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Heavens were planted, Efay 51. 16. and therefore there was fomething which was, as it were,the feed, kernell, or science, or gift, of which it was planted: It is true, that in refpe&t of us, it is more admirable to see a thing made of nothing, because we cannot conceive it, then to fee or heare of a great thing made of a small matter because it is familiar experience, with which we are acquainted, to fee a little child prove a great man, and a feed or kernell prove a mighty tree but in refpe& of God both works are like strange, and alfo in the respects of the works themselves to make a tree of a kernell, and to make a tree of nothing is alike, though the one we approve, because of common experience, as a matter ufuall and nothing strange; for Gods power is miraculous in both, though in the one now it be made naturall and ufuall, it was ftrange to fee it; to turne water into wine, and to feed five thousand with five loaves and two fishes, yet the strange miracle is wrought by God every yeare, as we fee, but we confider it not; for God fendeth the watery moisture of the Earth to be conveyed into rhe Vine tree, which fap God turneth into Wine, though it seem naturall, and with as few Corns of grain as will make five loaves, being fowed in the Earth will multiply and increase to as much as will feed five thoufand with bread; and two fifhes will bring fo many files as may fuffice fo many for meat; fo that we have thefe wonderfull miracles amongst us every day.

Now touching the Heavens, the fcience, kernel, or plant, of which they were planted and made, was the waters, 2 Pet. 3.5. The other words to which this word in nature is oppofite and divers in fence, is operare, which fignifieth with ones hand to work with tools and inftruments, with laborious pains: But God doth not fo make the Heavens, but he doth it with as much ease as it is for a man to breath, Pfal. 104. 30. emitte spiritum & creabuntur; yet befides the facility, with fuch fpeed and celerity that in the space of time that one can fay fiat, with the festination he doth his works: which is diverf from the custome of men in making or doing any thing; for they commonly take great pains, and fpend much time in work to no purpose, and can doc nothing; as Peter, Luke 5. 5. he laboured all night and caught nothing, but it is otherwife with God, whose word without inftrument or pains, or without any delay doth throughly effect his work which he will have done : And thus we fee the reference this word hath of these two words, and what we learn by it.

The third thing is a matter of inquiry, because in the former work only these two fiat & faltum eft, and nothing between saying, and it was done, but here is put in fecit, as by way of Parenthefis between them in this work, which furely we must know is not idly fet down, but to great purpofe, and therefore not curiously of us to be inquired of, why it is fo placed to answer which, we must know that it was for our fake, fimul fieri potuerunt, non fimul fcribi patuerunt, it was all one to God faying and finishing at one time, but

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it was meet for us to have his action and work exprefled herein. Therefore Mofes, dealing here as a Prophet, doth forefee some danger and error which might arife by leaving of this clause & fecis Dem, therefore he betimes doth labour to prevent it by fetting it down, for he knew that God would not have his truth fown among thornes of Errors, Fer. 4. 4. therefore Mofes here before hand endeavoureth to stubbe them up: For Timeus the Pythagorean, and Plato, that great Philofopher,holding the truth of the Creation, doe notwithstanding advise this rooted thorne, that they fuppofe God only but to give out the Edict and direction how and what should be done, and to make certain Demones & Intelligentia to be the workers, doers, and bringers to paffe of the work; and fo, in that refpect, afcribing worth p and honour to them, as the Inftruments and Agents in this action. But God is here fet down, not only as the Mafter Builder, to oversee and give dire&tion; but also he was the only Agent and Workman which did make it himself, he both gave out the Edict with his word, and with the fame did fulfill and bring it to paffe: So that there was but one Commander, who, the felf fame, was the Maker also, Efay 40. 13, 14. Dixit, & non fuit ei confiliarius, fecit, & non fuit ei auxiliarius: So that this excludeth any Copartner with God in this bufineffe, for then he was alone, and alone of himself did make it, not caused it to be made for the Angells and celeftial Spirits were created when God faid fiat Angels Created lux, for then not only all light things in mundo fenfibili were made, as ftarres, &c. but alfo all things in mundo intelligibili, as 2 Cor. 11. 14. which also may appear by the order and placing them, first in Pfal. 148. 2. fo that they could not be created before, for then they fhould be eternall, nor after,for then there is nothing to infinuate it ; and indeed there is no danger thus to understand it, but there is great danger of error to hold the contrary, that they were created before, for then they may think, that as Hiram fent the matter of the Tem. ple and Salomon gave the form, fo God gave the matter of the world and the Angels the form and fashioning of it: But God in this work is alone, for his work ftandeth not as ours doth, that is, that the matter and the form of the work should come from divers Authors, as before we can come to Iron plate, we must fetch the matter from the Ironmonger and the form from the Smith; before we can have a Garment, we must have the matter from the Draper and the form from the Taylor: But with God it is not fo, for from him proceedeth both the matter and form of all Creatures, creat, facit, format.

Gnasha.

This is the first refolution of this queftion, to which there is a second answer, which is good for inftruction, taken out of the nature of the word gnasha; for the Hebrews use it in their phrase, not only to make a thing, bat alfo to trim up and to give a better form to any thing; in which fenfe it is faid,2 Sam. 19.24. that Mephibofeth had not made his beard nor his feet, by which is meant, had not trimmed his beard nor washed his feet, which he had made to him be

fore:

up,

fore: So God in this place is faid, by this gnafha, to give the outward form to thefe Heavens, and fo to trim and perfect them up as they should be; for they being made before in groffe, now he ftretched them out after a circular form, Fob 9.8. as having made a Curtain, should spread it abroad, and set it whereas before it lay wrapt up rudely together, Fob. 22. 14. tendit Cælum, that is, now he did bend and bow the Heavens compaffed as a bow, which was made before, but not half round, but circular round, and sphericall; and not only did he fet this form to them, but also gave them a circular & fphericall motion to turn round in their course about the Earth, Pfal. 19. 6. it doth goe in his compaffe, in giro fuo, Preach. 1. 5,6. the Sunne and Windes doe goe a circuit, in circuitione, vel circuitu fuo. Thirdly, He in this kinde of making them did now add to them a virtue, force, and heavenly influence, Fob 38. 31. which heavenly and comfortable influence is called the fweetneffe of the Heavens, Deut. 33. 13. Therefore we are willed to praise God in firmamento virtutis fuæ, Pfal. 150. 2. by which virtue the Heavens have a comfortable and reviving force, an action, influence, and dominion, as the word fignifich, in these Creatures

below.

And thus much of fecit. Now of the things which he made. First, We fee that whereas the Heavens before were compact and entire. Now by Gods workmanship they are scattered and spread round about and divided, for being made, it was Gods purpose, that it should be to this use, to be parted asunder into two parts.

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The Heavens by fome is called tenue expanfum, that is, a thing thinly sp ead abroad. In the making of it we confider the Maker and the manner of it, which is both fimply and plainly, and also comparatively by way of resemblance fer down in the Scriptures; for the power & force by which it was made, was the Spirit of God, The Spirit of the Execution r and Minister of that thing was Gods Word, the God. fecond person who willed and commanded it to be done, Pfal. 104. The Word of 30. Hefendeth forth his Spirit and they were created, Fob 34. 14, 15. If he draw or gather in his Spirit, they perish again: So that all that is made, is afcribed to the expanfion and motion of the Spirit going out; and the undoing or marring any thing is attributed to the drawing in of it again.

God.

The breath of Man hath a divers force and nature as it is drawn in or out; for as it is with open mouth breathed out (which is ball- Warm and frot. tus) it is warm, and being drawn in, it is cold again, if it be mildly and naturally expired and breathed out, as then it is warm and ht; fo being violently and forcibly with a blast puffed out, it is dry and cold, of which two forts of motions of Gods Spirit is the Aire made, the moift moderate fhowres and rain by the one, Pfal. 147. 18. and windes and froft by the other, Fob 37. 10. So it is fpiritualu, wis caloris, which warmeth, rarefieth, and maketh thin every thing living: to that power moving on the waters, made them grow into a thin body, whereof the Aire was made.

Now

The matter.

To a Stil,

to a Gold

Now for the comparison, this work of the Spirit is compared to an Eagle, or any other bird, in fitting on the egges to hatch their young: For to God having made a neft and layed or brought forth his young, as it were, unperfected, doth now by his fpirit incubare, that is fit and spread his wings over them, and fo giving vitall life and power, break the fhell, & fic pullulavit mundum. Thus we fee the power of Gods Spirit in the nature of the Word, and the resemblance of the comparison here used.

For the matter, we fee that the waters are the feed of the Heavens, which, receiving a power by the operation of Gods Spirit, proceed into a thinne vapor, which is partly Aire partly water, and not perfe&ly either, which mift or vapour God lifteth up and fublimateth, Fer. 10. 13. and by that means made it Cælum dereum.

There are four comparisons in Scripture to fet out this work, the first, Fob 36. 27. being lift up in vapor, he doth in the middle Region by cold cruddle and condenfate it, as in a ftill, Pfal. 18. 11. The to a Glafliman, fecond to a Glassman, Fob 37. 18. for fo he feemeth to blow up the Heavens round. The third to a Goldsmith, which is in the word Raha, Exod. 39. 3. for fo he beat it out abroad. The fourth to an to an iphol- Upholster, Pfal. 104. 2. for so as a Curtain he unrowleth it and extendeth the Heavens abroad, Efay 40. 22. thus you fee the workmanship of the Heavens in the Agent, in the Matter, and the Manner of the Work.

Im th,

fter.

The end why

Now the end why he made them was, That it might be a PaviGod made the lion or Tent, Efay 40. 22. or a Curtain, Pfal 104.2. over our heads, where the word ufed is the fame which is fet down in the making of the Tabernacle, which fignifieth either pelli or cortina, a covering or

Heavens.

It is not a dif

Lon.

curtain of skinns.

The Heavens were made thin, to the end there might be a space for motion and operation; therefore it is driven thin above, and divided from the nether waters, Dan. 12. 3. and therefore it is thin here below, that both the lights of Heaven might have passage to us through the Aire, being corpus transparens & translucidum, Dan. 4. and alfo that the comfortable influence,virtue, and force of the Heavens might have free and cafie paffage to us, by and through the thin Aire.

Now for the dividing, The word here used is not Babell, which, ordered confu- Gen. 11..9. fignifyeth divifion, for that word noteth fuch a divifion which is a difordered confufion of things, as it were renting or tearing or breaking a thing in divers peeces without order or regard, but Gods divifion is not fuch; for as he made all things well, fo he divideth all things well, fer. 10. 12. Pro. 8. 27. for this word fignifieth that it was an apt and fit divifion, fo artificially and orderly done, as if it were divided by line and rule.

Secondly, Gods divifion is not a fcatterring of things being divided, as it was in Babell, but fuch a divifion which hath a conjunon and unity, and agreement of parts which are divided, which is best expreffed in the divifion of cares, eyes, and noftrills, which

being feparated, doe notwithstanding meet in one nerve as one and the fame; fo it is in all things that God divideth, as the fingers and toes, &c. they meet in unity at fome one point So where the waters are divided, it is with agreement, quafi rota in rotam, Ezek. 10. 10. having à mutuall unity, entercourte, and reciprocation one to the other; for the Aire is the means whereby the upper waters are knit and united to the nether, Gen. 7. 11. The Airie Firmament is, as it were, the windows of Heaven, and dores through which is paffage for light and rain, Gen. 8. 3. fo this divifion continueth to this end, for the thing divided, we are to confider now but of the upper waters The upper above, the lower waters we fhall fpeak of hereafter.

We fee here God divideth the Clouds from the Channels, which upper Waters he divideth into feveral chambers or stories called con tignationes, Pfal. 104. 3. which we call the three Regions of the Aire, in the uppermoft of which is fnow and hail, in the middle one rain, in the lower dew's.

Another divifion is this, God made not the upper waters entirely. on compact substance, but bound them up in divers bonds of clouds, that through them, being divided, the light and influence of Heaven might paffe down to the earth through them, which else could nor. There are three things of which we read in the Scripture, which are raised out of the Earth, and doe concurre and meet in the Aire, of which, two have names, and by them we may give a name to the third, the first is the Clouds, which are called his Chariots, and the fecond are the Windes, or horfes that draw them, Pfal.104. 2. therefore the third, which is the Waters, muft needs be the Carriage which is in the Chariots.

Waters,

The windes he draweth out of the deep, Pfal.135. 6, 7. and fo are The Winder the Clouds taken out of the deep, Pfal. 33.7. for a vapour being four. drawn up, the watryneffe of it being dryed up, it becometh of a windy nature: Touching the divifion of the Winds, that principally they be four, Zach. 6. 5. which have their use in the four quarters and parts of the firmament, which ufe is, Job 37. 21. vis purificandi, to The ule of cleanse the Aire and Waters, which elfe would corrupt and putrifie. windes. Alfothe Windes have a neceffarie ufe in refpect of the Waters; for the South and Weft Windes bring rain, moist, and warm weather, and the East and North Winds serve to bring cold and dry weather and frofts, Luke 12.54.

ufe of them.

In the fecond place, for the Clouds,they rife alfo out of the waters The Clouds, and deeps, Pfal. 33. 7. and as it is plain, 1 Reg. 18. 44. for the Clouds the matter, the rofe out of the Sea, of which Clouds came the rain. They serve in regard of the firmament for a fhadow to cool us and keep us from parching in the time of Summer and Harvest, Efay 18.4. And in regard of the waters, they ferve as veffels and bottels to hold and contain them, and that to the end that they may not be poured down all at once, but, as Job faith 26.8. they doe quafi cribrare, as it were fift them in small drops down on the Earth.

The Waters are divided into aquas fluidas, & congelatas, for the The Warn flowing

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