God blesseth Noah; and establisheth his covenant.

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made

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.

12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is 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 is 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 is upon the earth.

17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

LECTURE 19.

We ought to value the tokens of the new covenant in Christ. These blessings of Noah appertain unto ourselves. To us is given the earth that we may replenish it; fill it with those who make it full of the praise of God. To us is given the dominion over all other living creatures in this our world, and we are

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at liberty to use them for our food; even as the green herb have I given you all things." Let us endeavour therefore to be thankful for God's abundant gifts. Let us out of thankfulness impart them, as far as lies in our power, to them that want.

Noah, and his sons, and their children after them, were forbidden to eat "flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof," or in other words, the flesh of animals so slain as that the blood remained in the flesh. And this prohibition is repeated and solemnly enforced in the law of Moses. And the reason there assigned is this, that blood was appointed to make atonement on the altar. See Lev. 17. 11. It signified beforehand the blood of Christ shed once for all for sin. And another reason for not eating the blood of animals is suggested by the connexion of this command with the warning which follows against shedding the blood of man. Familiarity with the one might be apt to harden men to endure the notion of the other. And so sacred is

the image of God, so precious the life of man, and the blood on which his life depends, that even if a brute animal should slay a man it must be put to death. Much more if man knowingly and purposely lifts up his hand against his brother's life, much more must he surely die. How much then have they to answer for who promote wanton wars! How much have they need to repent of and amend, who live with a settled purpose in their minds that on the slightest provocation they would be ready, at the call of this world's honour, to fight even unto death!

God, when He would establish his covenant with Noah and his seed after him, and with every living creature that was with him, gives him the rainbow for a token to assure him, that what He promised that He would perform. His promise is, that He will not again destroy the earth, and his creatures on it, by a flood. This purpose of mercy He had before formed and uttered. Here He makes it matter of covenant. He reveals the promise, binds Himself in the most solemn manner to keep it; and gives us a sign to assure us of his keeping it. If this was needful to support mankind against the terrors of a flood, how much more did we need the like assurance against the power of satan and of sin! How much more precious unto us ought to be the tokens of the covenant which God has been pleased to make with us in the Gospel, that He will forgive our sins for Christ's sake, and give us grace, and receive us into heaven! Outwardly we have baptism and the Lord's supper. Inwardly we have the testimony of the Spirit. Let the bow in the cloud, whilst it certifies that "the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh" also remind us of those other tokens which assure us of life eternal. For thus saith the Lord by the prophet to his church; "as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee." Is. 54. 9.

Noah prophesieth of his sons; dieth.

18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Ca

and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.

24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD 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.

28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.

23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and 29 And all the days of Noah went backward, and covered were nine hundred and fifty the nakedness of their father; years: and he died.

LECTURE 20.

The fulfilment of Noah's prophecy.

We are repeatedly reminded of our being all brethren; and this is the lesson which we have now to learn, from considering that the whole earth was overspread by the issue of the three sons of Noah. We are continually impressed with our liability to transgress. And of this we have an instance in Noah drunken and naked in his tent, and much more in Ham exposing his father's nakedness. Some indeed have thought that Noah was not aware of the effect of wine. But it was probably as well known before the flood as after it. We must not fear to own, that one of God's most faithful servants was for once overtaken in sin. Rather "let him that thinketh he standeth," hence take warning "lest he fall." 1 Cor. 10. 12. And some can see no harm in Ham's seeing his father naked, or in his telling his brethren what he saw. But there can be little doubt that he reported this sad sight, not with concern, but scorn. And the conduct of Shem and Japheth shews, that they in the same circumstances, and no better taught than Ham, knew both what it would be wrong to see, and what it was right to do. Let the curse which fell on Ham, in his son Canaan, remind us how great is the sin of those, who take pleasure in exposing the infirmities and offences of

Let the

their spiritual fathers, the ministers of the Gospel. blessings pronounced on Shem and Japheth incline us, in all our judgments of each other, to practise that charity which is able to cover "a multitude of sins." James 5. 20.

Noah awake is at once sober. Shame, compunction, and penitence, restore him to his senses, and replace him through grace in communion with God. His curse denounced against Canaan the son of Ham, and his blessings bestowed on Shem and Japheth are not only a curse and blessings; they are signal prophecies, which have been fulfilled in all successive generations of mankind, even until the present time. Canaan and his children, and all the posterity of Ham, have been in the situation of servants to their brethren. They have formed a portion of mankind inferior in strength, in understanding, in moral attainments. And being usually also inferior in war, they have been in many instances according to one of the savage customs of war, made slaves by their conquerors. Shem has been blessed in having Jehovah for his God, being the father of the Israelites, God's chosen people, yea the father of Abraham and of David, and through them also of Mary the mother of our Lord. And Canaan was most signally made his servant, in the subjugation of the Canaanites by the Israelites, by the express command and guidance and help of God. Whilst Japheth has not only been enlarged, by having his descendants spread far and wide throughout the earth, and encroaching on the possessions of their brethren; but especially has he dwelt in the tents of Shem, by the Gentiles, descendants of Japheth, succeeding, on the rejection of the Gospel by the Jews, to the place of God's chosen people. And Canaan has been his servant also. Yea, not only has this been true in all the quarters of the world known of old; but also when new Indies were discovered, and when Japheth was once more enlarged by God, his children took out with them for their bondslaves the posterity of Canaan and of Ham. So thoroughly does God foresee all things from the beginning, and reveal them so clearly by his servants the prophets! So entirely does He order and controul all the acts of all the children of men, for the fulfilment of his word, and for the manifestation of his glory!

"And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died." This is the longest life recorded, except that of Methuselah. Long as it was, it must needs end in death. He that survived the flood could not escape the grave. Whether we

live long, or die early, let us but live like Noah a life of faith and obedience, and then no life will be too long to be profitable, no death too soon to be welcome.

The generations of the sons of Noah.

1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

6 And the sons of Ham ; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.

7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.

8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.

10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

11 Out of that land went forth Asshur,and builded Nineveh,and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,

12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.

13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Leha

bim, and Naphtuhim,

14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim. 15 And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, 16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, 17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.

20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.

21 Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.

22 The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

23 And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

24 And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.

25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.

26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

27 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,