 |
| Let there be light |
3 And God said, Let there be
light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it
was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light
Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the
first day. (Gen
1:3-5)
A
little Bible teaser for you: "On what day of the week did God begin His
Creation of the World and all things?" The answer is quite simple and easy
to discern given the knowledge every Christian has of the Bible, Genesis, and
the Ten Commandments. So what is your answer? Not long ago, I asked a student
of architectural engineering if he could measure the distance from where he
stood on one bank across a river without actually going across? He said it was
not possible. The young man was gifted in mathematics. He had the answer from
previous studies, but he had not learned how to apply all of the science he had
learned. The answer was based on the simplest of trigonometric functions -
construct two complementary right triangles with the common base of one running
along the river bank of the near side. The length of the side running away from
the river will equal the distance from the bank to your chosen point opposite
the bank on the other side. Practical application of learned principles is
often lacking in our educational system. So it is true of the Holy Scriptures.
I am sure most readers of this devotion have already determined the day of the
week on which Creation began - it was the first day of the week, or Sunday,
literally! "And the evening and the morning were the first day."
From that passage just quoted, when does a day begin and end? It begins in the
darkness of the evening and ends with the sunset of the following day. That is
why the Jewish people observe the Sabbath from sunset Friday to sunset
Saturday. What has this to do with our hymn today? EVERYTHING! The first day of
the week, from the beginning of time, has been the day we call Sunday! There
has not been the loss of a single day from the Beginning. Sunday is the FIRST
day of the Week just as Saturday (sábado in Spanish for Sabbath) is the
SEVENTH.
This hymn, one of great dignity and reverence, was composed by William Walsham
How, Bishop of Wakefield, 1871. The tune is Winchester New, by Rushford.
This Day at Thy Creating Word
This day at thy creating Word
first o'er the earth the light
was poured:
O Lord, this day upon us shine
and fill our souls with light
divine.
This day the Lord for sinners slain
in might victorious rose again:
O Jesus, may we raisèd be
from death of sin to life in
thee!
This day the Holy Spirit came
with fiery tongues of cloven
flame:
O Spirit, fill our hearts this
day
with grace to hear and grace to
pray.
O day of light and life and
grace,
from earthly toil sweet resting
place,
thy hallowed hours, blest gift of
love,
give we again to God above.
All praise to God the Father be,
all praise, eternal Son, to thee,
whom, with the Spirit, we adore
forever and forevermore.
This day at thy creating Word
first o'er the earth the light was poured: O Lord, this day upon us shine and
fill our souls with light divine.
We are reminded that ‘this day’ is the First Day (Sunday) of Creation morning.
On this day was the Creative energy of God’s Word sent forth to create the
heavens and the earth. This was the beginning of the physical Creation of God.
But there is another First Day that is sometimes forgotten – that First Day of
the Week (Sunday) the dawn of which Christ appeared to the disciples following
His resurrection. On this DAY was the New Creation realized in the Lord Jesus
Christ. He finished His work – not only on the cross, but at the rolled away
stone of the Tomb in the Garden. This day was the fullness of light and life
realized in the Lord as the Light of the World. Previously, on the First Day of
the Genesis Creation, the world was bathed in Light. On the Day of
Resurrection, the World was spiritually bathed with the Light that is the Life
of men.
The First Day (Sunday) is a repetitive theme throughout
Scripture of the beginning works of God. God the Father initiated the Creation
of the world on the First Day; our Lord Jesus Christ initiated the New Creation
at His resurrection on the First Day; and the Holy Ghost came in great power
and Presence on the First Day. Here are Bible verses that may prove
enlightening and intensify our curiosities to the mystery of Scripture:
God
the Father
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. And God called
the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the
morning were the first day.
(Gen 1:3-5)
God
the Son
The
first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto
the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. (John 20:1)
Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new. (2 Cor 5:17)
God
the Holy Ghost
And
when the day of Pentecost was fully come(FIRST day of week), they were all with one accord
in one place. (Acts 2:1)
And
ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye
brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath (FIRST day of Week)
shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the
LORD. (Leviticus
23:15-16)
Is it not a thrilling revelation all of the Creations of the Lord have begun on
that FIRST day of the week!
This day the Lord for sinners
slain in might victorious rose again: O Jesus, may we raisèd be from death of
sin to life in thee!
Jesus rose on the third day (dawn of Sunday – First Day of week). That
brilliant Light that broke through the stone walls of the Tomb on that First
morning of Easter was one of such effulgence that the whole world was bathed in
that Light just as the Light of the first day commanded by God at Creation’s
Dawn. The physical life to which all living are heirs can bear no comparison to
that spiritual and eternal life created by Jesus Christ for those who believe
by His sacrifice. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (John
1:4) As Jesus
conquered death and Hell, so may all be accounted heirs of that victory who are
in the Ark of Christ. As Jesus rose from the grave, so may all who are the
Elect of God: And this is the will of him
that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may
have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John
6:40)
This day the Holy Spirit came
with fiery tongues of cloven flame: O Spirit, fill our hearts this day with
grace to hear and grace to pray.
In the first verse of the Bible (Genesis 1:1) God is mentioned in the
fullness of His Godhead. The word used for ‘God’ is ‘Elohim’ which is a
peculiar term in the Hebrew that does not exist in English grammar – it is a
term for God which is a plural/singular form – Three Persons in One Godhead!
The Holy Spirit moved upon the face of the waters… The Creation Model
was the plan of God the Father; the creative power was present in the Holy
Spirit; and the executive presence was fulfilled in Christ. In the beginning
was the Word (CHRIST), and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made
by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John
1:1-3) It is God’s grace that grants us the faith to hear and to pray. Both are
components of prayer – praying and listening to hear the answer, and accept it!
O day of light and life and
grace, from earthly toil sweet resting place, thy hallowed hours, blest gift of
love, give we again to God above.
The Lord’s Day and the Sabbath are not synonymous. The Sabbath of the old
Creation of Genesis is the seventh day (Saturday). The Lord’s Day is our day of
worship which we observe on the day of our Lord’s resurrection. What of the old
Sabbath – is it still binding? Yes, most certainly it is more binding now than
when first declared. Today, we have Christ to be our Passover as well as our
Sabbath Rest. In Him, every day is our Sabbath and we rest our labors in Him
for it is He who works in the members of His Elect. All of our hours are
hallowed in Christ. We enjoy a sweet rest daily in the bosom of our Savior. The
rest we enjoy is not a common one, but a sweet rest that is embodied with a
love that surpasses all understanding. We are incapable of love if it is
not granted by God. We only are able to love Christ because He first loved us! We
love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
Even that love that
we return to God came first as a gift to us. We can never give God anything
that is a native claim of our own – all good and perfect gifts come down from
the Father of Lights!
All praise to God the Father be,
all praise, eternal Son, to thee, whom, with the Spirit, we adore forever and forevermore. This is the fitting doxology of
every hymn and every prayer. All glory, laud and honor belongs to God. We adore
and praise the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. One cannot over-praise
God the Father without, at the same time, praising God the Son, and God the
Holy Ghost, for all praise belongs in equal measure to all Three that are the
One God in Three Persons.
