mh_parser/vol_split/1 - Genesis/Chapter 8.xml

<div2 id="Gen.ix" n="ix" next="Gen.x" prev="Gen.viii" progress="8.00%" title="Chapter VIII">
<pb id="Gen.ix-Page_64" n="64"/>
<h2 id="Gen.ix-p0.1">G E N E S I S</h2>
<h3 id="Gen.ix-p0.2">CHAP. VIII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Gen.ix-p1">In the close of the foregoing chapter we left the
world in ruins and the church in straits; but in this chapter we
have the repair of the one and the enlargement of the other. Now
the scene alters, and another face of things begins to be presented
to us, and the brighter side of that cloud which there appeared so
black and dark; for, though God contend long, he will not contend
for ever, nor be always wrath. We have here, I. The earth made
anew, by the recess of the waters, and the appearing of the dry
land, now a second time, and both gradual. 1. The increase of the
waters is stayed, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.1-Gen.8.2" parsed="|Gen|8|1|8|2" passage="Ge 8:1,2">ver. 1,
2</scripRef>. 2. They begin sensibly to abate, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.3" parsed="|Gen|8|3|0|0" passage="Ge 8:3">ver. 3</scripRef>. 3. After sixteen days' ebbing, the ark
rests, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.4" parsed="|Gen|8|4|0|0" passage="Ge 8:4">ver. 4</scripRef>. 4. After sixty
days' ebbing, the tops of the mountains appeared above water,
<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.5" parsed="|Gen|8|5|0|0" passage="Ge 8:5">ver. 5</scripRef>. 5. After forty days'
ebbing, and twenty days before the mountains appeared, Noah began
to send out his spies, a raven and a dove, to gain intelligence,
<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.6-Gen.8.12" parsed="|Gen|8|6|8|12" passage="Ge 8:6-12">ver. 6-12</scripRef>. 6. Two months
after the appearing of the tops of the mountains, the waters had
gone, and the face of the earth was dry (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.13" parsed="|Gen|8|13|0|0" passage="Ge 8:13">ver. 13</scripRef>), though not dried so as to be fit for
man till almost two months after, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.14" parsed="|Gen|8|14|0|0" passage="Ge 8:14">ver.
14</scripRef>. II. Man placed anew upon the earth, in which, 1.
Noah's discharge and departure out of the ark, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.15-Gen.8.19" parsed="|Gen|8|15|8|19" passage="Ge 8:15-19">ver. 15-19</scripRef>. 2. His sacrifice of praise,
which he offered to God upon his enlargement, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.20" parsed="|Gen|8|20|0|0" passage="Ge 8:20">ver. 20</scripRef>. 3. God's acceptance of his sacrifice,
and the promise he made thereupon not to drown the world again,
<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.21-Gen.8.22" parsed="|Gen|8|21|8|22" passage="Ge 8:21,22">ver. 21, 22</scripRef>. And thus, at
length, mercy rejoices against judgment.</p>
<scripCom id="Gen.ix-p1.11" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8" parsed="|Gen|8|0|0|0" passage="Ge 8" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Gen.ix-p1.12" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.1-Gen.8.3" parsed="|Gen|8|1|8|3" passage="Ge 8:1-3" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.8.1-Gen.8.3">
<h4 id="Gen.ix-p1.13">The Earth Becomes Dry. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.ix-p1.14">b. c.</span> 2349.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.ix-p2">1 And God remembered Noah, and every living
thing, and all the cattle that <i>was</i> with him in the ark: and
God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged;
  2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven
were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;   3 And
the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the
end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p3">Here is, I. An act of God's grace: <i>God
remembered Noah and every living thing.</i> This is an expression
after the manner of men; for not any of his creatures (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.12.6" parsed="|Luke|12|6|0|0" passage="Lu 12:6">Luke xii. 6</scripRef>), much less any of his
people, are forgotten of God, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.15-Isa.49.16" parsed="|Isa|49|15|49|16" passage="Isa 49:15,16">Isa.
xlix. 15, 16</scripRef>. But, 1. The whole race of mankind, except
Noah and his family, was now extinguished, and driven into the land
of forgetfulness, to be remembered no more; so that God's
remembering Noah was the return of his mercy to mankind, of whom he
would not make a full end. It is a strange expression, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.5.13" parsed="|Ezek|5|13|0|0" passage="Eze 5:13">Ezek. v. 13</scripRef>, <i>When I have
accomplished my fury in them, I will be comforted.</i> The demands
of divine justice had been answered by the ruin of those sinners;
he had eased him of his adversaries (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.24" parsed="|Isa|1|24|0|0" passage="Isa 1:24">Isa. i. 24</scripRef>), and now his spirit was quieted
(<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:Zech.6.8" parsed="|Zech|6|8|0|0" passage="Zec 6:8">Zech. vi. 8</scripRef>), and <i>he
remembered Noah and every living thing.</i> He remembered mercy in
wrath (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p3.6" osisRef="Bible:Hab.3.2" parsed="|Hab|3|2|0|0" passage="Hab 3:2">Hab. iii. 2</scripRef>),
remembered the days of old (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p3.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.63.11" parsed="|Isa|63|11|0|0" passage="Isa 63:11">Isa.
lxiii. 11</scripRef>), remembered the holy seed, and then
remembered Noah. 2. Noah himself, though one that had found grace
in the eyes of the Lord, yet seemed to be forgotten in the ark, and
perhaps began to think himself so; for we do not find that God had
told him how long he should be confined and when he should be
released. Very good men have sometimes been ready to conclude
themselves forgotten of God, especially when their afflictions have
been unusually grievous and long. Perhaps Noah, though a great
believer, yet when he found the flood continuing so long after it
might reasonably be presumed to have done its work, was tempted to
fear lest he that shut him in would keep him in, and began to
expostulate. <i>How long wilt thou forget me?</i> But at length God
returned in mercy to him, and this is expressed by remembering him.
Note, Those that remember God shall certainly be remembered by him,
how desolate and disconsolate soever their condition may be. He
will appoint them a set time and remember them, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p3.8" osisRef="Bible:Job.14.13" parsed="|Job|14|13|0|0" passage="Job 14:13">Job xiv. 13</scripRef>. 3. With Noah, God remembered
every living thing; for, though his delight is especially in the
sons of men, yet he rejoices in all his works, and hates nothing
that he has made. He takes special care, not only of his people's
persons, but of their possessions—of them and all that belongs to
them. He considered the cattle of Nineveh, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p3.9" osisRef="Bible:Jonah.4.11" parsed="|Jonah|4|11|0|0" passage="Jon 4:11">Jon. iv. 11</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p4">II. An act of God's power over wind and
water, both of which are at his beck, though neither of them is
under man's control. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p5">1. He commanded the wind, and said to that,
<i>Go,</i> and it went, in order to the carrying off of the flood:
<i>God made a wind to pass over the earth.</i> See here, (1.) What
was God's remembrance of Noah: it was his relieving him. Note,
Those whom God remembers he remembers effectually, for good; he
remembers us to save us, that we may remember him to serve him.
(2.) What a sovereign dominion God has over the winds. He has them
in his fist (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Prov.30.4" parsed="|Prov|30|4|0|0" passage="Pr 30:4">Prov. xxx. 4</scripRef>)
and brings them out of his treasuries, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.135.7" parsed="|Ps|135|7|0|0" passage="Ps 135:7">Ps. cxxxv. 7</scripRef>. He sends them when, and
whither, and for what purposes, he pleases. Even stormy winds
fulfil his word, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.148.8" parsed="|Ps|148|8|0|0" passage="Ps 148:8">Ps. cxlviii.
8</scripRef>. It should seem, while the waters increased, there was
no wind; for that would have added to the toss of the ark; but now
God sent a wind, when it would not be so troublesome. Probably, it
was a north wind, for that drives away rain. However, it was a
drying wind, such a wind as God sent to divide the Red Sea before
Israel, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Exod.14.21" parsed="|Exod|14|21|0|0" passage="Ex 14:21">Exod. xiv. 21</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p6">2. He remanded the waters, and said to
them, <i>Come,</i> and they came. (1.) He took away the cause. He
sealed up the springs of those waters, <i>the fountains of the
great deep, and the windows of heaven.</i> Note, [1.] As God has a
key to open, so he has a key to shut up again, and to stay the
progress of judgments by stopping the causes of them: and the same
hand that brings the desolation must bring the deliverance; to that
hand therefore our eye must ever be. He that wounds is alone able
to heal. See <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Job.12.14" parsed="|Job|12|14|0|0" passage="Job 12:14">Job xii. 14,
15</scripRef>. [2.] When afflictions have done the work for which
they are sent, whether killing work or curing work, they shall be
removed. God's word shall not return void, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.55.10-Isa.55.11" parsed="|Isa|55|10|55|11" passage="Isa 55:10,11">Isa. lv. 10, 11</scripRef>. (2.) Then the effect
ceased; not all at once, but by degrees: <i>The waters abated</i>
(<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.1" parsed="|Gen|8|1|0|0" passage="Ge 8:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>), <i>returned
from off the earth continually,</i> Heb. they were <i>going and
returning</i> (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.3" parsed="|Gen|8|3|0|0" passage="Ge 8:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>),
which denotes a gradual departure.

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The heat
of the sun exhaled much, and perhaps the subterraneous caverns
soaked in more. Note, As the earth was not drowned in a day, so it
was not dried in a day. In the creation, it was but one day's work
to clear the earth from the waters that covered it, and to make it
dry land; nay, it was but half a day's work, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p6.5" 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>. But, the work of
creation being finished, this work of providence was effected by
the concurring influence of second causes, yet thus enforced by the
almighty power of God. God usually works deliverance for his people
gradually, that the day of small things may not be despised, nor
the day of great things despaired of, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:Zech.4.10" parsed="|Zech|4|10|0|0" passage="Zec 4:10">Zech. iv. 10</scripRef>. See <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p6.7" osisRef="Bible:Prov.4.18" parsed="|Prov|4|18|0|0" passage="Pr 4:18">Prov. iv. 18</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.ix-p6.8" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.4-Gen.8.5" parsed="|Gen|8|4|8|5" passage="Ge 8:4-5" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.8.4-Gen.8.5">
<p class="passage" id="Gen.ix-p7">4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on
the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
  5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth
month: in the tenth <i>month,</i> on the first <i>day</i> of the
month, were the tops of the mountains seen.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p8">Here we have the effects and evidences of
the ebbing of the waters. 1. The ark rested. This was some
satisfaction to Noah, to feel the house he was in upon firm ground,
and no longer movable. It rested upon a mountain, whither it was
directed, not by Noah's prudence (he did not steer it), but by the
wise and gracious providence of God, that it might rest the sooner.
Note, God has times and places of rest for his people after their
tossings; and many a time he provides for their seasonable and
comfortable settlement without their own contrivance and quite
beyond their own foresight. The ark of the church, though sometimes
tossed with tempests, and not comforted (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.54.11" parsed="|Isa|54|11|0|0" passage="Isa 54:11">Isa. liv. 11</scripRef>), yet has its rests, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.9.31" parsed="|Acts|9|31|0|0" passage="Ac 9:31">Acts ix. 31</scripRef>. 2. The tops of the
mountains were seen, like little islands, appearing above the
water. We must suppose that they were seen by Noah and his sons;
for there were none besides to see them. It is probable that they
had looked through the window of the ark every day, like the
longing mariners, after a tedious voyage, to see if they could
discover land, or as the prophet's servant (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.18.43-1Kgs.18.44" parsed="|1Kgs|18|43|18|44" passage="1Ki 18:43,44">1 Kings xviii. 43, 44</scripRef>), and at length
they spy ground, and enter the day of the discovery in their
journal. They felt ground above forty days before they saw it,
according to Dr. Lightfoot's computation, whence he infers that, if
the waters decreased proportionably, the ark drew eleven cubits in
water.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.ix-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.6-Gen.8.12" parsed="|Gen|8|6|8|12" passage="Ge 8:6-12" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.8.6-Gen.8.12">
<p class="passage" id="Gen.ix-p9">6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days,
that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:   7
And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the
waters were dried up from off the earth.   8 Also he sent
forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off
the face of the ground;   9 But the dove found no rest for the
sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the
waters <i>were</i> on the face of the whole earth: then he put
forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the
ark.   10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he
sent forth the dove out of the ark;   11 And the dove came in
to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth <i>was</i> an olive
leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off
the earth.   12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent
forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p10">We have here an account of the spies which
Noah sent forth to bring him intelligence from abroad, a raven and
a dove. Observe here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p11">I. That though God had told Noah
particularly when the flood would come, even to a day (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.7.4" parsed="|Gen|7|4|0|0" passage="Ge 7:4"><i>ch.</i> vii. 4</scripRef>), yet he did not give
him a particular account by revelation at what times, and by what
steps, it should <i>go away,</i> 1. Because the knowledge of the
former was necessary to his preparing the ark, and settling himself
in it; but the knowledge of the latter would serve only to gratify
his curiosity, and the concealing of it from him would be the
needful exercise of his faith and patience. And, 2. He could not
foresee the flood, but by revelation; but he might, by ordinary
means, discover the decrease of it, and therefore God was pleased
to leave him to the use of them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p12">II. That though Noah by faith expected his
enlargement, and by patience waited for it, yet he was inquisitive
concerning it, as one that thought it long to be thus confined.
Note, Desires of release out of trouble, earnest expectations of
it, and enquiries concerning its advances towards us, will very
well consist with the sincerity of faith and patience. <i>He that
believes does not make haste</i> to run before God, but he does
make haste to go forth to meet him, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.28.16" parsed="|Isa|28|16|0|0" passage="Isa 28:16">Isa. xxviii. 16</scripRef>. Particularly, 1. Noah sent
forth a raven through the window of the ark, which went forth, as
the Hebrew phrase is, <i>going forth and returning,</i> that is,
flying about, and feeding on the carcases that floated, but
returning to the ark for rest; probably not in it, but upon it.
This gave Noah little satisfaction; therefore, 2. He sent forth a
dove, which returned the first time with no good news, but probably
wet and dirty; but, the second time, she brought an olive-leaf in
her

<pb id="Gen.ix-Page_66" n="66"/>

bill, which appeared to be first plucked
off, a plain indication that now the trees, the fruit-trees, began
to appear above water. Note here, (1.) That Noah sent forth the
dove the second time seven days after the first time, and the third
time was after seven days too; and probably the first sending of
her out was seven days after the sending forth of the raven. This
intimates that it was done on the sabbath day, which, it should
seem, Noah religiously observed in the ark. Having kept the sabbath
in a solemn assembly of his little church, he then expected special
blessings from heaven, and enquired concerning them. Having
directed his prayer, he looked up, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.5.3" parsed="|Ps|5|3|0|0" passage="Ps 5:3">Ps.
v. 3</scripRef>. (2.) The dove is an emblem of a gracious soul,
which finding no rest for its foot, no solid peace or satisfaction
in this world, this deluged defiling world, returns to Christ as to
its ark, as to its Noah. The carnal heart, like the raven, takes up
with the world, and feeds on the carrions it finds there; <i>but
return thou to thy rest, O my soul,</i> to thy <i>Noah,</i> so the
word is, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.116.7" parsed="|Ps|116|7|0|0" passage="Ps 116:7">Ps. cxvi. 7</scripRef>. <i>O
that I had wings like a dove,</i> to flee to him! <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.55.6" parsed="|Ps|55|6|0|0" passage="Ps 55:6">Ps. lv. 6</scripRef>. And as Noah put forth his
hand, and took the dove, and pulled her in to him, into the ark, so
Christ will graciously preserve, and help, and welcome, those that
fly to him for rest. (3.) The olive-branch, which was an emblem of
peace, was brought, not by the raven, a bird of prey, nor by a gay
and proud peacock, but by a mild, patient, humble dove. It is a
dove-like disposition that brings into the soul earnests of rest
and joy. (4.) Some make these things an allegory. The law was first
sent forth like the raven, but brought no tidings of the assuaging
of the waters of God's wrath, with which the world of mankind was
deluged; therefore, in the fulness of time, God sent forth his
gospel, as the dove, in the likeness of which the Holy Spirit
descended, and this presents us with an olive-branch and brings in
a better hope.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.ix-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.13-Gen.8.14" parsed="|Gen|8|13|8|14" passage="Ge 8:13-14" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.8.13-Gen.8.14">
<p class="passage" id="Gen.ix-p13">13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and
first year, in the first <i>month,</i> the first <i>day</i> of the
month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah
removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face
of the ground was dry.   14 And in the second month, on the
seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p14">Here is, 1. The ground dry (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.13" parsed="|Gen|8|13|0|0" passage="Ge 8:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>), that is, all the water
carried off it, which, upon the first day of the first month (a
joyful new-year's-day it was), Noah was himself an eye-witness of.
He <i>removed the covering of the ark,</i> not the whole covering,
but so much as would suffice to give him a prospect of the earth
about it; and a most comfortable prospect he had. For behold,
behold and wonder, <i>the face of the ground was dry.</i> Note,
(1.) It is a great mercy to see ground about us. Noah was more
sensible of it than we are; for mercies restored are much more
affecting than mercies continued. (2.) The divine power which now
renewed the face of the earth can renew the face of an afflicted
troubled soul and of a distressed persecuted church. He can make
dry ground to appear even where it seemed to have been lost and
forgotten, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.18.16" parsed="|Ps|18|16|0|0" passage="Ps 18:16">Ps. xviii. 16</scripRef>.
2. The ground dried (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.14" parsed="|Gen|8|14|0|0" passage="Ge 8:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>), so as to be a fit habitation for Noah. Observe,
Though Noah saw the ground dry the first day of the first month,
yet God would not suffer him to go out of the ark till the
twenty-seventh day of the second month. Perhaps Noah, being
somewhat weary of his restraint, would have quitted the ark at
first; but God, in kindness to him, ordered him to stay so much
longer. Note, God consults our benefit rather than our desires; for
he knows what is good for us better than we do for ourselves, and
how long it is fit our restraints should continue and desired
mercies should be delayed. We would go out of the ark before the
ground is dried: and perhaps, if the door be shut, are ready to
remove the covering, and to climb up some other way; but we should
be satisfied that God's time of showing mercy is certainly the best
time, when the mercy is ripe for us and we are ready for it.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.ix-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.15-Gen.8.19" parsed="|Gen|8|15|8|19" passage="Ge 8:15-19" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.8.15-Gen.8.19">
<p class="passage" id="Gen.ix-p15">15 And God spake unto Noah, saying,   16 Go
forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons'
wives with thee.   17 Bring forth with thee every living thing
that <i>is</i> with thee, of all flesh, <i>both</i> of fowl, and of
cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth;
that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and
multiply upon the earth.   18 And Noah went forth, and his
sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:   19 Every
beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, <i>and</i> whatsoever
creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the
ark.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p16">Here is, I. Noah's dismission out of the
ark, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.15-Gen.8.17" parsed="|Gen|8|15|8|17" passage="Ge 8:15-17"><i>v.</i> 15-17</scripRef>.
Observe, 1. Noah did not stir till God bade him. As he had a
command to go into the ark (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.7.1" parsed="|Gen|7|1|0|0" passage="Ge 7:1"><i>ch.</i>
vii. 1</scripRef>), so, how tedious soever his confinement there
was, he would wait for a command to go out of it again. Note, We
must in all our ways acknowledge God, and set him before us in all
our removes. Those only go under God's protection that follow God's
direction and submit to his government. Those that steadily adhere
to God's word as their rule, and are guided by his grace as their
principle, and take hints from his providence to assist

<pb id="Gen.ix-Page_67" n="67"/>

them in their application of general directions to
particular cases, may in faith see him guiding their motions in
their march through this wilderness. 2. Though God detained him
long, yet at last he gave him his discharge; for <i>the vision is
for an appointed time, and at the end it shall speak,</i> it shall
speak truth (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Hab.2.3" parsed="|Hab|2|3|0|0" passage="Hab 2:3">Hab. ii. 3</scripRef>), it
shall not lie. 3. God had said, <i>Come into the ark</i> which he
says, not, <i>Come forth,</i> but, Go <i>forth,</i> which intimates
that God, who went in with him, staid with him all the while, till
he sent him out safely; for he has said, <i>I will not leave
thee.</i> 4. Some observe that, when they were ordered into the
ark, the men and the women were mentioned separately (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.18" parsed="|Gen|6|18|0|0" passage="Ge 6:18"><i>ch.</i> vi. 18</scripRef>): <i>Thou, and thy
sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives;</i> hence they infer that,
during the time of mourning, they were apart, and their wives
apart, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p16.5" osisRef="Bible:Zech.12.12" parsed="|Zech|12|12|0|0" passage="Zec 12:12">Zech. xii. 12</scripRef>. But
now God did as it were new-marry them, sending out Noah and his
wife together, and his sons and their wives together, that they
might be fruitful and multiply. 5. Noah was ordered to bring the
creatures out with him, that having taken the care of feeding them
so long, and been at so much pains about them, he might have the
honour of leading them forth by their armies, and receiving their
homage.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p17">II. Noah's departure when he had his
dismission. As he would not go out without leave, so he would not,
out of fear or humour, stay in when he had leave, but was in all
points observant of the heavenly vision. Though he had been now a
full year and ten days a prisoner in the ark, yet when he found
himself preserved there, not only for a new life, but for a new
world, he saw no reason to complain of his long confinement. Now
observe, 1. Noah and his family came out alive, though one of them
was a wicked Ham, whom, though he escaped the flood, God's justice
could have taken away by some other stroke. But they are all alive.
Note, When families have been long continued together, and no
breaches made among them, it must be looked upon as a
distinguishing favour, and attributed to the Lord's mercies. 2.
Noah brought out all the creatures that went in with him, except
the raven and the dove, which, probably, were ready to meet their
mates at their coming out. Noah was able to give a very good
account of his charge; for of all that were given to him he had
lost none, but was faithful to him that appointed him, <i>pro hac
vice—on this occasion,</i> high steward of his household.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gen.ix-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.20-Gen.8.22" parsed="|Gen|8|20|8|22" passage="Ge 8:20-22" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gen.8.20-Gen.8.22">
<h4 id="Gen.ix-p17.2">Noah's Sacrifice. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.ix-p17.3">b. c.</span> 2348.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gen.ix-p18">20 And Noah builded an altar unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.ix-p18.1">Lord</span>; and took of every clean beast, and
of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
  21 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.ix-p18.2">Lord</span> smelled a
sweet savour; and the <span class="smallcaps" id="Gen.ix-p18.3">Lord</span> said in
his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's
sake; for the imagination of man's heart <i>is</i> evil from his
youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I
have done.   22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and
harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and
night shall not cease.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p19">Here is, I. Noah's thankful acknowledgment
of God's favour to him, in completing the mercy of his deliverance,
<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.20" parsed="|Gen|8|20|0|0" passage="Ge 8:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>. 1. He <i>built
an altar.</i> Hitherto he had done nothing without particular
instructions and commands from God. He had a particular call into
the ark, and another out of it; but, altars and sacrifices being
already of divine institution for religious worship, he did not
stay for a particular command thus to express his thankfulness.
Those that have received mercy from God should be forward in
returning thanks, and do it <i>not of constraint, but
willingly.</i> God is pleased with free-will offerings, and praises
that wait for him. Noah was now turned out into a cold and desolate
world, where, one would have thought, his first care would have
been to build a house for himself; but, behold, he begins with an
altar for God: God, that is the first, must be first served; and he
begins well that begins with God. 2. He offered a sacrifice upon
his altar, <i>of every clean beast, and of every clean
fowl</i>—one, the odd seventh that we read of, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.7.2-Gen.7.3" parsed="|Gen|7|2|7|3" passage="Ge 7:2,3"><i>ch.</i> vii. 2, 3</scripRef>. Here observe, (1.) He
offered only those that were clean; for it is not enough that we
sacrifice, but we must sacrifice that which God appoints, according
to the law of sacrifice, and not a corrupt thing. (2.) Though his
stock of cattle was so small, and that rescued from ruin at so
great an expense of care and pains, yet he did not grudge to give
God his dues out of it. He might have said, "Have I but seven sheep
to begin the world with, and must one of these seven be killed and
burnt for sacrifice? Were it not better to defer it till we have
greater plenty?" No, to prove the sincerity of his love and
gratitude, he cheerfully gives the seventh to his God, as an
acknowledgment that all was his, and owing to him. Serving God with
our little is the way to make it more; and we must never think that
wasted with which God is honoured. (3.) See here the antiquity of
religion: the first thing we find done in the new world was an act
of worship, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.6.16" parsed="|Jer|6|16|0|0" passage="Jer 6:16">Jer. vi. 16</scripRef>. We
are now to express our thankfulness, not by burnt-offerings, but by
the sacrifices of praise and the sacrifices of righteousness, by
pious devotions and a pious conversation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p20">II. God's gracious acceptance of Noah's
thankfulness. It was a settled rule in the patriarchal age: <i>If
thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?</i> Noah was so.
For,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p21">1. God was well pleased with the

<pb id="Gen.ix-Page_68" n="68"/>

performance, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.21" parsed="|Gen|8|21|0|0" passage="Ge 8:21"><i>v.</i>
21</scripRef>. He <i>smelt a sweet savour,</i> or, as it is in the
Hebrew, <i>a savour of rest,</i> from it. As, when he had made the
world at first on the seventh day, he rested and was refreshed, so,
now that he had new-made it, in the sacrifice of the seventh he
rested. He was well pleased with Noah's pious zeal, and these
hopeful beginnings of the new world, as men are with fragrant and
agreeable smells; though his offering was small, it was according
to his ability, and God accepted it. Having caused his anger to
rest upon the world of sinners, he here caused his love to rest
upon this little remnant of believers.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p22">2. Hereupon, he took up a resolution never
to drown the world again. Herein he had an eye, not so much to
Noah's sacrifice as to Christ's sacrifice of himself, which was
typified and represented by it, and which was indeed an <i>offering
of a sweet-smelling savour,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Eph.5.2" parsed="|Eph|5|2|0|0" passage="Eph 5:2">Eph. v.
2</scripRef>. Good security is here given, and that which may be
relied upon,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p23">(1.) That this judgment should never be
repeated. Noah might think, "To what purpose should the world be
repaired, when, in all probability, for the wickedness of it, it
will quickly be in like manner ruined again?" "No," says God, "it
never shall." It was said (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.6" parsed="|Gen|6|6|0|0" passage="Ge 6:6"><i>ch.</i>
vi. 6</scripRef>), <i>It repented the Lord that he had made
man;</i> now here he speaks as if it repented him that he had
destroyed man: neither means a change of his mind, but both a
change of his way. <i>It repented him concerning his servants,</i>
<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.32.36" parsed="|Deut|32|36|0|0" passage="De 32:36">Deut. xxxii. 36</scripRef>. Two ways
this resolve is expressed:—[1.] <i>I will not again curse the
ground,</i> Heb. <i>I will not add to curse the ground any
more.</i> God had cursed the ground upon the first entrance of sin
(<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p23.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.3.17" parsed="|Gen|3|17|0|0" passage="Ge 3:17"><i>ch.</i> iii. 17</scripRef>), when
he drowned it he added to that curse; but now he determines not to
add to it any more. [2.] <i>Neither will I again smite any more
every living thing;</i> that is, it was determined that whatever
ruin God might bring upon particular persons, or families, or
countries, he would never again destroy the whole world till the
day shall come when time shall be no more. But the reason of this
resolve is very surprising, for it seems the same in effect with
the reason given for the destruction of the world: <i>Because the
imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth,</i> <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p23.4" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.5" parsed="|Gen|6|5|0|0" passage="Ge 6:5"><i>ch.</i> vi. 5</scripRef>. But there is this
difference—there it is said, <i>The imagination of man's heart is
evil continually,</i> that is, "his actual transgressions
continually cry against him;" here it is said, It is evil <i>from
his youth or childhood.</i> It is bred in the bone; he brought it
into the world with him; he was shapen and conceived in it. Now,
one would think it should follow, "Therefore that guilty race shall
be wholly extinguished, and <i>I will make a full end.</i>" No,
"Therefore I will no more take this severe method; for,"
<i>First,</i> "He is rather to be pitied, for it is all the effect
of sin dwelling in him; and it is but what might be expected from
such a degenerate race: he is called a <i>transgressor from the
womb,</i> and therefore it is not strange that he deals so very
treacherously," <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p23.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.48.8" parsed="|Isa|48|8|0|0" passage="Isa 48:8">Isa. xlviii.
8</scripRef>. Thus God <i>remembers that he is flesh,</i> corrupt
and sinful, <scripRef id="Gen.ix-p23.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.78.39" parsed="|Ps|78|39|0|0" passage="Ps 78:39">Ps. lxxviii.
39</scripRef>. <i>Secondly,</i> "He will be utterly ruined; for, if
he be dealt with according to his deserts, one flood must succeed
another till all be destroyed." See here, 1. That outward
judgments, though they may terrify and restrain men, yet cannot of
themselves sanctify and renew them; the grace of God must work with
those judgments. Man's nature was as sinful after the deluge as it
had been before. 2. That God's goodness takes occasion from man's
sinfulness to magnify itself the more; his reasons of mercy are all
drawn from himself, not from any thing in us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gen.ix-p24">(2.) That the course of nature should never
be discontinued (<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.22" parsed="|Gen|8|22|0|0" passage="Ge 8:22"><i>v.</i>
22</scripRef>): "<i>While the earth remaineth,</i> and man upon it,
there shall be <i>summer and winter</i> (not all winter as had been
this last year), <i>day and night,</i>" not all night, as probably
it was while the rain was descending. Here, [1.] It is plainly
intimated that this earth is not to remain always; it, and all the
works in it, must shortly be burnt up; and we look for <i>new
heavens and a new earth,</i> when all these things must be
dissolved. But, [2.] As long as it does remain God's providence
will carefully preserve the regular succession of times and
seasons, and cause each to know its place. To this we owe it that
the world stands, and the wheel of nature keeps it track. See here
how changeable the times are and yet how unchangeable.
<i>First,</i> The course of nature always changing. As it is with
the times, so it is with the events of time, they are subject to
vicissitudes—<i>day and night, summer and winter,</i>
counterchanged. In heaven and hell it is not so, but on earth
<i>God hath set the one over against the other. Secondly,</i> Yet
never changed. It is constant in this inconstancy. These seasons
have never ceased, nor shall cease, while the sun continued such a
steady measurer of time and the moon such a <i>faithful witness in
heaven.</i> This is <i>God's covenant of the day and of the
night,</i> the stability of which is mentioned for the confirming
of our faith in the covenant of grace, which is no less inviolable,
<scripRef id="Gen.ix-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.33.20-Jer.33.21" parsed="|Jer|33|20|33|21" passage="Jer 33:20,21">Jer. xxxiii. 20, 21</scripRef>. We
see God's promises to the creatures made good, and thence may infer
that his promises to all believers shall be so.</p>
</div></div2>