A briefe of the Bible drawne first into English poësy, and then illustrated by apte annotations: togither vvith some other necessary appendices. By Henoch Clapham.

1. Staffe. (Book 1)

VVHen Elohim (a) El, (b) Shaddaj, (c) Iehovah, (d) Iah, (d) Ehjesh (that is, GOD (e) in Persons Three, But (e) Essence One, On whome all things do stay, Cause of all Cau∣ses and Sufficiencie) when (f) HE the Heavens and Earth & Host hath fram'd: He create (g) Man and (h) woman, (i) Adā nam'd.

(a) sig∣nifying Strong o•• Potent: The first Atribute or Name of the Strong GOD▪ given in the Ho∣ly Booke (Gene. 1. 1.) by Moses. Elohim, is the Plurall number of EL: so that ELO∣HIM did Create, is as much as: 〈◊〉〈◊〉, the strong One did create: the Plurall number denoting the pluralitie of Persons; but ioyned with a word of the

Singular Number, it pulleth vs back to considder, that That Three, are but One ••ssence of S••bstance. The Essence then is one and spirituall, (Iohn 4 24.) but distinguished (not devided) into Father, Sonne, and Holy Ghost. 1. Iohn 5. 7.

(b) Signifieth, All sufficiencie.

(c) Signifieth B••••ng or Eternall: namely, such a Being as hath his Being of None, and by whome All other things haue their Being (Act•• 17. 28) and so Eternall, as is not onely without Beginning and End, but by and in whome, All things beginne and end. This woonderful Name, is deeplie graven on the Forehead of the Tenne Commandements, I IEHOVAH, Exod 20. 2.

(dd) signifying, I AM, so he speaketh to Israel by Moses, I AM, THAT I AM. He speaketh of himselfe in the Present Tense or Time, because All time with vs passed and to come is presentay before him: wee should so shape our selues as ha∣uing our first Creation, Fall and future Iudgment, alwaies present befo••e vs: then we would not con∣tent our selues with I was good, or I will be good: but wee would labour, that howe sodainl•• soeve•• God come vpon vs, even at that Present, to bee founde watchfull and sober. Heare not the High sacred Titles of God, but be thereby in all estates edified.

(ee) This one God is distinguished into Three Persons, the Powerfull Name, into which Man was first Created, Genes. 1. and lastly baptized. Math. 28. 19. not one Person before the other in Time, but in a certaine respect, or order, whereof anone.

(f) In the beginning of Time (and each Moti∣on must haue a Moover before it) that mightie Elohim steppe•••• ••oorth (according to his Eternall Decree) and createth Creatures for his own sake, Prov. 16. 4. which work, he manifesteth by dividing

it into partes: every part declared within a certaine Nomber of Motion or Time.

First, he of Nothing, created Something: name∣ly, the Heauenly and Earthly Matt••r (Genes. 1. 1.) whereout, Al other Creatures were to be diduced. And as. To Create is properly to make Something of Nothing, so this saide Matter is onely prope••lie Created, and the Creatures formed out of That, properlie M••de. These, that by Heauen and Ear••h, in that first verse, haue vnderstood the whole Sub∣sequent (as though the first verse delivered gene∣rallie, what afterwards is handled particularly) haue therein failed. If this were no•• so, then Moses shuld afterwardes tell vs, that Man was made of Earth, and then haue omitted the Creation of Earthlie matter, without which first knowne, wee cannot conceiue the second. Having Created that Hea∣uenly and Earthly Matter. ••oe it was as a confused Chaos, or rude Lumpe, but over-covered by the Breath (or Spirit of EL) as egges covered by the Hen, for bringing soorth a more excellent Crea∣ture: without which sitting vpon, as not only there woulde be no newe Creature, but also the egge wold in time cease to be that it first is so (and much more than so) without that over-spreading of the Spirit, that first Matter would haue returned into Nothing, and haue ceased Being. But brieflie, (for I professe brevitie in this Book) that Matter Crea∣ted, all being darknes, ELOHIM calleth Light out of darknes, and separating them, hee calleth Darknes (for it first had Being) Night; and the Light, day, and so was Created the first daye. Into which day, most liklie may be referred the Crea∣tion of Angels, wherevnto I am the rather led, be∣cause they are tearmed by the holy Ghost, Angels of Light, ••. Cor. 11. 14. and it may be, they had their Being from the Heavenly nature. But in which of

the Six daies soever they were Created, sure it is, that before Man his Creation, they had forsaken their Originall, Iob. 4. 18. Iude 6. compared with his time of tempting the Woman.

In the second day, was created the Firmament or superiour Region, calling it Heauen, putting a separation betwixt the superior & inferior waters.

In the third day, ELOHIM first commanded the inferiour waters to gather into appointed pla∣ces, calling them waters so collected, Seas: and the drye part, Earth. Secondly, hee commaundeth the same Earth to bring forth Hearbs and Trees.

In the fourth day, the Lord commaunded two great shining Starres to Exist in the firmament, ap∣pointing the Greater (namely, the Sun) for the day: and the lesser (namely, the Moone) for the Night.

In the fift day, God commaunded divers Crea∣tures to haue their Being out of the Waters: first, creeping water Creatures, as Eeles, Snakes, &c. Secondly, he commaundeth Being to Whales and all Fishes: Thirdly, to all feathered Fowles: blessing all of them to multiplication.

In the f••xt day, hee commaundeth the Earth to bring forth every kind of Beast, pasing or creeping. As I vnderstand the Serpent (Genes. 3. 1.) in English Creeping, not to be a Creeper of the Waters, long∣ing to the fift daies work; but of these Earth-cree∣pers, because there he is called a Beast of the Feild: So, I marvell at some, who haue peremptorilie af∣firmed, because ELOHIM there commaundeth him to go on his bellie, that he crept not before As M. Caluin thereon, might haue staied such resolute heades: so (in a case at least doubtfull) they should haue feared, lest they should haue rushed on Mo∣ses: who in the fift day, giveth amongst watry Cre∣atures, the Creepers first place: as in this sixt daies work, placeth the creeping Beast next immediatly

before Man: being in the same day, and in the place next before man Created: which done,

(g) Hee, E∣LOHIM, doth of the dust of the Earth make Man, breathing into him a reasonable Soul. In this Soul (a spirituall Substance, as is God; but finite and not being of it selfe, so is not GOD) in it, ELOHIM stamped his owne likenes, of an holy Vnitie in Tri∣nitie, and of an holy Trinitie in Vnitie. As the Soul is but one Essence, so there ariseth three divers Fa∣culties, or Powers in that one Substance. First, there is the Mind: Secondly, the Will: Thirdly, the Power of Doing or working. The Minde conceiveth and vnderstandeth things: the Wil, affecteth the obiect, accordingly as the minde first conceiveth of the thing: and from this minde conceiving, and will af∣fecting, there proceedeth a working power, or a power by which something is done. The Minde so conceiving, resembling the Father: the Will hauing his affection begotten of the Minds Conceipt, re∣sembling the Sonne begotten of the Father: and the Power of Doing, proceeding both from the Minde and Will, resembling the Holy Ghost, pro∣ceeding from the Father and the Sonne. And as them three Persons make but one God: so these three Faculties (for the Sou••e being a single Sub∣stance it cannot be parted) do make but one spiri∣tuall Essence, or Soule. But as the Father worketh not without his Sonne; nor the Holy Ghost with∣out the Father and the Sonne: so neither doth the minde, or will, or working power, effect any thing sundred, but ioyntly: yet as wee attribute Creation to the Father: Redemption to the Sonne: Illumi∣nation to the Spirit: So, to the Minde we attribute Vnderstanding, conceipt: to the Will, we attribute well or ill affecting: and to the working power, we attribute the thing wrought or done. As in that one God, no Person is before or after another in Time

but in Order of some externall work to vs wrought: So neither in that one Soule, is the minde before the will in Time, nor the working power behinde them in time (For the power of working is before the ••hing wrought) but onely in Order: for there is no sooner a Soule, but there exist all them three, and without any one of them the Soule cannot be. If one demaund, what is it that Createth all things? I answere, God. What is it that Redeemeth Man falne? God. What is it that enlightneth man? God: yet there are not three, but One God So demand what it is in mee that vnderstandeth? I answere, a Soul. What is that which willeth or affectionateth any thing? the Soule. What is it, whereby thou art enabled to liue, mooue? I answer, a Soule. yet are there not three, but one Soule in me, whereby them things are wrought. Philosophandi quia non institutum, Dixi. But as no Image can almost any whit attaine the pe••fection of that Thing, whereof it is an Image: so neither this Image of GOD in man, able to attaine the excellency of the Highest, who in every thing is Infinite, Onely, and the Cause of other things.

(h) Hauing Created man, ELOHIM bringeth all inferiour Creatures before him, to see howe he will call them: who in the depth of his vnderstan∣ding minde, willeth and vttereth such names, as the Lord approved. But euery living thing hauing his yoke-felowe, man was alone, and therfore imper∣fect. ELOHIM casting HIM therefore on sleep, doth from his side extract a Rib, whereof he made Mans-mate: putting Her vnto Him, with blessing to Encrease.

(i) He giveth vnto Both but one Name, Gen. 5. 1. contrary to some Cuntries custome nowe, where the Wife beareth not her Hus-bandes Name) to teach them that they were but One: He the Root, She the Braunch sprong out of his side.