this part of the Bible contains all we know of the hiftory of the world, for above fixteen hundred`· years.

Gen. vi. 13. and chap. vii, viii, ix. we read of the fad effects of fin in the hiftory of the flood; wherewith not only one part, but the whole earth was covered, as appears; as alfo of the prefervation of the feveral creatures, and particularly of mankind: We have here also an account how the world was again replenished. It is fruitlefs to enquire how the waters could cover the whole earth, any further than by the fame power of God who made all things; for the ground of our belief thereof is not founded upon any natural causes, which we can affign; but we believe it, because Mofes has informed us of it, who was divinely in fpired.

Here we may obferve, First, Concerning clean beafts, that, as the diftinction of clean and unclean beafts was made by the law of Mofes; fo this was written for thofe who understood the law and the expreffion. Some think, that as at first God might give people direction for facrificing, (of which before;) fo he might alfo direct what beafts were fit for facrificing, that is, clean; and what were not, or unclean; which Noah, as a prophet, could difcern ". Secondly, That God was pleafed to preferve fome living witneffes of the world's being deftroyed by a flood of water, that the memory of fuch an inftance of God's juftice,

power,

* Gen. vii. 19. compared with 2 Pet. ii. 5. and iii. 6. y chap. vii. 2. Z Aliter Grotius. Aut immunda intelligi debent ea quæ Hominum victus naturaliter defugit, quæ profana dixit Tacitus Hiftoriarum 6. nifi malis accipere, quæ herbis aluntur; immunda, qua aliis pafcuntur animalibus. De Verit. R. Chriftiane, lib. v. fect. 9. Annotat.

power, and hatred of fin might be preferved to fucceeding generations. Thirdly, That it is no fecurity to ungodly perfons, that there are great numbers of them: And therefore none ought to encourage themfelves in wickednefs, becaufe there are fo many like themfelves; but rather for that cause, they ought to be fo much the more apprehenfive of speedy and dreadful judgments: For becaule all flesh bad corrupted themselves, because of the greatness of their number, they were fo much the nearer to their deftruction. Fourthly, That the love and goodness of God is manifeft, in that he was pleafed to renew the promife made at the beginning of the fubjection of the creatures to man; and to give them for his nourishment; and not only (as before) the green herb, but alfo living creatures; and further, to fecure mankind from all fears of a deluge any more for ever, promifing for the future, that there fhould not any more be a flood to destroy the earth; and making the rain. bow to be a visible token of his covenant, between himself and all flesh, &c. Although the rainbow is occafioned by a reflexion of the rays of the fun, from a hollow cloud, or falling drops of rain; yet since every cloud is not fitly dif pofed to bring forth a rainbow, we know not if there were any fuch before the flood: It is fufficient, that for the future it was to be a fign of God's covenant. Fifthly, The ark was a type and figure of the church of Chrift, as Noah and his family. were of the members thereof: Whofe prefervation in the flood alfo prefigured our redemption by the laver of regeneration, or baptifm, as St. Peter explains it, The like figure cohereunto, even baptifm, doth now fave us. Sixtbly, From hence for

X 2

ward

a Gen. ix. 2, 3.

b Cen. ix. II.

C I Pet. iii. 20, 2

ward it pleafed God to cut fhort the life of man, about half what it was before; and in the next age afterwards, man's life was again reduced to a much fhorter space.

Gen. x. gives us an account of the numerous offspring of Shem, Ham, and Japhet, the three fons of Noah: By whom, and their pofterity, in fucceffive ages, and by degrees more and more, the earth was replenished, or the feveral parts of the world inhabited. Of which three fons, though they are reckoned in the order mentioned; yet Ham was the younger, and Japhet the elder f, but God preferred Shem, as he afterwards did Jacob, who was younger than Efau.

h

They had a pattern from the ark, for making veffels to fail on the waters, whereby the ifles of the Gentiles were divided in their lands 8, no doubt thofe ifles at the first which were neareft, and afterwards those more remote.. By ifles in the Jewish language, are meant not only fuch places as we strictly call ifles, being on all fides furrounded by the fea; but any countries which cannot be come at but by fea, or which are beyond the sea. And although America be at a greater distance from the reft, there might be fome paffages, efpecially northwards, which opened a nearer courfe to fome part of that country, which have not been as yetdifcovered by latter ages: Befides, the customs that modern travellers obferve amongst the American people, agreeable to other nations, is an argument that all at the first were derived from the fame flock; fuch as, offering facrifice to expiate fins, folemn marriage, &c. which conformity could not

d Gen. v. 32. and elsewhere. £ Chap. x. 21.

1 Jer. xxv. 22.

& Gen. x. 5.

proceed

e Gen. ix. 22, 24. h Mede, Difc. 49.

k

proceed from the reafon itself of facrificing, as a proper and natural means of expiation, (as hath been obferved before;) nor from any natural notions common to all mankind; but from a general tradition, derived down from fome common parents. A perfon who lately made a voyage to the South Sea, gives the following account: "There are many opinions about the peopling of Ameribut the most reasonable to me is, that it was "peopled from Tartary, by way of the North-Pole; "where they fuppose it to join with some part of "Afia. This I think very probable, because the

66

ca;

Spaniards, who come yearly hither from Manila "or Luconia, one of the Philipine iflands in the "East Indies, are forced to keep in a high latitude, "for the benefit of wefterly winds, and have of

66

ten founded, finding ground in lat. 42. N. in "feveral places of the ocean, betwixt the East "Indies and America; which makes me conclude "that there must be more land, &c". So that no one can properly object against the peopling of America by the defcendants of Noah, unlefs he could give an exact defcription of the limits of North America, and fet forth all its borders.

The objection concerning different fpecies of beafts, and other living creatures, being found in America, which are not known in other parts, is of no weight, fince we alfo find divers animals peculiar to fome countries, which are not in others on the fame continent, as elephants, &c.

As for the negroes, or blacks which are in Egypt, and other parts of Africa, it is evident that thefe countries were peopled by fome of the defcendants of Ham or Cham, one of the fons of

Noah;

* Captain Woodes Rogers Cruizing Voyage, An. 1712. P. 324. Grotius, Aliiq; in Gen. x. 6.

1

Noah; because it is faid ", that Jacob fojourned in the land of Ham, which means Egypt, whither Jacob and his family went from Canaan. Again, the very name of Egypt, in Hebrew, is Mizraim, from Mizraim, one of the fons of Ham, by whom and his defcendants Egypt was at firft planted. From the Pfalmift's calling Egypt the land of Ham, it feems probable that Ham went thither himself, and there fettled with his fon Mizraim. Some have obferved that the denomination of the word Ham or Cham, imports, that the blacks defcended from him; for the Hebrew Cham fignifies hot, and Chum black or fun-burnt, from Chamam to be hot: From which they conceive, that as the people of Africa were originally defcended from Cham, fo their colour was always the fame. And it has been obferved, that there are many negroes in Lisbon, as black as in Africa, though their progenitors had been tranfported into Portugal many years ago: So that the different qualities of the air and climate are not the caufe of the alteration of colour ".

Gen. xi. I, to 10. we read the defign of building an exceeding high tower to preferve a name that the builders might be famous and renowned among pofterity; and how God prevented it, by confounding their language; which came to pals fomewhat above one hundred years after the flood. This confufion of tongues did not only ferve to prevent the building of Babel, but was a ready way to people the earth, by difperfing mankind; which was done in an orderly manner, every one af

m Pfalm cv. 23, 27.

ter

Lahontan's View of NorthAmerica, Vol. I. Letter 23. p. 190. • Which being the caufe affigned by Mofes, it feems needlefs to inquire after other motives. See Ainfworth and Patrick in loc.