The Lord Who Made Heaven and Earth
Logos 3. “Thus says the Lord who made the heaven; He it is who showed forth the earth and made it; He it is who marked it out. He did not make it for nothing, but to be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, nor in a dark place of the earth. I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek what is vain.’ I am the Lord, who speaks righteousness and declares truth” (Isaiah 45:18-19).
Having proclaimed beforehand the coming of Christ, the Savior of us all, and having marked out the time of salvation, when all will leave the darkness of their old ignorance and pass over to the light of the true knowledge of God, he here gives a needful exhortation to Jews and Greeks alike. He adds clear proofs by which they will know very plainly that He is the God and Maker of all, and that there is no other besides Him.
That is why he says, “Thus says the Lord”; and not simply “Lord,” for there are very many in heaven and on earth who have received that name by a loose use of it (compare 1 Corinthians 8:5), but He Himself who by nature and in truth is what He is also called, and who, from the very things He has accomplished, has a glory that is not false. For this, he says, is the Lord who made the heaven. To have made the heaven, and to have shown forth the earth and set it firm, is a very great proof of supreme glory and almighty pre-eminence.
For He marked it out; that is, when of old it lay hidden in the deeps, invisible and unformed (Genesis 1:2), He made it visible and finished. He marked it out, for, as the books of Moses attest, He said: “Let the water be gathered into one gathering, and let the dry land appear” (Genesis 1:9). So it appeared out of the waters; and though it was under water and wholly unworked, He set it apart by itself, placing bars and gates on the deeps (compare Job 38:10) and separating it thoroughly from the waters.
That He brought it forth usefully and of necessity to this end, not only so that it might be seen but so that it might have inhabitants, namely those formed from it, just as heaven has the holy angels, he made clear beforehand by saying, “He did not make it for nothing, but to be inhabited.” So it was shown to be a support and, as it were, a house for those who tread on it, that is, for us. And if we were brought into existence by Him, how is it not true to say that we were surely made for this very reason, that we might worship Him and Him alone, and acknowledge Him who is the Author of all things …
Greek
ΛΟΓΟΣ Γʹ.}1 9Οὕτω λέγει Κύριος ὁ ποιήσας τὸν οὐρανὸν, οὗτος ὁ καταδείξας τὴν γῆν, καὶ ποιήσας αὐτὴν, οὗτος διώρισεν αὐτήν. Οὐκ εἰς κενὸν ἐποίησεν αὐτὴν, ἀλλὰ κατοικεῖσθαι. Ἐγώ εἰμι Κύριος, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἔτι. Οὐκ ἐν κρυφῇ λελάληκα, οὐδὲ ἐν τόπῳ γῆς σκοτεινῷ. Οὐκ εἶπα τῷ σπέρματι Ἰακὼβ, Μάταιον ζητήσατε. Ἐγώ εἰμι Κύριος λαλῶν δικαιοσύνην, 359 καὶ ἀναγγέλλων ἀλήθειαν.9 Προανακηρύξας τὴν ἄφιξιν τοῦ πάντων ἡμῶν Σω- τῆρος Χριστοῦ, καὶ τὸν τῆς σωτηρίας κατασημάνας καιρὸν, καθ' ὃν ἅπαντες τὸν τῆς ἀρχαίας ἀμαθίας ἀφέντες σκότον, πρὸς τὸ τῆς ἀληθοῦς θεογνωσίας μεταχωρήσουσι φῶς, ἀναγκαίαν ἐν τούτοις ποιεῖται τὴν παραίνεσιν Ἰουδαίοις τε καὶ Ἕλλησι προστιθεὶς ἐναργῆ τὰ δι' ὧν εἴσονται καὶ μάλα σαφῶς, ὅτι τε αὐτὸς εἴη Θεὸς τῶν ὅλων καὶ δημιουργὸς, ἕτερος δὲ παρ' αὐτὸν οὐδείς. Ταύτῃ τοι φησίν· Οὕτω λέγει Κύ- ριος, καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς Κύριος, πλεῖστοί τε γάρ εἰσιν ἔν τε οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὡς ἐν καταχρήσει λαχόντες τοὔνομα· ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος αὐτὸς ὁ φύσει τε καὶ ἀληθῶς τοῦτο ὑπάρχων ὅπερ εἶναι καὶ λέγεται, καὶ ὡς ἀπό γε τῶν κατωρθωμένων τὴν δόξαν ἔχων οὐ κατεψευσμένην. Οὗτος γὰρ, φησὶ, Κύριος ὁ ποιήσας τὸν οὐρανόν· πάμμεγα πρὸς ἀπόδειξιν εὐκλείας τῆς ἀνωτάτω, καὶ ὑπεροχῆς πανσθενοῦς, τὸ ποιῆσαι τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ καταδεῖξαι τὴν γῆν, ἱδρῦσαί τε αὐτήν. Αὐτὸς γὰρ διώρισεν αὐτὴν, τοῦτ' ἔστι, κεκρυμμένην ἐν ἀβύσσοις ἀόρατόν τε καὶ ἀκατάσκευον οὖσαν πάλαι ἀπέφηνεν ὁρατὴν, καὶ εἰργασμένην. ∆ιώρισε γὰρ αὐτήν· ἔφη γὰρ κατά γε τὴν πίστιν τῶν Μωσέως βιβλίων· "6Συναχθήτω τὸ ὕδωρ εἰς συναγωγὴν μίαν, καὶ ὀφθήτω ἡ ξηρά."6 Ὤφθη δὴ οὖν ἐξ ὑδάτων, καὶ ὑποβρυχίαν οὖσαν ἀεργῆ τε εἰσάπαν διέστησεν ἀνὰ μέρος, κλεῖθρα καὶ πύλας ταῖς ἀβύσσοις ἐπιθεὶς, καὶ ἀποκρίνας εὖ μάλα τῶν ὑδάτων αὐτήν. Ὅτι δὲ παρ- ήγαγε χρησίμως εἰς τοῦτό τε καὶ ἀναγκαίως, οὐχ ἵνα ὁρῷτο μόνον, ἀλλ' ἵνα ἔχῃ τοὺς οἰκήτορας, δῆλον δὲ ὅτι τοὺς ἐξ αὐτῆς πεπλασμένους, καθάπερ ἀμέλει καὶ οὐρανὸν τοὺς ἁγίους ἀγγέλους προδιεσάφησεν εἰπών· Οὐκ εἰς κενὸν ἐποίησεν αὐτὴν, ἀλλὰ κατοι- κεῖσθαι. Ὄχημα δὴ οὖν καὶ ὥς τις οἶκος ἀνεδείχθη τοῖς πατοῦσιν αὐτὴν, τοῦτ' ἔστιν, ἡμῖν. Εἰ δὲ παρήχθη- μεν παρ' αὐτοῦ πρὸς ὕπαρξιν, πῶς οὐκ ἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν ὅτι πάντως που καὶ διὰ τοῦτο γεγόναμεν, ἵνα προσ- κυνῶμεν αὐτῷ τε καὶ μόνῳ, καὶ γενεσιουργὸν ὄντα τῶν ὅλων ἐπιγινώσκο