GENERAL FEATURES.

These two chapters which open the book of God stand alone, as it were. In majestic, yet divinely simple, language they delineate the good and perfect work of God, unmarred as yet by the creature's failure. The remainder of the Word, we may say, occupies us with the marvelous fact, presented in various ways, and in successive steps of divine revelation, that God is now at work to retrieve the ruin wrought by sin; and that the triumphant end of this work is to be the new heavens and new earth established in eternal perfection and relationship with Himself, all being grounded upon the work of redemption accomplished by Christ. Yet all this has been no afterthought with God, as these first two chapters of His book clearly testify; but rather these things have been His eternal purpose and counsel, so that His work in the material creation is made in such a way as to express these His most cherished thoughts.

What rest it gives, what soothing balm to the troubled mind, to turn from the fallacious theories of men and the wanton complexity of their wild reasonings to the sublime but divinely-simple words which open these chapters:"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Every mist is gone. The beclouded thoughts of man are suddenly and perfectly illuminated. The perplexities have vanished, one and all. Man's search after truth has ended, for here it is found. All the theories, every one of which left the enigma of creation unexplained and its secret beyond the grasp of man, are useless now, for God has given the answer. In it He has, as it were, said, "The world by its wisdom shall not know Me. It must wait on Me to know what, apart from My willingness to reveal it, is unknowable. I will be the Teacher; only those who will learn of Me will be found wise."

These two chapters, in their beauty and simplicity, are a prophecy of all time. They carry us back to the remotest bounds of the past, and onward to the transcendent glory of the eternal day. The material creation is here made the mirror in which the image of the spiritual is clearly discerned. God's last thought is seen to be His first. We desire to detail somewhat the spiritual image delineated here. It is the new creation, in its successive steps of progress, its eternal relationships and blessings, that is before God's mind. And as this is formed out of men who are morally and spiritually ruined by the fall, and who are transformed by the spiritual work of God in grace, so we see here the fair, beautiful and perfect cosmos fashioned from the ruin of the first creation.

The chapters properly divide at the end of verse 3 of chapter 2. First we have the positional aspect before God of new-creation life-its development into that position designed by Him for it (chaps. 1-2:3). In the second place, we are afforded a view of the relationships and blessings with God of this life (chap. 2:4-25).

The positional aspect is developed for us in successive steps of progress from a ruined condition to fully accomplished transformation, and the bringing in of the new order of life. The distinctive features of new creation work are typified in the work of these six days. They are a picture of the bringing of the ruined creature into full likeness and conformity to Christ-the One who is ever the supreme object before the eye of God. We will therefore find Christ everywhere, for He is the end of all God's purpose. Light is ushered in where darkness obtained ; fruit and life where only barrenness and desolation-the counterparts of death and judgment- prevailed; authority and government established where only confusion and awful discord had been displayed.

The steps of progress in the spiritual development are well marked for us in this first portion. We may mention them in the following order:

1.Light-the synonym of life-new birth.

2. The lesson of good and evil as life develops.

3. The good prevailing through resurrection-the earth appears.

4.Then we look upward, and our eyes are on the heavens above, to learn their speech.

5.Then the fruit-bearing of trial and tribulation, for the waters of evil are still around us.

6.But in connection with the new nature, mastery and government are accomplished.

Again, we may look at these six days in two sections of three days each. The first presents to us God's work of new creation in connection with our position as lost and ruined by the fall:1st, New life, for we were dead and in darkness. 2nd, The lesson of the two natures in us, and the finding of the means of separation and sanctification. 3rd, Triumph (earth comes up) over evil (waters) in the power of resurrection. The second series presents the relation to God which we are brought into as occupying the position now given to us through His work:1st, We are in relation to heaven, governed by heavenly things, which are signs to us of what God has wrought. 2nd, Our relation to Him is now such as brings us under the exercise of His discipline and care, to make the very evil in and around us productive of fruit, so that though we be Jacob in our way, we may be set apart from this to bring forth fruit to God. Thus God makes the evil to yield results in blessing since we are now in relationship with Him. 3rd, And now (the earth) that which is of resurrection in connection with us, the new nature, brings forth its fruit; and this brings in the man in his full character. And so these fruits of resurrection-life in us bring out the new man created in Christ Jesus according to God in righteousness and holiness of truth. After this how beautifully the rest and peace of the seventh day comes in as a third section, giving the blessed fulness of result as a consequence of God's work. This concludes the first portion of these two chapters.

Let us now briefly outline the second part (chap. 2:4-25). We find here three sections:1st (vers. 4-7), Man's place in relation to the new scene of blessing; 2nd (vers. 8-17), The eternal state of the new creation; 3rd (vers. 18-25), The eternal relationships which pertain to this scene.

When we meditate what the blessedness of all this will be-the groan of creation forever ended, and all brought into "the liberty of the glory of the children of God "-our hearts fill up with the anthem of praise to Him, our Saviour and Lord, who having made peace by the blood of His cross, is the One by and through whom the Godhead will reconcile all things. Truly He is the One who is the " Wonderful "-as a child born; the "Counselor"-as a son given, the Divine Wisdom, the Word; the "Mighty God "-marked out as Son of God in power by resurrection ; the Father of Eternity"-the One who brings to birth the eternal day by His work. And thus having brought all things into subjection, " then the Son also Himself shall be placed in subjection . . . that God may be all in all"; the Son's title thenceforth forever the "Prince of Peace." May our hearts contemplate Him with constant and increasing delight, Him of whom we sing:

" Thou art the everlasting Word,
The Father's only Son;
God manifest, God seen and heard,
The heaven's beloved One :
Worthy, O Lamb of God, art Thou
That every knee to Thee should bow.

"Of the vast universe of bliss,
The center Thou, and Sun :
Th' eternal theme of praise is this,
To heaven's beloved One :
Worthy, O Lamb of God, art Thou
That every knee to Thee should bow."

J. B.

(To be continued.)