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But on the hither side, a different sort

See the 5th Chapter of Genesis, the genealogy, age, and death of the patriarchs.

576 Down to the plain descended:

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The place where dwelt the descendants of Cain.

by their guise

Just men they seem'd,

The scripture speaks of them as the worshippers of the true God, and Josephus informs us, that they were addicted to the study of philophy and astronomy.

606 Created as thou art, to nobler end

Holy and pure, conformity divine.

We have this confidence, I say, because God in his eternal counsels designed this and appointed a proper series of subordinate causes to make way for that blessed event in which all is to terminate; establishing a certain connection between the one and the other; a connection which in the greatest distress is our confidence and our joy; He predestinated them to be conformed to the image of his Son. Rom. viii. 29.

607 Those tents thou saw'st so pleasant, were the tents Of wickedness,

I had rather be a door keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Ps. lxxxiv. 10.

610 Unmindful of their Maker, though his Spirit Taught them;

See, Jehovah hath called Bezaleel, and hath

filled him with the spirit of God, to devise curious works. Exod. xxxv. 30, 31.

622 Shall yield up all their virtue, all their fame Ignobly,

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

642 Giants of mighty bone, and bold emprise ;

There were giants in the earth in those days; 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. Gen. vi. 4. 7.

665 Of middle age one rising, eminent

In wise deport,

And Enoch walked with God. Gen. v. 22. Enoch in consideration of his eminent virtues, was admitted to a near intercourse with the Almighty. St. Jude calls him a prophet, and he appears to have been the first who obtained that honourable character. In his time the world was become sadly corrupted and idolatrous; so soon did sin and infidelity spread among the sons of men. In the departure of Enoch from this world of sin and sorrow, the Almighty altered the ordinary course of things, and gave him a dismissal as honourable to himself as it was instructive to mankind. To convince them that holiness only was acceptable with him, and that he had prepared for those who love him a mansion of glory, he

caused Enoch to be taken from the earth without passing through death.

719 At length a reverend sire among them came, And of their doings great dislike declar'd,

At the birth of Noah, in the year of the world one thousand and fifty-seven, the earth was full of inhabitants, and iniquity had increased in an equal proportion with population. For a considerable time, it should seem, the children of Cain, and those of the other branches of Adam's family, kept at a distance from each other. The former were ingenious, and made discoveries of mechanical and elegant manner. But the men of this race were idolators, and devoted their skill to the corruption of morals and the dishonour of God. The goodness was soon swallowed up through the prevalence of iniquity. The blandishments of vice prevailed. Gay amusements paved the way to immorality, and the neglect of devotion led to infidelity and idolatry. The patriarch had faith in God; and he knew that it was his duty to labour with zeal in the province to which he was called, leaving the event to him from whom he had received his communion. The advice of wisdom should ever be on the minds of youth. My Son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not."

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728 Then from the mountain hewing timber tall, Began to build a vessel of huge bulk;

Having declared his intention of destroying the whole race of sinners, except the family of Noah, the Almighty commanded the patriarch to build an ark for the saving of his house; at the same

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time giving him directions of what wood and fashion the vessel should be formed. Make thee an ark of gopher-wood, rooms shalt thou make in it, pitch it within and without with pitch. The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth fifty cubits, and the height thirty cubits. And behold I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life from under heaven: but with thee will I establish my covenant: and thou shalt come into the ark; thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy son's wives with thee. And of every thing of all flesh shalt thou bring into the ark, and take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be food for thee and for them. Gen. vi. 14, 15.

and God made fast the door.

No sooner is the valuable cargo placed in the ark, and Noah with his wife and children entered, but the Almighty with a tender care is said to have shut them in. Gen. vii. 16. While we contemplate this awful scene, let us pause, and in the sublime language of revelation exclaim, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of Saints! Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thy judgments are made manifest. Rev. xv. 3, 4.

but all the cataracts
Of Heaven set open on the earth shall pour

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.

And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. Gen. vii. 11.

861 Anon dry ground appears, and from his ark The ancient sire descends with all his train;

On sunday, November the twenty-seventh, God commanded Noah to leave the ark, with all the creatures that were therein. The disembarkation took up six days, and the day following was set apart for rest and the public worship of God. "And Noah builded an altar to Jehovah." Gen. viii. 28.

890 Such grace shall one just man find in his sight

Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Gen. vi. 8. Happy are those persons who commit their concerns into the hands of providence, and who consult the will of the Almighty as their only director in the affairs of life!

892 And makes a covenant never to destroy

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The earth again by flood :

The Almighty not only gave laws to the first inhabitants of the new world, but he entered into a covenant with them, promising no more to destroy the earth by a flood.

will therein set His triple coloured bow,

"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. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between

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