And to proceed now from Moses to other Divine writers; (to prove) That our Description is a reality, both as to the Ante-diluvian Earth, and as to the Deluge, we may further be convinc'd from St. Peter's discourse concerning those two things. St. Peter saith, that the constitution of the Ante-diluvian Earth was such, in reference to the Waters, that by reason of that it was obnoxious to a Deluge; we say these Waters were the great Abysse it stood upon, by reason whereof that World was really expos'd to a Deluge, and overwhelm'd in it upon the disruption of this Abysse, as Moses witnesses. 'Tis true, St. Peter doth not specifie what those waters were, nor mention either the Sea, or the Abysse; but seeing Moses tells us, that it was by the waters of the Abysse that the Earth was overwhelm'd, St. Peter's waters must be understood of the same Abysse, because he supposeth them the cause of the same Deluge. And, I think, the Apostle's discourse there cannot receive a better illustration, than from Moses's History of the Deluge. Moses distinguishes the causes of the Flood into those that belong to the Heavens, and those that belong to the Earth; the Rains and the Abysse: St. Peter also distinguisheth the causes of the Deluge into the constitution of the Heavens, in reference to its waters; and the constitution of the Earth, in reference to its waters; and no doubt they both aim at the same causes, as they refer to the same effect; only Moses mentions the immediate causes, the Rains and the Waters of the Abysse; and St. Peter mentions the more remote and fundamental causes, that constitution of the Heavens, and that constitution of the Earth, in reference to their respective waters, which made that world obnoxious to a Deluge: And these two speaking of Noah's Deluge, and agreeing thus with one another, and both with us, or with the Theory which we have given of a General Deluge, we may safely conclude, that it is no imaginary Idea, but a true account of that Ancient Flood, whereof Moses hath left us the History.
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And seeing the right understanding of the Mosaical Abysse is sufficient alone to prove all we have deliver'd concerning the Deluge, as also concerning the frame of the Ante-diluvian Earth, give me leave to take notice here of some other places of Scripture that seem manifestly to describe this same form of the Abysse with the Earth above it, Psal. 24. 2. He founded the Earth upon the Seas, and establish'd it upon the Floods; and Psal. 136. 6. He stretched out the Earth above the Waters. Now this Foundation of the Earth upon the Waters, or extension of it above the Waters, doth most aptly agree to that structure and situation of the Abysse (i.e., the release of vast quantities of tightly compressed atoms from within the mantle of the earth) and the Ante-diluvian Earth, which we have assign'd them, and which we have before describ'd; but very improperly and forc'dly to the present form of the Earth and the Waters. In that second place of the Psalmist, the word may be render'd either, he stretch'd, as we read it, or hefixt and consolidated the Earth above the Waters, as the Vulgate and Septuagint translate it: For 'tis from the same word with that which is used for the Firmament, Gen. I. So that as the Firmament was extended over and around the Earth, so was the Earth extended over and about the Waters, in that first constitution of things; and I remember some of the Ancients use this very comparison of the Firmament and Earth, to express the situation of the Paradisiacal Earth in reference to the Sea or Abysse.
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There is another remarkable place in the Psalms, to shew the disposition of the Waters in the first Earth; Psal. 33. 7. He gathereth the Waters of the Sea as in a Bag, he layeth up the Abysses in storehouses. This answers very fitly and naturally to the place and disposition of the Abysse which it had before the Deluge, inclos'd within the vault of the Earth, as in a Bag or in a Storehouse. I know very well what I render here in a Bag, is render'd in the English, as an heap; but that translation of the word seems to be grounded on the old Error, that the Sea is higher than the Land, and so doth not make a true sence. Neither are the two parts of the Verse so well suited and consequent one to another, if the first express an high situation of the Waters, and the second a low one. And accordingly the Vulgate, Septuagint, and Oriental Versions and Paraphrase, as also Symmachus, St. Jerome, and Basil, render it as we do here, in a Bag, or by terms equivalent.
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To these passages of the Psalmist, concerning the form of the Abysse and the first Earth, give me leave to add this general remark, that they are commonly ushered in, or followed, with something of Admiration in the Prophet. We observ'd before, that the formation of the first Earth, after such a wonderful manner, being a piece of Divine Architecture, when it was spoken of in Scripture, it was usually ascrib'd to a particular Providence, and accordingly we see in these places now mention'd, that it is still made the object of praise and admiration: In that 136 Psalm 'tis reckon'd among the wonders of God, Vers. 4, 5, 6. Give praise to him who alone doth great wonders,. To him that by wisdom made the Heavens: To him that stretched out the Earth above the Waters. And in like manner, in that 33 Psalm, 'tis joyn'd with the forming of the Heavens, and made the subject of the Divine Power and Wisdom: Vers. 6, 7, 8, 9. By the word of the Lord were the Heavens made, and all the Host of them by the breath of his mouth,. He gathereth the Waters of the Sea together, as in a Bag, he layeth up the Abysse in Storehouses. Let all the Earth fear the Lord,. Let all the Inhabitants of the World stand in awe of him,. For he spake, and it was,. he commanded, and it stood fast. Namely, all things stood in that wonderful posture in which the Word of his Power and Wisdom had established them. David often made the works of Nature, and the External World, the matter of his Meditations, and of his praises and Philosophical Devotions; reflecting sometimes upon the present form of the World, and sometimes upon the primitive form of it: And though Poetical expressions, as the Psalms are, seldom are so determinate and distinct, but that they may be interpreted more than one way, yet, I think, it cannot but be acknowledged, that those expressions and passages that we have instanced in, are more fairly and aptly understood of the Ancient form of the Sea, or the Abysse, as it was enclos'd within the Earth, than of the present form of it (i.e., it = those waters, which is as) in an open Chanel.
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Thus far the questions proceed upon the form and construction of the first Earth; in the following verses (8,9, 10, 11.) they proceed upon the demolition of that Earth, the opening the Abysse, (i.e., the release of vast quantities of otherwise compressed matter from within the earths mantle,) and the present state of both. Or who shut up the Sea with doors when it brake forth, as if it had issu'd out of a womb? Who can doubt but this was at the breaking open of the Fountains of the Abysse, Gen. 7. II. when the waters gusht out, as out of the great womb of Nature; and by reason of that confusion and perturbation of Air and Water that rise upon it, a thick mist and darkness was round the Earth, and all things as in a second Chaos.
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When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swadling band for it, and brake up for it my decreed place, and made bars and doors, Namely, (taking the words as thus usually rendered) the present Chanel of the Sea (i.e., the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, etc.) was made when the Abysse was broke up, and at the same time were made the shory Rocks and Mountains (also lifted up by the forces of the expanding mantle,) which are the bars and boundaries of the Sea, And said hitherto shalt thou come and no further , and here shall thy proud waves be stay'd. Which last sentence shows, that this cannot be understood of the first disposition of the waters as they were before the Flood, for their proud waves broke those bounds, whatsoever they were, when they overflow'd the Earth in the Deluge. And that the womb which they broke out of was the great Abysse, The Chaldee Paraphrase in this place doth expressly mention; and what can be understood by the womb of the Earth, but that Subterraneous capacity in which the Abysse lay? Then that which followeth, is a description or representation of the great Deluge that ensu'd, and of that disorder in Nature, that was then, and how the Waters were (after all that) settled and Bounded afterwards, Not unlike the description in the 104 Psalm, vers, 6, 7, 8, 9. and thus much for these places in the book of Job.
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There remains a remarkable discourse in the Proverbs of Solomon, (i.e., The book known as The Wisdom of Solomon, since then noted as part of the Apocrypha,) relating to the Mosaical Abysse, and not only to that, but to the Origin of the Earth in general ; where Wisdom declares her antiquity and pre-existence to all the works of this Earth, Chap, 8, vers. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, ere the Earth was. When there were no Deeps or Abysses, I was brought forth,. when no fountains aboundt'ng with water. Then in the 27. verse, When he prepared the Heavens, I was there,. when he set a Compass upon the face of the Deep or Abysse. When he established the Clouds above, when he strengthned the fountains of the Abysse. Here is mention made of the Abysse, and of the Fountains of the Abysse, and who can question, but that the Fountains of the Abysse here, are the same with the fountains of the Abysse which Moses mentions, and were broken open, as he tells us, at the Deluge. Let us observe therefore what form Wisdom gives to this Abysse, and consequently to the Mosaical: And here seem to be two expressions that determine the form of it, verse 28, He strengthned the fountains of the Abysse, that is, the cover of those Fountains, for the Fountains could be strengthned no other way than by making a strong cover or Arch over them. And that Arch is expressed more fully and distinctly in the foregoing verse, When he prepar'd the Heavens, I was there,' when he set a Compass on the face of the Abysse; we render it Compass, the word signifies a Circle or Circumference, or an Orb or Sphere, So there was in the beginning of the World a Sphere, (or an) Orb or (an) Arch set round the Abysse, according to the testimony of Wisdom, who was then present. And this shews us both the form of the Mosaical Abysse, which was included within this Vault: and the form of the habitable Earth, which was the outward surface of this Vault, or the cover of the Abysse that was broke up at the Deluge.
And thus much, I think, is sufficient to have noted out of Scripture, concerning the Mosaical Abysse, to discover the form, place, and situation of it; which I have done the more largely, because that being determin'd, it will draw in easily all the rest of our Theory concerning the Deluge. I will now only add one or two general Observations, and so to conclude this discourse; The first Observation is concerning the Abysse; Namely, that the opening and shutting of the Abysse, is the great hinge upon which Nature turns in this Earth : This brings another face of things, (and) other Scenes and a new World upon the stage: And accordingly it is a thing often mention'd and alluded to in Scripture, sometimes in a Natural, sometimes in a Moral or Theological sence; and in both sences, our Saviour (Jesus) shuts and opens as he pleaseth. Our Saviour, who is both Lord of Nature and of Grace, whose Dominion is both in Heaven and in Earth, hath a double Key; that of the Abysse, whereby Death and Hell are in his power, and all the revolutions of Job, II. 10, 12. (The very forces of) Nature are under his Conduct and Providence; And the Key of David, whereby he admits or excludes from the City of God and the Kingdom of Heaven whom he pleaseth. Of those places that refer to the shutting and opening the Abysse in a natural sence, I cannot but particularly take notice of that in Job. Chap. 12, vers. 14, 15. God breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up man, & Chap, II. 10. and there can be no opening: Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up, also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the Earth, Though these things be true of God in lesser and common instances, yet to me it is plain, that they principally refer to the Deluge, the opening and shutting the Abysse, (and so He deals) with the dissolution or subversion of the Earth thereupon; and accordingly they are made the great effects of the Divine Power and Wisdom in the foregoing Verse, With God is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding; Behold, he breaketh down, &c. And also in the conclusion 'tis repeated again, With him is strength and wisdom; which solemnity would scarce have been us'd for common instances of his power, When God is said to build or pull down, and no body can build again, 'tis not to be understood of an House or a Town, God builds and unbuilds Worlds; and who shall build up that Arch that was broke down at the Deluge? Where shall they lay the Foundation, or how shall the Mountains be rear'd up again to make part of the Roof? This is the fabrick, which when God breaketh down, none can build up again. He withholdeth the waters and they dry up: As we shew'd the Earth to have been immoderately chapt and parcht before its dissolution. He sendeth them forth and they overturn the Earth. What can more properly express the breaking out of the waters at the disruption of the Abysse ? and the subversion or dissolution of the Earth in consequence of it ? 'Tis true this last passage may be applied to the breaking out of waters in an ordinary Earthquake, and the subversion of some part of the Earth, which often follows upon it; but it must be acknowledg'd, that the sense is more weighty, if it be referred to the great Deluge, and the great Earthquake which laid the World in ruins and in water. And Philosophical descriptions in Sacred writings, like Prophecies, have often a lesser and a greater accomplishment and interpretation.
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2 Esdras 7:25-29
For behold the time will come, and it will be when the signs come which I have fortold to you, the city that appears as a bride, will appear, and the land which is now hidden will be seen. And whoever is delivered from the evils I have predicted will see my wonders. For my son the Christ will be revealed with those who are with him . . . (II Esdras 7:26-28 Goodspeed Edition)
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Elijah