This, therefore, was the work of the Holy Spirit of God in refer- ence unto the earth "and the host thereof: The whole matter being created out of- which all living creatures were to be educed, and of which they were to be made, he takes upon him the cherishing and preservation of it ; that as it had its subsistence by the power of the Word of God, it might be carried on towards that fojm, order, beauty, ^ \ and perfection, that it was designed unto. To this purpose he com- municated unto it a quickening and prolific virtue, inlaying it with the seeds of animal life unto all kinds of things. Hence, upon the command of God, it brought forth all sorts of creatures in abundance, according to the seeds and principles of life which were communi- cated unto the rude, inform chaos, by the cherishing motion of the Holy Spirit. Without him all was a dead sea, a confused deep, with darkness upon it, able to bring forth nothing, nor more prepared to bring forth any one thing than another; but by the moving of the Spirit of God upon it, the principles of all those kinds, sorts, and forms of things, which, in an inconceivable variety, make up its host and ornament, were communicated unto it. And this is a better ac- count of the original of all things, in their several kinds, than any [that] is given by ancient or modern philosophers. And hence was the old tradition of all things being formed of water, which the apostle alludes unto, 2 Pet. iii. 5. The whole is declared by Cyprian, whose words I have, therefore, transcribed at large.^ And as at the first creation,
1 " Hie Spiritus Sanctus ab ipso muncli initio 'aquis legitur sui^erfusus; non materi- alibus aquis quasi vehiculo egens, quas potius ipse fei'ebat, et complectentibus iirma- mentum dabat congnium motum et limitem prffifinitum. Hujus sempiterna virtus et divinitas, cum in propria uatura ab inquisitoribus mundi antiquis philosopliis proprie investigari non posset, subtilissimis tamen intuiti sunt conjecturis compositionem mundi; compositis et distinctis elementorum affectibus presentem omnibus animam afifuisse, quoB secundum genus et ordinem singulorum vitam prseberet et motum, et intransgressibiles figeret metas, et stabilitatera assignaret et usum. Hanc vitam, liunc motum, banc rcrum esseiitiam, animam mundi philosopbi vocaverunt, putantes coelestia corpora, solem dico lunam et stellas ipsumque firmamentum bujus animse virtute moveri et regi, ct aquas, et terram, et aerem hujus semine improjgnai'i. Qui si spiri- tum et dominum, ct creatorem, et vivificatorem, et nutritorem crederent omnium quae
CHAP. IV.] IN THE FIRST OR OLD CREATION. 99
SO in the course of providence, this work of cherishing and nourishing the creatures is assigned in an especial manner unto the Spirit : Ps. civ. 30, "Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the earth.'' The making or creation of things
o
here intended is not the first great work of the creation of all, but the daily production of creatures in and according to their kind; for in the verse foregoing the Psalmist treats of the decay of all sorts of creatures in the world, by a providential cutting off and finishing of their lives : Verse 29, " Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled : thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.'" That, under this continual decay and dying of all sorts of creatures, the world doth not come to emptiness and desola- tion, the only reason is, because the Spirit of God, whose office and work it is to uphold and preserve all things continually, produceth by his power a new supply of creatures in the room of them that fall off like leaves from the trees, and return to their dust every day. And whereas the earth itself, the common nurse of them all, seems in the revolution of every year to be at an end of its use and work, having death brought upon the face of it, and ofttimes entering deep into its bowels, the Spirit of God, by its influential concurrence, re- news it again, causing every thing afresh to bring forth fruit accord- ing unto its kind, whereby its face receiveth a new beauty and adorning. And this is the substance of what the Scripture expressly asserts concerning the work of the Spirit of God towards the inani- mate part of the creation. His actings in reference unto man, and that obedience which he owed to God, according to the law and covenant of his' creation, is nextly to be considered.
Man in his creation falleth under a twofold notion; for he may be considered either merely 7iaturally, as to the essentially consti- tutive parts of his being, or morally also, with reference unto his j)rinciples of obedience, the law given unto him, and the end proposed as his reward. And these things are distinctly proposed unto our contemplation in the Scripture. The first is expressed, Gen. ii. 7,
sub ipso sunt, convenientem haberent ad vitam accessum. Sed abscondita est a sapi- entibus, et prudentibus tantos rei majestas ; nee potuit humani fastus ingenii secrctis interesse coelestibus, et penetrare ad superessentialis naturse altitudinem ; et licet in- teiligerent, quod vere esset creatrix et gubernatris rerum Divinitas, distinguere tamen nuUo modo potuerunt quae esset Deitatis Trinitas, vel qu^ unitas vel quae personavura proprietas. Hie est Spuitus vitse cujus vivificus calor animat omnia et fovet et piove- liit et fecundat. Hie omnium viventium anima, ita largitate sua se omnibus abun- danter infundit, ut liabeant omnia ratiouabilia et ixrationabilia secundum genus suum ex eo quod sunt, et quod in suo ordinc suse naturoe competentia agunt ; non quod ipse sit substantialis anima singulis, sed in se singulariter manens, de plenitudine sua dis- tributor magnificus proprias efficientias singulis dividit et largitur ; et quasi sol omnia calefaciens subjecta, omnia nutrit, et absque ulla sui diminutione, integritatem suam dc inexliausta abundantia quod satis est et sufficit omnibus commodat et impartit." — Cypr. Lib. de Spir. Sane.