Women’s Rights–a Parable

Women's Rights–a Parable

(No. 3141)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 1909.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"And Moses brought their cause before the LORD." Numbers 17:5.

BY the help of God the Holy Spirit, I want to use this incident which
forms a kind of episode in the rehearsal of the history of Israel's 40
years' wanderings in the wilderness, for a twofold purpose. First, let
me indicate its general teach-ingand, secondly, let me take it as a
ground of appeal to certain special classes.

I. First, I will try to indicate ITS GENERAL TEACHING.

I would ask your attention and exhibit for your imitation, the faith
which these five young women, the daughters of Zelophehad, possessed
with regard to the promised inheritance. You must remember that the
children of Israel were still in the wilderness. They had not seen the
promised land, but God had made a Covenant with them that they should
possess it. He had declared that He would bring them into a land which
flowed with milk and honey and there plant them. And that that land
should belong to them and to their descendants by a Covenant of salt
forever. Now, these women believed in this heritage. They were not like
Esau, who thought so little of the inheritance which was his birthright
that he sold it to his brother Jacob for a mess of pottage–they
believed it to be really worth having. They regarded it, though they
had never beheld it, as being something exceedingly substantial and so,
thinking about it, they were afraid lest they should be left out when
the land was divided. And though they had never seen it, yet, being
persuaded that it was somewhere and that the children of Israel would
have it in due time, their anxiety was they, having no brothers, would
be forgotten in the distribution and so would lose their rights. They
were anxious about an inheritance which they had never seen with their
eyes and, therein, I hold them up to the imitation of this present
assembly.

There is an inheritance that is far better than the land of Canaan. Oh,
that we all believed in it and longed for it! It is an inheritance,
however, which mortal eyes have not seen and the sounds of which mortal
ears have not heard. It is a city whose streets are gold, but none of
us have ever walked them. Never has traveler to that country come back
to tell us of its glories. There the music never ceases, no discord
ever mingles in it, it is sublime, but no member of the heavenly choir
has ever come to write out for us the celestial score, or to–

"Teach us some melodious sonnet Sung by flaming tongues above."

It is not a matter of sight–it must be to each one of us a matter of
faith. By faith we know that there is another and a better land. By
faith we understand that our disembodied souls shall mount to be with
Christ and that, after a while, our bodies shall also rise to join our
spirits so that body and soul may together be glorified forever in the
Presence of our gracious Redeemer. We have never seen this land,
however–but there are some of us who as firmly believe in it as if we
had seen it–and are as certain of it and as fully persuaded as though
these ears of ours had listened to its songs ofjoy and these feet of
ours had walked its streets of gold!

There was this feature, too, about the faith of these five women–they
knew that the inheritance was only to be won by encountering great
difficulties. The spies who came back from the land had said that the
men who dwelt in it were giants. They said, "We were in our own sight
as grasshoppers and so we were in their sight." There was many a man,
in the camp of Israel, I have no doubt, who said, "Well, I would sell
my share cheaply enough, for though the land is there, we can never win
it! They have cities walled up to Heaven and they have chariots of
iron–we can never win the land." But these women believed that
although they could not fight, God could! And though they had never put
their fingers to a more terrible instrument than a needle, yet did they
believe that the same right arm which got itself the victory when

they went with Miriam, dancing to the timbrels' jubilant sound, would
get the victory, again, and bring God's people in and drive the
Canaanites out even though they had walled cities and chariots of iron!

So these women had strong faith. I would to God that you had the same,
all of you, dear Friends, but I know that some of you who believe that
there is a land which flows with milk and honey, are half afraid that
you shall never reach it! You are vexed with many doubts because of
your own weakness, which, indeed, should not merely make you doubt, but
should make you utterly despair if the gaining of the goodly land
depended upon your own fighting for it and winning it! But, inasmuch as
"the gift of God is eternal life" and God, Himself, will give it to us,
and inasmuch as Jesus has gone up on high to prepare a place for us and
has promised that He will come again and receive us unto Himself that
where He is, there we may also be, I would to God that our doubts and
fears were banished and that we said within ourselves, "We are well
able to go up and attack the land, for the Lord, even the Lord of
Hosts, is with us! Jehovah-Nissi is our banner! The Lord Our
Righteousness is our helper and we shall surely enter into the place of
the beloved people of God and shall join the general assembly and
Church of the first-born which are written in Heaven."

I commend the faith of these women to you because believing in the land
and believing that it would be won, they were not to be put about by
the ill report of some who said that it was not a good land. There were
10 out of the 12 who spied out the land who said, "It is a land that
eats up the inhabitants thereof." They brought back an evil report.
But, whoever may have been perverted by these lies, these five women
were not. Others said, "Why, the land is full of pestilence and hornets
and those who live in it now are dying," forgetting that God was making
them die in order to bring in the children of Israel in their place.
And so they said, "who cares to have a portion there? Give us the
leeks, the garlic and the onions of Egypt–and let us sit again by the
flesh-pots that we had at Rameses–but as for going on to this Canaan,
we will never do it." But these five women, who knew that if there were
troubles in the household, they would be sure to have their share of
them, that if the bread ran short, theywould be the most likely to feel
the straitness of it, and that if it were a land of sickness, theywould
have to be the nurses, yet coveted to have their share in it, for they
did not believe the ill report. They said, "No, God has said it is a
good land, a land of hills and valleys, a land of brooks and rivers, a
land of olive oil and honey, a land out of whose hills we may dig iron
and brass–and we will not believe what you spies say–it is a good
land and we will go in and ask for our share of it." So I commend their
faith in this respect.

I know that some of you are occasionally met by sneering skeptics and
they say to you, "There is no such place as Heaven! We have never seen
it–are you such fools as to believe in it? Are you going on a
pilgrimage over hedge and ditch, helter-skelter, to a country that you
know nothing of? Are you going to trust that old-fashioned Book and
take God's Word, and nothing but His Word, and believe it?" Oh, I hope
there are many of us–would that allof us were in that happy
position–who can say, "It is even so!" Stand back, Mr. Atheist, and
stop us not, for we are well persuaded that ours is no wild-goose
chase! Stand back, Sir Ironical Skeptic! Laugh if you will. You will
laugh on the other side of your face one of these days and we shall
have the last laugh at that time! At any rate, if there is no Heaven,
we shall be as well off as you will be, but if there is a Hell, where,
O where will you be–and what will your portion be? So we go on our own
way confident and sure, doubting nothing–believing as surely as we
believe in our own existence that–

"Jesus, the Judge will come To take His people up To their eternal
home"–

and believing that one hour with Him will be worth all the trials of
the road–worth enduring ten thousand deaths, if we could endure them,
in order to win it and that, moreover, by God's Grace we shall win it–

"We shall behold His face,

We shall His name adore!

And sing the wonders of His Grace

Henceforth forevermore!"

So I hold up these daughters of Zelophehad to your commendation and
imitation on account of their faith.

But there was another point. Feeling certain concerning the land, we
must next commend them for their anxiety to possess a portion in it.
Why did they think so much about it? I heard someone say, the other
day, speaking of certain young people, "I do not like to see young
women religious–they ought to be full of fun and mirth and not have
their minds filled with such profound thoughts." Now, I will be bound
to say that this kind of philosophy was accredited in the camp of
Israel and that there were a great many young women there who said,
"Oh, there is time enough to think

about the good land when we get there! Let us be polishing up our
mirrors. Let us be seeing to our dresses. Let us understand how to put
our fingers upon the timbrel when the time comes for it! But as for
prosing about a portion among those Hivites and Hittites, what is the
good of it? We will not bother ourselves about that." But such was the
strength of the faith of the five women that it led them to feel a deep
anxiety for a share in the inheritance. They were not such simpletons
as to live only for the present. They had outgrown their babyhood–they
were not satisfied to live merely for the day. They knew that in due
time the tribes would cross the Jordan and would be in the promised
land, so they began, as it were, like good housewives, to think about
where their portion would be and to reflect that were they left out
when the muster-roll was read–and should no portion be appointed for
Tirzah, no portion for Milcah and no place for any of the five sisters,
they would be like beggars and outcasts in the midst of the land! The
thought of all others having their plot of ground and their family
having none, made them anxious about it. O dear Friends, how anxious
you and I ought to be to make our calling and election sure! And how
solemnly should that question of the Countess of Huntingdon come home
to our hearts–

"But can I bear the piercing thought– What if my name should be left
out When You for them shall call?"

Suppose I should have no portion in the skies? O you foundations of
chrysolite and all manner of precious stones, you gates of pearl, you
walls of jasper, must I never see you? O troops of angels and armies of
the blood-bought, must I never wave the palm or wear the crown in your
midst? Must the word that salutes me be that awful sentence, "Depart,
you cursed, into everlasting fire"? Is there no place for me, no room
for me in the inheritance of the saints?

I do beseech you, never be satisfied till you can answer this question
in the affirmative and say, "Yes, I have a place in Jesus' heart! I
have been washed in Jesus' blood and, therefore, I shall be with Jesus
where He is in His Glory when the fitting time comes." Oh, I would have
you who are not sure about this, be as anxious as these women were! Let
it press upon your hearts! Let it even take the color from your cheek
sooner than that you should have an empty and frivolous gaiety and
mirth which will entice you down to the Pit! Oh, make sure work for
eternity! Whatever else you trifle with, seek to have an anchor that
will hold you fast in the last great storm! Seek to be affianced unto
Christ! Be sure that you are founded upon the Rock of Ages, where alone
we can safely build for eternity!

These women were taken up with prudent anxious thoughts about their own
part in the land of promise–and they were right in desiring to have a
portion there when they remembered that the land had been given by
Covenant to their fathers. They might well wish to have a part in a
thing good enough to be a Covenant blessing! The land had been promised
over and over again by Divine Authority–they might well wish to have a
share in that which God's own lips had promised! It was a land to bring
them into which God had killed the first-born of Egypt and saved His
people by the sprinkling of blood–they might well desire a land which
cost so great a price to bring them to it! Besides, it was a goodly
land. It was the most princely of all lands, peerless among all the
territories of earth. Its products were most rich. The grapes of
Eshcol–what could equal them? Its pomegranates, its olives, its
rivers–the land that flowed with milk and honey–there was nothing
like it in all the world! These women might well say, "Let us have a
portion there!"

And, my dear Hearers, the Heaven of which we have to tell you is a land
so good that it was spoken of in the Covenant before the world was! It
has been promised to the people of God ten thousand times! Jesus Christ
has shed His precious blood that He might open the gates of it and
bring us in! And it is such a land that if you had but seen it, if you
could but know what it is, you would pine away in stopping here for
it's very dust is gold, its meanest joys are richer than the transports
of earth and the poorest in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he
who is the mightiest prince in the kingdoms of this world! Oh, that
your mouths were set a-longing after the feasts of Paradise! Oh that
you pined to be where Jesus is and then, surely, you would be anxious
to know whether you had a portion there!

I hold these women up as an example because they believed in the unseen
inheritance and they were anxious to get their portion in it.

But I must commend them yet again for the way in which they set about
the business. I do not find that they went complaining from tent to
tent that they were afraid that they had no portion. Many doubters do
that–they tell their doubts and fears to others, but they get no
further. But these five women went straight to Moses. He was at their
head, he was their mediator–and then it is said that "Moses brought
their cause before the Lord." You see, these women did not

try to get what they wanted by force. They did not say, "We will take
care to get our share of the land when we get there." They did not
suppose that they had any merit which they might plead, and so get it,
but they went straight to Moses–and Moses took their cause and laid it
before the Lord. Sinner, do you want a portion in Heaven? Go straight
to Jesus and Jesus will take your cause and lay it before the Lord! It
is a very sorry one as it stands by itself, but He has such a sweet way
of so mixing Himself up with you and yourself with Him, that His cause
and your cause will be one cause– and the Father will give Him good
success–and give you good success, too! Oh, that someone here would
breathe the prayer, if he has never prayed before, "Savior, will You
see that I have a portion in the skies? Precious Savior, take my poor
heart and wash it in Your precious blood, change it by your Holy Spirit
and make me ready to dwell where perfect saints are! Oh, undertake my
cause for me, blessed Advocate, and plead it before Your Father's
face!" That is the way to have the business of salvation effectually
done! Take it out of your own hands and put into the hands of the
Prophet like unto Moses, and you will surely succeed!

Now, observe the success of these women. The Lord accepted their plea,
for He said unto Moses, "The daughters of Zelophehad speak rightly."
Yes, and when you cry to Him and when His dear Son takes your prayer to
Him, God will say, "That sinner speaks rightly." Beat on your breast
and cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner," and He will say, "That soul
speaks rightly." Young woman, imitate these five sisters right now! May
God the Holy Spirit bring you to imitate them by humbly offering your
plea through the Mediator, Jesus Christ, and God will say, "Ah, she
speaks rightly, I have heard her and I have accepted her." And then God
said that these sisters should have their portion just the same as the
men had–that they should have their share of land just as if they had
inherited it as sons–and so will God say to every seeking sinner!
Whatever may be the disability under which you labor. Whatever bar
there may have seemed to be to your claim, you shall inherit among the
children, you shall take your part and your lot among the chosen people
of God! Christ has set your cause before His Father, and it shall be
unto you, poor Sinner, according to your desire–and you shall have a
part among the Lord's people!

I wish I had power to press this matter more immediately home upon you.
Many of us who are now present are saved. It is a great satisfaction to
remember how large a proportion of my congregation has come to Christ,
but ah, there are many, many here who are–well, what are they? They do
not know that they have any inheritance! They cannot read their title
clear to mansions in the skies and, what is worse, they are unconcerned
about it! If they were troubled about it, we would have hope concerning
them, but no, they go their way and, like Pliable, having got out of
the Slough of Despond, they turn around and say to Christians, "You may
have the brave country all to yourselves for all we care." They are so
fond of present pleasure, so easily enticed by the wily whispers of the
arch-enemy, so soon overcome by their own passions that they find it
too hard to be Christians–to love Christ is a thing too difficult for
them! Ah, may God meet with you and make you wiser! Poor Souls, you
will perish–some of you will perish while you are looking on at this
world's bubbles and baubles! You will perish–you will go down to Hell
with this earth's joys in your mouths–but they will not sweeten those
mouths when the pangs of Hell get hold upon you! Your life is short.
Your candle flickers in its socket. You must soon go the way of all
flesh. We never meet one week after another without some death
occurring between. Out of this vast number, surely it is all but
impossible that we should ever all meet here again! Perhaps before this
day next week, some of us will have passed the curtain, will have
learned the great secret and will have entered the invisible world!
Whose portion will it be? If it is yours, dear Hearer, will you mount
to worlds of joy, or shall–

"Devils plunge you down to Hell In infinite despair?"

God make that a matter of concern with us, first, and then may we come
to Jesus and receive the sprinkling of precious blood! And thus may He
make it a matter of confidence with us that we are saved through Him
and shall be partakers with them that are sanctified!

II. Secondly, I am going to use the whole incident as a GROUND OF
APPEAL TO CERTAIN SPECIAL

CLASSES.

Does it not strike you that there is here a special lesson for our
unconverted sisters Here are five daughters, I suppose young women,
certainly unmarried women, and these five were unanimous in seeking to
have a portion where God had promised it to His people. Have I any
young women here who have not acted like that? I am afraid I have!
Blessed be God for the many who come in among us who become solemnly
impressed and give their young days to Jesus! But there

are some, there may be some here, of another mind. The temptations of
this wicked Metropolis, the pleasures of this perilous city lead them
away from the right path and prevent them from giving a fair hearing to
God's Word. Well, but you are here, my Sister, and may I, as a Brother,
put this question to you? Do you not desire a portion in the skies?
Have you no wish for Glory? Have you no longing for the everlasting
crown? Can you sell Christ for a few hours of mirth? Will you give Him
up for a giddy song or an idle companion? Those are not your friends
who would lead you from the paths of righteousness! Count them not
dear, but loathe them if they would entice you from Christ! But, as you
will certainly die and will as certainly live forever in endless woe or
in boundless bliss, do see to your souls! "Seek you first the Kingdom
of God and His righteousness," and all other necessary things shall be
added to you. You have come fresh from the country, young woman, and
leaving your mother's care it is very likely that you have begun to
absent yourself from the means of Grace, but I charge you not to do so!
On the contrary, let this bind you to your mother's God and may you
feel that whereas you may have up to now neglected God's House and
profaned God's Day, yet henceforth, like the daughters of Zelophehad,
you will seek to have a portion in the promised land!

The subject bears another way. Has it not a voice, and a loud voice
too, to the children of godly parents I like these young women saying
that their father did not die with Korah, but that he only died the
ordinary death which fell upon others because of the sin of the
wilderness. And also their saying, "Why should the name of our father
be done away from among his family because he has no son?" It is a good
thing to see this respect to parents–this desire to keep up the honor
of the family. I was thinking whether there may not be some here, some
children of godly parents, who would feel it a sad thing if they should
bring disgrace upon the family name? Is it so, that though your father
has been for many years a Christian, he has not one to succeed him? O
young man, have you no ambition to stand in his place, no wish to let
his name be perpetuated in the Church of God? Well, if the sons have no
such ambition or if there are none, let the daughters say to one
another, "Our father never disgraced his profession. He did not die in
the company of them that gathered themselves together against the Lord,
but he served the Lord faithfully–and we will not let his name be
blotted out from Israel! We will join ourselves to the people of God
and the family shall be still represented." But oh, how I desire that
the brothers and sisters would come together! And what a delightful
thing it would be to see the whole family! In that household there were
only five girls, but they all had their heritage. Father, would you not
be happy if it should be so with your children? Mother, would you not
be ready to say, "Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, according
to Your Word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation," if you could see
all your children brought in? And why not, my Brothers and Sisters, why
not? We will give God no rest until it is so! We will plead with Him
until they are all saved! And young people, why not? The Lord's mercy
is not straitened! The God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob and your
father's God, we trust, will be your God! Oh, that you would follow in
the footsteps of your parents so far as they followed Christ! These
daughters of Zelophehad seem to me to turn preachers–and I stand here
to speak for them, and all five of them say to you–"We gained our
inheritance by seeking for it through a mediator. Young women, brothers
and sisters, you shall gain it, too, by seeking it through a Savior."

And does not this text also speak to another class–to orphans These
good girls had lost their parents, or otherwise the question would not
have arisen. Father and mother had passed away and, therefore, they had
to go to Moses for themselves. When the parents could not come to Moses
for them, they came for themselves. Think of the skies a moment, some
of you. Perhaps this morning you were in a very different place, but
think of the skies a minute. No, I do not mean the meteoric stones! I
do not mean the stars, nor yon bright moon–but I want you to think of
your mother, who is yonder. Do you remember when she gave you the last
kiss, bade you farewell and said, "Follow me, my children. Follow me to
the skies"? Think of a father who is there. His voice, doubtless,
helping to swell the everlasting hallelujah! Does he not beckon you
from the battlements of Heaven and cry, "Children of my loins, follow
me, as I followed Christ"? Some of us have an honored grandfather
there, an honored grandmother there. Many of you have little infants
there, young angels whom God lent you for a little time and then took
them to Heaven to show you the way, to lure you to go upwards too! You
all have some dear friends there with whom you walked to God's House in
company. They have gone, but I charge you, by the living God, to follow
them! Break not your households in two! Let no solemn rifts come into
the family, but, as they have gone to their rest, God grant unto you by
the same road to come and rest eternally too. Jesus Christ is ready to
receive sinners! He is ready to receive you! And if you trust Him, the
joy and bliss which your friends now partake of shall also be yours!
Daughters of godly parents, children of those who have gone before to
eternal Glory, I entreat you, look to Jesus! Go and present your suit
to Him now. It shall surely prosper. If the question was once doubtful,
it has now become "a statute of judgment." The Lord has commanded it!
May God bless these counsels and exhortations to you, for Christ's
sake! Amen.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: GENESIS 1.

Genesis 1:1. In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth.
When that "beginning" was, we cannot tell. It may have been long ages
before God fitted up this world for the abode of man, but it was not
self-existent–it was created by God, it sprang from the will and the
word of the all-wise Creator!

2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the
face of the deep. When God began to arrange this world in order, it was
shrouded in darkness and it had been reduced to what we call, for lack
of a better name, "chaos." This is just the condition of every soul of
man when God begins to deal with him in His Grace–it is formless and
empty of all good things. "There is none righteous, no, not one: there
is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. They are
all gone out of the way."

2. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. This was
the first act of God in preparing this planet to be the abode of
man–and the first act of Grace in the soul is for the Spirit of God to
move within it! How that Spirit of God comes there, we know not. We
cannot tell how He acts, even as we cannot tell how the wind blows
where it wishes, but until the Spirit of God moves upon the soul,
nothing is done towards its new creation in Christ Jesus!

3, 4. And Godsaid, Let there be light: and there was light And Godsaw
the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the
darkness. "Light be." "Light was." God had but to speak the word and
the great wonder was accomplished! How there was light before there was
any sun–for the sun was not created until the fourth day of the
week–it is not for us to say. But God is not dependent upon His own
creation. He can make light without a sun! He can spread the Gospel
without the aid of ministers, He can convert souls without any human or
angelic method, for He does as He wills in the heavens above and on the
earth beneath.

5. And God called the light, Day, and the darkness, He called Night And
the evening and the morning were the first da . It is a good thing to
have the right names for things. An error is often half killed when you
know the real name of it–its power lies in its being indescribable!
But as soon as you can call it, "darkness," you know how to act towards
it. It is a also good thing to know the names of truths and the names
of other things that are right. God is very particular in the Scripture
about giving people their right names. The Holy Spirit says, "Judas,
not Iscariot," so that there should be no mistake about the intended
person. Let us also always call persons and things by their right
names–"God called the light, Day, and the darkness He called Night."
"And the evening and the morning were the first day." Darkness first
and light afterwards. It is so with us spiritually–first darkness,
then light. I suppose that until we get to Heaven, there will be both
darkness and light in us. And as to God's Providential dealings, we
must expect darkness as well as light. They will make up our first day
and our last day, till we get where there are no days but the Ancient
of Days.

6-8. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters,
and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the
firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from
the waters which were above the firmament and it was so. And God called
the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second
day. "The firmament"–an expanse of air in which floated the waters
which afterwards condensed and fell upon the earth in refreshing
showers. These waters above were divided from the waters below. Perhaps
they were all one steamy conglomeration before, but now they are
separated. Note those four words, "and it was so." Whatever God ordains
always comes. You will find that it is true of all His promises, that
whatever He has said shall be fulfilled to you, and you shall one day
say of it all, "And it was so." It is equally certain concerning all
His threats that what He has spoken shall certainly be fulfilled–and
the ungodly will have to say, "And it was so." These words are often
repeated in this Chapter. They convey to us the great lesson that the
Word of God is sure to be followed by the deed of God. He speaks and it
is done!

9-13. And God said, let the waters under the heaven be gathered
together into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land, Earth, and the gathering together of the
waters He called Seas. And

God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth
grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after
his kind, whose seed is in itself; upon the earth: and it was so. And
the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind,
and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind:
and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the
third da}. Having attended to the air, God further exercised His power
by setting the earth in order. Observe the remarkable fact that no
sooner had God made the dry land appear, than it seemed as if He could
not bear the sight of it in its nakedness. What a strange place this
world must have been with its plains and hills and rooks and vales
without one single blade of grass, or a tree, or a shrub! So at once,
before that day was over, God threw the mantle of verdure over the
earth and clad its mountains and valleys with forests and plants and
flowers, as if to show us that the fruitless is uncomely in God's
sight, that the man who bears no fruit unto God is unendurable to Him.
There would be no beauty whatever in a Christian without any good works
and with no graces. As soon as ever the earth appeared, then came the
herbs, the trees and the grass. So, dear Brothers and Sisters, in like
manner, let us bring forth fruit unto God and bring it forth
abundantly, for herein is our heavenly Father glorified–that we bear
much fruit.

14-19. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven
to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for
seasons, and for days, andyears: and let them be for lights in the
firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and
the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also. And God set
them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and
to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from
the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the
morning were the fourth da. Whether the sun and moon are here said to
be absolutely created, or whether they were only created so far as our
planet was concerned by the dense vapors being cleared away so that the
sun and moon and stars could be seen, is a matter of no consequence at
all to us. Let us rather learn a lesson from them. These lights are to
rule, but they are to rule by giving light. And, Brothers and Sisters,
this is the true rule in the Church of God. He who gives most light is
the truest ruler–and the man who aspires to leadership in the Church
of God, if he knows what he is doing, aspires to be the servant of all
by laying himself out for the good of all, even as our Savior said to
His disciples, "Whoever of you will be the chief, shall be servant of
all." The sun and moon are the servants of all mankind and, therefore,
do they rule by day and by night. Stoop, my Brothers, if you wish to
lead others! The way up is downward! To be great, you must be little.
He is the greatest who is nothing at all unto himself, but all for
others.

20-23. And Godsaid, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving
creature that has life, and fowl that mayfly above the earth in the
open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every
living creature that moves, which the water brought forth abundantly,
after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw
that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and
multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the
earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth da. There was no
life in the sea or on the land until all was ready for it. God would
not make a creature to be unhappy. There must be suitable food to feed
upon and the sun and moon to cheer and comfort before a single bird
shall chirp in the thicket or a solitary trout shall leap in the
stream. So, after God has given men light, and blessed them in various
ways, their spiritual life begins to develop to the glory of God. We
have the thoughts that soar like fowl in the open firmament of heaven,
and other thoughts that dive into the mysteries of God, as the fish
dive in the sea. These are after-development, after-growths of that
same power which at the first said, "Let there be light."

24, 25. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature
after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth
after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth
after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps
upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was goot. There is
as much wisdom and care displayed in the creation of the tiniest
creeping insect as in the creation of leviathan himself. Those who use
the microscope are as much amazed at the greatness and the goodness of
God as those are who use the telescope. He is as great in the little as
He is in the great. After each day's work, God looks upon it–and it is
well for us, every night, to review our day's work. Some men's work
will not bear looking at and tomorrow becomes all the worse to them
because today was not considered and its sin repented of by them. But
if the errors of today are marked by us, a repetition of them may be
avoided on the morrow. It is only God who can look upon any one day's
work and say of it, as a whole, and in every

part, that it is "good." As for us, our best things need sprinkling
with the blood of Christ which we need not only on the lintels and side
posts of our house, but even on the altar and the Mercy Seat at which
we worship God!

26-28. And God said, Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness:
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl
ofthe air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in His
own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created
He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it and have dominion over
the fish ofthe sea, and over the fowl ofthe air, and over every living
thing that moves upon the eartt. God evidently meant the two persons,
male and female, to complete the man, and the entireness of the manhood
lies in them both. The earth is completed now that man has come upon
it, and man is completed when the image of God is upon him, when Christ
is formed in him the hope of Glory, but not till then. When we have
received the power of God and have dominion over ourselves and over all
earthly things in the power of God's eternal Spirit, then are we where
and what God intends us to be.

29, 30. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed,
which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is
the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to
every beast ofthe earth, and to every fowl ofthe air, and to everything
that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every
green herb for meat: and it was s. Now you see God's commissariat. He
has not made all these creatures in order to starve them, but He has
supplied them with great variety and abundance of food, that their
needs may be satisfied. Does God care for the cattle and will He not
feed His own children? Does He provide for ravens and sparrows and will
He allow you to lack anything, O you of little faith? Observe that God
did not create man until He had provided for him–neither will He ever
put one work of His Providence or of His Grace out of its proper
place–but that which goes before shall be preparatory to that which
follows after.

31. And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was
verygoot. Taken in its completeness, and all put together, God saw that
it was very good. We must never judge anything before it is complete.