19. 'The Spirit of God' is used to mean the Lord's mercy, which is said 'to hover', like a hen over eggs, over what the Lord stores away in man and which in the Word are frequently called 'remnants'. These remnants are cognitions of truth and good which never come to light or into daylight until external things have been laid waste. These cognitions are here called 'the face ¹ of the waters'.

Footnotes:

Like other descriptions of time in the Word, "a day" or a number of "days" describe a spiritual state rather than our natural concept of time. A spiritual "day" describes a state of mind or a state in our relationship with the Lord rather than a 12-hour or 24-hour span of natural time. "Day" describes a state in which we are turned toward the Lord, and are receiving light (which is truth) and heat (which is a desire for good) from the Lord.