at önce destroyed all Mankind by Plague, or Thunder from Heaven, or fome other fudden ftroke, excepting Noah and his Sons, who fhould be Eye-witneffes of this Terrible Execu tion, and live to fee the Earth covered with dead Bodies, and none left to bury them; and their Cities lye wafte and defolate without Inhabitants; who can conceive what the horror of fuch a fight would have been? who would have been contented to live in fuch a World, to converfe only with the Images of Death, and with noifome Carkaffes? But God in great mercy shut up Noah in the Ark, that he should not fee the Terror and Confternation of Sinners when the Flood came; and he washed away all their dead Bodies into the Caverns of the Earth, with all the Marks and Signs of their Old Habitations, that when Noah came out of the Ark, he faw nothing but a new and beautiful World; nothing to disturb his Imagination, no Marks or Remains of that Terrible Vengeance.

This indeed deftroyed all other living Creatures, as well as Sinners, excepting those that were in the Ark with Noah: but this, I fuppofe, is no great Objection againft Providence, that the Creatures, which were made for Man's use, were deftroyed with Man, fince God preserved fome of each Kind for a new Increase; and yet the Wisdom of God was very visible in this; for had the World been full of Beafts, when there were but four Men in it, the whole Earth would quickly have been poffeffed by Wild and Savage Creatures, which would have made it a very unfafe Habitation for Men.

To conclude this Argument, the Sum of it in fhort is this; When the Wickedness of Mankind Y 2

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was grown univerfal and incurable, it became the Wisdom of God to put an end to that Corrupt State, and to propagate a new Race of Men from a Righteous Stock; and to take the moft effectual courfe to poffefs them with a lafting Belief of his Being and Providence, and with a religious Awe of his Juftice and Power: To this end he deftroyed the Old World with a Deluge of Water, and preferved Noah and his Sons in the Ark; which had all the Advantages imaginable to deter Men from Sin, which brought a Deluge upon the Old World; and to encourage the Practice of true Piety and Vertue, which preferved Noab from the Common Ruin.

We fee in this Example, that Numbers are no defence against the Divine Juftice, and therefore no fecurity to Sinners; when all flesh had corrupted his ways, God deftroyed them all; nay we fee, that the more wickedness prevails in the World, the nearer it is to Deftruction; that the great multitude of Sinners is so far from being a reasonable temptation and encouragement to Sin, that it is a fair warning to confidering Men, to feparate and diftinguish themselves from a wicked World by an exemplary Vertue, that God may diftinguifh them alfo, when he comes to Judgment, which an univerfal corruption of Manners fhews to be very near; and it is a dangerous thing to fin with a multitude, when the multitude of Sinners will haften Vengeance.

Here we fee, that though Sinners may be very fecure, they are never fafe; as our Saviour obferves, it was in the days of Noah, they were eating and drinking; marrying and giving in marriages, until the day that Noah went into the Ark, and knew

not

not until the flood came, and took them all away, 24. Matth. 37, 38, 39. God may delay Punishment a great while, and feem to take no notice of what is done below, till Sinners begin to think, that he is fuch a one as themselves; but their Judgment all this while neither flambers, nor Sleeps; there may be the greatest Calm, and the fereneft days, before the most terrible Earthquakes; and the longer God has kept filence, the more reason have we to expect a fevere and furprizing Vengeance; which makes the Pfalmift's Advice in fuch Cafes very feasonable; Now confider this ye that forget God, left I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

And who would be afraid, or be ashamed of Noah's fingularity, to be good alone, and to be the fingle Example of Piety and Virtue, that remembers, that he alone with his three Sons, were faved from the Deluge? And he that would be a Noah in the Ark, must be a Noab in a wicked World.

But this is fufficient to juftify the Wisdom of Providence as to Noah's Flood, which put an end to the Old World; and now let us take a view of the New.

Notwithstanding that late terrible Example of God's Power and Juftice in the Destruction of the Old World, that new Generation of Men began to grow very corrupt; as God forefaw they would, but refolved to try fome new methods, and not to drown the World any more: When Noah had offered a Burnt-offering to the Lord, of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, after his coming out of the Ark, The Lord fmelled a sweet favour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curfe the ground any more for man's fake; for the imagination of Man's heart is evil from

his youth: Neither will I again fmite any more every living thing, as I have done, 8. Gen. 20, 21.

The firft Exploits we hear of them, was their building the Tower of Babel; which Story is fo briefly related by Mofes, that we cannot give a perfect account of the Reasons and Circumftances of it. The most probable Account feems to be this; that Nimrod the Son of Cufh, and Grandfon of Ham, in which Line true Religion and Piety firft decayed, affecting an Universal Empire, to prevent the difperfion of the People, perfuaded them to build a magnificent Seat for his Empire, which fhould be a Center of Union for them, at what diftance foever they fhould be forced to remove: That the whole Earth fhould be but one Kingdom, and Babel the Royal Palace. Had this Defign fucceeded, the whole World would have been but one People, and the Univerfal Monarchy in the Line of Ham, which would quickly have endangered as general a corruption of Mankind, as there was before the Flood.

Let us then confider what Course God took to prevent this, and the excellent Wisdom of it; which we have an account of, 11. Genef. 7, 8. That God confounded their language, fo that they could not understand one another's Speech; and by this means, Scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth, and they left off to build the City. Now not to take notice, that this was the most ready way to people the whole Earth, even the remotest Corners of it, which was for the great Good of Mankind; found them work to do, forced them upon the invention of Ingenious Arts, and by the Benefit of Trade and Commerce, made every Country, which was not wanting to it self, a little World, and every part

to

to enjoy all the Pleasures and Advantages of the whole I fay, befides this, it was the most likely way that could be used at that time, to prevent the Universal Corruption of Mankind. For,

1. This feparated the Families of Sem and Japhet from the Family of Ham, where the Infection was already begun; and would have fpread apace by the advantage of Power and Empire. When Cain had flain his Brother Abel, God fent him away out of Adam's Family, that his Prefence and Example might do no hurt; and if by the daughters of Men in 6. Genef. we underftand, as fome good Expofitors do, those who defcended of Cain; and by the fons of God, the Pofterity of Seth, in whofe Family the Worship of the true God was preferved, we may obferve, that Mofes dates the general Corruption of Mankind from the Union of thefe two Families When the Sons of God faw the daughters of Men, that they were fair, and took them Wives of all which they chofe. And had the Universal Empire been established in the Family of Ham, and the Pofterity of Sem and Japhet been brought into fubjection to them, as they muft in a fhort time have been, what lefs could have been expected from fuch a Union and Government, but another Antediluvian Corruption of all Flesh?

This dispersion then was neceffary to prevent a general Corruption; but we see in the Example of Cain, that a meer local feparation is no Security, for they may come together again, as the Sons of God and the Daughters of Men in process of time did. And therefore,

2dly. The moft lafting difperfion and feparation is by a confufion of Languages, which hin ders all intercourfe and communication; at leaft till there be a Remedy found against it by learn

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