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I. THAT CREATION IS AN EXPRESSION OF GOD'S MIND. It is the embodiment of an idea; the form of a thought. Theology says that creation had a beginning, and that it began at the bidding of God.

II. THAT CREATION, BEING AN EXPRESSION OF GOD'S MIND, MAY FORM THE BASIS FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF GOD'S PERSONALITY AND CHARACTER. If we see something of the artist in his work, we may see something of the Creator in creation.

1. The works of God proclaim His eternal and incommunicable sovereignty. Man cannot approach the dignity of having himself created anything. He is an inquirer, a speculator, a calculator, a talker — but not a creator. He can reckon the velocity of light, and the speed of a few stars. He can go out for a day to geologize and botanize; but all the while a secret has mocked him, and an inscrutable power has defied the strength of his arm. The theologian says, that secret is God — that power is Omnipotence.

2. There is more than sovereignty, there is beneficence. "Thou openest Thine hand; they are filled with good." "He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry." This is a step downwards, yet a step upwards. Over all is the dread sovereignty of God — that sovereignty stoops to us in love to save our life, to spread our table and to dry our tears; it comes down, yet in the very condescension of its majesty it adds a new ray to its lustre. The theologian says, This is God's care; this is the love of the Father; this bounty is an expression of the heart of God. It is not a freak of what is called nature; it is not a sunny chance; it is a purpose, a sign of love, a direct gift from God's own heart.

III. THAT GOD'S WORD IS ITS OWN SECURITY FOR FULFILMENT. God said, Let there be — and there was. "He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." This is the word which alone can ultimately prevail. This is of infinite importance —

(1)  As the hope of righteousness;

(2)  As the inevitable doom of wickedness.

IV. THAT THE WORD WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF NATURE ACCOUNTS ALSO FOR THE EXISTENCE OF MAN. "Know ye not that the Lord He is God? It is He that made us, and not we ourselves." "O Lord, Thou art our Father; we are the clay, and Thou our potter; and we are the work of Thy hand." "Have we not all one Father? hath not one God created us?" "We are the offspring of God": "In Him we live, and move, and have our being." See what a great system of unity is hereby established. He who made the sun made me!

V. ALL THINGS CONTROLLED BY THE CREATOR.

VI. ALL THINGS JUDGED BY THE CREATOR.

(J. Parker, D. D.)

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KJV: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

WEB: The heavens and the earth were finished, and all their vast array.