Angels, the Souls of Men, their Minds, and fomething feigned to be in, and do every Action in Animals; nay, even down to penetrating humid Fluids. This was, as great an Act as the Creation, and his fole Act: He gave Motion to the Matter upon the Faces of the Waters, and not to the Waters. But Mofes could not fay upon, or in the Faces of the Spirit of God, as he does, when he calls it the Faces of the Firmament. "The Spirit of God is Air which flows in a peculiar Manner upon the Earth; the third Element, which is fuftained upon the Water; therefore in the Formation of the World, he fays, the Spirit of God moved upon the Water, for Air being light is lifted up and fpread aloft, having the Water for its Bafis. (a)" "Next, the Spirit which the Greeks and our People call by the fame Name of Air. (b)" "And the Spirit of God.] Having mentioned that CONFUSED Disorder, he next explains the Adorning, or the bringing of Heaven and Earth into Order, i. e. what Inftruments or Means the Divine Wisdom made use of to bring

(a) Philonis Judæi Lib. trad. per Segismund Galenium, & al. p. 287.

(b) Plinii fecundi Natural. Hift. Lib. 2. de quatuor Elementis. Cap. 5. them

them to in their beautiful Form and Appearance; two of which are mentioned, Spirit and Light. First, he speaks of the Spirit; but fince the Spirit is two-fold; the one uncreated, which is properly the Spirit of God; the other made and created, which is the Wind, both are here meant, The one, the Spirit by Way of Eminence, of which the Prophet; and by the Spirit of his Mouth all the Hoft of them: The other, as the Inftrument of the Spirit of God which gives Motion, which the wife Architect made ufe of in drying the Earth, For this Effect is in other Scriptures attributed to the Wind, which the Air, that is continuous to the Sea, makes by being agitated backwards and forward. (c)” "The Spirit of the Lord, i. e. a Wind raised by God. (d)" and when the Spirit was where Darkness had lain round: Efdr. vi. 39. (e)" And then was the Spirit; and Darknesses and Silence were on every Side; Amos iv. 13. And created the Wind [Spirit.] 2 Efdr. xvi. 61. He made Man, and put his Heart in the midst of his Body, and gave him Breath, Life, and Understanding. Ver. 62.

(c) Martin de Borhai. in Lib. de Origine Mundi,

p. 2.

(d) Joannis Mariana Scholia in Genefim, C. 1. (e) Ibid.

ver. 2.

Yea;

Yea, and the Spirit of Almighty God, which made all Things, and fearcheth out all hidden Things in the Secrets of the Earth. 2 Efdr. xvi. 59. He fpreadeth out the Heavens [Airs] like a Vault; upon the Waters bath be founded it. It appears this Spirit was created; its Place where it was created is described; its Action, or one of its Talks, is described, and the Place where it was, and is to be executed, is defcribed; to wit, in and about the Earth. The Spirit of God, in fpeaking of material Things, is the Name used for Airs in Motion, and, 'tis like, was then for Airs, in a State between Darkness and that of Light; and was that Air upon, or above the Surfaces of the Waters, or in the then Atmosphere moved, or put into Motion. As there is no prior Motion revealed, there can be no fecond or intermediate Caufe affigned: This first Motion is justly attributed to the Power of God. And ever fince the inspired Penmen have, from this Impulfe, attributed all the Accidents in, and all the Operation of this Element upon others, as God's own Acts and when thofe Actions are difcovered, it will appear that it deferves a high Title. Here the Philofophers must find their Projections,

and not in their Vacuum.

;

What Sort of

Motion this was, I fhall not affirm; but I think, it was not in Form of Wind: 'Tis plain the Antients understood what it did, because they have applied the same Word to Actions, which, in a lower Degree, resemble it. They likened the World to an Egg; and its Effects were as the Word brooded [incubabat] implies. God by Motion enabled the Airs to brood upon the Mixture, called Waters; did the fame thing, as fomething which is infused from a Hen fitting a proper Time upon her Egg does upon the Sphere or White, and the Orbit and Yolk within it; puts the Parts into Motion, thins the moft fluid Parts, feparates the Parts for Solids, forms them into a hollow porous Cafe, with an Aperture to admit Supplies, and another to discharge them and in, or among those folid Parts, Tubes, or Ducts with Fluids in them, and fitted to convey the fluid Supplies from within to each Part in due Proportions, and for each of their respective Ufes and Supplies; forms Eyes and Members for Ufe and Ornament; and laftly, gives the Matter formed Motion to circulate the Fluids, &c. and alfo to do what the Word cherished [fovebat] implies; to warm and nourish the thing formed. And first it was for preparing the Parts of Darkness,

or

of Airs in their firft State, for the next Change, or Accident, in that Part of the Airs.

------Waters-----

The Waters and the Corpufcles, which conftitute the folid Parts of the Earth, fuch as Stones, Metals, Minerals, Salt, &c. were not yet separated; but intermixt in a Fluid, which was firft called Earth, and in the next Words described to be in Parts, loose, or fluid; and whereof the greatest Part by much was Waters, and here fo called; or perhaps, because the Waters might be clear or free from the Parts of Earth at the Surface. "That is, at firft, Things were diffolved and mixed together. (e) "Not being yet feparated from the Waters and made folid. (ƒ)” "The Water was

foul, being mixed with the Earth, &c. (g)", "Fagius explains R. Nachman's inn by dirty Waters, or Waters mixt with Dirt for he thinks the Waters were muddy, [turbidas] being as yet mixed with Dirt or

1

(e) Synopfis Crit. Tom. 1. p. 4. Grot. Job xxvi. 13.

(f) Tom. p. 3. Malvanda.

(g) Johannis Mariana Scholia in Gerefim p. 1 C. i. ver. I.

Mud