THEATMOSPHERICHEAVENS 45willof theCreator. Thuswehave ahammered ex-
panse;for theparticles ofthegases havebeenham-
meredbytheenergyofthecreative word. Andwe
haveeven nowahammered expanse; forthepower
ofthatwordisforeveractive,stillcausingtheparti-
clestovibrateandthuscontinuetomaintaintheex-
panse. ThefirstimpulsefromGodcreatedtheair;the
secondimpulsecontinuesandmaintainsit.
Wedonotdeny,foritistrue,thatmencameintime
tothinkoftheskyas a dome ofcrystal. Thusthe
Greeks andthe Romans viewedit. TheJews even,
by contamination with the heathen—and the New
Testament record is proof enough of their final
apostasy—might give the Scriptures an improper
rendering. Butthisisallapartfromtheworkofin-
spiration. And to-day wesee the resultof heathen
ideas,theresult ofamisunderstandingoftheworks
aswellastheWord,inourcommonEnglishtransla-
tionofthewordraqiaby"firmament,"as something
firmorsubstantial.
Butwe cannotbelievethat Abrahamhad this re-
strictedidea oftheheavens whenthe Lord ledhim
abroadatnightandrevealedtohimthatthestarsof
theskywerenotmerelyafewthousand,ashisunaided
eyewouldthink,butthattheywereasnumberlessas
thesandsoftheoceanshore. Theywere,asAbraham
foundwhen God strengthened hissight, beyond the
count ofman. Howcouldsuchaconceptionaccord
withtheideaof some shining plates holdingwithin
theirwallsafewlights? Leavesuchfoolishideasfor
theheathentohold,butchargethemnottotheseerof