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12 - Commentary on The Book of Genesis · Commentary on The Book of Genesis

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Chapter nine, both the world and the Church were now again reduced to a
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family, the family of Noah, of the affairs of which this chapter gives
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us an account of which we are the more concerned to take cognizance, because
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from this family we are all descendants. Here is number one, the covenant
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of Providence settled with Noah and his sons Verses one through eleven. In this
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covenant, number one, God promises them to take care of their lives,
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so that first they should replenish the earth Verses one seven. Second, they
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should be safe from the insults of the brute creatures, which should stand in
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awe of them verse two. Third, they should be allowed to eat flesh
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for the support of their lives, only they must not eat blood Verses three
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and four. Fourth, the world should never be drowned again Verses eight through
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eleven. Number two, God requires of them to take care of one another's
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lives and of their own Verses five and six. Second, the seal of
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that covenant, namely the Rainbow Verses twelve through seventeen. Third, a particular
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passage of story concerning Noah and his sons which occasioned some prophecies that related to
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after times, First Noah's sin and shame Verses twenty and twenty one. Second,
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Ham's impudence and impiety verse twenty two, Third the pious modesty of Shem
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and Japith verse twenty three. Fourth the Curse of Canaan and the Blessing of
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Shem and Japith Verses twenty one through twenty seven, And fourth the and death
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of Noah Verses twenty eight and twenty nine. The Blessing of Noah and his
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sons b See twenty three forty eight. And God blessed Noah and his sons
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and said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. And
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the fear of you, and the dread of you shall be upon every beast
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of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that
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moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea. Into
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your hand are they delivered Every moving thing that liveth shall be meet for you,
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even as the green herb. Have I given you all things but flesh,
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with the life thereof which is the blood thereof shall ye not eat.
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And surely your blood of your lives will I require at the hand of every
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beast, will I require it, And at the hand of man, at
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the hand of every man's brother, will I require are the life of man,
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whoso sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed. For in
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the image of God made he man. And you be ye fruitful and multiply,
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bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply Therein we read in the
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close of the foregoing chapter the very kind things which God said in his heart
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concerning the remnant of mankind, which was now left to be the seed of
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a new world. Now Here we have these kind things spoken to them.
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In general, God blessed Noah and his sons verse one. That is,
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he assured them of his good will to them and his gracious intentions concerning them.
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This follows from what He said in his heart. Note all God's promises
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of good flow from his purposes of love and the counsels of his own will.
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See Ephesians want eleven one and three eleven and compare Jeremiah twenty nine eleven.
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I know the thoughts that I think towards you. Reread Chapter eight,
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verse twenty, how Noah blessed God by his altar and sacrifice. Now Here
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we find God blessing Noah. Note, God will graciously bless that is,
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do well for those who sincerely bless that is, speak well of him.
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Those that are truly thankful for the mercies they have received, take the readiest
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way to have them confirmed and continued to them. Now Here we have the
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Magna Carta, the great Charter of this new kingdom Nature, which was now
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to be erected and incorporated the former charter, having men forfeited and seized.
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First, the grants of this charter are kind and gracious to men. Here
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is one a grant of lands a vast extent, and a promise of a
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great increase of men to occupy and enjoy them. The first blessing is here
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renewed. Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth verse one, and repeated
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verse seven. For the race of mankind was as it were to begin again.
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Now. First, God sets the whole earth before them, tells them
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it is all their own, while it remains to them and their heirs.
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Note the earth God has given to the children of men for a possession and
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a habitation some one hundred and fifteen verse sixteen. Though it is not a
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paradise, but a wilderness. Rather, yet it is better than we deserve.
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Blessed be God, if it is not hell. Two, he gives
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them a blessing by the force and virtue of which mankind should be both multiplied
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and perpetuated upon earth, so that in a little time all the habitable parts
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of the Earth should should be more or less inhabited. And though one generation
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should pass away, yet another generation should come while the world stands, so
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that the stream of human race should be supplied with a constant succession, and
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run parallel with the current of time, till both should be delivered up together
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into the ocean of eternity. Though death should still reign, and the Lord
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still be known by his judgments. Yet the earth should never again be dispeopled
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as now it was, but still replenished. Acts seventeen, Verses twenty four
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through twenty six. Second, a grant of power over the inferior creatures.
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Verse two, He grants one a title to them into your hands. They
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are delivered for your use and benefit. Two a dominion over them, without
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which the title would avail little. The fear of you and the dread of
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you shall be upon every beast. If this revives a former grant Chapter one,
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verse twenty eight, only with this difference, that man in innocence ruled
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by love, fallen man rules by fear. Now this grant remains in force,
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and thus far we have still the benefit of it. One that those
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creatures which are in any way useful to us are reclaimed, and we use
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them either for service or food, or both, as they are capable.
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The horse and ox patiently submit to the bridle and yoke, and the sheep
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is dumb before both the sheer and before the butcher, for the fear and
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dread of man are upon them. Second, those creatures that are in any
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way hurtful to us are restrained, so that though now and then man may
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be hurt by some of them, they do not combine together to rise up
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in rebellion against man. Else God could by these destroy the world as effectually
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as he did a deluge. It is one of God's sore judgments. Ezekiel,
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fourteen twenty one. What is it that keeps wolves out of our towns
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and lions out of our streets and confines them to the wilderness? But this
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fear and dread? Nay, some have been tamed James three seven third,
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a grant of maintenance and subsistence. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat
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for you verse three. Hitherto most think man had been confined to feed only
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upon the products of the earth, fruits, herbs, and roots, and
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all sorts of corn and milk. So was the first grant Chapter one,
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verse twenty nine. But the flood, having perhaps washed away much of the
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virtue of the earth and so rendered its fruits less pleasing and less nourishing,
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God now enlarged the grant and allowed man to eat flesh, which perhaps man
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himself never thought of till now that God directed him to it, nor had
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any more desire to than a sheep has to suck blood like a wolf.
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But now man is allowed to feed upon flesh as freely and safely as upon
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the green herb. Now Here see one that God is a good master and
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provides not only that we may live, but that we may live comfortably in
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His service, not for necessity only, but for delight. Two, that
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every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused for Timothy for four.
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Afterwards, some meats that were proper enough for food were prohibited by the
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ceremonial law, But from the beginning, it seems it was not so,
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and therefore is not so under the Gospel. Second, the precepts and provisions
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of this character are no less kind and gracious, and instances of God's good
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will to man. The Jewish doctors speak so often of the seven precepts of
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Noah or of the Sons of Noah, which they say were to be observed
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by all nations, that it may not be amiss to set them down.
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The first against the worship of idols, the second against blasphemy and requiring to
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bless the name of God, the third against murder, the fourth against incest
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and all uncleanness, the fifth against theft and ripene, the sixth requiring the
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administration of justice, the seventh against the eating of flesh with the life.
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These the Jews require the observance of from the proselytes of the Gate. But
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the precepts here given all concern the life of man. One man must not
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prejudice his own life by eating that food which is unwholesome and prejudicial to his
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health. First floor flesh with the life thereof which is the blood thereof that
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is raw flesh, shall well you not eat as the beasts of prey do
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it was necessary to add this limitation to the grant of liberty to eat flesh,
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lest instead of nourishing their bodies by it, they should destroy them.
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God would hereby show one that though they were lords of the creatures, yet
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they were subjects to the Creator, and under the restraints of his law.
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Two That they must not be greedy and hasty in taking their food, but
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stay the preparing of it, not like sauls soldiers for Samuel fourteen thirty two,
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not riotous eaters of flesh Proverbs twenty three twenty three. That they must
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not be barbarous and cruel to the inferior creatures. They must be lords,
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but not tyrants. They might kill them for their prophet, but not torment
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them for their pleasure, nor tear away the member of a creature while it
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was yet alive, and eat that. Four That, during the continuance of
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the law of sacrifices, in which the blood made atonement for the soul Leviticus
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seventeen eleven, signifying that the life of the sacrifice was accepted for the life
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of the sinner. Blood must not be looked upon as a common thing,
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but must be poured out before the Lord Tewod Samuel twenty three sixteen, either
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upon his altar or upon his earth. But now that the great and true
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sacrifice has been offered, the obligation of the law ceases. With the reason
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of it. Two, man must not take away his own life your blood
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of your lives, will A require verse five. Our lives are not so
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our own as that we may quit them at our own pleasure. But they
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are gods, and we must resign them at His pleasure. If we in
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any way hasten our own deaths, we are accountable to God for it.
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Three. The beasts must not be suffered to hurt the life of man.
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Man at the hand of every beast, will I require it to show how
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tender God was of the life of man, though he had lately made such
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destruction of lives. He will have the beast put to death that kills a
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man. This was confirmed by the law of Moses Exodus twenty one, twenty
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eight. And I think it would not be unsafe to observe it. Still.
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Thus God showed his hatred of the sin of murder, that men might
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hate it the more, and not only punish, but prevent it. And
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see Job five twenty three four wil for murderers must be put to death.
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This is the sin which is here designed to be restrained by the terror of
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punishment. One. God will punish murderers at the hand of every man's brother.
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Will I require the life of man, That is, I will avenge
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the blood of the murdered upon the murderer Second Chronicles twenty four twenty two.
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When God requires the life of man at the hand of him that took it
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away unjustly, the murderer cannot render that, and therefore must render his own
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in lieu of it, which is the only way left of making restitution.
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Note the righteous God will certainly make in position for blood, though men cannot
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or do not. One time or other, in this world or in the
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next. He will both discover concealed murders which are hidden from man's eye,
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and punish avowed and justified murders which are too great for man's hand. Two.
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The magistrate must punish murderers Verse six. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, whether
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upon a sudden provocation or having premeditated for rash anger, is heart murder as
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well as malice prepens Matthew five twenty one and twenty two. By man shall
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his blood be shed, that is, by the magistrate, or whoever is
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appointed or allowed to be the avenger of blood. There are those who are
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ministers of God for this purpose, to be a protection to the innocent,
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by being a terror to the malicious and evildoers, And they must not bear
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the sword in vain Romans thirteen four. Before the flood, as it should
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seem by the story of Cain, God took the punishment of murder into his
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own hands. But now he committed this judgment to men, to masters of
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families at first, and afterwards to the heads of countries, who ought to
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be faithful to the trust reposed in them. Note wilful murder ought always to
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be punished with death. It is a sin which the Lord would not pardon
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in a prince second Kings twenty four, three and four, and which therefore
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a prince should not pardon in a subject to this law. There is a
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reason annexed, for in the image of God made he man. At first,
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man is a creature dear to his creator, and therefore ought to be
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so to us. God put honor upon him. Let us not then put
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contempt upon him. Such remains of God's image are still even upon fallen man,
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as that he who unjustly kills a man defaces the image of God and
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does dishonor to him. When God allowed men to kill their beasts, yet
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he forbade them to kill their slaves, for these are of a much more
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noble and excellent nature. Not only God's creatures but his image James three nine.
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All men have something of the image of God upon them, but magistrates
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have besides the image of His power, and the saints the image of His
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holiness. And therefore those who shed the blood of princes or saints incur a
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double guilt. God's countate with Noah b c. Twenty three forty seven.
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And God spake unto Noah and to his son's wish him, saying, and
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I behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after
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you, and with every living creature that is with you, of the foul
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of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth, with you,
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from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.
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And I will establish my covenant with you. Neither shall all flesh be
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cut off anymore by the waters of a flood. Neither shall there any more
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be a flood to destroy the earth. Here is first the general establishment of
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God's covenant with this new world, and the extent of that covenant Verses nine
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and ten. Here observe one that God is graciously pleased to deal with man
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in the way of a covenant, wherein God greatly magnifies his condescending favor and
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greatly encourages man's duty and obedience as a reasonable and gainful service. Two that
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all God's covenants with man are of his own making. I behold. I
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it is thus expressed both to raise our admiration. Behold and wonder that though
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God be high, yet he has this respect to man, and to confirm
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our assurances of the validity of the covenant. Behold and see, I make
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it that I am faithful and able to make it good. Three that God's
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covenants are established more firmly than the pillars of heaven or the foundations of the
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earth, and cannot be disannulled. Four that God's covenants are made with the
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covenanters and with their seed. The promise is to them and their children.
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Five that those may be taken into covenant with God and receive the benefits of
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it, who are yet not capable of restipulating or giving in their own consent.
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For this covenant is made with every living creature, every beast of the
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earth. Second, the particular intention of this covenant, it was designed to
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secure the world from another deluge. There shall not any more be a flood.
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God has drowned the world once, and still it was as filthy and
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provoking as ever, And God foresaw the wickedness of it, and yet promised
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he would never drown it any more. For He degals not with us according
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to our sins. It is, owing to God's goodness and faithfulness, not
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to any reformation of the world, that it has not often been deluged,
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and that it is not deluged now. As the old world was ruined to
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be a monument of justice, so this world remains to this day a monument
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of mercy. According to the oath of God, that the waters of Noah
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should no more return to cover the earth Isaiah fifty four or nine. This
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promise of God keeps the sea and clouds in their decreed place, and sets
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them gates and bars ours hitherto they shall come. Job thirty eight verses ten
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and eleven. If the sea should flow but for a few days, as
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it does twice every day, for a few hours, what desolation it would
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make, and how destructive would the clouds be if such showers as we have
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sometimes seen were continued long. But God, by flowing seas and sweeping rains,
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show us what he could do in wrath, and yet by preserving the
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earth from being deluged between both show us what he can do in mercy and
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will do in truth. Let us give him the glory of his mercy in
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promising and of his truth in performing. This promise does not hinder one but
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that God may bring other wasting judgments upon mankind. For though He has here
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bound himself not to use this arrow any more, yet he has other arrows
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in his quiver. Two. Nor but that he may destroy particular ular places
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and countries by the inundations of the sea or rivers. Three. Nor will
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the destruction of the world at the last day by fire be any breach of
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his promise. Sin which drowned the old world will burn this. And God
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said, this is the token of the covenant which I make between me and
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you and every living creature that is with you for perpetual generations. I do
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set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of
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a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass when
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I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in
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the cloud, and I will remember my covenant which is between me and you
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and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters shall no more become
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a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud,
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and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant
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between God and every living creature of all flesh upon the earth. Articles of
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agreement among men are usually sealed that the covenants may be. The more solemn,
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and the performances of the covenants, the more sure to mutual satisfaction.
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God, therefore, being willing more abundantly to show to the heirs of promise
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the immutability of his councils, has confirmed his covenant by a seal Hebrews six
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seventeen, which makes the foundations we build on stand sure two Timothy two nineteen.
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The seal of this covenant of nature was natural enough. It was the
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rainbow, which it is likely was seen in the clouds before when second causes
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concurred, but was never a seal of the covenant, till now that it
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was made so by a divine institution. Now concerning this seal of the covenant,
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observe, first, this is affixed with repeated assurances of the truth of
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that promise of which it was designed to be the ratification. I do set
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my bow in the cloud verse thirteen. It shall be seen in the cloud
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verse fourteen, that the eye may affect the heart and confirm the faith,
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and it shall be the token of the covenant Verses twelve and thirteen. And
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I will remember my covenant that the waters shall no more become a flood verse
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fifteen. Nay, as if the eternal mind needed a memorandum, I will
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look upon it that I may remember the everlasting Covenant verse sixteen. Thus here
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is line upon line that we might have sure and strong consolation who have laid
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hold of this hope. Second, the rainbow appears when the clouds are most
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disposed to wet, and returns after the rain, when we have most reason
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to fear the rain prevailing. Then God show this segal of the promise that
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it shall not prevail. Thus, God obviates our fears with such encouragements as
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are both suitable and seasonable. Third, the thicker the cloud, the brighter
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the bow, and the cloud, thus, as threatening afflictions abound, encouraging
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consolations much more abound Second Corinthians one. Five. Fourth, the rainbow appears
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when one part of the sky is clear, which intimates mercy remembered in the
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midst of wrath. And the clouds are hemmed, as it were with the
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rainbow, that they may not overspread the heavens, for the bow is colored
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rain or the edges of a cloud gilded. Fifth, the rainbow is the
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reflection of the beams of the sun, which intimates that all the glory and
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significancy of the Seals of the Covenant are derived from Christ, the Sun of
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righteousness, who was also described with a rainbow about his throne Revelation f three,
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and a rainbow upon his head Revelation ten one, which intimates not only
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his majesty but his mediatorship. Six. The rainbow has fiery colors in it
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to signify that though God will not again drown the world, yet when the
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mystery of God shall be finished, the world shall be consumed by fire.
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Seventh. A bow bespeaks terror, But this bow has neither string nor arrow,
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as the bow ordained against the persecutors has Psalm seven, Verses twelve thirteen.
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And a bow alone will do little execution if is a bow, but
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it is directed upwards, not towards the earth. For the seals of the
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Covenant were intended to comfort, not to terrify. Eighth, as God looks
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upon the bow, that he may remember the Covenant, so should we that
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we also may be ever mindful of the Covenant with faith and thankfulness. Sin
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of Aam b. C. Twenty three forty seven. And the sons of
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Noah that went forth of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japeth. And
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Ham is the father of Canaan. These are the three sons of Noah.
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And of them was the whole earth overspread. And Noah began to be a
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husbandman. And he planted a vineyard, and he drank of the wine and
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was drunken, and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the
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father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brethren
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without, and Jem and Japoth took a garment and laid it upon both their
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shoulders and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces
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were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. Here is first Noah's
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family and employment. The names of his sons are again mentioned verses eighteen and
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nineteen, as those from whom the whole earth was overspread, by which it
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appears that Noah, after the flood, had no more children. All the
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world came from these three. Note God, when he pleases, can make
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a little one to become a thousand, and greatly increase the latter end of
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those whose beginning was small. Such are the power and efficacy of a divine
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blessing. The business Noah applied himself to was that of a husbandman, that
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is, a man of the earth in the Hebrew, that is, a
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man dealing in the earth, that kept ground in his hand and occupied it.
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We are all naturally men of the earth, made of it, living
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on it, and hastening to it. Many are sinfully so addicted to earthly
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things. Noah was, by his calling led to trade in the fruits of
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the earth. He began to be a husbandman, that is, some time
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after his departure out of the ark. He returned to his old employment from
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which he had been diverted by the building of the ark, first, and
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probably afterwards about the building of a house on dry land for himself and family.
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For this good while he had been a carpenter, But now he began
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again to be a husbandman. Observe. Though Noah was a great man and
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a good man, an old man and a rich man, a man greatly
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favored by Heaven and honored on earth, yet he would not live an idle
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life, nor think the husbandman's calling below him. Note, though God,
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by his providence, may take us off from our callings for a time,
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yet when the occasion is over, we ought, with humility and industry to
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apply ourselves to them again, and in the calling wherein we are called faithfully
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to abide with God. First Corinthian seven twenty four. Second Noah's sin and
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shame, he planted a vineyard, and when he had gathered his vintage,
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probably he appointed a day of mirth and feasting in his family, and had
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his sons and their chill with him to rejoice with him in the increase of
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his house, as well as in the increase of his vineyard. And we
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may suppose he prefaced his feasts with a sacrifice to the honor of God.
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If this was omitted, it was just with God to leave him to himself,
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that he who did not begin with God might end with the beasts.
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But we charitably hope that it was not. And perhaps he appointed his feast
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with a design at the close of it to bless his sons, as Isaac
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chapter twenty seven, Verses three and four, that I may eat, and
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that my soul may bless thee. At this feast he drank of the wine,
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for who planted the vineyard and needeth not of the fruit of it.
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But he drank too liberally, more than his head at this age would bear,
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for he was drunk. We have reason to think he was never drunk
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before nor after. Observe how he came now to be overtaken in this fault.
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It was his sin, and a great sin, so much the worse
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for its being so soon after a great deliverance. But God left him to
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himself, as he did Hezekiah, second Chronicles, thirty two thirty one,
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and has left this miscarriage of his upon record to teach us one that the
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fairest copy that ever mere man wrote, since the fall had its blots and
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false strokes. It was said of Noah that he was perfect in his generation
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Chapter six, verse nine. But this shows that it is meant of sincerity,
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not a sinless perfection. Two That sometimes those who with watchfulness and resolution
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have, by the grace of God kept their integrity in the midst of temptation,
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have, through security and carelessness and neglect of the grace of God,
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been surprised into sin. When the hour of temptation has been over, Noah,
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who had cap sober in drunken company, is now drunk in sober company.
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Let him that thinks he stands take heed. Three That we of need
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to be very careful when we use God's good creatures plentifully, lest we use
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them to excess. Christ's disciples must take heed, lest at any time their
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hearts be overcharged looked twenty one, verse thirty four. Now the consequence of
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Noah's sin was shame. He was uncovered within his tent, made naked to
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his shame, as Adam when he had eaten forbidden fruit. Yet Adam sought
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concealment. Noah is so destitute of thought and reason that he seeks no covering
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this was a fruit of the vine that Noah did not think of. Observe
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here the great evil of the sin of drunkenness. First, it discovers men.
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What infirmities they have they betray when they are drunk, and what secrets
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they are entrusted with are then easily got out of them orters keep open gates.
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Second, it disgraces men and exposes them to contempt as it shows them.
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So it shames them. Men say and do that when drunk, which
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when they are sober, they would blush at the thoughts of aback at two
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verses fifteen and sixteen. Third, Ham's impudence and impiety. He saw the
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nakedness of his father and told his two brethren verse twenty two. To see
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it accidentally and involuntarily would have not been a crime, but one He pleased
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himself with the sight, as the Edomites looked upon the day of their brother
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Obadiah twelve, pleased and insulting. Perhaps Ham had sometimes been himself drunk and
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reproved for it by his good father, whom he was therefore pleased to see
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thus overcome. Note it is common for those who walk in false ways themselves
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to rejoice at the false steps which they sometimes see others make. But charity
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rejoices not in iniquity. Nor can true penitence that are sorry for their own
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sins rejoice in the sins of others. Two he told his two brethren without
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in the street, as the word is, in a scornful, deriding manner,
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that his father might seem violent too them. It is very wrong one
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to make a jest of sin Proverbs fourteen nine, and to be puffed up
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with that for which we would rather mourn. First Corinthians five two and two
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to publish the faults of any, especially of parents, whom it is our
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duty to honor. Nor was not only a good man, but had been
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a good father to him, and this was a most base disingenuous requital to
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him for his tenderness. Ham is here called the father of Canaan, which
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intimates that he, who was himself a father, should have been more respectful
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to him that was his father. Fourth, the pious care of Shem and
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Japeth to cover their poor father's shame Verse twenty three. They not only would
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not see it themselves, but provided that no one else might see it.
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Herein setting us an example of charity with reference to other men's sin and shame.
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We must not only say a confederacy with those that proclaim it, but
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we must be careful to conceal it, or at least to make the best
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of it, so doing as we would be done by one. There is
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a mantle of love to be thrown over the faults of all one Peter four,
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verse eight two. Besides this, there is a robe of reverence to
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be thrown over the faults of parents and other superiors. Noah's prophecy b.
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C. Twenty three forty seven. And Noah awoke from his wine and knew
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what his younger son had done unto him, And he said, cursed be
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Canaan, a servant of servants. Shall he be unto his brethren. And
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he said, blessed be the Lord God of Shem, and Canaan shall be
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his servant. God shall enlarge Jacob, and he shall dwell in the tents
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of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant. Here first Noah comes to
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himself. He awoke from his wine, sleep cured him, and we may
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suppose so cured him that he never relapsed into that sin. Afterwards, those
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that sleep as Noah did should awake as he did, and not as that
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drunkard Properbs. Twenty three, thirty five, who says, when he awakes,
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I will seek it yet again. Second, the spirit of prophecy comes
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upon him, and like dying Jacob, he tells his sons what shall befall
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them? Chapter forty nine, Verse one one, he pronounces a curse on
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Canaan, the son of Ham verse twenty five, in whom Ham is himself
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cursed, either because this son of his was now more more guilty than the
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rest, or because the posterity of this son was afterwards to be rooted out
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of their land to make room for Israel. And Moses here records it for
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the animating of Israel in the Wars of Canaan. Though the Canaanites were a
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formidable people, yet they were of old and a cursed people, and doomed
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to ruin. The particular curse is a servant of servants, that is,
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the meanest and most despicable servant. Shall he be even to his brethren,
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those who by birth were his equals, shall by conquest be his lords.
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This certainly points at the victories obtained by Israel over the Canaanites by which they
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were all either put to the sword or put under tribute Joshua nine twenty three
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Judges, Chapter one, Verses twenty eight, thirty, thirty three, and
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thirty five, which happened not till about eight hundred years after this. Note
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one, God often visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, especially
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when the children inherit the father's wicked dispositions and imitate the father's wicked practices and
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do nothing to cut off the entail of the curse. Two. Disgrace is
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justly put upon those that put disgrace upon others, especially that dishonor and grieve
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their own parents. An undutiful child that mocks at his parents is no more
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worthy to be called a son, but deserve to be made as a hired
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servant, nay, as a servant of servants among his brethren. Three.
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Though divine curses operate slowly, yet first or last they will take effect.
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The Canaanites were under a curse of slavery, and yet for a great while
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had the dominion for a family, a people. A person may lie under
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the curse of God, and yet may long prosper in the world till the
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measure of their iniquity, like that of the Canaanites, be full. Many
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are marked for ruin that are not yet ripe for ruin. Therefore, let
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not thy heart envy sinners. Two He entails a blessing upon Shem and Japeth.
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First, he blesses Shim, or rather blesses God for him, yet
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so that it entitles him to the greatest honor and happiness imaginable verse twenty six.
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Observe one. He calls the Lord the God of Shem, and happy
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thrice. Happy is that people whose God is the Lord some one hundred and
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forty four Verse fifteen. All blessings are included in this. This was the
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blessing conferred on Abraham and his seed. The God of Heaven was not ashamed
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to be called their god Hebrews eleven sixteen. Shem is sufficiently recompensed for his
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respect to his father by this that the Lord himself puts this honor upon him
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to be his God, which is a sufficient recompense for all our services and
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all our sufferings for his name. Two he gives to God the glory of
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that good work which Shem had done. And instead of blessing and praising Him
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that was the instrument. He blesses and praises God that was the author.
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Note the glory of all that is at any time well done by ourselves or
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others, must be humbly and thankfully transmitted to God, who works all our
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good works in us and for us. When we see men's good works,
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we should glorify not them, but our Father Matthew five sixteen. Thus David
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in effect blessed Abigail when he blessed God that sent her for Samuel twenty five,
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Verses thirty two and thirty three. For it is an honor and a
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favor to be employed for God and used by Him in doing good. Three.
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He foresees and foretells that God's gracious dealings with Sem and his family would
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be such as would evidence to all the world that He was the God of
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Shem, on which behalf thanksgivings would by many be rendered unto him. Blessed
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be the Lord, God of Shim. Four it is intimated that the church
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should be built up and continued in the posterity of Shim. Four of him
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came the Jews, who were for a great while the only professing people God
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had in the world. Five. Some think references here had to Christ,
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who was the Lord God, that in his human nature should descend from the
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loins of Shim. For of him, as concerning the flesh, Christ came.
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Six Canaan is particularly enslaved to him. He shall be his servant.
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Note those that have the Lord for their God shall have as much of the
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honor and power of this world as He sees good for them. Two,
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He blesses Japeth, and in him the isles of the Gentiles, which were
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peopled by his seed. God shall enlarge Japeth, and he shall dwell in
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the tents of Shim verse twenty seven. Now, first, some make this
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to belong wholly to Japith, and to denote either first his outward prosperity,
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that his seed should be so numerous and so victorious that they should be masters
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of the tents of Shem, which was fulfilled when the people of the Jews,
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the most eminent of SEM's race, were tributaries to the Grecians first and
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afterwards to the Romans, both of Japith's seed. Note outward prosperity is no
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infallible mark of the true Church. The tents of Shim are not always the
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tents of the conqueror. Or Secondly, it denotes the conversion of the gentiles
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and the bringing of them into the Church. And then we should read it.
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God shall persuade Japith, for so the word signifies, and then being
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so persuaded, he shall dwell in the tents of Shim. That is,
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Jews and Gentiles shall be united together in the Gospel fold. After many of
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the Gentiles shall have been proselytized to the Jewish religion, shall be one in
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Christ Ephesians two, verses fourteen and fifteen. And the Christian Church, mostly
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made up of the Gentiles, shall succeed the Jews in the privileges of church
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membership, the latter having first cast themselves out by their unbelief. The Gentiles
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shall dwell in their tents Romans eleven, verse eleven. Note it is God
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only that can bring those again into the Church who have separated themselves from it.
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It is the power of God that makes the Gospel of Christ effectual to
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salvation Romans one sixteen. And again, souls are brought into the church not
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by force, but by persuasion Psalm one hundred and ten, verse three.
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They are drawn by the cords of a man and persuaded by reason to be
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religious. Second, others divide this between Japoth and Shem, Shem having not
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been directly blessed Verse twenty six. First, Japith has the blessing of the
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earth beneath. God shall large Japith, enlarge his seed, enlarge his border.
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Japith's prosperity peopled all Europe, a great part of Asia, and perhaps
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America. Note God is to be acknowledged in all our enlargements. It is
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He that enlarges the coast and enlarges the heart. And again, many dwell
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in large tents that do not dwell in God's tents, as Japeth did.
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Secondly, Shem has the blessing of heaven above He shall, that is God's
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shall dwell in the tents of Shem, that is, from his loins,
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Christ shall come, and in his seed the Church shall be continued. The
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birthright was now to be divided between Shem and Japith, Ham being utterly discarded
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in the principality which they equally share, Canaan shall be servant of both.
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The double portion is given to Japeth, whom God shall enlarge. But the
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priesthood is given to Shem. For God shall dwell in the tents of shim.
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And certainly we are more happy if we have God dwelling in our tents
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than if we had there all the silver and gold in the world. It
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is better to dwell in tents with God than in palaces without him. In
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Salem, whereas God's tabernacle there is more satisfaction than in all the isles of
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the gentiles. Thirdly, they both have dominion over Canaan. Canaan shall be
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servant to them, so some read it. When Jacob joins with Shem,
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Canaan falls before them. Both when strangers become friends, enemies become servants.
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And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years, And all the
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days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died. Here
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see first how God prolonged the life of Noah. He lived nine hundred and
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fifty years, twenty more than Adam, but nineteen less than Methuselah. This
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long life was a further reward of his single piety and a great blessing to
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the world, to which no doubt he continued a preacher of righteousness, with
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this advantage that now all he preached, too, were his own children.
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Two. How God put a period to his life at last. Though he
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lived long, yet he died having probably first seen many that descended from him.
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Dead before him, no one lived to see two worlds, but being
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an heir of the righteousness, which is by faith, when he died,
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he went to see a better than either. End of Chapter nine.