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

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Chapter eight. In the close of the foregoing chapter, we left the world
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in ruins and the Church in straits. But in this chapter we have the
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repair of the one and the enlargement of the other. Now the scene alters,
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and another face of things begins to be presented to us, and the
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brighter side of that cloud which there appeared so black and dark. For though
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God contend long, he will not contend forever, nor be always wrath.
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We have here numeral one, the earth made anew by the recess of the
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waters and the appearing of the dry land, now a second time, and
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both gradual number one. The increase of the waters is stayed Verses one and
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two number two. They begin sensibly to abate verse three, number three.
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After sixteen days ebbing, the arc rest verse four number one. After sixty
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days ebbing. The tops of the mountains appear above water. Verse five,
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number five. After forty days ebbing, and twenty days before the mountains appeared,
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Noah began to send out his spies, a raven and a dove to
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gain intelligence Verses six through twelve, number six. Two months after the appearing
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of the tops of the mountains, the waters had gone, and the face
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of the earth was dry verse thirteen, though not dried so as to be
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fit for man till almost two months after Verse fourteen Numeral two. Man placed
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anew upon the earth, in which number one Noah's discharge and departure out of
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the ark Verses fifteen through nineteen. Number two, his sacrifice of praise,
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which he offered to God upon his enlargement verse twenty number three, God's acceptance
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of his sacrifice, and the promise he made thereupon not to drown the world
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again Verses twenty one and twenty two. And thus at length mercy rejoices against
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judgment. The earth becomes dry b. C. Twenty three forty nine.
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And God remembered Noah and every living thing and all the cattle that was with
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him in the Ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth,
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and the waters assuaged the fountains. Also, the deep and the windows
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of Heaven were stopped, and the rain from Heaven was restrained, and the
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waters returned from off the earth continually, and after the end of one hundred
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and fifty days the waters were abated. Here is numeral one an act of
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God's grace. God remembered Noah and every living thing. This is an expression
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after the manner of men, for not any of his creatures Luke twelve,
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verse six, much less any of his people, are forgotten of God Isaiah
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forty nine, verses fifteen and sixteen. But number one, the whole race
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of mankind, except Noah and his family, was now extinguished and driven into
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the land of forgetfulness to be remembered. No more so that God's remembering Noah
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was the return of his mercy to mankind, of whom he would not make
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a full end. It is a strange expression Ezeko five, verse thirteen.
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When I have accomplished my fury in them, I will be comforted. The
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demands of divine justice had been answered by the ruin of those sinners. He
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had eased him of his adversaries Isaiah one, verse twenty four. And now
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his spirit was quieted Zachariah six, verse eight. And he remembered Noah and
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every living thing. He remembered mercy in wrath Habaka three, verse two.
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Remember the days of old Isaiah sixty three, verse eleven, Remember the Holy
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Seed, and then remembered Noah. Number two, Noah himself, the one
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that had found grace in the eyes of the Lord, yet seemed to be
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forgotten in the ark, and perhaps began to think himself so, For we
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do not find that God had told him how long he should be confined and
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when he should be released. Very good men have sometimes been ready to conclude
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themselves forgotten of God, especially when their afflictions have been unusually grievous and long.
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Perhaps Noah, though a great believer, yet, when he found the
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flood continuing so long after it might reasonably be presumed to have done its work,
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was tempted to fear lest he that shut him in would keep him in,
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and began to expostulate, how long wilt thou forget me? But at
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length God returned in mercy to him. And this is expressed by remembering him.
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Note those that remember God shall certainly be remembered by Him. How desolate
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and disconsolate, soever their condition may be, He will appoint them a set
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time and remember them Job fourteen, verse thirteen, number three. With Noah,
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God remembered every living thing. For though his delight is especially in the
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sons of men, yet he rejoices in all his works and hates nothing that
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he has made. He takes special care not only of his people's persons,
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but of their possessions, of them and all that belongs to them. He
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considered the cattle of Nineveh joonaph four, verse eleven, Numeral two an act
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of God's power over wind and water, both of which are at his beck,
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though neither of them is under man's control. Observe number one. He
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commanded the wind and said to that go, and it went. In order
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to the carrying off of the flood, God made a wind to pass over
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the earth. See here Subscript one. What was God's remembrance of Noah?
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It was his relieving him. Note those whom God remembers, he remembers effectually
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for good. He remembers us to save us, that we may remember him
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to serve him. Subscript too. What a sovereign dominion God has over the
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winds. He has them in his fist Proverbs thirty, verse four, and
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brings them out of his treasuries Psalms one hundred and thirty five, verse seven.
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He sends them when and whither and for what purposes he pleases. Even
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stormy winds fulfill his word Psalms forty eight, verse eight. It should seem
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while the waters increased there is no wind, for that would have added to
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the toss of the ark. But now God sent a wind when it would
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not be so troublesome. Probably it was a north wind, for that drives
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away rain. However it was a drying wind, such a wind as God
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sent to divide the Red Sea before Israel. Exodus fourteen, verse twenty one,
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number two. He remanded the waters and said to them come, and
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they came. Subscript one. He took away the cause. He sealed up
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the springs of those waters, the fountains of the Great Deep, and the
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windows of heaven. Note sub point one. As God has a key to
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open, so he has a key to shut up again, and to stay
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the progress of judgments by stopping the causes of them. And the same hand
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that brings the desolation must bring the deliverance to that hand. Therefore our eye
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must ever be he that wounds is alone able to heal. See Job twelve,
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verses fourteen and fifteen. Sub point two. When afflictions have done the
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work for which they are sent, whether killing work or curing work, they
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shall be removed. God's words shall not return void. Isaiah forty five,
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verse ten and eleven. Subscript two. Then the effects ceased, not all
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at once, but by degrees. The waters abated verse one. Returned from
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off the earth con tinually they were going and returning verse three, which denotes
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a gradual departure. The heat of the sun exhaled much, and perhaps the
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subterraneous cavern soaked in more. Note as the earth was not drowned in a
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day, so was not dried in a day. In the Creation, it
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was but one day's work to clear the earth from the waters that covered it
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and to make it dry land. Nay, it was but half a day's
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work Chapter one, verse nine ten. But the work of creation being finished.
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This work of providence was affected by the concurring influence of second causes,
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yet thus enforced by the almighty power of God. God usually works deliverance force
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people gradually, that the day of small things may not be despised, nor
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the day of great things despaired of Zacharia four, verse ten see Proverbs four,
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verse eighteen. And the ark rested in the seventh month on the seventh
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day of the month upon the mountains of Iraq, and the waters decreased continually
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until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of
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the month were the tops of the mountains seen. Here we have the effects
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and evidences of the ebbing of the waters. Number one, the ark rested.
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This was some satisfaction to Noah to feel the house he was in upon
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firm ground and no longer movable. It rested upon a mountain, whether it
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was directed not by Noah's prudence, He did not steer it, but by
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the wise and gracious providence of God, that it might rest the sooner.
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Note God has times and places of rest for his people after their tossings,
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and many a time he provides for their seasonable and comfortable settlement without their own
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contrivance, and quite beyond their own foresight. The arc of the church,
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though sometimes tossed with tempest and not comforted Isaiah fifty four, verse eleven,
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yet has its rest Acts nine, verse thirty one. Number two. The
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tops of the mountains were seen like little islands appearing above the water. We
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must suppose that they were seen by Noah and his sons, for there was
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none besides to see them. It is probable that they had looked through the
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window of the ark every day, like the longing mariners. After a tedious
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voyage to see if they could discover land or as the prophet's servant first Kings
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eighteen verses forty three and forty four. And at length they spy ground and
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enter the day of discovery in their journal. They felt ground about forty days
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before they saw it, according to doctor Lightfoot's computation, whence he infers that
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if the waters decreased proportionally, the ark drew eleven cubits in water. And
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it came to pass at the end of forty days that Noah opened the window
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of the ark which he had made, and he sent forth a raven,
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which went forth to and fro until the waters were dried up from off the
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earth. Also he sent forth a dove from him to see if the waters
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were abated from off the face of the ground. But the dove found no
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rest for the soul of her foot, and she returned unto him into the
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ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. Then
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he put forth his hand and took her and pulled her in unto him into
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the ark, and he stayed yet other seven days, and again he sent
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forth the dove out of the ark, and the dove came into him in
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the evening, and lo in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off.
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So Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he
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stayed yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove, which returned not
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again unto him any more. We have here an account of the spies which
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Noah sent forth to bring him intelligence from abroad. A raven and a dove.
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Observe here numer one that though God had told Noah particularly when the flood
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would come even to a day Chapter six, verse four, yet he did
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not give him a particular account by revelation at what times and by what steps
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it should go away. Number One, because the knowledge of the former was
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necessary in his preparing the ark and settling himself in it. But the knowledge
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of the latter would serve only to gratify his curiosity, and the concealing of
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it from him would be the needful exercise of his faith and patience. And
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number two, he could not foresee the flood but by revelation, but he
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might by ordinary means discover the decrease of it, And therefore God was pleased
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to leave him to the use of them. Numeral two that though Noah,
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by faith expected his enlargement, and by patience waited for it. Yet he
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was inquisitive concerning it, as one that thought it long to be thus confined.
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Note desires of release out of trouble, earnest expectations of it, and
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inquiries concerning its advances toward us will very well consist with the sincerity of faith
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and patience. He that believes does not make haste to run before God,
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but he does make haste to go forth to meet him. Isaiah thirty eight,
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verse sixteen. Particularly number one, Noah sent forth a raven through the
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window of the ark, which went forth, as the Hebrew phrase is going
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forth and returning, that is, flying about and feeding on the carcasses that
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floated, but returning to the ark for rest, probably not in it,
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but upon it. This gave Noah little satisfaction. Therefore, number two he
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sent forth a dove, which returned the first time with no good news,
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but probably wet and dirty. But the second time she brought an olive leaf
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in her bill, which appeared to be first plucked off a plain, indication
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that now the trees, the fruit trees, began to appear above water.
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Note here subscript one, that Noah sent forth the dove the second time seven
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days after the first time, and the third time was after seven days two,
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And probably the first sending of her out was seven days after the sending
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forth of the raven. This intimates that it was done on the Sabbath day,
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which it should seem Noah religiously observed in the ark. Having kept the
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Sabbath in the solemn assembly of his little church, he then expected special blessings
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from Heaven and inquire concerning them. Having directed his prayer, he looked up
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Psalms five, verse three, subscript two. The dove is an emblem of
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a gracious soul which, finding no rest for its foot, no solid peace
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or satisfaction in this world, this deluged, defiling world returns to Christ,
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as to its Ark, as to its Noah. The carnal heart, like
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the raven, takes up with the world and feeds on the carrions if finds
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there. But return thou to thy rest, o my soul, to thy
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Noah. So the word is Psalms. One hundred and sixteen, verse seven,
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Oh, that I had wings like a dove to flee to him.
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Psalms fifty five, verse six And as Noah put forth his hand and took
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the dove and pulled her into him into the ark, so Christ will graciously
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preserve and help and welcome those that fly to him for rest. Subscript three.
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The olive branch, which was an emblem of peace, was brought not
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by the raven, a bird of prey, nor by a gay and proud
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peacock, but by a mild, patient, humble dove. Is a dovelike
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disposition that brings into the soul earnest of rest and joy. Subscript four.
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Some make these things an allegory. The Law was first sent forth like the
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raven, but brought no tins of the assuaging of the waters of God's wrath
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with which the world of mankind was deluge. Therefore, in the fullness of
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time, God sent forth his Gospel as the dove, in the likeness of
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which the Holy Spirit descended. And this presents us with an olive branch and
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brings in a better hope. And it came to pass in the six hundredth
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and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month,
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the waters were dried up from off the earth, and Noah removed the
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covering of the ark, and looked, and behold the face of the ground
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was dry. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day
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of the month, was the earth dried. Here is number one, the
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ground dry verse thirteen. That is all the water carried off it, which
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upon the first day of the month, a joyful New Year's day, it
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was. Noah was himself an eye witness of He removed the covering of the
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ark, not the whole covering, but so much as would suffice to give
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him a prospect of the earth about it, And a most comfortable prospect he
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had, for behold, behold in wonder, the face of the ground was
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dry. Note subscript one. It is a great mercy to see ground about
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us. Noah is more sensible of it than we are, For mercies restored
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are much more affecting than mercies continued upscript two. The divine power, which
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now renewed the face of the earth, can renew the face of an afflicted,
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troubled soul and of a distressed, persecuted church. He can make dry
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ground to appear even when it seemed to have been lost and forgotten. Psalm
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eighteen, verse sixteen, Number two, The ground dried Verse fourteen, so
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as to be a fit habitation for Noah observe. Though Noah saw the ground
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dry the first day of the first month, yet God would not suffer him
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to go out of the ark till the twenty seventh day of the second month.
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Perhaps Noah, being somewhat weary of his restraint, would have quitted the
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arc at first, but God, in his kindness to him, ordered him
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to stay so much longer. Note God consults our benefit rather than our desires,
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for he knows what is good for us better than we do for ourselves.
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And how long it is fit our restraint should continue, and desired mercy
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should be delayed. We should go out of the ark before the ground is
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dried, and perhaps as the door be shut, are ready to remove the
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covering and to climb up some other way. But we should be satisfied that
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God's time of showing mercy is certainly the best time, when the mercy is
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ripe for us and we are ready for it. And God spake on Noah,
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saying, go forth of the ark, thou and thy wife, and
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thy sons and thy son's wives with thee, Bring forth with THEE every living
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thing that is with thee of all flesh, both a fowl and of cattle,
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and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, that they may
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breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful and multiply upon the earth.
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And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his
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son's wives with him, every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl,
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and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth. After their kinds went forth out of
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the Ark. Here is numeral one Noah's dismission al the Ark, Verses fifteen
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through seventeen. Observe number one. Noah did not stir till God bade him,
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as he had a command to go into the Ark, Chapter seven,
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verse one, So how tedious soever his confinement there was, he would wait
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for a command to go out of it again. Note, we must in
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all our ways acknowledge God and set him before us in all our removes.
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Those only go under God's protection, that follow God's direction and submit to his
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government. Those that steadily adhere to God's word as their rule and are guided
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by His grace as their principle, and take hents from His providence to assist
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them in their application of general directions to particular cases, may in faith see
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him guiding their motions in their march through this wilderness. Number two. Though
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God detain him long, yet at last he gave him his discharge. For
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the vision is for an appointed time, and at the end it shall speak.
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It shall speak truth Habaka two, verse three, it shall not lie.
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Number three. God had said, come into the Ark, which he
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says, not come forth, but go forth, which intimates that God,
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who sent in with him, stayed with him all the while till he sent
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him out safely, for he has said, I will not leave thee.
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Number four. Some observe that when they were ordered into the Ark, the
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men and the women were mentioned separately Chapter six, verse eighteen, Thou and
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thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons wives. Hence they infer
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that during the time of morning they were apart, and their wives apart Zachariah
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twelve, verse twelve. But now God did, as it were new,
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marry them, sending out, knowing his wife together, and his sons and
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their wives together, that they might be fruitful and multiply. Number five.
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Noah was ordered to bring the creatures out with him, that having taken the
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care of feeding them so long, and been at so much pains about them,
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he might have the honor of leading them forth by their armies and receiving
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their homage. Numeral two Noah's departure when he had his dismission, as he
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would not go out without leave, so he would not, out of fear
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or humor, stay in where he had leave, but was in all points
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observant of the heavenly vision. Though he had been now a full year and
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ten days a prisoner in the ark, yet when he found himself preserved there
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not only for a new life, but for a new world, he saw
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no reason to complain of his lung confinement. Now observe Number one. Noah
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and his family came out alive, though one of them was a wicked hand,
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whom, though he escaped the flood, God's justice could have taken away
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by some other stroke. But they were all alive. Note when families have
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been long continued together and no breaches made among them, it must be looked
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upon as a distinguishing favor and attributed to the lord's mercies. Number two.
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Noah brought out all the creatures that went in with him, except the raven
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and the dove, which probably were ready to meet their mates. At their
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coming out. Noah was able to give a very good account of his charge,
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for of all that were given to him, he had lost none,
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but was faithful to him that appointed him pro hac vice on this occasion high
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steward of his household Noah's sacrifice b See twenty three forty eight. And Noah
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builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast and of
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every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar, And the Lord
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smelled a sweet savor. And the Lord said in his heart, I will
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not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for the imagination of
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man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I again smite any more
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everything living as I have done, while the earth remaineth seed, time and
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harvest, and cold, and heat and summer and winter, and day and
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night shall not cease. Here is numeral one Noah's thankful acknowledgment of God's favor
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to him in completing the mercy of his deliverance Verse twenty number one. He
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built an altar. Hitherto he had done nothing without particular instructions and commands from
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God. He had a particular call into the ark and another out of it,
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But altars and sacrifices, being already of divine institution for religious worship,
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he did not stay for a particular command. Thus, to express his thankfulness,
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those that have received mercy from God should be forward in returning thanks,
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and do it not of constraint, but willingly. God is pleased with free
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will offerings and praises that wait for him. Noah was now turned out into
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a cold and desolate world, where one would have thought this first care would
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have been to build a house for himself. But behold, he begins with
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an altar for God. God that is the first, must be first served,
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and he begins well, that begins with God. Number two, he
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offered a sacrifice upon his altar of every clean beast and of every clean foul
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one. The odd seventh that we read of Chapter seven, verses two and
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three. Here observe Subscript one. He offered only those that were clean,
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for it is not enough that we sacrifice, but we must sacrifice that which
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God appoints according to the law sacrifice, and not a corrupt thing. Subscript
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two. Though his stock of cattle was so small, and that rescued from
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ruin at so great an expanse of care and pains. Yet he did not
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grudge to give God his dues out of it. He might have said,
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have I but seven sheep to begin the world with? And must one of
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these seven be killed and burnt for sacrifice? Were it not better to defer
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it till we have greater plenty? No, to prove the sincerity of his
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love and gratitude, He cheerfully gives the seventh to his God as an acknowledgement,
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meant that all was his, and owing to him. Serving God with
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our little is the way to make it more. And we must never think
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that wasted with which God is honored Subscript three. See here the antiquity of
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religion. The first thing we find done in the new world was an act
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of worship Jeremiah six, verse sixteen. We are now to express our thankfulness
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not by burnt offerings, but by the sacrifices of praise and the sacrifices of
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righteousness, by pious devotions and a pious conversation Numeral two. God's gracious acceptance
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of Noah's thankfulness. It was a settled rule in the patriarchal age. If
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thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted. Noah was so four.
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Number one, God was well pleased with the performance Verse twenty one. He
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smelt a sweet savor, or, as it is in the Hebrew, a
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savor of rest from it, as when he had made the world at first
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on the seventh day he read, tested, and was refreshed. So now
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that he had new made it in the sacrifice of the seventh he rested.
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He was well pleased with Noah's pious zeal and those hopeful beginnings of the new
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world, as men are with fragrant and agreeable smells. Though his offering was
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small, it was according to his ability, and God accepted it, Having
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caused his anger to rest upon the world of sinners, He here calls his
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love to rest upon this little remnant of believers. Number two. Hereupon he
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took up a resolution never to drown the world again. Herein he had an
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eye not so much to know a sacrifice as to Christ's sacrifice of himself,
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which was typified and represented by it, and which was indeed an offering of
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a sweet smelling savor. Ephesians five, Verse two. Good security is here
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given, and that which may be relied upon. Subscript one, that this
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judgment should never be repeated. Noe might think, to what purpose should the
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world be repaired, when, in all probability for the wickedness of it,
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it will quickly be in like manner ruined again. No, says God,
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it never shall. It was said Chapter six, verse six, it repented
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the Lord that he had made man. Now Here he speaks as if it
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repented him that he had destroyed man. Neither means a change of his mind,
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but both a change of his way. It repented him concerning his servants.
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Deuteronomy thirty two, verse thirty six. Two ways this resolve is expressed.
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Sub Point one, I will not again curse the ground. I will
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not add to curse the ground any more. God had cursed the ground upon
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the first entrance of sin Chapter three, verse seventeen. When he drowned it,
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he added to that curse. But now he determines not to add to
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it any more. Sub Point two. Neither will I again smite any more
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every living thing. That is, It was determined that whatever ruin God might
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bring upon particular persons, or families or countries, he would never again destroy
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the whole world till the day shall come when time shall be no more.
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But the reason of this resolve is very surprising, for it seems the same
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an effect with the reason given for the destruction of the world. Because the
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imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth Chapter six, verse five.
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But there is this difference there. It is said the imagination of man's heart
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is evil continually, that is, his actual transgressions continually cry against him.
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Here it is said it is evil from his youth or childhood. It is
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bred in the bone. He brought it into the world with him. He
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was shapen and conceived in it. Now one would think it should follow therefore
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that guilty race shall be wholly extinguished, and I will make a full end.
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No, therefore I will no more take this severe method. Four.
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First, he is rather to be pitied, for it is all the effect
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of sin dwelling in him. And it is but what might be expected from
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such a degenerate race. He is called a transgressor from the womb. And
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therefore it is not strange that he deals so very treacherously Isaiah forty eight,
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verse eight. Thus God remembers that he is flesh corrupt and sinful Psalms seventy
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eight, verse thirty nine. Secondly, he will be utterly ruined, for
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if he be dealt with according to his deserts, one flood must succeed another
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till all be destroyed. See here Number one that outward judgments, though they
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may terrify and restrain men, yet cannot of themselves sanctify and renew them.
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The grace of God must work with those judgments. Man's nature was as sinful
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after the deluge as it had been before. Number two, that God's goodness
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takes occasion from man's sinfulness to magnify itself. The more his reasons of mercy
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are all drawn from himself, not from anything in us. Subscript two,
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that the course of nature should never be discontinued Verse twenty two. While the
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earth remaineth and man upon it, there shall be summer and winter, not
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all winter as have been this last year, day and night, not all
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night, as probably it was while the rain was descending Here. Sub Point
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one. It is plainly intimated that this earth is not to remain always.
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It and all the works in it must shortly be burnt up. But we
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look for new heavens and a new earth, when all these things must be
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dissolved. But sub point two, as long as it does remain, God's
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providence will carefully preserve the regular succession of times and seasons, and cause each
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to know its place. To this we owe it that the world stands and
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the wheel of nature keeps its track. See here how changeable the times are,
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and yet how unchangeable. First the course of nature always changing, as
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it is with the times, so it is with the events of time.
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They are subject to vicissitudes day and night, summer and winter, counter changed.
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In heaven and hell it is not so. But on Earth God has
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set the one over against the other. Secondly, yet never changed. It
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is constant in this inconstancy, these seasons have never ceased, nor shall cease.
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While the sun continued such a steady measurer of time, and the moon
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such a faithful witness in heaven. This is God's covenant of the day and
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of the night, the stability of which is mentioned for the confirming of our
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faith in the covenant of grace, which is no less inviolable. Jeremiah thirty
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three, Verses twenty and twenty one. We see God's promises to the creatures
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made good, and thence infer that his promises to all believers shall be so.
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End of Chapter eight