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:

376. 'Blood ¹ calling out' means guilt. This follows from what is said above, for those who resort to violence are held guilty, as in David,

Evil will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will beheld guilty. Psalms 34:21.

In Ezekiel,

You, the city, have become guilty through the blood you have shed. Ezekiel 22:4.

Footnotes: