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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter IX].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page68"> </A>
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G E N E S I S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. IX.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Both the world and the church were now again reduced to a family,
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the family of Noah, of the affairs of which this chapter gives us
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an account, of which we are the more concerned to take cognizance
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because from this family we are all descendants. Here
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is,
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I. The covenant of providence settled with Noah and his sons,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:1-11">ver. 1-11</A>.
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In this covenant,
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1. God promises them to take care
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of their lives, so that,
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(1.) They should replenish the earth,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:1,7">ver. 1, 7</A>.
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(2.) They should be safe from the insults of the brute-creatures,
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which should stand in awe of them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:2">ver. 2</A>.
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(3.) They
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should be allowed to eat flesh for the support of their lives; only
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they must not eat blood,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:3,4">ver. 3, 4</A>.
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(4.) The world should never
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be drowned again,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:8-11">ver. 8-11</A>.
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2. God requires of them to take
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care of one another's lives, and of their own,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:5,6">ver. 5, 6</A>.
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II. The
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seal of that covenant, namely, the rainbow,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:12-17">ver. 12-17</A>.
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III. A particular passage of story concerning Noah and his sons,
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which occasioned some prophecies that related to after-times,
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1. Noah's sin and shame,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:20,21">ver. 20, 21</A>.
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2. Ham's impudence and
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impiety,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:22">ver. 22</A>.
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3. The pious modesty of Shem and Japheth,
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<A NAME="Page69"> </A>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:23">ver. 23</A>.
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4. The curse of Canaan, and the blessing of Shem and
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Japheth,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:21-27">ver. 21-27</A>.
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IV. The age and death of Noah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:28,29">ver. 28, 29</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge9_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge9_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge9_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge9_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge9_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge9_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge9_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Blessing of Noah and His Sons.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 2348.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And God blessed Noah and his
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sons, and said unto them, Be
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fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
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the earth.
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2 And the fear of you
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and the dread of you shall be upon
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every beast of the earth, and upon
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every fowl of the air, upon all that
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moveth <I>upon</I> the earth, and upon all
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the fishes of the sea; into your hand
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are they delivered.
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3 Every moving
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thing that liveth shall be meat for
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you; even as the green herb have I
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given you all things.
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4 But flesh
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with the life thereof, <I>which is</I> the
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blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
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5 And surely your blood of your lives
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will I require; at the hand of every
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beast will I require it, and at the hand
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of man; at the hand of every man's
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brother will I require the life of man.
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6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by
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man shall his blood be shed: for in
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the image of God made he man.
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7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply;
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bring forth abundantly in the earth,
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and multiply therein.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We read, in the close of the foregoing
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chapter, the very kind things which God said
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in his heart, concerning the remnant of mankind
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which was now left to be the seed of a
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new world. Now here we have these kind
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things <I>spoken to them.</I> In general, <I>God
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blessed Noah and his sons</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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that is, he
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assured them of his good-will to them and
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his gracious intentions concerning them.
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This follows from what he said in his heart.
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Note, All God's promises of good flow from
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his purposes of love and the counsels of his
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own will. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:11,3:11">Eph. i. 11; iii. 11</A>.
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and compare
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+29:11">Jer. xxix. 11</A>.
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<I>I know the thoughts that
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I think towards you.</I> We read
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+8:20"><I>ch.</I> viii. 20</A>)
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how <I>Noah blessed God,</I> by his altar and sacrifice.
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Now here we find God blessing Noah.
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Note, God will graciously bless (that is, do
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well for) those who sincerely bless (that is,
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speak well of) him. Those that are truly
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thankful for the mercies they have received
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take the readiest way to have them confirmed
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and continued to them.</P>
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<P>
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Now here we have the <I>Magna Charta--the
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great charter</I> of this new kingdom of
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nature which was now to be erected, and incorporated,
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the former charter having been
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forfeited and seized.</P>
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<P>
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I. The grants of this charter are kind and
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gracious to men. Here is,</P>
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<P>
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1. A grant of lands of vast extent, and a
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promise of a great increase of men to occupy
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and enjoy them. The first blessing is here
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renewed: <I>Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
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the earth</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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and repeated
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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for the race of mankind was, as it were, to
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begin again. Now,
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(1.) God sets the whole
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earth before them, tells them it is all their
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own, <I>while it remains,</I> to them and their
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heirs. Note, The earth God has given to the
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children of men, for a possession and habitation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+115:16">Ps. cxv. 16</A>.
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Though it is not a paradise,
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but a wilderness rather; yet it is better
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than we deserve. Blessed be God, it is not
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hell.
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(2.) He gives them a blessing, by the
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force and virtue of which mankind should be
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both multiplied and perpetuated upon earth,
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so that in a little time all the habitable parts
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of the earth should be more or less inhabited;
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and, though one generation should pass
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away, yet another generation should come,
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while the world stands, so that the stream of
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the human race should be supplied with a
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constant succession, and run parallel with
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the current of time, till both should be delivered
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up together into the ocean of eternity.
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Though death should still reign, and the
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Lord would still be known by his judgments,
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yet the earth should never again be dispeopled
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as now it was, but still replenished,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+17:24-26">Acts xvii. 24-26</A>.</P>
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<P>
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2. A grant of power over the inferior creatures,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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He grants,
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(1.) A title to them:
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<I>Into your hands they are delivered,</I> for your
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use and benefit.
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(2.) A dominion over them,
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without which the title would avail little:
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<I>The fear of you and the dread of you shall be
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upon every beast.</I> This revives a former
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grant
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+1:28"><I>ch.</I> i. 28</A>),
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only with this difference,
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that man in innocence ruled by love, fallen
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man rules by fear. Now this grant remains
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in force, and thus far we have still the benefit
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of it,
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[1.] That those creatures which are
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any way useful to us are reclaimed, and we
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use them either for service or food, or both,
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as they are capable. The horse and ox patiently
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submit to the bridle and yoke, and
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the sheep is dumb both before the shearer
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and before the butcher; for the fear and
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dread of man are upon them.
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[2.] Those
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creatures that are any way hurtful to us are
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restrained, so that, though now and then man
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may be hurt by some of them, they do not
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combine together to rise up in rebellion
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against man, else God could by these destroy
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the world as effectually as he did by a deluge;
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it is one of God's sore judgments,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+14:21">Ezek. xiv. 21</A>.
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What is it that keeps wolves out of our
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towns, and lions out of our streets, and confines
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them to the wilderness, but this fear and
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dread? Nay, some have been tamed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+9:7">Jas. iii. 7</A>.</P>
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<P>
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3. A grant of maintenance and subsistence:
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<I>Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat
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for you,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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|
Hitherto, most think, man had
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been confined to feed only upon the products
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|
of the earth, fruits, herbs, and roots,
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and all sorts of corn and milk; so was the
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first grant,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+1:29"><I>ch.</I> i. 29</A>.
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But the flood having
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perhaps washed away much of the virtue of
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the earth, and so rendered its fruits less
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<A NAME="Page70"> </A>
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pleasing and less nourishing, God now enlarged
|
|
the grant, and allowed man to eat flesh, which
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perhaps man himself never thought of, till
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now that God directed him to it, nor had any
|
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more desire to than a sheep has to suck blood
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like a wolf. But now man is allowed to feed
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upon flesh, as freely and safely as upon the
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green herb. Now here see,
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(1.) That God is
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a good master, and provides, not only that
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we may live, but that we may live comfortably,
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in his service; not for necessity only,
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but for delight.
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(2.) That every <I>creature of
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God is good,</I> and nothing to be refused,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ti+4:4">1 Tim. iv. 4</A>.
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Afterwards some meats that were
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|
proper enough for food were prohibited by
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the ceremonial law; but from the beginning,
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it seems, it was not so, and therefore is not
|
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so under the gospel.</P>
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<P>
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II. The precepts and provisos of this character
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are no less kind and gracious, and instances
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of God's good-will to man. The
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Jewish doctors speak so often of the seven
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precepts of Noah, or of the sons of Noah,
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which they say were to be observed by all
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nations, that it may not be amiss to set them
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down. The first against the worship of idols.
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The second against blasphemy, and requiring
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to bless the name of God. The third against
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murder. The fourth against incest and all
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uncleanness. The fifth against theft and
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rapine. The sixth requiring the administration
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of justice. The seventh against eating
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of flesh with the life. These the Jews required
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the observance of from the <I>proselytes
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of the gate.</I> But the precepts here given all
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concern the life of man.</P>
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<P>
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1. Man must not prejudice his own life by
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eating that food which is unwholesome and
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prejudicial to his health
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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"<I>Flesh with
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the life thereof, which is the blood thereof</I>
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(that is, raw flesh), shall you not eat, as the
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beasts of prey do." It was necessary to add
|
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this limitation to the grant of liberty to eat flesh,
|
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lest, instead of nourishing their bodies by it,
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|
they should destroy them. God would hereby
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|
show,
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(1.) That though they were lords of
|
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the creatures, yet they were subjects to the
|
|
Creator, and under the restraints of his law.
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(2.) That they must not be greedy and hasty
|
|
in taking their food, but stay the preparing
|
|
of it; not like Saul's soldiers
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+14:32">1 Sam. xiv. 32</A>),
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|
nor <I>riotous eaters of flesh,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+23:20">Prov. xxiii. 20</A>.
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(3.) That they must not be barbarous and
|
|
cruel to the inferior creatures. They must
|
|
be lords, but not tyrants; they might kill
|
|
them for their profit, but not torment them
|
|
for their pleasure, nor tear away the member
|
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of a creature while it was yet alive, and eat
|
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that.
|
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(4.) That during the continuance of
|
|
the law of sacrifices, in which the blood made
|
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<I>atonement for the soul</I>
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+17:11">Lev. xvii. 11</A>),
|
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signifying that the life of the sacrifice was accepted
|
|
for the life of the sinner, blood must not be
|
|
looked upon as a common thing, but must
|
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be <I>poured out before the Lord</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+23:16">2 Sam. xxiii. 16</A>),
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either upon his altar or upon his earth.
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But, now that the great and true sacrifice has
|
|
been offered, the obligation of the law ceases
|
|
with the reason of it.</P>
|
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<P>
|
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2. Man must not take away his own life:
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|
<I>Your blood of your lives will I require,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
|
|
Our lives are not so our own as that we may
|
|
quit them at our own pleasure, but they are
|
|
God's and we must resign them at his pleasure;
|
|
if we in any way hasten our own
|
|
deaths, we are accountable to God for it.</P>
|
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<P>
|
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|
3. The beasts must not be suffered to hurt
|
|
the life of man: <I>At the hand of every beast
|
|
will I require it.</I> To show how tender God
|
|
was of the life of man, though he had lately
|
|
made such destruction of lives, he will
|
|
have the beast put to death that kills a man. This
|
|
was confirmed by the law of Moses
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+21:28">Exod. xxi. 28</A>),
|
|
and I think it would not be unsafe
|
|
to observe it still. Thus God showed his
|
|
hatred of the sin of murder, that men might
|
|
hate it the more, and not only punish, but
|
|
prevent it. And see
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+5:23">Job v. 23</A>.</P>
|
|
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|
<P>
|
|
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|
4. Wilful murderers must be put to death.
|
|
This is the sin which is here designed to be
|
|
restrained by the terror of punishment
|
|
|
|
(1.) God will punish murderers: <I>At the hand of
|
|
every man's brother will I require the life of
|
|
man,</I> that is, "I will avenge the blood of the
|
|
murdered upon the murderer."
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+24:22">2 Chron. xxiv. 22</A>.
|
|
When God requires the life of a
|
|
man at the hand of him that took it away
|
|
unjustly, the murderer cannot render that,
|
|
and therefore must render his own in lieu of
|
|
it, which is the only way left of making restitution.
|
|
Note, The righteous God will certainly
|
|
make inquisition for blood, though
|
|
men cannot or do not. One time or other,
|
|
in this world or in the next, he will both discover
|
|
concealed murders, which are hidden
|
|
from man's eye, and punish avowed and justified
|
|
murders, which are too great for man's
|
|
hand.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The magistrate must punish
|
|
murderers
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
|
|
<I>Whoso sheddeth man's blood,</I>
|
|
whether upon a sudden provocation or having
|
|
premeditated it (for rash anger is heart-murder
|
|
as well as malice prepense,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+5:21,22">Matt. v. 21, 22</A>),
|
|
<I>by man shall his blood be shed,</I> that is, by
|
|
the magistrate, or whoever is appointed or
|
|
allowed to be the avenger of blood. There
|
|
are those who are ministers of God for this
|
|
purpose, to be a protection to the innocent,
|
|
by being a terror to the malicious and evildoers,
|
|
and they must not <I>bear the sword in
|
|
vain,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+13:4">Rom. xiii. 4</A>.
|
|
Before the flood, as it
|
|
should seem by the story of Cain, God took
|
|
the punishment of murder into his own
|
|
hands; but now he committed this judgment
|
|
to men, to masters of families at first, and
|
|
afterwards to the heads of countries, who
|
|
ought to be faithful to the trust reposed in
|
|
them. Note, Wilful murder ought always to
|
|
be punished with death. It is a sin <I>which
|
|
the Lord would not pardon</I> in a prince
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+24:3,4">2 Kings xxiv. 3, 4</A>),
|
|
and which therefore a
|
|
prince should not pardon in a subject. To
|
|
this law there is a reason annexed: <I>For in the
|
|
image of God made he man</I> at first. Man is
|
|
a creature dear to his Creator, and therefore
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page71"> </A>
|
|
|
|
ought to be so to us. God put honour upon
|
|
him, let not us then put contempt upon him.
|
|
Such remains of God's image are still even
|
|
upon fallen man as that he who unjustly kills
|
|
a man defaces the image of God and does
|
|
dishonour to him. When God allowed men
|
|
to kill their beasts, yet he forbade them to
|
|
kill their slaves; for these are of a much
|
|
more noble and excellent nature, not only
|
|
God's creatures, but his image,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:9">Jam. iii. 9</A>.
|
|
All men have something of the image of God
|
|
upon them; but magistrates have, besides,
|
|
the image of his power, and the saints the
|
|
image of his holiness, and therefore those who
|
|
shed the blood of princes or saints incur a
|
|
double guilt.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_8"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_9"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_11"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>God's Covenant with Noah.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 2347.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>8 And God spake unto Noah, and
|
|
to his sons with him, saying,
|
|
9 And
|
|
I, behold, I establish my covenant
|
|
with you, and with your seed after
|
|
you;
|
|
10 And with every living
|
|
creature that <I>is</I> with you, of the fowl,
|
|
of the cattle, and of every beast of the
|
|
earth with you; from all that go out of the
|
|
ark, to every beast of the earth.
|
|
11 And I will establish my covenant
|
|
with you; neither shall all flesh be
|
|
cut off any more by the waters of a
|
|
flood; neither shall there any more
|
|
be a flood to destroy the earth.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. The general establishment of
|
|
God's covenant with this new world, and the
|
|
extent of that covenant,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
|
|
Here observe,
|
|
|
|
1. That God is graciously pleased
|
|
to deal with man in the way of a covenant,
|
|
wherein God greatly magnifies his condescending
|
|
favour, and greatly encourages
|
|
man's duty and obedience, as a reasonable
|
|
and gainful service.
|
|
|
|
2. That all God's covenants
|
|
with man are of his own making: <I>I,
|
|
behold, I.</I> It is thus expressed both to raise
|
|
our admiration--"Behold, and wonder, that
|
|
though God be high yet he has this respect
|
|
to man," and to confirm our assurances of
|
|
the validity of the covenant--"Behold and
|
|
see, I make it; I that am faithful and able
|
|
to make it good."
|
|
|
|
3. That God's covenants
|
|
are established more firmly than the pillars
|
|
of heaven or the foundations of the earth,
|
|
and cannot be disannulled.
|
|
|
|
4. That God's
|
|
covenants are made with the covenanters and
|
|
with their seed; the promise is to them and
|
|
their children.
|
|
|
|
5. That those may be taken
|
|
into covenant with God, and receive the
|
|
benefits of it, who yet are not capable of restipulating,
|
|
or giving their own consent.
|
|
For this covenant is made with <I>every living
|
|
creature, every beast of the earth.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The particular intention of this covenant.
|
|
It was designed to secure the world
|
|
from another deluge: <I>There shall not any
|
|
more be a flood.</I> God had drowned the world
|
|
once, and still it was as filthy and provoking
|
|
as ever, and God foresaw the wickedness of
|
|
it, and yet promised he would never drown
|
|
it any more; for he deals not with us according
|
|
to our sins. It is owing to God's goodness
|
|
and faithfulness, not to any reformation
|
|
of the world, that it has not often been
|
|
deluged and that it is not deluged now. As
|
|
the old world was ruined to be a monument
|
|
of justice, so this world remains to this day,
|
|
a monument of mercy, according to the oath
|
|
of God, that the waters of Noah should no
|
|
more return to cover the earth,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+54:9">Isa. liv. 9</A>.
|
|
This promise of God keeps the sea and clouds
|
|
in their decreed place, and <I>sets them gates and
|
|
bars; hitherto they shall come,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+38:10,11">Job xxxviii. 10, 11</A>.
|
|
If the sea should flow but for a few
|
|
days, as it does twice every day for a few
|
|
hours, what desolation would it make! And
|
|
how destructive would the clouds be, if such
|
|
showers as we have sometimes seen were continued
|
|
long! But God, by flowing seas and
|
|
sweeping rains, shows what he could do in
|
|
wrath; and yet, by preserving the earth from
|
|
being deluged between both, shows what he
|
|
can do in mercy and will do in truth. Let
|
|
us give him the glory of his mercy in promising
|
|
and of his truth in performing. This
|
|
promise does not hinder,
|
|
|
|
1. But that God
|
|
may bring other wasting judgments upon
|
|
mankind; for, though he has here bound
|
|
himself not to use this arrow any more, yet
|
|
he has other arrows in his quiver.
|
|
|
|
2. Nor
|
|
but that he may destroy particular places and
|
|
countries by the inundations of the sea or
|
|
rivers.
|
|
|
|
3. Nor will the destruction of the
|
|
world at the last day by fire be any breach of
|
|
his promise. Sin which drowned the old
|
|
world will burn this.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_17"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>12 And God said, This <I>is</I> the
|
|
token of the covenant which I make
|
|
between me and you and every living
|
|
creature that <I>is</I> with you, for perpetual
|
|
generations:
|
|
13 I do set my
|
|
bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a
|
|
token of a covenant between me and
|
|
the earth.
|
|
14 And it shall come to
|
|
pass, when I bring a cloud over the
|
|
earth, that the bow shall be seen in
|
|
the cloud:
|
|
15 And I will remember
|
|
my covenant, which <I>is</I> between me
|
|
and you and every living creature of
|
|
all flesh; and the waters shall no
|
|
more become a flood to destroy all
|
|
flesh.
|
|
16 And the bow shall be in
|
|
the cloud; and I will look upon it,
|
|
that I may remember the everlasting
|
|
covenant between God and every
|
|
living creature of all flesh that <I>is</I> upon
|
|
the earth.
|
|
17 And God said unto
|
|
Noah, This <I>is</I> the token of the covenant,
|
|
which I have established
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page72"> </A>
|
|
|
|
between me and all flesh that <I>is</I> upon
|
|
the earth.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Articles of agreement among men are
|
|
usually sealed, that the covenants may be
|
|
the more solemn, and the performances of
|
|
the covenants the more sure, to mutual satisfaction.
|
|
God therefore, being <I>willing more
|
|
abundantly to show to the heirs of promise
|
|
the immutability of his councils,</I> has confirmed
|
|
his covenant by a seal
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+6:17">Heb. vi. 17</A>),
|
|
which makes the foundations we build on
|
|
stand sure,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ti+2:19">2 Tim. ii. 19</A>.
|
|
The seal of this
|
|
covenant of nature was natural enough; it
|
|
was the <I>rainbow,</I> which, it is likely, was seen
|
|
in the clouds before, when second causes
|
|
concurred, but was never a seal of the covenant
|
|
till now that it was made so by a divine
|
|
institution. Now, concerning this seal of
|
|
the covenant, observe,
|
|
|
|
1. This seal is affixed
|
|
with repeated assurances of the truth of that
|
|
promise of which it was designed to be the
|
|
ratification: <I>I do set my bow in the cloud</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>);
|
|
it <I>shall be seen in the cloud</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>),
|
|
that the eye may affect the heart and confirm
|
|
the faith; and it shall be <I>the token of
|
|
the covenant</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:12,13"><I>v.</I> 12, 13</A>),
|
|
<I>and I will remember
|
|
my covenant, that the waters shall no more
|
|
become a flood,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
Nay, as if the Eternal
|
|
Mind needed a memorandum, <I>I will look
|
|
upon it, that I may remember the everlasting
|
|
covenant,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
Thus here is line upon
|
|
line, that we might have sure and strong
|
|
consolation who have laid hold of this hope.
|
|
|
|
2. The rainbow appears when the clouds
|
|
are most disposed to wet, and returns after
|
|
the rain; when we have most reason to fear
|
|
the rain prevailing, then God shows this
|
|
seal of the promise that it shall not prevail.
|
|
Thus God obviates our fears with such
|
|
encouragements as are both suitable and
|
|
seasonable.
|
|
|
|
3. The thicker the cloud the
|
|
brighter the bow in the cloud. Thus, as
|
|
threatening afflictions abound, encouraging
|
|
consolations much more abound,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+1:5">2 Cor. i. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
4. The rainbow appears when one part of
|
|
the sky is clear, which intimates mercy remembered
|
|
in the midst of wrath; and the
|
|
clouds are hemmed as it were with the rainbow,
|
|
that they may not overspread the heavens,
|
|
for the bow is coloured rain or the
|
|
edges of a cloud gilded.
|
|
|
|
5. The rainbow is
|
|
the reflection of the beams of the sun, which
|
|
intimates that all the glory and significancy
|
|
of the seals of the covenant are derived from
|
|
Christ the Sun of righteousness, who is also
|
|
described with a <I>rainbow about his throne</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+4:3">Rev. iv. 3</A>),
|
|
and a <I>rainbow upon his head</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+10:1">Rev. x. 1</A>),
|
|
which intimates, not only his
|
|
majesty, but his mediatorship.
|
|
|
|
6. The rainbow
|
|
has fiery colours in it, to signify that
|
|
though God will not again drown the world,
|
|
yet, when the mystery of God shall be
|
|
finished, the world shall be consumed by
|
|
fire.
|
|
|
|
7. A bow bespeaks terror, but this
|
|
bow has neither string nor arrow, as the bow
|
|
ordained against the persecutors has
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+7:12,13">Ps. vii. 12, 13</A>),
|
|
and a bow alone will do little
|
|
execution. It is a bow, but it is directed
|
|
upwards, not towards the earth; for the seals
|
|
of the covenant were intended to comfort,
|
|
not to terrify.
|
|
|
|
8. As God looks upon the
|
|
bow, that he may remember the covenant,
|
|
so should we, that we also may be ever
|
|
mindful of the covenant, with faith and
|
|
thankfulness.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_23"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Sin of Ham.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 2347.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>18 And the sons of Noah, that
|
|
went forth of the ark, were Shem,
|
|
and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham <I>is</I>
|
|
the father of Canaan.
|
|
19 These <I>are</I>
|
|
the three sons of Noah: and of them
|
|
was the whole earth overspread.
|
|
20 And Noah began <I>to be</I> a husbandman,
|
|
and he planted a vineyard:
|
|
21 And he drank of the wine, and was
|
|
drunken; and he was uncovered
|
|
within his tent.
|
|
22 And Ham, the
|
|
father of Canaan, saw the nakedness
|
|
of his father, and told his two brethren
|
|
without.
|
|
23 And Shem and
|
|
Japheth took a garment, and laid <I>it</I>
|
|
upon both their shoulders, and went
|
|
backward, and covered the nakedness
|
|
of their father; and their faces <I>were</I>
|
|
backward, and they saw not their
|
|
father's nakedness.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. Noah's family and employment.
|
|
The names of his sons are again
|
|
mentioned
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:18,19"><I>v.</I> 18, 19</A>)
|
|
as those from whom
|
|
the whole earth was overspread, by which it
|
|
appears that Noah, after the flood, had no
|
|
more children: all the world came from
|
|
these three. Note, God, when he pleases,
|
|
can make <I>a little one to become a thousand,</I>
|
|
and greatly increase the latter end of those
|
|
whose beginning was small. Such are the
|
|
power and efficacy of a divine blessing. The
|
|
business Noah applied himself to was that
|
|
of <I>a husbandman,</I> Heb. <I>a man of the earth,</I>
|
|
that is, a man dealing in the earth, that kept
|
|
ground in his hand, and occupied it. We
|
|
are all naturally men of the earth, made of
|
|
it, living on it, and hastening to it: many
|
|
are sinfully so, addicted to earthly things.
|
|
Noah was by his calling led to trade in the
|
|
fruits of the earth. He <I>began to be a husbandman,</I>
|
|
that is, some time after his departure
|
|
out of the ark, he returned to his
|
|
old employment, from which he had been
|
|
diverted by the building of the ark first, and
|
|
probably afterwards by the building of a
|
|
house on dry land for himself and family.
|
|
For this good while he had been a carpenter,
|
|
but now he began again to be a husbandman.
|
|
Observe, Though Noah was a great
|
|
man and a good man, an old man and a rich
|
|
man, a man greatly favoured by heaven and
|
|
honoured on earth, yet he would not live an
|
|
idle life, nor think the husbandman's calling
|
|
<A NAME="Page73"> </A>
|
|
below him. Note, Though God by his providence
|
|
may take us off from our callings
|
|
for a time, yet when the occasion is over we
|
|
ought with humility and industry to apply
|
|
ourselves to them again, and, in the calling
|
|
wherein we are called, faithfully to <I>abide with
|
|
God,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+7:24">1 Cor. vii. 24</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Noah's sin and shame: <I>He planted a
|
|
vineyard;</I> and, when he had gathered his
|
|
vintage, probably he appointed a day of
|
|
mirth and feasting in his family, and had
|
|
his sons and their children with him, to
|
|
rejoice with him in the increase of his house
|
|
as well as in the increase of his vineyard;
|
|
and we may suppose he prefaced his feast
|
|
with a sacrifice to the honour of God. If
|
|
this was omitted, it was just with God to
|
|
leave him to himself, that he who did not
|
|
begin with God might end with the beasts;
|
|
but we charitably hope that it was not: and
|
|
perhaps he appointed this feast with a design,
|
|
at the close of it, to bless his sons, as
|
|
<I>Isaac,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+27:3,4"><I>ch.</I> xxvii. 3, 4</A>,
|
|
<I>That I may eat, and
|
|
that my soul may bless thee.</I> At this feast he
|
|
<I>drank of the wine;</I> for who planteth a vineyard
|
|
and <I>eateth not of the fruit of it?</I> But
|
|
he drank too liberally, more than his head at
|
|
this age would bear, for he was <I>drunk.</I> We
|
|
have reason to think he was never drunk
|
|
before nor after; observe how he came now
|
|
to be overtaken in this fault. It was his sin,
|
|
and a great sin, so much the worse for its
|
|
being so soon after a great deliverance; but
|
|
God left him to himself, as he did Hezekiah
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+32:31">2 Chron. xxxii. 31</A>),
|
|
and has left this miscarriage
|
|
of his upon record, to teach us,
|
|
|
|
1. That
|
|
the fairest copy that ever mere man wrote
|
|
since the fall had its blots and false strokes.
|
|
It was said of Noah that he was <I>perfect in
|
|
his generations</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+6:9"><I>ch.</I> vi. 9</A>),
|
|
but this shows that
|
|
it is meant of sincerity, not a sinless perfection.
|
|
|
|
2. That sometimes those who, with
|
|
watchfulness and resolution, have, by the
|
|
grace of God, kept their integrity in the
|
|
midst of temptation, have, through security,
|
|
and carelessness, and neglect of the grace of
|
|
God, been surprised into sin, when the hour
|
|
of temptation has been over. Noah, who
|
|
had kept sober in drunken company, is now
|
|
drunk in sober company. <I>Let him that thinks
|
|
he stands take heed.</I>
|
|
|
|
3. That we have need
|
|
to be very careful, when we use God's good
|
|
creatures plentifully, lest we use them to
|
|
excess. Christ's disciples must take heed
|
|
lest at any time <I>their hearts be overcharged,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+21:34">Luke xxi. 34</A>.
|
|
Now the consequence of
|
|
Noah's sin was shame. He was <I>uncovered
|
|
within his tent,</I> made naked to his shame, as
|
|
Adam when he had eaten forbidden fruit.
|
|
Yet Adam sought concealment; Noah is so
|
|
destitute of thought and reason that he seeks
|
|
no covering. This was a fruit of the vine
|
|
that Noah did not think of. Observe here
|
|
the great evil of the sin of drunkenness.
|
|
|
|
(1.) It discovers men. What infirmities they
|
|
have, they betray when they are drunk, and
|
|
what secrets they are entrusted with are then
|
|
easily got out of them. Drunken porters
|
|
keep open gates.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It disgraces men,
|
|
and exposes them to contempt. As it shows
|
|
them, so it shames them. Men say and do
|
|
that when drunk which when they are sober
|
|
they would blush at the thoughts of,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hab+2:15,16">Hab. ii. 15, 16</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Ham's impudence and impiety: He
|
|
<I>saw the nakedness of his father, and told his
|
|
two brethren,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
To see it accidentally
|
|
and involuntarily would not have been a
|
|
crime; but,
|
|
|
|
1. He pleased himself with the
|
|
sight, <I>as the Edomites looked up on the day of
|
|
their brother</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:12">Obad. 12</A>),
|
|
pleased, and insulting.
|
|
Perhaps Ham had sometimes been
|
|
himself drunk, and reproved for it by his
|
|
good father, whom he was therefore pleased
|
|
to see thus overcome. Note, It is common
|
|
for those who walk in false ways themselves
|
|
to rejoice at the false steps which they sometimes
|
|
see others make. But charity rejoices
|
|
not in iniquity, nor can true penitents that
|
|
are sorry for their own sins rejoice in the
|
|
sins of others.
|
|
|
|
2. <I>He told his two brethren
|
|
without</I> (<I>in the street,</I> as the word is), in a
|
|
scornful deriding manner, that his father
|
|
might seem vile unto them. It is very
|
|
wrong,
|
|
|
|
(1.) To make a jest of sin
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+14:9">Prov. xiv. 9</A>),
|
|
and to be puffed up with that for which
|
|
we should rather mourn,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+5:2">1 Cor. v. 2</A>.
|
|
And,
|
|
|
|
(2.) To publish the faults of any, especially
|
|
of parents, whom it is our duty to
|
|
honour. Noah was not only a good man,
|
|
but had been a good father to him; and this
|
|
was a most base disingenuous requital to
|
|
him for his tenderness. Ham is here called
|
|
the <I>father of Canaan,</I> which intimates that
|
|
he who was himself a father should have been
|
|
more respectful to him that was his father.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. The pious care of Shem and Japheth
|
|
to cover their poor father's shame,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+5:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
They not only would not see it themselves,
|
|
but provided that no one else might see it,
|
|
herein setting us an example of charity with
|
|
reference to other men's sin and shame; we
|
|
must not only not say, <I>A confederacy,</I> with
|
|
those that proclaim it, but we must be careful
|
|
to conceal it, or at least to make the best
|
|
of it, so doing as we would be done by.
|
|
|
|
1. There is a mantle of love to be thrown over
|
|
the faults of all,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+4:8">1 Pet. iv. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. Besides
|
|
this, there is a robe of reverence to be thrown
|
|
over the faults of parents and other superiors.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_27"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Noah's Prophecy.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 2347.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>24 And Noah awoke from his wine,
|
|
and knew what his younger son had
|
|
done unto him.
|
|
25 And he said,
|
|
Cursed <I>be</I> Canaan; a servant of servants
|
|
shall he be unto his brethren.
|
|
26 And he said, Blessed <I>be</I> the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
|
|
God of Shem; and Canaan shall be
|
|
his servant.
|
|
27 God shall enlarge
|
|
Japheth, and he shall dwell in the
|
|
tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be
|
|
his servant.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page74"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here,
|
|
|
|
I. Noah comes to himself: He
|
|
<I>awoke from his wine.</I> Sleep cured him, and,
|
|
we may suppose, so cured him that he never
|
|
relapsed into that sin afterwards. Those
|
|
that sleep as Noah did should awake as he
|
|
did, and not as that drunkard
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+23:35">Prov. xxiii. 35</A>)
|
|
who says when he awakes, <I>I will seek it
|
|
yet again.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The spirit of prophecy comes upon
|
|
him, and, like dying Jacob, he tells his sons
|
|
what shall befal them,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+49:1"><I>ch.</I> xlix. 1</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He pronounces a curse on Canaan the
|
|
son of Ham
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>),
|
|
in whom Ham is himself
|
|
cursed, either because this son of his
|
|
was now more guilty than the rest, or because
|
|
the posterity of this son was afterwards
|
|
to be rooted out of their land, to make room
|
|
for Israel. And Moses here records it for
|
|
the animating of Israel in the wars of Canaan;
|
|
though the Canaanites were a formidable
|
|
people, yet they were of old an accursed
|
|
people, and doomed to ruin. The particular
|
|
curse is, <I>A servant of servants</I> (that is, the
|
|
meanest and most despicable servant) <I>shall
|
|
he be,</I> even <I>to his brethren.</I> Those who by
|
|
birth were his equals shall by conquest be
|
|
his lords. This certainly points at the victories
|
|
obtained by Israel over the Canaanites,
|
|
by which they were all either put to the
|
|
sword or put under tribute
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:23,Jdg+1:28,30,33,35">Josh. ix. 23; Judg. i. 28, 30, 33, 35</A>),
|
|
which happened not
|
|
till about 800 years after this. Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) God often visits the iniquity of the fathers
|
|
upon the children, especially when the children
|
|
inherit the fathers' wicked dispositions,
|
|
and imitate the fathers' wicked practices,
|
|
and do nothing to cut off the entail of the
|
|
curse.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Disgrace is justly put upon those
|
|
that put disgrace upon others, especially that
|
|
dishonour and grieve their own parents. An
|
|
undutiful child that mocks at his parents is
|
|
<I>no more worthy to be called a son,</I> but deserves
|
|
to be <I>made as a hired servant,</I> nay, as
|
|
<I>a servant of servants,</I> among his brethren.
|
|
|
|
(3.) Though divine curses operate slowly,
|
|
yet, first or last, they will take effect. The
|
|
Canaanites were under a curse of slavery,
|
|
and yet, for a great while, had the dominion;
|
|
for a family, a people, a person, may lie
|
|
under the curse of God, and yet may long
|
|
prosper in the world, till the measure of
|
|
their iniquity, like that of the Canaanites, be
|
|
full. Many are marked for ruin that are not
|
|
yet ripe for ruin. Therefore, <I>Let not thy
|
|
heart envy sinners.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. He entails a blessing upon Shem and
|
|
Japheth.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He blesses Shem, or rather blesses
|
|
God for him, yet so that it entitles him to
|
|
the greatest honour and happiness imaginable,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
[1.] He calls the Lord
|
|
<I>the god of Shem;</I> and happy, thrice happy,
|
|
<I>is that people whose God is the</I> L<FONT SIZE=-1>ORD</FONT>,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+144:15">Ps. cxliv. 15</A>.
|
|
All blessings are included in this.
|
|
This was the blessing conferred on Abraham
|
|
and his seed; the God of heaven was
|
|
<I>not ashamed to be called their God,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:16">Heb. xi. 16</A>.
|
|
Shem is sufficiently recompensed for
|
|
his respect to his father by this, that the
|
|
Lord himself puts this honour upon him, <I>to
|
|
be his God,</I> which is a sufficient recompence
|
|
for all our services and all our sufferings for
|
|
his name.
|
|
|
|
[2.] He gives to God the glory
|
|
of that good work which Shem had done,
|
|
and, instead of blessing and praising him
|
|
that was the instrument, he blesses and
|
|
praises God that was the author. Note, The
|
|
glory of all that is at any time well done, by
|
|
ourselves or others, must be humbly and
|
|
thankfully transmitted to God, who works
|
|
all our good works in us and for us. When
|
|
we see men's good works we should glorify,
|
|
not them, but <I>our Father,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+5:16">Matt. v. 16</A>.
|
|
Thus David, in effect, blessed Abigail, when he
|
|
<I>blessed God</I> that sent her
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+25:32,33">1 Sam. xxv. 32, 33</A>),
|
|
for it is an honour and a favour to be
|
|
employed for God and used by him in doing
|
|
good.
|
|
|
|
[3.] He foresees and foretels that
|
|
God's gracious dealings with Shem and his
|
|
family would be such as would evidence to all
|
|
the world that he was the God of Shem, on
|
|
which behalf thanksgivings would by many
|
|
be rendered to him: <I>Blessed be the Lord
|
|
God of Shem.</I>
|
|
|
|
[4.] It is intimated that the
|
|
church should be built up and continued in
|
|
the posterity of Shem; for of him came the
|
|
Jews, who were, for a great while, the only
|
|
professing people God had in the world.
|
|
|
|
[5.] Some think reference is here had to
|
|
Christ, who was the Lord God that, in his
|
|
human nature, should descend from the
|
|
loins of Shem; for of him, as concerning
|
|
the flesh, Christ came.
|
|
|
|
[6.] Canaan is particularly
|
|
enslaved to him: <I>He shall be his
|
|
servant.</I> Note, Those that have the Lord for
|
|
their God shall have as much of the honour
|
|
and power of this world as he sees good for
|
|
them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) He blesses Japheth, and, in him, <I>the
|
|
isles of the Gentiles,</I> which were peopled by
|
|
his seed: <I>God shall enlarge Japheth, and he
|
|
shall dwell in the tents of Shem,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
|
|
Now,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Some make this to belong wholly to
|
|
Japheth, and to denote either, <I>First,</I> His
|
|
outward prosperity, that his seed should be
|
|
so numerous and so victorious that they
|
|
should be masters of the tents of Shem,
|
|
which was fulfilled when the people of the
|
|
Jews, the most eminent of Shem's race, were
|
|
tributaries to the Grecians first and afterwards
|
|
to the Romans, both of Japheth's
|
|
seed. Note, Outward prosperity is no infallible
|
|
mark of the true church: the tents
|
|
of Shem are not always the tents of the
|
|
conqueror. Or, <I>Secondly,</I> It denotes the
|
|
conversion of the Gentiles, and the bringing
|
|
of them into the church; and then we should
|
|
read it, <I>God shall persuade Japheth</I> (for so
|
|
the word signifies), and then, being so persuaded,
|
|
<I>he shall dwell in the tents of Shem,</I>
|
|
that is, Jews and Gentiles shall be united together
|
|
in the gospel fold. After many of the
|
|
Gentiles shall have been proselyted to the Jewish
|
|
religion, both shall be one in Christ
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+2:14,15">Eph. ii. 14, 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page75"> </A>
|
|
|
|
and the Christian church, mostly
|
|
made up of the Gentiles, shall succeed the
|
|
Jews in the privileges of church-membership;
|
|
the latter having first cast themselves
|
|
out by their unbelief, the Gentiles shall
|
|
dwell in their tents,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+11:11-24">Rom. xi. 11</A>,
|
|
&c. Note,
|
|
It is God only that can bring those again
|
|
into the church who have separated themselves
|
|
from it. It is the power of God that
|
|
makes the gospel of Christ effectual to salvation,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+1:16">Rom. i. 16</A>.
|
|
And again, Souls are
|
|
brought into the church, not by force, but
|
|
by persuasion,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+110:3">Ps. cx. 3</A>.
|
|
They are drawn
|
|
by the cords of a man, and persuaded by
|
|
reason to be religious.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Others divide
|
|
this between Japheth and Shem, Shem having
|
|
not been directly blessed,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
<I>First,</I>
|
|
Japheth has the blessing of the earth beneath:
|
|
<I>God shall enlarge Japheth,</I> enlarge
|
|
his seed, enlarge his border. Japheth's
|
|
prosperity peopled all Europe, a great part of
|
|
Asia, and perhaps America. Note, God is
|
|
to be acknowledged in all our enlargements.
|
|
It is he that enlarges the coast and enlarges
|
|
the heart. And again, many dwell in large
|
|
tents that do not dwell in God's tents, as
|
|
Japheth did. <I>Secondly,</I> Shem has the blessing
|
|
of heaven above: <I>He shall</I> (that is,
|
|
God shall) <I>dwell in the tents of Shem,</I> that is
|
|
"From his loins <I>Christ shall come,</I> and in
|
|
his seed the <I>church shall be continued.</I>" The
|
|
birth-right was now to be divided between
|
|
Shem and Japheth, Ham being utterly discarded. In
|
|
the principality which they
|
|
equally share Canaan shall be servant to
|
|
both. The double portion is given to Japheth,
|
|
whom God shall enlarge; but the
|
|
priesthood is given to Shem, for <I>God shall
|
|
dwell in the tents of Shem:</I> and certainly we
|
|
are more happy if we have God dwelling in
|
|
our tents than if we had there all the silver
|
|
and gold in the world. It is better to dwell
|
|
in tents with God than in palaces without
|
|
him. In Salem, where is God's tabernacle,
|
|
there is more satisfaction than in all the isles
|
|
of the Gentiles. <I>Thirdly,</I> They both have dominion
|
|
over Canaan: <I>Canaan shall be servant
|
|
to them;</I> so some read it. When Japheth
|
|
joins with Shem, Canaan falls before them
|
|
both. When strangers become friends,
|
|
enemies become servants.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_28"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge9_29"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>28 And Noah lived after the flood
|
|
three hundred and fifty years.
|
|
29 And all the days of Noah were nine
|
|
hundred and fifty years: and he died.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here see,
|
|
|
|
1. How God prolonged the life of
|
|
Noah; he lived 950 years, twenty more than
|
|
Adam and but nineteen less than Methuselah:
|
|
this long life was a further reward of
|
|
his signal piety, and a great blessing to the
|
|
world, to which no doubt he continued a
|
|
<I>preacher of righteousness,</I> with this advantage,
|
|
that now all he preached to were his
|
|
own children.
|
|
|
|
2. How God put a period to
|
|
his life at last. Though he lived long, yet
|
|
he died, having probably first seen many
|
|
that descended from him dead before him.
|
|
Noah lived to see two worlds, but, being an heir
|
|
of the righteousness which is by faith, when
|
|
he died he went to see a better than either.</P>
|
|
|
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
|
|
|
|
<HR>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
|
|
<TR>
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