made thee in his own image, and in
his own likeness! It is true thou art fallen; but he has found out a
ransom. God so loved thee in conjunction with the world that he gave his
only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. Believe on HIM; through him alone cometh
salvation; and the fair and holy image of God in which thou wast created
shall be again restored; he will build thee up as at the first, restore
thy judges and counsellors as at the beginning, and in thy second
creation, as in thy first, will pronounce thee to be very good, and thou
shalt show forth the virtues of him by whom thou art created anew in
Christ Jesus. Amen.
Matthew Henry Concise Commentary:
The first verse of the Bible gives us
a satisfying and useful account of the origin of the earth and the
heavens. The faith of humble Christians understands this better than the
fancy of the most learned men. From what we see of heaven and earth, we
learn the power of the great Creator. And let our make and place as men,
remind us of our duty as Christians, always to keep heaven in our eye,
and the earth under our feet. The Son of God, one with the Father, was
with him when he made the world; nay, we are often told that the world
was made by him, and nothing was made without him. Oh, what high
thoughts should there be in our minds, of that great God whom we
worship, and of that great Mediator in whose name we pray! And here, at
the beginning of the sacred volume, we read of that Divine Spirit, whose
work upon the heart of man is so often mentioned in other parts of the
Bible. Observe, that at first there was nothing desirable to be seen,
for the world was without form, and void; it was confusion, and
emptiness. In like manner the work of grace in the soul is a new
creation: and in a graceless soul, one that is not born again, there is
disorder, confusion, and every evil work: it is empty of all good, for
it is without God; it is dark, it is darkness itself: this is our
condition by nature, till Almighty grace works a change in us.
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