aver it* it cannot pass it: And though the waves. thereof tofs themselves, yet can they not prevail: Though they roar, yet can they not pass Here we fee, that the bounds and bars above-mentioned, fome of them at leaft, are none other than the loose fands which the fea is made to throw up, as a bank against itself; which, how unlikely foever it might otherwife feem, is yet made ufe of as a natural means for this purpofe. This we often fee is the cafe on a lee-fhore; where the water, were it not for thefe mounds, by its fluency, and its being fpecifically lighter than earth, would rife above it, and overflow it; and the tides efpecially, would always drown all the lower grounds. This is a remarkable inftance of God's efpecial providence: And the more so, as the winds fet against these fhores, and drive the waters more forcibly upon them; But, by this means, they carry their own remedy with them, and fence against * Jer. v. 22. them themselves. The Lord on high is mightier than the mighty waves of the fea*. Rocks and cliffs are stronger, and higher barriers Yet, if the tides and flowings of the sea were not under certain laws, which, as it were, fay unto them, Hitherto shall ye go, and no farther, we could not tell what rocks or cliffs, or even mountains, would be able to withstand them. For, contrary to the natural proclivity of water, to run and spread, wherever it hath room, the fea rifes from the fhores, and fwells itself up into a protuberance or convexity. This is evident, from the appearance of a ship under fail, which as it goes out to high fea, is gradually loft fight of. This is taken notice of in fcripture, and afcribed to its proper caufe, the power of the Almighty. He gathereth the waters of the fea together as an heap. Not only at the paffage of the Ifraelites through the red fea, and Jordan, were the waters thus ga * Pf. xciii. 4. Y 4 thered thered together; the floods ftanding upright as an heap, and the depths congealed in the heart of the fea*. But, in general, and at all times, they are heaped up to a certain degree: The fea, as well as land, being of a fpherical figure; which must bring them nearly to a level with each other; and by this figure it is circumfcribed, and kept within its proper bounds. 3. It was obferved, fo long ago as in the days of Job, that there was a failure and decrease in the waters, both of the fea and rivers: This is illuftrated by a comparifon, which implies, that this wafte fhall not be repaired, nor the fea replenished, till the heavens be no more. The waters fail from the fea; and the flood decayeth and drieth up: So man lieth down, and rifeth not till the heavens be no more. Thefe words are plain and exprefs, and admit of no other meaning. The decay fhall be perpetual, and continue till the confum Exod. xv. 8. Job xiv. 11, 12. Comp. ch. xxviii. 4, 11. mation of all things. It was observed, Chap. V. that there are grounds to believe, both from nature and fcripture, particularly from 2 Pet. iii. 5, 6, 7, that the antediluvian world greatly abounded in waterthat the earth bore but a small proportion to it, much smaller, perhaps, than it doth at prefent; and, therefore, might have been more easily overflowed by it. If, therefore, there be lefs water, and more land, in the prefent earth, than there was in that before the flood; and if this water is likewife in a decreasing state, here is another ground of fecurity to the world from being overflowed by it: And that this is truly the cafe, we may be inclined to believe from the following confiderations. Many naturalifts have obferved, That the fea fubfides, and the land gains upon it various ways. It hath been remarked, That the countries bordering upon, or within a moderate distance of, the centre lines of the earth*, are, generally speaking, more antient than those which are at a greater distance from them—that the most antient are the highest and driest— and that the laft inhabited are the lowest; The reafon of which is fupposed to have been, that the latter abounded with marshes and lakes, and in fome parts ftill continue to do fo; which are plain indications that the fea hath but lately left them. Hence it is that Afia is the most antient, and first inhabited country in the world; as from the teftimony of all history it appears to be: And that Europe was probably planted much later, especially the western parts of it bordering on the fea-coafts, which did not become habitable dry land, till in after-ages +. It is farther obfervable, that the rivers conftantly carry vaft quantities of gravel, foil, and fludge, from the mountains, and * By the centre lines of the earth, are meant the centres, or middle parts of the great continents. + See M. Buffon, p. 35. lands, |