1What Womb? Some say of the Providence of God; say others, of the Decree or Counsel of God; for that is the womb, out of which all things proceed: A third saith, out of the Power and Omnipotence of God: All these sayings are true, either of these is as the womb out of which all things issue; but these, the Providence, the Decree and Counsel, the Power and Omnipotence of God, are the Common Womb, out of which ⟨p. 97⟩all things issue; whereas here the Lord seems to speak of some special womb, out of which the Sea issued. And therefore I rather adhere to that Interpretation, which saith plainly, that the womb out of which the Sea is said to issue, was the Abyss or bowels of the Earth. The Sea brake forth out of the bowels of the Earth, as out of a womb. The Earth is the Common Parent, the Parent of the Sea; the Sea was created in the bowels of the Earth; or the Earth was created big with the waters of the Sea, as a woman big with child, and shortly after the Lord caused the earth, like a woman with child, to travel and b•ing forth the Sea. So that the Lord doth here more distinctly open to us the manner of the Creation of the Sea, than in the first of Genesis. It is true, the Element of Water hath its seat naturally above the Earth, it being the lighter Element; but as to the first conception of it, this Scripture implies, that its place was within the Earth, and that it issued forth from the Earth. The bowels of the Earth were the womb in which the Sea was conceived, and out of which, by the Word of the Lord, it issued. The waters were not at first created above the Earth (as some have affirmed) but they being created with the Earth, and conceived within the Earth, brake out of the Earth, and invested or covered it all over; and so continued in that condition till the third day, and then the Lord commanded them to retire into certain vast channels, now called Sea, that so the dry land might appear. Thus the Lord, when the waters were issued forth, disposed of them in their proper place. According to this Interpretation, we are to take these words of the time past; Who is he that shut up the Sea with doors, when it brake forth? that is, after it had broken forth, after it had issued out, Who was he that then shut it up with doors? This description of the Nativity of the Sea, may be drawn out into these conclusions:
1What Womb? Some say of the Providence of God; say others, of the Decree or Counsel of God; for that is the womb, out of which all things proceed: A third saith, out of the Power and Omnipotence of God: All these sayings are true, either of these is as the womb out of which all things issue; but these, the Providence, the Decree and Counsel, the Power and Omnipotence of God, are the Common Womb, out of which ⟨p. 97⟩all things issue; whereas here the Lord seems to speak of some special womb, out of which the Sea issued. And therefore I rather adhere to that Interpretation, which saith plainly, that the womb out of which the Sea is said to issue, was the Abysse or bowels of the Earth. The Sea brake forth out of the bowels of the Earth, as out of a womb. The Earth is the Common Parent, the Parent of the Sea; the Sea was created in the bowels of the Earth; or the Earth was created big with the waters of the Sea, as a woman big with child, and shortly after the Lord caused the earth, like a woman with child, to travel and b•ing forth the Sea. So that the Lord doth here more distinctly open to us the manner of the Creation of the Sea, than in the first of Genesis. It is true, the Element of Water hath its seat naturally above the Earth, it being the lighter Element; but as to the first conception of it, this Scripture implies, that its place was within the Earth, and that it issued forth from the Earth. The bowels of the Earth were the womb in which the Sea was conceived, and out of which, by the Word of the Lord, it issued. The waters were not at first created above the Earth (as some have affirmed) but they being created with the Earth, and conceived within the Earth, brake out of the Earth, and invested or covered it all over; and so continued in that condition till the third day, and then the Lord commanded them to retire into certain vast channels, now called Sea, that so the dry land might appear. Thus the Lord, when the waters were issued forth, disposed of them in their proper place. According to this Interpretation, we are to take these words of the time past; Who is he that shut up the Sea with doors, when it brake forth? that is, after it had broken forth, after it had issued out, Who was he that then shut it up with doors? This description of the Nativity of the Sea, may be drawn out into these conclu•ions:
- 1Ex occulto divinae providentiae. Aquin. Creavit deus terram non inanem sed gravidam aquis, quae licet eodem temporis momento […]Ex occulto divinae providentiae. Aquin. Creavit deus terram non inanem sed gravidam aquis, quae licet eodem temporis momento 〈…〉
