ii. 11 Sed et in alio loco idem apostolus a nostro spiritu Spiritum Dei secernens
ait. Ipse Sjnritus testimonium perhihet spiritui nostro, Eom. viii. ; hoc signiiicans, quod Spiritus Dei, id est, Spiritus Sanctus, testimonium spiritui nostro preheat, quem nunc diximus esse spiritum hominis. Ad Thessalouicenses quoque, Integer, inquit, spiritus vester et anima et corpus, 1 Thess. v. — Appellantur quoque supernse rationabilesque vir- tutcs, quas solet Scriptura angelos et fortitudiues nominare, vocabulo spiritus ut ibi, Qui fads angelos tuos spiritus; et alibi, Nonne omnes sunt administratores spiritus? Heb. i.
Rationales quoque alise creaturce, et de bono in malum sponte propria profluentes,
spiritus pessimi et spiritus appellantur immundi; sicut ibi, Cum autem spiritus im- mundiis exierit ab homine. Matt, xii., et in consequentibus, assumit sept em alios spiritus nequiores se. Spiritus quoque d^mones in Evangeliis appellantur : sed et hoc notandum, uunquam simpliciter spiritum sed cum aliquo additamento spiritum significari contra-
CHAP. II.] OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 49
This is one signification of the word D''"', or this is one thing de- noted by it in the Scripture. So, among many other places, expressly Amos iv.-13, "For, lo," nin Nnhi nnn -i>;i^^ " he that formeth the mountains, and createth the spirit," that is, " the wind." The LXX. render this place, Irspt-uv ^povrnv, xcti z-iZ^mv ■ri'sD/Aa* — " Who estab- lisheth the thunder, and createth the spirit;" though some copies read, ra opri, " the mountains." And the next words in the text, in^trn»i Dns^ n^30^^_"And declareth unto man what is his thought," they render, Kai d'rayysXXco]/ sig a.v&pui'zou; rhv XpKJrhv avrov, — " And de- clareth unto men his Christ," or his Anointed, or his Messiah; for they took in''U'"nrp for iiT'D'p^ by inadvertency, and not for want of points or vowels as some imagine, seeing the mistake consists in the casting out of a letter itself And thence the old Latin translation renders the words, " Firmans tonitruum, et creans Spiritum, et an- imncians in homines Christum suum;" which Hierom rectified into " Formans montes, et creans ventum, et annuntians homini eloquium suum," discovering in his comment the mistake of the LXX. But it is certain that, from the ambiguity of the word Dl"" in this place, with the corrupt translations making mention of Christ in the next words, some who of old denied the deity of the Holy Spirit mightily in- sisted on it to prove him a creature; as may be seen in Didymus, Ambrose, Hierom, Hilary, and the ancients generally. But the context determines the signification of the word beyond all just ex- ceptions. It is the power of God in making and disposing of things
rium, ut spiritus immunclus et spiritus daemonis; hi vero qui sancti sunt spirit us abs- que ullo additamento spii'itus simplicitcr appellantur. Sciendum quoque quod nomen spiritus et voluntatem homiuis et animi sententiam sonet. Volens quippe apostolus virginem non solum corpore sed et mente sanctam esse, id est, nou tantum corpore, sed et motu cordis iuterno, ait, Ut sit sancta corpore et spiritu, 1 Cor. vii., voluntatem spiritu, et corpore opera, signilicans. Considera utrum hoc ipsum in Esaia sonet quod scriptum
est, Et scient qui spiritu errant intelUctum, Isa. xxix. 24 Et super omnia vo-
cabulum spiritus, altiorem et mysticum in Scripturis Sanctis significat intellectum; ut ibi, Litera occidit, spiritus autem vivijicat, 2 Cor. iii. — Hsec juxta possibilitatcm nostri in- genii, quot res spiritus significet, attigimus. — Nonnunquam autem spiritus et Dominus iioster Jesus Christus, id est, Dei Filius, appellatur : Dominus autem spiritus est, ut ante diximus: ubi etiam illud adjunximus, spiritus Deus est, non juxta nominis communi- onem, sed juxta naturje subytaatia3que consortium. — Porro ad hsec nccessario devoluti sumus, ut quia frequenter appellatio spiritus, in Scripturis est respersa divinis, non labamur in nomine sed unumquodque secundum locorum varictates et intelligentias ac- cijsiamus. Omni itaque studio ac diligentia vocabulum Spii'itus, ubi et quomodo appel- latum sit contemplantcs, soi:)hismata eorum et fraudulentas decipidas conteramus, qui Spiritum Sanctum asserunt creaturam. Legentes enim in propheta, Ego sum finnaiis tonitruum, et creans spiritum, Amos iv. 13, ignorantia multiplicis in hac parte sermonis putaverunt Spiritum Sanctum ex hoc vocabulo demonstrari ; cum in praasentiarum spiri- tus nomen ventum sonet Ergo ut prnslocuti sumus, quomodo unumquodque
dictum sit, consideremus ne forte per ignorantiam in barathrum decidamus erroris." — Didym. de Spir. Sane. lib. iii.
1 So the Avord is constantly given by Owen. The i is uniformly elided from modern editions of the Hebrew Scriptures, and the word stands thus i|-;-b-rT3_ The origin of the mistake to which Owen refers is more apparent from the way in which the word is printed, but the insertion of the i seems without authority. — Ed.
VOL. III. 4
50 THE NAME AND TITLES [BOOK I.
here below, wlietlier dreadful for their greatness and height, as the mountains; or mighty and effectual in their operations, as the wind; or secret in their conceptions, as the thougJits of men; or stable in "their continuance, as the oiight and day, the evening and morning, without the least respect to Christ or the Spirit, that it treateth of.
And I cannot but observe from hence the great necessity there is of searching the original text in the interpretation of the ScrijDtures, as it might be evidenced by a thousand other instances; but one we may take from two great and learned men, who were contempo- raries in the Latin church, in their thoughts on this place.