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together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it

was so.

12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

13 And the evening and the inorning were the third day.

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth and it

was so.

16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth,

18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying. Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day,

24 And God said, Let the earth

named first. Ver. 14. The element of light already existed, and had, no doubt, existed from everlasting about the throne of God; but it was now poured into those bodies intended to convey it at proper seasons, and in due proportions, to the different parts of the system. Ver. 26. Thus the world was furnished with whatever is good or beautiful, the noble machinery of the universe was set in motion, and the different orders of inferior animals received existence, before man was called into being. Every thing was prepared to secure his happiness; and instead of being produced from the earth by the operation of its newly acquired energy, the Almighty himself made him. It was not Let the earth bring forth," but "Let us make man; and thus, fashioning him with his own divine hands, he impressed him with the likeness and image of himself, giving him life from himself, and endowing him with authority over the earth as his representative and vicegerent. The most learned commentators have interpreted the plural pronoun

bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind and it was so.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

CHAPTER II.

THUS the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

4 These are the generations of

"us," as a proof of the doctrine of the Trinity.-Ver. 27. Male and female: this is mentioned by anticipation, or from the implied existence of the woman in the man from whom she was taken.

Ver. 3. Thus the Sabbath had its origin in the majestic mystery of creation, and was long prior to the Jewish dispensation. The only reason which could authorize a change of the particular day devoted to rest, was that afforded by the great work of redemption, through which the Almighty himself renewed the purposes of creation.-Ver. S. Man, therefore, was not created in Eden, but carried thither after his formation. This was done, perhaps, in order to tnake him sensible that he owed the delights with which he was there surrounded solely to the favour of his Maker. Had he first opened his eyes in paradise, he might have supposed that glory and happiness were the necessary results of his being, and not the gift of God.

Ver. 9. The tree of life was probably a sacramental symbol, to the eating of which the Almighty had

the heavens and of the earth whe they were created, in the day th the LORD God made the earth an the heavens,

5 And every plant of the fiel before it was in the earth, an every herb of the field before grew for the LORD God had no caused it to rain upon the earth and there was not a man to till th ground.

6 But there went up a mist fro the earth, and watered the whol face of the ground.

7 And the LORD God formed ma of the dust of the ground, an breathed into his nostrils the breat of life; and man became a livin soul.

8 And the LORD God planted garden eastward in Eden; an there he put the man whom he ha formed.

9 And out of the ground mad the LORD God to grow every tre that is pleasant to the sight, an good for food; the tree of life als in the midst of the garden, an the tree of knowledge of good an evil.

10 And a river went out o Eden to water the garden; an from thence it was parted, and be

came into four heads.

11 The name of the first i Pison that is it which compasset! the whole land of Havilah, wher there is gold;

12 And the gold of that land i good there is bdellium and th onyx-stone.

13 And the name of the secon river is Gihon: the same is it tha compasseth the whole land o Ethiopia.

11 And the name of the thir river is Hiddeke!: that is it whic goeth toward tie east of Assyria And the fourth river is Euphrates

15 Aud the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it

16 And the LORD God command ed the man, saying, Of every tre of the garden thou mayest freel eat;

17 But of the tree of the know ledge of good and evil, thou shal not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surel die.

which

attached the glory of immortality but did not intend man to eat of i till, in process of time, and through the right exercise of his faculties he had arrived at the requisite degree of perfection: or it migit really be endued with certais heavenly qualities, through which it had the power of imparting as everlasting strength and animation The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was probably so called, ne from any innate virtue in itself, but by reference to the fatal conse quences the experimental know ledge of good and evil were to follow the eating of it fruit. Man was made acquainted with the nature of both by the bitter change which took place in his condition. Ver. 17. Death, the result of corruption, could have had no existence but for sin; and though Adam did not suffer a corporeal dissolution, or the separation of the soul from the body, immediately on the commission of his offence, he died, in the first place, prospe tively, for he became certainly subject to death; and, in the next he died in respect to the proper life

18

And the LORD God said, 1/ not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, sad brought them unto Adam, to ith see what he would call them: andTM whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name fror thereof

not 20 And Adam gave names to all

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

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

And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he #woman, and brought her unto the man.

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

? Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall deare unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

CHAPTER IIL

NOW the serpent was more subtile

than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

of man, a rational, spiritual being, living in union with Gd, between which species of life and the mere animation of other creatures, there. ought always to be made a wide distinction. In regard to this latter view of life, the divine denunciation Was literally fulfilled; and we have an explication of the frequent Scriptural assertion, that a state of ain is a state of death, without Having recourse to a metaphorical meaning. The simple command of the Almighty, not to eat of the tree of knowledge, made it sin to do so. It was the exhibition of his will, and in its contradiction was implied the whole body of sin which afterwards expanded itself, and appeared in a thousand ramifications. - Ver. 21. This was not said imperatively, but indicating what would usually be the case.

Ver. 1. Adam and Eve may naturally be supposed to have observed with particular attention the peculiar qualities and dispositians of the animals which peopled their shades. The subtlety of the serpent would prevent their feeling any great surprise at his uttering articulate sounds; nor must it be supposed that, at that period, they equld have the same feeling respeeting the restriction of the per of speech to the human race, which has been generated by Jong experience. That the true author of the temptation, carried

by means of the serpent, was Satan, the prime fabricator of evil, is proved by the uniform assertion Scripture, and the truth of relation is confirmed by the pistest deductions of reasou. The oreign source of all good could t be the author of evil; nor is it

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We 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, Ye shall not surely die: 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. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they toere naked; and they sewed figleaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves

from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

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?

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, 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.

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception: in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life:

18 Thorus also and thistles shall

to be supposed that a creature like man, pure, unexposed to temptation, and living in happy solitude, could of himself generate evil; whence it follows that the origin of sin may most properly be attributed to some independent source - the wiles of some mighty being, the enemy of both God and man.Ver. 15. How perfectly was this first prophecy fulfilled in Christ!Ver 16. The desire: a phrase

it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

21 Unto Adam also, and to his wife, did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he

was taken.

21 So he drove out the man: and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

CHAPTER IV.

AND Adam knew Eve his wife;

and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.

2 And she again bare his brother" Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel, and to his of fering:

5 But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

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7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over hin.

8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not. Am I my brother's keeper?

10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.

11 And now art thon cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand.

12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

signifying subjection. Ver. 20. Eve: a name implying life in its signification.

Ver. 1. The reason why the Lord had not respect unto the offering of Cain is given in the seventh verse; and the wretched dispositions with which his heart was contaminated, are yet more clearly shewn in the horrible act of which he was so soon after

13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

it Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth: and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore, whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on hin seven-fold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a eity, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

18 And unto Enoch was born Irad and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.

19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.

21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.

22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an 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 I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt:

24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and seven-fold.

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

guilty. Thus early appeared_tke effects of the fall of Adam. - Ver. 13. Cain did not dispute the power or justice of God. He felt the certainty of his vengeance against sin; he lamented bitterly that he could never hope to enjoy the light of his countenance; and he trembled at the thought that, as the children of Adam and their descendants multiplied, he would be obliged to shun their dwellings as a hated and dreaded enemy.Ver. 15. The punishment of Cain belonged to God alone, and the Almighty Judge would not allow the sons of men to usurp his authority. He had not yet delegated to them the exercise of his power in the judgment of crime. The sign was probably some which gave a peculiar expression of countenance indicative of horror, or some positive sign, which being made known to all his fellow men, would guard them against attacking him should they accidentally meet him.-Ver. 23. Commentators have found great difficulty in the interpretation of this obscure passage. Some suppose that Lamech slew Cain, and referred to that occurrence in thus speaking to his wives, meaning by the young man,

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

CHAPTER V.

THIS is the book of the genera tions of Adam. In the day that God created man, 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 nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos.

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

8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.

9 And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan.

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 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 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.

19 And Jared lived, after he begat Enoch, eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.

21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah.

himself, and predicting that seventy and seven fold vengeance would overtake whoever should slay him, because his sin being even greater than that of Cain, would be the especial object of the Almighty's wrath. Others suppose that he refers to the misery he had brought upon himself through polygamy, and that in saying he had slain a man and a young man, he only alluded to his own misfortunes. Some again consider that his words. imply that he had committed two murders, and that he accordingly looked for a heavier punishment, because of his twofold guilt, than that inflicted on Cain. Ver. 26. To call on the name of the Lord: that is, perhaps, with certain fixed rites and ceremonies.

22 And Enoch walked with God, after he begat Methuselah, three hundred years, and begat sous 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; for God took him

25 And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech.

26 And Methuselah lived, after he begat Lamech, 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 sons and daughters.

31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.

32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

CHAPTER VI.

AND it came to pass, when men Abegan to multiply ou the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

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.

Ver. 24. There is certainly no greater wonder in God's translating a man from earth to heaven without his passing through the grave, than there is in his raising him from the ground, after his ashes have long mingled with the earth. In the translation of Enoch the Almighty designed to give a striking proof of his love of holiness, and we may reasonably conclude that it long formed a theme of profitable reflection and exhortation among the patriarchs and their immediate descendants. Ver. 32. Had not human life extended, in these carly days, to a much longer period than at present, the world would not have been peopled till many generations had passed away. But another reason may also be given for the same circumstance. From the lengthened lives of the patriarchs, the knowledge of the creation, and of the events which succeeded it, was handed down through a period of great extent without the possibility of its being lost or mixed with error. Had the life of man been as short then as now, each tradition would have. had to pass through a far greater variety of, and much more doubtful,

channels.

Ver. 2. The sons of God: some very erroneous interpreters have supposed that either good or bad angels were meant by this expression: but it has been rightly au swered, that Scripture tells us the good angels do not marry, a that bad angels are never called sous of God, Two classes of men had already long existed on the earth, the descendants of Seth

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3 And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is fleshi: 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.

5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

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 I have created, from the face of the earth; both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air: for it repenteth me that I have made them.

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

17 And, behold, I, even 1, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, 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 of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind; two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather if to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

CHAPTER VII.

9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man, AND the LORD said unte Noah, 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, behold, it was corrupt: for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them: and, benold, I will destroy them with the

earth.

14 Make thee an ark of gopherwood: 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 eubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

being distinguished from the rest by their great devotion and piety. Prom this they appear to have been called the sons of God; but when they began to unite themselves with the wicked and corrupt, from whom they had hitherto kept apart, the only barrier to the general spread of wickedness was broken down, and the earth with its inhabitants called forth the signal vengeance of divine justice.-Ver. 6. This is said not as expressing regret in the divine mind, but in reference to the overthrow of the human race, which seemed to indicate a reversal of the Almighty's intentions. Whenever affections of this kind are ascribed to God, it is only owing to the imperfect nature of human language, which cannot describe the operations of his eternal and independent will, without having recourse to expressions which, originally pertaining to the motions of our mortal and imperfect nature, must be interpreted with extreme caution when applied to his.-Ver. 11. Thus the

Come thou, and all thy house, into the ark: for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by 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 destroy from off the face of the earth.

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.

whole creation began to groan and travail through the wickedness of man. See Rom. viii. 22.-Ver. 18. The first articles in this covenant. respected the faith which Noah was to manifest by undertaking the laborious task of building the ark, in the perfect assurance that God's word was true: they respected, on the other side, the divine promise of safety which was to follow this act of faith. But the covenant had a wider application and reference: it looked to the preservation of a righteous and elect race, and to their final salvation in Christ.Ver. 19. The number of the different classes of animals is far less than at first sight may be supposed. The most skilful naturalists and calculators see no difficulty in this part of the narrative.

Ver. 7. Noah and his family thus preserved in the ark, were a true emblem of the people of God preserved in the church of Christ, and borne alon over the troubled

and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

10 And it came to pass after seven days, that 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 windows of heaven were opened.

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

13 In the self-same day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark:

14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.

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 the whole heaven were covered.

20 Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

21 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:

22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.

21 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

CHAPTER VIII.

AND God remembered Noah,

and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged:

2 The fountains also of the deep, and the windows of heaven, were stopped, and the rain from heaven. was restrained:

3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.

4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month:

waters of life, awaiting with patient faith the restitution of all things in the time appointed of the Lord. Ver. 4. The mountains of

in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:

7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.

8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground:

9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark; for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark.

11 And the dove came in to him in the evening, and, lo, in her mouth was an olive-leaf pluckt off. So Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

12 And he stayed yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove, which returned not again unto him any

more.

13 And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.

14 And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.

15 And God spake unto Noah, saying,

16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.

17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:

19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, wert forth out of the ark.

20 And Ncah builded an altar unto the LORD, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt-offerings on

the altar.

21 And the LORI smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not agai.. curse the ground any more for man's sake: for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth: neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

Ararat: that is, in Armenia. - Ver. 5. From this we learn, that the years by which time is counted in the Mosaic narrative, were of the same length as those by which it is at present divided. Ver. 21. Smelled a sweet savour: a mere metaphorical expression, used to signify the Lord's acceptance of the offering. The word though should be employed instead of for in the next sentence. No working of the imagination can picture a

22 While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease.

CHAPTER IX.

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 he man.

7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

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 is 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.

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:

scene of deeper interest than that here described. The world appeared in renewed beauty; Almighty justice, satisfied, gave way to the full and effulgent power of mercy; the representative and root of the human race existed under the immediate display of the greatest wonders of Providence, he was bowed down with a deep sense of humility and awe at the awful visitation on his kin, but lifted up his soul in joy at the spectacle which now spread before him of regenerated nature, sealed with the protecting sign of that gracious covenant by which it was to be preserved in life and vigour till dissolved, to make way for a nobler and everlasting system.

Ver. 4. The disposition to cruelty which might have followed the now permitted indulgence in animal food, was checked by this prohibition to eat of the blood. It had also a reference to the mystical propitiatory value of the blood of sacrifices; and in its reference to human life was a part of the divine law, of which the necessity was manifest with the first establishment of civil society. Ver. 10. The covenant with Noah extended to all the degrees of animated

13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a cove. nant 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 Noab, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

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

19 These are the three sons of Noah and of them was the whole earth overspread.

20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was un covered 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 it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father: 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 Ca naan; 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.

nature, for all had suffered in the flood, and all were concerned in the permanency of the renewed world. Ver. 13. It is not neces sary to suppose that the rainbow was not seen in the heavens before this event. The Almighty only now made it a sign of his mercy and forbearance, and gave it an intelligible meaning to his people, which it did not before possess. Few who think can fail of perceiving the exquisite fitness and beauty of the sign thus chosen by God out of the vast warehouse of nature to testify his will.-Ver. 25. From Canaan were descended those nations who, proceeding from one degree of wickedness to another, at length provoked the Almighty to destroy them by the arm of his chosen people. Shem was the father of Abraham in a direct line, and consequently of the race from which the Redeemer sprung. To the descendants of Japheth fell all that portion of the world in which later civilization made the most remarkable progress. The noblest portion of Asia Minor, and the whole extent of Europe, were peopled by his posterity.

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