Institution of marriage.

air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever 10 Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And Adam 11

gave names to all cattle, and

to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field: but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

21 And the LORD God caused a deep 'sleep to fall Adam, and he slept: and he took one upon of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, 12 made he a woman, brought her unto the man.

23 And Adam said, This is now bone my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall called 18 Woman, because she was taken out 14 Man.

u called. And when the sun was going down, a deep hum, and, lo, an horror upon him. Genesis, 15, 12 builded. wife findeth a good

sleep fell upon Abra

of great darkness fell

m Whoso findeth a thing, and obtaineth

Proverbs, 18, 22.

CHAP. 3.-B. C. 4004.

d Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by

sin; and so death passed

upon all men, for that

so by the righteousness

of

upon all men unto justification of life.

Man's miserable fall.

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

all have sinned: ... even 6 And when the woman saw that the tree one the free gift came was good for food, and that it was 2 pleasant For as by one man's to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make made sinners; so by the one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did many be made right eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and d he did eat.

disobedience many were

obedience of one shall

eous. Romans, 5, 12, 18,

19.

3 Or, things to gird about.

e Then the LORD anwhirlwind. Job, 38, 1.

n For we are members

his body, of his flesh,

and of his bones. Eph.

oHearken, O daughter,

4 wind.

f If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom. Job, 31, 33. Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith

3

e

8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the 4 cool of the day: Adam and his wife f hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

of

mand

5,

30.

13 Isha

14 Ish.

"of

and consider,

also thine own people, Psalm 15, 10. For this

and thy father's house. cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife:

and they twain shall be 19,5

p So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth

his wife loveth himself.

For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: for we are

members of his body, bones. Eph. 5, 28-31.

of his flesh, and of his

CHAP. 3.-B. C. 4004.

and knoweth all things

1 John, 3, 20.

He that covereth his

sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them

shall have mercy. Pro.

28, 13. Let no man say

w tempted to for

am of God: God cannot be tempted with evil,neither tempteth he any man; but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away

9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

i

a

called the Devil, and Satan, which the whole world: he was cast out

deceiveth into the earth, and his

angels were cast out with him. Rev. 12, 9. 1 because, etc.

e But I fear, lest by any means, as the ser

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, Web See chapter 2, 16, 17. may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, shall not surely die:

Ye

pent beguiled Eve your minds should be

through his subtilty, so

corrupted from the simplicity that is in

2 Corinthians, 11, 3. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was inthe transgression. 1 Timothy, 2, 14. 2 a desire.

stately and magnificent buildings, when it was the happiness of man, in innocency, that he needed none! As clothes came in with sin, so did houses. The heaven was the roof of Adam's house; and never was any roof so curiously ceiled and painted; the earth was his floor; and never was any floor so richly inlaid; the shadow of the trees was his retirement, under them were his dining-rooms, his lodgingrooms; and never were any rooms so finely hung as these: Solomon's, in all their glory, were not arrayed like them. The better we can accommodate ourselves to plain things, and the less we indulge ourselves with those artificial delights which have been invented to gratify men's pride and luxury, the nearer we approach to a state of innocency. Nature is content with a little, and that which is most natural; grace with less; but lust with nothing.-H. TREES OF LIFE AND OF KNOWLEDGE.-1. There was the tree of life in the midst of the garden, which was not so much a memorandum to him of the Fountain and Author of his life, nor perhaps any natural means to preserve or prolong life, but it was chiefly intended to be a sign and seal to Adam, assuring him of the continuance of life and happiness, even to immortality and everlasting bliss, through the grace and favour of his Maker, upon condition of his perseverance in this state of innocency and obedience. Of this he might eat and live. Christ is now to us the Tree of life, Rev. 2, 7; 22, 2; and the Bread of life, John 6, 48, 53. 2. There was the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so called, not because it had any virtue in it to beget or increase useful knowledge, surely then it would not have been forbidden; but, First, because there was an express positive revelation of the will of God concerning this tree, so that by it he might know moral good and evil. What is good? It is good not to eat of this tree. What is evil? It is evil to eat of this tree. The distinction between all other moral good and evil was written in the heart of man by nature; but this, which resulted from a positive law, was written upon this tree. Secondly, because, in the event, it proved to give Adam an experimental knowledge of good by the loss of it, and of evil by the sense of it. As the covenant of grace has in it, not only, Believe, and be saved, but also, Believe not, and be damned, Mark, 16, 16; so the covenant of innocency had in it, not only "Do this, and live," which was sealed and confirmed by the tree of life, but, "Fail, and die," which man was assured of by this other tree; "Touch it at your peril: so that, in these two trees, God set before Adam good and evil, the blessing and the curse, Deut. 30, 19. These two trees were as two sacraments.-H. WOMAN.-Ver. 21--23.-Adam being supernaturally cast into a deep sleep, without consciousness, or pain, the Lord took from that part of his body which was near the heart, the substance of which he formed the woman; who was to be as part of himself, and the object of his most cordial affections. She was taken from him, and not out of the ground; that there might be natural foundation of moderate subordination on the woman's part, and sympathizing tenderness on the man's; as a man rules over, yet, in ruling over, carefully defends and tenderly takes care of, his own body. The Lord then conducted her as his gift to Adam, that they might be united in marriage for their mutual good; and that he might thus authorize, and give an example for the regulation of future marriages. Doubtless, he made known to Adam, perhaps during his sleep, in what manner the woman had been created from a part of himself, to be his companion. The original word

enticed. Jam. 1, 13, 14.

j The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bul

lock: and dust shall be shall not hurt nor demountain, saith

the serpent's meat. They

stroy in all my holy the

LORD. Isaiah, 65, 25, They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall

like worms of the earth:

move out of their holes they shall be afraid of shall fear because of And the LORD sent

the LORD our God, and

thee. Mic. 7, 17.

fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much Numbers, 21, 6

and I did eat.

13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the Woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

k

15 And I will put enmity between thee and people of Israel died the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; translated woman, is the same as is rendered man, excepting the feminine termination: it imports that she was exactly his counterpart, taken from him, united to him, and like him in everything but sex; and it expressed his satisfaction in his Creator's gift, and his thankful acceptance of it.-S.

MARRIAGE.-Ver. 24.-According to the original institution of marriage, the nearest of all relations, and the proper source of all the rest, men in every subsequent age would leave the immediate society even of their parents, to lay the foundation of new families; and thenceforth all other relative affections and duties must be regulated, in subordination to the affections and duties of that new relation. Thus one man and one woman are so closely united as to become one flesh; so that, according to the original institution, nothing can separate them but that which dissolves the union of soul and body, and even divides the component parts of the body from each other. This seems to be the remark of Moses rather than of Adam; but certainly it was the word of God, speaking by one of them. Neither polygamy nor divorces can accord with this original institution. "In the beginning it was not so;" nor would such things have been practised, but for the sinful lusts of men. And equally unscriptural are constrained celibacy and need. less restraints upon marriage. The records of former times, and impartial observation on the present, evince, that it is not generally "good for man to be alone." The mutual inclination of the sexes for each other, (which was originally implanted by the Creator, however debased by sin,) when regulated by the law of God, and free from other restraints, becomes the foundation of all the relations of life, the source of the most rational of our earthly comforts, and equally beneficial to individuals, families, and nations: like a river, which, gliding within its banks, beautifies and enriches the neighbouring plains.-S.

CHAP. III. THE FIRST SIN.-Ver. 6.-"The lust of the eye" made way for the "lust of the flesh;" when the woman looked on the fruit, till she fancied there must be some very extraordinary pleasure in the taste of it. As her ear, formed to receive the truth of God, had just before been opened to admit Satan's lies; so now, the eye, formed to behold his works, became an inlet to concupiscence. Now first the members became, as they have ever since continued in unconverted men, "instruments of unrighteousness unto sin." Eve had no testimony except that of Satan concealed in the serpent, that "it was a tree to be desired to make one wise;" yet she neither hesitated, nor suspected any delusion; but at his instance, "she took of the fruit, and did eat," without consulting Adam, or allow ing herself leisure for consideration! Thus she listened to the tempter; till, entangled in unbelief, she suspected the divine veracity and goodness, conceived hopes of impunity in transgression, and expected a vast gratification both of ambition and of the sensual appetite; and at length, with confident presumption, she took the forbidden fruit, and ate. In this manner was "lust at first conceived, then sin brought forth; and sin being finished, brought forth death."-But Satan's success was yet incomplete: for had Adam refused to eat, the woman's transgression would have remained with herself. It was, indeed, a great point gained, to prevail with her whom Adam loved so tenderly, and one who would employ her fascinating influence to prevail on him to follow her example. But whether Adam sinned in presumption, as not seeing death immediately inflicted on Eve;

The genealogy, age, and

the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.

22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an 12 instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. 23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for 13 I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man 14 to my hurt: 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

25 ¶ And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name 15 Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.

26 And to Seth, to him also there was a son; and he called his name 16 Enos: began men to 17 call upon the name of LORD.

CHAPTER V.

born then

the

pointed, or, put.

16 Enosh.

the LORD. The sons of men that they were will offer to thee the ing, and will call upon

God saw the daughters

fair. Genesis 6, 2. I sacrifice of thanksgiv

the name of the LORD. Psalm 116, 17. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD

shall be delivered: for

in

mount Zion and inJeru

ance, as the LORD hath salem shall be deliver whom the LORD shall

said,and in the remnant

call. Joel, 2, 32 But as manyas received him, to them gave he power God, even to them that

to become the sons of believe on his name. John 1, 12. Unto the church of God which

is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ and ours. 1 Cor. 1, 2 CHAP. 5.-B. C. 4004. a The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the man, son of Abraham. Matt.

5, 12 Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the

15,

21. It is appointed but after this the judg

unto men once to die, ment. Heb. 9, 27. 1 Kenan.

3 Malaleel, that is,

Praiser of God.

3 Jered, that is, descending.

d Henoch. 1 Chron. 1, 3 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, say ing,

Ing. Behold, the Lord sands of his saints, to

cometh with ten thou

execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their un

godly deeds which they

have ungodly committed,and of all their hard

speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. Jude, 14,

15.

is,

4 Or, Mathuselah, that

at his death the send

ing forth of waters. See

a

HIS is " the book of the generations of is. In the day that Generatio

THIS

in the likeness of God made he him;

2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

3 ¶ And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:

5 And all the days that Adam lived were hundred and thirty years: and he died. 6 And Seth lived an hundred and years, and begat Enos:

7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos hundred and seven years, and begat sons daughters:

e And when Abram was ninety years old and nine,the LORD appeared

to Abram, and said unto

him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. Genesis, 17, 1. I have set

the

LORD always before

me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalm 16,

I will walk before

the LORD in the land of

the living. Psalm 116, 9. He hath showed

thee, O man, what is

good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to

love mercy, and to walk

humbly with thy God? Micah, 6, 8.

And it came to pass, they still went

2

after God is created in righteousness and true holiness Ephesians, 4, And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him

that created him. Col

3, 10.

c In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat

bread, till thou return out of it wast thou

unto the ground; for taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. Genesis,

the fulness of time to avenge her quarrel, and to trample upon him, to spoil him, to lead him captive, and to triumph over him, Col. 2, 15. He shall bruise his head, that is, he shall destroy all his politics and his powers, and give a total overthrow to his k ngdom and interest. Christ baffled Satan's temptations, rescued souls out of his hands, cast him out of the bodies of people, dispossessed the strong man armed, and divided the spoil; by his death, he gave a fatal and incurable blow to the devil's kingdom, a wound to the head of this beast, that can never be healed.-H.

CHAP. IV. THE FIRST DEATH.-Death reigned ever since Adam sinned, but we read not of any taken captive by him till now; and now, 1. The first that dies is a saint, one that was accepted and beloved of God; to shew, that, though the promised Seed was so far to destroy him that had the power of death, as to save believers from its sting, yet that still they should be exposed to its stroke. The first that went to the grave went to heaven; God would secure to himself the first-fruits, the first-born to the dead, that first opened the womb into another world. Let this take off the terror of death, that it was betimes the lot of God's chosen, which alters the property of it. Nay, 2. The first that dies is a martyr, and dies for his religion; and of such it may more truly be said than of soldiers, that they die in the field of honour. Abel's death has not only no curse in it, but it has a crown in it; so admirably well is the property of death altered, that it is not only become innocent and inoffensive to those that die in Christ, but honourable and glorious to those that die for him. Let us not think it strange concerning the fiery trial, nor shrink if we be called to resist unto blood; for we know there is a crown of life for all that are faithful unto death.-H.

CHAP. V. LONG LIFE.-The Patriarchs all lived very long; not one of them died till he had seen the revolutions of almost eight hundred years, and some of them lived much longer; a great while for an immortal soul to be imprisoned in a house of clay. The present life surely was not to them such a burthen as, commonly, it is now, else they would have been weary of it; nor was the future life so clearly revealed then as it is now under the gospel, else they would have been impatient to remove to it: long life to the pious patriarchs was a blessing, and made them blessings. 1. Some natural causes may be assigned for their long life in those first ages of the world. It is very probable that the earth was more fruitful, the productions of it more strengthening, the air more healthful, and the influences of the heavenly bodies more benign, before the flood, than they were after. Though man was driven out of paradise, yet the earth itself was then paradisiacal; a garden, in comparison with its present wilderness state: and some think that their great knowledge of the creatures, and of their usefulness both for food and medicine, together, with their sobriety and temperance, contributed much to it; yet we do not find that those who were intemperate, as many were, Luke, 17, 27, were as short-lived as intemperate men generally are now. 2. It must chiefly be resolved into the power and providence of God; he prolonged their lives, both for the more speedy replenishing of the earth, and for the more effectual preservation of the knowledge of God and religion, then, when there was no written word, but tradition was the channel of its conveyance. All the patriarchs here, except Noah, were born before Adam died; so that from

there appeared a chariot

of

fire, and horses of

fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Kings, 2, 11. By faith

Enoch was translated

that he should not sce death; and was

found, because God had

translated him: for before his translation he

had this testimony, that

he pleased God. Heb. 11, 5.

5 Lemech.

10 And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:

11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.

12 ¶ And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat 2 Mahalaleel:

13 And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:

14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.

15 And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:

16 And Mahalaleel lived after he begat 3 Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:

17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died. 18 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:

22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat Sons and daughters:

23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:

24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; f for God took him.

25 ¶ And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat 5 Lamech:

26 And Methuselah lived after he begat La

him they might receive a full and satisfactory account of the creation, paradise, the fall, the promise, and those divine precepts which concerned religious worship and a religious life: and if any mistake arose, they might have recourse to him while he lived, as to an oracle, for the rectifying of it, and, after his death, to Methuselah, and others, that had conversed with him: so great was the care of Almighty God to preserve in his church the knowledge of his will, and the purity of his worship.-H.

THE FIRST TRANSLATION.-Observe when Enoch was translated. (1.) What time of his life it was; when he had lived but three hundred and sixty-five years, (a year of years,) which, as men's ages went then, was in the midst of his days; for there was none of the patriarchs, before the flood, that did not more than double that age: but why did God take him so soon? Surely, because the world, which was now grown corrupt, was not worthy of him; or, because he was so much above the world, and so weary of it, as to desire a speedy removal out of it; or, because his work was done, and done the sooner for his minding it so closely. Note, God often takes them soonest whom he loves best; and the time they lose on earth is gained in heaven, to their unspeakable advantage. (2.) What time of the world; it was when all the patriarchs, mentioned in this chapter, were living, except Adam, who died fifty-seven years before, and Noah, who was born sixty-nine years after; they two had sensible confirmations to their faith other ways, but to all the rest, who were, or might have been, witnesses of Enoch's translation, that was a sensible encouragement to their faith and hope concerning a future state.-H.

THE OLDEST MAN.-Concerning Methuselah, observe, 1. The signification of his name, which, some think, was prophetical, his father Enoch being a prophet; Methuselah signifies, he dies, there is a dart, or a sending forth, namely, of the deluge, which came the very year that Methuselah died. If indeed his name was so intended, and so explained, it was fair warning to a careless world, a long time before the judgment came. However, this is observable, that the longest liver that ever was, carried death in his name, that he might be reminded of its coming surely, though it came slowly. 2. His age: he lived nine hundred and sixty-nine years, the longest we read of, that ever any man lived to on earth; and yet he died; the longest liver must die at last. Neither youth nor age will discharge from that war, for that is the end of all men: none can challenge life by long prescription, nor make that a plea against the arrests of death. It is commonly supposed that Methuselah died a little before the flood; the Jewish writers say, seven days before," referring to ch. 7, 10, and that he was taken away from the evil to come; which goes upon this presumption, which is generally received, that all these patriarchs in this chapter were holy good men. I am loath to offer any surmise to the contrary; and yet I see not that that can be any more inferred from their enrolment here among the ancestors of Christ, than that all those kings of Judah were so, whose names are recorded in his genealogy, many of whom, we are sure, were much otherwise: and if this be questioned, it may be suggested as probable, that Methuselah was himself drowned with the rest of the world: for it is certain that he died that year.-H.

66

NOAH.-Noah signifies rest; his parents gave him that name, with a prospect of

Men's wickedness causeth the flood.

mech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:

27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. 28 ¶ And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:

29 And he called his name "Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed. 30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat and daughters:

sons

of

it all the days of thy now art thou cursed hath opened her mouth

CHAP. 6-B. C. 2448 and will be a Father una I will receive you,

to you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Al

hun-mighty. 2 Cor. 6, 17, 18.

31 And all the days of Lamech were seven dred seventy and seven years: and he died. 32 ¶ And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

2 That "the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3 And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

e

b Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter his son, nor his daughthy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they

thou shalt not give unto ter shalt thou take unto

so will the other of ds: you, and destroy thee

anger the

The order, form, and use of the ark. CHAP. 6.-B. C. 2448. I have created from the face of the earth;

viseth wicked imagina

in running to mischief.

tions, feet that be swift 3 both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, Prov. 6, 18. For out of and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that the heart proceed evil thoughts,murders, adul I have made them. teries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. Mat. 15, 19. 2 every day.

g God is not a man, that he should lie; that he should repent; he not do it? Numbers, that I have set up Saul

neither the son of man, hath he said, and shall 23, 19. It repenteth me to be king: for he is

turned back from following me, and hath not performed my com

mandments. And also

the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. 18am. 15, 11, 20.

h But they rebelled,

and vexed his Holy

Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their ene my, and he fought

3 from man unto beast.

8 But Noah 'found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9 ¶ These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12 And God looked upon the earth, and, bej hold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all against them. Isa. 63,10. flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled Behold now, thy ser- with violence through them; and, behold, I in thy sight, and thou will destroy them 5 with the earth.

i

vant hath found grace

magnified thy

e

By which also he spices in prison; disobedient, when once

the

spirits

which sometime were

the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark in few, that is, eight ter. 1 Peter 3, 19, 20. d For he remembered that they were but flesh; away, and cometh not

was a-preparing, where souls were saved by wa

e And even as they did in their knowledge, God gave

a

do

wind that passeth again. Psalm 78, 39. not like to retain God rrobate mind, to those things which are filled with all unrightness, maliciousness, etc. the whole imagina and desires of the heart. tion, with the purposes And the LORD smellthe LORD said in his

not convenient: being

eousness, wickedness, covetousRomans, 1, 28.

1

5 ¶ And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that 1 every imagi-ed a sweet savour; and

1

nation of the thoughts of his heart was evil 2 continually.

only

heart. I will not again

curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of

man's heart is evil from again smite any more have done. Genesis,

his youth; neither will

I

every thing living as I

8.

21. An heart that de

6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom his being a more than ordinary blessing to his generation. This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed. Here is, 1. His complaint of the calamitous state of human life; by the entrance of sin, and the entail of the curse for sin, it is become very miserable: our whole life is spent in labour, and our time filled up with continual toil. God having cursed the ground, it is as much as some can do, with the utmost care and pains, to fetch a hard livelihood out of it. He speaks as one fatigued with the business of this life, and grudging that so many of our thoughts and precious minutes, which otherwise might have been much better employed, are unavoidably spent for the support of the body. 2. His comfortable hopes of some relief by the birth of this son: This same shall comfort us; which denotes not only the desire and expectation which parents generally have concerning their children, that when they grow up they will be comforts to them, and helpers in their business, though they often prove otherwise; but it denotes also an apprehension and prospect of something more: very probably, there were some prophecies that went before of him, as a person that should be wonderfully serviceable to his generation, which they so understood as to conclude that he was the promised Seed, the Messiah that should come: and then it intimates that a covenant interest in Christ as our's, and the believing expectation of his coming, furnish us with the best and surest comforts, both in reference to the wrath and curse of God which we have deserved, and to the toils and troubles of this present time, which we are often complaining of. "Is Christ our's? Is heaven our's? This same shall comfort us."-H.

THE BEST MEMOIRS.-Ver. 21--32. Man, in his best estate, is altogether vanity. He is born, raises up a family, and dies! These are his memoirs: all else is a cipher, or a blot, except he WALKS WITH GOD.-The page of history records the splendid actions of the great and illustrious: the report of the day proclaims the wealth which some have accumulated and left behind, and of which they are gone to render an account: the monuments of the dead are often inscribed with pompous titles and flattering commendations:-but may it, with truth, be engraven on my tombstone, or whispered in the obscurest corner, "He walked with God; and was not, for God took him!" and so far from envying their distinctions, not even Enoch's privilege shall be anxiously desired; but, as one expresses it, I'll hail the sharpest pangs of death,

Which break my way to God.' (Doddridge.)

19,

19. And the angel Mary; for thou hast

found favour with God. Luke, 1, 30.

4 Or, upright.

The LORD looked

down from heaven upon

the children of men, to

see if there were any

14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, that did understand, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and Lord Gop unto the land in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the end is come upon the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; land. Ezekiel, 72 But with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou at hand: be ye therefore make it.

and seek God. Ps. 14, 2. kAlso, thou son of man, thus saith the

of Israel; An end, the

four corners of the

the end of all things is

sober, and watch unto

prayer. 1 Peter, 4, 7.

5 Or, from the earth.

6 nests.

Noah the eighth person,

a preacher of righteous

ness, bringing in the

17 And, 'behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of And spared not the Waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, old world, but saved wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth" shall die. 18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy Sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. 19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two that had not sinned of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to Adam's transgression, keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and him that was to come. female.

flood upon the world of the ungodly. 2 Peter 2, 5. m For until the law but sin is not imputed Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them

sin was in the world: when there is no law.

after the similitude of

who is of

Rom. 5, 13, 14.

stature and strength, but more certainly men of enormous wickedness; men, who by force and power cast down others. Or, men who had fallen from God, from naphal he fell. Several other words are translated giants, some of them, probably, out of deference to the Septuagint, which has so rendered them. And the children which sprang from the intermarriages above-mentioned, were of the same character. Thus they became, in those ancient times, "mighty men,-men of renown," as heroes, conquerors, and chieftains: but they were apostates from God, and cruel destroyers and oppressors of mankind.-S.

GOD REPENTETH.-Ver. 6, 7. It repented-it grieved. Such expressions as these are made use of by the Holy Spirit, in a gracious condescension to our apprehensions; and to accommodate heavenly things, as far as their nature will admit of it, to the similitude of earthly things: just as we speak to children in their language, and in accommodation to their capacities, that we may the better convey our meaning to their minds.-Metaphysical truth is too refined and subtle for mankind in general, and only fitted for the amusement of speculative men: but the Scriptures were written to make even the poor and illiterate wise unto salvation. To speak to them of the cause, from its sensible and visible effects, more readily informs and more deeply interests them: while other passages sufficiently guard the sober inquirer from misapprehension.-Should an artist, after bestowing much pains, and manifesting great skill, about some curious piece of mechanism, dash it to pieces; we should conclude from this effect, that he repented having made it. Or should a parent, after conferring great favours on his child, be provoked by his misconduct finally to disinherit him; we should thence infer, that he was grieved at his heart that he had bestowed so much upon him. Thus the Creator, having formed the earth, and men upon it; having displayed his wisdom, power, and goodness in his works, and in the riches which he had conferred on man, in whom especially his glory had shone; after the earth was filled with inhabitants, was provoked by their wickedness to destroy them with a flood. This was an effect which seemed to flow from his repenting that he had made man, and to indicate that he was "grieved at his heart."-It is indeed impossible that God should really be sorry, or to repent of any thing that he has said or done; or really wish he had never said or done it: but his change of conduct was such as in men springs from these causes; and the expression most emphatically denotes extreme abhorrence of the crimes, and desperate depravity in mankind.-S.

ND the LORD said unto Noah, Come " thou and all thy house into the ark: for thee have

с

I seen righteous before me in this generation. 2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by 1 sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. 3 Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I 2 destroy from off the face of the earth.

e

5 And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.

6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. 7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,

9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

that

10 And it came to pass after seven days, the waters of the flood were upon the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the 4 windows of heaven were opened.

9

12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

p And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him. Genesis, 7, 5.

CHAP. 7.-B. C. 2349. a He that dwelleth in the secret place of the

Most High shall abide Almighty. I will say of

under the shadow of the

the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in him will I

trust. Psalm 91, 1, 2 uponthem that fearhim,

b The eye of the LORD is upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death.

of

CHAP. 7.-B. C. 2349.

j There go the ships:

there is that leviathan to play therein. Psalm

whom thou hast made

104, 26.

Thou coveredst it

with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the moun

tains. Psalm 104, 6

Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown

with a flood. Job, 22,

16.

And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matthew, 24, 39. They

did eat they drank, they given in marriage, until

married wives, theywere

the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroy

ed them all. Luke, 17, that then was, being

27. Whereby the world overflowed with water, perished. 2 Peter, 3, 6.

m And the LORD God

formed man of the dust breathed into his nosand man became a liv

Psalm 33, 15, 19. The deliver the godly out serve the unjust unto Peter 2, 9. seven seven.

1

e See Leviticus, 11.

d Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was over

a

flown with a flood. Job,

22, 16. And spared not the old world, but saved Noah,the eighth person, preacher of righteous

ness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly. 2 Pet. 2, 5,

blot out. ashamed, when I have commandments. Psalm

e Then shall I not be

ing soul. Genesis, 2, 7.

6 the breath of the n The LORD shall fight

spirit of life.

for you, and ye shall hold your peace. Exod. 14, 14. And they shall

be

mine, saith the LORD

15 And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life.

16 And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.

17 And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

18 And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.

19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills that were under when I make up my the whole heaven were covered. jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth

of hosts, in that day

seven in breadth, and sixteen in height; and thus vastly larger than our greatest ships. Learned men have shown, that these dimensions were far more than were necessary to contain all the animals to be preserved, and sufficient provision for them. But it must at first sight be evident that so great a vessel, thus constructed, and with so few persons on board, was utterly unsuitable to weather out the deluge, except as it was under the immediate guidance and protection of the Almighty.-S. A COVENANT.-God here makes Noah the man of his covenant, another Hebrew periphrasis of a friend, ver. 18. But with thee will I establish my covenant. 1. The covenant of providence; that the course of nature shall be continued to the end of time, notwithstanding the interruption which the flood would give to it; this promise was immediately made to Noah and his sons, ch. 9, 8, etc. They were as trustees for all this part of the creation, and a great honour was thereby put upon him and his. 2. The covenant of grace; that God would be to him a God, and that out of his seed God would take to himself a people. Note, (1.) When God makes a covenant, he establishes it, he makes it sure, he makes it good: his are everlasting covenants. (2) The covenant of grace has in it the recompence of singular services, and the fountain and foundation of all distinguishing favours; we need desire no more, either to make up our losses for God, or to make up a happiness for us in God, than to have his covenant established with us. God here makes Noah a monument of sparing mercy, by putting him in a way to secure himself in the approaching deluge, that he might not perish with the rest of the world. I will destroy them, says God, with the earth, v. 13. "But make thee an ark; I will take care to preserve thee alive." Note, Singular piety shall be recompensed with distinguishing salvations, which are in a special manner obliging. This will add much to the honour and happiness of glorified saints, that they shall be saved, when the greatest part of the world is left to perish.-H. CHAP. VIL THE DELUGE.-Now see what was done on that day, that fatal day to the world of the ungodly. 1. The fountains of the great deep were broken up. Perhaps there needed no new creation of waters; what were already made to be, in the common course of providence, blessings to the earth, were now, by an extraordinary act of divine power, made the ruin of it. God has laid up the deep in store-houses, (Ps. 33, 7,) and now he broke up those stores. As our bodies have in themselves those humours, which, when God pleases, become the seeds and springs of mortal diseases; so the earth had in its bowels those waters, which, at God's command, sprang up, and flooded it. God had, in the creation, set bars and doors to the waters of the sea, that they might not return to cover the earth, (Ps.

moved with fear, prepared an ark to the sav ing of his house; by the

m 22 All in whose nostrils was 6 the breath of which he condemned life, of all that was in the dry land, died. 23 And every living substance was destroyed Hebrews, 11, 7. And which was upon the face of the ground, both

the world, and became heir of the righteous

ness which is by faith.

spared not the oldworld,

but saved Noah, the

eighth person, a preach- man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the bringing in the flood fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from ungodly. * l'eter, 2, 5. the earth: and " Noah only remained alive, and with verse 11 of this they that were with him in the ark.

the world of the

o See chapter 8, 3, 4,

chapter.

CHAP. 8.-B. C. 2349.

0

24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth

a And it came to pass, an hundred and fifty days.

when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the over

threw the cities in the

CHAPTER VIII.

throw, when he over 1 The waters asswage. 4 The ark resteth on Ararat. 13 The earth dried. 15 Noah goeth forth of the ark, 20 buildeth an altar, and offereth sacrifice. 21 God promiseth to curse the earth

which Lot dwelt. Gen. their groaning, and God

19, 29. And God heard

remembered his cove nant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with

Jacob, Exodus, 2, 21.

And they rose up in the morning early; and worshipped before

the

no more.

AND

ND" God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him

104, 9; Job, 38, 9-11;) and now he only removed those ancient landmarks, mounds, and fences; and the waters of the sea returned to cover the earth, as they had done at first, ch. 1, 9. Note, All the creatures are ready to fight against sinful man, and any of them is able to be the instrument of his ruin, if God do but take off the restraints by which they are held in, during the day of God's patience. 2. The windows of heaven were opened, and the waters which were above the firmament were poured out upon the world; those treasures which God has reserved against the day of trouble, the day of battle and war, Job, 38, 22, 23. The rain, which ordinarily descends in drops, then came down in streams, or spouts, as they call them in the Indies, where clouds have been often known to burst, as they express it there, when the rain descends in a much more violent torrent than we have ever seen in the greatest shower. We read, Job, 26, 8, that God binds up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not rent under them; but now the bond was loosed, the cloud was rent, and such rains descended as were never known before or since, in such abundance, and of such continuance: the thick cloud was not, as ordinarily it is, wearied with waterings, (Job, 37, 11,) that is, soon spent and exhausted; but still the clouds returned after the rain, and the divine power brought in fresh recruits. It rained, without intermission or abatement, forty days and forty nights, (v. 12,) and that upon the whole earth at once, not, as sometimes, upon one city, and not upon another. God made the world in six days, but he was forty days in destroying it; for he is slow to anger; but though the destruction came slowly and gradually, yet it came effectually.—H.

INFANT SALVATION.-Ver. 17-24. What a triumph was here of death, even "over those who had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression!" and how did the whole creation groan under man's sin! But, though we may indulge the hope that the multitude of infants, who died without their own actual sin, through the first Adam's transgression, obtained life without their own actual faith, through the second Adam's obedience; yet, we are constrained to admit, that the same deluge, which swept the rest of that generation from the earth, swept their souls into the prison of hell. How tremendous then will be "the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men!" and what will be the feelings of those who, in contempt of the divine testimony, treat the "things not seen as yet" as unreal, though revealed by the infallible testimony of God; when they shall at length be seen, but seen too late! Happy they, who are part of Christ's family, and safe with him in the ark! they may look forward without dismay, and rejoice in the assurance, that they shall triumph, when a deluge of fire shall encircle the visible creation.-S.