or Mathematicians, or Aftrologers, or fpeculative or experimental Naturalifts upon fmall Parcels of Matter; but by fuch, who have had, or shall have Courage and Capacity to make, and Patience 'till they have made fufficient or competent Obfervations upon the Formation and Situation of Things, and the feveral Operations of those which acted, and their feveral Effects, or Confequences upon thofe, which have been acted upon, as well as upon the fettled Course of things now, with an Intent to understand the Scriptures, and the Situation of things which are of great Use, and must be search'd out and pursued, and to fet up nothing of their own; and who have not published Errors which they will not retract, nor are attached to the Errors of others: And fince the Words were infallibly fuited to the things acting and acted upon, and to the Actions, Accidents, Situations, and Confequences, and were delivered in an ancient Language; we are firft to fearch for the Meaning of the Words, and Obfervations upon things, muft help to find the things, their Situations, Conditions, Actions, Accidents, &c. to fuit the Words. According to Sebaftian Caftalio; "Then God commanded a thin Fluid [Liquidum] to be in among the Waters, to divide the Water from the

Water;

Water; and he made the thin Fluid, 'which was to divide the Water which was above it from that which was below it; which being done he named the thin Fluid, Heaven. 2 Efdr. vi. 41. Upon the fecond Day thou madeft the Spirit of the Firmament, and commandeft it to part afunder, and to make a Divifion betwixt the Waters, that the one Part might go up, and the other Part remain beneath. "Let there be a Firmament.] The Works of the second Day are described, which are the Expanding of the Air, the Divifion of the Waters, the gathering of the lower Waters into their Place; the forming dry Ground: And these things God performed by the Means of the Spirit and the Light (e)". " Be

fore the Spirit was let loofe, and Light formed, the Air was a denfe dark Body; but as foon as Light fhone out, which, naturally thins, and expands, it began to be unfolded, to grow thin, and become fluid, and the thick Darkness disappeared (f).

"

in Hebrew according to רקיע

Aben Ezra, is 0727 i. e. fomething extended or expanded for its derived from yp which fignifies to fpread abroad, ex

(e) Ibid p. 9.

(f) Martin Borrhai. in Lib. de Orig. Mundi, p. 8. pand,

pand, enlarge, and make thin. Pfal. civ. i.e. fpreading out the Air as a Curtain. Ifai. xl. 22. He fpread out as a Skin the Air, and extended them as a Tent to be dwelt in (e)." "The Expanfion yp] a fpreading abroad, Diftending, Diffufing: bence Ifaiah fays, Ch. xlii. 5, Creating [concreting] the Heavens, and fpreading them. abroad, Ch. xl. Ver. 22. (ƒ)." "Vatablus tranflates Firmament, the Expanse, and Drufus, this Expanfion is a spreading out the Subftance of the Air (g). "" Or rather from the Syriac Ufage of yp, which fignify to prefs or fqueeze, Luk. vi. 38. and perhaps the Hebrew yp may primarily fignify to prefs, and fo to extend; for things are extended by being preffed, as Plates of Brafs (h). " Pf. cxxxvi. 6. yp¬h, LXX To him who makes firm; [Segedσavri] and [σερεώσαντι] ferom, who made firm [firmavit esεgewσE.] Jo Ifai. xlii. 5. and xliv. 24. the LXX. and ferom tranflate yp by the Words above. fob. 37. 18. pn Sym. made firm (i). From its Appearance, Ezek. i. 22. And

(e) Critici Sacri Tom. 1. p. 10. Fagius.

(f) Critici Sacri Tom. 1. p. 18. Gen. i. 6. Va

tablus.

(g) Synopfis Crit. Tom. 1. p. 6. Ainsworthus. Num. xvi. 38.

(b) Synopf. Critic. Tom. I. p. 6. Bonfrerius Fullerii Mifc. 1. 6.

(i) Critic. Sacr. Tom. I. p. 27.

the

the Likeness of the Firmament upon the Head of the living Creature was as the Colour of the terrible Cryftal, ftretched forth over their Heads above, Dan. xii. 3. Shall fine as the Brighness of the Firmament. Of its Power, Pfalm cl. 1. In the Firmament of his Power. The Prayer of Manaffes. For all the Powers of the Heavens do praise thee. Job xxxvii. 18. Haft thou with him spread out the Sky, which is ftrong, and as a molten LookingGlass? Pfalm xix. 1, The Heavens de

clare the Glory of God; and the Firmament fheweth his handy Work. Job xxxviii. 33. Knoweft thou the Ordinances of the Heaven? Canft thou fet the Dominion thereof in the Earth? In Situation or Place. Gen. i. 14. And God faid, Let there be Lights in the Firmament of the Hea-· ven. Ver. 17. And God fet them in the Firmament of the Heaven. Ver. 20. And Fowl that may fly above the Earth in. the open Firmament of Heaven. Here is a Permiffion to an Agent, or fomething which could move or act (as at let there be Light) which was to form or put fomething into a Condition to move or act in a farther Degree, with a new Name, and another Permiffion to this Agent, which had a new Name with new Powers.

It

It is term'd the Spirit of the Firmament; and defcrib'd to be fomething which is call'd Liquidum, a thin Fluid. These Operations are attributed to the Force of the Spirit and the Light. The Spirit and the Light by Motion were rarified, and its Parts were to diffuse and pervade the Pores of that Mixture which was firft call'd Earth, then defcrib'd to be loose, or fluid; and afterwards called, as here, Waters; to act there, fort the Parts, form a Divifion, and divide the Waters. And this new Name fignifies, that it was invefted with Powers to have different Effects upon different Sorts of Matter, to expand, diftend, diffufe, fill, thin, &c. Fluids; and to comprefs, drive together, keep firmly together, and establish the Parts of Solids, or the Earth. 'Tis described to be exceeding bright, is of great Force, Power, and Strength, has Ordinances and Dominion in the Earth. 'Tis described to be where the Sun, Moon, Waters, Earth, &c. were, and called a Diffufion of the Body, of the Airs; and in the eighth Verse the Heavens, the Æthers, the Airs. And it is a continual Attempt of the Airs to expand, produced and continued from the Motion of its Parts among one another, which produced a Compreffion