Q10. How did God create man?
A. God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.
Q1. Upon which day of creation was man made?
A. Upon the sixth day, Gen. 1:26, and 31, compared.
Q2. Why was the creation of man delayed, or put off, to the sixth day?
A. To discover the great regard God had to man's happiness and welfare, in that he would first furnish the great house of the creation for him, before he brought him into it, Psalm 8:6-8.
Q3. Was there any more solemnity observed in the creation of man, than in making the rest of the creatures?
A. Yes; for as to the rest of the creatures, he just commanded them into being; but when man is to be created, a council of the Trinity is held about his formation. Gen. 1:26 - "Let us make man."
Q4. Why so much solemnity about man's formation beyond other creatures?
A. Because man was to be God's viceroy in this lower world, the only image of his Creator, in his formal perfections; and it was the purpose of God, though not then revealed, that the second person of the Godhead was to become man.
Q5. What is it that constitutes the human nature, or nature of man?
A. A true body and a reasonable soul united together.
Q6. Of what was the body of man formed?
A. "Of the dust of the ground," Gen. 2:7; hence God is resembled to a potter, and man to the clay, and a potsherd, Isaiah 64:8, and 45:9.
Q7. What should this teach us?
A. To remember we are dust, Eccl. 3:20; to admire the condescension of the son of God in coming into our tribe, and assuming a human body, 1 Tim. 3:16; to consider that we are in God's hand, as the clay is in the hand of the potter, Jer. 18:6; and that, in this our fallen state, we are to return to the dust again, Gen. 3:19.
Q8. How was the first woman formed?
A. Of a rib taken from the man's side, Gen. 2:21, 22.
Q9. Of what was this a figure?
A. Of Christ and the church, Eph. 5:31, 32.
Q10. In what respect was the formation of the woman a figure of these?
A. In as much as the church was, as it were, taken out of the pierced side of Christ, when the Lord God caused the deep sleep of death to fall upon him; first, typically, in the sacrifice; and then actually, in his decease which he accomplished at Jerusalem.
Q11. Why was marriage instituted of God before the fall?
A. To show that it belongs to the law of nature; and that mankind, as such, have a title to it. Heb. 13:4 - "Marriage is honourable in all."
Q12. What is the other part of man's nature?
A. A reasonable soul.
Q13. How was the soul of man made?
A. God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul," Gen. 2:7.
Q14. Why is the creation of the soul of man thus expressed?
A. To show, that as the Lord is "the God of the spirits of all flesh," Num. 27:16; who creates them immediately, and by himself, without the intervention of second causes, Zech. 12:1; so he has an absolute dominion over them, and can call them back to himself when he pleases, Eccl. 12:7.
Q15. In what does the soul of man differ from the body?
A. The body is a corporeal, but the soul is a spiritual and immaterial substance.
Q16. In what does the soul of man differ from the spirit or life of a beast?
A. The spirit or life of a beast goes downward to the earth, and perishes at its death, Eccl. 3:21; but the soul of man, being rational and immortal, "returns to God who gave it," Eccl. 12:7.
Q17. How do you prove the immortality of the soul of man?
A. (1.) From the great price paid for the redemption of the soul, which had ceased for ever, without a ransom of infinite value, Psalm 49:8. (2.) From the promises of eternal life, and the threatenings of eternal death, Mark 16:16. (3.) Christ tells us, that they who kill the body cannot kill the soul, Matt. 10:28. (4.) Christ, and his dying saints, commit their spirits, or souls, into the hand of God, Psalm 31:5; Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59; and the soul of the thief went to paradise, with the soul of Christ, that day they died, Luke 23:43. In a word, if the soul perishes with the body, the saints of God would be of all men the most miserable, 1 Cor. 15:19.
Q18. What should this teach us?
A. To be more concerned for the salvation of our souls than for all things in the world: "For," says Christ, "what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Matt. 16:26.
Q19. Why did God create man male and female?
A. For the propagation of mankind, Gen. 1:28; and mutual helpfulness to each other, chap. 2:18.
Q20. Why were both the man and the woman called Adam, Gen. 5:2?
A. To intimate that their original was of the earth; that they were both of the same nature; that the promises and threatenings concerned them both equally, Rom. 5:12; and to teach us, that notwithstanding this, the man was the representing head of the covenant, 1 Cor. 15:22.
Q21. After whose image did God create man?
A. After his own image, Gen. 1:26, 27.
Q22. Did this image of God lie in any outward shape of man's body?
A. By no means: for God is a pure Spirit, without bodily parts, John 4:24.
Q23. What then was the proper seat of it?
A. The soul of man was the painting table, on which this image of God was expressed and delineated, Gen. 2:7; James 3:9.
Q24. In what did the soul of man bear a likeness to God?
A. In its spiritual and immortal nature; and in the faculties of the understanding and the will, with which it was endued.
Q25. In what did the image of God, which was drawn on man's soul, chiefly consist?
A. In knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, Col. 3:10; Eph. 4:24.
Q26. What knowledge was man endued with at his creation?
A. A perfect knowledge of God, of his will, and works, so far as was necessary to render him happy, and fit for universal obedience.
Q27. What righteousness had man at his creation?
A. Not an imputed, but an inherent righteousness; which consisted in a perfect conformity of all the powers and faculties of his soul, to the pure nature of God, and the moral law written upon his heart, Eccl. 7:29.
Q28. In what consisted his holiness?
A. In the lustre and beauty of his perfect knowledge and inherent righteousness, shining both in his heart and life.
Q29. Was the will of man, in a state of innocence, absolutely indifferent to good and evil?
A. No; God set man's will only towards good; yet it was movable to evil, and that only by man himself; to whom God gave a sufficient power to stand in his integrity, if he had pleased, Eccl. 7:29.
Q30. What was the necessary consequence of this image of God drawn upon our first parents?
A. The immortality of the whole man, and dominion over the creatures.
Q31. Would they have been immortal if they had not sinned?
A. Yes; for it was only in case of sin that death was threatened, Gen. 2:17.
Q32. How could their bodies have been immortal, when made of the dust?
A. The perfect purity or holiness of their souls, would have preserved their bodies from sickness, death, and corruption, Rom. 5:12 and 6:23.
Q33. In what did man's dominion over the creatures consist?
A. In his princely power over the inferior creatures, by which he could rule and use them as be pleased, for God's glory and his own good, without any injustice, Gen. 1:28, and 2:19, 20.
Q34. Where did God put the man when he had formed him after his own image?
A. In the garden of Eden; a place eminent for pleasantness, wherein nothing was wanting, either for necessity or delight, Gen. 2:8, 9.
Q35. What may we learn from the holy and happy state in which man was created?
A. The unspeakable difference between man's former and present condition: formerly, in a state of innocence, man's understanding was a lamp of light, his will lay straight with the will of God, and his affections were pure and holy, free from all disorder and distemper; but now, the very reverse: so that we may say, "How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed!" Lam. 4:1. "The crown is fallen from our head! wo unto us that we have sinned!" chap. 5:16.
Q1. How did God create man?
A. God created man in his own image; Genesis 1:27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them.
Q2. What is meant by the image of God?
A. Not a resemblance of God in any bodily shape or figure, but in holiness; Ephesians 4:24. And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Q3. In what graces did man resemble God?
A. In such a knowledge of God himself, and the creatures, which made him happy; Colossians 3:10, And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge, after the image of him that created him.
Q4. In what other graces did this image consist?
A. In righteousness as well as holiness; Ephesians 4:24. And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Q5. What is the first inference from hence?
A. The deplorable misery of the fall; Romans 5:12. Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
Q6. What is the second instruction from hence?
A. The beauty of holiness, which is the image of God, and the excellency of man; Psalm 16:3. But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
Q7. What is the third instruction from hence?
A. We have infinite cause to bless God for Christ, who repairs this lost image in his people; Ephesians 4:23. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Q8. What is the fourth instruction from hence?
A. That the despisers of holiness are the despisers of God; for holiness is God's image.
Q9. What is the fifth instruction from hence?
A. The excellency of sanctification, which defaces the image of Satan, and draws the image of God upon the soul of man. Of Divine Providence
Q1. Is man God's creature?
A. Yes: For we are also his offspring, Acts 17:28.
Q2. Were our first parents the work of his hands?
A. Yes: Male and female created he them, and called their name Adam, Gen. 5:2.
Q3. Was man made with a consultation?
A. Yes: For God said, Let us make man, Gen. 1:26.
Q4. Do all the children of men descend from Adam and Eve?
A. Yes: For God has made of one blood all nations of men, Acts 17:26.
Q5. Was man's body at first made out of the earth?
A. Yes: God made man of the dust of the ground, Gen. 11:7.
Q6. And are our bodies of the earth earthy?
A. Yes: For I also am formed out of the clay, Job 33:6.
Q7. But are they not curiously wrought?
A. Yes: For I am fearfully and wonderfully made, Ps. 139:14.
Q8. Is God the former of our bodies?
A. Yes: Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and fenced me with bones and sinews, Job 10:11.
Q9. Is he the author of our senses?
A. Yes: The hearing ear, and seeing eye, the Lord has made even both of them, Prov. 20:12.
Q10. Is God the Father of our spirits?
A. Yes: For he breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, Gen. 2:7.
Q11. Has God given each of us a soul?
A. Yes: The Lord liveth that made us this soul, Jer. 38:16.
Q12. Is it a rational soul?
A. Yes for the spirit of a man is the candle of the Lord, Prov. 20:27.
Q13. Is it immortal?
A. Yes: For the spirit of a man goes upward, Eccl. 3:21.
Q14. Does it die with the body?
A. No: For when the dust returns to the earth as it was, the Spirit returns to God who gave it, Eccl. 12:7.
Q15. Is God then the Sovereign of the heart?
A. Yes: For he has said, Behold, all souls are mine, Ezek. 18:4.
Q16. Must we therefore commit our souls to him?
A. Yes: Into thine hand I commit my spirit, Ps. 31:5.
Q17. Was man made after God's image?
A. Yes: God created man in his own image, Gen. 1:27.
Q18. Did that image consist in knowledge?
A. Yes: For we are renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created us, Col. 3:10.
Q19. Did it consist in righteousness and true holiness?
A. Yes: For the new man after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, Eph. 4:24.
Q20. Was there in man at first a perfect purity and freedom from sin ?
A. Yes: Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, Ezek. 28:15. Compare Ezek. 16:13.
Q21. Was there in him a perfect rectitude and disposition to good?
A. Yes: For God made man upright, Eccl. 7:29.
Q22. Are there some remains of God's image still upon man?
A. Yes: For men are made after the similitude of God, Jam. 3:9.
Q23. Was man made with a dominion over the creatures?
A. Yes: For thou hast put all things under his feet, Ps. 8:6.
Q24. Have we not reason to admire God's favour to man?
A. Yes: Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of him? Ps. 144:3.
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God as Creator
The nature and works of God as Creator and Sustainer
Q1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.
Q2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.
Q3. What do the Scriptures principally teach?
A. The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.
Q4. What is God?
A. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
Q5. Are there more Gods than one?
A. There is but one only, the living and true God.
Q6. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A. There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
Q7. What are the decrees of God?
A. The decrees of God are, his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.
Q8. How doth God execute his decrees?
A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.
Q9. What is the work of creation?
A. The work of creation is, God's making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.
Q10. How did God create man?
A. God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.
Q11. What are God's works of providence?
A. God's works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.
Q12. What special act of providence did God exercise toward man in the estate wherein he was created?
A. When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death.
### 13. The Creation
Q-7: WHAT ARE THE DECREES OF GOD?
A: The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he has foreordained whatsoever shall come to pass.
I have already spoken something concerning the decrees of God under the attribute of his immutability. God is unchangeable in his essence, and he-is unchangeable in his decrees; his counsel shall stand. He decrees the issue of all things, and carries them on to their accomplishment by his providence; I shall proceed therefore to the execution of his decrees.
Q-9: The next question is, WHAT 1S THE WORK OF CREATION?
A: It is God's making all things from nothing by the word of his power. Gen 1:1. ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.'
The creation is glorious to behold, and it is a pleasant and profitable study. Some think that when Isaac went abroad into the fields to meditate, it was in the book of the creatures. The creation is the heathen man's Bible, the ploughman's primer, and the traveller's perspective glass, through which he receives a representation of the infinite excellencies which are in God. The creation is a large volume, in which God's works are bound up; and this volume has three great leaves in it, heaven, earth, and sea.
The author of the creation is God, as it is in the text, ‘God created.' The world was created in time, and could not be from eternity, as Aristotle thought. The world must have a maker, and could not make itself. If one should go into a far country, and see stately edifices, he would never imagine that they could build themselves, but that there had been some artificer to raise such goodly structures; so this great fabric of the world could not create itself, it must have some builder or maker, and that is God. ‘In the beginning God created.' To imagine that the work of the creation was not framed by the Lord Jehovah, is as if we should conceive a curious landscape to be drawn without the hand of an artist. ‘God that made the world and all things therein.' Acts 17:24.
In the work of creation there are two things to be considered: 1: The making. 2: The adorning.
I. The making of the world. Here consider, [1] God made the world without any pre-existent matter. This is the difference between generation and creation. In generation there is materia habilis et disposita [suitable material at hand], some matter to work upon; but in creation there is no pre-existent matter. God brought all this glorious fabric of the world out of the womb of nothing. Our beginning was of nothing. Some brag of their birth and ancestry; but how little cause have they to boast who came from nothing.
[2] God made the world with a word. When Solomon had to build a temple he needed many workmen, and they all had tools to work with, but God wrought without tools. ‘By the word of the Lord were the heavens made.' Psa 33:6. The disciples wondered that Christ could with a word calm the sea; but it was more with a word to make the sea.
[3] God made all things at first very good, Gen 1:31I, without any defect or deformity. The creation came out of God's hands a curious piece; it was a fair copy, without any blot, written with God's own fingers. Psa 8:3. His work was perfect.
II. The adorning of the world. God made this great lump and mass, Rudis indigestaque moles [with neither shape nor order], and then beautified it. He divided the sea and the earth, he decked the earth with flowers, the trees with fruit; but what is beauty when it is masked over? Therefore, that we might behold this glory, God made the light. The heavens were bespangled with the sun, moon, and stars, that so the world's beauty might be beheld and admired. God, in the creation, began with things less noble and excellent, rocks and vegetables; and then the rational creatures, angels and men. Man is the most exquisite piece in the creation. He is a microcosm, or little world. Man was made with deliberation and counsel. ‘Let us make man.' Gen 1:26. It is the manner of artificers to be more than ordinarily accurate when they are about their masterpieces. Man was to be the masterpiece of this visible world, therefore God consulted about making so rare a piece. A solemn council of the sacred persons in the Trinity was called. ‘Let us make man, and let us make him in our own image.' On the king's coin his own image or effigy is stamped; so God stamped his image on man, and made him partaker of many divine qualities.
I shall speak, [1] Of the parts of man's body. (1.) The head, the most excellent architectural part, is the fountain of spirits, and the seat of reason. In nature the head is the best piece, but in grace the heart excels. (2.) The eye is the beauty of the face; it shines and sparkles like a lesser sun in the body. The eye occasions much sin, and therefore may well have tears in it. (3.) The ear is the conduit-pipe through which knowledge is conveyed. Better lose our seeing than our hearing, for ‘faith cometh by hearing.' Rom 10:17. To have an ear open to God is the best jewel on the ear. (4.) The tongue. David calls the tongue his glory, Psa 16:6, because it is an instrument to set forth the glory of God. The soul at first was a viol in tune to praise God, and the tongue made the music. God has given us two ears, but one tongue, to show that we should be swift to hear, but slow to speak. God has set a double fence before the tongue, the teeth, and the lips, to teach us to be wary that we offend not with our tongue. (5.) The heart is a noble part, and the seat of life.
[2] The soul of man. This is the man of the man. Man, in regard of his soul, partakes with the angels; nay, as Plato says, the understanding, will, and conscience, are a glass that resemble the Trinity. The soul is the diamond in the ring, it is a vessel of honour; God himself is served in this vessel. It is a spark of celestial brightness, says Damascene. David admired the rare contexture and workmanship of his body. ‘I am wonderfully made, I was curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.' Psa 139:14, 15. If the cabinet be so curiously wrought, what is the jewel? How richly is the soul embroidered' Thus you see how glorious a work the creation is, and man especially, who is the epitome of the world.
But why did God make the world?
(1.) Negatively. Not for himself; for he did not need it, being infinite. He was happy in reflecting upon his own sublime excellencies and perfections before the world was. God did not make the world to be a mansion for us, since we are not to abide here for ever. Heaven is the mansion house. John 14:4. The world is only a passage-room to eternity; the world is to us as the wilderness was to Israel, not to rest in, but to travel through to the glorious Canaan. The world is a dressing-room to dress our souls in, not a place where we are to stay for ever. The apostle tells us of the world's funeral. ‘The elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up.' 2 Pet 3:30.
(2.) Positively. God made the world to demonstrate his own glory. The world is a looking glass, in which we may see the power and goodness of God shine forth. ‘The heavens declare the glory of God.' Psa 19:9. The world is like a curious piece of tapestry, in which we may see the skill and wisdom of him that made it.
Use one: Did God create this world? (1.) This convinces us of the truth of his Godhead. To create is proper to a Deity. Acts 17:74. Plato was convinced of a Deity when he saw that all the world could not make a fly. Thus God proves himself to be the true God, and distinguishes himself from idols. Jer 10:11. It is written in Chaldee, ‘Thus shall ye say to them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish.' Who but God can create? The creation is enough to convince the heathen that there is a God. There are two books out of which God will judge and condemn the heathen, viz., the book of Conscience, ‘Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts,' Rom 2:25, and the book of the Creation, ‘The invisible things of him are clearly seen by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.' Rom 1:10. The world is full of emblems and hieroglyphics. Every star in the sky, every bird that flies in the air, is a witness against the heathen. A creature could not make itself.
(2.) It is a mighty support of faith that God creates. He that made all things with a word, what cannot he do? He can create strength in weakness; he can create a supply of our wants. What a foolish question was that, ‘Can he prepare a table in the wilderness?' Psa [28:19. Cannot he that made the world do much more? ‘Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.' Psa 124:4. Rest on this God for help, who made heaven and earth. As the work of creation is a monument of God's power, so it is a stay to faith. Is thy heart hard? He can with a word create softness. Is it unclean? He can create purity. ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God.' Psa 51:10. Is the church of God low? He can create Jerusalem a praise. Isa 65:18. There is no such golden pillar for faith to stay upon as a creating power.
(3.) Did God make this world full of beauty and glory, everything very good? Then, what an evil thing is sin, that has put out of frame the whole creation! Sin has much eclipsed the beauty, soured the sweetness, and marred the harmony of the world. How bitter is that gall, a drop whereof can embitter a whole sea! Sin has brought vanity and vexation into the world, yea, a curse. God cursed the ground for man's sake. Gen 3. There were several fruits of the curse.
'In sorrow shalt thou eat of it.' Verse 17. By sorrow is to be understood all the troubles and cares of this life. ‘In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.' Verse I9. In innocence Adam tilled the ground, for he must not live idly; but it was rather a delight than a labour. That tilling was without toiling. The eating in sorrow, and the sweat of the brow, came in after sin. ‘Thorns and thistles shall the ground bring forth.' Verse 18. Did the earth in innocence bear thorns, though they were afterwards threatened as a punishment? It is likely it did bear thorns; for, when God had done creating, he made no new species or kinds of things; but the meaning is, Now, after sin, the earth should bring forth more plentifully of thorns, and now those thorns should be hurtful, and choke the corn, which hurtful quality was not in them before. Ever since the fall, all the comforts of this life have a thorn and a thistle in them! The fourth fruit of the curse was the driving of man out of paradise. ‘So he drove out the man.' Verse 24. God at first brought Adam into paradise as into a house ready furnished, or as a king into his palace. ‘Have dominion over every living thing that moveth.' Gen 1:28. God's driving Adam out of paradise signified his dethroning and banishing him, that he might look after a heavenly and a better paradise. A fifth fruit of the curse was death. ‘To dust thou shalt return.' Verse I9. Death was not natural to Adam, but came in after sin. Josephus is of opinion that man would have died, though he would have had a longer term of years added to his life; but, out of question, death grew out of the root of sin, as the apostle says. ‘By sin came death.' Rom 5:12. See then how cursed a thing sin is, that has brought so many curses upon the creation. If we will not hate sin for its deformity, let us hate it for the curse it brings.
(4.) Did God make this glorious world? Did he make everything good? Was there in the creature so much beauty and sweetness? Oh! then what sweetness is there in God? Quicquid efficit tale, illud est magis tale; ‘the cause is always more noble than the effect.' Think with yourselves, is there so much excellence in house and lands? Then how much more is there in God, that made them! Is there beauty in a rose? What beauty then is there in Christ, the Rose of Sharon! Does oil make the face shine? Psa 104:15. How will the light of God's countenance make it shine! Does wine cheer the heart? Oh! what virtue is there in the true vine! How does the blood of this grape cheer the heart! Is the fruit of the garden sweet? How delicious are the fruits of the Spirit! Is a gold mine so precious? How precious is he who founded this mine! What is Christ, in whom are hid all treasures? Col 2:3. We should ascend from the creature to the Creator. If there be any comfort below, how much more is there in God, who made all these things! How unreasonable is it that we should delight in the world, and not much more in him that made it! How should our hearts be set on God, and how should we long to be with God, who has infinitely more sweetness in him than any creature!
Use two: Of exhortation. (1.) Did God create the world? Let us wisely observe the works of creation. God has given us not only the book of the Scriptures to read in, but the book of the creation. Look up to the heavens, for they show much of God's glory. The sun gilds the world with its bright beams. Behold the stars, their regular motion in their orbs, their magnitude, their light and their influence. We may see God's glory blazing in the sun and twinkling in the stars. Look into the sea, and see the wonders of God in the deep. Psa 107:24. Look into the air, there the birds make melody, and sing forth the praises of their Creator. Look into the earth, there we may wonder at the nature of minerals, the power of the loadstone, the virtue of herbs. See the earth decked as a bride with flowers. All these are the glorious effects of God's power. God has wrought the creation as with curious needlework, that we may observe his wisdom and goodness, and give him the praise due to him. ‘O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all.' Psa 104:44.
(2.) Did God create all things? Let us obey our Maker. We are his jure creationis [By right of creation], we owe ourselves to him. If another gives us our maintenance we think ourselves bound to serve him; much more should we serve and obey God who gives us our life. ‘In him we live and move.' Acts 17:28. God has made everything for man's service; the corn for nourishment, the beasts for usefulness, the birds for music, that man should be for God's service. The rivers come from the sea, and they run into the sea again. All we have is from God. Let us honour our Creator, and live to him that made us.
(3.) Did God make our bodies out of the dust, and that dust out of nothing? Let this keep down pride. When God would humble Adam he uses this expression, ‘Out of the dust wast thou taken.' Gen 3:19. Why art thou proud, O dust and ashes? Thou art made but of coarse metal. Cum sis humillimus, cur non humillimus? [Since you are humble, why do you not walk humbly?] Bernard. David says, ‘I was curiously wrought.' Psa 139:15. Thy being curiously wrought, may make thee thankful; but being made of the dust, may keep thee humble. If thou hast beauty, it is but well-coloured earth. Thy body is but air and dust mingled together, and this dust will drop into the dust. When the Lord had said of the judges, they were gods, Psa 82:2, lest they should grow proud he told them they were dying gods. ‘Ye shall die like men.' Verse 7.
(4.) Did God create our souls after his image, but we lost it? Let us never rest till we are restored to God's image again. We have now got the devil's image in pride, malice, and envy. Let us get God's image restored, which consists in knowledge and righteousness. Col. 3:10. Eph 4:44. Grace is our best beauty, it makes us like God and angels. As the sun is to the world, so is holiness to the soul. Let us go to God to repair his image in us. Lord! thou hast once made me, make me anew; sin has defaced thy image in me, oh draw it again by the pencil of the Holy Ghost.