January 1
And God said, Let
there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good:
and God divided the light from the darkness.
Genesis I:3-4
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
It was proper that the light, by which the world was to be
adorned with excellent beauty, should be created first. It was not by inconsideration
or by accident that the light preceded the sun and the moon. We are prone to
tie the power of God to those instruments which He employs. The sun and moon
supply us with light. According to our notions, we so include their power to
give light that if they were taken away from the world, it would seem
impossible for any light to remain. But the Lord, by the very order of
creation, holds the light, which He imparts to us without the sun and moon.
Further, it is certain from the context that e created the light to be
interchanged with darkness.
And God saw the light.
Moses introduces God here as surveying His work that He might take pleasure in
it. But Moses also does that to teach us that God has made nothing without reason
and design. We ought not to understand these words as if God did not know that
His work was good till it was finished. But the meaning of the passage is that
the work, such as we now see it, was approved by God. Therefore nothing remains
for us but to acquiesce in this judgment of God. This admonition is useful. For
whereas man ought to apply all his senses to admiring contemplation of the
works of God, we see what license he allows himself detracting from them.
FOR MEDITATION: God’s creative power should never cease to
amaze us. He speaks and light immediately exists. We commonly take light for
granted and attribute its presence entirely to the means by which God provides
it. But we should rather see it as a blessing from our Father and, as Calvin says,
apply all our senses in admiring contemplation of it.
Source:
365 Day with Calvin
A unique collection of 365 readings from the writings of John Calvin, selected and edited by
Joel R. Beeke
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