Page images
PDF
EPUB

The circumstance is mentioned as a melancholy proof of human frailty. When we read such examples of frailty in the pious; when we see a Noah acting so inconsistently with the conduct of a long life; a David plunging into such guilt after such communion with God; a Solomon indulging in idolatry after so much wisdom from on high; a Peter denying his Lord after such warm protestations to him,-when we see such examples, what shall we say, my dear brethren? Shall we justify their offence? Shall we be led to think lightly of sin? Shall we palliate our own offences by their example? Ah! thousands of souls now in hell, by thus abusing these histories, have undone themselves. No; let us be led to fear and distrust ourselves-to exercise a holy jealousy over our own hearts-to feel our need of constant and renewed supplies of grace and the necessity of continual watchfulness and prayer, if we would be secure not to be confident because we have triumphed over great temptations-and to live near to God.

While Noah was in this degraded situation, he was treated with impious irreverence by his son Ham, while Shem and Japhet displayed their filial regard for him. Awaking from his sleep, and inspired by the Spirit of prophecy, he uttered that remarkable prediction in which the future destinies of the nations springing from his sons were represented: "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brethren: Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japhet, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant." It is not my intention in detail to show you the accomplishment of this prediction. It cannot, however, but strengthen our

[blocks in formation]

faith in the divine oracles, to observe briefly how perfectly it corresponds with the records of history. Does Noah declare that Canaan shall be in subjection to his brethren? See the Canaanites subdued by the Israelites, the descendants of Shem; see the inhabitants of Syria, Tyre, and Carthage, who also sprung from Canaan, subjugated by the Greeks and Romans, the descendants of Japhet. "There never," says Jos. Mede, " has been a son of Ham who has shaken a sceptre over the head of Japhet. Shem has subdued Japhet, and Japhet subdued Shem; but Ham never subdued either." Is it declared that God will in a peculiar manner be the God of Shem? The majority of true worshippers, till the coming of Christ, were among his descendants; and from him, according to the flesh, Messiah sprung. Is Japhet to be enlarged? He was the progenitor of more than half the human race. Was he to dwell in the tents of Shem? Under the Greek and Roman empires, and in subsequent ages, his offspring possessed that authority and dominion which had formerly belonged to the children of Shem. I repeat it-I only glance at these points. It would be easy, did our time permit, to show that all nations and ages concur in verifying this prediction, and that it is indeed, in abridgment, the history of the world.

After surviving the flood three hundred and fifty years, and seeing the world again peopled, Noah sunk into the grave.

You have observed, my brethren, that I have not examined those objections which infidels have made against this part of the sacred history. This would have led me aside from the great design of these lectures. Besides, they have been too often refuted to render a particular examination necessary. A thou

sand times has it been triumphantly shown, that the deluge is an event attested not only by the word of God, but by the traditions of every nation that ever existed, and by numerous facts in nature which cannot otherwise be explained. A thousand times has it been triumphantly shown, that there is nothing in the relation of Moses inconsistent with the strictest principles of philosophy. But even if there were serious difficulties, what then? Could they not be surmounted by Omnipotence? Can the Infinite God do nothing beyond the comprehension of a worm? To all the vain cavils of the infidel we need only answer," Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God."

From the time of Noah, the duration of human life gradually diminished till it was fixed at the present standard. Many writers have endeavoured to discover natural causes for the longevity of the antedeluvians. Their attempts are vain; the preservation of the human frame for so long a period, must be resolved into the will and the power of that God in whom we live. Many moral causes of the protraction of their lives readily occur to us: the earth was thus sooner filled with inhabitants; and knowledge, which in those ages was preserved by tradition, was thus more certainly and safely handed down to posterity. Even before the flood, we see circumstances in the sacred history, which teach us that these long lives are not to be regarded as special blessing; since those who soonest left this earth, were Abel and Enoch, the favourites of heaven. Immortality upon earth is a blessing only to innocent man. man depraved and unhappy it would be a curse. And in proportion as corruption increased, did it become an act of mercy in God to abridge the measure

To

of our days. What inconceivable woes must the church have felt, had the Neros, the Dioclesians, and other persecutors, lived to a patriarchal age! What torrents of blood would have deluged the earth, had the Cæsars, the Alexanders, and other scourges of mankind attained the years of Methuselah! What violence, what rapacity, what heavendaring offences should we every where behold, if the ungodly could look forward to centuries yet to be spent upon earth! Christian, it is in mercy that you are not kept so long from the world of holiness and felicity, from the enjoyment of your God and Saviour. Sinner, it is in mercy that you are not permitted to heap up a greater weight of sin. Enough is accumulated in the narrow limits of human life to crush you. Child of affliction, it is in mercy that your woes are hastening to an end-that there is just before you that peaceful habitation where "the wicked cease from troubling-where the weary are at rest.”

The destruction of the old world by water is the pledge of a more awful destruction which awaits it. "The world that then was," says St. Peter, "being overflowed with water, perished. But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. [2 Pet. iii. 6,7.] Do you live regardless of that awful day of the Lord, immersed in business or pleasure? So did they before the flood-they ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all." Do you disbelieve it, and scoff at those who live in the patient expectation and full belief of it? The scoffs of these impious men were as bitter, their taunts as loud, their

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

confidence as great, as yours; yet mark their doom! Were they unexpectedly surprised? "The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night; and when men cry peace, sudden destruction shall overtake them." Were their lamentations useless, and their supplications unavailing, when the flood commenced? In vain will you cry for mercy; in vain will you lament your past folly, and bewail almost with tears. of blood your neglect of the offers of salvation. The time of mercy will have past, and justice will be inexorable. Live then habitually mindful of that day when a still more awful desolation than that of the old world shall envelop the globe-when the Lord shall descend in the majesty of his power, in the splendours of his glory, "taking vengeance on all that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of Jesus; when the earth shall be enwrapped in flames, and the heavens flee from the face of their Creator -when you and I and all men must appear before him-when all who have not fled for safety to the Redeemer must experience his vengeance. May we be prepared to stand then fearless and undaunted.

[ocr errors]

Finally, let us direct our eyes from Noah to the Redeemer whom he typified. His name is indeed rest to the weary and heavy-laden, comfort to the miserable and disconsolate. In the midst of a perverse generation, he gave a bright example-the only image of unspotted purity ever exhibited on earth. He was "a preacher of righteousness," and declared the counsels of his Father; but, alas! few regarded his instructions. By him alone are all mankind delivered from the divine judgments. Through his sacrifice the curse is removed, and his children accepted. And with him is the everlasting covenant established; through him its blessings flow; to him

« PreviousContinue »