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Him was not anything made that was made ;" and it agrees 
with St. Paul's statement, — “ By Him were all things created 
that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, 
whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or 
powers, all things were created by Him." So that in this 
proposition is included another ; namely, that the God who 
created the heavens and the earth is the only Uncreated One. 
All other things and beings had a beginning ; He had no 
beginning ; He is “ from everlasting." When, therefore, we 
turn our minds to the words “ in the beginning," we must 
connect these not only with the creation but with the Creator ; 
and as soon as we do this, we find it impossible to conceive that 
until six or seven thousand years ago there were in all the 
universe no created beings. We see, then, that the words 
“ in the beginning," have, if I may so express it, a nearer 
connection with eternity than with our time, and that the 
creation of heaven and earth may date back farther than 
the wildest speculator on the age of the earth has ever 
imagined. 
From this clear statement of the inspired writer that the 
earth as well as the heavens was created “ in the beginning," 
I call your attention first to the statement at the close of the 
chapter, that God saw every thing that He had made, and 
behold it was very good." His work is perfect. But could 
we say or think that the earth, if at its creation it was in a 
chaotic state, was “ very good," or perfect ? Could we con- 
sider it perfect when “ without form and void, and when dark- 
ness was upon the face of the deep " ? Clearly from the 
subsequent history it was not so. When created, however, it 
must have been perfect. The state or condition described by 
the words (C without form and void," was a state or condition 
prior, indeed, to that to which the remainder of the history 
shows it to have been restored, but subsequent to its creation. 
The period between creation and that condition of desolation 
and destruction and darkness is by the sacred writer unde- 
fined. So also is the duration of that condition. One act 
alone marks its close — the brooding of the Spirit of God upon 
the face of the waters. I say its close, for in immediate suc- 
cession to this the command was given, and light was created. 
Here, then, was a deluge, of the universality of which I con- 
clude there can be in the mind of a believer in the Scriptures 
no doubt whatever. I must presently speak of its removal. 
But first my few promised words of Hebrew criticism. Had 
Moses intended to say that when the heavens and the earth 
were created the earth was without form and void, he would 
have omitted the substantive verb (and was, nrrrn). An 
