mh_parser/vol_split/1 - Genesis/Chapter 6.xml

<div2 id="Gen.vii" n="vii" next="Gen.viii" prev="Gen.vi" progress="6.53%" title="Chapter VI">
<pb id="Gen.vii-Page_51" n="51"/>
<h2 id="Gen.vii-p0.1">G E N E S I S</h2>
<h3 id="Gen.vii-p0.2">CHAP. VI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Gen.vii-p1">The most remarkable thing we have upon record
concerning the old world is the destruction of it by the universal
deluge, the account of which commences in this chapter, wherein we
have, I. The abounding iniquity of that wicked world, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.1-Gen.6.5" parsed="|Gen|6|1|6|5" passage="Ge 6:1-5">ver. 1-5</scripRef>, and <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.11-Gen.6.12" parsed="|Gen|6|11|6|12" passage="Ge 6:11,12">ver. 11, 12</scripRef>. II. The righteous God's just
resentment of that abounding iniquity, and his holy resolution to
punish it, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.6-Gen.6.7" parsed="|Gen|6|6|6|7" passage="Ge 6:6,7">ver. 6, 7</scripRef>. III.
The special favour of God to his servant Noah. 1. In the character
given of him, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.8-Gen.6.10" parsed="|Gen|6|8|6|10" passage="Ge 6:8-10">ver. 8-10</scripRef>.
2. In the communication of God's purpose to him, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.13 Bible:Gen.6.17" parsed="|Gen|6|13|0|0;|Gen|6|17|0|0" passage="Ge 6:13,17">ver. 13, 17</scripRef>. 3. In the directions he gave
him to make an ark for his own safety, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.14-Gen.6.16" parsed="|Gen|6|14|6|16" passage="Ge 6:14-16">ver. 14-16</scripRef>. 4. In the employing of him for
the preservation of the rest of the creatures, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.18-Gen.6.21" parsed="|Gen|6|18|6|21" passage="Ge 6:18-21">ver. 18-21</scripRef>. Lastly, Noah's obedience to the
instructions given him, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.22" parsed="|Gen|6|22|0|0" passage="Ge 6:22">ver.
22</scripRef>. And this concerning the old world is written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the new world have come.</p>
<scripCom id="Gen.vii-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6" parsed="|Gen|6|0|0|0" passage="Ge 6" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Gen.vii-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.1-Gen.6.2" parsed="|Gen|6|1|6|2" passage="Ge 6:1-2" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.6.1-Gen.6.2">
<h4 id="Gen.vii-p1.11">Depravity of the World. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.vii-p1.12">b. c.</span> 2469.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.vii-p2">1 And it came to pass, when men began to
multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto
them,   2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that
they <i>were</i> fair; and they took them wives of all which they
chose.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p3">For the glory of God's justice, and for
warning to a wicked world, before the history of the ruin of the
old world, we have a full account of its degeneracy, its apostasy
from God and rebellion against him. The destroying of it was an
act, not of an absolute sovereignty, but of necessary justice, for
the maintaining of the honour of God's government. Now here we have
an account of two things which occasioned the wickedness of the old
world:—1. The increase of mankind: <i>Men began to multiply upon
the face of the earth.</i> This was the effect of the blessing
(<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.1.28" parsed="|Gen|1|28|0|0" passage="Ge 1:28"><i>ch.</i> i. 28</scripRef>), and yet
man's corruption so abused and perverted this blessing that it was
turned into a curse. Thus sin takes occasion by the mercies of God
to be the more exceedingly sinful. <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.29.16" parsed="|Prov|29|16|0|0" passage="Pr 29:16">Prov. xxix. 16</scripRef>, <i>When the wicked are
multiplied, transgression increaseth.</i> The more sinners the more
sin; and the multitude of offenders emboldens men. Infectious
diseases are most destructive in populous cities; and sin is a
spreading leprosy. Thus in the New-Testament church, <i>when the
number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring</i>
(<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Acts.6.1" parsed="|Acts|6|1|0|0" passage="Ac 6:1">Acts vi. 1</scripRef>), and we read of
a nation that was multiplied, not to the increase of their joy,
<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.9.3" parsed="|Isa|9|3|0|0" passage="Isa 9:3">Isa. ix. 3</scripRef>. Numerous
families need to be well-governed, lest they become wicked
families. 2. Mixed marriages (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.2" parsed="|Gen|6|2|0|0" passage="Ge 6:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>): <i>The sons of God</i> (that is, the professors of
religion, who were called by the name of the Lord, and called upon
that name), <i>married the daughters of men,</i> that is, those
that were profane, and strangers to God and godliness. The
posterity of Seth did not keep by themselves, as they ought to have
done, both for the preservation of their own purity and in
detestation of the apostasy. They intermingled themselves with the
excommunicated race of Cain: <i>They took them wives of all that
they chose.</i> But what was amiss in these marriages? (1.) They
chose only by the eye: <i>They saw that they were fair,</i> which
was all they looked at. (2.) They followed the choice which their
own corrupt affections made: they took <i>all that they chose,</i>
without advice and consideration. But, (3.) That which proved of
such bad consequence to them was that they <i>married strange
wives, were unequally yoked with unbelievers,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p3.6" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.6.14" parsed="|2Cor|6|14|0|0" passage="2Co 6:14">2 Cor. vi. 14</scripRef>. This was forbidden to
Israel, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p3.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.7.3-Deut.7.4" parsed="|Deut|7|3|7|4" passage="De 7:3,4">Deut. vii. 3, 4</scripRef>. It
was the unhappy occasion of Solomon's apostasy (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p3.8" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.11.1-1Kgs.11.4" parsed="|1Kgs|11|1|11|4" passage="1Ki 11:1-4">1 Kings xi. 1-4</scripRef>), and was of bad
consequence to the Jews after their return out of Babylon,
<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p3.9" osisRef="Bible:Ezra.9.1-Ezra.9.2" parsed="|Ezra|9|1|9|2" passage="Ezr 9:1,2">Ezra ix. 1, 2</scripRef>. Note,
professors of religion, in marrying both themselves and their
children, should make conscience of keeping within the bounds of
profession. The bad will sooner debauch the good than the good
reform the bad. Those that profess themselves the children of God
must not marry without his consent, which they have not if they
join in affinity with his enemies.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.vii-p3.10" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.3" parsed="|Gen|6|3|0|0" passage="Ge 6:3" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.6.3">
<p class="passage" id="Gen.vii-p4">3 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.vii-p4.1">Lord</span>
said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also
<i>is</i> flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty
years.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p5">This comes in here as a token of God's
displeasure at those who married strange wives; he threatens to
withdraw from them his Spirit, whom they had grieved by such
marriages, contrary to their convictions: fleshly lusts are often
punished with spiritual judgments, the sorest of all judgments. Or
as another occasion of the great wickedness of the old world; the
Spirit of the Lord, being provoked by their resistance of his
motions, ceased to strive with them, and then all religion was soon
lost among them. This he warns them of before, that they might not
further vex his Holy Spirit, but by their prayers might stay him
with them. Observe in this verse,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p6">I. God's resolution not always to strive
with man by his Spirit. The Spirit then strove by Noah's preaching
(<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.3.19-1Pet.3.20" parsed="|1Pet|3|19|3|20" passage="1Pe 3:19,20">1 Pet. iii. 19, 20</scripRef>) and
by inward checks, but it was in vain with the most of men;
therefore, says God, <i>He shall not always strive.</i> Note, 1.
The

<pb id="Gen.vii-Page_52" n="52"/>

blessed Spirit strives with sinners, by
the convictions and admonitions of conscience, to turn them from
sin to God. 2. If the Spirit be resisted, quenched, and striven
against, though he strive long, he will not strive always,
<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Hos.4.17" parsed="|Hos|4|17|0|0" passage="Ho 4:17">Hos. iv. 17</scripRef>. 3. Those are
ripening apace for ruin whom the Spirit of grace has left off
striving with.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p7">II. The reason of this resolution: <i>For
that he also is flesh,</i> that is, incurably corrupt, and carnal,
and sensual, so that it is labour lost to strive with him. Can the
Ethiopian change his skin? <i>He also,</i> that is, All, one as
well as another, they have all sunk into the mire of flesh. Note,
1. It is the corrupt nature, and the inclination of the soul
towards the flesh, that oppose the Spirit's strivings and render
them ineffectual. 2. When a sinner has long adhered to that
interest, and sided with the flesh against the Spirit, the Spirit
justly withdraws his agency, and strives no more. None lose the
Spirit's strivings but those that have first forfeited them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p8">III. A reprieve granted, notwithstanding:
<i>Yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years;</i> so long
I will defer the judgment they deserve, and give them space to
prevent it by their repentance and reformation. Justice said,
<i>Cut them down;</i> but mercy interceded, <i>Lord, let them alone
this year also;</i> and so far mercy prevailed, that a reprieve was
obtained for six-score years. Note, the time of God's patience and
forbearance towards provoking sinners is sometimes long, but always
limited: reprieves are not pardons; though God bear a great while,
he will not bear always.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.vii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.4-Gen.6.5" parsed="|Gen|6|4|6|5" passage="Ge 6:4-5" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.6.4-Gen.6.5">
<p class="passage" id="Gen.vii-p9">4 There were giants in the earth in those days;
and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the
daughters of men, and they bare <i>children</i> to them, the same
<i>became</i> mighty men which <i>were</i> of old, men of renown.
  5 And <span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.vii-p9.1">God</span> saw that the
wickedness of man <i>was</i> great in the earth, and <i>that</i>
every imagination of the thoughts of his heart <i>was</i> only evil
continually.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p10">We have here a further account of the
corruption of the old world. When the <i>sons of God</i> had
matched with the <i>daughters of men,</i> though it was very
displeasing to God, yet he did not immediately cut them off, but
waited to see what would be the issue of these marriages, and which
side the children would take after; and it proved (as usually it
does), that they took after the worst side. Here is,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p11">I. The temptation they were under to
oppress and do violence. They were <i>giants,</i> and they were
<i>men of renown;</i> they became too hard for all about them, and
carried all before them, 1. With their great bulk, as the sons of
Anak, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Num.13.33" parsed="|Num|13|33|0|0" passage="Nu 13:33">Num. xiii. 33</scripRef>. 2.
With their great name, as the king of Assyria, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.11" parsed="|Isa|37|11|0|0" passage="Isa 37:11">Isa. xxxvii. 11</scripRef>. These made them the
<i>terror of the mighty in the land of the living;</i> and, thus
armed, they daringly insulted the rights of all their neighbours
and trampled upon all that is just and sacred. Note, those that
have so much power over others as to be able to oppress them have
seldom so much power over themselves as not to oppress; great might
is a very great snare to many. This degenerate race slighted the
honour their ancestors had obtained by virtue and religion, and
made themselves a great name by that which was the perpetual ruin
of their good name.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p12">II. The charge exhibited and proved against
them, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.5" parsed="|Gen|6|5|0|0" passage="Ge 6:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. The
evidence produced was incontestable. God saw it, and that was
instead of a thousand witnesses. God sees all the wickedness that
is among the children of men; it cannot be concealed from him now,
and, if it be not repented of, it shall not be concealed by him
shortly. Now what did God take notice of? 1. He observed that the
streams of sin that flowed along in men's lives, and the breadth
and depth of those streams: He <i>saw that the wickedness of man
was great in the earth.</i> Observe the connection of this with
what goes before: the oppressors were <i>mighty men and men of
renown;</i> and, <i>then, God saw that the wickedness of man was
great.</i> Note, the wickedness of a people is great indeed when
the most notorious sinners are men of renown among them. Things are
bad when bad men are not only honoured notwithstanding their
wickedness, but honoured for their wickedness, and the vilest men
exalted. Wickedness is then great when great men are wicked. Their
wickedness was great, that is, abundance of sin was committed in
all places, by all sorts of people; and such sin as was in its own
nature most gross, and heinous, and provoking; it was committed
daringly, and with a defiance of heaven, nor was any care taken by
those that had power in their hands to restrain and punish it. This
God saw. Note, all the sins of sinners are known to God the Judge.
Those that are most conversant in the world, though they see much
wickedness in it, yet they see but little of that which is; but God
sees all, and judges aright concerning it, how great it is, nor can
he be deceived in his judgment. 2. He observed the fountain of sin
that was in men's hearts. Any one might see that <i>the wickedness
of man was great,</i> for they declared their sin as Sodom; but
God's eye went further: <i>He saw that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually</i>—a sad sight,
and very offensive to God's holy eye! This was the bitter root, the
corrupt spring: all the violence and oppression, all the luxury and
wantonness, that were in the world, proceeded from the corruption
of nature; lust conceived them,

<pb id="Gen.vii-Page_53" n="53"/>
<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Jas.1.15" parsed="|Jas|1|15|0|0" passage="Jam 1:15">Jam. i. 15</scripRef>. See <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.15.19" parsed="|Matt|15|19|0|0" passage="Mt 15:19">Matt. xv. 19</scripRef>. (1.) The heart was naught; it
was deceitful and desperately wicked. The principles were corrupt,
and the habits and dispositions evil. (2.) The thoughts of the
heart were so. Thought is sometimes taken for the settled judgment
or opinion, and this was bribed, and biased, and misled; sometimes
it signifies the workings of the fancy, and these were always
either vain or vile, either weaving the spider's web or hatching
the cockatrice's egg. (3.) The imagination of the thoughts of the
heart was so, that is, their designs and devices were wicked. They
did not do evil through mere carelessness, as those that walk at
all adventures, not heeding what they do; but they did evil
deliberately and designedly, contriving how to do mischief. It was
bad indeed; for it was only evil, continually evil, and every
imagination was so. There was no good to be found among them, no,
not at any time: the stream of sin was full, and strong, and
constant; and God saw it; see <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.14.1-Ps.14.3" parsed="|Ps|14|1|14|3" passage="Ps 14:1-3">Ps.
xiv. 1-3</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.vii-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.6-Gen.6.7" parsed="|Gen|6|6|6|7" passage="Ge 6:6-7" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.6.6-Gen.6.7">
<h4 id="Gen.vii-p12.6">Mankind Threatened with
Destruction. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.vii-p12.7">b. c.</span> 2469.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.vii-p13">6 And it repented the <span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.vii-p13.1">Lord</span> that he had made man on the earth, and it
grieved him at his heart.   7 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.vii-p13.2">Lord</span> said, I will destroy man whom I have
created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the
creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that
I have made them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p14">Here is, I. God's resentment of man's
wickedness. He did not see it as an unconcerned spectator, but as
one injured and affronted by it; he saw it as a tender father sees
the folly and stubbornness of a rebellious and disobedient child,
which not only angers him, but grieves him, and makes him wish he
had been written childless. The expressions here used are very
strange: <i>It repented the Lord that he had made man upon the
earth,</i> that he had made a creature of such noble powers and
faculties, and had put him on this earth, which he built and
furnished on purpose to be a convenient, comfortable, habitation
for him; <i>and it grieved him at his heart.</i> These are
expressions after the manner of men, and must be understood so as
not to reflect upon the honour of God's immutability or felicity.
1. This language does not imply any passion or uneasiness in God
(nothing can create disturbance to the Eternal Mind), but it
expresses his just and holy displeasure against sin and sinners,
against sin as odious to his holiness and against sinners as
obnoxious to his justice. He is pressed by the sins of his
creatures (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Amos.2.13" parsed="|Amos|2|13|0|0" passage="Am 2:13">Amos ii. 13</scripRef>),
wearied (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.43.24" parsed="|Isa|43|24|0|0" passage="Isa 43:24">Isa. xliii. 24</scripRef>),
broken (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.6.9" parsed="|Ezek|6|9|0|0" passage="Eze 6:9">Ezek. vi. 9</scripRef>),
grieved (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.95.10" parsed="|Ps|95|10|0|0" passage="Ps 95:10">Ps. cxv. 10</scripRef>), and
here <i>grieved to the heart,</i> as men are when they are wronged
and abused by those they have been very kind to, and therefore
repent of their kindness, and wish they had never fostered that
snake in their bosom which now hisses in their face and stings them
to the heart. Does God thus hate sin? And shall we not hate it? Has
our sin grieved him to the heart? And shall we not be grieved and
pricked to the heart for it? O that this consideration may humble
us and shame us, and that we may look on him whom we have thus
grieved, and mourn! <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Zech.12.10" parsed="|Zech|12|10|0|0" passage="Zec 12:10">Zech. xii.
10</scripRef>. 2. It does not imply any change of God's mind; for
<i>he is in one mind, and who can turn him?</i> With him <i>there
is not variableness.</i> But it expressed a change of his way. When
God had made man upright, <i>he rested and was refreshed</i>
(<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p14.6" osisRef="Bible:Exod.31.17" parsed="|Exod|31|17|0|0" passage="Ex 31:17">Exod. xxxi. 17</scripRef>), and his
way towards him was such as showed he was pleased with the work of
his own hands; but, now that man had apostatized, he could not do
otherwise than show himself displeased; so that the change was in
man, not in God. God repented that he had made man; but we never
find him repenting that he redeemed man (though that was a work of
much greater expense), because special and effectual grace is given
to secure the great ends of redemption; so that those <i>gifts and
callings are without repentance,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p14.7" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.29" parsed="|Rom|11|29|0|0" passage="Ro 11:29">Rom. xi. 29</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p15">II. God's resolution to destroy man for his
wickedness, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.7" parsed="|Gen|6|7|0|0" passage="Ge 6:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>.
Observe, 1. When God repented that he had made man, he resolved to
destroy man. Thus those that truly repent of sin will resolve, in
the strength of God's grace, to mortify sin and to destroy it, and
so to undo what they have done amiss. We do but mock God in saying
that we are sorry for our sin, and that it grieves us to the heart,
if we continue to indulge it. In vain do we pretend a change of our
mind if we do not evidence it by a change of our way. 2. He
resolves to destroy man. The original word is very significant:
<i>I will wipe off man from the earth</i> (so some), as dirt or
filth is wiped off from a place which should be clean, and is
thrown to the dunghill, the proper place for it. See <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.21.13" parsed="|2Kgs|21|13|0|0" passage="2Ki 21:13">2 Kings xxi. 13</scripRef>. Those that are the
spots of the places they live in are justly wiped away by the
judgments of God. <i>I will blot out man from the earth</i> (so
others), as those lines which displease the author are blotted out
a book, or as the name of a citizen is blotted out of the rolls of
the freemen, when he is dead or disfranchised. 3. He speaks of man
as his own creature even when he resolves upon his ruin: <i>Man
whom I have created.</i> "Though I have created him, this shall not
excuse him," <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.27.11" parsed="|Isa|27|11|0|0" passage="Isa 27:11">Isa. xxvii.
11</scripRef>. <i>He that made him will not save him;</i> he that
is our Creator, if he be not our ruler, will be our destroyer. Or,
"Because I have created him, and he has been so undutiful and
ungrateful to his Creator, therefore I will destroy him:" those
forfeit their lives that do not answer the end of their living. 4.
Even the brute-creatures were to be involved in

<pb id="Gen.vii-Page_54" n="54"/>

this destruction—<i>Beasts, and creeping things, and
the fowls of the air.</i> These were made for man, and therefore
must be destroyed with man; for it follows: <i>It repenteth me that
I have made them;</i> for the end of their creation also was
frustrated. They were made that man might serve and honour God with
them; and therefore were destroyed because he had served his lusts
with them, and made them subject to vanity. 5. God took up this
resolution concerning man after his Spirit had been long striving
with him in vain. None are ruined by the justice of God but those
that hate to be reformed by the grace of God.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.vii-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.8-Gen.6.10" parsed="|Gen|6|8|6|10" passage="Ge 6:8-10" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.6.8-Gen.6.10">
<p class="passage" id="Gen.vii-p16">8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.vii-p16.1">Lord</span>.   9 These <i>are</i> the
generations of Noah: Noah was a just man <i>and</i> perfect in his
generations, <i>and</i> Noah walked with God.   10 And Noah
begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p17">We have here Noah distinguished from the
rest of the world, and a peculiar mark of honour put upon him. 1.
When God was displeased with the rest of the world, he favoured
Noah: <i>But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord,</i>
<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.8" parsed="|Gen|6|8|0|0" passage="Ge 6:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. This vindicates
God's justice in his displeasure against the world, and shows that
he had strictly examined the character of every person in it before
he pronounced it universally corrupt; for, there being one good
man, he found him out, and smiled upon him. It also magnifies his
grace towards Noah that he was made a vessel of God's mercy when
all mankind besides had become the generation of his wrath:
distinguishing favours bring under peculiarly strong obligations.
Probably Noah did not find favour in the eyes of men; they hated
and persecuted him, because both by his life and preaching he
<i>condemned the world. But he found grace in the eyes of the
Lord,</i> and this was honour and comfort enough. God made more
account of Noah than of all the world besides, and this made him
greater and more truly honourable than all the giants that were in
those days, who became mighty men and men of renown. Let this be
the summit of our ambition, to <i>find grace in the eyes of the
Lord;</i> herein let us labour, that, present or absent, we may be
accepted of him, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.5.9" parsed="|2Cor|5|9|0|0" passage="2Co 5:9">2 Cor. v.
9</scripRef>. Those are highly favoured whom God favours. 2. When
the rest of the world was corrupt and wicked, Noah kept his
integrity: <i>These are the generations of Noah</i> (this is the
account we have to give of him), <i>Noah was a just man,</i>
<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.9" parsed="|Gen|6|9|0|0" passage="Ge 6:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. This character
of Noah comes in here either, (1.) As the reason of God's favour to
him; his singular piety qualified him for singular tokens of God's
loving-kindness. Those that would find grace in the eyes of the
Lord must be as Noah was and do as Noah did; God loves those that
love him: or, (2.) As the effect of God's favour to him. It was
God's good-will to him that produced this good work in him. He was
a very good man, but he was no better than the grace of God made
him, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.15.10" parsed="|1Cor|15|10|0|0" passage="1Co 15:10">1 Cor. xv. 10</scripRef>. Now
observe his character. [1.] He <i>was a just man,</i> that is,
justified before God by faith in the promised seed; for he was an
<i>heir of the righteousness which is by faith,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:Heb.11.7" parsed="|Heb|11|7|0|0" passage="Heb 11:7">Heb. xi. 7</scripRef>. He was sanctified, and
had right principles and dispositions implanted in him; and he was
righteous in his conversation, one that made conscience of
rendering to all their due, to God his due and to men theirs. Note,
none but a downright honest man can find favour with God. That
conversation which will be pleasing to God must be governed by
<i>simplicity and godly sincerity,</i> not by <i>fleshly
wisdom,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p17.6" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.1.12" parsed="|2Cor|1|12|0|0" passage="2Co 1:12">2 Cor. i. 12</scripRef>.
God has sometimes chosen the foolish things of the world, but he
never chose the knavish things of it. [2.] He was <i>perfect,</i>
not with a sinless perfection, but a perfection of sincerity; and
it is well for us that by virtue of the covenant of grace, upon the
score of Christ's righteousness, sincerity is accepted as our
gospel perfection. [3.] He <i>walked with God,</i> as Enoch had
done before him. He was not only honest, but devout; he
<i>walked,</i> that is, he acted with God, as one always under his
eye. He lived a life of communion with God; it was his constant
care to conform himself to the will of God, to please him, and to
approve himself to him. Note, God looks down upon those with an eye
of favour who sincerely look up to him with an eye of faith. But,
[4.] That which crowns his character is that thus he was, and thus
he did, <i>in his generation,</i> in that corrupt degenerate age in
which his lot was cast. It is easy to be religious when religion is
in fashion; but it is an evidence of strong faith and resolution to
swim against a stream to heaven, and to appear for God when no one
else appears for him: so Noah did, and it is upon record, to his
immortal honour.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.vii-p17.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.11-Gen.6.12" parsed="|Gen|6|11|6|12" passage="Ge 6:11-12" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.6.11-Gen.6.12">
<h4 id="Gen.vii-p17.8">Depravity of the World. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.vii-p17.9">b. c.</span> 2448.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.vii-p18">11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and
the earth was filled with violence.   12 And God looked upon
the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted
his way upon the earth.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p19">The wickedness of that generation is here
again spoken of, either as a foil to Noah's piety—he was just and
perfect, when all the earth was corrupt; or as a further
justification of God's resolution to destroy the world, which he
was now about to communicate to his servant Noah. 1. All kinds of
sin was found among them, for it is said (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.11" parsed="|Gen|6|11|0|0" passage="Ge 6:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>) that the earth was, (1.)
<i>Corrupt before God,</i> that is, in the matters of God's
worship; either they had other gods before him, or they worshipped
him by images, or they were corrupt and wicked in despite and

<pb id="Gen.vii-Page_55" n="55"/>

contempt of God, daring him and defying him to
his face. (2.) <i>The earth was also filled with violence</i> and
injustice towards men. There was no order nor regular government;
no man was safe in the possession of that which he had the most
clear and incontestable right to, no, not the most innocent life;
there was nothing but murders, rapes, and rapine. Note, wickedness,
as it is the shame of human nature, so it is the ruin of human
society. Take away conscience and the fear of God, and men become
beasts and devils to one another, like the fishes of the sea, where
the greater devour the less. Sin fills the earth with violence, and
so turns the world into a wilderness, into a cock-pit. 2. The proof
and evidence of it were undeniable; for <i>God looked upon the
earth,</i> and was himself an eye-witness of the corruption that
was in it, of which before, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.5" parsed="|Gen|6|5|0|0" passage="Ge 6:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>. The righteous Judge in all his judgments proceeds
upon the infallible certainty of his own omniscience, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.33.13" parsed="|Ps|33|13|0|0" passage="Ps 33:13">Ps. xxxiii. 13</scripRef>. 3. That which most
aggravated the matter was the universal spreading of the contagion:
<i>All flesh had corrupted his way.</i> It was not some particular
nations or cities that were thus wicked, but the whole world of
mankind were so; there was none that did good, no, not one besides
Noah. Note, when wickedness has become general and universal ruin
is not far off; while there is a remnant of praying people in a
nation, to empty the measure as it fills, judgments may be kept off
a great while; but when all hands are at work to pull down the
fences by sin, and none stand in the gap to make up the breach,
what can be expected but an inundation of wrath?</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.vii-p19.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.13-Gen.6.21" parsed="|Gen|6|13|6|21" passage="Ge 6:13-21" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.6.13-Gen.6.21">
<h4 id="Gen.vii-p19.5">Prediction of the Deluge. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.vii-p19.6">b. c.</span> 2448.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.vii-p20">13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh
is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through
them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.   14
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark,
and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.   15 And
this <i>is the fashion</i> which thou shalt make it <i>of:</i> The
length of the ark <i>shall be</i> three hundred cubits, the breadth
of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.   16 A
window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish
it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side
thereof; <i>with</i> lower, second, and third <i>stories</i> shalt
thou make it.   17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of
waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein <i>is</i> the
breath of life, from under heaven; <i>and</i> every thing that
<i>is</i> in the earth shall die.   18 But with thee will I
establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and
thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.   19
And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every <i>sort</i>
shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep <i>them</i> alive with thee;
they shall be male and female.   20 Of fowls after their kind,
and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the
earth after his kind, two of every <i>sort</i> shall come unto
thee, to keep <i>them</i> alive.   21 And take thou unto thee
of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather <i>it</i> to thee;
and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p21">Here it appears indeed that Noah <i>found
grace in the eyes of the Lord.</i> God's favour to him was plainly
intimated in what he said of him, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.8-Gen.6.10" parsed="|Gen|6|8|6|10" passage="Ge 6:8-10"><i>v.</i> 8-10</scripRef>, where his name is mentioned
five times in five lines, when once might have served to make the
sense clear, as if the Holy Ghost took a pleasure in perpetuating
his memory; but it appears much more in what he says to him in
these verses—the informations and instructions here given him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p22">I. God here makes Noah the <i>man of his
counsel,</i> communicating to him his purpose to destroy this
wicked world by water. As, afterwards, he told Abraham his
resolution concerning Sodom (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.18.17" parsed="|Gen|18|17|0|0" passage="Ge 18:17"><i>ch.</i> xviii. 17</scripRef>, <i>Shall I hide from
Abraham?</i>) so here "Shall I hide from Noah <i>the thing that I
do,</i> seeing that he shall <i>become a great nation?</i>" Note,
<i>the secret of the Lord is with those that fear him</i>
(<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.25.14" parsed="|Ps|25|14|0|0" passage="Ps 25:14">Ps. xxv. 14</scripRef>); it was with
<i>his servants the prophets</i> (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p22.3" osisRef="Bible:Amos.3.7" parsed="|Amos|3|7|0|0" passage="Am 3:7">Amos
iii. 7</scripRef>), by a spirit of revelation, informing them
particularly of his purposes; it is with all believers by a spirit
of wisdom and faith, enabling them to understand and apply the
general declarations of the written word, and the warnings there
given. Now,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p23">1. God told Noah, in general, that he would
destroy the world (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.13" parsed="|Gen|6|13|0|0" passage="Ge 6:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>): <i>The end of all flesh has come before me; I will
destroy them;</i> that is, the ruin of this wicked world is decreed
and determined; <i>it has come,</i> that is, it will come surely,
and come quickly. Noah, it is likely, in preaching to his
neighbours, had warned them, in general, of the wrath of God that
they would bring upon themselves by their wickedness, and now God
seconds his endeavours by a particular denunciation of wrath, that
Noah might try whether this would work upon them. Hence observe,
(1.) That God <i>confirmeth the words of his messengers,</i>
<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.26" parsed="|Isa|44|26|0|0" passage="Isa 44:26">Isa. xliv. 26</scripRef>. (2.) That
<i>to him that has,</i> and uses what he has for the good of
others, <i>more shall be given,</i> more full instructions.</p>
<pb id="Gen.vii-Page_56" n="56"/>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p24">2. He told him, particularly, that he would
destroy the world by a flood of waters: <i>And behold, I, even I,
do bring a flood of waters upon the earth,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.17" parsed="|Gen|6|17|0|0" passage="Ge 6:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. God could have destroyed all
mankind by the sword of an angel, a flaming sword turning every
way, as he destroyed all the first-born of the Egyptians and the
camp of the Assyrians; and then there needed no more than to set a
mark upon Noah and his family for their preservation. But God chose
to do it by a <i>flood of waters,</i> which should drown the world.
The reasons, we may be sure, were wise and just, though to us
unknown. God has many arrows in his quiver, and he may use which he
please: as he chooses the rod with which he will correct his
children, so he chooses the sword with which he will cut off his
enemies. Observe the manner of expression: "<i>I, even I, do bring
a flood;</i> I that am infinite in power, and therefore <i>can</i>
do it, infinite in justice, and therefore <i>will</i> do it." (1.)
It intimates the certainty of the judgment: <i>I, even I,</i> will
do it. That cannot but be done effectually which God himself
undertakes the doing of. See <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.11.10" parsed="|Job|11|10|0|0" passage="Job 11:10">Job xi.
10</scripRef>. (2.) It intimates the tendency of it to God's glory
and the honour of his justice. Thus he will be magnified and
exalted in the earth, and all the world shall be made to know that
he is the God <i>to whom vengeance belongs;</i> methinks the
expression here is somewhat like that, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p24.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.24" parsed="|Isa|1|24|0|0" passage="Isa 1:24">Isa. i. 24</scripRef>, <i>Ah, I will ease me of mine
adversaries.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p25">II. God here makes Noah the <i>man of his
covenant,</i> another Hebrew periphrasis of a friend (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.18" parsed="|Gen|6|18|0|0" passage="Ge 6:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>): <i>But with thee will I
establish my covenant.</i> 1. The covenant of providence, that the
course of nature shall be continued to the end of time,
notwithstanding the interruption which the flood would give to it.
This promise was immediately made to Noah and his sons, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.9.8-Gen.9.11" parsed="|Gen|9|8|9|11" passage="Ge 9:8-11"><i>ch.</i> ix. 8</scripRef>, &amp;c. They were
as trustees for all this part of the creation, and a great honour
was thereby put upon him and his. 2. The covenant of grace, that
God would be to him a God and that out of his seed God would take
to himself a people. Note, (1.) When God makes a covenant, he
establishes it, he makes it sure, he makes it good; his are
everlasting covenants. (2.) The covenant of grace has in it the
recompence of singular services, and the fountain and foundation of
all distinguishing favours; we need desire no more, either to make
up our losses for God or to make up a happiness for us in God, than
to have his covenant established with us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p26">III. God here makes Noah a monument of
sparing mercy, by putting him in a way to secure himself in the
approaching deluge, that he might not perish with the rest of the
world: <i>I will destroy them,</i> says God, <i>with the earth,</i>
<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.13" parsed="|Gen|6|13|0|0" passage="Ge 6:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. "But <i>make
thee an ark;</i> I will take care to preserve thee alive." Note,
singular piety shall be recompensed with distinguishing salvations,
which are in a special manner obliging. This will add much to the
honour and happiness of glorified saints, that they shall be saved
when the greatest part of the world is left to perish. Now,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p27">1. God directs Noah to <i>make an ark,</i>
<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.14-Gen.6.16" parsed="|Gen|6|14|6|16" passage="Ge 6:14-16"><i>v.</i> 14-16</scripRef>. This ark
was like the hulk of a ship, fitted not to sail upon the waters
(there was no occasion for that, when there should be no shore to
sail to), but to float upon the waters, waiting for their fall. God
could have secured Noah by the ministration of angels, without
putting him to any care, or pains, or trouble, himself; but he
chose to employ him in making that which was to be the means of his
preservation, both for the trial of his faith and obedience and to
teach us that none shall be saved by Christ but those only that
<i>work out their salvation.</i> We cannot do it without God, and
he will not without us. Both the providence of God, and the grace
of God, own and crown the endeavours of the obedient and diligent.
God gave him very particular instructions concerning this building,
which could not but be admirably well fitted for the purpose when
Infinite Wisdom itself was the architect. (1.) It must be made of
<i>gopher-wood.</i> Noah, doubtless, knew what sort of wood that
was, though we now do not, whether cedar, or cypress, or what
other. (2.) He must make it three stories high within. (3.) He must
divide it into cabins, with partitions, places fitted for the
several sorts of creatures, so as to lose no room. (4.) Exact
dimensions were given him, that he might make it proportionable,
and might have room enough in it to answer the intention and no
more. Note, those that work for God must take their measures from
him and carefully observe them. Note, further, it is fit that he
who appoints us our habitation should fix the bounds and limits of
it. (5.) He must <i>pitch it within and without</i>—without, to
shed off the rain, and to prevent the water from soaking
in—within, to take away the bad smell of the beasts when kept
close. Observe, 
God does not bid him paint it, but pitch it. If God
gives us habi/tations that are safe, and warm, and wholesome, we are
bound to be thankful, though they are not magnificent or nice. (6.)
He must make a little window towards the top, to let in light, and
(some think) that through that window he might behold the
desolations to be made in the earth. (7.) He must make a door in
the side of it, by which to go in and out.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p28">2. God promises Noah that he and his shall
be preserved alive in the ark (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.18" parsed="|Gen|6|18|0|0" passage="Ge 6:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>): <i>Thou shalt come into the
ark.</i> Note, what we do in obedience to God, we ourselves are
likely to have the comfort and benefit of. <i>If thou be wise, thou
shalt be wise for thyself.</i> Nor was he himself only saved in the
ark, but <i>his wife, and his sons, and his sons' wives.</i>
Observe, (1.) The care of good parents; they are solicitous not
only for their own

<pb id="Gen.vii-Page_57" n="57"/>

salvation, but for the
salvation of their families, and especially their children. (2.)
The happiness of those children that have godly parents. Their
parents' piety often procures them temporal salvation, as here; and
it furthers them in the way to eternal salvation, if they improve
the benefit of it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p29">IV. God here makes Noah a great blessing to
the world, and herein makes him an eminent type of the Messiah,
though not the Messiah himself, as his parents expected, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.5.29" parsed="|Gen|5|29|0|0" passage="Ge 5:29"><i>ch.</i> v. 29</scripRef>. 1. God made him a
preacher to the men of that generation. As a watchman, he received
the word from God's mouth, that he might give them warning,
<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p29.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.3.17" parsed="|Ezek|3|17|0|0" passage="Eze 3:17">Ezek. iii. 17</scripRef>. Thus,
<i>while the long-suffering of God waited,</i> by his Spirit in
Noah, he <i>preached to</i> the old world, who, when Peter wrote,
were <i>spirits in prison</i> (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p29.3" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.3.18-1Pet.3.20" parsed="|1Pet|3|18|3|20" passage="1Pe 3:18-20">1
Pet. iii. 18-20</scripRef>), and herein he was a type of Christ,
who, in a land and age wherein all flesh had corrupted their way,
went about preaching repentance and warning men of a deluge of
wrath coming. 2. God made him a saviour to the inferior creatures,
to keep the several kinds of them from perishing and being lost in
the deluge, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p29.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.19-Gen.6.21" parsed="|Gen|6|19|6|21" passage="Ge 6:19-21"><i>v.</i>
19-21</scripRef>. This was a great honour put upon him, that not
only in him the race of mankind should be kept up, and that from
him should proceed a new world, the church, the soul of the world,
and Messiah, the head of that church, but that he should be
instrumental to preserve the inferior creatures, and so mankind
should in him acquire a new title to them and their service. (1.)
He was to provide shelter for them, that they might not be drowned.
<i>Two of every sort, male and female,</i> he must take with him
into the ark; and lest he should make any difficulty of gathering
them together, and getting them in, God promises (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p29.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.20" parsed="|Gen|6|20|0|0" passage="Ge 6:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>) that they shall of their
own accord come to him. He that makes the ox to know his owner and
his crib then made him know his preserver and his ark. (2.) He was
to provide sustenance for them, that they might not be starved,
<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p29.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.21" parsed="|Gen|6|21|0|0" passage="Ge 6:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>. He must
victual his ship according to the number of his crew, that great
family which he had now the charge of, and according to the time
appointed for his confinement. Herein also he was a type of Christ,
to whom it is owing that the world stands, by whom all things
consist, and who preserves mankind from being totally cut off and
ruined by sin; in him the holy seed is saved alive, and the
creation rescued from the vanity under which it groans. Noah saved
those whom he was to rule, so does Christ, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p29.7" osisRef="Bible:Heb.5.9" parsed="|Heb|5|9|0|0" passage="Heb 5:9">Heb. v. 9</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.vii-p29.8" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.22" parsed="|Gen|6|22|0|0" passage="Ge 6:22" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.6.22">
<p class="passage" id="Gen.vii-p30">22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God
commanded him, so did he.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.vii-p31">Noah's care and diligence in building the
ark may be considered, 1. As an effect of his faith in the word of
God. God had told him he would shortly drown the world; he believed
it, feared the threatened deluge, and, in that fear, prepared the
ark. Note, we ought to mix faith with the revelation God has made
of his wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men;
the threatenings of the word are not false alarms. Much might have
been objected against the credibility of this warning given to
Noah. "Who could believe that the wise God, who made the world,
should so soon unmake it again, that he who had drawn the waters
off the dry land (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.1.9-Gen.1.10" parsed="|Gen|1|9|1|10" passage="Ge 1:9,10"><i>ch.</i> i. 9,
10</scripRef>) should cause them to cover it again? How would this
be reconciled with the mercy of God, which is over all his works,
especially that the innocent creatures should die for man's sin?
Whence could water be had sufficient to deluge the world? And, if
it must be so, why should notice be given of it to Noah only?" But
Noah's faith triumphed over all these corrupt reasonings. 2. As an
act of obedience to the command of God. Had he consulted with flesh
and blood, many objections would have been raised against it. To
rear a building, such a one as he never saw, so large, and of such
exact dimensions, would put him upon a great deal of care, and
labour, and expense. It would be a work of time; the vision was for
a great while to come. His neighbours would ridicule him for his
credulity, and he would be the song of the drunkards; his building
would be called <i>Noah's folly.</i> If the worst came to the
worst, as we say, each would fare as well as his neighbours. But
these, and a thousand such objections, Noah by faith got over. His
obedience was ready and resolute: <i>Thus did Noah,</i> willingly
and cheerfully, without murmuring and disputing. God says, <i>Do
this,</i> and he does it. It was also punctual and persevering: he
did all exactly according to the instructions given him, and,
having begun to build, did not leave off till he had finished it;
so did he, and so must we do. 3. As an instance of wisdom for
himself, thus to provide for his own safety. He feared the deluge,
and therefore prepared the ark. Note, when God gives warning of
approaching judgments, it is our wisdom and duty to provide
accordingly. See <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p31.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.9.20-Exod.9.21 Bible:Ezek.3.18" parsed="|Exod|9|20|9|21;|Ezek|3|18|0|0" passage="Ex 9:20-21,Eze 3:18">Exod. ix.
20, 21; Ezek. iii. 18</scripRef>. We must prepare to meet the Lord
in his judgments on earth, flee to his name as a strong tower
(<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p31.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.18.10" parsed="|Prov|18|10|0|0" passage="Pr 18:10">Prov. xviii. 10</scripRef>), enter
into our chambers (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p31.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.26.20-Isa.26.21" parsed="|Isa|26|20|26|21" passage="Isa 26:20,21">Isa. xxvi. 20,
21</scripRef>), especially prepare to meet him at death and in the
judgment of the great day, build upon Christ the Rock (<scripRef id="Gen.vii-p31.5" osisRef="Bible:Matt.7.24" parsed="|Matt|7|24|0|0" passage="Mt 7:24">Matt. vii. 24</scripRef>), go into Christ the
Ark. 4. As intended for warning to a careless world; and it was
fair warning of the deluge coming. Every blow of his axes and
hammers was a call to repentance, a call to them to prepare arks
too. But, since by it he could not convince the world, by it he
condemned the world, <scripRef id="Gen.vii-p31.6" osisRef="Bible:Heb.11.7" parsed="|Heb|11|7|0|0" passage="Heb 11:7">Heb. xi.
7</scripRef>.</p>
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