Chapter VI: Book I (4)

THE great Difficulty propos’d, was to find Water sufficient to make an Universal Deluge, reaching to the Tops of the Mountains; and yet that this Water should be transient, and after some time should so return into its Channels, that the dry Land would appear, and the Earth become again habitable. There was that double Impossibility in the common Opinion, that the Quantity of Water necessary for such a Deluge was no where to be found, or could no way be brought upon the Earth; and then if it was brought, cou’d no way be remov’d again. Our Explication quite takes off the Edge of this Objection; for, performing the same Effect with a far less Quantity of Water, ’tis both easy to be found, and easily remov’d when the Work is done. When the exterior Earth was broke, and fell into the Abyss, a good part of it was cover’d with Water, by the meer Depth of the Abyss it fell into, and those Parts of it that were higher than the Abyss was deep, and consequently would stand above it in a calm Water, were notwithstanding reach’d and overtop’d by the Waves, during the Agitation and violent Commotion of the Abyss. For it is not imaginable what the Commotion of the Abyss would be upon this Dissolution of the Earth, nor to what Height its Waves would be thrown, when those prodigious Fragments were tumbled down into it. Suppose a Stone of ten thousand Weight taken up into the Air a Mile or two, and then let fall into the middle of the Ocean, I do not believe but that the dashing of the Water upon that Impression would rise as high as a Mountain. But suppose a mighty Rock, or heap of Rocks to fall from that Height, or a great Island, or a Continent; these would expel the Waters out of their Places with such a Force and Violence, as to fling them among the highest Clouds.

’TIS incredible to what Height sometimes great Stones and Cinders will be thrown, at the Eruptions of fiery Mountains; and the Pressure of a great Mass of Earth falling into the Abyss, though it be a Force of another kind, could not but impel the Water with so much Strength, as would carry it up to a great Height in the Air; and to the top of any thing that lay in its way, any Eminency, high Fragment, or new Mountain: And then rolling back again, it would sweep down with it whatsoever it rush’d upon, Woods, Buildings, living Creatures, and carry them all headlong into the great Gulph. Sometimes a Mass of Water would be quite struck off and separate from the rest, and toss’d through the Air like a flying River; but the common Motion of the Waves was to climb up the Hills or inclin’d Fragments; and then return into the Valleys and Deeps again, with a perpetual Fluctuation going and coming, ascending and descending, ’till the Violence of them being spent by degrees, they settled at last in the Places allotted for them; where _Bounds are set that they cannot pass over, that they return not again to cover the Earth, Psalm. civ. 6, 7, 8, 9._

NEITHER is it to be wondred, that the great Tumult of the Waters, and the Extremity of the Deluge lasted for some Months; for besides, that the first Shock and Commotion of the Abyss was extreamly violent, from the general Fall of the Earth, there were ever and anon some secondary Ruins; or some Parts of the great Ruin, that were not well settled, broke again, and made new Commotions: And ’twas a considerable Time before the great Fragments that fell, and their lesser Dependencies could be so adjusted and fitted, as to rest in a firm and immoveable Posture: For the Props and Stays whereby they lean’d one upon another, or upon the Bottom of the Abyss, often fail’d, either by the incumbent Weight, or the violent Impulses of the Water against them; and so renewed, or continued the Disorder and Confusion of the Abyss. Besides, we are to observe, that these great Fragments falling hollow, they inclos’d and bore down with them under their concave Surface a great deal of Air; and while the Water compass’d these Fragments, and overflow’d them, the Air could not readily get out of those Prisons, but by degrees, as the Earth and Water above would give way; so as this would also hinder the Settlement of the Abyss, and the retiring of the Water into those subterraneous Channels, for some Time. But at length, when this Air had found a vent, and left its place to the Water, and the Ruins both primary and secondary were settled and fix’d then the Waters of the Abyss began to settle too, and the dry Land to appear; first the tops of the Mountains, then the high Grounds, then the Plains and the rest of the Earth. And this gradual Subsidency of the Abyss (which _Moses_ also hath particularly noted) and Discovery of the several Parts of the Earth would also take up a considerable Time.

THUS a new World appear’d, or the Earth put on its new Form, and became divided into Sea and Land; and the Abyss, which from several Ages, even from the beginning of the World, had lain hid in the Womb of the Earth, was brought to light and discover’d; the greatest part of it constituting our present Ocean, and the rest filling the lower Cavities of the Earth: Upon the Land appear’d the Mountains and the Hills, and the Islands in the Sea, and the Rocks upon the Shore. And so the Divine Providence, having prepar’d Nature for so great a Change, at one stroke dissolv’d the Frame of the old World, and made us a new one out of its Ruins, which we now inhabit since the Deluge. All which Things being thus explain’d, deduc’d, and stated, we now add and pronounce our Third and last Proposition; _That the Disruption of the Abyss, or Dissolution of the primæval Earth, and its Fall into the Abyss, was the Cause of the Universal Deluge, and of the Destruction of the old World_.

CHAP. VII.

_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.

CHAP. VIII.

_The particular History of Noah’s Flood is explained in all the
material Parts and Circumstances of it, according to the preceding
Theory. Any seeming Difficulties remov’d, and the whole Section
concluded, with a Discourse how far the Deluge may be look’d upon as
the Effect of an ordinary Providence, and how far of an
extraordinary._

WE have now proved our Explication of the Deluge to be more than an _Idea_, or to be a true Piece of natural History; and it may be the greatest and most remarkable that hath yet been since the Beginning of the World. We have shewn it to be the real Account of _Noah_’s Flood, according to Authority both divine and human; and I would willingly proceed one step further, and declare my Thoughts concerning the Manner and Order wherein _Noah_’s Flood came to pass; in what Method all those Things happen’d and succeeded one another, that make up the History of it, as Causes or Effects, or other Parts or Circumstances: As how the Ark was born upon the Waters, what Effect the Rains had, at what Time the Earth broke, and the Abyss was open’d; and what the Condition of the Earth was upon the ending of the Flood, and such like. But I desire to propose my Thoughts concerning these Things only as Conjectures, which I will ground as near as I can upon Scripture and Reason, and am very willing they should be rectified where they happen to be amiss. I know how subject we are to Mistakes in these great and remote Things, when we descend to Particulars; but I am willing to expose the Theory to a full Trial, and to shew the way for any to examine it, provided they do it with Equity and Sincerity. I have no other Design than to contribute my Endeavours to find out the Truth in a Subject of so great Importance, and wherein the World hath hitherto had so little Satisfaction: And he that in an obscure Argument proposeth an _Hypothesis_ that reacheth from End to End, tho’ it be not exact in every Particular; ’tis not without a good Effect; for it gives Aim to others to take their Measures better, and opens their Invention in a matter which otherwise, it may be, would have been impenetrable to them: As he that makes the first way thro’ a thick Forest, tho’ it be not the streightest and shortest, deserves better, and hath done more than he that makes it streighter and smoother afterwards.

PROVIDENCE that ruleth all things and all Ages, after the Earth had stood above sixteen hundred Years, thought fit to put a Period to that World; and accordingly it was revealed to _Noah_, that for the Wickedness and Degeneracy of Men, God would destroy Mankind with the _Earth_, (_Gen. vi. 13._) in a Deluge of Water; whereupon he was commanded, in order to the preserving of himself and Family, as a Stock for the new World, to build a great Vessel or Ark, to float upon the Waters, and had Instructions given him for the Building of it, both as to the Matter, and as to the Form. _Noah_ believed the Word of God, tho’ against his Senses, and all external Appearances, and set himself to work to build an Ark, according to the Directions given, which after many Years Labour was finish’d; whilst the incredulous World, secure enough, as they thought, against a Deluge, continued still in their Excesses and Insolencies, and laught at the Admonition of _Noah_, and at the Folly of his Design of building an extravagant Machine, a floating House, to save himself from an imaginary Inundation; for they thought it no less, seeing it was to be in an Earth where there was no Sea, nor any Rain neither in those Parts, according to the ordinary Course of Nature; as shall be shewn in the second Book of this Treatise.