INTRODUCTION. Ixxxi 



minion thereof in the earth ? l saith God ; 

 showing that he, by his instruments the hea- 

 vens, rules the earth : this is said in stronger 

 terms, when the heaven is declared to be God's 

 throne, and the earth his footstool, which im- 

 plies that God acts upon the earth by what are 

 called symbolically his feet those powers 

 therefore that produce whirlwinds and storms 

 in our atmosphere ; that by their impact 

 upon our planet cause evaporation, and conse- 

 quently form the clouds, are the metaphorical 

 feet of Jehovah, so that the clouds with strict 

 propriety may be called the dust excited by 

 the tread of his feet. When the Psalmist 

 says of God, He sitteth upon the cherubim, 

 let the earth be moved, what beauty, pro- 

 priety, and force is there in the expression 

 when it is recollected that the physical cheru- 

 bim are those powers that have complete do- 

 minion over the earth, and cause its motions. 



2. The Sky. The word we render by the 

 term sky, or skies, for it is always used in the 

 plural, is derived from a root, 2 which signifies 

 to comminute, grind, or wear by friction, im- 

 plying powers that come in contact from oppo- 



1 Job, xxxviii. 33. 2 pnu? 



