_That the Explication we have given of an Universal Deluge is not an
Idea only, but an Account of what really came to pass in this Earth,
and the true Explication of Noah’s Flood; as is prov’d by Argument
and from History. An Examination of Tehom Rabba, or the great Abyss,
and that by it the Sea cannot be understood, nor the subterraneous
Waters, as they are at present. What the true Notion and Form of it
was, collected from Moses and other Sacred Writers; The frequent
Allusions in Scripture to the opening and shutting the Abyss, and
the particular Stile of Scripture in its Reflections on the Origin.
And the Formation of the Earth. Observations on Deucalion’s Deluge._
WE have now given an Account of the first great Revolution of Nature,
and of the Universal Deluge, in a way that is intelligible, and from
Causes that answer the Greatness of the Effect: We have suppos’d nothing
but what is also prov’d, both as to the first Form of the Earth, and as
to the manner of its Dissolution; and how far from that would evidently
and necessarily arise a general Deluge; which was that, which put a
Period to the old World, and the first state of Things. And tho’ all
this hath been deduc’d in due Order, and with Connexion and Consequence
of one thing upon another, so far as I know, which is the true Evidence
of a Theory; yet it may not be sufficient to command the Assent and
Belief of some Persons, who will allow, it may be, and acknowledge, that
this is a fair _Idea_ of a possible Deluge in general, and of the
Destruction of a World by it; but this may be only an _Idea_, they’ll
say; we desire it may be prov’d from some collateral Arguments, taken
either from Sacred History, or from Observation, that this hath really
been exemplified upon the Earth, and that _Noah_’s Flood came to pass
this way. And seeing we have design’d this first Book chiefly for the
Explication of _Noah_’s Deluge, I am willing to add here a Chapter or
two extraordinary upon this occasion; to shew, that what we have
delivered is more than an _Idea_, and that it was in this very way that
_Noah_’s Deluge came to pass. But they who have not this Doubt, and have
a Mind to see the Issue of the Theory, may skip these two Chapters, if
they please, and proceed to the following, where the Order is continued.
TO satisfy then the Doubtful in this Particular, let us lay down in the
first place that Conclusion which they seem to admit, _viz._ That this
is a possible and consistent Explication of an Universal Deluge; and
let’s see how far this would go, if well consider’d, towards the Proof
of what they desire, or towards the Demonstration of _Noah_’s Deluge in
particular. It is granted on both Hands, that there hath been an
Universal Deluge upon the Earth, which was _Noah_’s Deluge; and it is
also granted, that we have given a possible and consistent _Idea_ of an
Universal Deluge: Now we have prov’d _Chap. II._ and _III._ that all
other ways hitherto assign’d for the Explication of _Noah_’s Flood are
incongruous or impossible; therefore it came to pass in that possible
and competent way which we have propos’d. And if we have truly prov’d,
in the foremention’d Chapters, the Impossibility or Unintelligibility of
it in all other ways, this Argumentation is undeniable. Besides, we may
argue thus, as it is granted that there hath been an Universal Deluge
upon the Earth; so I suppose it will be granted that there hath been but
one: Now the Dissolution of the Earth, whensoever it happen’d, would
make one Universal Deluge, and therefore the only one, and the same with
_Noah_’s. That such a Dissolution as we have describ’d would make an
Universal Deluge, I think, cannot be question’d; and that there hath
been such a Dissolution, besides what we have already alledg’d, shall be
prov’d at large from natural Observations upon the Form and Figure of
the present Earth, in the _Third_ Section and last _Chapter_ of this
Book; In the mean time we will proceed to History, both Sacred and
Prophane, and by comparing our Explication with those, give further
Assurance of its Truth and Reality.
IN the first Place, it agrees, which is most considerable, with
_Moses_’s Narration of the Deluge; both as to the Matter and Manner of
it. The Matter of the Deluge _Moses_ makes to be the Waters from above,
and the Waters from below; or he distinguishes the Causes of the Deluge,
as we do, into Superior and Inferior, _Gen. vii. 11._ and the Inferior
Causes he makes to be the Disruption of the Abyss, which is the
principal Part, and the great Hinge of our Explication. Then as to the
manner of the Deluge, the Beginning and the Ending, the Increase and
Decrease, he saith, _Verse 17, 18, 19, 20. Chap. viii. 3, 5._ it
increas’d gradually, and decreas’d gradually, by _going_ and _coming_;
that is, after many repeated Fluctuations and Reciprocations of the
Waves, the Waters of the Abyss began to be more compos’d, and to retire
into their Channels, whence they shall never return to cover the Earth
again. This agrees wholly with our Theory; we suppose the Abyss to have
been under an extream Commotion and Agitation by the Fall of the Earth
into it, and this at first encreas’d more and more, till the whole Earth
was fallen; then continuing for some time at the height of its Rage,
overwhelming the greatest Mountains, it afterwards decreas’d by the like
degrees, leaving first the Tops of the Mountains, then the Hills and the
Fields, ’till the Waters came to be wholly drawn off the Earth into
their Channels.
IT was no doubt a great Oversight in the Ancients, to fancy the Deluge
like a great standing Pool of Water, reaching from the Bottom of the
Valleys to the Tops of the Mountains, every where alike, with a level
and uniform Surface; by reason of which mistaken Notion of the Deluge,
they made more Water necessary to it than was possible to be had, or
being had, than it was possible to get quit of again; for there are no
Channels in the Earth that could hold so much Water, either to give it,
or to receive it. And the _Psalmist_, [_vid._ _St. Austin in loc._]
speaking of the Deluge, as it seems to me, notes this violent Commotion
of the Abyss, _Psal. civ. 8, 9._ _The Waters went up by the Mountains,
came down by the Valleys unto the Place which thou hast founded for
them_. I know some interpret that Passage of the State of the Waters in
the Beginning, when they cover’d the Face of the whole Earth, _Gen. i.
2._ but that cannot be, because of what follows in the next Verse; _Thou
hast set a Bound that they may not pass over, that they turn not again
to cover the Earth_. Which is not true, if the preceding Words be
understood of the State of the Waters at the Beginning of the World; for
they did pass those Bounds, and did return since that time to cover the
Earth, namely at the Deluge: But if these Words be referr’d to the Time
of the Deluge, and the State of the Waters then, ’tis both a just
Description of the Motion of the Abyss, and certainly true, that the
Waters since that time are so settled in their Channels, that they shall
never overflow the Earth again. As we are assur’d by the Promise made to
_Noah_, and that illustrious Pledge and Confirmation of it, the
_Rainbow_, that the Heavens also shall never pour out so much Waters
again; their State being chang’d as well as that of the Earth, or Sea,
from what they were before the Deluge.
BUT before we leave _Moses_’s Narration of the Deluge, we must examine
further, what is, or can be understood by his _Tehom-Rabba_, or _great
Abyss_, which, he saith, was broken up at the Deluge, _Gen. vii. 11._
for this will help us to discover, whether our Explication be the same
with his, and of the same Flood. And first we must consider, whether by
the _Tehom-Rabba_, or Mosaical Abyss, can be understood the Sea or
Ocean, under that Form we see it in at present; and ’tis plain,
methinks, that the Sea cannot be understood by this great Abyss, both
because the Sea is not capable upon any Disruption to make such an
Universal Deluge; and because the Narration of _Moses_, and his
Expressions concerning this Abyss, do not agree to the Sea. Some of the
Ancients indeed did imagine, that the Waters of the Sea were much higher
than the Land, and stood, as it were, on a heap; so as when these Waters
were let loose, they overflow’d the Earth, and made a Deluge. But this
is known to be a gross Mistake; the Sea and the Land make one Globe, and
the Waters couch themselves, as close as may be, to the Center of this
Globe in a Spherical Convexity; so that if all the Mountains and Hills
were scal’d, and the Earth made even, the Waters would not overflow its
smooth Surface; much less could they overflow it in the Form that it is
now, where the Shores are higher than the Sea, the Inland Parts than the
Shores, and the Mountains still far above all: So as no Disruption of
the Sea could make an Universal Deluge, by reason of its Situation. But
besides that, the Quantity of Water contain’d in the Sea is no way
sufficient to make a Deluge in the present Form of the Earth; for we
have shewn before, _Chap. ii._ that eight such Oceans as ours would be
little enough for that Purpose. Then as to the Expressions of _Moses_
concerning this Abyss, if he had meant the Sea by it, and that the
Deluge was made by the Disruption of the Sea, why did he not say so?
There is no mention of the Sea in all the History of the Deluge: _Moses_
had mention’d the Sea before, _Gen. i. 10._ and us’d a Word that was
common, and known to signify the Sea; and if he had a Mind to express
the same thing here, why should he not use the same Word and the same
Term? In an Historical Relation we use Terms that are most proper and
best known; but instead of that he useth the same Term here that he did,
_Gen. i. 2._ when he saith, _Darkness was upon the Face of the Abyss, or
of the Deep_, as we render it; there the Abyss was open, or cover’d with
Darkness only, namely, before the exterior Earth was form’d; Here the
same Abyss is mention’d again, but cover’d, by the Formation of the
Earth upon it; and the covering of this Abyss was broken or _cloven
asunder_, and the Waters gush’d out that made the Deluge. This I am sure
is the most natural Interpretation or Signification of this Word,
according as it is us’d in _Moses_’s Writings. Furthermore, we must
observe what _Moses_ saith concerning this Abyss, and whether that will
agree with the Sea or no; he saith the _Fountains of the great Abyss
were broken open_; now if by the great Abyss you understand the Sea, how
are its Fountains broken open? To break open a Fountain, is to break
open the Ground that covers it, and what Ground covers the Sea? So that
upon all Considerations, either of the Word that _Moses_ here useth,
_Tehom-Rabba_, or of the thing affirmed concerning it, _breaking open
its Fountains_; or of the Effect following the breaking open its
Fountains, _drowning of the Earth_; from all these Heads it is manifest,
that the Sea cannot be understood by the great _Abyss_, whose Disruption
was the Cause of the Deluge.
AND as the _Mosaical_ Abyss cannot be the Sea, so neither can it be
those subterraneous Waters that are dispers’d in the Cells and Caverns
of the Earth; for as they are now lodg’d within the Earth, they are not
one _Abyss_, but several Cisterns and Receptacles of Water in several
Places, especially under the roots of Mountains and Hills, separate one
from another, sometimes by whole Regions and Countries interpos’d.
Besides, what Fountains, if they were broken up, could let out this
Water, or bring it upon the Face of the Earth? When we sink a Mine, or
dig a Well, the Waters, when uncover’d, do not leap out of their Places
out of those Cavities, or at least, do not flow upon the Earth; ’Tis not
as if you open’d a Vein, where the Blood spirts out, and riseth higher
than its Source; but as when you take off the Cover of a Vessel, the
Water doth not fly out for that: So if we should imagine all the
subterraneous Caverns of the Earth uncover’d, and the Waters laid bare,
there they would lie unmov’d in their Beds, if the Earth did not fall
into them to force them up. Furthermore, if these Waters were any way
extracted and laid upon the Surface of the Ground, nothing would be
gain’d, as to the Deluge, by that, for as much Water would run into
these Holes again when the Deluge begun to rise; so that this would be
but an useless Labour, and turn to no Account. And lastly, These Waters
are no way sufficient for Quantity to answer to the _Mosaical_ Abyss, or
to be the principal Cause of the Deluge, as that was.
NOW, seeing neither the Sea, as it is at present, nor the subterraneous
Waters, as they are at present, can answer to the _Mosaical_ Abyss, we
are sure there is nothing in this present Earth that can answer to it.
Let us then on the other Hand compare it with that subterraneous Abyss,
which we have found in the antediluvian Earth, represented; _Fig. 2. p.
77._ and examine their Characters and Correspondency: First, _Moses_’s
Abyss was cover’d, and subterraneous, for the Fountains of it are said
to have been cloven or burst open; then, it was vast and capacious; and
thirdly, it was so dispos’d, as to be capable of a Disruption, that
would cause an universal Deluge to the Earth. Our antediluvian Abyss
answers truly to all these Characters; it was in the Womb of the Earth;
the Earth was founded upon those Waters, as the _Psalmist_ saith; or
they were inclos’d within the Earth as in a Bag. Then for the Capacity
of it, it contained both all the Waters now in the Ocean, and all those
that are dispers’d in the Caverns of the Earth: And lastly, it is
manifest its Situation was such, that upon a Disruption or Dissolution
of the Earth which cover’d it, an universal Deluge would arise. Seeing
then this answers the Description, and all the Properties of the
_Mosaical_ Abyss, and nothing else will, how can we in Reason judge it
otherwise than the same, and the very Thing intended and propos’d in the
History of _Noah_’s Deluge under the Name of _Tehom-Rabba_, or the great
Abyss, at whose Disruption the World was over-flow’d? And as we do not
think it an unhappy Discovery to have found out, (with a moral
Certainty) the Seat of the _Mosaical_ Abyss, which hath been almost as
much sought for, and as much in vain, as the Seat of _Paradise_; so this
gives us a great Assurance, that the Theory we have given of a general
Deluge is not a mere Idea, but is to be appropriated to the Deluge of
_Noah_, as a true Explication of it.
AND to proceed now from _Moses_ to other divine Writers; That our
Description is a Reality, both as to the antediluvian Earth, and as to
the Deluge, we may further be convinc’d from St. _Peter_’s Discourse
concerning those two Things, _2 Epist. iii. 6._ St. _Peter_ saith, that
the Constitution of the antediluvian 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 Abyss 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 Abyss, as _Moses_ witnesses. ’Tis true, St. _Peter_
doth not specify what those Waters were, nor mention either the Sea or
the Abyss; but seeing _Moses_ tells us, that it was by the Waters of the
Abyss that the Earth was overwhelmed, St. _Peter_’s Waters must be
understood of the same Abyss, 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
Abyss: 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
Abyss; 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.
AND seeing the right understanding of the _Mosaical_ Abyss is sufficient
alone to prove all we have deliver’d concerning the Deluge, as also
concerning the Frame of the antediluvian Earth, give me leave to take
Notice here of some other Places of Scripture, which we mention’d
before, that seem manifestly to describe this same Form of the Abyss
with the Earth above it, _2 Esdr. xvi. 58._ _Psal. xxiv. 2._ _He founded
the Earth upon the Seas, and establish’d it upon the Floods._ And _Psal.
cxxxvi. 6._ _He stretch’d out the Earth above the Waters._ Now this
Foundation of the Earth upon the Waters, or Extension of it above the
Waters, _2 Esdr. c. vi._ doth most aptly agree to that Structure and
Situation of the Abyss and the antediluvian Earth, which we have
assign’d them, and which we have before describ’d; but very improperly
and forcedly 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 he fix’d 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 Abyss.
THERE is another remarkable Place in the _Psalms_, to shew the
Disposition of the Waters in the first Earth; _Psal. xxxiii. 7._ _He
gathereth the Waters of the Sea as in a Bag, he layeth up the Abysses in
Store-houses._ This answers very fitly and naturally to the Place and
Disposition of the Abyss which it had before the Deluge, inclos’d within
the Vault of the Earth, as in a Bag, or in a Store-house. 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
Sense. 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. _Jerom_, and _Basil_, render it as we do here, _in a Bag_, or by
Terms equivalent.
TO these Passages of the _Psalmist_, concerning the Form of the Abyss
and the first Earth, give me leave to add this general Remark, that they
are commonly usher’d in, or follow’d, 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
mentioned, that it is still made the Object of Praise and Admiration: In
the _cxxxvi. Palm_ ’tis reckon’d among the Wonders of God, _Verses 4, 5,
6._ _Give Praise to him who alone doth great Wonders: To him that by
Wisdom made the Heavens: To hime that stretched out the Earth above the
Waters_. And in like manner, in that _xxxiii. Ps._ ’tis join’d with the
Forming of the Heavens, and made the Subject of the Divine Power and
Wisdom: _Verses 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 Abyss in
Store-houses. 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
establish’d 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 tho’
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 acknowledg’d, that those Expressions, and
Passages that we have instanc’d in, are more fairly and aptly understood
of the ancient Form of the Sea, or the Abyss, as it was inclos’d within
the Earth, than of the present Form of it in an open Channel.
THERE are also in the Book of _Job_ many noble Reflections upon the
Works of Nature, and upon the Formation of the Earth and the Abyss;
whereof that in _Chap. xxvi. 7._ _He stretcheth out the North over the
empty Places, and hangeth the Earth upon nothing_, seems to parallel the
Expression of _David_; _He stretched out the Earth upon the Waters_; for
the Word we render the _empty Place_ is TOHU, which is apply’d to the
Chaos and the first Abyss, _Gen. i. 2._ and the _hanging the Earth upon
nothing_ is much more wonderful, if it be understood of the first
habitable Earth, that hung over the Waters, sustain’d by nothing but its
own peculiar Form, and the Libration of its Parts, than if it be
understood of the present Earth, and the whole Body of it; for if it be
in its Center or proper Place, whither should it sink further, or
whither should it go? But this Passage, together with the foregoing and
following Verses, requires a more critical Examination than this
Discourse will easily bear.
THERE is another remarkable Discourse in _Job_, that contains many
Things to our present Purpose, ’tis _Chap. xxxviii._ where God
reproaches _Job_ with his Ignorance of what pass’d at the beginning of
the World, and the Formation of the Earth, _Verses 4, 5, 6._ _Where wast
thou when I laid the Foundations of the Earth? Declare if thou hast
Understanding. Who hath laid the Measures thereof, if thou knowest? or
who hath stretched the Line upon it? Whereupon are the Foundations
thereof fastned? or who laid the Corner-stone?_ All these Questions have
far more Force and Emphasis, more Propriety and Elegancy, if they be
understood of the first and antediluvian Form of the Earth, than if they
be understood of the present; for in the present Form of the Earth there
is no Architecture, no Structure, no more than in a Ruin; or at least
none comparatively to what was in the first Form of it. And that the
exterior and superficial Part of the Earth is here spoken of, appears by
the Rule and Line applied to it; but what Rule or Regularity is there in
the Surface of the present Earth? What Line was us’d to level its Parts?
But in its original Construction, when it lay smooth and regular in its
Surface, as if it had been drawn, by Rule and Line in every Part; and
when it hung pois’d upon the Deep, without Pillar or Foundation-Stone,
then just Proportions were taken, and every thing plac’d by Weight and
Measure: And this, I doubt not, was that artificial Structure here
alluded to; and when this Work was finish’d, then _The Morning Stars
sang together, and all the Sons of God shouted for Joy, Verse 7._
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 Abyss, 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 the _Fountains of the Abyss_? _Gen. vii. 11._ when the
Waters gush’d out, as out of the great Womb of Nature; and by reason of
that Confusion and Perturbation of Air and Water that rose upon it, a
thick Mist and Darkness was round the Earth, and all Things as in a
second Chaos, _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
render’d) the present Channel of the Sea was made when the Abyss was
broke up, and at the same Time were made the shory Rocks and Mountains,
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 shews, 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
over-flow’d the Earth in the Deluge. And that the Womb which they broke
out of was the great Abyss, the _Chaldee_ Paraphrase in this Place doth
expresly mention; and what can be understood by חְהומה מן _the Womb of
the Earth_, but that subterraneous Capacity in which the Abyss lay? Then
that which followeth is a Description or Representation of the great
Deluge that ensued, and of that Disorder in Nature that was then, and
how the Waters were settled and bounded afterwards. Not unlike the
Description in _Psalm civ. ver. 6, 7, 8, 9._ And thus much for these
Places in the Book of _Job_.
THERE remains a remarkable Discourse in the _Proverbs of Solomon_,
relating to the _Mosaical_ Abyss, 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. viii. Verse 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 abounding with Water._ Then in the _27th
Verse_, _When he prepared the Heavens, I was there; when he set a
Compass upon the Face of the Deep or Abyss. When he established the
Clouds above, when he strengthned the Fountains of the Abyss._ Here is
mention made of the Abyss, and of the Fountains of the Abyss; and who
can question, but that the Fountains of the Abyss here are the same with
the Fountains of the Abyss which _Moses_ mentions, and were broken open,
as he tells us, at the Deluge? Let us observe therefore what Form
_Wisdom_ gives to this Abyss, 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 Abyss_, 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
express’d 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 Abyss_; 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, Orb or Arch set round the Abyss, according to the
Testimony of _Wisdom_, who was then present. And this shews us both the
Form of the _Mosaical_ Abyss, 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 Abyss that was broke up at the Deluge.
AND thus much, I think, is sufficient to have noted out of Scripture,
concerning the _Mosaical_ Abyss, 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
conclude this Discourse: The first Observation is concerning the Abyss;
namely, That the _opening and shutting of the Abyss_, is the great Hinge
upon which Nature turns in this Earth: This brings another Face of
things, 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 Sense; and in both Senses,
our Saviour shuts and opens it 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 Abyss, whereby Death and Hell are
in his Power, and all the Revolutions 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. _Job
xi. 10, 12, 14._ _Apoc. i. 18. xx. 1, 2, 3. xxi. 1._ _Apoc. iii. 7._
_Isa. xxii. 22._ Of those Places that refer to the shutting and opening
the Abyss in a natural Sense, I cannot but particularly take Notice of
that in _Job_, _Chap. xii. ver. 14, 15._ and _Chap. xi. 10._ _God
breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: He shutteth up Man, 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_. Tho’ 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 Abyss, 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 _13th Verse_ of _Chap. xii._ _With God is Wisdom
and Strength, he hath Counsel and Understanding; Behold, he breaketh
down_, &c. And also in the Conclusion ’tis repeated again, _Verse 16._
_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 chap’d and parch’d 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 Abyss, 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 referr’d 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.
I COULD not pass by this Place without giving this short Explication of
it. We proceed now to the second Observation, which is concerning the
Style of Scripture, in most of those Places we have cited, and others
upon the same Subject. The Reflections that are made in several Parts of
the divine Writings, upon the Origin of the World, and the Formation of
the Earth, seem to me to be writ in a Style something approaching to the
Nature of a prophetical Style, and to have more of a divine Enthusiasm
and Elocution in them, than the ordinary Text of Scripture; the
Expressions are lofty, and sometimes abrupt, and often figurative and
disguis’d, as may be observed in most of those Places we have made use
of, and particularly in that Speech of _Wisdom_, _Prov. viii._ where the
_26th Verse_ is so obscure, that no two Versions that I have yet met
with, whether ancient or modern, agree in the Translation of that Verse.
And therefore, tho’ I fully believe that the Construction of the first
Earth is really intended in those Words; yet seeing it could not be made
out clear without a long and critical Discussion of them, I did not
think that proper to be insisted upon here. We may also observe, that
whereas there is a double Form or Composition of the Earth, that which
it had at first, or till the Deluge, and that which it hath since;
sometimes the one, and sometimes the other may be glanc’d upon in these
Scripture Phrases and Descriptions; and so there may be in the same
Discourse an Intermixture of both. And it commonly happens so in an
enthusiastick or prophetick Style, that by reason of the Eagerness and
Trembling of the Fancy, it doth not always regularly follow the same
even Thread of Discourse, but strikes many times upon some other Thing
that hath Relation to it, or lies under or near the same view. Of this
we have frequent Examples in the _Apocalypse_, and in that Prophecy of
our Saviour’s, _Matth. xxiv._ concerning the Destruction of _Jerusalem_,
and of the World. But notwithstanding any such Unevenness or
Indistinctness in the Style of those Places which we have cited
concerning the Origin and Form of the Earth, we may at least make this
Remark, that if there never was any other Form of the Earth but the
present, nor any other State of the Abyss, than what it is in now, ’tis
not imaginable what should give Occasion to all those Expressions and
Passages that we have cited; which being so strange in themselves and
paradoxical, should yet so much favour, and so fairly comply with our
Suppositions. What I have observ’d in another Place, _Tell. Theor. lib.
2. c. 6._ in treating of _Paradise_, that the Expressions of the ancient
Fathers were very extravagant, if _Paradise_ was nothing but a little
Plot of Ground in _Mesopotamia_, as many of late have fancied, may in
like Manner be observ’d concerning the ancient Earth and Abyss; if they
were in no other Form nor other State than what they are under now, the
Expressions of the sacred Writers concerning them are very strange and
unaccountable, without any sufficient Ground, that we know, or any just
Occasion for such uncouth Representations. If there was nothing intended
or referr’d to in those Descriptions, but the present Form and State of
the Earth, that is so well known, that in describing of it there would
be nothing dark or mysterious, nor any occasion for Obscurity in the
Style or Expression, whereof we find so much in those. So as, all Things
consider’d, what might otherwise be made an Exception to some of these
Texts alledg’d by us, _viz._ that they are too obscure, becomes an
Argument for us: As implying that there is something more intended by
them than the present and known Form of the Earth. And we having
propos’d another Form and Structure of the Earth, to which those
Characters suit and answer more easily; as this opens and gives Light to
those difficult Places, so it may be reasonably concluded to be the very
Sense and Notion intended by the holy Writers.
AND thus much, I think, is sufficient to have observ’d out of Scripture,
to verify our Explication of the Deluge, and our Application of it to
_Noah_’s Flood, both according to the _Mosaical_ History of the Flood,
and according to many occasional Reflections and Discourses dispers’d in
other Places of Scripture concerning the same Flood, or concerning the
Abyss and the first Form of the Earth. And though there may be some
other Passages of a different Aspect, they will be of no Force to
disprove our Conclusions, because they respect the present Form of the
Earth and Sea; and also, because Expressions that deviate more from the
common Opinion, are more remarkable and more proving; in that there is
nothing could give Occasion to such, but an Intention to express the
very Truth. So, for instance, if there was one Place in Scripture that
said _the Earth was mov’d_, and several that seem’d to imply, that the
_Sun_ was mov’d, we should have more regard to that one Place for the
Motion of the Earth, than to all the other that made against it; because
those others might be spoken and understood according to common Opinion
and common Belief, but that which affirm’d the Motion of the Earth,
could not be spoken upon any other Ground, but only for Truth and
Instruction-sake. I leave this to be apply’d to the present Subject.
THUS much for the sacred Writings. As to the History of the ancient
Heathens, we cannot expect an Account or Narration of _Noah_’s Flood,
under that Name and Notion; but it may be of use to observe two Things
out of that History. First, that the Inundations recorded there came
generally to pass in the Manner we have describ’d the universal Deluge;
namely, by Earthquakes and an Eruption of subterraneous Waters, the
Earth being broken and falling in: And of this we shall elsewhere give a
full Account out of their Authors. Secondly, that _Deucalion_’s Deluge
in particular, which is suppos’d by most of the ancient Fathers to
represent _Noah_’s Flood, is said to have been accompanied with a gaping
or Disruption of the Earth. _Apollodorus_ said, _Bibl. lib. 1._ that the
Mountains of _Thessaly_ were divided asunder, or separate one from
another at that time: And _Lucian_ (_De Dea Syria_) tells a very
remarkable Story to this purpose, concerning _Deucalion_’s Deluge, and a
Ceremony observ’d in the Temple of _Hieropolis_, in Commemoration of it;
which Ceremony seems to have been of that Nature, as imply’d that there
was an opening of the Earth at the Time of the Deluge, and that the
Waters subsided into that again when the Deluge ceas’d. He saith, that
this Temple at _Hieropolis_ was built upon a kind of Abyss, or had a
bottomless Pit, or gaping of the Earth in one Part of it; and the People
of _Arabia_ and _Syria_, and the Countries thereabouts, twice a Year
repair’d to this Temple, and brought with them every one a Vessel of
Water, which they pour’d out upon the Floor of the Temple, and made a
kind of an Inundation there in Memory of _Deucalion_’s Deluge; and this
Water sunk by Degrees into a Chasm or opening of a Rock, which the
Temple stood upon, and so left the Floor dry again. And this was a Rite
solemnly and religiously perform’d both by the Priests and by the
People. If _Moses_ had left such a religious Rite among the _Jews_, I
should not have doubted to have interpreted it concerning his Abyss, and
the retiring of the Waters into it; but the actual Disruption of the
Abyss could not well be represented by any Ceremony. And thus much
concerning the present Question, and the true Application of our Theory
to _Noah_’s Flood.