By the word of the Lord were the heavens made
The aerial and starry heavens, and the heaven of heavens, the third heaven, the seat of the divine Majesty, and the habitation of angels and glorified saints; these were "made" even out of nothing, not out of any pre-existent matter, nor were they eternal; and being made are creatures, and so not to be worshipped, neither they nor their hosts after mentioned; angels, sun, moon, and stars; these were made by the Word of God, the essential Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who often goes by this name, ( John 1:1 John 1:14 ) ( Hebrews 4:12 ) ( 1 John 5:7 ) ( Revelation 19:13 ) ; and very fitly agrees with him, who spoke for all his people in the council and covenant of grace, and undertook to be their surety; is the Word spoken of by all the holy prophets since the beginning of the world; is the interpreter of his Father's mind and will, of which he must be capable, since he lay in his bosom; and now he speaks for his saints in heaven, whose advocate he is; and especially he may be so called because he so often spake on the six days of creation, and said, let this and the other thing be, and it was so; and to him, as the Word of God, is the creation of all things frequently ascribed, ( John 1:1-3 ) ( Hebrews 11:3 ) ( 2 Peter 3:5 ) , and particularly the heavens, ( Hebrews 1:10 ) . This is a proof of the deity of Christ, and of the dignity of his person; and shows how fit he is to be the Saviour of men; how safe the saints are in his hands; and that he ought to be trusted in, adored, and worshipped;
and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth:
by "the host" of the heavens are meant the angels of heaven, who dwell in the third heaven, and are the militia of it; they are called the heavenly host, ( Luke 2:13 ) ; these are under Jehovah, as their Lord and King, and are the army among whom he does according to his will, ( 1 Kings 22:19 ) ( Daniel 4:35 ) ; these attended him whenever he has made any remarkable appearance; and they have been employed by him against his enemies, and in defence of his people, about whom they encamp, ( 2 Kings 19:35 ) ( Matthew 26:53 ) ( Genesis 32:1 Genesis 32:2 ) ( Psalms 34:7 ) . The sun, moon, and stars, are the host of the next heaven, these are ranged in their proper order by the Lord, and he keeps the muster roll of them, ( Isaiah 40:26 ) ( Psalms 147:4 ) ; and these are used by him as his militia; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera, ( Judges 5:20 ) ; and the winged tribe are the host of the lower heaven; and even the lower class of these, as the locusts and grasshoppers, go forth in bands and troops, and encamp in the hedges, and at the command of God pass through and devour whole countries, ( Proverbs 30:27 ) ( Nahum 3:17 ) ( Psalms 105:34 Psalms 105:35 ) ; and all these are made by "the breath" or "spirit F26 of [Jehovah's] mouth"; that is, by the Spirit of God, the third Person in the Trinity; a name which is suitable to him who is breathed forth, and proceeds from the Father and the Son, and to whom creation is ascribed, ( Genesis 1:2 ) ( Job 33:4 ) ( 26:13 ) ; and which is no inconsiderable proof of his deity; and shows that he must be equal to the work of sanctification, which he begins and carries on. Now though the creation of the heavens is attributed to the Word, and the host of them to the Spirit, yet we are not to suppose that one Person took one part, and another Person another part of the creation; but they were all, Father, Word, and Spirit, jointly concerned in the whole.