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Ver. 24. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creatures after his kind, cattle, creeping things, and beasts of the earth after his kind; and it was so. So ver. 25. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind; and God saw that it was good. And in ver. 26. And God said, let us make man in our own image and likeness. Here is God's six days' work. Now let the reader mind, that God made all these things spoken of before, out of these two eternal substances of earth and water: likewise, God made, out of the substance of water, the firmament of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars; fishes, whales, and fowl that fly in the midst of heaven, were made out of the substance of water; the beasts of the field, cattle of all kind, and all manner of creeping things upon the earth, and man himself, God made of the dust of this earth, that was an eternal chaos, until God, in the beginning, created or formed it, as we see: and this take notice, that God made all things of the substance of water first, and God made the beast of the earth and man of the substance of earth last.

Thus I have given the interpretation of God's six days' work, and how that the substance of earth and water was eternal, in there being an essence; and how that God, out of these two substances of earth and water, did create or made all things whatsoever; all the light of sun, moon, stars, and firmament of heaven, with all their bodies, and all other creatures whatsoever, that hath the breath of life in them and that God did not make any thing whatsoever of nothing, as. Penn doth blasphemously affirm; so that the reader may see the gross ignorance of that opinion, that God made this vast earth and waters of nothing, and the better understand the answer to Penn's arguments as followeth:

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First, as for that place, Gen. i. 1, 2. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form, and void, I have answered before, showing that Moses spake that last which should have been first; so that Penn's arguments, built upon that text, falls to the ground.

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Secondly, Penn quotes Isa. xlviii. 2, 13. Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel, my called, I am he, I am the first and also am the last, my hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth. Penn's argument upon these words: "Wherefore thus I argue, if God was before so much as the foundation of the earth was laid, then was neither the earth nor foundation of it from eternity without God; but the text affirms, that God was first or before the foundation was ever laid."

Answer. To what purpose is this Scripture alledged, for we do own that God is the first and last, and that he was in being in heaven above the stars, and did create all manner of celestial creatures, spiritual bodies, as angels, before the foundation of the earth was laid. Now mind, though Godwas before the foundation of the earth was laid, he doth not say he was before the substance and matter of earth was; to speak plain, God doth not say he was before the dark senseless chaos of earth and water; for it is plain, that the earth was without form, and void from the sight of God himself, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; so that there was deep waters, and earth under the waters, in the beginning, when God began to create; and when God's Spirit moved upon the face of the deep waters, there was matter and substance; there was water and darkness for God's Spirit to work upon before God began to work or create, so that the dark waters must needs be there before, if before God began to create, or before the beginning, then eternal; except God did first span, out of his great vast Spirit without a body, these dark waters, and then he sets himself to work to make light bodies, out of those dark waters that came out of his great Spirit; so that God's Spirit without a body must needs be exceeding large, that could cause such vast substances of earth and waters out of his great vast Spirit without a body. I did not think that a Spirit without a body had been so large, as Penn doth blasphemously assert, yet by Penn's argument it must be so.

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Again, if God made this vast earth and waters of nothing, would it not have been easier for God to have made the firmament, sun, moon, and stars; and all fish, fowl, and beasts of the earth; and every thing that hath the breath of life, and man himself of nothing: God might easier have made these excellent creatures of nothing, than for him to make this great vast earth and waters of nothing: I do admire that the imagination of man should conceive such a monstrous God that can make such great substances of earth and water, and the great rocks and mighty stones in the earth of nothing; but Penn's God is a Spirit without a body, that can do all this, by his own confession; but my God, that hath a body of his own, never did any such thing, he always had matter and power to make his creatures of: methinks, it is a wonderful great power in God to raise the dead again at the last day, and to reward every man according to his works, as the Scripture saith; this is a great work for God to do, yet this power is nothing in comparison of such a power that could make this vast earth and waters of nothing, then by the same power he may bring them to nothing again; so that as they were made of nothing, so they shall turn to nothing again; if this were so, it would be well for Penn and all reprobates to be turned into nothing, then their condition would be as happy as we that are something, and shall be something again in the resurrection.

And as for God's laying the foundation of the earth, we do acknowledge that God did lay the foundation of the earth in the beginning, but the earth was before he laid the foundation, for he could not lay a foundation of earth except he had earth to lay; it doth not say that God laid the foundation of the earth with nothing; but in the beginning, after God had found out this earth that was eternally hid under the deep waters, then God laid the foundation of the earth by the power of his word, so surely congealed and strongly closed together that it shall never fall, but it shall stand to eternity; yet, nevertheless, the substance of earth was before God laid the foundation of it; for man may as well say, that a wise builder may lay the foundation of a stately tower, without any matter or substance; no, not so much

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as earth for his foundation; therefore Christ saith, a wise builder buildeth his house upon a rock; now this rock was before, he did not his foundation, of nothing, this rock thing, he made it a foundation to build upon : likewise, the foolish builder that built upon the sand, that made the sand his foundation, or laid a foundation of sand to build upon this foolish builder did not make the sand, the sand was before; so it was with God, he laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, but the substance of earth was before he laid the foundation of it; so that the substance and i matt of earth was before God laid the foundation of earth, if before, then eternal; for the Scriptures doth not say, that God laid the foundation of this earth from eternity, but from the beginning, when God created the heaven and the earth, then God laid the foundation of the earth, as we see; but the substance of the earth was before he laid the foundation of it; so that this Scripture maketh nothing to Penn's purpose, but altogether to the contrary.

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CHAP. XXI.

THIRDLY, Penn quotes John i. 1, 13. And the Word was God, all things were made by him. Penn's argument to this, "If all things were made by him, then both heaven and earth, because they are part of all things; but the place says, all things, or whatever has being, were made by him; (saith Penn,) therefore all co-eternally, of earth or heaven, with the everlasting God, is excluded and refuted."

Answer. We do acknowledge the Word was God, and all things were made by him, and that he made heaven and earth, and all things else in the beginning; but what is this to Penn's purpose? This doth not prove that God made the heaven and earth of nothing, neither doth it prove, that all things that God has made to be co-eternally with God, neither doth it exclude nor refute at all, that the substance of

earth and water was not an eternal chaos of dead, senseless matter and substance, but altogether to the contrary.

Fourthly, Penn's argument to conclude this head, For by him were all things created, and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. Col. i. 10. 17. And thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thy hands.

Answer. We do own the words of these Scriptures to be truth, that the Lord in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of his hands; as I said before, so I say still, God did not lay the foundation of the earth with nothing, he had the substance of earth to lay a foundation before he laid it; neither was the heavens the works of his hands made of nothing; God had matter and substance to work upon, void earth and waters, even as a man hath to lay the foundation of an house, for God cannot work upon nothing no more than man can; and the Scripture doth say, that God laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, which is clear, that the substance of earth and water was before the beginning of this world, even eternal; but it was in the beginning when God began to create this world, then did he work upon these two dead senseless substances of earth and water, that were eternal in their essence and being, and by his handy work he created the firmament of heaven out of that substance of water, as I said before; and when God had discovered to himself the earth or dry land, that lay hid under the waters, then he created the earth as we see, and laid the foundation of it in this order, as we see, this God did in the beginning, but the substance of earth and water was eternal, as I said before. His Page 14. Penn saith, Nor can their idle shifts any ways secure them from the dint of those Scriptures, nor the arguments built upon them, viz. Making is fashioning, so God made the heavens and the earth, as a carpenter makes a door or a chest, he fashions it of wood, but he did not make the wood; Penn saith, a distinction fitter for Bedlam than men that are i men that are in their wits; and, saith he, how can they think that it was harder

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