Spirit of God; for the Holy Spirit is that person who is the agent in all immediate actions of God upon external things. Thus, whether Dr Geddes will or no, the Holy Spirit must be introduced to raise his mighty oversweeping wind;" for, at the period to which this relates, no wind could be raised without him.

"

The same objection, or nearly the same, will lie against every interpretation that takes

for any material force. The Hutchinsonians expound the in this passage, of their elementary Spirit; but this Spirit of the Hutchinsonians (upon their own principles) is nothing but , thrown into motion by the power of God. God therefore must have acted upon the stagnant matter of the chaos, before this elementary Spirit could exist : and much the same objection lies against this interpretation, as against that of Dr Geddes. According to either, the first action of Divine power upon created matter is implied in this passage, not explicitly mentioned. But take in its proper sense, of the Holy Spirit of God, and then we have in this passage, what we should expect to find in a true History of the Creation, explicit mention of that first act of God upon matter; and we are told

what it was; namely, the production of motion in the torpid inert mass. For thus the Hebrew should be rendered," and the Spirit of God raised a tremulous motion on the surface of the waters." In the preceding verse we are told, that the surface of the abyss was stagnant; then the Spirit of God causes a "motion" on that stagnant surface: and this was the first step in the inducement of form. For by this motion the general form of fluidity is brought upon the chaos, which immediately takes the name of ", " waters," and loses that of, "the abyss." Observe also the great importance of this fact, which is such as to demand an express, not barely an implied, notification of it. It overthrows the atheistical scheme of producing the world by the fortuitous concourse of atoms. For there could be no concourse, while the atoms all lay still and according to Moses they all lay perfectly still, till the Spirit of God moved them.

;

It is very remarkable that Dr Geddes, producing Aristotle's explanation of the word rupa, to prove that it signifies wind, has taken no notice of that part of Aristotle's explanation of the word, which, to a divine, might seem of the most importance. Having said that "wind is sometimes called Tupa,”

Aristotle adds, that the same word Tuμa is used also in another sense; "namely, for that substance which in plants and animals is the principle of life and fecundity, and pervades all things." The principle of life and fecundity, which not only is in plants and animals, but pervades all things, is clearly a description of the Spirit of God, according to the corrupt notions which the Heathen philosophers entertained of that divine person, making him the soul of the world. For that divine person the word TVεDua, according to Aristotle is a name in Greek.

Aristotle's observation may be extended perhaps to all languages. In all at least that we recollect, the principle of intelligence, life, and fecundity, in created things, and the analogous principle in the divine nature itself, the Lord and Giver of Life, is expressed by words which literally render wind, breath, air. The reason is obvious. The air being imperceptible, or nearly so, by the sight, touch, or any of the senses, is an apt image of the invisible, intangible, immaterial principle. Besides this, the air dia Tavтav dinner. It insinuates itself between the smallest sensible parts of all bodies, and is active every where by its pressure, or by its elasticity. Hence it is an apt image of that which is every

where present, though not corporeally, and every where active.

CHAP. xi. According to the Greek chronology of the Patriarchs after the flood, we find a very regular process in the contraction of human life, and the acceleration of the season of Pædogony. Human life underwent a diminution of about 120 years in the time of Peleg; though the season of Pædogony did not take place before the age of 130. In the days of Nahor, human life lost 120 years more, and he was the last who attained to 200 years (for the 205 years ascribed to Terah, instead of 245, is a manifest error.) From this time, the season of Pædogony began before the 80th year, in Jacob's time about the 40th, and, in the days of Jacob's sons, the human constitution seemed to be reduced nearly to its present standard, though what we should now call old age was still a very common thing. According to the Hebrew numbers, all is confusion. Immediately after Shem, Pædogony takes place between 30 and 40, and yet human life suffers no diminution till the time of Peleg, when it loses 220 years. Men continue to beget children at 30 or earlier, till Terah's time, who has no son before 70. Isaac is not married till he is 40, and Jacob

not till he is 64. From the history of Abraham it is evident, that though 100 was then become old age for a man, and 90 for a woman, yet it was in the course of nature that a man should beget a child between 80 and 90, and a woman retain her beauty between 70 and 80. For Abraham was 85 when Sarah, imputing their want of children entirely to the misfortune of her own constitution, proposed to him that he should take Hagar to his bed; and it was after the birth of Ishmael, consequently after the 76th year of her own age, that her person inspired Abimelech the king of Gerar with desire. All this is very consistent with the chronology of the LXX., and totally inconsistent with the Hebrew reckoning of the time from the flood to Abraham.

CHAP. XIV. 1.-" In the days of Amraphel."— Rather, "In those days Amraphel."

Verse 15.-" And he divided himself against them, he and his servants by night."-Rather, "And he came upon them by stealth in the night, he and his servants." The verb signifies not only "to part," "to divide," "to distribute," but to be "smooth," or "soft ;" and, in Hiphil, "to polish," "to sooth," " or flatter."

And from this

sense it may naturally take another, of doing any