LUTHER ON SIN AND THE FLOODCOMMENTARY ON GENESIS

BY

JOHN NICHOLAS LENKER, D. D. 

TRANSLATOR OF LUTHER'S WORKS INTO ENGLISH;AUTHOR OF "LUTHERANS IN ALL LANDS"

VOL. IISECOND THOUSAND

The Luther PressMINNEAPOLIS, MINN. , U. S. A. 1910

_DEDICATION_. 

To all interested in studying the Christian Missionary problems of"the last times" of the modern world, this volume is dedicated. 

Copyright, 1910, by J. N. LENKER. 

_FOREWORD_. 

The first volumes of the "American Luther" we selected for publicationwere his best commentaries, then eight volumes of his Gospel andEpistle sermons and one volume of his best catechetical writings. These rich evangelical works introduced us to the real Luther, not thepolemical, but the Gospel Luther. They contain the leaven of thefaith, life and spirit of Protestantism. We now return to hisspiritual commentaries on the Bible which are the foundation of allhis writings. The more one reads Luther the greater he becomes as astudent of the One Book. 

Contents of This Volume. 

This, the second volume of Luther's great commentary on Genesis, appears now in English for the first time. 

It covers chapters four to nine inclusive of Genesis. The subjectsdiscussed are: Cain's murder, his punishment, Cain's sons, Seth andhis sons, the wickedness of the old world, the ark, Noah's obedience, the universal destruction, the salvation of Noah's family, hissacrifice, his blessing, the rainbow covenant, Noah's fall, Ham cursedand Shem and Japheth blessed. These great themes are discussed byMoses and Luther. They have vital relations to problems pertaining tothe end of the modern world. Our hope and prayer are that God may usethis volume to make the book of Genesis and the whole Old Testament agreater spiritual blessing to the Church and that it may serve theservants of God in these latter days in calling people to repentance, faith and prayer like Noah and Luther did. 

In his "Dear Genesis" Luther proved that the free Evangelical religionhe taught was not new, but as old as the first book of the Bible, andthat it does not consist in outward forms, organizations and pomp, butin true faith in Christ in our hearts and lives. Genesis contains theonly historic records accessible of the first 2364 years of the 4004years before Christ. It is worthy of study in our day as it was in thedays of the Reformation. 

Acknowledgments. 

Luther advised no one should translate alone and he practiced what hetaught. We have followed his rule and example. Pastor C. B. Gohdes ofBaltimore translated chapter six and President Schaller of MilwaukeeTheological Seminary, chapters five, seven, eight and nine. 

Inaccuracies may be due to the revision and editing, and not to thetranslators, for every good translation must be fluent and idiomatic, to secure which is the most difficult task. Pastor Gohdes alsorendered valuable help in the final revision of parts. The translationof the analyses is by the undersigned. 

The few last pages of the first edition of volume one we revised andreprint in this volume in order to make the pages of each volume ofour edition to correspond with the German and Latin volumes of theErlangen edition. The paragraphs are numbered and the analyses givenaccording to the old Walch edition. 

_Luther and World-Evangelization_. 

In translating Luther into practical English in practical America, andin this age that is growing more and more practical, we need to bereminded that this work is for practical use and purposes. Luther wasradical along Bible lines in applying the truth personally and to theworld. 

It is a year since the last volume of the "American Luther" appeared. The delay was caused by an effort to raise the work to a higherstandard and by the publication of a book on "The True Place ofGermans and Scandinavians in the Evangelization of the World", not arevision of, but a new companion volume to "Lutherans In All Lands"that appeared seventeen years ago. By comparing these two books onehas the best evidence of the marvelous progress of God's Kingdom inrecent years, and the growing world-significance of Luther'sevangelistic writings. Evangelization at home and abroad is thepopular religious theme today in the German fatherland and in thewhole Protestant world. The word "world" is becoming so common itsfull meaning is not appreciated. When world-evangelization isdiscussed, it is too often from the standpoint of the nationdiscussing it. Each nation is so active in its own work that it failsto appreciate what others are doing. For example how little the worldmissionary conferences in English lands have to say of the German andScandinavian missions and the Reformed Churches of the Lutheran work. Hence the fruits of Luther's evangelical writings are underestimatedby the English people. It is opportune to translate not only Lutherbut also the best fruits of those writings in various languages duringthe past 400 years, especially since the memorable date of 1917 issoon to be celebrated by universal Protestantism. Luther in alllanguages and Lutherans in all lands go together. We ought to considermost carefully the great Reformer in his relation to the modern worldand modern world-evangelization. The known world in his day was not solarge. He had, however, a clear view of it all in his writings, whichis due to his faithful study of the Scriptures. The Bible gave him aknowledge of the world, including all lands and all times. Hiscommentary of eleven volumes on Genesis illustrates this. The firstvolume on Genesis treats of the first part of the ancient world; thesecond volume, the one before us, treats of the second part and end ofthe old world. This Luther would have us apply to the last times ofthe modern world. 

Luther Educational and Devotional. 

Here, as everywhere in his catechisms, sermons and commentaries, Luther is unique among religious authors in that he is botheducational and devotional, appealing equally to head and heart. He is"religiously helpful and intellectually profitable, " covering everyphase of religious, moral and social conditions, and touching everyinterest of humanity. "His words went to the mark like bullets andleft marks like bullets. " Being beyond criticism they have a uniqueplace to fill in the literature and libraries of the world. 

Although the cry, "Read Luther!" has been raised here in the new worldthe multitudes of the English people are not rushing for his writings, as the Germans did when they first appeared in the old world, underconditions similar to what they are in America at present. If askedwhat made the German people what they are, the answer is, thesewritings, so universally circulated and read. If the Anglo-Saxonsappreciated their educational and devotional value the 35, 000 copiescirculated the last seven years would easily, as a professorsuggested, be increased to a hundred thousand copies. 

Nations Helping Nations. 

The world-consciousness is growing, so is the national consciousness. Both are characteristic of our times. Perhaps never did the nationalspirit develop as in recent years. The great powers, instead ofdividing China, witness the national spirit growing everywhere--inJapan, China, India, Africa, South America, Norway, Sweden, as well asin Germany, England, Russia and the United States. This is a goodsign, for the world-family is composed of nations, and each nation hasat least one talent not to be crushed, but with which to serve all theothers. One serves the world when he serves his nation. Luther'swords, "I live for my countrymen", illustrates this. It is not thenations that have the largest armies and navies that are the greatestblessing to the world, but the nations that work out the bestChristian civilization for the world to imitate and send over theearth the best farmers to show other nations and tribes how tocultivate the earth, the best teachers, preachers and authors to trainthe people, the best medical skill to relieve human suffering, thebest mechanics and servants, the greatest philanthropists, the bestChristians. In educational, industrial, medical and charitable missionwork the nations dominated by Luther's writings stand high. Nations, like individuals, are the greatest which serve others best; not thenations which have the most territory, but nations which do thegreatest service for the whole human family. The students missionarymovement develops men, and the laymen's missionary movement raisesmoney. Both are needed, but men must be trained to do their work inthe best way and the money be used to bring the best results. Hencenations should help and study one another most carefully with this inview. Luther and his writings in the evangelization of Europe oughtnot to be overlooked in the evangelization of other continents. Byhelping abroad the home does not suffer. Among American Lutherans theNorwegians prove this, for they have done the most for the heathen andhave the best home mission work. 

Transition and Translation or Transition and Revolution. 

While we are translating Luther for all Anglo-Saxons, we do notoverlook the fact that Luther's disciples, Germans and Scandinavians, are themselves being translated, or are in a state of transition. Thetranslation of a people and of their literature or spirit clearlypresents a double problem, both sides of which demand at once the mostcareful work. The translation of both the people and their literatureshould run parallel and in the same, and not in an opposite, direction. Germans and Scandinavians have always, and do still, makethe fatal blunder of translating from English into their ownlanguages, instead of from their languages into English. They thuscross one another's path never to meet again. Their children andgrandchildren, however, find it easier to translate into English, their mother tongue; but, alas, they have little interest in doing it. They make the mistake in thinking their old thoughts and classics arenot needed in the new language. Their motto seems to be, "newliterature for the new language", when to the English public, if notto themselves, the old writings would be the newest. It is marveloushow wide-awake preachers are mislead. 

Best Literature is Translations. 

People who are prejudiced against translations, forget that the Bibleand our best literature are translations of the classics of theworld's leading languages. Translations should be welcomed by a peoplewho themselves are in a state of translation, especially if thetranslations are from their mother tongue into the language they arelearning. What endless friction and confusion would be avoided, ifpeople and their life and literature were translated at the same time. As we have said, a transition of a people without a translation oftheir literature is no transition, but a revolution. To this variouschurch bodies witness. During the transition of language the bestliterature for the children to read is the translations of theclassics of the language of the parents. There may be betterliterature, but not for these particular children, if the unity of thefamily life is to be perpetuated. Hence it becomes a vital concernthat both children and parents understand that the best literature forthem is such translations. But where are the German or Scandinavianteachers and preachers who are enthusing over putting this thoughtdeep into the family life of their congregations. 

A Lesson from Luther and Wesley in America. 

What unwisdom even to attempt to build up the Lutheran Christian lifein free, aggressive Protestant Anglo-Saxon civilization withoutLuther's writings in good Anglo-Saxon! Muhlenberg (b. 1711; d. 1787)and Wesley (b. 1703; d. 1791) came to America about the same time. Wesley returned home in 1738 after a stay of two years in the south. Muhlenberg spent his ministerial life of 45 years (1742-1787) inAmerica, in the Keystone state, in and near Philadelphia, themetropolis of the new world. When the two Palatinate Germans fromLimerick County, Ireland, Philip Embury and Barbara Heck, alay-preacher and a godly woman, held the first Methodist service inAmerica, in 1766, in New York City, the Lutheran faith had beenplanted here by the Dutch since 1657 in the same city, by the Swedeson the Delaware since 1639, (Torkillus), by the Germans since 1708(Kocherthal); Muhlenberg had arrived in Philadelphia in 1742, builtchurches the following year in Philadelphia and "The Trappe", andorganized the Synod of Pennsylvania among its 60, 000 Lutherans in1748. All these Lutherans to some extent learned, preached andconfirmed in English. Muhlenberg was naturalized in 1754 as a subjectof Great Britain. This and his stay in England gave an Anglican turnto his German pietism. When we became a free people in 1776, theMethodists had only 20 preachers and 3418 members in America and lessthan 76, 000 followers in Europe from which to receive immigrantmembers, while the Lutherans were strong here and in Europe. TodayAmerican Methodists report 60, 737 churches, and the Lutherans 13, 533. Why did Wesley's followers become the dominating religious force inAmerica? Not because Wesley and his writings were greater than Lutherand his writings. Methodists did not bear Wesley's name, but they didhave his spirit and writings. Even to the present day every Methodistpreacher must pass an examination in Wesley's writings beforeordination. Where were Luther's spirit and writings among his earlyAmerican followers?

Language is no more a barrier to Luther's spirit than to Wesley's. Methodism forged its way from English into German, Norwegian, Danishand Swedish and among Indians, Mexicans and Negros. People, regardlessof language, color or condition, could not help but learn what realspiritual Methodism is. It was preached and sung in such simple, plainAnglo-Saxon, and in good translations, that it could not bemisunderstood nor misrepresented. Wesley's simple evangelical messagewas abroad in the land in the hearts of the people. But theevangelical voice of Luther, the prince of translators, was hardlyheard and even today the English world has no clear popular view ofwhat spiritual Evangelical Lutheranism is. Often when they speak ofit, they seem to think it is the opposite of what it is. Germans, Scandinavians and all know the spiritual side of Methodism, but theEnglish world does not know the spiritual side of Lutheranism, and itnever will until Luther's spiritual writings are translated intoreadable English and circulated broadcast over the land, and thehearts of the people come into direct and close touch with the heartof the great Reformer himself. 

The English world knows the statistics, the numerical strength ofLutherans. That needs no apology. But what does need a defense amongAmericans is the spirituality of the Lutherans. That is developed bythe translations into the plainest vernacular of God's Word andLuther's evangelical sermons and commentaries. These are the bestliterature for young Germans and Scandinavians. Although translations, and not perfect, they are the best for them. The Bible first; Luther'sspiritual writings second, not first nor third. Have not Lutherans inAmerica been following the disciples of Luther instead of Luther;while Methodists have followed Wesley and not Wesley's disciples. TheDutch, Swedish and German Lutherans in the east, all learned English. We say it was a transition, but was it not a revolution? Their historystands forth as beacon lights of warning to the polyglot Lutheransmigrating to the ends of earth and learning all languages. They willno more keep up their faith with one language than the English nationwill keep up their trade by refusing to learn other languages. Strangeit is that nations can learn and use other languages in one line andnot in another--the English in church work and not in trade; theGermans in trade, but not in church work. 

It is said there are 30 million people in the United States with someGerman blood in their veins. Two thirds of these, or 20 millions, maybe said to have some Lutheran mixture in their makeup, but only oneand a half million of these 20 millions are communicant members ofEnglish and German Lutheran churches. What people in America can showa worse religious record? Yet the tenders of the sheep and lambs areafraid to feed them in the only way they can be fed. Verily whateveryou sow, that shall you also reap. Lift up your eyes, behold theharvest! Can you not discern the signs of the times?

It is no wonder that the United States Census of 1890, the latestreliable statistics on the subject, gave the number of Lutherancommunicants using only English in this English land at 198, 907;General Synod 143, 764; United Synod South 37, 457; General Council14, 297; Ohio Synod 287; Missouri Synod 1, 192--after 150 years of work. Our good German and Scandinavian parents, in the light of thesefigures, need not fear losing many members to purely English churches. "Reading Luther" in German, Swedish, Norwegian and English will bringbetter results to old and young than if read only in one language. TheChurch of the Reformation is not one-tongued, but many-tongued. 

English Luther in German and Scandinavian Churches. 

April 12th, 1910, became a memorable date in the North-west by theintroduction of the Scandinavian languages into all the high schoolsof Minneapolis. German and Scandinavian taxpayers are graduallybecoming more interested in having their children learn the languageof their mothers in the public schools. This will prove to be a greatblessing to children and home, society and state. The Church howeverwill blunder, if she thinks there will now be no need of circulatingEnglish literature in German and Scandinavian congregations. Translating Luther and teaching German and Scandinavian are two waysof doing the same thing, for language is not an end, but a means to anend. Many young people are being confirmed in English and they oftenattend services in foreign languages. Many know more of the languagethan of the matter preached. When weak in the language they understandbetter what is preached if they are familiar with the thought. Thereason many do not appreciate a sermon with the Luther ring is becausethey are familiar with neither the language nor the thought. Hence theneed of our young people becoming familiar with Luther's sermons andcommentaries in English. One understands better in a strange languagewhat he is familiar with. This familiar knowledge would help to bridgethe chasm between Lutheran parents and children. Ask parents and theywill tell about the "Old Luther Readers, " in their native land andtongue. All admit that if the young people are not interested to readLuther in English, they will never read him. All who do will thebetter understand sermons in German and Scandinavian. The universalreading of the English Luther, on the part of the young people, willtherefore help, and not harm, the German and Scandinaviancongregations. Luther's teachings thoroughly understood in a livingway will bind the young to their Christian convictions, as much as theknowledge of a language binds them to that language. The passiveinterest therefore, on the part of German and Scandinavian pastors andcongregations in circulating the English Luther, as far as their youngpeople are concerned, should give way to active interest, for the sakeof their own work in the future. It is important to learn yourmother's language. You may do that and forget her faith--Better retainthe faith than the language. 

J. N. Lenker. The Fiftieth Day (Pentecost), 1910. Minneapolis, Minn. 

COMMENTARY ON GENESIS. 

CHAPTER IV. 

IV. CAIN MURDERS HIS BROTHER; CALLED TO ACCOUNT. 

 A. HOW CAIN MURDERED HIS BROTHER. 

 1. What moved Cain to commit murder 107. 

 2. Cain's hypocritical actions in concealing his anger that he might the more easily commit the murder 108-109. 

 * Cain the picture of all hypocrites 110-129. 

 * The attitude of hypocrites to their neighbors. Also, how we are to view the efforts of the pope and bishops in behalf of peace and unity 111-112. 

 * Against what people we should most guard 112. 

 3. How Cain listened to no warning in his thoughts of murder 113. 

 * Complaint of the world's attitude to good admonition 114. 

 * The ways of the hypocrite. Also, why falsehood wears a friendly aspect 115. 

 4. Whether Cain's passion to murder Abel was noticeable 115. 

 5. Cain took no notice of Abel's sighing and praying 116. 

 * The origin of man's cruel and tyrannical nature 117. 

 B. HOW CAIN WAS CALLED TO ACCOUNT, AND HIS BEHAVIOR. 

 1. Who questioned Cain, and his defiant actions 118. 

 2. Cain accused himself most when he tried to clear himself 119. 

 * Liars speak against themselves, as is proved by examples 119-120. 

 3. Cain's vindication more foolish than that of the first parents in paradise 121. 

 * St. Martin will absolve the devil if he repents 122. 

 * Whoever excuses his sin follows the example of Satan and makes his case worse 123. 

 4. How Cain heaps sin upon sin 124. 

 5. Cain despairs and is in a worse state than our first parents after their fall 125. 

 6. How Cain placed himself in a position where nothing could help him 126. 

 7. Gently accused, and yet defiant 127. 

 8. Cain has not the least reverence for God or his father 128. 

 * This is a picture of all hypocrites 129. 

 9. How his defense ends 130. 

 * How man ought to act when his conscience accuses him of sin 131. 

 * The hypocrite's actions when his conscience is awakened, and what he is to do 132-133. 

 10. In Cain's defense wickedness and folly are mingled 134. 

 * How God reveals hypocrites 135. 

 * Moses says much in few words 136. 

 * Whether Abel and our first parents anticipated Cain's murder 137. 

 * Without a thought of what might restrain him, Cain commits the deed 138. 

 * The picture of the sacrifice of Iphigenia applied to Moses' description of Cain's murder 139-140. 

 * Cain's is no ordinary murder, and how he differs from other murderers 141. 

 * The hypocrite's hatred is different from other hatred, and is found among the Jews and the Papists 142-143. 

 * Cain the father of all murderers 144. 

 * How the first parents felt over this whole affair 145. 

 a. Their grief was so great that they could not have endured without special divine comfort 146. 

 b. Their severe trial in view of the first sin 147. 

 c. Very likely because of this murder they refrained so long from bearing children 148. 

 * Whether the first parents had at the time more children than Cain and Abel 148. 

 * Why Cain slew Abel, and how he did it 149. 

 11. The time and occasion when Cain was called to account 150. 

 12. Adam with the authority of God calls Cain to account 152. 

IV. HOW CAIN MURDERED HIS BROTHER AND WAS REQUIRED TO GIVE AN ACCOUNT, AND HOW HE CONDUCTED HIMSELF. 

A. How Cain Murdered His Brother. 

V. 8a. _And Cain told (talked with) Abel his brother. _

107. Our translation adds that Cain said: "Let us go out doors. " Butthis is one of the comments of the rabbins, whose relative claim tocredit I have fully shown on a previous occasion. Lyra, following theinvention of Eben Ezra, relates that Cain told his brother howseverely he had been rebuked of the Lord. But who would believestatements for which there is no authority in the Scriptures? We holdtherefore to an explanation which has the warrant of the Scriptures, namely that Cain, finding himself rejected of God, indulged his anger, and added to his former sins contempt of his parents and of the Word, thinking within himself: "The promised seed of the woman belongs to meas the first-born. But my brother, Abel, that contemptible, good-for-nothing fellow, is evidently preferred to me by divineauthority, manifest in the fire consuming his sacrifice. What shall Ido, therefore? I will dissemble my wrath until an opportunity oftaking vengeance shall occur. "

108. Therefore the words, "Cain told Abel his brother, " I understandto mean that Cain, dissembling his anger, conducted himself towardAbel as a brother, and spoke to him and conversed with him, as if hebore with good nature the sentence pronounced upon him by God. In thismanner also Saul simulated an attitude of kindness toward David. "Iknow well, " said Saul, "that thou shalt surely be king, " 1 Sam 24, 20;and yet he was all the while planning to prevent this by killingDavid. Just so Cain now conversed with Abel his brother, and said: Isee that thou art chosen of the Lord; I envy thee not this divineblessing, etc. This is just the manner of hypocrites. They pretendfriendship until an opportunity of doing the harm they intend presentsitself. 

109. That such is the true sense of the passage, all the circumstancesclearly show. For if Adam and Eve could have gathered the leastsuspicion of the intended murder, think you not that they would eitherhave restrained Cain or removed Abel, and placed the latter out ofdanger? But as Cain had altered his countenance and his deportmenttoward his brother, and had talked with him in a brotherly manner, they thought all was safe, and the son bowed to and acquiesced in theadmonition of his father. The appearance deceived Abel also, who, ifhe had feared anything like murder from his brother, would doubtlesshave fled from him, as Jacob fled from Esau when he feared hisbrother's wrath. What, therefore, could possibly have come into themind of Jerome when he believed the rabbins, who say Cain wasexpostulating with his brother?

110. Accordingly, Cain is the image and picture of all hypocrites andmurderers, who kill under the show of godliness. Cain, possessed bySatan, hides his wrath, waiting the opportunity to slay his brotherAbel; meanwhile he converses with him, as a brother beloved, that hemight the sooner lay his hands upon him unawares. 

111. This passage, therefore, is intended for our instruction in theways of murderers and hypocrites. Still Cain talks in a brotherlymanner with his brother, and, on the other hand, Abel still trustsCain as a brother should trust a brother; and thus he is murdered, andthe pious parents meanwhile are deceived. 

Just so the pope and the bishops of our day talk and confer muchconcerning the peace and concord of the Church. But he is mostassuredly deceived who does not understand that the exact opposite isplanned. For true is that word of the Psalm, "The workers of iniquityspeak peace with their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts, " Ps28, 3. For it is the nature of hypocrites that they are good inappearance, speak kindly to you, pretend to be humble, patient andcharitable, give alms, etc. ; and yet, all the while they planslaughter in their hearts. 

112. Let us learn, then, to know a Cain and especially to beware whenhe speaks kindly, and as brother to brother. For it is in this waythat our adversaries, the bishops and the pope, talk with us in ourday, while they pretend a desire for concord, and seek to bring aboutdoctrinal harmony. In reality, if an opportunity of seizing us andexecuting their rage upon us should present itself, you would soonhear them speak in a very different tone. Truly, "there is death inthe pot, " 2 Kings 4, 40; and under the best and sweetest words therelies concealed a deadly poison. 

V. 8b. _And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cainrose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. _

113. Here you see the deceptive character of those alluring words. Cain had been admonished by his father with divine authority to guardagainst sin in the future, and to expect pardon for that of the past. But Cain despises the twofold admonition, and indulges his sin, as allthe wicked do. For true is the saying of Solomon, "When the wickedcometh, there cometh also contempt, and with ignominy comethreproach, " Prov 18, 3. 

114. Our ministry at the present day deserves no blame. We teach, weexhort, we entreat, we rebuke, we turn ourselves every way, that wemay recall the multitude from security to the fear of God. But theworld, like an untamed beast, still goes on and follows not the Word, but its own lusts, which it tries to smooth over by a show ofuprightness. The prophets and the apostles stand before us asexamples, and our own experience is instructive, also. Ouradversaries, so often warned and convicted, know they are doing wrong, and yet they do not lay aside their murderous hate. 

115. Learn, then, what a hypocrite is; namely, one who lays claim tothe worship of God and to charity, and yet, at the same time, destroysthe worship of God and slaughters his brother. And all this semblanceof good-will is only intended to bring about better opportunities ofdoing harm. For, if Abel had foreseen the implacable wrath and thetruly diabolical anger, he would have saved himself by flight. But asCain betrayed no such anger, uttered a friendly greeting andmanifested his usual courtesy, Abel perished before he felt any fear. 

116. There is no doubt that Abel, when he saw his brother rising upagainst him, entreated and implored him not to pollute himself withthis awful sin. However, a mind beset by Satan pays no regard toentreaties, nor heeds uplifted hands, but as a father's admonition hadbeen disregarded, so now the brother is spurned as he pleads upon hisknees. 

117. Light is cast here upon the bondage to Satan by which our nature, entangled in sins, is oppressed. Hence Paul's expression, "children ofwrath, " Eph 2, 3, and the declaration that such are taken captive bySatan unto his will, 2 Tim 2, 26. For when we are mere men; that is, when we apprehend not the blessed seed by faith, we are all like Cain, and nothing is wanting but an opportunity. For nature, destitute ofthe Holy Spirit, is impelled by that same evil spirit which impelledwicked Cain. If, however, there were in any one those ample powers, orthat free will, by which a man might defend himself against theassaults of Satan, these gifts would most assuredly have existed inCain, to whom belonged the birthright and the promise of the blessedseed. But in that very same condition are all men! Unless nature behelped by the Spirit of God, it cannot maintain itself. Why, then, dowe absurdly boast of free-will? Now follows another remarkablepassage. 

B. How Cain Had to Give an Account, and His Conduct. 

V. 9. _And Jehovah said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And hesaid, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?_

118. Good God! into what depth of sin does our miserable nature fallwhen driven onward by the devil. Murder had been committed on abrother, and perhaps murdered Abel lay for days unburied. Thereupon, as Cain returned to his parents at the accustomed time, and Abelreturned not with him, the anxious parents asked him: Cain, thou arthere, but where is Abel? Thou hast returned home, but Abel has notreturned. The flock is without their shepherd. Tell us therefore, where thy brother is. Upon this, Cain, becoming abusive, makes answerto his parents, by no means with due reverence, "I know not: Am I mybrother's keeper?"

119. But it happened to Cain as to all the wicked, that by excusinghimself he accused himself, according to the words of Christ, "Out ofthine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant, " Luke 19, 22. Also the heathen had a striking proverb among them, "A liar ought tohave a good memory. " Such was the judgment of heathen men, though theyknew nothing of the judgment of God and of conscience, and had nothingto guide their judgment but their experience in civil affairs. Andtrue it is that liars run much risk of being discovered and unmasked. Hence the Germans have the proverb, "A lie is a very fruitful thing. "For one lie begets seven other lies, which become necessary to upholdthe first lie. And yet it is impossible, after all, to preventconscience from arousing and betraying itself at times, if not inwords, then in gestures. This is proved by numberless examples. I willcite only one example here:

120. In Thuringia there is a small town in the district of Orla, called Neustadt. In this town a harlot had murdered her infant, towhich she had secretly given birth, and had thrown it, after themurder, into a neighboring fishpond. Accidentally the little piece oflinen in which she had wrapped the infant, brought the horrid deed tolight. The case was brought before the magistrate; and as the simplemen of the place knew no better means of investigating the crime, theycalled all the young women of the town into the town hall and closelyexamined them, one by one. The face and the testimony of each one ofthese proclaimed her innocent. But when they came to her who was thereal perpetrator of the deed, she did not wait for questions to be putto her, but immediately declared aloud that she was not the guiltyperson. The contrast she presented to the others in making such hasteto defend herself, confirmed the suspicion of the magistrates. At onceshe was seized by the constables and put to death. 

Indeed, instances are innumerable and of daily occurrence which showthat people, in their eagerness to defend themselves, accusethemselves. Sin may, indeed, lie asleep, but that word which we havejust heard, is true. It lies at the door. 

121. Just so in the present case. Cain thinks he has made an effectualexcuse for himself by saying that he is not his brother's keeper. Butdoes he not confess by the very word "brother" which he takes upon hislips that he ought to be his keeper? Is not that equal to accusinghimself, and will not the fact that Abel is nowhere in evidence arousethe suspicion in the minds of his parents that he has been murdered?Just so also Adam excuses himself in paradise, and lays all the blameon Eve. But this excuse of Cain is far more stupid; for while heexcuses his sin he doubles it, whereas the frank confession of sinfinds mercy and appeases wrath. 

122. It is recorded in the history of St. Martin, that when heabsolved certain notorious sinners, he was rebuked by Satan for doingso. St. Martin is said to have replied, "Why, I would absolve eventhee, if thou wouldst say from thy heart, I repent of having sinnedagainst the Son of God, and I pray for pardon. " But the devil neverdoes this. For he persists in committing sin and defending the same. 

123. All liars and hypocrites imitate Cain their father, by eitherdenying their sin or excusing it. Hence they cannot find pardon fortheir sins. And we see the same in domestic life. By the defense ofwrong-doing, anger is increased. For whenever the wife, or thechildren, or the servants, have done wrong, and deny or excuse theirwrong-doing, the father of the family is the more moved to wrath;whereas, on the other hand, confession secures pardon or a lighterpunishment. But it is the nature of hypocrites to excuse and palliatetheir sin or to deny it altogether and under the show of religion, toslay the innocent. 

124. But here let us survey the order in which sins follow each otherand increase. First of all Cain sins by presumption and unbelief when, priding himself on the privilege of his birthright, he takes it forgranted that he shall be accepted of God on the ground of his ownmerit. Upon this pride and self-glorification immediately follow envyand hatred of his brother, whom he sees preferred to himself by anunmistakable sign from heaven. Upon this envy and hatred followhypocrisy and lying. Though he designs to murder his brother, heaccosts him in a friendly manner and thereby throws him off his guard. Hypocrisy is followed by murder. Murder is followed by the excusing ofhis sin. And the last stage is despair, which is the fall from heavento hell. 

125. Although Adam and Eve in paradise did not deny their sin, yettheir confession was lukewarm, and the sin was shifted from the one tothe other. Adam laid it on Eve, and Eve on the serpent. But Cain wenteven farther, for he not only did not confess the murder he hadcommitted, but disclaimed responsibility for his brother. And did notthis at once prove his mind to be hostile against his brother?Therefore, though Adam and Eve made only a half-hearted confession, they had some claim to pardon, and in consequence were punished withless severity. But Cain, because he resolutely denied his sin, wasrejected, and fell into despair. 

And the same judgment awaits all the sons of Cain, popes, cardinals, and bishops, who, although they plan murder against us day and night, say likewise, "I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?"

126. There was a common proverb of old, "What is it to the Romans thatthe Greeks die?" So we think that our dangers and calamities onlybelong to ourselves. But how does this principle agree with thecommandment of God? For his will is that we should all live together, and be to each other as brethren. Cain, therefore, by this very sayingof his, heavily accuses himself when he makes the excuse that thecustody of his brother was no affair of his. Whereas, if he had saidto his father, "Alas, I have slain Abel, my brother. I repent of thedeed I have done. Return upon me what punishment thou wilt, " theremight have been room for a remedy; but as he denied his sin, and, contrary to the will of God, disclaimed responsibility for his brotheraltogether, there was no place left for mercy or favor. 

127. Moreover, Moses took special pains in the preparation of thisaccount, that it might serve as a witness against all hypocrites, andas a chronicle containing a graphic description of their character andof the ire to which they are aroused by Satan against God, his Wordand his Church. It was not enough for this murderer that he had killedhis brother, contrary to the command of God, but he added the furthersin that he became filled with indignation and rage when God inquiredof him concerning his brother. I say, "when God inquired of him, "because, although it was Adam who spoke these words to his son Cain, yet he spoke them by the authority of God and by the Holy Spirit. Inview of so great a sin, was it not quite gentle to inquire, "Where isAbel thy brother?" And yet, to this word, which contained nothingsevere, the hypocrite and murderer is ferocious and proud enough toreply, "I know not. " And he is indignant that he should be called toan account concerning the matter at all. For the reply of Cain is thelanguage of one who resists and hates God. 

128. But to this sin Cain adds one still worse. Justly underindictment for murder, he presently becomes the accuser of God, andexpostulates with him: "Am I my brother's keeper?" He prefaces hisreply with no such expression of reverence or honor as is due both toGod and to his father. He did not say, "Lord, I know not. " He did notsay, "My Father, didst thou make me the keeper of my brother?" Suchexpressions as these would have indicated a feeling of reverencetoward God or toward his parent. But he answers with pride as if hehimself were the Lord, and plainly manifests that he felt indignationat being called to account by him who had the perfect right to do so. 

129. This is a true picture of all hypocrites. Living in manifestsins, they grow insolent and proud, aiming all the while to appearrighteous. They will not yield even to God himself and his Word whenupbraided by them. Nay, they set themselves against God, contend withhim, and excuse their sin. Thus David says, that God is judged of men, but that at length he clears and justifies himself, and prevails, Ps51, 4. Such is the insolence of the hypocrites Moses has hereendeavored to paint. 

130. But what success has Cain with his attempt? This, that hispowerful effort to excuse himself becomes a forcible self-accusation. Christ says, "Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wickedservant, " Lk 19, 22. Now, this servant wished to appear without guilt, saying: "I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thoudidst not sow; and I was afraid, and hid thy talent, " Mt 25, 24-25. Could he have brought a stronger accusation against himself, in viewof the fact that Christ immediately turns his words against him?Thereby Christ evidences the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. 

131. Such illustrations help us to learn not to contend with God. Onthe contrary when you feel in your conscience that you are guilty, take heed with all your soul that you strive neither with God nor withmen by defending or excusing your sin. Rather do this: When you seeGod point his spear at you, flee not from him; but, on the contrary, flee to him with a humble confession of your sin, and with prayer forhis pardon. Then God will draw back his spear and spare you. But when, by the denial and excuse of your sin, you flee farther and fartherfrom him, God will pursue you at close range with still greaterdetermination, and bring you to bay. Nothing, therefore, is better orsafer than to come with the confession of guilt. Thus it comes to passthat God's victory becomes our victory through him. 

132. But Cain and hypocrites in general do not this. God points hisspear at them, but they never humble themselves before him nor pray tohim for pardon. Nay, they rather point their spear at God, just asCain did on this occasion. Cain does not say, "Lord, I confess I havekilled my brother; forgive me. " On the contrary, though being theaccused, he himself accuses God by replying, "Am I my brother'skeeper?" And what did he effect with his pride? His reply wascertainly equal to the confession that he cared naught for the divinelaw, which says, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, " Lev 19, 18. And again, "Do not unto another that which you would not haveanother do unto you, " Mt 7, 12. This law was not first written in theDecalog; it was inscribed in the minds of all men. Cain acts directlyagainst this law, and shows that he not only cares nothing for it, butabsolutely despises it. 

133. In this manner, Cain represents a man who is not merely wicked, but who occupies such a height of wickedness as to combine hypocrisywith bloodshed, and yet is so eager to maintain the appearance ofsanctity that he rather accuses God than concedes the justice of theaccusation against himself. And this is what all hypocrites do. Theyblaspheme God and crucify his Son, and yet wish to appear righteous. For after their sins of murder, blasphemy and the like their whole aimis to seek means whereby to excuse and palliate the same. But theresult always is that they betray themselves and are condemned out oftheir own mouths. 

134. While Cain makes an effort to clear himself, he exhibits thefoulest stains. He thinks he made a most plausible excuse when hesaid, "Am I my brother's keeper?" But this very excuse becomes hismost shameful accusation. The maxim of Hilary, that wickedness andstupidity always go hand in hand, finds unvarying application. If Cainhad been as wise as he was wicked, he would have excused himself inquite a different manner. Now, under the operation of the divine rulethat wickedness and stupidity are running mates, he becomes his ownaccuser. The same principle operates in favor of the truth, and makesher defense against all adversaries easy. Just as Cain betrayed byword and mien his indifference and hate toward his brother, so alladversaries of the truth betray their wickedness, the one in this way, the other in that. 

135. Facts of importance and apt for instruction are, therefore, hereset before us. And their general import is that God does not permithypocrites to remain hidden for any length of time, but compels themto betray themselves just when they make shrewd efforts to hide theirhypocrisy and crime. 

136. Moses does not exhibit in his narrative the verbose dictioncharacteristic of pagan literature, where we often find one and thesame argument embellished and polished by a variety of colors. We findby experience that no human power of description can do justice toinward emotions. In consequence, verbosity, as a rule, comes short ofexpressing emotion. Moses employs the opposite method, and clothes agreat variety of arguments in scant phraseology. 

137. Above the historian used the expression, "when they were in thefield. " Thereby Moses indicates that the murderer Cain had watched hisopportunity to attack his brother when both were alone. All thecircumstances plainly show that Abel was not idle at the time; for hewas in the field, where he had to do the things his father committedto him. From Moses' statement we may infer that Abel's parents feltabsolutely no fear of danger. For, although at the outset they hadfeared that the wrath of Cain would eventually break out into stillgreater sin, Cain, by his gentleness and pretended affection, prevented all suspicion of evil on the part of his parents. For hadthere been the least trace of apprehension, they certainly would nothave permitted Abel to go from their presence alone. They would havesent his sisters with him as companions; for he no doubt had some. Orhis parents themselves would have prevented by their presence andauthority the perpetration of so great a crime. As already stated, also the mind of Abel was perfectly free from suspicion. For, had hesuspected the least evil at the hand of his brother, he woulddoubtless have sought safety by flight. But after he had heard thatCain bore the judgment of God with composure, and did not envy thebrother his honor, he pursued his work in the field with a feeling ofsecurity. 

138. What orator could do justice to the scene which Moses depicts inone word: "Cain rose up against his brother?" Many descriptions ofcruelty are to be found on every hand, but could any be painted asmore atrocious and execrable than is the case here? "He rose upagainst his brother, " Moses writes. It is as if he had said, Cain roseup against Abel, the only brother he had, with whom he had beenbrought up and with whom he had lived to that day. But not only therelationship Cain utterly forgot; he forgot their common parents also. The greatness of the grief he would cause his parents by such a gravecrime, never entered his mind. He did not think that Abel was abrother, from whom he had never received any offense whatever. ForCain knew that the honor of having offered the more acceptablesacrifice, proceeded not from any desire or ambition in Abel, but fromGod himself. Nor did Cain consider that he, who had hitherto stood inthe highest favor with his parents, would lose that favor altogetherand would fall under their deepest displeasure as a result of hiscrime. 

139. It is recorded in history of an artist who painted the scene ofIphigenia's sacrifice, that when he had given to the countenance ofeach of the spectators present its appropriate expression of grief andpain, he found himself unable to portray the vastness of the father'sgrief, who was present also, and hence painted his head draped. 

140. Such is the method, I think, Moses employs in this passage, whenhe uses the verb _yakam_, "Rose up against. " What tragical pictureswould the eloquence of a Cicero or a Livy have drawn in an attempt toportray, through the medium of their oratory, the wrath of the onebrother, and the dread, the cries, the prayers, the tears, theuplifted hands, and all the horrors of the other! But not even in thatway can justice be done to the subject. Moses, therefore, pursues theright course, when he portrays, by a mere outline, things too greatfor utterance. Such brevity tends to enlist the reader's undividedattention to a subject which the vain adornment of many wordsdisfigures and mars, like paint applied to natural beauty. 

141. This is true also of the additional statement, "He slew him. "Occasionally we see men start a quarrel and commit murder for atrivial cause, but no such ordinary murder is described here. Murderers of this kind immediately afterward are filled with distress;they grieve for the deeds they have done and acknowledge them to bedelusions of the devil by which he blinded their minds. Cain felt nodistress; he expressed no grief, but denied the deed he had done. 

142. This satanic and insatiable hatred in hypocrites is described byChrist in the words, "When they kill you, they will think that they doGod service, " Jn 16, 2. So the priests and the kings filled Jerusalemwith the blood of the prophets and gloried in what they did as a greatachievement; for they considered this as proof of their zeal for theLaw and the house of God. 

143. And the fury of popes and bishops in our day is just the same. They are not satisfied with having excommunicated us again and again, and with having shed our blood, but they wish to blot out our memoryfrom the land of the living, according to the description in thePsalm, "Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof, " Ps 137, 7. Such hatred is not human but satanic. For all human hatred becomesmellow in time; at all events, it will cease after it has avenged ourinjury and gratified its passion. But the hatred of these Phariseesassumes constantly larger dimensions, especially since it is smoothedover by a show of piety. 

144. Cain, therefore, is the father of all those murderers whoslaughter the saints, and whose wrath knows no end so long as thereremains one of them, as is proved in the case of Christ himself. Asfor Cain, there is no doubt of his having hoped that by putting Abelto death he should keep the honor of his birthright. Thus, the ungodlyalways think that their cruelty will profit them in some way. But whenthey find that their hope is vain they fall into despair. 

145. Now, when the fact of this shameful murder was made known to theparents, what do we think must have been the sad scenes resulting?What lamentations? What sighs and groans? But I dwell not on thesethings; they are for the man with the gifts of eloquence andimagination to describe. It was certainly a marvel that both parentswere not struck lifeless with grief. The calamity was rendered thegreater by the fact that their first-born, who had aroused so largehopes concerning himself, was the perpetrator of this horrible murder. 

146. If, therefore, Adam and Eve had not been helped from above, theycould never have been equal to this disaster in their home; for thereis nothing like it in all the world. Adam and Eve were without thatconsolation which we may have in sudden and unexpected calamities, namely, that like evils have befallen others and have not come upon usalone. Our first parents had only two sons, though I believe that theyhad daughters also; and therefore they lacked such instances of griefin the human family as we have before our eyes. 

147. Who can doubt, moreover, that Satan by this new species oftemptation increased greatly the grief of our first parents? They nodoubt thought, Behold, this is all our sin. We, in paradise, wished tobecome like God; but by our sin we have become like the devil. This isthe case also with our son. We loved only this son, and madeeverything of him! Our other son, Abel, was righteous before us, abovethis son; but of his righteousness we made nothing! This elder son wehoped would be he who should crush the serpent's head; but behold, hehimself is crushed by the serpent! Nay, he himself has become like theserpent, for he is now a murderer. And whence is this? Is it notbecause he was born of us, and because we, through our sin, are whatwe are? Therefore it is to our flesh; therefore it is to our sin, thatthis calamity must be traced. 

148. It is very probable, accordingly, and the events of the series ofyears which followed strengthen this probability, that the sorrowingparents, shaken to the core by their calamity, abstained for a longtime from connubial intercourse. For it appears that when Caincommitted this murder he was about thirty years of age. During thisperiod some daughters were born unto Adam. In view of the subsequentstatements, verse 17, that "Cain knew his wife, " he no doubt married asister. Moreover, since Cain himself says in verse 14, "It shall cometo pass that everyone that findeth me shall slay me", and as it isfurther said in verse 15, "The Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest anyfinding him should kill him"--it appears most probable from all thesecircumstances that Adam had many children besides Cain and Abel, butthese two only are mentioned, on account of their important andmemorable history, and because these two were their first and mostremarkable children. It is my full belief that the marriage of ourfirst parents was most fruitful during the first thirty years of theirunion. Somewhere Calmana and Dibora are mentioned as daughters ofAdam, but I know not whether the authors are worthy of credence. Inasmuch, therefore, as the birth of Seth is recorded as having takenplace a long time after this murder, it seems to me very probable thatthe parents, distressed beyond measure at this monstrous crime in thebosom of their family, refrained for a long time from procreation. While Moses does not touch upon all these things, he intimates enoughto arouse in the reader a desire to dwell upon the noteworthy eventswhich the absence of detailed information permits us to survey onlyfrom a distance. 

149. But I return to the text before us. Cain is an evil and wickedman, and yet, in the eyes of his parents, he is a divine possessionand gift. Abel, on the contrary, is in the eyes of his parentsnothing; but in the eyes of God he is truly a righteous man; anappellation with which also Christ honors him when he calls him"righteous Abel"! Mt 23, 35. This divine judgment concerning Abel, Cain could not endure, and, therefore, he thought that by murder notonly the hatred against his brother could be satisfied, but also hisbirthright be retained. But he was far from thinking that was sin; asthe first-born he thought he had exercised his right. He killed Abel, not with a sword, as I think, but with a club or a stone, for I holdthat there were as yet no iron weapons. 

150. After the murder, Cain remained unconcerned, for he thought thedeed could be concealed by hiding the body, which he buried, orperhaps cast into a river, thinking that thus it would surely remainundiscovered by his parents. 

When Abel, however, had been from home a longer time than had been hishabit, the Holy Spirit prompted Adam to inquire of Cain concerningAbel, saying, "Where is Abel thy brother?" The above-mentionedutterance of Adam, "If not, sin lieth at the door, " was a prophecywhich now began to come true. Cain thought he had laid his sin torest, and all would thus remain hidden. And true it was that his sindid lie at rest, but it lay at rest "at the door. " And who opens thedoor? None other than the Lord himself! He arouses the sleeping sin!He brings the hidden sin to light!

151. The same thing must come to pass with all sinners. For, unless byrepentance you first come to God, and yourself confess your sin toGod, God will surely come to you, to disclose your sin. For God cannotendure that any one should deny his sin. To this fact the psalmisttestifies: "When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through myroaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy uponme; my moisture was changed as with the drouth of summer. " Ps 32, 3-4. For, although sin has its sleep and its security, yet that sleep is"at the door"; it cannot long last, and the sin cannot remain hidden. 

152. When Moses introduces Jehovah as speaking, I understand him tomean, as above, that it was Adam who spoke by the Holy Spirit in theplace of God, whom he represented in his relation as father. Theexpression of the Holy Spirit, therefore, is intended to set forth thehigh authority of parents; when children dutifully hear and obeythese, they hear and obey God. And I believe Adam knew by therevelation of the Holy Spirit that Abel had been slain by his brother;for his words intimate the commission of murder at a time when Cainstill dissembled as to what he had done. 

V. CAIN PUNISHED FOR HIS MURDER. 

 A. CAIN'S PUNISHMENT IN GENERAL. 

 1. By whom and how he is punished 153. 

 2. Why he was not put to death 153. 

 * The double grief of the first parents 154. 

 * What was Adam's church and altar 155. 

 3. How Cain was excommunicated 156. 

 * God's inquiry about Abel's blood. 

 a. How unbelievers refer to it 157. 

 b. How a theologian should use it 158. 

 c. It is a great and important matter 159. 

 * How Abel's death is to be viewed 159. 

 d. Why God does not inquire after the blood of beasts 160-161. 

 e. Whether this inquiry was from God direct or made through Adam 162-163. 

 f. How Cain felt upon this inquiry 164. 

 * The result of sin to murderers and other sinners 165-166. 

 * An evil conscience the result of evil-doing 166. 

 g. How to understand the statement that Abel's blood crieth to heaven 167. 

 * How God's children are to comfort themselves when the world oppresses them and seemingly God refuses to help 168-171. 

 h. This inquiry is a sign of God's care for Abel 169. 

 * The blood of many Evangelical martyrs cry to the Papists 170. 

 * How God opportunely judges the afflictions of believers 171. 

 * Why God's vengeance does not immediately follow 172. 

 i. The time this inquiry occurred 173. 

 * God indeed has regard for the sufferings and tears of his children 174. 

 * How sinners can meet the judgments of God 174. 

 4. The miserable life Cain must have led after his punishment 175. 

 B. CAIN'S PUNISHMENT IN DETAIL. 

 1. The Church suffered. 

 a. How Cain's punishment and curse differed from Adam's 176-178. 

 b. Why Cain's person was cursed 178-179. 

 * The more Cain desired honor, the less he received 180. 

 * The beginning of both churches, the true and the false 181. 

 * Cain's whole posterity perished in sin 181. 

 c. How his curse and punishment were lightened 182. 

 * Whether any of Cain's posterity were saved, and holy 182. 

 * The way the heathen had part in the promise 182-185. 

 * The way Cain withheld his children from the true Church 185. 

 2. The Home suffered. 

 a. How this curse affected the earth 186-187. 

 b. Why Adam used such severe words in this curse 186. 

 c. How it caused the earth to be less fruitful 187. 

 * The difference between "Arez" and "Adama" 188. 

 3. The State suffered. 

 * What "No" and "Nod" mean, and how they differ 189-190. 

 * Cain's sin punished in three ways and in each the sin was mitigated 191-193. 

 * Cain a fugitive and a wanderer. 

 a. This refers chiefly to the true Church, as is illustrated by many examples of the saints 194-195. 

 b. It refers less to the false 194-195. 

 c. Many take offense at this 196. 

V. HOW CAIN WAS PUNISHED FOR HIS MURDER. 

A. Cain's Punishment in General. 

153. If Eve overheard these words, what think you must have been thestate of her mind! Her grief must have been beyond all description. But the calamity was brought home to Adam with even greater force. Ashe was the father, it fell to him to rebuke his son and toexcommunicate him for his sin. Since, according to the ninth chapter, the law concerning the death-penalty for murderers was not promulgateduntil afterward when the patriarchs beheld murder becoming alarminglyfrequent, Adam did not put Cain to death, but safeguarded his life inobedience to the prompting and direction of the Holy Spirit; still, itis a fact not to be gainsaid that the punishment ordained for him andall his posterity was anything but light. For in addition to thatcurse upon his body he suffered excommunication from his family, separation from the sight of his parents and from the society of hisbrothers and sisters, who remained with their parents, or in thefellowship of the Church. 

154. Now, Adam could not have done all this, nor could Eve have heardit without indescribable anguish. For a father is a father, and a sonis a son. Gladly would Adam have spared his son and retained him athome, as we now sometimes see murderers become reconciled to thebrothers of their victims. But in this case no place was left forreconciliation. Cain is bidden at once to be a fugitive upon the faceof the earth. The pain of the parents was doubled in consequence. Theysee one of their sons slain, and the other excommunicated by thejudgment of God and cut off forever from the fellowship of hisbrethren. 

155. Moreover, when we here speak of excommunication from the Church, it stands to reason that not our houses of worship, built inmagnificent style and ample proportions out of hewn stone, are meant. The sanctuary, or church, of Adam was a certain tree, or a certainlittle hill under the open heaven, where they assembled to hear theWord of God and to offer their sacrifices, for which purpose they haderected altars. And when they offered their sacrifices and heard theWord, God was present, as we see from the experience of Abel. 

Also elsewhere in the sacred story, mention is made of such altarsunder the open heaven, and of sacrifices made upon them. And, if weshould come together at this day under the open sky to bend our knees, to preach, to give thanks, and to bless each other, a custom would beinaugurated altogether beneficial. 

156. It was from a temple of this kind and from such a church, not aconspicuous and magnificent church at a particular place, that Cainwas cast out. He was thus doubly punished; first, by a corporalpenalty, because the earth was accursed to him, and secondly, by aspiritual penalty, because by excommunication, he was cast out fromthe temple and the church of God as from another paradise. 

157. Lawyers also have drawn upon this passage, and quite properlybrought out the fact that Jehovah first investigated the matter andthen passed sentence. Their application is, that no one should bepronounced guilty until his case has been tried; until he has beencalled to the bar, proved guilty and convicted. This, according to aprevious statement, was also done with Adam: "The Lord God called untoAdam, and said unto him. Where art thou?" Gen 3, 9. And further on: "Iwill go down now, and see whether they have done altogether accordingto the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know, " Gen11, 5; 18, 21. 

158. However, dismissing the matter in its bearings upon public life, let us view its more attractive theological features. The element ofdoctrine and of hope is found in the fact that Jehovah inquiresconcerning the dead Abel. Clearly there is pointed out to us here thetruth of the resurrection of the dead. God declared himself to be theGod of Abel, although now dead, and he inquired for the dead, forAbel. Upon this passage we may establish the incontrovertibleprinciple that, if there were no one to care for us after this life, Abel would not have been inquired for after he was slain. But Godinquires after Abel, even when he had been taken from this life; hehas no desire to forget him; he retains the remembrance of him; heasks: "Where is he?" God, therefore, we see, is the God of the dead. My meaning is that even the dead, as we here see, still live in thememory of God, and have a God who cares for them, and saves them inanother life beyond and different from this corporal life in whichsaints suffer affliction. 

159. This passage, therefore, is most worthy of our attention. We seethat God cared for Abel, even when dead; and that on account of thedead Abel, he excommunicated Cain, and visited him, the living, withdestruction in spite of his being the first-born. A towering factthis, that Abel, though dead, was living and canonized in another lifemore effectually and truly than those whom the pope ever canonized!The death of Abel was indeed horrible; he did not suffer death withoutexcruciating torment nor without many tears. Yet it was a blesseddeath, for now he lives a more blessed life than he did before. Thisbodily life of ours is lived in sin, and is ever in danger of death. But that other life is eternal and perfectly free from trials andtroubles, both of the body and of the soul. 

160. No! God inquires not after the sheep and the oxen that are slain, but he does inquire after the men who are slain. Accordingly menpossess the hope of a resurrection. They have a God who brings themback from the death of the body unto eternal life, a God who inquiresafter their blood as a most precious thing. The Psalmist says:"Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of his saints, " Ps 116, 15. 

161. This is the glory of the human race, obtained for it by the seedof the woman which bruised the serpent's head. The case of Abel is thefirst instance of such promise made to Adam and Eve, and God showed bythe same that the serpent did not harm Abel, although it caused hismurder. This was indeed an instance of the serpent's "bruising theheel" of the woman's seed. But in the very attempt to bite, its ownhead was crushed. For God, in answer to Abel's faith in the promisedseed, required the blood of the dead, and proved himself thereby to behis God still. This is all proved by what follows. 

V. 10. _And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother'sblood crieth unto me from the ground. _

162. Cain's sin hath hitherto lain at the door. And the precedingcircumstances plainly show how hard he struggled to keep his sinasleep. For being interrogated by his father concerning his brotherAbel and his whereabouts, he disclaimed knowledge of the matter, thusadding to murder lying. This answer of Cain is sufficient evidencethat the above words were spoken by Adam in his own person, and not byGod in his divine Majesty. For Cain believed that the deed was hiddenfrom his father, as he was a mere man, while he could not have thoughtthis of the divine Majesty. Therefore, had God spoken to him in hisown person, he would have returned a different answer. But, as hethought himself dealing with a human being only, Cain denied his deedaltogether, saying: "I know not. How numerous are the perils by whicha man may perish. He may have been destroyed by wild beasts; he mayhave been drowned in some river; or he may have lost his life by someother death. "

163. Thus Cain thought that his father would think of any other causeof death than the perpetration of murder. But Cain could not deceivethe Holy Spirit in Adam. Adam therefore, as God's representative, arraigns him with the words, "What hast thou done?" As if he had said"Why dost thou persist in denying the deed; be assured thou canst notdeceive God, who hath revealed to me all. Thou thinkest the blood ofthy brother is hidden by the earth. But it is not so absorbed andconcealed thereby as to prevent the blood crying aloud unto God. " Thatmeant to awaken the sin lying at the door, and to drag it forth. 

164. The text before us, then, provides much consolation against theenemies and murderers of the Church; for it teaches us that ourafflictions and sufferings and the shedding of our blood fill heavenand earth with their cries. I believe, therefore, that Cain was sooverwhelmed and confounded by these words of his father that, as ifthunderstruck, he knew not what to say or what to do. No doubt histhoughts were, "If my father Adam knows about the murder which I havecommitted, how can I any longer doubt that it is known unto God, untothe angels, and unto heaven and earth? Whither can I flee? Which waycan I turn, wretched man that I am?"

165. Such is the state of murderers to this day. They are so harassedwith the stings of conscience, after the crime of murder has beencommitted, that they are always in a state of alarm. It seems to themthat heaven and earth have put on a changed aspect toward them, andthey know not whither to flee. A case in point is Orestes pursued bythe furies, as described by the poets. A horrible thing is the cry ofspilled blood and an evil conscience. 

166. The same is true of all other atrocious sins. Those who committhem, experience the same distresses of mind when remorse lays hold ofthem. The whole creation seems changed toward them, and even when theyspeak to persons with whom they have been familiar, and when they hearthe answers they make, the very sound of their voice appears to themaltogether changed and their countenances seem to wear an alteredaspect. Whichever way they turn their eyes, all things are clothed, asit were, in gloom and horror. So grim and fierce a monster is a guiltyconscience! And, unless such sinners are succored from above, theymust put an end to their existence because of their anguish andintolerable pain. 

167. Again Moses' customary conciseness is in evidence, which, however, is more effective than an excess of words. In the firstplace, he personifies a lifeless object when he attributes to blood avoice filling with its cries heaven and the earth. How can that voicebe small or weak which, rising from earth, is heard by God in heaven?Abel, therefore, who when alive was patient under injuries and gentleand placid of spirit, now, when dead and buried in the earth, can notbrook the wrong inflicted. He who before dared not murmur against hisbrother, now fairly shrieks, and so completely enlists God in hiscause that he descends from heaven, to charge the murderer with hiscrime. Moses, accordingly, here uses the more pregnant term. He doesnot say, "The voice of thy brother's blood speaketh unto me from theground, " but, "The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me. " It isa cry like the shout of heralds when they raise their voices toassemble men together. 

168. These things are written, as I have observed, to convince us thatour God is merciful, that he loves his saints, takes them into hisspecial care, and demands an account for them; while, on the otherhand, he is angry with the murderers of his saints, hates them anddesigns their punishment. Of this consolation we stand in decidedneed. When oppressed by our enemies and murderers, we are apt toconclude that our God has forgotten and lost interest in us. We thinkthat if God cared for us, he would not permit such things to come uponus. Likewise, Abel might have reasoned: God surely cares nothing forme; for if he did, he would not suffer me thus to be murdered by mybrother. 

169. But only look at what follows! Does not God safeguard theinterests of Abel better than he could possibly have done himself? Howcould Abel have inflicted on his brother such vengeance as God does, now that Abel is dead? How could he, if alive, execute such judgmenton his brother as God here executes? Now the blood of Abel criesaloud, who, while alive, was of a most retiring disposition. Now Abelaccuses his brother before God of being a murderer; when alive hewould bear all the injuries of his brother in silence. For who was itthat disclosed the murder committed by Cain? Was it not, as the texthere tells us, the blood of Abel, fairly deafening with its constantcries the ears of God and men?

170. These things, I say, are all full of consolation; especially forus who now suffer persecution from the popes and wicked princes onaccount of our doctrine. They have practiced against us the utmostcruelty and have vented their rage against godly men, not in Germanyonly, but also in other parts of Europe. And all this sin isdisregarded by the papacy, as if it were nothing but a joke. Nay, thePapists really consider it to be a service toward God, Jn 16, 2. Allthis sin, therefore, as yet "lieth at the door. " But it shall becomemanifest in due time. The blood of Leonard Kaiser, which was shed inBavaria, is not silent. Nor is the blood of Henry of Zutphen, whichwas shed in Dietmar; nor that of our brother Anthony, of England, whowas cruelly and without a hearing slain by his English countrymen. Icould mention a thousand others who, although their names are not soprominent, were yet fellow-sufferers with confessors and martyrs. Theblood of all these, I say, will not be silent; in due time it willcause God to descend from heaven and execute such judgment in theearth as the enemies of the Gospel will not be able to bear. 

171. Let us not think, therefore, that God does not heed the sheddingof our blood! Let us not imagine for a moment that God does not regardour afflictions! No! he collects all our tears, and puts them into hisbottle, Ps 56, 8. The cry of the blood of all the godly penetrates theclouds and the heavens to the very throne of God, and entreats him toavenge the blood of the righteous, Ps 79, 10. 

172. As these things are written for our consolation, so are theywritten for the terror of our adversaries. For what think you can bemore horrible for our tyrants to hear than that the blood of the slaincontinually cries aloud and accuses them before God? God is indeedlong-suffering, especially now toward the end of the world; andtherefore sin lies the longer "at the door, " and vengeance does notimmediately follow. But it is surely true that God is most grievouslyoffended with all this sin, and that he will never suffer it to passunpunished. 

173. Such judgment of God on Cain, however, I do not believe to havebeen executed on the first day, but some time afterward. For it isGod's nature to be long-suffering, inasmuch as he waits for the sinnerto turn. But he does not, on that account, fail to punish him. For heis the righteous judge both of the living and of the dead, as weconfess in our Christian Faith. Such judgment God exercised in thevery beginning of the world with reference to these two brothers. Hejudged and condemned the living murderer, and justified murdered Abel. He excommunicated Cain and drove him into such agonies of soul thatthe space of the whole creation seemed too narrow to contain him. Fromthe moment Cain saw that God would be the avenger of his brother'sblood, he felt nowhere safe. To Abel, on the other hand, God gave forenjoyment the full width of earth and heaven. 

174. Why, then, should we ever doubt that God ponders and numbers inhis heart the afflictions of his people, and that he measures ourtears and inscribes them on adamantine tablets? And this inscriptionthe enemies of the Church shall never be able to erase by any devicewhatever except by repentance. Manasseh was a terrible tyrant and amost inhuman persecutor of the godly. And his banishment and captivitywould never have sufficed to blot out these sins. But when heacknowledged his sin and repented in truth, then the Lord showed himmercy. 

So Paul had, and so the pope and the bishops have now, only one wayleft them: to acknowledge their sin and to supplicate the forgivenessof God. If they will not do this, God in his wrath will surely requireat their hands the blood of the godly. Let no one doubt this!

175. Abel is dead, but Cain is still alive. But, good God, what awretched life is that which he lives! He might wish never to have beenborn, as he hears that he is excommunicated and must look for deathand retribution at any moment. And in due time this will be the lot ofour adversaries and of the oppressors of the Church. 

B. Cain's Punishment In Detail. 

V. 11. _And now cursed art thou from the ground, which hath opened itsmouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;_

176. We have heard, so far, of the disclosure of Cain's sin throughthe voice of Abel's blood, of his conviction by Adam his father, andof the decision rendered with reference to the two brothers, namely, that the one should be canonized, or declared a saint--the firstfruits, as it were, of the blessed seed; but that the other, thefirst-born, should be condemned and excommunicated, as shall presentlybe shown. Now Moses mentions the penalties to be visited upon suchfratricide. 

177. First of all, we should mark as particularly worthy of note thediscrimination exercised by the Holy Spirit. Previously, when thepenalty for his sin was inflicted upon Adam, a curse was placed notupon the person of Adam, but only upon the earth; and even this cursewas not absolute but qualified. The expression is this: "Cursed is theground for thy sake"; and in the eighth chapter of the Romans, versetwenty, we read: "The creature was made subject to vanity, notwillingly. " The fact is, that the earth, inasmuch as it bore guiltyman, became involved in the curse as his instrument, just as also thesword, gold, and other objects, are cursed for the reason that menmake them the instruments of their sin. With fine reasoning the HolySpirit discriminates between the earth and Adam. He diverts the curseto the earth, but saves the person. 

178. But in this instance the Holy Spirit speaks of Cain. He cursesthe person of Cain. And why is this? Is it because the sin of Cain, asa murderer, was greater than the sin of Adam and Eve? Not so. Butbecause Adam was the root from whose flesh and loins Christ, thatblessed seed, should be born. It is this seed, therefore, that wasspared. For the sake of this seed, the fruit of the loins of Adam, thecurse is transferred from the person of Adam to the earth. Thus, Adambears the curse of the earth, but his person is not cursed; from hisposterity Christ was to be born. 

179. Cain, however, since he fell by his sin, must suffer the cursebeing inflicted upon his person. He hears it said to him, "Cursed artthou, " that we might understand he was cut off from the glory of thepromised seed, and condemned never to have in his posterity that seedthrough which the blessing should come. Thus Cain was cast out fromthe stupendous glory of the promised seed. Abel was slain; thereforethere could be no posterity from him. But Adam was ordained to serveGod by further procreation. In Adam alone, therefore, after Cain'srejection, the hope of the blessed seed rested until Seth was bornunto him. 

180. The words spoken to Cain, "Cursed art thou, " are few, butnevertheless entitled to a great deal of attention, in that they areequal to the declaration: Thou art not the one from whom the blessedseed is hoped for. With this word Cain stands cast out and cut offlike a branch from the root, unable longer to hope for the distinctionaround which he had circled. It is a fact, that Cain craved thedistinction of passing on the blessing; but the more closely heencircled it the more elusive it became. Such is the lot of allevildoers: their failure is commensurate with their efforts tosucceed. 

181. From this occurrence originate the two churches which are at warwith each other: the one of Adam and the righteous, which has the hopeand promise of the blessed seed; the other of Cain, which hasforfeited this hope and promise through sin, without ever being ableto regain it. For in the flood Cain's whole posterity became extinct, so that there has been no prophet, no saint, no prince of the trueChurch who could trace his lineage back to Cain. All that was deniedCain and withdrawn from him, when he was told: "Cursed art thou. "

182. We find added, however, the words, "from the ground. " These wordsqualify the fearful wrath. For, if God had said, "from the heavens, "he would have deprived his posterity forever of the hope of salvation. As it is, the words, "from the ground, " convey, indeed, the menacingdecision that the promise of the seed has been forfeited, but thepossibility is left that descendants of Cain as individuals, promptedby the Holy Spirit, may join themselves to Adam and find salvation. 

This, in after ages, really came to pass. While it is true the promiseof the blessed seed was a distinction confined to the Jews, accordingto the statement in Psalm 147, 20: "He hath not dealt so with anynation, " the Gentiles, nevertheless, retained the privilege ofbeggars, so to speak. It was in this manner that the Gentiles, throughdivine mercy, obtained the same blessing the Jews possessed on theground of the divine faithfulness and promise. 

183. In like manner, all rule in the Church was absolutely denied alsoto the Moabites and Amorites; and yet many private individuals amongthem embraced the religion of the Jews. Thus, every right in theChurch was taken away from Cain and his posterity absolutely, yetpermission was left them to beg, as it were, for grace. That was nottaken from them. Cain, because of his sin, was cast out from the rightof sitting at the family table of Adam. But the right was left him togather up, doglike, the crumbs that fell from his father's table, Mt15, 26-27. This is signified by the Hebrew expression _min haadama_, "From the ground. "

184. I make these observations because there is a great probabilitythat many of the posterity of Cain joined themselves to the holypatriarchs. But their privileges were not those of an obligatoryservice toward them on the part of the Church, but mere toleration ofthem as individuals who had lost the promise that the blessed seed wasto spring from their flesh and blood. To forfeit the promise was notrifle; still, even that curse was so mitigated as to secure for themthe privilege of beggars, so that heaven was not absolutely deniedthem, provided they allied themselves with the true Church. 

185. But this is what Cain, no doubt, strove to hinder in variousways. He set up new forms of worship and invented numerous ceremonies, that thereby he might also appear to be the Church. Those, however, who departed from him and joined the true Church, were saved, althoughthey were compelled to surrender the distinction that Christ was to beborn from their flesh and blood. But let us now return to the text. 

186. Moses here uses a very striking personification. He representsthe earth as a dreaded beast when he speaks of her as having openedher mouth and swallowed the innocent blood of Abel. But why does hetreat the earth so ruthlessly since all this was done without herwill? Yes, being a creature of God which is good, did not alltranspire in opposition to her will and in spite of her struggleagainst it, according to Paul's teaching: "The earth was made subjectto vanity, not willingly, " Rom 8, 20. My reply is: The object was toimpress Adam and all his posterity, so that they might live in thefear of God and beware of murder. The words of Adam have this import"Behold the earth hath opened her mouth and swallowed the blood of thybrother; but she ought to have swallowed thee, the murderer. The earthis indeed a good creature, and is good to the good and godly; but tothe wicked she is full of pitfalls. " It is for the purpose ofinspiring murderers with fear and dread that these terrifying wordswere spoken. Nor is there any doubt that Cain, after hearing the wordsfrom an angry father, was overwhelmed with terror and confusion, notknowing whither to turn. The expression, "which hath opened its mouthto receive thy brother's blood from thy hand, " is, indeed, terrifying, but it portrays the turpitude of the fratricidal deed better than anypicture. 

V. 12a. _When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yieldunto thee its strength. _

187. The Lord said above to Adam, "Thorns also and thistles shall itbring forth to thee. " But the words spoken to Cain are different. Asif he had said, "Thou hast watered and fertilized the earth, not withhealthful and quickening rain, but with thy brother's blood. Thereforethe earth shall be to thee less productive than to others. For theblood thou hast shed shall hinder the strength and the fruitfulness ofthe earth. " This material curse is the second part of the punishment. The earth, although alike cultivated by Adam and Cain, should be morefruitful to Adam than to Cain and yield its return to the former forhis labors. But to the labors of Cain it should not yield suchreturns, though by nature desirous to give in proportion to itsfruitfulness and strength, because it was hindered by the bloodspilled by Cain. 

188. Here we must offer a remark of a grammatical nature. In thepresent passage Moses terms the earth _haadama_. In the passagefollowing, "A fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth" heuses the term _arez_. Now _adama_ signifies, according to grammaticalinterpreters, that part of the earth which is cultivated, where treesgrow and other fruits of the earth adapted for food. But _arez_signifies the whole earth, whether cultivated or uncultivated. Thiscurse, therefore, properly has reference to the part of the earthcultivated for food. And the curse implies that where one ear of wheatbrings forth three hundred grains for Adam, it should bring forthscarcely ten grains for Cain the murderer; and this for the purposethat Cain might behold on every side God's hatred and punishment ofthe shedding of blood. 

V. 12b. _A fugitive and a wanderer (vagabond) shalt thou be in theearth. _

189. This is a third punishment resting on murderers to our day. For, unless they find reconciliation, they have nowhere a fixed abode or asecure dwelling-place. 

We find here, in the original, two words, _No Vanod_, signifyingvagabond and fugitive. The distinction I make between them is, that_No_ designates the uncertainty of one's dwelling-place. Anillustration is furnished by the Jews, who have no establishedhabitation, but fear every hour lest they be compelled to wanderforth. _Nod_, on the other hand, signifies the uncertainty of findingthe dwelling-place sought; with the uncertainty of a present permanentdwelling-place there is linked the uncertainty of a goal to strive forwhen the present uncertain dwelling-place must be abandoned. Thus, thepunishment contains two features, the insecurity of the presentdwelling-place and a lack of knowledge whither to turn when thrustforth from the insecure abode of the present. In this sense the termis used in Psalm 109, 10: "Let his children be continually_vagabonds_. " That means, Nowhere shall they find a certain abode; ifthey are in Greece this year, they shall migrate to Italy the next, and so from place to place. 

190. Just such is evidently the miserable state of the Jews at thepresent day. They can fix their dwelling-place nowhere permanently. And to such evil God adds this other in the case of Cain, that when heshould be driven from one place of abode he should not know where toturn, and thus should live suspended, as it were, between heaven andearth, not knowing where to abide nor where to look for a permanentplace of refuge. 

191. In this manner the sin of Cain was visited with a threefoldpunishment. In the first place he was deprived of all spiritual orchurchly glory; for the promise that the blessed seed was to be bornfrom his posterity, was taken from him. In the second place, the earthwas cursed, which is a punishment affecting his home life. The thirdpunishment affects his relations to the community, in that he must bea vagabond without a fixed abode anywhere. 

192. Notwithstanding, an open door of return into the Church is left, but without a covenant. For, as has been explained, in the event thatany one of Cain's posterity should ally himself with the true Churchand the holy fathers, he was saved. Thus the Home is left, but withouta blessing; and the State is left so that he may found a city anddwell there, but for how long, is uncertain. Without exaggeration, therefore, he may be likened to a beggar in Church, Home and State. 

193. This punishment is mitigated by the prohibition to slay himforthwith after the commission of the murderous deed, a law providingfor the punishment of murderers which was reserved for a later day. Cain was saved that he might be an example for others, to teach themto fear God and to beware of murder. So much about the sin, arraignment, and punishment of Cain. 

194. But there are some who reply that, the godly, likewise sometimesendure these same curses, while the wicked, on the contrary, are freefrom them. Thus, Paul says that he also "wandered about and had nocertain dwelling-place, " 1 Cor 4, 11. Such is even our conditionto-day, who are teachers in the churches. We have no certaindwelling-place; either we are driven into banishment or we expectbanishment any hour. Such was the lot also of Christ, the apostles, the prophets, and the patriarchs. 

195. Concerning Jacob the Scriptures say "The elder shall serve theyounger, " Gen 25, 23. But does not Jacob become a servant when we seehim, from fear of his brother, haste away into exile? Does he not, onhis return home, supplicate his brother and fall on his knees beforehim? Is not Isaac also seen to be a most miserable beggar? Gen 6, 1-35. Abraham, his father, goes into exile among the Gentiles andpossesses not in all the world a place to set his foot, as Stephensays, Acts 7, 1-5. On the other hand, Ishmael was a king, and had theprinces of the land of Midian as his offspring before Israel enteredinto the land of promise, Gen 25, 16. Thus, as we shall see a littlelater, Cain first built the city of Enoch, and, furthermore, becamethe ancestor of shepherds, workers in metals, and musicians. All thisappears to prove that it is a mistake to attribute to Cain and hisposterity a curse. The curse seems to rest with weight upon the trueChurch, while the wicked appear to thrive and flourish. 

196. These things are often a stumbling-block, not to the world only, but even to the saints, as the Psalms in many places testify. And theprophets, also, are frequently found to grow indignant, as doesJeremiah, when they see the wicked possess freedom as it were from theevils of life, while they are oppressed and afflicted in various ways. Men may therefore inquire, Where is the curse of the wicked? Where isthe blessing of the godly? Is not the converse the truth? Cain is avagabond and settled nowhere; and yet Cain is the first man thatbuilds a city and has a certain place to dwell in. But we will answerthis argument more fully hereafter. We will now proceed with the textof Moses. 

VI. CAIN'S CONDUCT WHEN PUNISHED. 

 1. How he despaired. "My punishment is greater" etc. 

 a. These words have greatly perplexed interpreters 197. 

 b. The way Augustine explains them 197. 

 c. The explanation of the rabbins 198. 

 * How the rabbins pervert the Scriptures and whence their false comments 198-199. 

 d. Why the rabbins' interpretation cannot be accepted 200. 

 e. The true understanding of these words 201. 

 * The punishment troubles Cain more than his sin 201. 

 f. What makes these words difficult 202. 

 * The right understanding of the words "Minso" and "Avon" 202-203. 

 * Grammarians cannot get at the right meaning of the Scriptures 204. 

 * How we should proceed in interpreting Scripture 204. 

 2. How Cain viewed his political punishment 205. 

 3. How he viewed his ecclesiastical punishment 206. 

 * Why Cain was excommunicated by Adam 206-207. 

 * In what sense Cain was a fugitive and a wanderer 208-209. 

 * Adam received his punishment in a better way 210. 

 * The meaning of being a fugitive and a wanderer. How the same is found among the papists 211-212. 

 * The grace of God was guaranteed to Seth and his posterity 212. 

 * Why no temptation can harm believers 212. 

 4. Cain's fear that in turn he would be slain 213. 

 * God shows Cain a double favor in his punishment. Why he does this 213. 

 * Whether any of Cain's posterity, under the Old Testament, were saved 214-215. 

 5. Whether Cain prayed that he might die, as Augustine, Lyra and others relate 216-217. 

 * The fables of the rabbins cause Luther double work and why he occasionally cites them 218. 

 * Whether God changed his judgment upon Cain 219. 

 * Why God still showed Cain incidental grace 219. 

 * The fables of the Jews concerning Cain's death and Lamech's punishment 220-221. 

 * It is foolish to dispute concerning the sevenfold vengeance to be visited upon the one who slew Cain 222. 

 * The divine promises. 

 a. They are twofold, of the law and of grace 223. 

 b. The promise Adam received 224. 

 c. Whether God gave Cain one of these promises 224-225. 

 d. The kind of promises well organized police stations have 226. 

 e. The promises the Church has 227. 

 f. Cain's promise is temporal, incidental and incomplete 227. 

 * Was Cain murdered 228. 

 6. How Cain had cause to fear, even though there were no people on the earth except Adam and Eve and his sisters 229-230. 

 * The sign that is put upon Cain. 

 a. Can anything definite be said of it. What the fathers thought of it 231. 

 b. Why this sign was placed upon him 232. 

 c. How he had to carry it his whole life 232. 

 d. How the sign was a confirmation and a promise of the law 233. 

 7. Of Cain's departure, and his excommunication from the presence of Jehovah. 

 a. The first parents in obedience to God made Cain an outcast 234-235. 

 b. How the first parents overcame their parental affections in expelling Cain 236. 

 * What should urge men to flee from their false security 237. 

 c. His expulsion must have pierced Cain to the heart 238. 

 * What is the presence of Jehovah 238. 

 d. How he went from the presence of Jehovah, to be without that presence 239. 

 e. It was a sad departure, both for Cain and his parents 240. 

 f. Whither he resorted 241. 

 * What meaning of "in the land of Nod" 241. 

 * Of Paradise. 

 (1) The deluge very likely destroyed paradise 241. 

 (2) Where was paradise 242. 

 * Of the Deluge. 

 (1) The deluge destroyed paradise 243. 

 * Cain lived where Babylon was built later 244. 

 (2) The deluge gave the earth an entirely different form 244. 

VI. CAIN'S CONDUCT UPON BEING PUNISHED. 

V. 13. _And Cain said unto Jehovah, My punishment (iniquity) isgreater than I can bear (than can be remitted). _

197. Here Moses seems to have fixed a cross for the grammarians andthe rabbins; for they crucify this passage in various ways. Lyrarecites the opinions of some who see in this passage an affirmation, considering it to mean that in his despair Cain claimed his sin to begreater than could be pardoned. This is our rendering. Augustinelikewise retained this view of the passage, for he says, "Thou liest, Cain; for the mercy of God is greater than the misery of all thesinners. "

198. The rabbins, however, expound the passage as a denial in the formof a question, as if he had said, "Is my iniquity greater than can beremitted?" But if this rendering be the true one, Cain not only doesnot acknowledge his sin, but excuses it and, in addition, insults Godfor laying upon him a punishment greater than he deserves. In this waythe rabbins almost everywhere corrupt the sense of the Scriptures. Consequently I begin to hate them, and I admonish all who read them, to do so with careful discrimination. Although they did possess theknowledge of some things by tradition from the fathers, they corruptedthem in various ways; and therefore they often deceived by thosecorruptions even Jerome himself. Nor did the poets of old so fill theworld with their fables as the wicked Jews did the Scriptures withtheir absurd opinions. A great task, therefore, is incumbent upon usin endeavoring to keep the text free from their comments. 

199. The occasion for all this error is the fact that some men arecompetent to deal only with grammatical questions, but not with thesubject matter itself; that is, they are not theologians at the sametime. The inevitable result is mistakes and the crucifixion ofthemselves as well as of the Scriptures. For how can any one explainwhat he does not understand? Now the subject matter in the presentpassage is that Cain is accused in his own conscience. And no one, notonly no wicked man, but not even the devil himself, can endure thisjudgment; as James witnesses, "The devils also believe and tremblebefore God, " Jas 2, 19. Peter also says, "Whereas angels which aregreater in power and might cannot endure that judgment which the Lordwill exercise upon blasphemers, " 2 Pet 2, 11. So also Manasseh in hisprayer, verses 4 and 5, confesses that all men tremble before the faceof the Lord's anger. 

200. All this is sufficient evidence that Cain, when arraigned by God, did not have courage to withstand and to argue with him. For God is analmighty adversary; the first assault he makes is upon the heartitself when he takes the conscience into his grasp. Of this therabbins know nothing, nor can they understand it; in consequence theyspeak of this arraignment as if it took place before men, where thetruth is either denied or facts are smoothed over. This is impossiblewhen God arraigns men; as Christ says in Matthew 12, 37, "By thy wordsthou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. "

201. Cain thus acknowledges his sin, although it is not so much thesin he grieves over as the penalty inflicted. The statement, then, isto be understood in the affirmative, and it reveals the horrors ofdespair. 

A further proof of Cain's despair is, that he does not utter one wordof reverence. He never mentions the name of God or of his father. Hisconscience is so confused and so overwhelmed with terror and despairthat he is not able to think of any hope of pardon. The Epistle to theHebrews gives the same description of Esau when it states that he "forone mess of meat, sold his own birthright. For ye know that even whenhe afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; for hefound no place for change of mind, though he sought it diligently withtears, " Heb 12, 16-17. Thus in the present instance, Cain feels hispunishment, but he grieves more for his punishment than for his sin. And all persons, when in despair, do the same. 

202. The two original words of this passage, _minneso_ and _avon_, area pair of crosses for grammarians. Jerome translates this clause, "Myiniquity is greater than can be pardoned. " Sanctes, the grammarian ofPagnum, a man of no mean erudition and evidently a diligent scholar, renders the passage, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. " Butby such a rendering we shall make a martyr of Cain and a sinner ofAbel. Concerning the word _nasa_, I have before observed that when itis applied to sin it signifies, to lift sin up, or off, or on high;that is, to take it out of the way. Similarly the figure has foundcurrency among us: the remission of sins, or to remit sin. In theThirty-second Psalm, verse one, we find the expression, _Aschre NesuPascha_. This, literally translated, would make: Being blessed throughthe removal of crime, or sin. We make it: Blessed is he whosetransgression is forgiven, or taken away. The same is found in Isaiah33, 24, The people that dwell therein shall be _Nesu Avon_, thatmeans, relieved from sin--shall be the people whose sin is forgiven. 

203. The other original term, _avoni_, grammarians derive from theverb _anah_, which signifies "to be afflicted, " as in Zechariah 9, 9:"Behold thy king cometh unto thee lowly (or afflicted). " Ourtranslation renders it "meek. " Likewise in Psalms 132, 1: "Jehovah, remember for David all his affliction. " From the same root is derivedthe expression, "low estate, " or "lowliness, " used by the Virgin Maryin her song, Lk 1, 48. This fact induces Sanctes to render it"punishment. "

But here _avoni_ signifies "iniquity" or "sin, " as it does also inmany other passages of the Holy Scriptures, which appears more plainlyfrom the verb "remit, " which stands connected with it. 

204. Hence it is that grammarians, who are nothing but such and knownothing of the divine things, find their crosses in all such passages, and crucify, not only the Scriptures, but themselves and their hearersas well. In the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, the sense isfirst to be determined; and when that appears in all respectsconsistent with itself, then the grammatical features are to receiveattention. The rabbins, however, take the opposite course, and henceit grieves me that divines and the holy fathers so frequently followthem. 

V. 14. _Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of theground; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitiveand a wanderer in the earth; and it will come to pass, that whosoeverfindeth me will slay me. _

205. From these words it appears that the sentence on Cain waspronounced through the mouth of Adam. Cain acknowledges that he isdriven first from Home and State, and then also from the Church. Ofthe difference between the words _adamah_ and _erez_ we spoke above. We showed that _erez_ signifies the earth generally, while the word_adamah_ means the cultivated part of the earth. The meaning thereforeis: I am now compelled to flee from thy presence and from that part ofthe earth which I have cultivated. The whole world indeed lies beforeme, but I must be a fugitive and a vagabond upon the earth; that is, Ishall have no certain dwelling place. In the same way fugitivemurderers among us are punished with exile. These words, accordingly, cast additional light upon the utterance of Adam, "Cursed art thoufrom the ground. " They refer to Cain's banishment. This part of Cain'spunishment therefore is a civil punishment, and by it he is shut outfrom civic association. 

206. But that which Cain next adds, "From thy face shall I be hid, " isan ecclesiastical punishment and true excommunication. For, as thepriesthood and the kingdom rested with Adam, and Cain on account ofhis sin was excommunicated from Adam, he was thereby also deprived ofthe glory both of priesthood and kingdom. But why Adam adopted thispunishment is explained by the words, "When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee its strength;" as if he hadsaid, Thou art cursed and thy labors are cursed also. Therefore ifthou shalt remain with us upon earth it cannot be but that boththyself and we likewise must perish with hunger. For thou hast stainedthe earth with thy brother's blood, and wherever thou art, thou mustbear about the blood of thy brother, and even the earth itself shallexact her penalties. 

207. A similar sentence we find pronounced in 1 Kings 2, 29-33, whereSolomon gives commandment to Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, saying, "Fallupon Joab, that thou mayest take away the blood, which Joab shedwithout cause, from me and from my father's house. And Jehovah willreturn his blood upon his own head. But unto David, and unto his seed, and unto his house, and unto his throne, shall there be peace for everfrom Jehovah. " As much as to say, If Joab suffer not this punishmentof his unjust murder, the whole kingdom must suffer that punishmentand be shaken by wars. The meaning of Adam then, in this passage is, If thou shalt remain on the earth with us, God will bring punishmentupon us for thy sake, in that the earth shall not yield us her fruit. 

208. But now let us reply to the question raised above. It was said toCain, "A fugitive and wanderer shalt thou be in the earth. " And yet, Cain was the first man who builds a city, and his posterity soincreased from that time that they debauched and oppressed the Churchof God, and so utterly overthrew it as not to leave more than eightpersons of the posterity of Seth. All of the remainder of mankind, which perished in the flood, had followed Cain, as the text plainlydeclares when it affirms that the sons of God, when they came unto thedaughters of men, begat giants and mighty men, which were of old, menof renown, Gen 6, 4. Therefore, since Cain had so great a posterity, and he built the first city, how can it be true, men ask, that he wasa fugitive and wanderer upon earth?

209. We will reply in accordance with what is written. Theillustrations from the New Testament above mentioned, Paul, theapostles, Christ, and the prophets, assuredly belong to quite adifferent category. When Adam here says to Cain, "A fugitive and awanderer shalt thou be in the earth, " he speaks these words to him tosend him away, without further precept. He does not say to him, "Go tothe east;" he does not say, "Go to the south;" he does not mention anyplace to which he should go. He gives him no command what to do; butsimply casts him out. Whither he goes and what he does, is no concernof his. He adds no promise of protection, he does not say: God shalltake care of thee; God shall protect thee. On the contrary; as thewhole sky is free to the bird, which is at liberty to fly whither itpleases, but is without a place where it may be secure from theattacks of other birds, so Adam turns Cain away. The latter feelsthis. Hence his rejoinder: "It shall come to pass that every one thatfindeth me, shall slay me. "

210. The condition of Adam was different and better. Adam had sinned, and by his sin he had sunk into death. But when he was driven out ofparadise, God assigned him a particular task--that he should till theearth in a particular place. God also clothed him with a covering ofskins. This, as we said, was a sign that God would take care of himand protect him. And, last but not least, a glorious promise was madeto the woman concerning the seed which should bruise the serpent'shead. Nothing like this was left to Cain. He was sent away absolutelywithout assignment of any particular place or task. No command wasgiven him nor was any promise made him. He was like a bird aimlesslyroving beneath the wide heavens. This is what it means to be avagabond and wanderer. 

211. Unsettled and aimless, likewise, are all who lack God's Word andcommand, wherein person and place receive adequate direction. Suchwere we under the papacy. Worship, works, exercises--all these werepresent; but all these existed and found acceptance without a divinecommand. A trying condition was that and Cainlike--to be deprived ofthe Word; not to know what to believe, what to hope, what to suffer, but to undertake and to perform everything at haphazard. What monk isthere who could affirm that he did anything right? Everything wasman's tradition and man's teaching, without the Word. Amid these wewandered, being driven to and fro, and like Cain, uncertain whatverdict God would pass, whether we should merit love or hate. Suchwas, in those days, our instruction. 

Unsettled and aimless like this was Cain's whole posterity. They hadneither promise nor command from God, and lacked all definite guidancefor life and for death. Hence, if any of them came to the knowledge ofChrist, and allied themselves with the true Church, it was not byreason of a promise but through sheer compassion. 

212. Seth, however, who was born subsequently, had, together with hisposterity, a definite promise, a definite abode and a definite mode ofworship; on the other hand, Cain was aimless. He founded a city, it istrue, but he did not know how long he should dwell in it, not having adivine promise. Whatever we possess without a promise is of uncertainduration; at any amount Satan may disturb it or take it. However, whenwe go into the fray equipped with God's command and promise, the devilfights in vain; God's command insures strength and safety. Therefore, although Cain was lord of the whole world and possessed all thetreasures of the world, still, lacking the promise of God's help andthe protection of his angels, and having nothing to lean upon butman's counsels, he was in every respect aimless and unsettled. This hehimself admits when he further says:

V. 14b. _And it shall come to pass that every one that findeth meshall slay me. _

213. This result was quite to be expected. Having neither God nor hisfather to look to for succor, having forfeited his rights both aspriest and as ruler, he saw the possibility before him that any onefound him, might slay him, for he was outlawed, body and soul. Notwithstanding, God conferred upon the nefarious murderer a twofoldblessing. He had forfeited Church and dominion, but life and progenywere left. God promised him to protect his existence, and also gavehim a wife. Two blessings these by no means to be despised; and whenhe heard the first part of his sentence pronounced by his father, theywere more than he had a right even to hope for. They were valuable forthe additional reason that opportunity and time for repentance weregranted, though, in the absence of a clear promise, there was neithercovenant nor commission. In the same manner, we found our way underthe papacy to uncovenanted mercy (_fortuita gratia_), if I may usethis expression, for no promise was previously given that the truthwas to be revealed in our lifetime, and the Antichrist to becomemanifest. The reason to which these blessings are attributable, isconsideration for the elect. It is quite credible that many of Cain'soffspring were saved, namely, those who joined the true Church. Likewise, at a later day, provision was made among the Jews forproselytes and Gentiles. 

214. While a stern law existed according to which the Moabites andAmmonites were not admitted to the religious services, Ammonites andMoabites were saved, such as came to the kings of Judah to serve underthem. Also Ruth, the mother and ancestress of our Saviour, was aMoabite. This is what I call uncovenanted mercy, no previous promisehaving rendered it certain. 

215. Also Naaman, and the king of Nineveh, and Nebuchadnezzar, andEvilmerodach, and others from among the Gentiles, were saved by suchuncovenanted mercy; for, unlike the Jews, they had no promise ofChrist. In the same way, bodily safety is vouchsafed to Cain, and awife with offspring, for the sake of the elect to be saved byuncovenanted mercy. For, although what we said of the Moabites is trueof all his posterity, that it was to live under a curse, it is true, notwithstanding, that some of the patriarchs took their wives from thesame. 

V. 15a. _And Jehovah said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. _

216. Jerome, in his Epistle to Damascus, contends that Cain had beggedof the Lord that he might be slain, an opinion into which he rushesfull sail, as it were, entertaining no doubt whatever concerning itstruth. Lyra follows Jerome, and resolutely affirms that the contextrequires this interpretation. But this error of theirs should be laidat the door of the rabbins from whom they received it. The true senseof the passage is rather that everyone was prohibited from killingCain. Judgment is pronounced here by God, and when he spares Cain'slife and in addition permits him afterward to marry, it is done tostay its execution. 

217. Moreover, how is it likely that an ungodly person asks death atthe very time when God exercises judgment? Death is the verypunishment of sin; therefore he flees and dreads death as the greatestpart of his penalty. Away, therefore, with such vagaries of therabbins! With these also Lyra's suggestion may safely be classed thatthe text ought to be divided and made to mean, Whoever shall killCain, shall surely meet with severe punishment. And when it is furtherstated, He shall be punished sevenfold, they would explain it asmeaning that in the seventh degree--in the seventh generation--thepunishment is to be inflicted. 

218. Such vagaries are worthy of the rabbins after having cast awaythe light of the New Testament. However, they impose a double laborupon us, inasmuch as we are compelled to defend the text and to clearit of such corruptions, and to correct their absurd comments. If Iquote them occasionally, it is to avoid the suspicion of proudlydespising them, or of failing to read, and to give sufficientconsideration to, their writings. While we read them intelligently, wedo so with critical discrimination, and we do not permit them toobscure Christ, and to corrupt the Word of God. 

219. The Lord, accordingly, does not in this passage at all alter thesentence upon Cain whereby he had been doomed to a curse on earth, butmerely vouchsafes to him this uncovenanted mercy for the sake of theelect that are to be saved from that curse as from a mass of dregs. That is the reason he said Cain should not be killed, as he feared. 

There is, then, no necessity for doing violence to this text as RabbiSolomon does, who, after the words "whosoever slayeth Cain, " puts astop; making it to be a hiatus or (ellipsis), as we find in that notedline in Virgil (Aeneas, 135)--

 _Quos ego--sed motos praestat componere fluctus. _ Whom I--but now, be calm, ye boist'rous waves. 

And then the expression, "shall be punished sevenfold, " the rabbirefers to Cain himself, who was punished in his seventh generation. For Cain begat Enoch, and Enoch begat Irad, and Irad begat Mehujael, and Mehujael begat Methusael, and Methusael begat Lamech. 

220. And the Jews' absurd comment upon that passage (verse 23, below), is that Lamech, when he was old, and his eyes dim, was taken by hisson Tubal-Cain into a wood to hunt wild beasts, and that, when thereshooting at a wild beast, Lamech accidently shot Cain, who in hiswanderings had concealed himself in the wood. Such interpretations areonly fables, unworthy a place or notice in our schools. Moreover, theymilitate against the very truth of the text. For if Cain was reallydesigned of God to be killed in the seventh generation, and if thattime was thus fixed for his death, he was not "a fugitive and avagabond upon earth. "

221. We condemn, therefore, this interpretation of Rabbi Solomon, onthe ground of critical discrimination, because it militates directlyagainst that sentence which God had before pronounced; and God is notman, that he should change his mind, 1 Kings 15, 29-30. This ruleshould be strictly observed in all interpretation of the HolyScripture, that the rendering of one passage must not subsequentlyconflict with that of another. And when the rabbins, moreover, saythat the deluge was the particular punishment of Lamech's sin in thuskilling Cain, Lyra refutes them. He very truly affirms that the delugewas the common punishment of the whole world of wicked men. We leave, therefore, all these Jewish absurdities and hold fast the true meaningof the text before us, that, when Cain feared lest he should be slainby any one who should find him, the Lord prevented him from being thusslain, and denounced on such murderer a punishment sevenfold greaterthan that of Cain. 

222. And, though Lyra argues and inquires how it could be that he whoshould slay Cain could deserve a sevenfold greater vengeance than Caindeserved, who slew his own brother, of what profit is it to us toinquire into the counsel of God in such matters as these, especiallywhen it is certain that God permitted his mercy to stray to Cain inthe form of promises and blessings under the Law, if I may so expressmyself, thus securing his safety. 

223. There are two kinds of promises, or a twofold promise, as we haveoften explained. There are the legal promises, if I may so call them, which depend, as it were, upon our own works, such as the following:"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land, " Is1, 19. Again, I am God, showing mercy unto thousands of them that loveme and keep my commandments, Ex 20, 6. And also above, in this case ofCain, "If thou doest well, shall not thy countenance be lifted up?"Gen 4, 7. And these legal promises have for the most part theircorresponding threats attached to them. 

But the other kind of promises are promises of grace, and with them nothreats are joined. Such are the following: "Jehovah thy God willraise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken, " Deut 18, 15. Again, "I willput my law in their inward parts, in their heart will I write it; andI will be their God, and they shall be my people, " Jer 31, 33. Andagain, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, " Gen 3, 15. Now, these promises depend not in any way upon our works, but absolutelyand only upon the goodness and grace of God, because he was pleased tomake those promises and to do what he thus promised. Just in the sameway we have the promise of Baptism, of the Lord's Supper, and of theKeys, etc. , in which God sets before us his good will and his mercyand his works. 

224. Now, God gave no promise of the latter kind to Cain. He only saidto him, Whosoever shall slay thee shall be punished sevenfold. ButAdam had such a promise of grace made to him. And Cain, because he wasthe first-born, ought to have received that promise as an inheritancefrom his parents. That promise was the large and blessed promise ofeternal glory, because by it the seed was promised which should bruisethe serpent's head, and this without any work or merit of man. Forthat promise had no condition attached to it, such as, If thou shaltoffer thy sacrifices, if thou shalt do good, etc. 

225. If, therefore, you compare this promise of grace with the wordsGod spake to Cain, the latter are as a mere crust held out to abeggar. For even Cain's life is not promised him absolutely. Nothingmore is said than a threat pronounced against those who should slayhim. God does not say positively, No man shall slay thee. He does notsay, I will so overrule all others that no one shall slay thee. Hadthe words been thus spoken, Cain might have returned into the presenceof God and of his parents. But a command only is given to men thatthey slay not Cain. If, therefore, the words spoken to Cain be at allconsidered as a promise, it is that kind of promise which, as we havebefore said, depends on the works and will of man. And yet, even suchpromise is by no means to be despised, for these legal promises oftenembrace most important things. 

226. Thus, Augustine observes that God gave to the Romans their empireon account of their noble virtues. And in the same manner we find, even to this day, that the blessings of those nations which keep frommurder, adultery, theft, etc. , are greater than those of other nationsin which these evils prevail. And yet, even governments which, as faras mere reason can succeed, are especially well established, possessnothing beyond these temporal promises. 

227. The Church, however, possesses the promises of grace, even theeternal promises. And although Cain was left utterly destitute ofthese promises, yet it was a great favor that the temporal mercieswere left him: that he was not immediately killed, that a wife wasgiven him, that children were born unto him, that he built a city, that he cultivated the earth, that he fed his cattle and hadpossessions, and that he was not utterly ejected from the society andfellowship of men. For God could not only have deprived Cain of allthese blessings, but he could have added pestilence, epilepsy, apoplexy, the stone, the gout, and any other disease. And yet thereare men disposed curiously to argue in what manner God could possiblyhave multiplied the curse of Cain sevenfold on himself or on anyother. 

As God above deprives Cain of all the divine blessings, bothspiritual--or those pertaining to the Church--and civil, so here hemitigates that sentence by commanding that no one shall slay Cain. ButGod does not promise at the same time that all men shall surely obeyhis command. Therefore Cain, even possessing this promise in referenceto his body, is still a fugitive and a wanderer. And it might be thatif he continued in his wickedness, he was liable to be slain at anymoment; whereas, if he did well, he might live a long time. Butnothing is promised him with certainty, for although these corporal orlegal promises are great and important, yet they are positivelyuncertain and uncovenanted. 

228. Whether, therefore, Cain was killed or not, I cannot with anycertainty say, for the Scriptures afford no plain information uponthat point. This one thing, however, evidently can be proved from thepresent text, that Cain had no certain promise of the preservation ofhis life; but God left him to a life of uncertainty, doubt andrestless wandering, and did no more than protect the life of Cain by acommand and a threat which might restrain the wicked from killing him, on account of the certain awful punishment which would follow suchdestruction of the murderer. But a promise that he should not bemurdered was withheld. We know, moreover, what is the nature of thelaw, or a legal command, and that there are always very few who obeyit. Therefore, although it is not recorded at what time, in whatplace, or by whom, Cain was slain, yet it is most probable that he waskilled. The Scriptures however make no mention of it, even as they arequite silent also concerning the number of the years of Cain, and saynothing about the day of his birth or the day of his death. Heperished, together with his whole generation; to use a popularproverb, "without cross, candle, or God. " A few only of his generationare excepted, who were saved by the uncovenanted mercy of God. 

229. The question is here usually asked, To what persons could thewords of Cain possibly apply, when he says, "Everyone that findeth meshall slay me, " when it is evident that besides Adam and Eve and theirfew daughters, no human beings were in existence. I would at oncereply that they bear witness to the fact that we see the wicked "fleewhen no man pursueth, " as the Scriptures say; for they imagine tothemselves various perils where none really exist. Just so we see itto be the case with murderers at the present day, who are filled withfears where all is safe, who can remain quiet nowhere, and who imaginedeath to be present everywhere. 

230. However, when it follows in the command of God, "Yea, verily, whosoever slayeth Cain shall be punished sevenfold, " these wordscannot be referred exclusively to the fears of Cain, for Cain hadsisters, and perhaps he greatly dreaded that sister whom he hadmarried, lest she should take vengeance on him for the murder of herbrother. Moreover, Cain had perhaps a vague apprehension of a longlife, and he saw that many more sons might be born of Adam. He feared, therefore, the whole posterity to Adam. And it greatly increased thesefears that God had left him nothing more than his stray mercy. I donot think that Cain feared the beasts at all, or dreaded being slainby them; for what had the sevenfold vengeance threatened uponmurderers to do with beasts?

V. 15b. _And Jehovah appointed a sign for (set a mark upon) Cain, lestany finding him should smite him (slay him). _

231. What this mark was is not to be found in the Holy Scriptures. Therefore commentators have entertained various opinions. Nearly all, however, have come to this one conclusion--they have inferred thatthere was apparent in Cain a great tremor of his head and of all hislimbs. They suppose that, as a physical cause of his trembling, Godhad changed, or disarranged, or mutilated some particular organ in hisbody, but left the body whole as it was first created, merely adding avisible outward mark, such as the trembling. This conjecture of thefathers contains much probability, but it cannot be proved by anytestimony of the Scriptures. The mark might have been of another kind. For instance, we observe in nearly all murderers an immediate changein the eyes. The eyes wear an appearance of sullen ferocity, and losethat softness and innocence peculiar to them by nature. 

232. But whatever this mark was, it was certainly a most horriblepunishment; for Cain was compelled to bear it during his whole life asGod's penalty for the awful murder which he had committed. Renderedconspicuous by this degrading mark, hateful and abominable in the eyesof all, Cain was sent away--banished from his home by his parents. Andalthough the life he asked of God was granted him, yet it was a lifeof ignominy, branded with an infamous mark of homicide; not only thathe himself might be perpetually reminded of the sin he had committed, to his own confusion, but also that others might be deterred from thecrime of committing murder. Nor could this mark be effaced byrepentance. Cain was compelled to bear about this sign of the wrath ofGod upon him as a punishment in addition to his banishment, the curse, and all the other penalties. 

233. It is worthy of observation that the original verb used above is_harag_, which signifies "to kill. " But the verb here found is_nakah_, which means "to strike. " God, therefore, here gives to Cainsecurity, not only from death, but also from the danger of death. Thissecurity, however, as we have observed, is a legal security only; forit merely commands that no one shall slay Cain, threatening asevenfold punishment upon the person who should do so. But God doesnot promise that all men will obey his command. It was far better forCain, however, to have this legal promise made him, than to be withoutany promise at all. 

V. 16. _And Cain went out from the presence of Jehovah, and dwelt inthe land of Nod, on the east of Eden. _

234. This also is a very remarkable text, and it is a wonder that thefancy of the rabbins did not run riot here as usual. Moses leaves itto the thoughtful reader to reflect how miserable and how full oftears this departure of Cain from his father's house must have been. His godly parents had already lost their son Abel; and now, at thecommand of God, the other son departs from them into banishment, loaded with the divine curses, on account of his sin--the very sonwhom his parents had hoped to be the only heir of the promise, andwhom they therefore had devotedly loved from his cradle. Adam and Eve, nevertheless, obey the command of God, and in conformity therewiththey cast out their son. 

235. Accordingly, this passage rightly praises obedience to God, orthe fear of God. Adam and Eve had, indeed, learned by their ownexperience in paradise that it was no light sin to depart from thecommand of God; therefore they thought: Behold, our sin in paradisehas been punished with death, and with an infinite number of othercalamities into which we have been thrown since we were driven out ofparadise. And now that our son has committed so atrocious a sin, itbehooves us not to resist the will of God and his righteous judgment, however bitter we feel them to be. 

236. The story of the woman of Tekoah is well known, whom Joabinstructed to intercede for the banished Absalom. She pleads as anargument before the king, that as she had lost one son, it would bewicked in the extreme to deprive her of the other also. Also Rebeccasaid to Jacob, her younger son, after she had perceived the wrath ofEsau against his brother: "Why should I be bereaved of you both in oneday?" Gen 27, 45. Adam and Eve overcame this same pain in theirbosoms, and thus mortified their paternal and maternal affections. Fornot only did they feel it to be their duty to obey the will of God, but they had also learned wisdom from former obedience. They had beendriven out of paradise for their sin of disobedience. They feared, therefore, that if they now retained their son with them, contrary tothe will of God, they should be cast out of the earth altogether. 

237. This part of the history of Adam and Eve, therefore, is abeautiful lesson in obedience to God, and a striking exhortation tofear God. This is also Paul's principal object in his first Epistle tothe Corinthians, nearly all of which is written against theself-confidence of the human heart. For, although God is merciful, yetmen are not therefore to sin; he is merciful to those only who fearand obey him. 

238. As it was bitter in the extreme for the parents to lose theirson, this departure from his home was, I have no doubt, most bitteralso to Cain himself. For he was compelled to leave, not only thecommon home, his dear parents and their protection, but his hereditaryright of primogeniture, the prerogative of the kingdom and of thepriesthood, and the communion of the Church. 

Hence it is that we have the expression in the text, that Cain "wentout from the presence of Jehovah. " We have above shown what theScriptures term "the face of Jehovah, " namely, all those things andmeans by which Jehovah makes himself known to us. Thus the face ofJehovah, under the Old Testament, was the pillar of fire, the cloud, the mercy-seat, etc. Under the New Testament, the face of Jehovah isbaptism, the Lord's Supper, the ministry of the Word, etc. For bythese things, as by visible signs, the Lord makes himself known to us, and shows that he is with us, that he cares for us and favors us. 

239. It was from this place, therefore, in which God declared that hewas always present, and in which Adam resided as high priest, and aslord of the earth, that Cain "went out;" and he came into anotherplace, where there was no "face of God, " where there was no visiblesign of his presence by which he could derive the consolation that Godwas present with his favor. He had no sign whatever, save those signswhich are common to all creatures, even to the beasts, namely, theuses of sun and moon, of day and night, of water, air, etc. But theseare not signs of that immutable grace of God contained in the promiseof the blessed seed. They are only the signs of God's temporalblessings and of his good will to all his creatures. 

240. Miserable, therefore, was that going out of Cain indeed. It was adeparture full of tears. He was compelled to leave forever his homeand his parents, who now gave to him, a solitary man and a "vagabond, "their daughter as his wife, to live with him as his companion; butthey knew not what would become either of their son or of theirdaughter. In consequence of losing three children at one time theirgrief is so much greater. No other explanation suggests itself for thesubsequent statement "Cain knew his wife. "

241. Where, then, did Cain live with his wife? Moses answers, "in theland of Nod, " a name derived from its vagabond and unsettledinhabitant. And where was this land situated? Beyond paradise, towardthe east, a place indeed most remarkable. Cain came into a certainplace toward the east, but when he came there, he was insecure andunprotected, for it was the land of Nod, where he could not set footwith certainty, because "the face of God" was not there. For this"face" he had left with his parents, who lived where they had paradiseon their side, or toward the west. When Cain fled from his home hewent toward the east. So the posterity of Cain was separated from theposterity of Adam, having paradise as a place of division betweenthem. The passage, moreover, proves that paradise remained undestroyedafter Adam was driven out of it. In all probability it was finallydestroyed by the deluge. 

242. This text greatly favors the opinion of those who believe thatAdam was created in the region of Damascus, and that, after he wasdriven out of paradise for his sin, he lived in Palestine; and henceit was in the midst of the original paradise that Jerusalem, Bethlehemand Jericho stood, in which places Jesus Christ and his servant Johnchiefly dwelt. Although the present aspect of those places does notaltogether bear out that conclusion, the devastations of the mightydeluge were such as to change fountains, rivers and mountains; and itis quite possible that on the site which was afterward Calvary, theplace of Christ's sacrifice for the world's sin, there stood the treeof the knowledge of good and evil, the same spot being marked by thedeath and ruin wrought by Satan and by the life and salvation wroughtby Christ. 

243. It is not without a particular purpose, therefore, that Danieluses the striking expression: "The end thereof (of the sanctuary, thesacrifice and the oblation) shall be with a flood, " Dan 9, 26. As ifhe had said, The first paradise was laid waste and utterly destroyedby the mighty deluge, and the other, future paradise, in whichredemption is to be wrought, shall be destroyed by the Romanists as bya flood. 

244. We may carry the analogy further by stating that as Babel was thecause of the destruction of the Jewish people, so this disaster hadits beginning with Cain and his offspring, who settled in that part ofthe earth where, at a later day, Babylon was founded. These are mythoughts and views, derived partly from the fathers. Though they maynot be true, they are yet probable, and have nothing ungodly in them. And there can be no doubt that Noah, after the flood, saw the face ofthe whole earth altogether changed from what it was before that awfulvisitation of the wrath of God. Mountains were torn asunder, fountainswere made to break forth and the courses of the rivers themselves werewholly altered and diverted into other channels, by the mighty forceof the overwhelming waters. 

VII. GENERATIONS OF CAIN AND OF THE RIGHTEOUS. 

 A. IN GENERAL. 

 1. Why Cain's generations were described before those of the righteous 245. 

 2. How the Holy Spirit is interested more in the generations of the righteous than in those of Cain 246-247. 

 3. Why the Holy Spirit gives this description of both 248. 

 4. The relation of the two to each other 248. 

 5. How the generations of the righteous are attacked and conquered by those of the godless 249. 

 * Of Cain's marriage. 

 a. Who was his wife, and the question of his being married before he committed the murder 250-251. 

 * How to read the writings of the Jews 251. 

 b. The question of his being married after the murder 252-254. 

 * That some of his posterity were saved 254. 

VII. THE GENERATIONS OF CAIN AND THE GENERATIONS OF THE GODLY. 

A. The Posterity of Cain in General. 

V. 17. _And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: andhe builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name ofhis son, Enoch. _

245. It is worthy of admiration that Moses describes the generation ofthe sons of Cain before the generation of the sons of God. But allthis is done according to the fixed counsel of God. For the childrenof this world have in this life and in this their generation theadvantage of the children of God (Lk 16, 8) with reference to thefirst promise. The spiritual seed of the woman indeed possess thespiritual blessing, but the seed of the serpent arrogate to themselvesthe corporal, or temporal, blessing, and they bruise the heel of theblessed seed. In this respect the temporal has precedence over thespiritual. 

246. But a great difference comes to the surface at a later day. Although Moses records the history of the posterity of Cain before theposterity of the righteous, yet we afterwards see that the latter aremore especially the care of the Holy Spirit. He does not confinehimself to a bare registration of their names, but he carefullynumbers their years, makes mention of their death, and not onlychronicles their own doings, as he chronicles in this passage those ofthe sons of Cain, but also the transactions and the conversationswhich Jehovah had with them, the promises he made, the help renderedin danger, and the blessings vouchsafed. 

247. None of these things are recorded of the wicked posterity ofCain. When Moses has said that Cain begat a son named Enoch, and thathe built a city to which he gave the name of his son, calling itEnoch, the sacred historian immediately cuts off the memory of Cainaltogether and, as it were, buries him forever with these few shortwords of record. He seems to entertain no further care or concern foreither his life or his death. He merely records temporalblessings--that he begat a son and that he built a city. For as thegift of reproduction was not taken away from the murderer Cain, neither was the gift of dominion taken from him. But he lost all therich blessings of the earth because it had drunk the blood of hisbrother, as we have shown above. 

248. The Holy Spirit records these things in order that we may seethat there was, from the very beginning, two churches: one the churchof the sons of Satan and of the flesh, which often makes sudden andgreat increase; and the other the church of the sons of God, which isusually weak and makes slow progress. Although the Scriptures do notrelate how these two churches lived together in the beginning, yet, asit was declared by God to Satan, "I will put enmity between thy seedand her seed, " it is certain that the church of Cain was ever hostileto the Church of Adam. And the present text fully shows that the sonsof men so increased and prevailed that they almost completelyperverted and destroyed the Church of the sons of God. For in thegreat flood, only eight souls of them were saved; all the rest of thehuman race perished in the waters on account of their sin. 

249. And this is a calamity of the true Church, common to all ages: assoon as she begins to increase, she is compelled to oppose with allher might Satan and the ungodly. She is at length tired out by thewickedness of her enemy, and is then either obliged to yield to herenraged foe, overcome by the cross and its afflictions, or she sinksunder the seductions of pleasures and riches. So it was with theposterity of Adam. Broken down, at length, under so long a war withthe sons of men, they yielded, being reduced at last to eight soulsonly, who were saved. Ungodliness having so far prevailed, and thegodly losing ground, the Lord at length interposes and saves the fewrighteous remaining; but all the rest, both the seduced and theseducers, he punishes, including them in the same judgment. And wehope and believe the Lord will do the same in the judgment at the lastday. 

250. Many questions arise here. Some inquire respecting thecircumstances connected with the wife of Cain: at what time the murderwas committed; whether Cain murdered his brother before he was ahusband, or after he was married. And the Jews, moreover, say that Evebrought forth twins at every birth, a male and a female; and theyassert that Cain married his sister Calmana, and Abel his sisterDebora. Whether these things be true or not I cannot affirm. I knownot. But they are not vital to the interests of the Church, and thereis nothing certain known concerning them. This one thing is certain, that Cain had a sister for his wife. But whether or no he had her ashis wife when he committed the murder, cannot with certainty beproven. However, the text before us greatly tends to the conclusionthat Cain was married when he committed the murder of his brother; forit intimates that the inheritance was divided between the two brotherswhen it affirms that the care of the cattle was committed by thefather to Abel and the tilling of the ground to Cain. I, therefore, aminclined to believe that both of the brothers were married. 

251. This conclusion is favored also by the statement made above, thatCain and Abel "in the process of time" brought their offerings. Thishas been explained in the following manner: At the end of the year, the two newly married husbands brought as offerings the new fruitswhich God had given them in this first year of their marriage; Cainbrought the first fruits of the earth, and Abel the first fruits ofhis flock. And the time was probably the autumn of the year, the timewhen the fruits of the earth are gathered, the same season in whichthe Jews afterwards held the feast of expiation. Moses, in hisLevitical law, seems carefully to have noted and collected theancestral patterns, and to have reduced them to a code. When, therefore, the new husbands came to render their thanks to God for hisblessings and to offer their gifts, and Abel's offering was acceptedof God and not the offering of Cain, Cain's heart was immediatelyfilled by Satan with hatred of his brother; and upon this hatredafterwards followed the horrible murder. This is the opinion of theJews, which I thus relate because it does not appear to be at all farfrom the truth. But, as I have often said, the interpretations of theJews are to be read with critical discrimination, so that in theirteachings, we may retain the things consistent with the truth, butcondemn and refute all fictions of their own making. 

252. If Cain was not married when he slew his brother, it is stillmore wonderful that after such a wicked deed he obtained a wife atall; and certainly that damsel was worthy the highest praise whomarried such a man. For how could the maiden rejoice in a marriagewith her brother who was a murderer, accursed and excommunicated? She, on her part, no doubt supplicated her father, and expostulated withhim and asked how he could give her, an innocent one, in marriage to aman thus accursed, and force her into banishment with him. Nay, thevery example of her brother's murder must have naturally filled herwith terror, lest the crime which her husband committed on his brotherhe might also dare to commit on her, his sister and his wife. 

253. In bringing about this marriage, Adam obviously had to exercisemarvelous eloquence. It was for him to convince his daughter that thefather's command was not to be disobeyed, and that while Cain, curse-ridden, would have to bear the penalty of his sin, God wouldstill preserve and bless her, the innocent one. 

Nor do I entertain the least doubt that God conferred many personalblessings upon Cain, down the whole line of his posterity, for thesake of his wife, who, from motives of faith toward God and ofobedience toward her parents, had married her murderous brother. 

As Christ was the minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to establish the certainty of the promise made unto the Jewishfathers; and as, in the absence of a promise, he was the minister ofthe Gentiles, because of the mercy of God, (Rom 15, 8-9), so the likeuncovenanted mercy was shown also to the posterity of Cain. These twoopinions have been expressed concerning the marriage of Cain, butwhich is the truth I know not. If Cain was married after he committedthe murder, his wife is most certainly worthy of all praise and of allfame, who could thus yield to the authority of her parents, and sufferherself to be joined in marriage with an accursed murderer. 

254. To myself, the first opinion appears to be much nearer the truth, that he murdered his brother after his marriage with his sister;because we have so clear a testimony in the text concerning thedivision of the inheritance. And in that case, the necessity lay onthe wife to follow her husband. As wife and husband are one body andone flesh, Adam had no desire to separate them; moreover, the wife isbound to bear her part of the calamities of her husband. Just in thesame manner as the posterity of Cain enjoyed a part of those blessingswhich were bestowed of God upon the innocent wife, Pharaoh, king ofEgypt, was saved in the time of Joseph, and the King of Nineveh wassaved in the time of his calamity, although neither of them belongedto the people of God. And so I also believe that some were saved outof the posterity of Cain, although Cain himself had utterly lost thepromise concerning the blessed seed. 

B. THE POSTERITY OF CAIN IN DETAIL; THE GENERATIONS OF CAIN. 

 * The names were given to the descendants of Cain, not by accident, but by special thought and with a definite meaning 255. 

 1. Of Enoch. 

 a. The meaning of his name 255-256. 

 b. Is the first in Cain's posterity and the beginning of the temporal blessing 256. 

 * Why Cain built a city 257-258. 

 2. Irad and the meaning of his name. It was not given without a purpose 259. 

 3. Mehujael and the meaning of his name 260. 

 * The means the false church uses to suppress the true Church 260. 

 4. Methushael and the meaning of his name 261. 

 5. Lamech. 

 a. What his name signifies 262. 

 * Cain's descendants persecute the true Church. Yet some of Cain's posterity were saved 263. 

 b. The reason he took two wives 264. 

 c. Who were his wives 265. 

 d. His sons, Jabal, Jubal, Tubal-cain, and his daughter Naamah 266-268. 

 * Why Moses mentions the various arts of Cain's descendants 269. 

 * Whether poverty drove Cain's descendants to the arts 269-270. 

 * As the false church was before the flood so is she still, and will remain so to the end of the world 271. 

 * How the Cainites increased and oppressed the true Church 272. 

 * Why the Scriptures do not mention that some of the Cainites were saved 272. 

 e. Of his haughty speech, "I have slain a man etc. "

 (1) This is difficult to understand, and has been poorly treated by interpreters 273. 

 (2) The fable explanation of these words by the Jews refuted 274-275. 

 (3) How others explained them 275. 

 (4) Luther's understanding of them 276-277. 

 f. Whether Lamech slew Cain, and thereby made himself famous 278. 

 g. How he attempted to be ruler upon Adam's death 279. 

 * How the Church is oppressed from both sides 279. 

 * Why Moses mentions the blood descendants of Cain with such care 280. 

 h. Cain is not sorry for his deed, but even boasts of it 281. 

 * The nature of the Cain church 281. 

 i. How he seeks to avoid being slain by others 282. 

 * The pope has the conscience of Cain and Lamech 282. 

 j. He is a type of all the children of this world 283. 

 * How the devil drives the Cainites to rage against the Church under the guise of being holy 284. 

 * The true Church from the very beginning had to shed her blood 285. 

 * The tyranny of Popes Julius II and Clement VII 285. 

 * God at all times severely punished the persecutors of his Church 286. 

 k. How Lamech still wished to defend his deed 287. 

 l. He had no Word of God, but was filled with pride 288. 

B. THE POSTERITY OF CAIN IN DETAIL. 

255. As regards the names of Cain's offspring, I believe that, incommon with those of the holy patriarchs, they indicate not an absenceof purpose or a random selection, but a definite purpose and aprophecy. Thus "Adam" signifies a man of, or taken out of, the redearth. "Eve" signifies the mother of life, or of the living. "Cain"signifies possession. "Abel" signifies vanity. And we find that alsoamong the Gentiles many names have such a significance; not seldomnames are found which are truly prophetic. "Enoch" is a propheticname, expressive of hope in the future as a relief to Cain's mind, orrather to his wife's, for it was the latter who called the son shebore Enoch, from the Hebrew _Hanach_, which signifies, "shededicated, " or "she devoted. "

256. This is a word frequently used by Moses. As when he says, "Whatman is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it?let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, andanother man dedicate it, " Deut 20, 5. The verb in this passage, whichsignifies originally to dedicate, here signifies to possess, or toenjoy; and when this possession or enjoyment begins, it is attendedwith happy signs and auspicious invocations. So when the wife of Cainbrought forth her first son, she said to her husband, Enoch; that is, "Dedicate him, devote him:" for the verb is in the imperative mood. Asif Cain had said himself, May this our beginning be happy andprosperous. My father Adam cursed me on account of my sin. I am castout of his sight. I live alone in the world. The earth does not yieldme her strength; she would be more fruitful to me, had I not thussinned. And yet God now shows me uncovenanted mercy in giving me thisson. It is a good and happy beginning. 

As in the generation of Cain the corporal blessings begin with Enoch, so it is another Enoch in the generation of the righteous under whomreligion and spiritual blessings begin to flourish. 

257. That which is added by Moses concerning the city Cain thus builtbelongs to history. But I have before observed that Cain, whenseparated from the true church and driven into banishment, hated thetrue church. When, therefore, Cain thus first built a city, that veryact tended to show that he not only disregarded and hated the trueChurch, but wished also to oppose and oppress it. For he reflectsthus: Behold I am cast out by my father and I am cursed by him, but mymarriage is not a barren one; therefore I have in this the hope of agreat posterity. What, therefore, is it to me that I am driven by myfather from beneath his roof? I will build a city, in which I willgather a church for myself. Farewell, therefore, to my father and hischurch. I regard them not. 

258. Accordingly, it is not through fear, or for defense, that Cain"built a city, " but from the sure hope of prosperity and success, andfrom pride and the lust of dominion. For he had no need whatever tofear his father and mother, who at the divine command had thrust himout to go into some foreign land. Nor had he any more ground of fearfrom their children than from themselves. But Cain was inflated withpride through this uncovenanted mercy of God, as I have termed it;and, as the world ever does, he sought by means of his "city" anopportunity of emerging from his present state into future greatness. The sons of God, on the contrary, are only anxious about another city, "which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, " as we haveit described in the Epistles to the Hebrews 11, 10. 

V. 18a. _And unto Enoch was born Irad. _

259. What opinion to form concerning this name, I really know not, forits origin is very obscure; and yet I believe the name is notaccidental but prophetic. In the book of Joshua we have a city calledAi; and this same term is used elsewhere as an appellative. Now, theproper name Ai signifies, "a heap, " as a heap of fallen buildings. Andif with this name you compound the verb _Irad_, the word thuscompounded will signify increase. Although the posterity of Cain, onaccount of their excommunication, were at that time like a great heapof ruins, it was his prayer that they might not altogether perish, butbe preserved and greatly increased by means of this son Irad. Ifanyone can offer a better interpretation, I will by no means despiseit; for on obscure points like the present, conjecture is quiteallowable. 

V. 18b. _And Irad begat Mehujael. _

260. This name is formed from the verb _mahah_, which signifies "todestroy, " and from _jaal_, "he began, " or "he attempted or dared. "Accordingly this name signifies that the posterity of Cain should nowenter upon so mighty an increase as to dare to set itself in arrayagainst the true Church and to despise it and persecute it; somightily should it prevail by its wealth, wisdom, glory and numbers. These, indeed, are for the most part the influences through which thetrue Church is always overcome by the world and the false church. 

V. 18c. _And Mehujael begat Methushael. _

261. _Meth_ signifies "death, " and _schaal_ means "to ask, " or "todemand. " Hence we have the name Saul; that is, demanded. This nameindicates a spirit haughtier than any of the others. I understand itto signify that Methushael threatens that he will avenge his parents, who are dead, whom the other church--that is the true Church--haspunished with excommunication and exile. 

V. 18d. _And Methushael begat Lamech. _

262. Hitherto the Cainites seem to have insulted the true Church withimpunity and to have triumphed over them. But the name "Lamech"signifies that God, at the time in which Lamech was born, inflicted onthe posterity of Cain their due punishment. The name Lamech is derivedfrom the verb _makak_, which signifies to humble, to diminish, tosuppress. Or, it may be understood actively, to mean that in the timeof Lamech the posterity of Cain so greatly increased that the trueChurch was quite overwhelmed by them. 

263. Such was the posterity of Cain; men, no doubt, renowned for theirwisdom and greatness. And I also believe that some of them were savedby the uncovenanted mercy of God, as I have above explained. But farthe greater part of them most bitterly hated and persecuted the trueChurch. They could not brook inferiority to the sons of Adam, the trueChurch; therefore they set up their own forms of worship, andintroduced many other new things for the sake of suppressing thechurch of Adam. And because the false church was thus kept separatefrom the true Church, I believe that Cain married to each other hissons and daughters. Accordingly, about the time of Lamech, Cain'sposterity began to multiply exceedingly. And it is for this reason, Ibelieve, that Moses here terminates the list. 

V. 19. _And Lamech took unto him two wives; the name of the one wasAdah, and the name of the other Zillah. _

264. Here again a twofold question arises. In the first place divinesdispute whether Lamech married these two wives on account of lustfulpassion or for some other cause. My belief is that polygamy was notentered into for the sake of lust, but with the object of increasinghis family, and from the lust of dominion, and especially so if, ashis name imports, the Lord at that time had been punishing theCainites, or the posterity of Cain, by pestilence, or by some othercalamity. In this case, Lamech probably thought by such expedient toretrieve his greatness. Thus barbarous nations retain polygamy tostrengthen and establish both home and State. 

265. As regards the names of these two wives, the name of one is Adah;that is, adorned, or, having chains on the neck. _Adi_ signifies aneat, or elegant woman, and _adah_, the verb, signifies to adorn, or, to put on. And perhaps this name was given to her, not only becauseshe was the mistress of the house, elegantly adorned or clothed, butbecause she was also beautiful. The name of the other wife, Zillah, signifies, his shade. 

V. 20. _And Adah bare Jabal; he was the father of such as dwell intents and have cattle. _

266. The name Jabal is derived from the verb _jabal_, which signifiesto bring forward, or to produce. 

V. 21. _And his brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of allsuch as handle the harp and pipe. _

267. And the name Jubal has the same origin and signification; for itmeans produced, or introduced. Both these names, therefore, contain awish or prayer of Lamech concerning the increase of his family. Theposterity of Cain always entertained the object and expectation ofsurpassing in numbers. And, no doubt, the Cainites held up thistemporal blessing in the face of the true Church as an evident proofthat they were not cast off by God, but were the very people of God. 

V. 22. _And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, the forger of everycutting instrument of (an artificer in every workmanship of) brass andiron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. _

268. Tubal-cain signifies, produce property. So the Romans gave suchnames as "Valerius" (from valeo), and "Augustus" (from augeo). AndNaamah received her name from her sweetness, or beauty. This posterityof Cain increased infinitely; hence Moses breaks off at this point. 

269. Now, when he not only chronicles names but makes mention also ofthe deeds and labors of each one, the Jewish explanation is to berejected that the offspring of Cain was compelled to follow otheroccupations because the earth was cursed, and hence gained theirlivelihood, one as a shepherd, another as a worker in brass, andanother as a musician, obtaining grain and the other fruits of theearth from the offspring of Adam. But if the Cainites had been soseverely pressed by hunger, they would have forgotten the harp, organand other instruments of music in their extremity; for the enjoymentof music is not characteristic of the hungry and thirsty. 

270. Their invention of music and their efforts in the discovery ofother arts is proof that they had the necessaries of life inabundance. The reason, therefore, that the descendants of Cain turnedto these pursuits and were not contented with the simple food theearth produced, like the descendants of Adam, was that they wished torule, and aimed at the high praise and glory of being men of talent. Ibelieve, however, that some of them passed over to the true Church andfollowed the religion of Adam. 

271. And such as Moses here describes the generation of the wicked, orthe false church, to be, from the beginning down to the mighty floodof waters, so we find it ever, and such it will remain until the finalflood of fire. "The sons of this world are for their own generationwiser than the sons of the light, " Lk 16, 8. Therefore it is that theyever advance and increase, and commend themselves and their own, andthus acquire riches, dignities and power; while the true Church, onthe other hand, always lies prostrate, despised, oppressed, excommunicated. 

Vs. 23-24. _And Lamech said unto his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear myvoice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain aman for wounding me, and a young man for bruising me. If Cain shall beavenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. _

272. Thus far Moses has given us a history of the generation of thechildren of this world, and having brought down the list to the timeof Lamech and his wives and children, he buries them, as it were, altogether in silence, leaving them without any promise, either of thelife which is to come or of the life that now is. For except thatuncovenanted blessing of offspring and of food, the Cainites possessednothing whatever. Yet they so increased in power and in multitude thatthey filled the whole world, and at length overturned and ravaged tosuch an extent the righteous nation of the children of God whichpossessed the promise of the future and eternal life, and sunk theminto so deep a hell of wickedness, that eight men only remained to besaved when the flood came upon the whole world of the ungodly. Andthough there is no doubt that some of the generation of Cain weresaved both before the flood and in the flood, yet the Scriptures donot mention them, to the end that we might the more fear God and walkaccording to his Word. But hard as the diamond are those human heartswhich fail to be moved by such an example as the flood, than whichnothing more dreadful is to be found in the whole chain of time. 

273. Moses, therefore, having buried in silence the entire generationof Cain, records only one unimportant fact respecting Lamech, but whatthe real import of that fact is, Moses does not explain. I know notthat any other passage in the Holy Scriptures has been so diverselyinterpreted, and so rent and wrested, as this text. For ignorance atleast, if eloquence is not, is fruitful of surmises, errors andfables. I will mention some of the vulgar views upon the passage nowbefore us. 

274. The Jews compose the fable that Lamech, when he had grown old andwas blind, was led by a youth into the woods to hunt wild beasts, notfor the sake of their flesh but for their skins; circumstances whichare altogether absurd, and at once prove the whole fable to be a lie. And they hold that Cain was there, concealed among the bushes, and inthat solitude he not only exercised repentance but sought security forhis life. The young man who directed the spear for Lamech, thinking hesaw a wild beast in a certain thicket, told Lamech to hurl his spear, and Lamech hurled his spear and, contrary to all thought, piercedCain. And they add that after Lamech had been made conscious of themurder he had committed, he immediately speared the youth himself, whoalso died under the wound he received. It was thus, say the Jews, thatthe "man" and the "young man" were slain by Lamech. But suchabsurdities as these are utterly unworthy of refutation. Indeed, Moseshimself completely refutes them; he records the fact that Cain, farfrom fleeing into solitude and concealment, "built a city, " whichimplies that he governed a State and thereby established for himself akind of kingdom. Moreover, the ages of Cain and Lamech would notaccord with this explanation, for it is not at all probable Cain livedto the time Lamech became old and blind. 

275. There is still another Jewish invention. After Lamech had killedCain, his wives would no longer live with him, through fear of thepunishment they foreboded would come upon him, and therefore Lamech, to comfort himself and to induce his wives to live with him, prophesied that whosoever should kill him would assuredly be punished"seventy and sevenfold. " The Jews invent like absurdities alsoconcerning the sons of Lamech, whom they say he taught to fabricatearms for the destruction of men. Other commentators, again, will haveit that the sense of this text is to be taken negatively, thus: If Ihad killed a man, as Cain killed his brother, I should have beenworthy of your reprobation. 

276. My interpretation, accordingly, is that the words, "If Cain shallbe avenged sevenfold, " etc. , are not to be taken for the Word of God. For that generation did not have the Word; how, then, could Lamech bebelieved to have been a prophet? Thus, even such a man as Jeromeproduces the vagary that, inasmuch as, according to Luke, seventy-seven generations can be counted between Adam and Christ, itwas after this space of time that Lamech's sin was taken away byChrist. If such vaporings are legitimate, anything can be proved fromthe Scriptures. Jerome even forgets that Lamech represented theseventh generation from Adam! The word under consideration then, isnot to be placed upon the same level with the former, spoken to Cain;for that was the Word of God. It is, on the contrary, the word of awicked murderer; not true, but an audacious fiction, based upon thatspoken by Adam to Cain. But why does he deliver his discourse notbefore his church but at home, and only before his wives?

277. It is probable that the good and pious women were greatly alarmedon account of the murder committed by their husband. The wickedmurderer, therefore, to appear equally safe with Cain, endeavored inthis way to reassure his wives concerning his safety from death. Thisis what the wicked church is accustomed to do; it prophesies out ofits own head. But all such prophecies are vain. This one thing, however, we can gather from the present text, that Lamech did notutter the contents of his prophecy from the Word of God, but out ofhis own brain. 

278. In respect to Cain, I do not think that he was killed by Lamech, but that he died long before the time of Lamech. And as there werecontinual animosities between the Cainite church and the Church ofAdam--for the Cainites could not brook their being treated as outsideof the true communion--my opinion is, that Lamech killed some eminentman and some distinguished youth of the generation of the righteous, just as Cain, his father, had killed Abel. And I believe that, havingcommitted such murders, he wished to protect himself from being killedby uttering the words of the text, after the manner of the protectionvouchsafed by God to his father Cain. For Lamech was no doubt a man ofvery great abilities and the chief man in his day and State. He hadalso strengthened his cause by a novel venture, for he was the firstman who married two wives. And he harassed the Church of the godly invarious ways, as men are wont to do who combine talent with malice. Therefore he furnished his men with arms, riches, and pleasures, thathe might overcome the true Church on every side, which alone held theholy faith, the pure Word, and the pure worship of God. To all else hepaid little attention. 

279. It is very probable that the patriarch Adam died about this time, this being the first patriarchal death; and there is no doubt thatLamech seized this opportunity of transferring the whole government ofthe world at that time to himself, that he might have all things underhis own rule. This is the manner in which the world acts to this day. The Church of God, therefore, placed as it were in the midst, isoppressed on either side; by tyrants and blood-thirsty men on the onehand, and by those who are devoted to the concerns and pleasures ofthis world on the other. As tyrants use violence and the sword todestroy the Church, so the latter entice her by their allurements. 

280. Hence it is that Moses makes a special point of recording thatthe blood-thirsty seed of the Cainites gave themselves up to pleasuresand to other worldly pursuits. And hence it is, also, that Christexpressly shows that much blood was shed even before the flood, bytestifying "that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on theearth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood ofZachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and thealtar, " Mt 23, 35. Moses testifies subsequently (Gen 6, 1-13), thatthe earth before the flood was filled with iniquities; and he is notspeaking of the iniquities and violent deeds of thieves andadulterers, but describes particularly the tyranny of the Cainitechurch, which pursued with all the violence of the sword the holyposterity of Adam. And it is for this same reason that the sacredhistorian describes the descendants of Cain by the name "giants. "These are the reasons which lead me to conclude that Lamech followedin the footsteps of his father Cain and slew some distinguished man ofthe holy patriarchs and his son. 

281. It was certainly an evidence of the greatest tyranny in Lamech, that, when he had been discovered by his wives, he did not grieve forwhat he had done, but held in contempt the punishment which he hadjust cause to dread. As if he had said: I have killed a man 'tis true, but what is that to you? The wound of that belongs to me; I shall bewounded for it, not you. I have indeed killed a young man, but it isto my own hurt. I shall be punished for it, not you. What utterancescould evince more contempt than these in the face of open sins?

These are my thoughts on the passage now before us. The text showsthat the Cainites were tyrannical men, proud of their success, andgiven to pleasure; and the very words of Lamech prove him to be aproud man, not grieving at all for the murder he had committed, butglorying in it as in a righteous cause. The Cainite church alwaysexcuses that tyranny which it exercises over the godly, as Christsays: "Whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service untoGod, " Jn 16, 2. This is expressed in the additional words of Lamech:

V. 24. _If Cain shall he avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy andsevenfold. _

282. Here Lamech sets himself above his father Cain, making it appearthat he had a more righteous cause for the murder he had committed, and fortifying himself against those inclined to avenge the murdersperpetrated by him. For the words of the text are not the words of theLord, as we have said, but the words of Lamech himself. Just so thepope fortifies himself by violence, tyranny, threats and anathemas, tomake himself secure against avengers, for he has the conscience of aCain and a Lamech. Let him, says the pope, who shall do anythingcontrary to these my decrees know that he shall incur the indignationof St. Peter and St. Paul. 

283. Lamech, therefore, is an example of this world, and Moses pointsto him to show what kind of a heart, will and wisdom the world has. Just as if he had said in reference to Lamech: Such are the actions ofthe seed of the serpent and such are the children of this world. Theygather riches, follow their pleasures, increase their power, and thenabuse all these things by their tyranny, making use of them againstthe true Church, the members of which they persecute and slay. And yetin the midst of all these mighty sins, they fear not, but are proudand secure, boasting and saying, "What can the righteous do?" (Ps 11, 3): "Our lips are our own: who is lord over us?" (Ps 12, 4): "He (thewicked) saith in his heart: God hath forgotten, he hideth his face, hewill never see it, " (Ps 10, 11): and other like sentiments. 

284. That such is the meaning of the passage in question the factsrecorded prove, though the words of the text do not so clearly expressthat meaning. The true Church has ever Satan as its great enemy, andhe drives the Cainites into fury, disguised as devotion, against theirbrethren, the Abels; as Christ also says, affirming that the devil wasa murderer from the beginning, Jn 8, 44. It is declared throughout theScriptures concerning the true Church, that the wicked are evershedding its blood. The various passages in the Psalms speak the samethings, "Precious shall their blood be in his sight, " Ps 72, 14. Again, "Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of his saints"Ps 116, 15. And again, "For thy sake are we killed all the day long"Ps 44, 22. 

285. As, therefore, the Church of God has at all times, and in allages, given her blood to be shed by the wicked and by false brethren, so also, in that first age of the world she had to suffer from herenemies, whom the Scriptures call "giants, " and affirm that those"giants" filled the earth with "violence. " Among these giants was alsothis Lamech now before us, who was one perhaps like Pope Julius II orClement VII who although they exercised cruelty in the highest degree, yet wished to be called and appear as most holy saints. Just so Lamechhere wishes to make it appear that he had a most righteous cause forthe murder he had committed, and therefore he threatened greatervengeance on the man who should kill him than God himself hadthreatened on the person who should slay his father, the murdererCain. 

286. In this manner, the Church was vexed with the cross and withpersecutions from the very beginning of the world until God, compelledby the wickedness of man, destroyed the whole world by the flood. Justso, also, when the measure of Pharaoh's malice was full he was drownedwith all his host in the Red Sea. Just so, again, when the measure ofthe malice of the Gentile nations was full they were all uprooted anddestroyed by Moses and Joshua. In the same manner afterwards when theJews raged against the Gospel they were so utterly destroyed that notone stone was left upon another in Jerusalem. Other instances are theBabylonians, the Medes, the Persians, the Grecians, and the Romans. 

287. The Scriptures therefore do not record whom Lamech killed. Theyonly record that two murders were committed by him, and that Lamech, in his impenitence, wished to protect himself in the same manner ashis father Cain had been divinely protected, by issuing hisproclamation, thereby making it appear that he had righteous cause forthe murder he committed. And if this interpretation be not the trueone, it is at least certain that the generation of the Cainites was ablood-thirsty generation, and hated and persecuted the true Church. 

288. And it is, moreover, true that Lamech had not the Word, and that, accordingly, his utterance is not to be considered in the same lightas that word which was spoken to his father Cain; for the latter wasthe voice of truth, but the word of Lamech was the voice of his ownpride, expressive of the rule of Satan and of a church of hypocrites, which sins securely and yet glories in its sins as if they were deedsof righteousness. 

C. THE POSTERITY OF THE RIGHTEOUS IN DETAIL; THE GENERATIONS OF THE RIGHTEOUS. 

 1. Of Seth. 

 a. Why Seth is described in detail 289. 

 b. Why Eve at Seth's birth recalled Cain's murder 290. 

 * How and why the first parents after Abel's death refrained from bearing children 291. 

 c. Seth's birth was announced before in a special way by God 291-292. 

 * The uncovenanted grace of the Cainites. Also, why God did not mention that some of them would be saved 293. 

 d. How Eve manifested special faith and obedience in Seth's birth 294-295. 

 * Why the Romish church never canonized Eve 296. 

 * The idle fables of the Jews about Lamech and his wives, and about Adam's abstinence and Cain's increase, are to be rejected 297. 

 e. A new generation springs from Seth, in which the promise shall be fulfilled 298. 

 2. Of Enoch. 

 a. What his name means, and why it was given to him 299. 

 * The names of the holy patriarchs originated not by chance 299. 

 b. How true worship began under Enoch 300-302. 

 * Of true worship. 

 (1) In what it consists 301. 

 (2) Why it was not in use before 302. 

 * The meaning of "the name of Jehovah" or the proclaiming of the name of Jehovah 303. 

 (3) The right course to take in the doctrine concerning divine worship 304. 

 * God always ministered comfort to his Church under the cross 305. 

 (4) What is the true worship according to the first table of the law 306-307. 

 (5) How true worship according to the second table follows from the first 308. 

 (6) People are to be instructed first and chiefly in the worship of the first table 309. 

 (7) Whether visible signs were present in these days in their worship, and to what end they were necessary 310-311. 

 (8) The worship of which Moses speaks is to be understood not of the Cainites but of Seth's posterity 312. 

* A summary review of the contents of the fourth chapter of Genesis 313. 

* Why the fifth chapter was written 314. 

* Why the Jews cannot see the unity in the first five chapters of the Bible 315. 

C. THE POSTERITY OF THE RIGHTEOUS IN DETAIL. 

V. 25. _And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and calledhis name Seth: For, said she, God hath appointed me another seedinstead of Abel; for Cain slew him. _

289. Hitherto Moses has spoken of the generation of the wicked only, the whole of which he buries as it were with the above brief catalog. The historian now turns to the description of the godly and of thetrue Church. And first of all, we are to observe the manner ofexpression Moses uses in reference to the name given by Eve to herson: "And she called his name Seth. " Moses does not speak thusconcerning Cain when he was born, nor concerning righteous Abel, norwith reference to Enoch, nor with reference to any of the others. Bythis particular expression regarding Seth and his name Moses wouldsignify that this was the first son in whom flowed the stream of thepromise which had been made to the parents in paradise. So Eve is tobe understood when she assigns the reason for giving her son thisname. Eve manifests her surpassing godliness and faith in giving herson such a name. 

290. The fact that Eve recalls the murder by wicked Cain of hisbrother Abel proves that there had existed a fierce enmity betweenthese two churches, and that she had witnessed and suffered many evilsand indignities from the Cainites. Because of this she now called tomind the awful murder which had been committed, whereby Cain wished todestroy the righteous seed that he might reign alone. But thanks be toGod, says she, who hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel. 

291. Moses here, as is his usual manner, embraces in the fewestpossible words the mightiest things, that he may incite the reader tothe most diligent consideration of the works of God. Of the pain andrighteous grief of the parents at the murder of Abel by his brother wehave spoken before. I see no reason why we should not believe thatafter the perpetration of that horrible murder no son was born to Adamuntil the birth of Seth; for it is most probable that the awful perilof a recurrence of a calamity like that which they had justexperienced, induced the godly parents to abstain from connubialintercourse. I believe, therefore, that by a particular promise madeto them by an angel, their minds were again comforted and confirmed, and that they were influenced to believe that a son of the descriptionof Seth would now be born unto them, who should hold fast the promise;and that, although the generation of Cain should utterly perish bytheir sin, the generation of him about to be born should be preserveduntil the promised blessed seed should come into the world. 

292. It is a proof of some like particular promise having beenrevealed to the parents by an angel that Eve adds to the name she gaveto her son a kind of short sermon, and that Moses when recording thiscircumstance makes use of an expression not otherwise adopted by himin connection with the names Adam or Eve gave to their children: "Andshe called his name Seth. " Seth is derived from the Hebrew verb_sath_, which signifies he placed, or he established, and was intendedto show that this son would be, as it were, the foundation on whichthe promise concerning Christ would rest, even though many other sonsshould be born unto the parents. Eve does not give him an exaltedname, such as "Cain, " yet she gives him a name signifying that theposterity of Seth should never be suppressed or destroyed. 

293. The Cainites, cast out from the sight of their parents, are leftunder a curse, without any promise whatever, and have only so muchmercy as they receive from the generation of the righteous as beggars, not as heirs. This is the mercy we above called uncovenanted mercy. But who, of the posterity of the Cainites, obtained that mercy, Mosesdoes not mention, and his design in this omission is to keep separatethe two churches: the one the Church of the righteous, which had thepromise of a life to come, but in this life was poor and afflicted;the other the church of the wicked, which in this life is rich andflourishing. 

294. Eve, the mother of us all, is highly to be praised, as a mostholy woman, full of faith and charity, because in the person of herson Seth she so nobly lauds the true Church, paying no regard whateverto the generation of the Cainites. For she does not say, I have gottenanother son in the place of Cain. She prefers the slain Abel to Cain, though Cain was the first-born. Herein praise is due, not only to herfaith but to her eminent obedience; for she is not only not offendedat the judgment of God concerning righteous Abel, but she also changesher own judgment concerning God. When Abel was born she despised him, and magnified Cain as the first-born, and as the possessor, as shethought, of the promise. But now she acts in all things quite thecontrary. As if she had said: After God's acceptance of him and of hisoffering, I had placed all my hopes on my son Abel, because he wasrighteous; but his wicked brother slew him. But now God hath appointedme another seed instead of Abel. 

295. She does not indulge her maternal affection for Cain. She doesnot excuse or lessen the sin of her son. But she herselfexcommunicates him, already excommunicated of God; and she banisheshim, together with all his posterity, among the polluted mass of theGentiles who live without any sure mercy of God, laying hold only asthey can of that uncovenanted mercy which, as we have said, theyreceive as beggars, not as heirs. 

296. It is a great marvel, surely, that the church of the pope, havingmade up so great a list of saints, has not yet inserted in thatcatalog Saint Eve, a woman full of faith and love, and with aninfinite number of crosses! But perhaps we are to gather from thisomission that it would rather follow the church of the Cainites thanthe holy Church. 

297. I am inclined to say nothing here about that absurd and idlefable of the Jews, that Lamech brought his disobedient wives to Adamas judge, and that when Adam commanded them to render to their husbanddue benevolence the wives in reply asked Adam why he did not do thesame to Eve. These fablers say that Adam, who had refrained from thebed of his wife from the murder of Abel to that time, again lived withher as man and wife, in order that he might not by his example induceothers to maintain perpetual continence, and thus prevent mankind frombeing multiplied. All these fables show how impure the thoughts of theJews were. Of the same description is the like argument of these Jews, who hold that when Seth was born, which was within a hundred yearsafter the death of Abel, the children of Cain had increased unto theseventh generation. Such absurdities do wicked men invent to bringreproach upon the Holy Scriptures. And of precisely the samedescription is the opinion that Cain was born in paradise, while, asyet, the original righteousness of his parents remained. What is theobject of this lying invention but to cause us to do away with Christaltogether? For take away original sin, and what need is there ofChrist at all? These things are indeed, as we have intimated, unworthyof being mentioned here. But they are worthy the enemies of Christ andthe enemies of grace. 

298. In Seth, therefore, we have a new generation, which arises fromand comes to pass in accordance with the great original promise, thatthe seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. Appropriatelythe name Seth is bestowed, so that Eve may felicitate herself upon thefact that this seed is established, safe from overthrow. David usesthe same verb: "If the foundations be destroyed, what can therighteous do?" Ps 11, 3. And the Hebrew word forms a perfect rhymewith its German equivalent: "Seth--steht. "

V. 26a. _And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he calledhis name Enosh. _

299. The verb _yikra_, he called, is in the masculine gender, by whichyou are to understand that it was the father who gave this name to hisson. In the former case the verb was feminine, because Eve gave to herson Seth his name. The expression in each case is different, whichdifference of gender in a verb the Latin language does not indicate. 

Enosh signifies a man afflicted or full of calamity. "What is man thatthou art mindful of him, " Ps 8, 4. Seth, accordingly, intimates thatat that time there was some persecution or affliction of the Church. That "old serpent, " who had cast man out of paradise and had killedAbel, the man beloved of God, was neither asleep nor idle. Therefore, upon the consolation enjoyed in the birth of Seth there soon followsanother trial or tribulation, which the godly parents Adam and Evesignalize by giving the name Enosh to their son. The names thus givenare by no means to be considered accidental. They were eitherprophetical or commemorative of some particular event. 

V. 26b. _Then began men to call upon the name of Jehovah. _

300. The rabbins understand this as having reference to idolatry. Theythink that about this time the name of Jehovah began to be given tocreatures: to the sun, the moon, etc. But Moses is not here speakingof what the generation of Cainites did, but what the godly generationof Adam did. The sacred historian is testifying that after the birthof Enosh there began the true worship of God, the calling upon thename of Jehovah. 

301. Here Moses most beautifully defines what it is to worship God, tocall upon the name of Jehovah; which is, as it were, the work of thefirst table and concerns the true worship of God. Now, calling uponthe name of Jehovah embraces the preaching of the Word, faith, orconfidence in God, confession, etc. Paul beautifully joins thesethings together in the fourteenth verse of the tenth chapter of hisEpistle to the Romans. True, the works of the second table also belongto the worship of God, but these works do not refer directly and onlyto God as do the works of the first table. 

302. After the confusion made in the house of Adam by Cain, thegeneration of the godly began to multiply by degrees and a littleChurch was formed, in which Adam as the high priest governed allthings by the Word and by sound doctrine. Moses here affirms that thistook place about the time of the birth of Enosh. Although this nameimplies that the Church had been overwhelmed by some terribledisaster, yet God raised her up again by his grace and mercy, andadded the great spiritual blessing of godly assemblage in a particularplace, with preaching, prayer and the offering of sacrifices, blessings which had hitherto perhaps been either hindered or forbiddenby the Cainites. We have here, then, another evidence of the promisedseed warring with the serpent and bruising its head. 

303. Furthermore, as Moses does not say: Jehovah began to be calledupon, but the name of Jehovah, the reference to Christ recommendsitself to our approval, since also in other passages the Schem Jehovah(the name of Jehovah) is so to be understood. This expression, "thenmen began to call upon the name of Jehovah, " contains a meaning mostimportant. It signifies that Adam, Seth, and Enosh taught and exhortedtheir posterity to expect redemption and to believe the promiseconcerning the seed of the woman, and to overcome by that hope thesnares, the crosses, the persecutions, the hatred and the violence ofthe Cainites, and not to despair of salvation, but rather to givethanks unto God, assured that he would at some time deliver them bythe seed of the woman. 

304. What could Adam and Seth teach greater or better than that thegreat deliverer, Christ, was promised to their posterity? And this isquite in keeping with the proper principle to be observed in religiousinstruction. The first care should ever be directed to the firsttable. When this table is well understood, the right understanding ofthe second table will soon follow; yea, it is then easy to fulfil thelatter. For how is it possible that, where pure doctrine is taught, where men rightly believe, rightly call upon the name of Jehovah, andrightly give thanks unto God, the second and inferior fruits can bewanting?

305. In this manner did it please God at that time to comfort theafflicted church of the godly and to prevent their despair concerningthe future. We see throughout the pages of sacred history a perpetualsuccession and change of consolations and afflictions. Joseph in Egyptkeeps alive his parents and his brethren when divinely visited byfamine. After this, when these people were oppressed by wicked kings, they were again delivered from their cruel bondage. And Cyrus deliversthem when captives in Babylon. When God permits his own people to beoppressed by the violence and guile of the devil and the world, healways lifts them up again and gives them prophets and godly teachersto restore his sinking church, and to break for a while the fury ofSatan. 

306. Furthermore, it is the intention to lay down a logical definitionwhen it is claimed that the worship of God does not consist inceremonies devised and transmitted by men, in the erection of statues, or the performance of other sport suggested by reason, but in callingupon the name of Jehovah. Worship in its truest meaning, well-pleasingto God, and subsequently made mandatory in the first commandment, embraces the fear of God, trust in God, confession, prayer andpreaching. 

307. The first commandment of the Law demands faith, that we believeGod is the only helper in time of need, Ps 9, 9. The secondcommandment demands confession and prayer, that we call upon the nameof Jehovah in times of peril and give thanks unto God. The thirdcommandment requires that we teach the truth, and that we guard anddefend sound doctrine. 

These are the true and appropriate acts of the worship of God, andthey are those which God requires. He requires not sacrifices normoney nor anything of the kind. As regards the first table, herequires that we hear, consider and teach the Word; that we pray toGod and fear him. 

308. Where these things exist, the observances and works required bythe second table follow, as it were, of their own accord. It isimpossible that he who does the works and performs the worship of thefirst table should not do and perform those of the second table also. David saith: "His delight is in the law of Jehovah; and on his lawdoth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted bythe stream of water; that bringeth forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also doth not wither. " Ps 1, 2-3. These things are evidentconsequences of the right worship of God, according to thecommandments of the first table. He who believes God, who fears God, who calls upon God in tribulation, who praises God and gives thanksunto him for his mercies, who gladly hears the Word of God, whocontinually contemplates the works of God, and who teaches others todo the same things--do you think that such a one will harm hisneighbor, or disobey his parents, or kill, or commit adultery?

309. The first table, therefore, is to be set forth first of all, andinstruction as regards the true worship is to receive precedence toall else. This means, first to make the tree good on which good fruitis to grow. Now, our adversaries take the diametrically oppositecourse; they want to have the good fruit before they have even thetree. 

310. Moreover, I believe that about this time there was added somevisible ceremony of divine worship, for God is ever wont thus to do. He always joins with the Word some visible sign. When Abel and Cainpresented their offerings God showed by a visible sign from heaventhat he had respect unto Abel and his offering, but not unto Cain andhis offering. And so, in all probability, it was in this case and atthis time. When the Church began to flourish and the Word of God waspublicly taught with considerable success, God added also some visiblesign, that the Church might assuredly know that she pleased God. 

311. But whatever that sign was, whether fire from heaven or somethingelse, God withheld it until the third generation, that men might learnto be content with the Word alone. Afterwards, when men had comfortedthemselves by the Word alone against the Cainites, in alltribulations, God of his great mercy added to the Word some visiblesign. He established a place and appointed persons and ceremonies towhich the Church might gather for the exercise of faith, for preachingand prayer. By means of these things, the Word or the first table andthen a visible sign ordained of God, a Church is constituted, in whichmen undergo discipline through teaching, hearing, and the partaking ofthe sacraments. Then upon these things will assuredly follow the worksof the second table, which are acceptable, and acts of worship, onlyon the part of those who possess and practice the first table. 

312. This gift of God, Moses sets forth in the few short words of thetext before us, when he says, "Then began men to call upon the name ofJehovah. " For this beginning to call upon the name of Jehovah was noton the part of the Cainites, as the Jews explained the passage, but onthe part of the godly posterity of Adam, which alone was then the trueChurch. If any of the posterity of Cain were saved, it must ofnecessity have been by joining this Church. 

313. The sum of the first four chapters of Genesis is that we are tobelieve in a resurrection of the dead after this life, and a lifeeternal through the Seed of the woman. This is the blessed portion ofthe godly, of them that believe, who in this life are filled withafflictions and subject to injuries at the hands of all men. To thewicked, on the contrary, are given, as their portion, the riches andpower of this world, which they use against the true Church of God. 

In the first chapter it is shown that man was created untoimmortality, because he was created "in the image of God. "

The teaching also of the second chapter sets forth the same thing, "Inthe day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. " It followsthat the first created man and woman could not have died if they hadnot eaten of that fruit. By their sin of eating they fell fromimmortality to mortality, and they begat an offspring like untothemselves. 

In the third chapter immortality is set forth anew, as restored by thepromise of the Seed of the woman. 

In the fourth chapter we have an especial example of immortality setbefore us in Abel, who, after he had been slain by his brother, wasreceived into the bosom of God, who testified that the voice of theblood of Abel cried unto him from the ground. 

314. And the fifth chapter, which now follows, is expressly written toset forth the immortality of Enoch, who was taken up into heaven bythe Lord. Although the following chapter is necessary as a chronicleof the number of the years of the generation of the righteous, yet itsmost remarkable feature is its record that Enoch did not die likeAdam, nor was slain like Abel, nor carried away, nor torn to pieces bylions and bears, but was taken up into heaven and translated intoimmortality by the Lord himself; all which was written that we mightbelieve in the Seed of the woman, Christ our Redeemer and Satan'sconqueror, and that through him we also might expect a life immortalafter this mortal and afflicted life. 

315. This harmony of these five chapters the Jews see not, for theyare destitute of that sun which sheds light upon these things andmakes them manifest; which sun is Christ, by whom we have theremission of sins and life immortal. 

CHAPTER V. 

I. THE BOOK OF THE FIRST GENERATIONS OF MAN, AND THE GLORY OF THE CAINITES. 

 A. THE BOOK OF THE FIRST GENERATIONS OF MAN. 

 1. The reasons why Moses records the generations of Adam 1. 

 2. Why he so particularly gives the years, and in the case of each patriarch adds "and he died" 1-2. 

 3. Why Enoch is placed in the records of the dead 3-4. 

 * Was Enoch a sinner, and do sinners have hope of eternal life 4. 

 * Of death. 

 a. How we are to comfort ourselves against death 5. 

 b. How reason views death, and how the best heathen philosophers viewed it 6. 

 c. The knowledge the Scriptures give us of death 6. 

 4. How we may be greatly profited by the book of the generations of the ancient world 7. 

 5. Why the book of the generations of Cain is larger than that of Seth's 7. 

 * How terrible that both lines were totally destroyed, except eight persons 8. 

 6. The aim of Moses in writing this book of the generations of Adam 9. 

 * The glory of the first world 10. 

 a. What was this glory 9-10. 

 b. Why this glory was revealed 10. 

 c. Profitable and interesting to meditate upon it 11. 

 d. The patriarchs of the first world the most holy of all martyrs 12. 

 B. THE GLORY OF THE CAINITES. 

 1. The Cainites greatly tormented God's Church, especially after Adam's death 12. 

 2. To what end their hatred and persecution served the holy patriarchs 13. 

 * Why Moses did not record the zeal of the holy fathers against the Cainites 14. 

 * Why Moses gives such a short description of the deluge 15. 

 * The character of the first world 16. 

 * Luther's lamentation over the character of the last world; its approaching destruction, and an earnest prayer to God 16-18. 

I. THE RECORDS OF THE GENERATIONS OF MAN AND THE GLORY OF THECAINITES. 

A. The Records of the Generations of Man. 

V. 1. _This is the book of the generations of Adam. _

1. This chronicle has been arranged by Moses for two reasons. First, on account of the promise of the seed made to Adam; and second, onaccount of Enoch. Moses writes still another genealogy in the tenthchapter, after the flood, from a far different motive than thepresent. In the present chapter, he gives the number of the years ofthe righteous and adds with a special purpose in the case of each one, the words, "and he died. "

2. This little phrase may at first thought appear superfluous. Afterthe historian has said, "All the days that Adam lived were ninehundred and thirty years, " what seems to be the use of his adding thefew words, "and he died"? The statement as to the number of his yearsconnotes also the time of his death; for had he lived longer, theadditional years would have been contained in the enumeration. 

Moses, however, does this with the definite purpose of pointing outthe unspeakable wrath of God against sin, and the inevitablepunishment of it, inflicted by him on the whole human race, on therighteous as well as on the wicked. So does the Apostle Paul pursuehis argument, drawn from this very portion of the Holy Scripture: "Asthrough one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; andso death passed upon all men, for that all sinned, " Rom 5, 12. This isa consequence perpetuated through all generations. Adam died, therefore Adam was a sinner. Seth died, therefore Seth was a sinner. Infants die, therefore infants partake of sin and so are sinners. Thisis what Moses intends to set forth when he says, concerning the wholeline of patriarchs, that, though they were all sanctified and renewedby faith, yet, "they died!"

3. Nevertheless, from this line of the dying there flames starlike amost lovely light of immortality when Moses here records concerningEnoch that "he was not;" that is, he no longer appeared among men, andyet he did not die but was taken up into heaven by the Lord himself. By this glorious fact is signified that the human race is indeedcondemned to death on account of sin, and yet the hope of life andimmortality is left us, that we need not abide in death forever. 

4. For this cause God thought it needful, not only that the promise oflife should be given to the original world, but that immortalityshould be demonstrated by an object lesson. Accordingly Moses said ofeach patriarch that he fulfilled so many years of life and "died":that is, suffered the punishment of sin, or, was a sinner. But thedivine historian does not use these expressions concerning Enoch. Notbecause that patriarch was not a sinner, but because, even unto suchsinners as he, there was left a hope of eternal life through theblessed seed. Therefore all the patriarchs, who died in the faith ofthis seed, held fast the hope of eternal life. 

Enoch, therefore, is the second object lesson by which God makes itmanifest that it is his will to give unto us life eternal after thislife. The Lord says that Abel, who was killed by his brother, stilllived, and that his voice cried from the ground. In the presentinstance, Enoch is taken up by the Lord himself into heaven. 

5. We will not despair, therefore, though we see death, derived fromAdam, extend to every one of the whole human race. We must, indeed, suffer death because we are sinners. But we shall not abide in death. We rather have a hope in a divine purpose and providence whereby Goddesigns our deliverance from death. This deliverance has begun withthe promise of the blessed seed, and has been demonstrated by Abel andEnoch as object lessons. Wherefore we possess the first fruits ofimmortality. The Apostle Paul says, "For in hope were we saved, " Rom8, 24. Hope saves us until the fullness of immortality shall bebrought unto us at the last day, when we shall see and feel thateternal life which we possessed here in faith and hope. 

6. Now, the flesh does not understand this. The flesh judges that mandies like a beast. Men, occupying the front rank of philosophers havefelt accordingly that by death the soul is separated and deliveredfrom the prison of the body, to mingle, free from all bodilyinfirmities, in the assembly of the gods. Such was the immortalitydreamed of by the philosophers, though steadfastness of grasp and ofvision was out of the question. The Holy Scriptures, however, teachdifferently concerning the resurrection and eternal life; they placethis hope so plainly before our eyes as to leave no room for doubt. 

7. Next in order, we find in this chapter a reflection of thecondition of the primitive world. The ten antediluvian patriarchsbelonging to the lineage of Christ, with their descendants, areenumerated. Nor is it a useless study to put these data before one'seyes on paper, according to the directions given by Moses, to see whothe patriarchs were, who were their contemporaries, and how old theybecame, as I have taken the time to do. Cain also has his line, asMoses has shown in the preceding chapter, and I have no doubt that theposterity of Cain was far more numerous than that of righteous Seth. 

8. From these two families, as from roots, was the world peopled, downto the deluge, in which both branches, with their two classes ofdescendants (that is, the posterity of the wicked and that of therighteous) were rooted out of the earth, eight souls only being left, and even among them one was wicked. Accordingly, as in this chapter amagnificent picture of the primeval world is presented to our view, sowe behold also the incalculable wrath of God, and the horrible eventof the reduction of the total offspring of these patriarchs to eightsouls. 

9. We will reserve this awful record for its proper time and place. Let us now do that which Moses does in the present chapter, who wantsus to consider the exceeding splendor of this primeval age of theworld. Adam lived beyond the age of his grandson Enoch, and died but ashort time before Noah was born. A hundred and twenty years onlyintervened between the death of Adam and the birth of Noah. Seth diedonly fourteen years before Noah's birth. Enosh and the rest of thepatriarchs, except Enoch, lived at the same time with Noah. Thus by acomparison of the figures, we shall ascertain that quite a number ofgray-headed patriarchs, of whom one lived seven hundred, and anothernine hundred years, were contemporaries, and teaching and governingthe Church of the godly. 

10. The exceeding glory of the primitive world consists in this, thatit contained so many good and wise and holy men. We are by no means tothink that all these are merely common names of plain and simple men. They were the greatest heroes and men of renown that the world everwitnessed, next to Christ and John the Baptist. In the last day weshall behold and admire the real majesty of all these worthies, andthen we shall truly behold the mighty deeds which these mighty menwrought. Yes, it will then be made manifest what Adam did, what Sethdid, what Methuselah did, and the others; what they suffered from theold serpent; how they comforted and fortified themselves, by theirhope in the promised seed, against all the harm and violence of theworld, that is, of the Cainites; what craft they experienced; whatinjuries and hatred and contempt they bore for the glory of theblessed seed to be born from their lineage. We are assuredly not toimagine that these great and holy men lived without severe afflictionsand innumerable crosses. All these things, I say, shall be revealed atthe last day. 

11. And it is an undertaking, as I said, full of profit and pleasurenow to contemplate with our minds, as with open eyes, that happy age, in which so many patriarchs lived contemporaneously, nearly all ofwhom, except Noah, had seen and known their first father, Adam. 

B. The Glory of the Cainites. 

12. Also the Cainites had their glory. Among them were men mosteminent in the liberal arts, and the most consummate hypocrites, whogave the true Church a world of trouble, and harassed the holypatriarchs in every possible way. We may justly call all those whowere thus oppressed by them most holy martyrs and confessors. TheCainites, as Moses before intimated, very soon surpassed the otherdescendants of Adam in numbers and activity. Although they werecompelled to revere their father Adam, yet they adopted all possiblemeans of oppressing the Church of the godly, and especially so afterthe death of the first patriarch, Adam. By such wickedness, theseCainites helped to bring on the flood as retribution. 

13. This power and malice of the Cainites caused the holy patriarchsto teach and instruct their Church with increased zeal and industry. What numerous and powerful sermons may we suppose were preached bythem in the course of these most eventful years! There is no doubtthat both Adam and Eve testified of their original state of innocence, described the glory of paradise and warned their posterity to bewareof the serpent, who, by tempting them to sin, had caused all thesegreat evils. How constant may we suppose them to have been inexplaining the promise of the blessed seed! How earnestly must theyhave exhorted the hearts of their followers to be moved neither by thesplendor of the Cainites nor by their own afflictions. 

14. All these particulars Moses omits to record, both because theycould not be described on account of their infinite variety of detailand because the revelation of them is reserved for that great day ofdeliverance and glory!

15. Likewise the flood, in spite of its horror, is described with thegreatest brevity because he wished to leave such things to themeditation of men. 

16. For the same reasons Moses has purposely given us, in these firstfive chapters, as briefly as possible, a picture of the original andprimeval world. It was an admirable condition of life, and yet thatprimeval age contained a multitude of the worst of men, in consequencenot more than "eight souls" were saved from the destroying flood! Whatthen, may we conclude, will be the state of things before the last dayshall come, seeing that even now, under the revealed light of theGospel, there is found so great a host of despisers of it that thereis cause to fear that they will fill the world ere long with errorsand prevail to the extinction of the Word altogether. 

17. Awful is the voice of Christ when it utters the words, "Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on theearth?" Lk 18, 8. And in Matthew 24, 37-38, our Lord compares the lastdays with the days of Noah. These utterances of our Lord are indeedmost awful. But the world, in its security and ingratitude, is adespiser of all the threats as well as all the promises of God. Itabounds in iniquities of every kind and becomes daily more corrupt. From the time that the popes ceased to rule among us, who had ruledthe whole world by means of the mere dread of their vengeance, sounddoctrine has been despised, and men have degenerated into all butbrutes and beasts. The number of holy and godly preachers of the Wordis becoming less and all men are indulging their desires. The lastday, however, shall assuredly come upon the world as a thief, and willovertake these men in all their security, and in the indulgence oftheir ambition, tyranny, lust, avarice, and vices of every kind. 

18. And let it be remembered that it is Christ himself who hasforetold these things, and we can not possibly imagine that he wouldlie. If the primitive world, which contained so mighty a multitude ofthe greatest patriarchs, was so wholly corrupted, what may we not havecause to dread in the weakness of our nature? May the Lord our Godgrant that we may be gathered, as soon as possible, in the faith andconfession of his Son Jesus Christ, unto these our fathers; yea, if itplease him, that we may die within the next twenty years, and not liveto see the miseries and calamities, both temporal and spiritual, ofthe last time! Amen!

II. ADAM AND HIS SON SETH. 

 1. The name Adam, and why given to the first man 19. 

 2. The Jews' fables of Adam's cohabitation with Eve 20. 

 * Purity of doctrine cannot be expected from the Jews 20. 

 3. Why Moses so carefully describes the times of Adam 21. 

 4. Why it is said of Adam that he was created in the likeness of God 21-23. 

 * The likeness of God. 

 a. The difference between "Zelem" and "Demuth" 22-23. 

 b. How the likeness of God was lost and how it is restored 24. 

 c. Whether it can be fully restored in this life 25. 

 5. The prating of the rabbins about the name Adam 26. 

 * Why Moses here mentions the blessing 27. 

 * Why he did not refer to the blessing in the descriptions of Cain and Abel 28. 

 6. How long it was before Adam begat Seth 29. 

 * Abel's age when murdered 29. 

 7. How and why Adam mourned so long for his son Abel, and therefore refrained from bearing children 29-30. 

 8. The Jews' fable of Adam's vow of chastity refuted 30. 

 9. How we are to understand that Adam begat a son in his own likeness 31. 

 10. Whether Adam's son Seth had God's likeness 31. 

 11. How Adam acquired again the lost image 32. 

 12. How Seth secured the likeness of God 32. 

 13. Why Adam gave his son the name Seth; its meaning 33. 

 * The long lives of the first men. 

 a. Longevity a part of the happy state of the first world 34. 

 b. The causes of such long lives 34-35. 

 * Men's bodies were much stronger and healthier than ours 35. 

 c. Whether the climate, food and holy living contributed to this end 36-37. 

 * The creatures given to man for food after the flood were inferior to those before, and they injured the body more than nourished it 37. 

 d. Luther's thoughts on this theme 38. 

 14. Which is the first or chief branch born from Adam and Eve 39. 

 15. How long Adam lived after Seth's birth 39. 

 * The glory of the first world 40. 

 * The histories of the first world were most excellent, but they were destroyed in the flood 41. 

 * Eve's age and experiences 42. 

 * The age of the first world is called the golden age 43. 

II. ADAM AND HIS SON SETH. 

V. 1a. _This is the book of the generations of Adam. _

19. "Adam, " as will be stated further on, is the common name of thewhole human race, but it is applied to the first man more expressly asan appellation of dignity, because he was the source, as it were, ofthe whole human family. The Hebrew word _sepher_, "a book, " is derivedfrom _saphar_, which signifies "to narrate" or "to enumerate. "Wherefore this narration or enumeration of the posterity of Adam iscalled "the book of the generations of Adam. "

V. 1b. _In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God madehe him. _

20. This clause of the sacred text has induced the blind Jews to fablethat Adam slept with Eve as his wife in paradise on the same day inwhich he was created, and that she conceived in that same day. Fablesof this kind are numerous among them, nor may anything sound or purein the matter of scriptural interpretation be expected of them. 

21. The intent of Moses, in this clause, is to record the complete ageof Adam, and to number the days of his life from the day of hiscreation, and, at the same time, to show that before Adam there was nogeneration. Generation is to be clearly distinguished from creation. There was no generation before Adam, but creation only. Adam and Evewere not born but created, and that directly by God himself. Mosesadds, "In the likeness of God made he him. " We are to understand, then, that when he afterwards mentions that Adam begat Seth, henumbers his years from the very day of his creation. 

22. In respect to Adam's having been made in the likeness of God, wehave shown above in its place what that "likeness" of God was. Although almost all commentators understand the expressions, "thelikeness of God, " and "the image of God, " to mean one and the samething, yet so far as I have been able from careful investigation toreach a conclusion, there is a difference between the two terms. _Zelem_ properly signifies "an image, " or "figure, " as when theScripture says, Ye shall break down their images, Ex. 23, 24, in whichpassage the original term signifies nothing more than the figures, orstatues, or images erected by men. But _demuth_ signifies "alikeness, " or "the perfectness of an image. " For instance, when wespeak of a lifeless image, such as that which is impressed on coins, we say, This is the image of Brutus or of Cæsar. That image, however, does not reproduce the likeness, nor exhibit every single feature. 

23. Accordingly, when Moses says that man was created also in thelikeness of God, he points out that man resembles God not only in thepossession of reason, or of intellect and will, but that he has alsothe likeness of God, that is, a will and an intellect, with which heknows God and wills what he wills. 

24. If man, having been created both "in the image" and "in thelikeness" of God, had not fallen, he would have lived forever, full ofjoy and gladness, and would have possessed a will joyfully eager toobey the will of God. But by sin both this "likeness" and this "image"were lost. They are, however, in a measure, restored by faith, as weare told by the apostle, Col 3, 10; Eph 4, 24. For we begin to knowGod, and the spirit of Christ helps us, so that we desire to obey thecommandments of God. 

25. Of these blessed gifts we possess only the first-fruits. This newcreation within us is only as yet begun; it is not perfected here inthe flesh. The will is in some measure stirred to praise God, to givehim thanks, to confess sin, and to exercise patience, but all this isonly the first-fruits. The flesh, obeying the law of its nature, stillfollows the things of the flesh, while it opposes the things of God. The result is that the restoration of such gifts in us is only in theinitial stage; but the full tithe of this likeness in all itsperfection shall be rendered in the future life, when the sinful fleshshall have been destroyed by death. 

V. 2. _Male and female created he them, and blessed them, and calledtheir name Adam, in the day when they were created. _

26. I have above observed that the general name "Adam" was applied toAdam alone, by reason of his superiority. I omit to mention thosevagaries of the rabbins, who say that no man can be called "Adam"unless he has a wife. Likewise, no woman can be called "Adam" unlessmarried. The thought may have been drawn from the teachings of thefathers, but the Jews have corrupted it by their foolish fancies andopinions. 

27. Moses aims to show this blessing was not taken from man because ofhis sin, since the blessing of bearing children and ruling themcontinued with Cain though he had murdered his brother. 

28. Moses mentions not Abel, for he had died without an heir and ispresented to us as an example of the resurrection of the dead. Neitheris Cain mentioned, who because of his sin was cut off from the trueChurch. 

29. Scripture says nothing of what Adam and Eve did during the onehundred years. Some of our writers add a hundred years longer Adamshould have lived with Eve before Cain slew his brother Abel, whichmakes Adam two hundred and thirty years of age when Seth was born. Itseems to me plausible that the godly parents passed one hundred yearsin sorrow and mourned the great dishonor that befell their family. After Adam was expelled from paradise did he first beget children, sons and daughters, who were like him, and Abel was perhaps thirtyyears of age when he was slain. It appears the children were not muchyounger than their parents, who were not born, but created. 

30. I believe, accordingly, that the godly parents indulged theirgrief, and abstained from connubial intercourse. This abstinence, however, was not maintained with the intent which the Jews fable, whoabsurdly affirm that Adam vowed perpetual chastity, like our monks, and that he would still have kept his vow had he not been commanded byan angel from heaven to live together with his wife. Such a story asthis is only fit to be told to a Roman pontiff of the age of forty, who alone is worthy of listening to such fables. No, Adam was not sowicked as thus to refuse the gift and command of God! Such abstinencewould have been taking vengeance on himself for the grief he hadendured, and it would have meant to reject the gift of that blessingwhich God had been pleased to leave to nature even in its fallenstate. 

Moreover, this was a matter not left in the power of Adam. As Moseshas clearly shown, God had created him a male. He had, therefore, needof a female, or wife, because the instinct of procreation wasimplanted in his nature by God the Creator, himself. If therefore Adamabstained, he did so for a reason only, intending to return to his Eveafter giving vent to his grief for a time. 

31. Moses here expressly adds, concerning Adam, that he "begat a sonin his own likeness, after his image. " Theologians entertain variousopinions as to the real meaning of those expressions. The simplemeaning is, that Adam was created "in the image" and "after thelikeness" of God, or that he was the image of God, created, notbegotten; for Adam had no parents. But in this "image of God" Adamcontinued not; he fell from it by sin. Seth, therefore, who wasafterwards born, was begotten, not after the image of God, but afterthe image of his father Adam. That is, he was altogether like Adam; heresembled his father Adam, not only in his features, but he was likehim in every way. He not only had fingers, nose, eyes, carriage, voice, and speech, like his father, but he was like him in everythingelse pertaining to body and soul, in manners, disposition, will andother points. In these respects Seth did not bear the image of Godwhich Adam possessed originally, and which he lost; but he bore thelikeness of Adam, his father. But this likeness and image were not ofGod by creation, but of Adam by generation. 

32. Now, this image included original sin, and the punishment ofeternal death on account of sin, which God inflicted on Adam. But asAdam, by faith in the seed that was to come, recovered the image ofGod, which he had lost, so Seth also recovered the same after he grewup to man's estate; for God impressed again his own "likeness" uponhim through the Word. Paul refers to this when he says to theGalatians, "My little children, of whom I am again in travail untilChrist be formed in you, " Gal 4, 19. 

33. Of the name Seth I have spoken above. It denotes command, andvoices the sentiments of one praying and prophesying good news, as ifAdam had said: "Cain has not only himself fallen, but also caused hisbrother to fall. May God, therefore, grant that this my son Seth shallstand as a firm foundation which Satan shall not overthrow. " Suchblessing or prayer is implied in the name. 

Vs. 4-5. _And the days of Adam after he begat Seth were eight hundredyears and he begat sons and daughters. And all the days that Adamlived were nine hundred and thirty years and he died. _

34. This is another part of the happiness of that age, that menattained to so long life. Such longevity, when compared with thelength of our lives, seems quite incredible. A question naturallyarises as to the cause and theory of such old age. I am not at alldispleased with the reasons assigned by some, that the constitutionsof men were then far better than ours are now, and also that allthings then used for food were more healthful than those now used. Tothese particulars we must add that important requisite for a longlife, the greatest moderation in the use and enjoyment of food. Towhat extent the latter conduces to health, is needless to explain. 

35. Though the body was sounder than at present, yet the general vigorand strength of limb which men had in paradise before the advent ofsin, had passed away. It is true, however, that their bodilywell-being was enhanced when, after the fall, they were renewed andregenerated through faith in the promised seed. For the same reason, also, sin was weakened through faith in the seed. As for us, we havelost their strength and vigor just in proportion as we have departedfrom their righteousness. 

36. With reference to food, who cannot easily believe that one apple, in that primeval age, was more excellent and afforded a greater degreeof nourishment than a thousand in our time? The roots, also, on whichthey fed, contained infinitely more fragrance, virtue and savor, thanthey possess now. All these conditions, but notably holiness andrighteousness, the exercise of moderation, then the excellence of thefruit and the salubrity of the atmosphere--all these tended to producelongevity till the time came for the establishment of a new order byGod which resulted in a decided reduction of the length of man's life. 

37. Now, if we turn to consider thoughtfully our present mode of life, we find that we are much more corrupted than nourished by the meat anddrink we consume. In addition to the immoderation characterizing ourlife, how much have the fruits themselves lost in excellence? Ourfirst parents lived moderately, and chose only those things for theirmeat and drink calculated to nourish and refresh their bodies. Therecan be no doubt that after the deluge all the fruits of the earthdeteriorated greatly. Even so, in our own age, we find all thingsdeteriorate. The Italian wines and fruits differ no more from our ownat the present day than the fruits before the deluge differed fromthose produced amid that brackishness and foulness made by the sea. 

38. These causes, with others which many assign for the greatlongevity of the primeval patriarchs, I by no means disapprove. Butthis one reason is quite sufficient, in my opinion, that it pleasedGod to give them such length of life in the best part of the world. Yet we see, as Peter strikingly says, that God willed not to spare theold world, no, not even the angels in heaven that sinned; so horriblea thing is sin. Sodom and Gomorrah were the choicest portion of theearth, and yet, on account of sin, they were utterly destroyed. In thesame manner the Holy Scriptures everywhere set forth the greatness ofsin, and exhort to the fear of God. 

39. We have now the root, or rather the source, of the human race, namely Adam and his Eve. From these Seth is born, the first branch ofthis tree. But as Adam lived eight hundred years after the birth ofSeth, Adam saw himself in possession of numerous progeny. This was theperiod of the restoration of righteousness through the promise of theseed to come. Afterwards, however, when men increased, and the sons ofGod mingled with the daughters of men, the world gradually becamecorrupt, and the majesty of the holy patriarchs became an object ofcontempt. 

40. It is an attractive sight, to view the number of gray-headedpatriarchs living at the same time. Only a little ciphering isrequired to do it. If you compute carefully the years of our firstparent, Adam, you will see that he lived over fifty years with Lamech, Noah's father. Accordingly, Adam saw all his descendants down to theninth generation, having an almost infinite number of sons anddaughters. These, however, Moses does not enumerate, being satisfiedto number the trunk and the immediate branches down to Noah. 

41. There were, without doubt, in this mighty multitude, many verydistinguished saints, whose history, if we possessed it, would exceedin marvelousness all the histories of the world. Compared with it, theexodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, their passage through theRed Sea and through Jordan, their captivities and returns, would be asnothing. But as the primeval world itself perished, so did itshistory. In consequence, the first place in the annals of historybelongs to the account of the flood, in comparison with which theothers are only as sparks to the fire. Of the former world we havenothing but names, but these are, so to speak, great histories inminiature. 

42. It is probable that also Eve lived to the age of 800 years and sawthis great posterity. What must have been her concern, how great herlabors, how devoted her toils, in visiting, in teaching, and intraining her children and grandchildren. And what must have been hercrosses and sighs, when the generation of the Cainites opposed with somuch determination the true Church, although some of them were evenconverted by the uncovenanted mercy of God. 

43. Truly that primeval time was a "golden age, " in comparison withwhich our present age is scarcely worthy of being called the age ofmud. During those primeval centuries, there lived at the same timenine patriarchs, together with their posterities, and all of them inharmony concerning the faith in the blessed seed! All these gloriousthings Moses just mentions, but does not explain; otherwise this wouldbe the history of histories. 

III. ENOCH. 

 1. Why Moses writes the history of Enoch and not that of the other patriarchs before the flood 43-45. 

 2. How it is to be understood that Enoch led a godly life and how the monks interpret this falsely 46. 

 3. Enoch's prophecy cited by Jude and where Jude received it 47. 

 4. Enoch's exceptional courage and how he opposed Satan and the world 48. 

 5. The length of time he led a godly life; and Moses justly praises him 49. 

 6. Why Enoch is so greatly praised 50. 

 7. The tenor of his preaching 51. 

 8. He by no means led the life of a monk 51. 

 9. How he was missed. "He was not" 52. 

 * Enoch's ascension a proof of the resurrection of the dead 52. 

 10. The effect of his ascension upon his father and grandfather 53-55. 

 11. Whether the other patriarchs living then at once knew that he ascended; and how such news affected them 54-56. 

 * The cross must always precede consolation 54. 

 12. Why God took Enoch 55. 

 * The news of Enoch's ascension must have quickened the holy patriarchs 56. 

 13. Enoch's ascension a sign that a better life is offered to man 57. 

 14. How Enoch walked and lived before God 58. 

 15. Enoch a man as we are and yet God took him 58. 

 * The great sorrow of the patriarchs at Enoch's disappearance and their great joy over such an experience 59. 

 * Seth at the time was high priest, old and tired of life, and died soon after Enoch was taken 60-63. 

 * What Luther would do if he knew in advance the day of his death 61. 

 * This temporal life full of want and misery 62. 

 * The results of Seth's preaching after Enoch's ascension 63. 

 * The longing of the holy fathers for eternal life, and how it should serve us 64. 

 * Lamentation over the great corruption inherent in our flesh 65. 

 16. Enoch's ascension was great comfort to the holy patriarchs in meeting death 66. 

 * Of death. 

 a. It is not death to believers, but a sleep 66. 

 b. In what way death is a punishment of sin, and how it is sweetened 67. 

 * Luther's thoughts of Enoch's ascension 67. 

 17. Enoch's ascension extraordinary, and well worthy of consideration by all 68. 

 18. The rabbins' foolish thoughts of Enoch's ascension refuted 69. 

 19. Enoch doubtless had many temptations 69. 

 20. Enoch ascended even bodily, and not with that life which he now lives 70. 

 * How and why God willed that the world should have in all times a sign of the resurrection, and hence in the first world Enoch ascended, in the second Elijah, and in the third Christ 71. 

 * Lamentation over the unbelief of the world 72. 

 * Christ's ascension more significant than Enoch's or Elijah's 73. 

 * The chief doctrine of the first five chapters of Genesis 74. 

 * How and why death and the resurrection of the dead are set forth 74. 

III. ENOCH. 

44. There is one history, however, that of Enoch, the seventh fromAdam, which Moses was not willing to pass over for the reason of itsbeing extraordinarily remarkable. Still, even in this case he isextremely brief. 

In the case of all the other patriarchs he mentions only the names andthe number of their years. Enoch, however, he delineates in such amanner that he seems, in comparison, to slight the other patriarchsand, as it were, to disparage them as if they were evil men, or atleast slighted of God. Did not Adam also, and Seth, and Cainan, together with their descendants--did not all these, also, walk withGod? Why, then, does Moses ascribe this great honor to Enoch only? Andis the fact that God took Enoch to be understood as if the otherpatriarchs are neither with God nor living? Yes, they all, like Enoch, now live with God, and we shall behold them all, at the last day, shining equally with Enoch, in the brightest glory!

45. Why, then, does Moses discriminate in favor of Enoch? Why does henot bestow the same praise upon the other patriarchs? Although theydied a natural death, and were not taken by God, yet, also they"walked with God. " We have heard above concerning Enosh that in histimes, likewise, mighty things were done. It was in his days that "menbegan to call upon the name of Jehovah, " that is, that the Word andworship of God began to flourish; and as a result holy men once more"walked with God. " Why is it then, we repeat, that Moses does not laudEnosh equally with Enoch? Why does he bestow such high praise on thelatter only? For his words are these:

Vs. 21-24. _And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begatMethuselah. And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah threehundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Enochwere three hundred sixty and five years. And Enoch walked with God:and he was not; for God took him. _

46. When Moses says that Enoch "walked with God, " we must beware oftaking the monastic view in the premises, as if he had kept himselfsecluded in some private corner, and there lived a monastic life. No, so eminent a patriarch must be placed on a candlestick, or, as ourSaviour Christ expresses it, set as a city on a hill, that he mayshine forth in the public ministry. 

47. It is as a bearer of such public office the Apostle Jude extolshim in his epistle, when he says: "To these also Enoch, the seventhfrom Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with tenthousands of holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convictall the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness, which they haveungodly wrought, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners havespoken against him, " Jude vs. 14, 15. From what source Jude obtainedthese facts I know not. Probably they remained in the memory of manfrom the primitive age of the world; or it may be that holy mencommitted to writing many of the sacred words and works of thepatriarchs as they were handed down from age to age by tradition. 

48. It is this public ministry that Moses lauds, exalting the piousEnoch as a sun above all the other patriarchs and teachers of theprimeval world. Wherefore, we may gather from all these circumstancesthat Enoch possessed a particular fullness of the Holy Spirit, and apreeminent greatness of mind, seeing that he opposed with a strengthof faith excelling that of all the other patriarchs, Satan and thechurch of the Cainites. To walk with God, is not, as we have beforeobserved, for a man to flee into a desert, or to conceal himself insome corner, but to go forth in his vocation, and to set himselfagainst the iniquity and malice of Satan and the world, and to confessthe seed of the woman; to condemn the religion and the pursuits of theworld, and to preach, through Christ, another life after this. 

49. This is the manner of life led for three hundred years by thegreatest prophet and high priest of his generation, Enoch, the man whohad six patriarchs for his teachers. Most deservedly, therefore, doesMoses extol him as a disciple of greatest eminence, taught and trainedby many patriarchal masters, and those the greatest and mostillustrious; and, moreover, so equipped with the Holy Spirit that hewas the prophet of prophets and the saint of saints in that primevalworld. The greatness of Enoch, then, consisted in the first place inhis office and ministry. 

50. In the second place, he receives preeminent praise because it wasthe will of God that he should be an example to the whole world inverifying, and showing the comfort of, the faith in the future life. This text, therefore, is worthy of being written in letters of goldand of being deeply engraven in the inmost heart. 

51. Here we have another view of what it means to walk with God. It isto preach the life beyond this present life; to teach concerning theseed to come, concerning the serpent's head that is to be bruised andthe kingdom of Satan that is to be destroyed. Such was the preachingof Enoch, who nevertheless was a husband, and the father of a family;who had a wife and children, who governed his household, and procuredhis subsistence by the labor of his own hands. Wherefore say or thinkno more about living in a monastery, which has merely the outward showof walking with God. When this godly man had lived, after the birth ofMethuselah, 300 years in the truest religion, in faith, in patienceand in the midst of a thousand crosses, all of which he endured andovercame by faith in the blessed seed to come, he appeared no more. 

52. Mark how pregnant these words are with power! He does not say, ashe expresses himself concerning the other patriarchs, "and he died, "but "he was not, " an expression that all scholars have come to regardas a pure proof of the resurrection of the dead. In the Hebrew thismeaning is most strikingly brought out. And Enoch walked with God, and_veenenu_, "he was not. " The original signifies that Enoch was lost ordisappeared, contrary to the thought or expectation of all the otherpatriarchs, and at once ceased to be among men. 

53. Without doubt, at the severe loss of so great a man, both hisfather and his grandfather were filled with grief and consternation;for they well knew with what devotion he had taught the true religion, and how many things he had suffered. When they had thus suddenly lostsuch a man as Enoch, who had strong testimony of his godliness bothfrom men and from God himself, what do you think must have been theirfeelings?

54. Find me, if you can, a poet or a fluent orator to do justice tothis text and to treat it with power! Enosh, Seth, and all the otherpatriarchs knew not by whom or whither Enoch was taken away; theysought him, but found him not. His son Methuselah sought him, and hisother children and his grandchildren sought him, but they found himnot. They suspected, no doubt, the malice of the Cainites, and theyprobably thought that he was killed, as Abel was, and secretly buried. 

At length, however, they learned, through a revelation made to them ofGod by an angel, that Enoch was taken away by God himself, intoparadise. This fact they probably did not know the first or the secondday after the translation, and perhaps not till many months, or it maybe many years, afterwards. In the meantime the holy men bewailed hiswretched lot, as if he had been slain by the Cainite hypocrites. It isalways the divine rule that the cross and affliction should precedeconsolation. God never comforts any but the afflicted, just as henever quickens unto life any but the dead, nor ever justifies any butsinners! He always creates all things out of nothing. 

55. It was a severe cross and affliction to the patriarchs when theysaw taken away from them, to appear nowhere among them, him who hadgoverned the whole world by his doctrine, and who had done so manyillustrious deeds in the course of his life. While these patriarchswere mourning and bewailing the misfortune of the holy man, behold!consolation was at hand, and it was revealed to them that the Lord had"translated" Enoch! Such an expression we have not concerning anyother man than Enoch, except Elijah. God willed, therefore, to testifyby an object lesson, that he has prepared for his saints another lifeafter this life, in which they shall live forever with God. 

56. The Hebrew verb _lakak_ does not signify "translated" according tothe impression conveyed by our use of the word, but "received tohimself. " These words are, accordingly, words of life, revealed by Godthrough some angel to the patriarch Enoch, and to the whole of thatgeneration of saints, that they might have the consolation and promiseof eternal life, not only through a word, but also through an act, asbefore in the case of Abel. How delightful must have been to them thisproclamation, when they heard that Enoch was not dead, nor slain bywicked men, nor taken away from them by the fraud or snares of Satan, but translated; that is, "received to himself" by the living andomnipotent God. 

57. This is that bright gem which Moses sought to display in thepresent chapter--that the omnipotent God did not take unto himselfgeese, or cows, or blocks of wood, or stones, but a man, even Enoch, to teach there was reserved for men another and better life than thispresent one, so filled with evils and calamities of every kind. Although Enoch was a sinner, yet the manner of his departure from thislife proved that God had prepared for him and brought him to anotherand eternal life; for he entered upon the life with God, and God tookhim to himself. 

58. Accordingly, Enoch's walking with God signifies that he was inthis life a faithful witness of eternal life to be gained after thislife through the promised seed. This is what living with God means, not the mere animal life subject to corruption. Inasmuch as Enochconstantly preached this doctrine, God verified and fulfilled thispreaching in the patriarch himself, that we might fully and surelybelieve it; in that Enoch, a man like unto ourselves, born of fleshand blood, as we also are, of the seed of Adam, was taken up intoheaven by God, and now lives the life of God, that is, an eternallife. 

59. Before the generation of patriarchs knew the facts in the case, itwas appalling to them to hear that so holy a man as Enoch haddisappeared so completely that his whereabouts or manner of death wasbeyond everybody's ken. Great, therefore, was the grief of the piousparents and elders. But afterwards incredible joy and consolation weretheirs when they heard that their son lived with God himself and hadbeen translated by God to an angelic and eternal life. 

60. This consolation God made known to Seth, who was the greatestprophet and high priest after his father Adam had fallen asleep in thefaith of the blessed seed fifty-seven years before, Seth having thenarrived at about his eight hundred and sixtieth year. Seth, being nowan old man and full of days and without doubt fully confirmed in thefaith of the blessed seed to come, and anxiously awaiting deliverancefrom the body and earnestly desiring to be gathered to his people, died with greater joy about fifty-two years afterward, because of thetranslation of his son Enoch. Fifty-two years were indeed but a shorttime for an old man wherein to make his will and visit all hisgrandchildren, and preach to them and exhort them to persevere in thefaith of the promised seed and to hope in that eternal life unto whichhis son and their father Enoch had been translated to live with God. In this manner, doubtless, the aged saint employed his time among hisdescendants, bidding farewell to and blessing each one. Full of yearsand full of joy, he no doubt thus taught and comforted both himselfand them. 

61. If I knew that I were appointed to die in six months' time, Ishould scarcely find time enough wherein to make my will. I wouldremind men of what had been the testimony of my preaching, exhort andentreat them to continue and persevere therein, and warn and guardthem as far as my powers of mind could do so, against the offense offalse doctrine. All these things could not be done in one day, nor inone month. Those fifty years during which Seth lived after thetranslation of Enoch, formed but a very short period for him (forspiritual men have an altogether different method of calculating timethan the children of this world) in which to instruct all his familyin the nature of this glorious consolation--that another and eternallife is to be hoped for after this life, a hope which God revealed tohis saints by the marvelous fact of his having taken to himself Enoch, who was of the same flesh and blood with ourselves. 

62. "Follow not, " said he, "the evil inclinations of your nature, butdespise this present life and look forward to a better. For what evilexists that is not found in this present life? To how many diseases, to what great dangers, to what dreadful calamities, is it not subject?to say nothing now of those evils which are the greatest of allafflictions, those spiritual distresses which burden with anguish themind and conscience, such as the Law, sin, and death itself. 

63. "Why is it then, that ye so anxiously expect such greatconsolations from this present life as to seem incapable of ever beingcompletely satisfied? Were it not for the fact that God wants us tolive to proclaim him, to thank him, and to serve the brethren, life issuch as to suggest its voluntary termination. This service, therefore, let us render unto God, with all diligence. Let us look forward withcontinual sighs to that true life to which, my children, your brotherEnoch has been translated by the glorious God. "

These and like things the aged saint taught his people after his greatconsolation had been revealed. There is no doubt that after it wasunderstood that Enoch was translated alive into immortality, theylonged for the time when they also might be delivered out of thisafflicted life, in the same manner, or at least by death. 

64. If, then, those godly patriarchs of old so anxiously lookedforward to the eternal life and desired it to come, on account of Abeland Enoch, whom they knew to be living with God, how much greaterought to be our expectation and desire, who have Christ for our leaderunto eternal life, who is gone before, as Peter says in Acts 3, 20-26. They believed in him as one to come; we know that he has becomemanifest, and has gone to the Father to prepare for us a home, and tosit at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us. Ought we not, therefore, to sigh for those future things, and to hate those of thepresent? It is not an Enoch or an Abel who sets before us, as thosepatriarchs did before their people, the hope of a better life to come;but Christ, the leader and author of life himself. It becomes us, therefore, firmly to despise this life and world, and with swellingbreast to pant after the coming glory of eternal life. 

65. Herein we feel how great is the infirmity of our flesh which lustsafter these present things with eager desire but fails to rejoice inthe certainties of the life to come. How is it possible that a factshould not be most certain which has for witnesses not only Abel andEnoch and Elijah, but also Christ himself, the head and the firstfruits of those that rise? Most worthy, therefore, the hatred of bothGod and men are the wicked Epicureans; and most worthy our hatred alsois our own flesh, when we wholly plunge into temporal cares andsecurely disregard the eternal blessings. 

66. Worthy of note and carefully to be remembered is the statementthat Enoch was taken up and received, not by some patriarch or angel, but by God himself. This was the very consolation which rendered thedeaths of the patriarchs endurable; yea, which enabled them to departfrom this life with joy. They saw that the seed which had beenpromised them warred, even before he was revealed, with Satan, andbruised, through Enoch, his head. Such was the hope entertained bythem concerning themselves and all their believing descendants, and, in perfect security, they despised death as having ceased to be death, as having become a sleep from which they were to awaken into lifeeternal. "To them that believe, " death is not really death, but asleep. When the terror, the power, and the sting of death are takenaway, it can no longer be considered death. The greater the faith ofthe dying man, the weaker is death. On the other hand, the weaker thefaith of the dying man, the more bitter is death. 

67. In this text we are also reminded of the nature of sin. If Adamhad not sinned, we should not have been dying men, but, like Enoch ofold, we should have been translated, without fear or pain, from thisanimal life to that better and spiritual life. But although we haveforfeited that life, the present history of the patriarch Enochassures us that the restitution of paradise and of eternal life is notto be despaired of. Our flesh cannot be free from pain, but whereconscience has obtained peace, death is no more than a swoon, by meansof which we pass out of this life into eternal rest. Had our natureremained innocent, it would not have known such pain of the flesh. Weshould have been taken up as if asleep, presently to awaken in heaven, and to lead the life of the angels. Now, however, that the flesh isdefiled by sin, it must first be destroyed by death. As to Enoch, perhaps he lay down in some grassy spot and fell asleep praying; andsleeping he was taken up by God, without pain; without death. 

68. Let us give proper attention to this text to which Moses attachesspecial importance as embodying an account of the most noteworthyevent of the primitive world. What fact could possibly inspire morewonder and admiration than that a man, a corrupt sinner, born of fleshand blood, as we are, and defiled as we are by that sin andcorruption, so obtained the victory over death as not to die at all!Christ himself is man, and righteous, yet our sins caused him tosuffer the bitterest of all deaths; but he is delivered on the thirdday, and lifts himself up unto life eternal. In Enoch there was thesingular fact that he died not at all, but was caught up, withoutdeath intervening, to the life spiritual and eternal. 

69. Emphatically deserving of aversion are the rabbins. The sublimestpassages of the Scriptures they shamefully corrupt. As a case inpoint, they prate concerning Enoch that, while he was good andrighteous, he very much inclined toward carnal desires. God, therefore, out of pity, prevented his sinning and perishing throughdeath. Is not this, I pray you, a shocking corruption of the textbefore us? Why should they say concerning Enoch in particular, that hewas subject to the evil desires of the flesh? As if all the otherpatriarchs did not experience the same. Why do they not notice therepeated testimony of Moses, that Enoch "walked with God"? That iscertainly evidence that Enoch did not indulge those evil inclinationsof his flesh, but bravely overcame them by faith. The Jews whenspeaking of the corrupt desires of the flesh have reference to lust, avarice, pride, and similar promptings. Enoch, however, without doubt, lived amid mightier temptations than these; like Paul, he felt that"thorn in the flesh"; day by day he wrestled with Satan; and when, atlength, he was completely bruised and worn out with every kind oftemptation, God commanded him to depart from this life to the blessedlife to come. 

70. What that life is which Enoch now lives, we who still continue tobe flesh and blood cannot possibly know. It is enough for us to knowthat Enoch was translated in his body. This the patriarchs must haveclearly understood by revelation, and about to die, they needed thiscomfort. This much we know also. But what that holy patriarch is nowdoing, where he is, and how he lives, we know not. We know that helives; and we also know that the life he lives is not like unto thisanimal life, but that he is with God. This the text before usdistinctly declares. 

71. This fact, then, makes the narrative under consideration somemorable that God intended to use it for the purpose of settingbefore the old, primeval world the hope of a better life. Likewise, tothe second world, which had the Law, God gave the example of Elijah, who also was taken up into heaven and translated by the Lord beforethe very eyes of his own servant Elisha. We are now in the NewCovenant, in a third world, as it were. We have Christ himself, ourgreat deliverer, as our glorious example, who ascended into theheavens, taking with him many of his saints. 

It was God's will to establish for every age a testimonial of theresurrection of the dead, that he might thereby allure our minds byall possible attractions from this corrupt and in many ways wretchedlife, in which, however, we will gladly serve God as long as it shallplease him, by the faithful performance of all public and privateduties, and especially by instructing others in holiness and in theknowledge of God. But, as the apostle says, we have here "no certaindwelling-place, " 1 Cor 4, 11. Christ, our forerunner, is gone beforeus, that he might prepare for us, the eternal mansions, Jn 14, 2-3. 

72. Just as we find many among us by whom such things are consideredabsurd, and not sufficiently worthy of faith, so there is no doubtthat this account was deemed ridiculous by most people. The world isever the same. For that reason these things have by divine authoritybeen committed to writing and recorded for the saints and thefaithful, that these might read, understand, believe and heed them. They present to our sight a manifest triumph over death and sin, andafford us a sure comfort in Enoch's victory over the Law, and thewrath and judgment of God. To the godly nothing can yield more graceand joy than these antediluvian records. 

73. But the New Testament truly overflows with the mercy of God. Whilewe do not discard records like these, we have others far superior. Wehave the Son of God himself ascending to the skies, and sitting at theright hand of God. In him we see the serpent's head completelybruised, and the life lost in paradise restored. This is more than thetranslation of Enoch and of Elijah; still, it was God's will in thismanner to administer comfort to the original world and also to thesucceeding one, which had the Law. 

74. The paramount doctrine contained in these five chapters is, accordingly, this: that men died and lived again. In Adam all mendied. But believers lived again through the promised seed, as thehistory of Abel and Enoch testifies. In Adam, death was appointed forSeth and all others; hence it is written of every one: "And he died. "But Abel and Enoch illustrate the resurrection from the dead and thelife immortal. The purpose intended is that we should not despair indeath but entertain the unwavering assurance that the believers in thepromised seed shall live, and be taken by God, whether from the wateror the fire or the gibbet, or the tomb. We desire to live, and weshall live, namely the eternal life through the promised seed, whichremains when this is past. 

IV. LAMECH AND HIS SON NOAH. 

 A. LAMECH. 

 1. He lived at the time Enoch was taken to heaven 75. 

 * To what end Enoch's ascension served the holy patriarchs 75. 

 2. Why Lamech called his son Noah 76-77. 

 * The erroneous comments of the rabbins taken by Lyra without any good reason 78-79. 

 3. On what Lamech's heart was centered at Noah's birth 79-81. 

 4. How and why Lamech erred in the case of his son as Eve did at Cain's birth 80. 

 * The longing of the patriarchs for the Messiah was of the Holy Spirit 81. 

 * Complaint of the world's ingratitude 82. 

 * The patriarchs' greatest treasure and desire 82. 

 * Comparison of the three worlds 83-85. 

 * Why the present world so lightly esteems Christ, whom the patriarchs so highly revered 84. 

 * The first world was the best, the last the worst 85. 

IV. LAMECH AND HIS SON NOAH. 

A. Lamech. 

Vs. 28-29. _And Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two years, and begata son: and he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort usin our work and in the toil of our hands, which cometh because of theground which Jehovah hath cursed. _

75. Only incidentally Moses adverts in this account to the name ofNoah, which certainly deserves a somewhat careful examination. Lamechwas living when Enoch was taken away by God out of this life into theother immortal life. When the great glory of God had become manifestin the extraordinary miracle of the rapture from a lowly estate intolife eternal of Enoch who was a man like us, a husband, a man withfamily, having sons, daughters, household, fields and cattle, the holyfathers were filled and fired with such joy as to conclude that theglad day was near which should witness the fulfilment of the promise. That Enoch was taken up living, to be with the Lord, appeared as asalient display of divine mercy. 

76. As Adam and Eve, after the reception of the promise, were soabsorbed in their hope that, in their joy to see a man likethemselves, they identified Cain with the promised seed, so in myjudgment Lamech committed a similar pious error when he gave his sonthe name Noah, and said: This same shall comfort us, and shall deliverus from the labors and sorrows of this life. Original sin, and thepunishment thereof, shall now cease. We shall now be restored to ourformer innocent state. The curse shall now cease which rests on theearth on account of the sin of Adam; and all the other miseriesinflicted on the human race on account of sin, shall also cease. 

77. Such considerations as these prompted Lamech to base upon the factof his grandfather's rapture into paradise unaccompanied by pain, sickness and death, the hope that presently the whole of paradise wasto be ushered in. He concludes that Noah was the promised seed by whomthe earth was to be restored. This notion that the curse is about tobe lifted is expressed in unmistakable terms. Not so; neither thecurse of sin nor its penalty can be removed unless original sin itselfshall have been removed first. 

78. The rabbins, those pestilent corrupters of the Scriptures, surelydeserve aversion. This is their interpretation of the passage inquestion: He shall bring us rest from the toil and labor of our handsby showing us an easier way of cultivating the earth. With aplowshare, by a yoke of oxen, the earth shall be broken up; thepresent mode of digging it with man's hand shall cease. 

I wonder that Lyra is satisfied with this interpretation, and followsit. He ought to have been familiar with the unchanging practice of theJews to pervert Scripture by substituting a material meaning for aspiritual one, in order to gain glory among men. Could anything morederogatory to the holy patriarch be said than that he gave suchexpression to his joy over the birth of his son Noah on account of anadvantage pertaining to the belly?

79. No; it was a much greater concern than this which filled his mindwith anxiety. It was the wrath of God, and death, with all the othercalamities of this life. His hope was that Noah, as the promised seed, would put an end to these evils. And therefore it was that he thusexulted with joy at the birth of this his son, predicted good things, and called upon others to join him in the same hope. His thoughts didnot dwell upon the plow, nor upon oxen, nor upon other trivial thingsof the kind pertaining to this present life, as the blind Jews rave. He was really filled with the hope that this his son Noah was thatseed to come which should restore the former blessed state ofparadise, in which there was no curse. As if he had said: Now we feelthe curse in the very labors of our hands. We toil and sweat incultivating the earth, yet it yields us in return nothing but briersand thorns. But there shall arise a new and happy age. The curse onthe earth which was inflicted on account of sin shall cease, becausesin shall cease. This is the true meaning of the text before us. 

80. But the holy father was deceived. The glory of bringing about thatrenewal belonged, not to the son of a man but to the Son of God. Therabbins are silly. Although the earth is not dug by the hands of men, but by the use of oxen, yet the labor of man's hand has not ceased. Enoch, by his translation, does not disclose the solace of bodilyeasement, agreeable to the belly, but deliverance from sin and death. Lamech hoped, in addition, for the restoration of the former state. Hebelieved to see the inauguration of this change in his grandfatherEnoch, and felt assured that the deliverance, or the renewal of allthings, was close at hand. Just so Eve, as we have already observed, when she brought forth her first-born son Cain, said, I have gotten aman with the help of Jehovah, one who shall take away all thesepunishments inflicted on sin, and bring about our restoration. But, like Eve, the good and holy Lamech was deceived in his ardent longingfor the restoration of the world. 

81. All these anxieties plainly show how those holy patriarchs longedfor, hoped for, and sighed for, that great "restitution of allthings, " Acts 3, 21. Although they herein erred, even as Eve erred andwas deceived with respect to Cain, this desire for deliverance initself, was of the Holy Spirit, and proved the truth and constancy oftheir faith in the promised seed. When Eve named her son Cain, andwhen Lamech called his son Noah, these names were but birth cries, asthe apostle represents them, of the whole creation, groaning andtravailing in pain together, and earnestly expecting the resurrectionof the dead, deliverance from sin, the restoration of all things, andthe manifestation of the sons of God, Rom 8, 19-23. The simplest andtrue meaning, accordingly, is that Lamech, after seeing the reality ofthe future life demonstrated by the translation of Enoch from theafflictions and toils caused by sin, has a son born to him, whom hecalls Noah, which means rest, an expression of the hope thatdeliverance from the curse of sin and sin itself shall take placethrough him. This interpretation accords with the analogy of faith, and confirms the hope for a resurrection and a life eternal. 

82. Such longing for the future life on the part of the holy men whoseshoes we are unworthy to clean, contrasts strangely with the horribleingratitude of our time. How great the difference between having andwishing! Those patriarchs were men of transcendent holiness, equippedwith the highest endowments, the heroes of the world! In them webehold the strongest desire for the seed which is to come; that istheir greatest treasure; they thirst, they hunger, they yearn, theypant for Christ! And we, who have Christ among us, who know him as onerevealed, offered, glorified, sitting at the right hand of God andmaking intercession for us--we despise him and hold him in greatercontempt than any other creature! O, the wretchedness of it! O, thesin of it!

83. Note the difference between the several ages of the world! Theprimeval age was the most excellent and holy. It contained the noblestjewels of the whole human race. After the flood there still existedmany great and eminent men--patriarchs, and kings, and prophets; andalthough they were not the equals of the patriarchs before the flood, yet in them also there appeared a bright longing for Christ, as Christsays: "For I say unto you, that many prophets and kings desired to seethe things which ye see, and saw them not; and to hear the thingswhich ye hear, and heard them not, " Lk 10, 24. And then there is ourown age, the age of the New Testament; to this Christ has beenrevealed. This age is, as it were, the waste and dregs of the wholeworld. It holds nothing in greater contempt than Christ, than whom aprevious age knew nothing more precious. 

84. What is the cause of this grave state of affairs? To be sure, ourflesh, the world, and the devil. We altogether loathe what we have, according to the proverb:

 _Omne rarum carum; vilescit quotidianum. _ "All that's rare, is dear; vile is what is here. "

And apt is the poetic truism:

 _Minuit praesentia famam. _ "Sight levels what fancy has exalted. "

As far as the revelation is concerned, we are far richer than thepatriarchs. But their devotion to a comparatively inferior revelationwas greater; they were lovers of the bridegroom. We, on the otherhand, are that fat, bloated, wanton servant, Deut 32, 15; for we havethe Word and are overwhelmed by the abundance of it. 

85. In the same degree as the first world was excellent and holy, thelatter-day world is evil and wicked. In view of the fact, then, thatGod did not spare the first, primitive world, and destroyed the secondworld by overturning kingdom after kingdom, and government aftergovernment, what shall we expect to be the end of this latter-dayworld which in security despises the Christ, the desire of nations, ashe is called by Haggai, in spite of the fact that he urges himselfupon us to the point of weariness!

B. NOAH. 

 1. Remarkableness of the fact that Noah refrained so long from wedlock 86. 

 2. He was fit to marry, but had reasons for abstaining 87. 

 3. What his reasons were 88. 

 4. His chastity is highly praised by Moses in few words 89. 

 5. The Jews' lies about the reasons for his chastity refuted 90-91. 

 * The Jews' lies as to why Shem was called the first-born 91. 

 * Papists without reason take offense at Moses relating so much about the birth of the children of the patriarchs 92-93. 

 6. Noah shines like a bright star as an example of chastity among all the patriarchs 93. 

 7. Noah remained single, not because he despised marriage; and why he finally married 94. 

 8. How his sons were born one after the other 95-97. 

 * Why Shem was preferred to Japheth 96. 

 * How to meet the objections to the birth of Noah's sons 97. 

 9. Noah an excellent example of chastity 98. 

 * The threefold world. 

 a. The first world a truly golden age and the most holy. How and why it was punished by God 99-100. 

 b. The second world is full of idolatry, and will be severely punished by God 100. 

 c. The third world is the worst, and hence can expect the hardest punishment 101. 

 d. The punishment of these three worlds portrayed in the colors of the rainbow 101. 

 e. How believing hearts act upon considering sin and the world's punishment 102. 

B. NOAH. 

V. 32. _And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. _

86. Here again we meet with surprising brevity. As is his custom, Moses expresses in the fewest possible words the greatest and mostimportant things, which the ignorant reader passes by unobserved. Butyou will say, perhaps, Of what import is it that Noah first begat sonswhen he was five hundred years old? Why, if Noah had no children allthose 500 years, he either endured that length of time the severetrial of unfruitfulness or, as appears to me more likely, he abstainedfrom marriage all those years, setting an example of most marvelouschastity. I do not speak here of the abominable chastity of thePapists; nor of our own. Look at the prophets and the apostles, andeven at some of the other patriarchs, who doubtless were chaste andholy. But what are they in comparison with this man Noah, who, possessed of masculine vigor, managed to live a chaste life withoutmarriage for five hundred years?

87. Now you will scarcely find one in a thousand among the men of ourage who, at the age of thirty, has not known woman. Moreover, Noah, after he had lived a single life for so many centuries, at length tookto himself a wife, and begat children; which latter fact carries itsown proof that he was in a state appropriate for marriage prior tothis, and had a definite reason for practicing continence. 

88. In the first place, it is evident that such unequaled chastitymust necessarily have been a peculiar gift of God. It evinced a naturealmost angelic. It does not seem a thing possible in the nature of manto live 500 years without knowing a wife. In the next place these fivecenturies of chastity in Noah manifest some signal displeasure withthe world. For what other reason are we to conclude that he abstainedfrom marriage than because he had seen the descendants of his uncleand aunt degenerate into giants and tyrants, filling the world withviolence? He thought in consequence, that he would rather have nochildren at all than such as those. And my belief is that he wouldnever have taken to himself a wife at all if he had not beenadmonished and commanded so to do either by the patriarchs or by someangel. He who had refrained from marriage for 500 years might haverefrained during all the rest of his life. 

89. In this manner Moses explains in brief words exceedingly weightyfacts, and, what the ignorant reader would never observe owing to thefailure of chastity being mentioned in express words, he commends thechastity of Noah above that of all the other inhabitants of theprimeval world, setting him up as an example of all but angelicchastity. 

90. The Jews, according to their custom, play the fool, and fable thatNoah for centuries denied himself a wife because he knew that Godwould destroy the world by the flood. If, therefore, Noah had married, like all the other patriarchs, in the earlier part of his life--thatis, when he was about a hundred years old or less--he himself wouldhave peopled the world in the space of 400 years; and then God wouldhave been compelled to destroy both the father himself and the wholeof his progeny. To this fable they add the other, that Shem was calledthe first-born for the reason that he was the first to receivecircumcision. 

91. In a word, these Jews corrupt everything and twist it to suittheir own carnal bent and ambition. If Noah abstained from marriagefor the reason which they assign, why did not all the otherpatriarchs, for the same reason, abstain from marriage and fatherhood?These comments of the rabbins are accordingly frivolous andnonsensical. Why do they not rather urge the real cause, that it was aspecial gift that Noah, a vigorous man, abstained from marriage forfive hundred years? Throughout the course of time no instance of suchcontinence is found. 

92. The book of Genesis highly offends the Papists because it mentionsso often that the fathers begat sons and daughters. They say of thisbook that it is a book in which little more is contained than therecord that the patriarchs were men of extravagant love for theirwives; and they consider it obscene that Moses should make mention ofsuch things with such attention to detail. But, in the impurity oftheir hearts, they can not refrain from befouling the most exaltedchastity. 

93. If you would really behold the brightest examples of chastity thewhole world contains, read Moses as he relates that the patriarchs didnot marry until they were of advanced age. Among them Noah shinesforth a star of first magnitude, inasmuch as he did not marry until hehad reached the five hundredth year of his life. Where will you findsuch eminent examples of chastity in the papacy? Although there aresome among the Papists who do not actually sin with their bodies, yethow foul and filthy are their minds! And all this is judgment upontheir contempt for marriage, which God himself has designed to be aremedy for the corruption of nature. 

94. Another reason why Noah refrained from marriage has beenmentioned. He did not condemn marriage, nor did he consider it to be aprofane or impure manner of life; but he saw that the descendants ofthe elder patriarchs had degenerated to the level of the ungodlygeneration of the Cainites. Such children as these he felt he couldnot endure; he rather waited, in the fear of God, the end of theworld. When afterwards he did enter into marriage, and begat children, he no doubt did it by reason of some particular admonition and commandof God. 

95. Here a question naturally arises concerning the order in whichNoah's sons were born. It will be worth our while to inquire into thismatter, so that our computation of the years of the world may have areliable basis. The common opinion is that Shem was the first-born ofNoah, because his name is mentioned first in order. The testimony ofScripture, however, compels us to conclude that Japheth was thefirst-born, Shem the second, and Ham the last. The truth of this isproved in the following manner: Shem begat his son Arpachshad twoyears after the flood, when he was 100 years old, Gen 11, 10. HenceShem was 98 years old when the flood came, and Noah, when Shem wasborn, was 498 years old. But Japheth was evidently born before Shem, for he was the elder brother, Gen 10, 21. It plainly follows, therefore, that only Ham, the youngest brother, was born when Noah was500 years old. 

96. The reason why Shem is mentioned before Japheth is not because hewas first circumcised, as the Jews, who always are hunting carnalglory, falsely claim, but because it was through him that Christ, thepromised seed, was to come. For the same reason, Abraham, theyoungest, is given precedence to his brothers, Haran and Nahor. 

97. But you will perhaps say, How does this agree with the text whichpositively says, "Noah was five hundred years old; and Noah begatShem, Ham and Japheth"? Harmony is restored if you make out of thepreterit a pluperfect, and read the passage thus:--When Noah was fivehundred years old he had begotten Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Moses doesnot record the particular year in which each son was born, but merelymentions the year in which the number of sons born to Noah reachedthree. Thus the biblical record is reduced to harmony. 

98. As conclusion to the fifth chapter Moses presents the finest andmost noteworthy example of chastity. Saintly and continent throughouthis career, Noah had just rounded out his fifth century when he beganmarried life. Thus far, he had renounced matrimony, repelled by thelicentiousness of the young, who were drifting into the depravity ofthe Cainites. Notwithstanding, at the call of God, he obedientlyentered upon marriage, although it was quite possible for him toremain chaste, as a celibate. 

99. Such is the description given by Moses of the first, the originalworld, in five brief chapters. But it is readily seen that in thebeginning was the real golden age of which poets have made mention, their information being doubtless the traditions and the utterances ofthe fathers. 

100. But as the sins of men increased, God spared not the old world, but destroyed it by a flood utterly, even as he did not spare it whenunder the dispensation of the Law. Because of its idolatry and theimpiousness of its worship, he not only overturned one kingdom afteranother, but even his own people, the Jews, having been severelypunished at his hands by various afflictions and captivities, were atlength utterly destroyed by the Roman armies. 

101. Our age, which is the third age of the world, although it is theage of grace, is so filled with blasphemies and abominations that itis not possible either to express them in language or to form a mentalimage of them. This age therefore shall not be punished by temporalpunishment, but by eternal death and eternal fire, or, if I may soexpress it, by a flood of fire. The very rainbow even, with itscolors, contains a prophetic intimation of these things. The firstcolor is sea-green, representing the destruction of the first world bythe waters of the flood, because of violence and lust; the middlecolor of the bow is yellow, prefiguring the various calamities bywhich God avenged the idolatry and wickedness of the second age; thethird and last color of the bow is fiery red, for fire shall at lengthconsume the world, with all its iniquities and sins. 

102. Wherefore, let us constantly pray that God may so rule our heartsby his fear and may so fill us with confidence in his mercy, that weare able with joy to await our deliverance and the righteouspunishment of this ungodly world. Amen. Amen. 

CHAPTER VI. 

I. THE SINS OF THE FIRST WORLD, THE CAUSE OF ITS DESTRUCTION. 

 * How this chapter and the preceding one are connected 1. 

 * It is terrible that God destroyed by a flood the first world, which was the best 2. 

 * Of pride and the proud. 

 1. How God humbles what is high and grand in the eyes of the world and has the best gifts 3-4. 

 * How man can meet the judgments of God 4. 

 2. The more gifts man has the greater his pride 5. 

 3. The most terrible examples of punishment God gives in the case of the proud and such examples should be diligently pondered 6-7. 

 * The complaint that the world is hardened by reason of God's judgments 7-8. 

 4. How the ancient world was misled into pride through its gifts 9-10. 

 5. Pride is the common weakness of human nature 11. 

 6. In what ways man is moved to pride 12-13. 

 a. The chief sin of the old world 14-15. 

 * Pride is the spring of all vices 15. 

 b. How the old world sinned against the first table of the law, and brought on the sins against the second table 16. 

 c. How and why God punished the old world 17. 

 * From the punishment of the first world we conclude that the last world will be also punished 18. 

 d. Whether the first world was wicked before Noah's birth; on what occasion its wickedness increased 19. 

 * Noah the martyr of martyrs 20. 

 * Why Lamech called his son Noah 21. 

 e. How sin greatly increased in the days of Noah 22. 

 * Why Noah remained unmarried so long, which was his greatest cross 23. 

 f. When the wickedness of the old world began 24. 

 * Concerning unchastity. 

 (1) It is the foundation of all want and misery 24. 

 (2) It is the spring of many other sins 25. 

 (3) How to remedy it 25. 

 (4) Whether bearing children is in itself to be reckoned as unchastity, and how far Moses denounces it 26. 

 (5) Unchastity makes the bearing of children difficult 27. 

 g. The reason the sons of God looked upon the daughters of men 28. 

 h. Why the sin of the first world was not so terrible as the sin of the second 29-30. 

 i. How the first world changed through the marriages of Adam and the other patriarchs 30-32. 

 * The sons of God. 

 (1) What is understood by them 32. 

 (2) The rabbins' fables about the sons of God, how to refute them 33-34. 

 * What is to be held concerning the "Incubis" and "Succubis" 34-35. 

 (3) How the deluge came because of the sons of God 36. 

 (4) To what end should the fall and punishment of the sons of God serve us 37-38. 

 * Should the Romish church be called holy 37. 

 * How the children of God became the children of the devil 38. 

 * How Noah had to spend his life among a host of villains 39. 

 * The conduct of the world when God sends it righteous servants 40. 

I. THE SINS OF THE PRIMEVAL WORLD IN GENERAL THE CAUSE OF ITSDESTRUCTION. 

1. In the first five chapters Moses describes the state of the humanrace in the primeval world and the wonderful glory of the holypatriarchs who governed it. In these five chapters the chronicles asin the first book, so to speak, the happiest period of the whole humanrace and of the world before the flood. Now we shall begin what may betermed the second book of Genesis, containing the history of theflood. It shows the destruction of all the offspring of Cain and theeternal preservation of the generation of the righteous; for whileeverything perishes in the flood, the generation of the righteous issaved as an eternal world. 

2. It is appalling that the whole human race except eight persons isdestroyed, in view of the fact that this was truly the golden age; forsucceeding ages do not equal the old world in glory, greatness andmajesty. And if God visited with destruction his own perfect creationand the very glory of the human race, we have just cause for fear. 

3. In inflicting this punishment, God followed his own peculiar way. Whatever is most exalted he particularly overthrows and humiliates. Peter says in 2 Peter 2, 5: God "spared not the ancient world;" and hewould imply that it was, in comparison with succeeding ages, averitable paradise. Neither did he spare the sublimest creatures--theangels--nor the kings ruling his people, nor the first-born of alltimes. But the more highly they were blessed with gifts, the moresternly he punished them when they began to misuse his gifts. 

4. The Holy Spirit says in the ninth verse of the second psalm, concerning kings: "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thoushalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. " But is it not theLord himself who has ordained kings and wills that all men shouldhonor and obey them? Here he condemns and spurns the wisdom of theprudent and the righteousness of the righteous. It is God's proper andincessant work to condemn what is most magnificent, to cast down themost exalted and to defeat the strongest, though they be his owncreatures. He does this, however, that abundant evidence of his wrathmay terrify the ungodly and may arouse us to despair of ourselves andto trust in his power alone. We must either live under the shadow ofGod's wing, in faith in his grace, or we must perish. 

5. After the fall it came to pass that the more one was blessed withgifts, the greater was his pride. This was the sin of the angels whofell. This was the sin of the primitive world, in which the grandestpeople of the race lived; but because they prided themselves in theirwisdom and other gifts, they perished. This was the sin of thegreatest kings. This was the sin of nearly all the first-born. Butwhat is the need of so many words? This is original sin--that we failto recognize and rightly use the great and precious gifts of God. 

6. That the greatest men must furnish the most abhorrent examples isnot the fault of the gifts and blessings, but of those to whom theyare intrusted. God is a dialectician and judges the person by thething, [1] meting out destruction to the thing or gift as well as toits possessor. 

[Footnote 1: _ut arguat a conjugatis. _]

7. It is expedient to give heed to such examples. They are given thatthe proud may fear and be humbled, and that we may learn our utterdependence upon the guidance and will of God, who resisteth the proudbut giveth grace to the humble. Lacking the understanding and practiceof these truths, man falls continually--kings, nobles, saints, oneafter the other, filling the world with examples of the wrath andjudgment of God. The Blessed Virgin sings: "He hath scattered theproud in the imagination of their heart. He hath put down the princesfrom their thrones, and hath exalted them of low degree. " Lk 1, 51-53. 

8. Full of such examples are all ages, all princely courts, all lands. Yet, by the grace of Saint Diabolus, the prince of this world, ourhearts are so hard that we are not moved by all this to fear; ratherto disdain, though we feel and see that we also shall incurdestruction. Blessed are they, therefore, who heed, and are moved bysuch examples of wrath to be humble and to live in the fear of God. 

9. Consider, then, the preeminence of the old world, that perished inthe flood. It possessed apparently the best, holiest and noblest men, compared with whom we are as the dregs of the world. For theScriptures do not say that they were wicked and unjust amongthemselves, but toward God. "He saw, " says Moses, "that they wereevil. " The eyes of God perceive and judge quite differently from theeyes of men. He says in Isaiah 55, 8-9: "Neither are your ways myways. .. . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my wayshigher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. "

10. These tyrants and giants were esteemed and honored amongthemselves as the wisest and most just of men. So in our day kings andprinces, popes and bishops, theologians, physicians, jurists andnoblemen occupy exalted places and receive honor as the very gems andluminaries of the human race. More deservedly did the children of Godin the old world receive such honor, because they excelled in powerand possessed many gifts. Nevertheless, falling into pride andcontempt of God while enjoying his blessings, they were rejected byGod and destroyed, together with their gifts, as if they had been thelowest and vilest of the human race. 

11. And this is a common failing of our human nature. It necessarilypuffs itself up and prides itself on its gifts unless restrained bythe Holy Spirit. I have often said that a man has no more dangerousenemy than himself. It is my own experience that I have not without meso great cause for fear as within me; for it is our inner gifts thatincite our nature to pride. 

12. As God, who is by nature most kind, cannot refrain from gracingand showering us with various gifts: health, property, wisdom, skill, knowledge of Scripture, etc. , so we cannot refrain from pridingourselves upon these gifts and flaunting them. Wretched is our lifewhen we lack the gifts of God, but twice wretched is it when we havethem; for they tend to make us doubly wicked. Such is the corruptionof original sin, though all but believers are either unaware of itsexistence or regard it a trivial thing. 

13. Such corruption is perceptible not only in ourselves but inothers. How property inflates pride though it occupies relatively thelowest place among blessings! The rich, be they noblemen, city-dwellers or peasants, deem other people as flies. To even agreater extent are the higher gifts abused--wisdom and righteousness. Possession of these gifts, then, makes inevitable this condition--Godcannot suffer such pride and we cannot refrain from it. 

14. This was the sin of that primeval world. Among Cain's descendantswere good and wise men, who, nevertheless, before God were mostwicked, for they prided themselves upon their gifts and despised God, the author. Such offense the world does not perceive and condemn; Godalone is its judge. 

15. Where these spiritual vices exist and flourish, the lapse intocarnal ones is imminent. According to Sirach 10, 14, sin begins withfalling from God. The devil's first fall is from heaven into hell;that is, from the first table of the Law into the second. When peoplebegin to be godless--when they do not fear and trust God, but despisehim, his Word and his servants--the result is that from the truedoctrine they pass into heretical delusions and teach, defend andcultivate them. These sins in the eyes of the world are accounted thegreatest holiness, and their authors alone are reputed religious, God-fearing and just, and held to constitute the Church, the family ofGod. People are unable to judge concerning the sins of the firsttable. Those who despise God sooner or later fall into abominableadultery, theft, murder and other gross sins against the second table. 

16. The purpose of my statements is to make plain that the old worldwas guilty, not only of sin against the second table, but most of allof sin against the first table by making a fine, but deceptive andfalse show of wisdom, godliness, devotion and religion. As a result ofthe ungodliness which flourished in opposition to the first table, there followed that moral corruption of which Moses speaks in thischapter, that the people polluted themselves with all sorts of lustand afterward filled the world with oppression, bloodshed and wrong. 

17. Because the ungodly world had trampled both tables under foot, Godcame to judge it, who is a consuming fire and a jealous God. He sopunishes ungodliness that he turns everything into sheer desolation, and neither government nor the governed remain. We may, therefore, infer that the world was the better the nearer it was to Adam, butthat it degenerated from day to day until our time, when theoffscouring and lowest filth of humanity, as it were, are living. 

18. Now, if God did not spare a world endowed with so many and greatgifts, what have we to hope for, who, offal that we are, are subjectto far greater misfortune and wretchedness? But if it please God, spare the Roman pontiff and his holy bishops, who do not believe suchthings! I now come to my text. 

Vs. 1-2. _And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the faceof the ground, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of Godsaw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wivesof all that they chose. _

19. This is a very brief but comprehensive account. The text must notbe understood to mean that the world did not increase until the fivehundredth year of Noah. The more ancient patriarchs are embraced inthis statement. This is demonstrated by the fact that Noah had nodaughters. The reference in the text to "daughters" certainly must beunderstood as referring to the by-gone age of Lamech, Methuselah, Enoch and others. The world, accordingly, was corrupt and evil beforeNoah was born, particularly when licentiousness began to prevail afterthe death of Adam, whose authority, as the first father, they feared. 

20. I have said that Noah was a virgin above all others; I may add hewas the greatest of all martyrs. Our so-called martyrs, compared withhim, have infinite advantage in strength received from the HolySpirit, by which death is overcome and all trials and perils areescaped. Noah lived among the unrighteous for six hundred years, andlike Lot at Sodom, not without numerous and dire perils and trials. 

21. This was, perhaps, one reason why Father Lamech gave his son thename Noah at his birth. When the holy patriarch saw evil abounding inthe world, he entertained the hope concerning his son that he shouldcomfort the righteous by opposing sin and its author, Satan, andrestoring lost righteousness. 

22. However, the wickedness that began then, not only failed to ceaseunder Noah, but rather grew greater. Hence Noah is the martyr ofmartyrs. For is it not much easier to be delivered from all danger andsuffering in a single hour than to live for centuries amid colossalwickedness?

23. The opinion before expressed I maintain, that Noah abstained frommatrimony so long that he might not be compelled to witness and sufferin his own offspring what he saw in the descendants of the othersaints. This sight of man's wickedness was his greatest cross, asPeter says of Lot in Sodom (2 Pet 2, 8): "That righteous man dwellingamong them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from dayto day with their lawless deeds. "

24. Accordingly, the increase of humanity of which Moses speaks hasnot reference alone to the time of Noah, but also to the age of theother patriarchs. It was there that the violation of the first tablecommenced--in the contempt manifested for Jehovah and his Word. Thiswas followed later by such gross offenses as oppression, tyranny andlewdness, which Moses explicitly mentions and names first as the causeof evil. Consult all history, study the Greek tragedies and theaffairs of barbarians and Romans of all times, and you find lust themother of every kind of trouble. It can not be otherwise. Where God'sWord remains unknown or unheeded, men will plunge into lust. 

25. Lust draws in its train endless other evils, as pride, oppression, perjury and the like. These sins can be attacked only as men, throughthe first table, learn to fear and to trust in God. Then it is thatthey follow the Word as a lamp going before in the dark, and they willnot indulge in such scandalous deeds, but will rather beware of them. With violation of the first table, however, the spread of passions andsins of every description is inevitable. 

26. But it seems strange that Moses should enumerate in the catalog ofsins the begetting of daughters. He had found it commendable in thecase of the patriarchs. It is even enjoyed by the ungodly as ablessing of God. Why, therefore, does Moses call it a sin?

I reply, he does not condemn the fact of procreation as such, but theabuse of it, resulting from original sin. To be endowed with royalmajesty, wisdom, wealth and bodily strength is a goodly blessing. Itis God who bestows these gifts. But when men, in possession of theseblessings, fail to reverence the first table, and by means of thesevery gifts do violence to it, such wickedness merits punishment. Therein is the reason for Moses' peculiar words: "The sons of God sawthe daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives ofall that they chose, " without consideration of God or of law, naturalor statutory. 

27. The first table having been despised, the second shares the samefate. Desire occupies the principal place and in contempt forprocreation it becomes purely bestial; whereas God has institutedmatrimony as an aid to feeble nature and chiefly for the purpose ofprocreation. But when lust in this manner has gained the upper hand, all commandments, those that go before and that follow, are ruthlesslybroken and dishonored. Parental honor becomes insecure; men do notshrink from doing murder; from alienating property, speaking falsetestimony, etc. 

28. The word _jiru_, "saw, " does not merely signify "to view, " but "toview with pleasure and enjoyment. " This meaning often occurs in thepsalms, for instance: "Mine eye also hath seen my desire on mineenemies, " Ps 92, 11; that is, shall with pleasure see vengeanceexecuted upon my enemies. The meaning here is that, after turningtheir eyes from God and his Word, they turned them, filled with lust, upon the daughters of men. The sequence is unerring that, from theviolation of the first table, men rush to the violation of the second. After despising God they despised also the laws of nature and, as theypleased, they married whom they chose. 

29. These are rather harsh words, and yet it is my opinion that lustcontinued hitherto within certain limits, inasmuch as they neithercommitted incest with their mothers, as later the inhabitants ofCanaan, nor polluted themselves with the vice of the Sodomites. Mosesconfines his charge to their casting aside the legal trammels set bythe patriarchs and recognizing in their matrimonial alliances no lawbut that of lust, selecting only as passion directed and against thewill of the parents. 

30. It seems the patriarchs had strictly forbidden to contractalliances with the offspring of Cain, just as, later, the Jews couldnot lawfully mingle with the Canaanites. Though there are not wantingthose who write that incestuous marriages existed before the flood, blood-relationship being held to be no barrier, I yet infer from thefact that Peter has extolled the old world, that such incestuousatrocities did not exist at that time, but that the sin of the ancientworld consisted rather in men marrying whom they pleased, and as manywives from the Cainites as they chose, ignoring parental authority andcontrolled alone by passion. It is, therefore, a harsh word--"Allwhich they chose. "

31. I have shown, on various occasions, that the two generations, orchurches, of Adam and Cain were separate. For, as Moses clearlystates, Adam expelled the murderer from his association. Withoutdoubt, therefore, Adam also exhorted his offspring to avoid the churchof the evil-doers and not to mingle with the accursed generation ofCain. And for a while his counsel or command was obeyed. 

32. But when Adam died and the authority of the other patriarchsbecame an object of scorn, the sons of God who had the promise of theblessed seed and themselves belonged to the blessed seed, craved fromthe tribe of the ungodly, intercourse and espousal. He tersely callsthe sons of the patriarchs the "sons of God, " since to them was giventhe promise of the blessed seed and they constituted the true Church. Yielding to the corruptions of the Cainite church they indulged theflesh themselves and took from the tribe of Cain, as wives andmistresses, whom and as many as they chose. This Lamech and Noah sawwith pain, and for that reason, perhaps, deferred entering uponmarriage. 

33. In reference to this point the Jews fancy foolish things. Theyinterpret the sons of God to signify demon-lechers by whom thatimpious generation was begotten, and that they were called the sons ofGod by reason of their spiritual nature. The more moderate ones, however, refute such folly and represent the sons of the mighty. Thishas been aptly disproved by Lyra; for the punishment of the delugebefell, not alone the mighty, but all flesh, as shall the doom at thelast day. 

34. But as regards the demon-lechers and strumpets (incubi andsuccubi), I do not deny--nay, I believe--that a demon may be either alecher or a strumpet, for I have heard men cite their own experience. Augustine says that he heard this from trustworthy people whom he wasconstrained to believe. Satan is pleased when he can deceive us inthis manner, by assuming the form either of a young man or a youngwoman. But that anything may be begotten by a devil and a human beingis simply false. We hear of monstrous births of demon-like features, and I have even seen some. I am of opinion, however, that they havebeen deformed by the devil, but not begotten: or that they are realdevils with a human body either simulated or purloined. For if thedevil, by divine permission, may take possession of the whole man andchange his mind, is it strange that he may disfigure also his body, causing men to be born sightless or cripples?

35. Hence, the devil may so deceive frivolous people and such as livewithout the fear of God that when the devil is in bed, a young man maythink that he has a girl with him, and a girl that she has a youthwith her; but that anything may be born from such concubinage I do notbelieve. Many sorceresses have at one time or another been subjectedto death at the stake on account of their intercourse with demons. Ifthe devil can deceive eyes and ears so that they fancy they see andhear things which do not exist, how much easier is it for him todeceive the sense of touch, which is in this nature exceedingly gross!But enough! These explanations have no bearing upon the present text, and we have been led to them merely by Jewish babbling. 

36. The true meaning is that Moses calls those men the sons of God, who had the promise of the blessed seed. This is a New Testamentphrase and signifies the believers who call God, Father, and whom, Godin turn, calls sons. The flood came not because the generation of Cainwas corrupt, but because the generation of the righteous who hadbelieved God, had obeyed his Word, and had possessed the true worship, now had lapsed into idolatry, disobedience to parents, sensuality, oppression. Even so the last day shall be hastened, not by theprofligacy of Gentile, Turk and Jew, but by the filling of the Churchwith errors through the pope and fanatical spirits, so that those veryones who occupy the highest place in the Church exercise themselves insensuality, lust and oppression. 

37. It is a cause of fear for us all, that even those who weredescended from the best patriarchs, began to grow haughty and departfrom the Word. They gloried in their wisdom and righteousness, aslater the Jews did in circumcision and Father Abraham. So did thepopes glory in the title of the Church only to replace gradually theirspiritual glory by carnal indulgence after forfeiting the knowledge ofGod, his Word and his worship. The Roman Church was truly holy andadorned by the grandest martyrs. We, at this day, however, arewitnesses how she has fallen. 

38. Let no one, therefore, glory in his gifts, however splendid! Thegreatest gift is to be a member of the true Church. But take care notto become proud on that account, for you may fall, just as Luciferfell from heaven and, as we are here informed, as the sons of God fellinto carnal pleasures. They are, therefore, no longer sons of God, butsons of Satan, having fallen alike from the first and the second tableof the Law. So in the past, popes and bishops have been good and holy, but today they are of all men the worst and, so to speak, the dregs ofall classes. 

39. Among this rabble of decadent men who had departed from the pietyand virtues of their ancestors, godly Noah lived in the greatestcontempt and hatred of everybody. How could he approve the corruptionof such degenerate progeny? And they themselves were most impatient ofreproof. While, therefore, his example shone and gleamed, and hisholiness filled the whole earth, the world became worse from day today, and the greater the sanctity and chastity of Noah, the more theworld reveled in lust. This is the beginning; it invariably introducesruin. 

40. When God arouses holy men, full of the Holy Spirit, to instructand reprove the world, the world, impatient of sound doctrine, fallswith much greater zeal into sin and plies it with much greaterpersistency. This was the situation at the beginning of the world, andnow, at the end of the world, we realize it is still the case. 

II. GOD'S JUDGMENT AND GRIEF OVER THE FIRST WORLD; NOAH AND HIS PREACHING. 

 A. GOD'S JUDGMENT AND LAMENTATION OVER THE OLD WORLD. 

 1. The words of the lamentation. 

 a. Interpreters have shamefully perverted these words 41. 

 b. The Jewish interpretation, which Jerome follows 42. 

 c. The Jews' interpretation refuted 42-43. 

 d. The interpretation of Rabbi Solomon 44. 

 e. The interpretation of others, especially of Origen 45. 

 * Why Augustine was especially pleased with the doctrine of the Manicheans 45. 

 f. Rabbi David's explanation 46. 

 * The false idea of the Jews and some Christian interpreters that the true sense of Scripture is learned from grammar. 

 (1) Thus ideas most foreign to the sense of Scripture are defended 46-47. 

 (2) This method is false and led the Jews into many fantasies 47. 

 g. The source of Rabbi David's awkward interpretation of these words 48. 

 * Why Luther has so much to say about the false interpretation of Scripture 49. 

 * What is necessary to interpret Scripture 50. 

 h. The true sense of these words 51. 

 * Scripture definition of "to judge" 51. 

 2. The author of this judgment and lamentation 51-53. 

 * Man's conduct upon hearing God's Word preached 54. 

 3. From what kind of a heart does such judgment and lamentation spring 55. 

 * What kind of grief is the grief of the Holy Spirit 56. 

 * God's severest punishment 57-59. 

 * What follows when man does not possess God's Word 57-58. 

 * Why the heathen are so carnal 58. 

 4. The nature of this judgment and lamentation 59. 

 * The lamentation and judgment of Luther over Germany because it lightly esteemed God's Word 60. 

 * The spirit of grace and of prayer 61. 

 * The office of the ministry. 

 a. It requires two things 62. 

 b. It is the greatest blessing of God 63. 

 c. To despise it is a great sin, and what follows when it is taken from a people 63. 

 d. A complaint of its neglect 64. 

 e. This office is explained by the expression "to judge" 65. 

 * Every godly preacher is one who disputes and judges 65. 

 * Luther's grief because of the stubbornness of the world 66. 

 * Why Ahab called Elijah a troubler of Israel 67. 

 * Why the world resents being reproved by sound doctrine. It is a good sign if a minister is reviled by the world 68. 

 * The glory of people who boast of being the Church. 

 a. Such glory avails nothing before God 68-70. 

 b. Papists wish by all means to have this glory 68-70. 

 c. Papists need this glory to suppress the Protestants 71. 

 d. Christ will decide at the judgment day to whom this glory belongs 71. 

 e. Although the first world adorned itself with this glory, it did not save them 72. 

 5. How and why this judgment and complaint are ascribed to God 73-74. 

 6. How they were published to the world by the holy patriarchs 75. 

 7. Why they were made 76. 

 8. In what way they have been published to the world 77. 

 9. How the world resented this judgment and complaint 78. 

 * Time given to the first world for repentance. 

 a. We are not to understand the 120 years as the period of a man's life 79. 

 b. The 120 years the time given these people in which to repent 80-81. 

 10. Whether and to what end this time was necessary 82. 

 11. How the old world felt upon hearing this 83. 

 * The complaint and judgment of the last world 84-86. 

 * The nearer the world approaches its destruction the less it thinks of it 86. 

 * How the time of the flood is to be compared with the time God gives man to repent 87. 

II. THE JUDGMENT AND LAMENTATION OF GOD OVER THE FIRST WORLD; NOAH ANDHIS PREACHING. 

A. GOD'S JUDGMENT AND LAMENTATION OVER THE OLD WORLD. 

V. 3. _Jehovah said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, forthat he also is flesh: yet shall his days be a hundred and twentyyears. "_

41. Moses here begins by describing Noah as the highest pontiff andpriest, or, as Peter calls him, a preacher of righteousness. This texthas been mangled in various ways, for the natural man cannotunderstand spiritual things. When, therefore, the interpreters, withunwashed feet and hands, rushed into the Holy Scriptures, taking withthem a human bias and method, as they themselves acknowledge, theycould not but fall into diverse and erroneous views. It has almostcome to pass, that the more sublime and spiritual the utterances ofScripture, the more shamefully they have been distorted. This passagein particular they have managed so shamelessly that you would not knowwhat to believe, if you followed the interpreters. 

42. The Jews are the first to crucify Moses here, for this is theirexposition: My Spirit, that is my indignation and wrath, shall notalways abide upon man. I will not be angry with men, but spare them, for they are flesh. That means, being spurred by sin, they incline tosin. This meaning Jerome also adopts, who is of the opinion that hereonly the sin of lust is spoken of, to which we are all prone bynature. But his first error is that he interprets Spirit as wrath. Itis the Holy Spirit Moses here speaks of, as the contrast shows. "Forman, " he says, "is flesh. " The meaning is, therefore, that the fleshis not only prone to sin, but also hostile toward God. 

43. Then the matter itself serves as refutation, for could anythingmore absurd have been devised? They see with their eyes the wrath ofGod swallowing the whole human race through the flood, and yet theyexpound that God does not wish to be influenced toward the human raceby anger but by mercy, and this after a hundred and twenty years, thevery time of the flood. 

44. Rabbi Solomon expounds it thus: The Spirit which is in God shallno more strive and wrangle. As if God in his majesty would havedisputed and wrangled about what should be done with man, whether todestroy or to spare him, finally, wearied by man's wickedness, determining upon his destruction, nevertheless. 

45. Others understand this of the created spirit: My spirit that Ibreathed upon the face of man, that is the spirit of man, shall nolonger strive and contend with the flesh, which is in subjection toits lusts, for I shall take away this spirit and free it from theflesh, so that when the latter has become extinct, it may create nomore difficulties for the spirit. This is the understanding of Origen, and it does not differ much from the Manichean error which attributessin not to the whole man, but only to a part. And Augustine says thatthis had pleased him most in the tenets of the Manicheans, to hearthat his depravity was not altogether his, but only of that part ofthe body which is evil from the beginning. The Manicheans posited twoprinciples, the good and the bad, just as certain philosophers haveposited enmity and friendship. Thus do men not only miss the mark, butthey also fall into ungodly delusions. 

46. Rabbi David cites Sanctes, and derives the word _jadon_ from_nadan_, which means sheath, or shell. But as the interpretation isvery clumsy, so he clothes it also in a very clumsy word: My Spiritshall not be inclosed in man as in a sheath. Has anything moreunnatural ever been heard? But the Jews make a laughing-stock ofmodern Hebraists when they convince them that the Holy Scriptures cannot be understood except through grammatical rules and an exactscience of vowel-points. No exposition is so absurd but that theydefend and polish it with their stale grammatical rules. 

47. But tell me, what language has there ever been that men easilyhave learned to speak from grammatical rules? Is it not true that thevery languages most thoroughly reduced to rules, like Greek and Latin, are learned rather by practice? What stupendous absurdity, therefore, it is to gather the sense of a sacred tongue, which is the repositoryof things theological and spiritual, from grammatical rules, and topay no attention to the proper signification of things? And this iswhat the rabbis and their disciples do almost universally. Many wordsand verbs may be declined for which no use is seen in the language. While they make such things paramount and everywhere chase anxiouslyafter etymology, they fall into strange fancies. 

48. So here. Because the word in this passage can be derived from_nadan_, they construct from that a prodigious meaning. My spirit, they say, shall not be held back as in a sheath. They mean the spiritof man contained in the body as in a sheath. I shall not leave it in asheath, they say, but I shall remove him and destroy the sheath. Suchabsurdities originate in the stale grammatical rules, whereas usagerather should be considered; it is that which trains the grammarian. 

49. But I recite all this at length, in order to admonish you, whenyou come upon such silly commentators, not to follow them and admiresuch singular wisdom. For great men even have found delight in thefolly of the rabbis. They are not unlike the Sacramentarians, who donot deny the words of Christ, This is my body, this is my blood; butexplain it thus: Bread is bread, and yet the body of Christ, namely, his creature; this is my blood, namely my wine. This passion ofdistorting texts no sane man tolerates in the exposition of the fablesof Terence, or of the eclogues of Virgil, and, forsooth, we shouldtolerate it in the Church!

50. We need the Holy Spirit to understand the Holy Scriptures. For weknow that the same Spirit shall exist to the end of the world whoexisted before all things. We glory in possessing this Spirit throughthe grace of God, and, through him, we have faith, a moderateknowledge of Scripture and an understanding of the other thingsnecessary to godliness. Hence we do not invent a new interpretation;we are guided not only by an analogy of Holy Scripture but also byfaith. 

51. Through the Holy Scriptures in its entirety, the verb judge, _dun_, signifies almost invariably a public office in the Church, orthe office of the ministry, through which we are corrected, reproved, instructed and enabled to distinguish the evil from the good, etc. Thus, Psalm 110, 6: _Jadin bagojim_, "He will judge among thenations;" which means: He will preach among the nations. The wordfound in this passage is evidently the same. And in the New Testamentthis phrase, originally Hebrew, is very much in vogue, especially inPaul's writings, who uses the Hebrew idiom more than the others. 

52. I understand this passage therefore as words spoken by Lamech orNoah as a new message to the whole world. For it was a public messageproclaimed at some public assembly. When Methuselah, Lamech and Noahsaw that the world was hastening straight to destruction by its sins, they resorted to this proclamation: My Spirit shall no longer preachamong men. That means: we teach in vain, we admonish in vain; theworld has no desire to be better. 

53. It is as if one in the present perverse times should say: We teachand make ample effort to summon the world back to sobriety andgodliness, but we are derided, persecuted, killed, and all men, in theend, rush to destruction with blind eyes and deaf ears; therefore weare constrained to desist. These are the words of a soul planningappropriate action and full of anxiety, because it is clear that thehuman race, at the height of its peril, cannot be healed. 

54. This exposition conforms to faith and Holy Scriptures. When theWord is revealed from heaven, we see that some are converted, who arefreed from damnation. The remaining multitude despises it and securelyindulges in avarice, lust and other vices, as Jeremiah says (ch 51, 9): "We should have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsakeher, and let us go everyone into his own country. "

The more diligently Moses and Aaron importuned and instructed, themore obstinate Pharaoh became. The Jews were not made better by eventhe preaching of Christ and the apostles. The same befalls us whoteach in our day. What, in consequence, are we to do? Deplore theblindness and obstinacy of men we may, correct it we cannot. Who wouldrejoice in the eternal damnation of the popes and their followers? Whowould not prefer that they should embrace the Word and recover theirsenses?

55. A similar exhibition of obstinacy Methuselah, Lamech and Noah sawin their day. Therefore there bursts from them this voice of despair:My Spirit, namely the Word of healing truth, shall no longer bearwitness among men. For inasmuch as you refuse to embrace theWord--will not yield to healing truth--you shall perish. 

These are the words of a heart filled with anxiety after the mannerthat the Scriptures say God is anxious; that is, the hearts of Noah, Lamech, Methuselah and other holy men who are filled with love towardall. Beholding this wickedness of men, they are troubled and pained. 

56. Such grief is really the grief of the Holy Spirit, as Paul says, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in whom ye were sealed unto theday of redemption, " Eph 4, 30. This means that the Holy Spirit isgrieved when we miserable men are distracted and tormented by thewickedness of the world, that despises the Word we preach by the HolySpirit. Thus Lot was troubled in Sodom, and the pious Jews in Babylonunder the godless king Belshazzar; also Jeremiah, when he preached tothe ungodly Jews and exclaimed (Jer 15, 10): "Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me. " So in Micah 7, 1: "Woe is me! for I am asthe grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat. "

57. The wrath of God is most fearful as he recalls the Word. What manwould not prefer pestilence, famine, war--these being mere bodilycalamities--to a famine of the Word which is always joined to eternaldamnation? An example of the horrible darkness into which Satan canlead men when God is silent and does not speak, is furnished by theGentiles who have been bereft of the Word. Who is not horrified by theRomans, men of exemplary wisdom and famous before other nations byreason of their dignified discipline, who observed the custom ofletting the worthy matrons worship and crown Priapus, the foul idol, and of leading bridal virgins before it? What is more ludicrous thanthat the Egyptians adored the calf Apis as the supreme godhead?

58. The Tripartite History gives an account of Constantine the Greatbeing the first to abolish in Phoenicia and other places the shamelesscustom of using virgins, before their nuptials, for purposes ofprostitution. Such monstrous infamies were accounted religion andrighteousness among the Gentiles. There is nothing, in fact, soridiculous, so stupid, so obscene, nothing so remote from allpropriety, that it cannot be foisted as the very essence of religionupon men who have been forsaken by the Word. 

59. This is, therefore, the greatest penalty, that God, through themouths of the holy patriarchs, threatens no longer to reprove men byhis Spirit; which means that henceforth he will not give his Word tomen, since all teaching is vain. 

60. Like punishment our times will bring also upon Germany. For we seethe haste, the unrest, of Satan, and his efforts to defraud whom hemay of the Word. How many sects has he roused during our lifetime, andthis while we bent all our energies toward the maintenance of puredoctrine! What is in store after our death? Surely, he will lead forthwhole swarms of Sacramentarians, Anabaptists, Antinomians, Servetians, Campanistans and other heretics who at present, conquered by the pureWord and the constancy of faithful teachers, keep out of sight, butare ready for every opportunity to establish their doctrines. 

61. Those, therefore, who have the Word in its purity, should learn toembrace the same, to thank God for it and to call upon him while hemay be found. For when the spirit of knowledge is taken away, thespirit of prayer is also gone. Zechariah says (Zech 12, 10): For thespirit of prayer is joined to the spirit of grace. It is the spirit ofgrace which reproves our sins and gives instruction concerning theirremission, which condemns idolatry and instructs concerning the trueworship of God, which condemns avarice, lust and oppression, andteaches chastity, patience and charity. This spirit, God herethreatens, shall no longer continue his work of instruction, since menrefuse to hear and are incorrigible. The spirit of grace having beentaken away, the spirit of prayer has also been taken away. For it isimpossible for him to pray who is without the Word. 

62. Accordingly, the office of a priest is twofold; first, that heturns to God and prays for himself and for his people; second, that heturns from God to men through instruction and the Word. Says Samuel:"Far be it from me that I should sin against Jehovah in ceasing topray for you: but I will instruct you in the good and the right way, "1 Sam 12, 23. He is aware that this is his proper office. 

63. Therefore, the ministry is rightly praised and esteemed as thehighest favor. When this has been lost or has been vitiated, not onlyprayer becomes impossible, but men are simply in the power of thedevil, and do nothing but grieve the Holy Spirit with all their deeds, and thus fall into mortal sin, for which it is not lawful to pray. Such other lapses as occur among men are trivial, for return is openand the hope of pardon is left. But when the Holy Spirit is grievedand men refuse to receive the witness and reproof of the Holy Spirit, the disease is desperate and incurable. 

64. But how common is this sin today among all classes! Princes, noblemen, inhabitants of city and country, refuse to be reproved; theyrather reprove and sit in judgment upon the Holy Spirit in hisservants. They judge of the office of the ministry by the lowliness ofthe person. They reason thus: This minister is poor and despised; whythen should he reprove me, a prince, a nobleman, a magistrate? Ratherthan endure this, they trample under foot the ministers, together withtheir office and their message. Should we not, then, fear the judgmentof God, such as he here announces to the old world?

65. These, therefore, are the words of a father who disinherits hisson, or of a severe schoolmaster in wrath ejecting a pupil, when Godsimply fixes a hundred and twenty years as the time in whichopportunity is granted for repentance. He threatens, should it not beimproved, his Spirit shall no longer reprove and strive. 

This word pertains properly to the office of the ministry and, in acertain sense, describes it. For every preacher or servant of the Wordis a man of strife and judgment, and is constrained, by reason of hisoffice, to chide whatever is vicious, without considering the personor office of his hearer. When Jeremiah does this zealously, he incursnot only hate but also the gravest dangers. He is moved even toimpatience, so that he wishes he had never been born, Jer 20, 14. 

66. And if I had not been particularly strengthened by God, I shouldhave been wearied and broken down ere this by the contumacy of animpenitent world; for the ungodly so grieve the Holy Spirit in us, that, with Jeremiah, we wish often we had never made a beginning ofanything. Hence I often pray to God to let the present generation diewith us, because, after our death, the most perilous times are tocome. 

67. For this reason Elijah is called by Ahab the godless king ofIsrael, the disturber of Israel; because he openly reproved theidolatry, violence and passions of his day. Likewise we today aredeemed the disturbers of Germany. 

68. But it is a good sign when men condemn us and call us authors ofstrife, for the Spirit of God strives with men, reproves and condemnsthem. But men are so that they wish to be taught only what gives thempleasure, as they frankly admit in Micah 2, 6-7: "Prophesy not to us;for confusion has not seized us, says the house of Jacob. " The latterthey use as an argument; because they look upon themselves as thehouse of Jacob and the people of God, they decline chastening, andwill not take to themselves penalties and threats. So today the popeand his accomplices plume themselves solely upon being the Church, anddeclare that the Church is incapable of error. But notice this textand it will appear how frivolous such an argument is. 

69. Are not those whom God threatens to no longer judge by his Spiritlikewise the sons of God? What can be more splendid than this name?Beyond doubt they gloried in this name and rebelled against thepatriarchs when they opposed, or at least despised, their preaching. For it does not seem likely that God should be thrown into a rageagainst the whole human race on account of a few sins. But themagnificent name did not save them, nor did it avail that they werestrong and great in number. Six hundred thousand marched out of Egypt, and two only entered the land of Canaan; all the others were preventedby death on account of their sins. 

70. Evidently God will in no way inquire about the magnificent titlesof the Church, pope and bishop. Other testimony will be needed whenthey desire to escape the wrath of God than to boast of being theChurch. For it is written (Mt 7, 20): "By their fruits ye shall knowthem. " And verse 21: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. "

71. If ever in the future a council shall be held--which I hardlybelieve--no one will be able to take from them the title of Church, but propped up by this alone they will condemn and oppress us. Different shall be the judgment, when the Son of man shall come in hisglory. Then it shall appear that among the members of the holy Churchhave been John Huss and Jerome of Prague. The pope, however, and thecardinals, the bishops, doctors, monks and priestly mountebanks, shallappear as the church of evil-doers, enthroned in pestilence, and asveritable henchmen of Satan, rendering aid to their father in hislying and murdering. 

72. Such judgment of God we see also here. He does not deny that theoffspring of the saints are sons of God. This magnificent title inwhich they took pride and securely sinned, God leaves to them. And yetthese very sons of God who took in marriage the daughters of men, hewarns that he not only will take the Word from their hearts and minds, but that he will take from their eyes and ears also the ministeringSpirit who preaches, prays, reproves, teaches and sighs in holyservants, and because they refuse to be chastened and reproved;knowing themselves to be the sons of God they despise the Word and itsteachers. But they do not escape punishment because of their name. Thesame shall likewise befall the papists and other enemies of the Word. 

73. In accordance with this I hold that the sentiments of pious menare here attributed to God himself, according to the usage of the HolyScriptures; for instance in Malachi 3, 8, where the Lord says that heis pierced through, or, as the Hebrew has it, that violence is done tohim because the people were unfaithful in rendering to the priests thefirst-fruits and the tenth. 

74. But why, you may say, should God need to complain thus? Can he notwhen it pleases him suddenly destroy the whole world? He surely can, but does not do so gladly. He says: "I have no pleasure in the deathof the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live, " Ezk33, 11. Such a disposition proves that God is inclined to pardon, toendure and to remit the sins of men, if only they will come to theirsenses; but inasmuch as they continue in obduracy, and reject allhelp, he is, as it were, tormented by this wickedness of men. 

75. The words "And Jehovah said, " I attribute to the holy fathers, whotestified through a public decree that God should be compelled toexercise vengeance, for they taught by divine authority. When Noah andhis ancestors had preached nearly a thousand years, and yet the worldcontinued to degenerate more and more, they announced God's decisionto an ungrateful world and disclosed this as his thought: Why should Ipreach forever and permit my heralds to cry in vain? The moremessengers I send, the longer I defer my wrath, --the worse theybecome. It is therefore necessary for preaching to cease, and forretribution to begin. I shall not permit my Spirit, that is my Word, to sit in judgment and to bear witness forever, and to tolerate man'swickedness. I am constrained to punish their sins. Because man isflesh, he is opposed to me. He is earthly, I am spirit. Man continuesin his carnal state, mocks at the Word, persecutes and hates my Spiritin the patriarchs, and the story is told to deaf ears. Hence it isnecessary that I should cease and permit man to go his own way. Thiscontrast he desires to indicate when he says: "For he is flesh. "

76. Noah, Lamech and Methuselah were very holy men, full of the HolySpirit. Accordingly they performed their office by teaching, admonishing, urging and entreating, in season and out of season; asPaul says, 2 Tim 4, 2. But they reproved flesh and did unprofitablelabor, for the flesh would not yield to sound teaching. Should I, sayshe, endure forever such contempt for my Word?

77. This proclamation, therefore, contains a public complaint, made bythe Holy Spirit through the holy patriarchs, Noah, Lamech, Methuselahand others, whom God took away before the flood that they might not bespectators of so widely diffused wrath. All these, with one voice andmouth, admonished the giants and tyrants to repent, and added thethreat that God would not endure forever such contempt of his Word. 

78. But the flesh remained true to its nature; they despised faithfulexhortations in their presumption and carnal security, and the holypatriarchs they treated as men in dotage and as simpletons because oftheir threat that God would move in wrath even upon his Church, namely, the heirs of the promise of the coming seed. 

79. The added clause, "yet shall his days be a hundred and twentyyears, " Jerome affirms must not be understood as referring to theyears of human life, nor to the age of individual men; for it iscertain that after the flood many exceeded the two hundredth year. Ifyou refer it to the years allotted to individuals, the promise wouldbe that individuals should complete so many years, which, however, isfalse. Therefore he speaks of the time conceded to the world forrepentance until the flood should arrive. 

80. This interpretation agrees with what precedes. God shows that heis displeased with the perversity of men. He is full of solicitude andquite ready to forbear. Against his will, so to speak, he permits theflood to rage. Therefore, he decided upon a fixed and adequate timefor them to come to their senses, and to escape punishment. All thistime Noah admonished men to repent, making it clear that God could notlonger endure such wickedness, while he was yet so kind as to grantadequate time for repentance. 

81. There is a beautiful cohesion between the words and theirsignificance. A former proclamation threatens: I cannot endure longercontempt for my Word; my preachers and priests attain nothing withtheir infinite labor except derision. Nevertheless, as a father orgood judge would gladly spare a son but is compelled by his wickednessto be severe, so, the Lord says, I do not destroy gladly the humanrace. I shall grant them one hundred and twenty years in which theymay come to themselves, and during which I shall exercise mercy. 

82. Horrible was the disaster, because neither the brothers nor thesisters of Noah were saved. It was necessary that the most earnestwarning should precede, that, perhaps, they might be called back torepentance. To the Ninevites Jonah announces destruction within fortydays, and they repent and are saved. 

83. It is clear, therefore, that the heedlessness of the old world wasvery great, inasmuch as in the one hundred and twenty years of graceit obstinately persisted in its lusts, even deriding its pontiff Noah, the teacher of righteousness. 

84. In our times, at the approach of the day of the Lord, almost thesame condition obtains; we exhort to penitence the papists and ournoblemen; the inhabitants of city and country we admonish not tocontinue despising the Word, since God will not leave this unavenged. But in vain we exert ourselves, as the Scripture says. A few faithfulfolk are edified and these are, one by one, gathered away from theface of sin, and "no man layeth it to heart, " as is spoken in Isaiah57, 1. But when God, in this way, has shaken out the wheat andgathered the grain in its place, what, think you, shall be the futureof the chaff? Nothing else but to be burned with inextinguishablefire, Mt 13, 42. This shall be the lot of the world. 

85. But the world does not understand how it can be that through thepreaching of the Gospel the wheat should be separated from the chaff, to be gathered into the barn, while the chaff, that is, the throng ofunbelievers sunk in idolatry and darkness, shall be consigned to thefire. It is written: "In a day of salvation have I helped thee; and Iwill preserve thee, " Is 49, 8. Those who will neglect this day ofsalvation, will find God as an avenger, for he will not do uselesslabor in threshing empty chaff. 

86. But the world is flesh; it does not obey. Yea, the nearer and moreimmediate the calamity, the more secure it is and the more readily itdespises all faithful admonitions. Though this offense provokes therighteous, we should, notwithstanding, conclude that God does notreprove in vain the world through his Holy Spirit, nor that the HolySpirit in the righteous is grieved in vain. Christ uses this as anexample when he speaks of the wickedness and heedlessness of our age:"And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son ofman, " Mt 24, 37. 

87. It is to be observed here what has been an object of difficultyfor Jerome, that the flood came a hundred years after the birth ofShem, Ham and Japheth, while here a hundred and twenty years are saidto have been the time of the flood. 

B. NOAH AND HIS PREACHING. 

 1. The time Noah began to preach 87. 

 2. Why the world took occasion to despise Noah's preaching 88. 

 * Jerome's reckoning of the 120 years 89. 

 3. Why Noah married after living so long single, when the world was to be destroyed 90. 

 4. How and why Noah was the prophet of prophets and his the greatest of prophecies 91. 

 5. His preaching disregarded not only by the Cainites but by the sons of God 92. 

 * To what end God's complaint of the first world should serve us 93. 

 * When was the judgment of God announced 94. 

 * The generation of the Cainites. 

 a. Whether it still existed in the days of Noah 95. 

 b. Why Moses does not record the generations of the Cainites and of their patriarchs 95. 

 c. How the holy patriarchs warned their children against the Cainites 96. 

 d. How the Cainites tormented the holy patriarchs 96. 

 6. Why God raised up Noah 97. 

 7. Noah's faith exceptionally strong 97-98. 

 8. What impelled Noah to continue his work, and not to turn to the world 99. 

 9. How Noah's age was the wickedest and he had to oppose its wickedness all alone 100. 

 * Who of the patriarchs were still living in Noah's time 100. 

 10. What trials Noah had to experience 101. 

B. NOAH AND HIS PREACHING. 

87. But this passage shows that Noah began preaching about theimpending punishment of the deluge before his marriage, havinghitherto led the life of a celibate. 

88. Consider, therefore, what pastime he offered to a wicked world inits fancied security. He predicts destruction to the whole worldthrough the flood, nevertheless, he himself marries. Why? Was it notsufficient for him to perish alone, that he must join to himself acompanion for the disaster? Oh, foolish old man! Surely if he believedthe world was to perish by a deluge, he would rather perish alone thanmarry and take the trouble to beget children. But if he himself willbe saved, why, so shall also we. 

In this manner they commenced to despise the preaching concerning theflood with the greater assurance because of the marriage of Noah, ignorant of the counsel of God, who moves in a manner altogetherunintelligible to the world. How absurd to promise Abraham posteritythrough Isaac, and yet to command Isaac to be sacrificed!

89. The divine Jerome argues against the view that God had fixed thetime for the flood at a hundred and twenty years, but saw himselfcompelled, later, when wickedness had waxed strong, to shorten thetime. 

90. But we shall not make God a liar; we rather give it as ourconviction that Noah had hitherto preached, while in a state ofcelibacy, that the world was to be destroyed through the flood, andlater, by a divine command, had taken a maid as a little branch, so tospeak, from the race of women, and begotten three sons. Below it iswritten that he had found grace with the Lord; otherwise he who hadrefrained from marriage so long, might have continued to do so stilllonger. But God, in order to restrain his wrath, wants to leave anursery for the human race; therefore, he commands marriage. This thewicked believe to be a sign that the world shall not perish; they liveaccordingly in security and despise the preacher, Noah. But thecounsel of God is different--to destroy the whole world and to leavethrough this righteous Noah a nursery for the future world. 

91. Noah was, therefore, the greatest prophet; his equal the world hasnot had. First he teaches the longest time; then he gives instructionconcerning a universal punishment coming upon the world, and evenfixes the year of its advent. Likewise Christ prophesies concerningthe last judgment, when all flesh shall perish. "But of that day, " hesays in Mark 13, 32, "or that hour knoweth no one, . .. But thefather. "

Jonah foretells punishment for the Ninevites within forty days;Jeremiah foretells seventy years of captivity; Daniel, seventy weeksuntil the coming of Christ. These are remarkable prophecies, in whichtime, place and person are accurately described. 

But this prophecy of Noah surpasses all others, inasmuch as heforetells through the Holy Spirit that within a certain number ofyears the whole human race shall perish. He is worthy to be called thesecond Adam and the head of the human race, through whose mouth Godspeaks and calls the whole world to repentance. 

92. It is terrible, however, that his message was despised with suchassurance that not only none of the Cainites, but not even any one ofAdam's progeny underwent a change. Therefore Noah was compelled towitness the destruction of brothers, sisters, relatives and kindredwithout number, and all these made a mock of the pious old man and ofhis message as an old woman's tale. 

93. This awful example is held up to us lest we persist in sin. For ifGod did not spare the primitive world, which was so magnificent--thevery flower and youth of the world--and in which had lived so manypious men, but, as he says in Psalm 81, 12, "gave them up unto theirown hearts' lust, " and cast them aside, as if they had no claim uponthe promise made to the Church--if he did this, how much less will hespare us who do not possess such prerogatives?

94. Therefore, the decree cited in this passage that God would grantmen a hundred and twenty years for repentance, was rendered andpromulgated before Noah had begotten children. 

95. With reference to the generation of the Cainites, no mention ismade of their patriarchs at the time of the flood, nor does Moses evendeem them worthy of being named. Previously he has brought down thegeneration of Cain as far as Lamech, but whether his sons or nephewslived at the time of Noah is uncertain. This much is certain, that theoffspring of Cain existed to that time, and were so powerful as tomislead the very sons of God, since even the posterity of the holypatriarchs perished in the flood. 

96. Before this time the holy patriarchs--the rulers of the trueChurch, as it were--admonished their families to beware of theaccursed generation. But the Cainites, incensed at being condemned, made the attempt to overturn the righteous with every kind ofmischief; for the church of Satan wars perpetually against the Churchof God. 

97. Therefore, as the righteous begin to waver and wickedness gainsground, God raises Noah to exhort to repentance and to be for hisdescendants a perpetual example, whose faith and diligent, patientdevotion to teaching, his offspring might admire and imitate. A greatmiracle is it and a case of illustrious faith, that Noah, having heardthrough Methuselah and Lamech the decree that the world is to perishafter a hundred and twenty years, through the flood, does not doubtits truth, and yet, when the hundred and twenty years have almostexpired, marries and begets children. He might rather have thought: Ifthe human race is to perish, why should I marry? Why should I begetsons? If I have refrained these many years, I shall do so henceforth. But Noah does not do this; rather, after making known God's purposerespecting the world's destruction, he obeys God, who calls him tomatrimony, and believes God that, though the whole world may perish, yet he with his children shall be saved. An illustrious faith is thisand worthy of our consideration. 

98. There was in him first that general faith, in common with thepatriarchs, concerning the seed which was to bruise the head of theserpent. He possessed also the singular virtue of holding fast to thisfaith in the midst of such a multitude of offenses, and not departingfrom Jehovah. Then, to this general faith he added the other, specialfaith, that he believed God as regards both the threatened destructionof the rest of the world and the salvation promised to Noah himselfand his sons. Beyond a doubt, to this faith his grandfather Methuselahand his father Lamech earnestly incited him; for it was as difficultto so believe as it was for the Virgin Mary to believe that none butherself was to be the mother of the Son of God. 

99. This faith taught him to despise the presumption of the worldwhich derided him as a man in his dotage. This faith prompted himdiligently to continue the building of the ark, a work those giantsprobably ridiculed as extreme folly. This faith made Noah strong tostand alone against the many evil examples of the world, and todespise most vehemently the united judgment of all others. 

100. But almost unutterable and miraculous is this faith, burdened asit is with strange and most weighty obstacles, which the Holy Spiritshows in passing, without going into great detail, that we may beinduced to meditate the more diligently upon its circumstances. Consider first the great corruption of the age. While the Church hadbefore this time many and most holy patriarchs, it was now deprived ofsuch rulers; Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch are alldead, and the number of patriarchs is reduced to three--Methuselah, Lamech and Noah. These alone are left at the time the decreeconcerning the destruction of the world is published. These three arecompelled to witness and suffer the incredible malice of men, theiridolatry, blasphemy, violent acts, foul passions, until finallyMethuselah and Lamech are also called out of this life. There Noah wasthe only one to oppose the world rushing to destruction, and to makean effort to preserve righteousness and to repress unrighteousness. But far from meeting with success, he had to see even the sons of Godlapse into wickedness. 

101. This ruin and havoc of the Church troubled the righteous man andall but broke his heart, as Peter says of Lot in Sodom, 2 Pet 2, 8. Now, if Lot was so distracted and vexed by the wickedness of onecommunity, how must it have been with Noah, against whom not only thegeneration of Cain raged, but who was opposed also by the decadentgeneration of the patriarchs, and then even by his own father's house, his brothers, sisters, and the descendants of his uncles and aunts?For all these were corrupted and estranged from the faith by thedaughters of men. As the text says, they "saw the daughters of men. "

III. THE SINS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD IN PARTICULAR. 

 A. THE FORBIDDEN MARRIAGES ENTERED INTO. 

 1. Why this is said of the sons and not of the daughters of the holy patriarchs 102. 

 2. Why were the holy fathers so emphatically forbidden to let their sons marry the ungodly 103-104. 

 3. How this was the beginning of all evils 105. 

 * What evils have in all times come through woman 106. 

 4. The sins here sprang from despising the first table of the law 107-108. 

 * The sins of the second table follow when the first table is not kept 108. 

 5. Everything that is called sin is embraced in this sin 109-110. 

 6. How marriage with the children of the true Church was despised 111. 

 7. Their desire to marry thus resembled Eve's desire to take the forbidden apple 112. 

 8. Why the patriarchs' children took this step 113. 

 9. How these marriage alliances were formed 114-116. 

 10. Berosus' testimony concerning these forbidden marriages 116. 

 B. DISORDER IN ALL BRANCHES OF SOCIETY 116-117. 

 C. THE TYRANNY EXERCISED. 

 1. By the "giants" or tyrants. 

 a. What is to be understood by tyrants 117. 

 * The pope resembles the tyrants before the flood 118. 

 b. The nature of these tyrants 119. 

 c. Why called Nephilim 120-122. 

 d. Whether they received their name from their size or from their cruelty 123. 

 * How the Scriptures designate true rulers 123. 

 e. These tyrants types of Antichrist 123. 

 f. They were raging, powerful and criminal characters 124. 

 * Of authorities. 

 (1) How God wants us to honor the authorities though he terribly threatens them 125-126. 

 (2) Why God wants them to be honored, when he himself does not honor them 127. 

 (3) Godless rulers are God's swine and are rare birds in heaven 128. 

 g. Whether these tyrants were rulers and why God called them by such a shameful name 129. 

 h. Moses chose the word Nephilim, which in his day designated a wicked people, to express the tyrants of the first World 130. 

 2. By "the mighty men. "

 a. How Jerome perverts this text 131. 

 b. What is to be understood by "the mighty men that were of old" 131. 

 * The meaning of "Olam" 132. 

 c. Whence did they receive their power 133. 

 d. Why called "mighty men" 134. 

 * The character of the true church 134. 

 3. By "the men of renown. "

 a. Why they were thus named 135. 

 b. Who they were 136. 

 * They resembled the pope and bishops 136. 

 c. Lyra's false explanation of it refuted 137. 

 * How Antichrist is restrained from the world, and true doctrine maintained 137. 

 D. THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT 138. 

 * That one sin follows another until man reaches the highest degree of sin 139. 

III. THE SINS OF THE OLD WORLD IN PARTICULAR. 

A. THE FORBIDDEN MARRIAGES ENTERED INTO. 

102. But, I ask, why is not complaint made also of the men, or why arenot the daughters of God included in this complaint? He says merelythat they "saw the daughters of men. " It was surely for this reason, that the holy generation of Seth had received the peculiar injunctionto beware of fellowship with the Cainites, inasmuch as they had beenexcluded from the true Church, and to mingle with them neithersocially through marriage, nor ecclesiastically through worship, forthe righteous should avoid every occasion of offense. 

103. In prohibiting marriage with the Cainites it was the chiefpurpose of the pious fathers to maintain their generation pure; fordaughters bring into the houses of their husbands the views andmanners of the fathers. Thus, we read of Solomon in the Book of theKings that he was led astray through a woman who was a stranger; andthus Jezebel introduced the wickedness of the Syrians into the kingdomof Israel. 

104. The holy fathers saw the same would come to pass in theirgeneration; therefore, after they were separated from the Cainitesthrough the divine command, they resolved that the sons of the holygeneration should not marry the daughters of men. The daughters of therace of the righteous could more readily be restrained from marriagewith the Cainites, while the sons were independent and headstrong. 

105. In this way Moses wishes to show the trouble began from the timethe sons of God joined themselves to the daughters of men, seeing thatthey were fair. The sons of men who were proud and strong andpassionately given to pleasure, without doubt despised the plainmaidens of the pious race who had been reared by the holy patriarchsnot delicately, but simply and modestly, being arrayed in homely garb. There was hence no necessity of making a law also for the maidens, inasmuch as they were in any case neglected by the noble Cainites. 

106. If you study the history of nations you will find that women havebeen the occasion for the overthrow of the strongest kingdoms. Wellknown is the disgrace of Helen. The sacred writings demonstrate alsothat woman occasioned the fall of the whole human race. This, however, should be mentioned without reflection upon the sex, for we have acommand, "Honor thy father and thy mother, " Ex 20, 12. Likewise, "Husbands, love your wives, " Col 3, 19. It is true that Eve was thefirst to pluck the apple; however, she first sinned by idolatry andfell from the faith, which faith, as long as it is in the heart, controls also the body; but when it has departed from the heart, thebody serves sin. Guilt is not peculiar to sex but to sin, which manhas in common with woman. 

107. Thus Moses gives an account of the prevailing unrighteousness andlust. But he gives the reader to understand that, before sin wascommitted against the second table of the Law, the first had beenviolated, and the Word of God treated with contempt. Otherwise thesons of God would have obeyed the will of their pious parentsforbidding marriage with those outside the Church. 

108. Moses, therefore, concludes that, because the sons of God hadforsaken the worship and Word of God and departed from the precepts oftheir parents, thereupon to fall into sensuality and lust, and to taketo wife whom they pleased, they also became violent and appropriatedthe goods of others. The world cannot do otherwise. When it hasforsaken God, it worships the devil; when it has despised the Word andfallen into idolatry, it rushes forth into all sins of passion, inwhich fierceness of anger and fierceness of desire by turns arearoused, and thus all the appetites are thrown into a state of thegreatest disorder. When the righteous reprove this, the result isresentment and violence against them. 

109. The sin of the flood, then, embraces everything that may becalled sin, by the first as well as the second table. Wicked men firstdepart from God through unbelief; then they disregard obedience toparents, and finally become murderers, adulterers, etc. 

110. I mention this to the end that no one may believe that sex or themarriage estate in themselves are to blame. It is chieflytransgression of God's commandments and disobedience to parents whichare condemned. Owing to absence of fellowship between the Cainites andthe true Church, pious parents desired also social separation from theCainites, for fear they might be perverted by the manners of ungodlywives. But God's command being neglected, and the authority of parentsdespised, the younger generation lapsed into the passions ofconcupiscence and vehemence. In this way the honor of sex and thedignity of matrimony are conserved: accusation is brought solelyagainst the unrighteousness which first departs from God and thenmanifests itself in injuring the saints. 

111. This is the teaching of the words: "The sons of God saw thedaughters of men that they were fair. " Why did they not see thedaughters of God and desire those in the Church and possess thepromise of the seed? Are they not convicted of contempt for thesisters of their own generation, that is the true Church, and ofmingling with the carnal and impious generation of Cain? They despisethe simplicity and reserve of their sisters and prefer the smiles, thedress, the wiles of the daughters of Cain; the latter they crave andcultivate, the former they treat either with neglect or dishonor. 

112. With such eyes as Eve viewed the apples when she fell into sin, the sons of God viewed the daughters of men. Eve had seen theforbidden tree before that, but with eyes of faith looking back toGod's commandment; for that reason she did not crave, but rather shefled from the same. When, however, the eyes of faith were dimmed andshe beheld the tree solely with carnal eyes, she stretched out herhand with desire and invited also Adam, her husband. 

113. Likewise the sons of the patriarchs had seen long before that thedaughters of the Cainites excelled in form, dress and elegance ofmanners. Nevertheless, they did not mingle with them, for the eye offaith looked back to the commandment of God and to the promise of theseed to be born from the generation of the righteous. But the eyes offaith having been lost, they saw no longer either the command or thepromise of God, but followed merely the desire of the flesh. Thesimple, good and virtuous girls of their own generation they despised;the Cainites they married, seeing they were polished, charming andpleasant. 

114. It is not a sin, therefore, that they marry, nor is the sex initself condemned. Condemnation lies in this, that with contempt of thedivine commandment they marry unlawfully; that they permit themselvesto be led astray by their wives from the true worship to the wickedworship of a false church; that, after the fashion of the Cainites, they pay no heed to parental authority and become guilty of violence, oppression and other sins. 

Moses clearly reveals their sin when he says: "They took them wives ofall that they chose, " as if he said: To marry a wife is not an evilbut a blessing, if it be done lawfully. But they sinned in that theymarried without judgment, against the will and purpose of the parents, marrying whom and as many as they pleased, regardless of their ownestate, whether married or single. 

115. This is a stern word, by which Moses characterizes it as a greatsin that they arbitrarily married two wives or more, exchanged them, or snatched them from others, after the manner of Herod, who possessedhimself of his brother's wife. It is this unbridled reign of evil lustthat Moses discloses and condemns. 

116. Berosus writes that incestuous marriages also took place amongthem, so that they married even their mothers and sisters. But I doubtwhether they were so wicked as that. It is a sin sufficiently gravethat in marrying they dispensed with judgment, the authority of theirparents and even with the Word of God, following altogether theguidance of lust and desire. They took whom they pleased and whom theycould, and by such license they brought chaos into domestic, publicand churchly relations. 

B. DISORDER IN ALL BRANCHES OF SOCIETY

The sin of the primeval world was, therefore, an upheaval of allestablished order, inasmuch as the Church was demoralized by idolatryand false modes of worship. This condition was aggravated by thoseoppressors who cruelly persecuted the righteous teachers and holy men. Public discipline was destroyed by oppression and violent deeds, anddomestic discipline by uncurbed lust. Upon such overturning of pietyand integrity followed universal depravity; men were not merely evilbut plainly incorrigible. 

C. THE TYRANNY EXERCISED. 

V. 4a. _The Nephilim_ (giants) _were in the earth in those days, _

117. Moses continues the description of the sin and offense whichprovoked the deluge. The first point was that the sons of God hadfallen from the fear of God, and the Word had become altogethercarnal, perverting not only the Church but also the State and home. Now he adds that wickedness had grown to the extent of giants arisingupon earth. He clearly states that there were born from theconcubinage of the sons of God with the daughters of men, not sons ofGod, but giants; that is, bold men who arrogated to themselves at thesame time both government and priesthood. 

118. Just so the pope arrogates to himself at the same time thespiritual and the temporal sword. This would not be the height ofevil, if he would only make use of his power for the preservation ofState and Church; but the greatest sin is that he abuses his power forthe establishment of idolatry, for a warfare against sound doctrine, and for purposes of oppression even in the State. When the Papists arereproved with the Word of God, they spurn such reproof, claiming thatthey are the Church and incapable of error. This class of people Mosescalls "giants, " men who arrogate to themselves power both politicaland ecclesiastical, and who sin most licentiously. 

119. Such men are described in the Book of Wisdom who say: "Letunrighteousness be our law, " 2, 11. Also in Psalms, 12, 4: "Who havesaid, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who islord over us?" Again in Psalm 73. "They scoff, and in wickedness utteroppression: they speak loftily, " etc. Such were the giants whowithstood the Holy Spirit to his face, who, through the mouth ofLamech, Noah and the sons of Noah, exhorted, implored, taught andreproved. 

120. There are those who dispute the meaning of the noun Nephilim andderive it from _Naphal_, which signifies "to fall. " They commonly takeit in a passive sense, meaning that other men, seeing the uncouthforms and extraordinary size, fell down from fear. Let the rabbisvouch for the correctness of this; it is ridiculous to call them"_Nephilim_" because others fell. Some, however, suggest the etymologythat they were thus called because they had fallen from the commonstature of men, and allege as proof-passage Numbers 13, 33, from whichit appears that giants possessed huge bodies like the Anakim andRephaim. Which of these are right, I do not decide, especially sinceit is certain that a theory of all words can not be given, nor theirorigin demonstrated. 

121. But here another question obtrudes itself: Why should those bornfrom the sons of God and the daughters of men alone have differed fromthe ordinary stature of man? I have no other answer than that the textsays nothing of stature in this place. In Numbers 13, 33 it is said:"There we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, who come of the giants:and we were in our sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in theirsight. " There hugeness of body is shown, but not here; therefore theymay be called giants for some other reason than massive stature. 

122. To give my opinion of the word, I hold it is to be taken neitherin the sense of the neuter nor of the passive, but of the active, inasmuch as the word "_naphal_" is often used in the sense of theactive, though it does not belong to the third conjugation, in whichalmost all transitive verbs are found. Thus in Joshua 11, 7: "SoJoshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by thewaters of Merom suddenly, and fell upon them. " If the verb isconstrued as neuter, as if Joshua and his men had fallen before theenemies, history will object; for the meaning is that they fell uponthe enemies and suddenly overpowered them. 

123. Therefore, this passage and other, similar ones prompt me tounderstand "_nephilim_" to designate not bulk of body, but tyranny andoppression, inasmuch as they domineered by force, making no account oflaw and honor, but merely indulging their pleasure and desire. Rightful rulers the Scripture calls shepherds and princes, but thosewho rule by wrong and violence are rightly called "_Nephilim_, "because they fall and prey upon those beneath them. 

Thus in Psalm 10: "He croucheth and humbleth himself and _Venaphal BaaZumaf Helkaim_ (falls with his strong ones upon the poor)". The HolySpirit speaks there of the reign of the Antichrist, whom he describesas raging so furiously as to crush what he can, and, at all events, tobend what he cannot crush, so that afterward he may suppress with allhis strength what has been bent. For _baazuma_ can be indifferentlyrendered by "with his strength, " or "with his strong ones. " Thispower, he says, he uses only against those who are _Hilkaim_, that isthe poor, such as have previously been in some state of affliction. Others who excel in power, he worships so as to draw them over to hisside. 

124. Accordingly I interpret "giants" in this passage not as men ofhuge stature, as in Numbers 13, 33, but as violent and oppressive; asthe poets depict the Cyclopeans, who fear neither God nor men, butfollow only their desires, relying upon their strength and power. Forthe oppressors sit enthroned in majesty, sway empires and kingdoms, and arrogate to themselves even spiritual power, but use such poweragainst the Church and the Word of God for the gratification of theirlust. 

125. Observe here the strange counsel of God, commanding us to fearthe authorities, to obey, serve and honor them, while at the same timethe threats and dreadful reproofs which he administers are almostinvariably directed against those in authority, against kings andprinces, as if God proceeded against them with a peculiar hatred. Scripture enjoins upon us to honor authority, but itself does nothonor it; rather it destroys it with a threat of the gravestpenalties. Scripture enjoins us to fear authority, but itself appearsto despise authorities, inasmuch as it does not commend but threatens. 

126. Does not Mary earnestly declaim in her song against princes, Luke1, 51-53: "He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of theirheart. He hath put down princes from their thrones, and hath exaltedthem of low degree. The hungry he hath filled with good things; andthe rich he hath sent empty away"? If we believe this to be true, whowould wish to be found among authorities, for whom so certainperdition is prepared and imminent? Who would not prefer to live on alowly plane and suffer hunger? The second psalm accuses theauthorities of the gravest crime when it says that they placethemselves with united strength and efforts in opposition to God andhis anointed and render violence to his kingdom. "Thou hast made of acity a heap, of a fortified city a ruin, " Is 25, 2. The whole Bibleabounds with like sentiments. 

127. Thus, the Bible does not honor the authorities, but threatensthem with danger, and drags them into manifest contempt; and stillwith consummate care it commands us to reverence and fear them, and torender them all manner of service. Why is this? Surely because Godhimself desires to punish them, and has reserved vengeance for himselfinstead of surrendering it to their subjects. Jeremiah argues inchapter 12, 1, concerning the prosperity of the way of the ungodly, and yet the Lord is righteous. But he concludes: "Thou, O Lord, fattenest them and preparest them for the sacrifice. "

128. So might it be said that the authorities are God's swine, as itwere; he fattens them, gives them wealth, power, fame and theobedience of their subjects. They are not pursued, while theythemselves pursue and oppress others; they suffer no injury, but theyinflict it upon others; they do not give to others, but rob them untilthe hour comes when, like fattened swine, they are slaughtered. Hencethe German proverb: A prince is a rare bird in the kingdom of heavenor, princes are wild game in heaven. 

129. Accordingly, those whom Moses calls here "_Nephilim_, " which isan odious and disgraceful name, were without doubt the lawfuladministrators of Church and State. But because they did not use theiroffice as they should, God marks and brands them with this opprobiousname. As we, in this corrupt state of nature, are unable to use theleast gift without pride, so God, most intolerant of pride, thruststhe mighty from their throne, and leaves the rich empty. 

130. I accept, then, the word "_Nephilim_" as having an activesignification, being equivalent to tyrants, oppressors, revelers. Ibelieve, furthermore, as has been the case with other languages also, that Moses has transferred the usage of this word from his own timesto those before the deluge, after changing somewhat its meaning, inasmuch as these degenerate descendants of the sons of God abusedtheir power and position for the oppression of the good, just as thoseAnakim were tyrants relying upon bodily strength, and so Moses willpresently show. 

V. 4b. _And also after that, when the sons of God came in unto thedaughters of men, and they bare children to them; the same were themen that were of old, the men of renown. _

131. Jerome[1] renders: _Isti sunt potentes a seculo_ (these aremighty men from the beginning). But the word _seculum_ (olam) does nothere signify duration of time, nor does it predicate extent. Thesegiants did not exist from the beginning, they were not born until thesons of God had degenerated. But _seculum_ (olam) connotes a secondpredicate, that of substance, so that Moses explains the nature of thepower in which they trusted to have been secular or worldly. Theydespised the ministry of the Word as a vile office; therefore theyseized upon another office, a secular one. The very same thing ourPapists have done. It has pleased them better to hold ample revenuesand worldly kingdoms than to be hated of all men for the sake of theGospel. 

[Footnote 1: So also the A. V. And the R. V. , while Luther has by nomeans the philological science against him. Mundus, seculum, aion, andolam are used to express the same conception. Translator. ]

132. As far as Moses is concerned, the noun _olam_ designates theworld itself, and also age or time. Hence it is to be carefully notedwhen _olam_ (_seculum_) signifies duration of time, and when itsignifies "world" in the Scriptures. Here it signifies of necessity"world, " for they did not exist from the beginning. 

133. This clause, then, aptly describes the power they had received, not from the Church, nor from the Holy Spirit, but from the devil andthe world. It is, as it were, the counterpart of what Christ saysbefore Pontius Pilate, John 18, 36: "My kingdom is not of this world. "The servants of the Word struggle with hunger, and they labor underthe hate of all classes. In consequence, they cannot exercise tyranny;but those who possess kingdoms, who govern states, who possess castlesand domains, are equipped for exercising tyranny. 

134. This clause contains also a suggestive reference to the smallChurch with her few souls. These are cross-bearers without wealth; butthey possess the Word. Their only wealth is what the world despisesand persecutes. The Nephilim, on the other hand, or giants, usurp asthe descendants of the patriarchs the splendid name of the Church, andpossess also kingdoms. They exercise dominion, and pursue themiserable Church in their power. In accordance therewith Moses callsthem mighty before, or in, the world; or worldlings and temporalpotentates. 

135. What Jerome renders _viri famosi_ (famous men) is, in Hebrew, "men of name, " that is, renowned or famous in the world. Moses toucheshere also upon the sin of the Cyclopeans, who, possessing everythingin the world, possessed also a famous name and were renownedthroughout the world; while, on the contrary, the true sons of God, namely Noah and his sons, were held in the greatest scorn and regardedas heretics, as sons of the devil, as a blot upon the grandeur ofChurch and State. So is it now with us. Christ testifies in Matthew24, 37, that the last times resemble the times of Noah. 

136. Moses had before testified that the Holy Spirit would be takenfrom the wicked and they would be sent in the ways of their owndesire. They were, accordingly, such rascals as the pope today withhis cardinals and bishops, who are not only styled princes and possesskingdoms, but also take to themselves the name of Church, so as tosubject us as heretics to the ban, and securely to condemn us. They donot permit themselves to be called tyrants, nor wicked, nortemple-robbers. They wish to be styled most kind, holy and reverendgentlemen. 

137. The meaning, therefore, is not that which Lyra follows when heunderstands "famous" as "notorious. " As the world does not call thepope Antichrist, but ascribes to him the name of the greatest saintand admires him as if he and his carnal creatures were filled with theHoly Spirit and incapable of error, and therefore humbly worshipswhatever he commands or advises--exactly so those giants had a noblename and were held in admiration by the whole world. On the contrary, Noah with his followers was condemned as a rebel, as a heretic, as atraducer of the dignity of State and Church. So today do bishopsregard us who profess the Gospel. 

D. THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT. 

138. This passage furnishes a description of the sins with which thatage was burdened: Men were averse to the Word; they were given over totheir own lusts and reprobate minds; they sinned against the HolySpirit by persistent impenitence, by defending their ungodly behaviorand by warring upon the recognized truth. Yet with all theseblasphemies they retained the name and authority, not only of theState, but also of the Church, as if God had exalted them to the placeof the angels. When this was the state of things, and Noah and Lamechwith their pious ancestor Methuselah taught in vain, God turned themover to the desires of their hearts (Ps 81, 12) and maintained silenceuntil they should experience the flood, the prophecy of which theyrefused to believe. 

139. This is falling away from God and Church and entering uponillicit marriage. One sin, unless corrected at once, will lead toanother, and so on indefinitely until the state is reached whichSolomon describes in Proverbs 18, 3, "When the wicked cometh, therecometh also contempt, and with ignominy Cometh reproach. " They whothus sin, even if afterward rebuked, do not heed. They imagine theystand in need of no instructor, and think they represent a just cause. They do not believe in a life after this, or even hope for salvation, while living in open sin. Notwithstanding, scorn and shame shalloverwhelm them. It was this persistent impenitence and consummatecontempt for the Word that impelled God to visit all flesh with auniversal flood. 

IV. GOD'S REPENTANCE AND GRIEF THAT HE MADE MAN. 

 A. THE REPENTANCE OF GOD. 

 1. The Words, "The wickedness of man was great. "

 a. How Luther used these words against the doctrine of free will; how the advocates of free will falsely interpreted them, and how they are refuted 140-141. 

 * Concerning free will. 

 (1) Augustine's doctrine of free will misinterpreted by the schools 140. 

 (2) The schools unreasonably defend it 141. 

 (3) Man has no free will and without the grace of the Holy Spirit can do nothing 142-143. 

 (4) The reproving office of the Holy Spirit makes it clear that man has no free will 144. 

 (5) Whether there is hope, if a council be held, that the Papists will abandon their false doctrine of free will 145. 

 (6) How the true doctrine of free will leads us to a knowledge of sin and what we are to hold in reference to it 146. 

 (7) Why we should guard against the false doctrine concerning free will 147. 

 * The comfort for one who commits sins of infirmities 147. 

 * All endeavors without the Holy Spirit are evil 148. 

 (8) We are to distinguish in the doctrine of free will what is good politically from what is good theologically 149-150. 

 b. These words are wrongly understood by the Jews and sophists 151. 

 * How we should view the discussions of philosophers in regard to God and divine things 152. 

 c. These words should be understood as spoken not only of the people before the flood, but of all men 153. 

 2. The Words, "It Repented Jehovah. "

 a. How the repentance of God is to be reconciled with the wisdom and omniscience of God. 

 (1) The way sophists answer this question 154. 

 (2) Luther's answer 155-157. 

 * How man should treat questions which lead us into the throne of the divine majesty 158. 

 * How the passages of Scripture are to be understood which attribute to God the members of a human body 159. 

 * Whether the Anthropomorphites were justly condemned 159. 

 * Why God is represented to us as if he sprang from the temporal and the visible 161-163. 

 * We cannot explore God's nature 163. 

 * In what pictures God reveals himself in the Old Testament, and in the New 164. 

 * The will of God in signs and the will of God's good pleasure, "signs" and "Beneplaciti. "

 (a) How we can know God's will in signs 165-166. 

 (b) Why we cannot know the will of God's pleasure, nor fathom it 165-166. 

 (c) What is really to be understood by the will in signs 167. 

 b. The way the schools explain these words 168. 

 c. How they are to be rightly understood 169. 

 * Disputing about God's majesty and omnipotence places man in a dangerous position 169-171. 

 * How man should hold to the signs by which God revealed himself 171. 

 * What the will of God's pleasure is, to what it serves and how it is revealed in Christ 172-176. 

 * The will of good pleasure of which the fathers speak cannot comfort the heart 175. 

 * The only view of the Godhead possible in this life 176. 

 d. In what sense it can be said that "it repented Jehovah that he had made man" 177. 

IV. THE REPENTANCE AND GRIEF OF GOD BECAUSE HE HAD MADE MAN. 

A. The Repentance of God. 

Vs. 5-6. _And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in theearth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart wasonly evil continually. And it repented Jehovah that he had made man onthe earth, and it grieved him at his heart. _

140. This is the passage which we have used against "free will, " ofwhich Augustine writes that without the grace of the Holy Spirit itcan do nothing but sin. The scholastics, however, the champions offree will, are not only hard beset by this clear passage, but also bythe authority of Augustine, and they sweat. Of Augustine they say thathis language is hyperbolical, as Basil writes of one who in refutingthe other side had gone too far, that he did like the farmers; theywhen trying to straighten out crooked branches bend them a little toofar on the other side; and so Augustine, in beating back thePelagians, is asserted to have spoken more severely against free willin the defense of grace than the merits of the case warranted. 

141. As far as this passage is concerned, it is slandered when it isheld that it speaks only of the evil generation before the flood, andthat now men are better, at least some who make good use of theirfreedom of will. Such wretched interpreters do not see that thepassage speaks of the human heart in general, and that a particle isplainly added, _Rak_, which signifies "only. " In the third place, theyfail to see that after the flood the same declaration is repeated inthe eighth chapter in almost precisely the same terms. For God says, "The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth, " Gen 8, 21. Here evidently he does not speak only of the antediluvians. He ratherspeaks of those to whom he makes the promise that henceforth anothergeneral flood of water shall never come, that is, of all the offspringof Noah. These are words of universal application: "The imagination ofman's heart is evil. "

142. We draw, therefore, the general conclusion that man without theHoly Spirit and without grace can do nothing but sin, and thus heunhaltingly goes forward from sin to sin. When in addition, he willnot endure sound doctrine but rejects the word of salvation andresists the Holy Spirit, he becomes an enemy of God, blasphemes theHoly Spirit and simply follows the evil desires of his heart. Witnesses of this are the examples of the prophets, Christ and theApostles, the primeval world under Noah as teacher, and also theexample of our adversaries today, who cannot be convinced by anythingthat they are in error, that they sin, that their worship is ungodly. 

143. Other declarations of Holy Scripture prove the same thing. Is notthe statement of the fourteenth Psalm, verse 3, sweeping enough whenit says: "Jehovah looked down from heaven upon the children of men, tosee if there was any that did understand, and did seek after God. Theyare all gone aside?" Thus, Ps 116, 11, "All men are liars;" and Paul, "God hath shut up all unto disobedience, " Rom 11, 32. These passagesare most sweeping, and emphatically force the conclusion that we all, without the Holy Spirit, whose dispenser is Christ, can do nothing buterr and sin. Therefore, Christ says in the Gospel, "I am the vine, yeare the branches: . .. Apart from me ye can do nothing, " Jn 15, 5. Without me you are a branch cut off, dry, dead and ready for theburning. 

144. And the very reason the Holy Spirit performs the office ofreproving the world is that he may call the world back to penitenceand the recognition of its derangement. But the world remainsconsistent with itself; it hears not and believes it can please Godwith forms of worship of its own choosing and without the sanction ofthe divine Word, and does not permit itself to be undeceived. 

145. If ever a council should be held, the final declaration andconclusion with reference to this very point, the freedom of will, will be that we should abide by the decisions of the pope and thefathers. We may clamor until we are hoarse that man in himself withoutthe Holy Spirit is evil, that everything he does without the HolySpirit or without faith is condemned before God, that his heart isdepraved and all his thought; we shall effect nothing. 

146. Therefore, the mind is to be grounded in this, and we are to holdfast the doctrine which lays before us our sin and condemnation. Thisknowledge of our sin is the beginning of salvation; we must absolutelydespair of ourselves and give glory for righteousness to God alone. Why does Paul elsewhere complain, and in Romans 7, 18 freely confessthat there is nothing good in him? He says plainly, "in my flesh;" sothat we understand that the Holy Spirit alone can heal our infirmity. When this has been fixed in our hearts, the foundation of oursalvation is largely laid, inasmuch as subsequently clear testimoniesare given that God will not cast away the sinner, that is, one whorecognizes his sin and desires to come to his senses and thirsts afterrighteousness and the remission of sin through Christ. 

147. Let us, therefore, take care not to be found among thoseCyclopeans who oppose the Word of God and proclaim their freedom ofwill and their own powers. Though we often err, though we fall andsin, still, upon yielding to reproof on the part of the Holy Spiritwith an humble confession of our depravity, the Holy Spirit himselfwill be present, and not only not impute to us the sin we acknowledge, but the grace of Christ shall cover it and he will shower upon usother gifts necessary to this life as well as the future one. 

148. But the words of Moses are to be more closely considered, forwith a definite purpose he has used here a peculiar expression; he hasnot merely said, "The thoughts of man's heart are evil, " but "theimagination of the thoughts of his heart. " Thus he expresses thehighest that man can achieve with his thoughts or with his reason andfree will. "Imagination" he calls that which man with his strongesteffort devises, selects, creates like a potter, and believes to bemost beautiful. 

But such imagination is evil, he says, and that not once, but always. For our reason without the Holy Spirit is altogether without knowledgeof God. Now, to be without knowledge of God means to be entirely base, to dwell in darkness and to deem that very good which, in reality, isvery bad. 

149. But when I speak of good, I do so from the standpoint oftheology, for we must distinguish between the theological and thecivil standpoints. God approves also the rule of the ungodly; hehonors and rewards virtue also among the ungodly: but only in regardto the things of this life and in things grasped by a reason which isupright from the civil standpoint; whereas the future life is notembraced in such reward. His approval is not with regard to the futurelife. 

150. When we dispute about the freedom of the will, the question withus is what it may do from the theological standpoint, not in civilaffairs and in those subjects to reason. We believe that man, withoutthe Holy Spirit, is altogether corrupt before God, though he may standadorned with all heathen virtues, inasmuch as there are certainlydistinguished examples of moderation, of liberality, of love ofcountry, parents and children, of courage and humanity, even in thehistory of the Gentiles. We maintain that man's best thoughtsconcerning God, the worship of God, the will of God, are worse thanCimmerian darkness; for the light of reason, which has been given toman alone, understands only bodily blessings. Such is the wickedinfatuation of our evil desires. 

151. This declaration, therefore, should not be construed frivolously, as the Jews and sophists do, who believe that the lower part of manonly is here meant, which is bestial, and that the reason longs forbetter things. "The imagination of the thoughts" they applyaccordingly to the second table, like the Pharisee who condemns thepublican and says that he is not like the other persons. The words thePharisee uses are very fine, for to give thanks to God for his giftsis not a sin; and yet we declare this same thing to be ungodly andwicked, because it proceeded from gross ignorance of God, and it istruly prayer turned into sin, tending neither to the glory of God norto the welfare of men. 

152. You may observe that philosophers have at various times quitecleverly discussed God and the providence with which he rules allthings. To some, such words have seemed so pious that they almost haveplaced Socrates, Xenophon and Plato in the same rank with theprophets; yet, because in these discussions the philosophers areignorant of the fact that God has sent his only Son into the world tosave sinners, these beautiful utterances are, according to thedeclaration of this passage, consummate ignorance of God and mereblasphemies, for the passage states unequivocally that all imaginationand effort of the human heart is only evil. 

153. The text speaks, accordingly, not only of the sins before theflood, but it speaks of the whole nature of man, his heart, his reasonand his intellect, even when man pretends to righteousness and desiresto be very holy, as do today the Anabaptists when they purpose intheir heart so to excel as to fail in nothing, when for a show theyattempt to attain the fairest virtues. The truth is that heartswithout the Holy Spirit are not only ignorant of God, but naturallyeven hate him. How, then, can anything be aught but evil that proceedsfrom ignorance and hatred of God?

154. Another question is here raised. Moses speaks thus: "When Jehovahsaw that every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was onlyevil continually, it repented him that he had made man on the earth. "If God foresees everything, why does the text say that he now firstsees? If God is wise, how can regret for having created anythingbefall him? Why did he not see this sin or depraved nature of man fromthe beginning of the world? Why does Scripture thus attribute to Godsuch things as a temporary will, vision and purpose? Are not thepurposes of God eternal and unalterable, incapable of being regretted?Similar instances are found also in the prophets, where God threatenspenalties, as for instance to the Ninevites, and yet pardons thepenitent. 

To this question the sophists have no other reply than this, that theScripture speaks after the manner of men, that such things areascribed to God accordingly through the use of a figure of speech. Hence they contend concerning a double will of God, the will expressedby signs (_voluntas signi_) and the will of his good pleasure(_voluntas beneplaciti_). The will of his good pleasure, they say, isconstant and unchangeable, while the expressed will is subject tochange. For the signs through which he expresses himself, he changeswhen he pleases. Thus he has abolished circumcision and institutedbaptism, whereas the will of his good pleasure, fixed from eternity, abides. 

155. While I do not condemn this interpretation, a simpler meaning ofthe Scripture seems to be that the Holy Scriptures express the thoughtof men in the ministry. For when Moses says that God sees and regrets, this is really done in the hearts of those who have the ministry ofthe Word. Thus he said above: "My Spirit shall not strive with man, "but he does not say this simply of the Holy Spirit as existing in hisown nature, or of the divine majesty, but of the Holy Spirit in thehearts of Noah and Methuselah, that is, the Holy Spirit as officiatingand administering the Word through the saints. 

156. In this manner God saw the wickedness of man and repented; thatis, Noah, who had the Holy Spirit and was a minister of the Word, sawthe wickedness of men and, seeing such things, he was moved by theHoly Spirit to grief. So Paul says in Ephesians 4, 30, that the HolySpirit in the righteous is grieved by the ungodliness and malice ofthe wicked. Inasmuch as Noah is a faithful minister of the Word and anorgan of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is said to grieve when Noahgrieves and wishes that man rather did not exist than to be thusiniquitous. 

157. The meaning, therefore, is not that God did not see these thingsfrom eternity; he saw everything from eternity; but inasmuch as thiswickedness now manifests itself in all its fierceness, God now firstreveals the same in the hearts of his ministers and prophets. 

From eternity, therefore, God is firm and constant in his purpose. Hesees and knows everything. But only in his own time does God revealthis to the righteous so that they, also, may see it. This seems to methe simplest meaning of this passage, nor does Augustine differ fromit much. 

158. However, I constantly follow the rule to avoid, wheneverpossible, such questions as draw us before the throne of the highestmajesty. It is better and safer to stand at the manger of Christ, theman. To lose one's self in the labyrinths of divinity is fraught withgreatest danger. 

159. To this passage belong also other similar ones in which God ispictured as having eyes, ears, mouth, nose, hands and feet, as Isaiah, Daniel and other prophets saw him in their visions. In such passagesthe Bible speaks of God in the same manner as of a man. Inconsequence, the Anthropomorphites stood condemned of heresy becausethey attributed to the divine essence a human form. 

160. Because the Anthropomorphites fancied such gross things, theyhave rightly been condemned. Their fancy is manifestly erroneous, fora spirit, as Christ says (Lk 24, 39), has not flesh and bone. I amrather of the opinion that the Anthropomorphites intended to adapt theform of their doctrine to the plainest people. For in his substance, God is unknowable, indefinable, inexpressible, though we may tearourselves to pieces in our efforts to discern or portray him. 

161. Hence, God himself condescends to the low plane of ourunderstanding and presents himself to us with childlike simplicity inrepresentations, as in a guise, so that he may be made known to us insome way. Thus the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove; notbecause he is a dove, but in this crude form he desired to berecognized, received and worshiped, for it was really the Holy Spirit. No one, to be sure, will say that the same passage defines God as avoice speaking from heaven, yet under this crude image, a human voicefrom heaven, he was received and worshiped. 

162. When Scripture thus ascribes to God human form, voice, actionsand state of mind, it is intended as an aid only for the uncultivatedand feeble; we who are great and learned and of discernment inreference to Scripture, should likewise lay hold of theserepresentations, because God has put them forth and revealed himselfto us through them. The angels likewise, appear in human form, thoughit is certain that they are only spirits; spirits we cannot recognizewhen they present themselves as such, but likenesses we do recognize. 

163. This is the simplest way of treating such passages, for thenature of God we cannot define; what he is not we can well define--heis not a voice, a dove, water, bread, wine. And yet in these visibleforms he presents himself to us and deals with us. These forms heshows to us that we should not become wandering and unsettled spiritswhich dispute concerning God, but are completely ignorant concerninghim, since in his unveiled majesty he can not be apprehended. He seesit to be impossible for us to know him in his own nature. For helives, as the Scripture says in 1 Timothy 6, 16, in an inaccessiblelight, and what we can apprehend and understand he has declared. Theywho abide in these things will truly lay hold of him, while those whovaunt and follow visions, revelations and illuminations will either beoverwhelmed by his majesty or remain in densest ignorance of God. 

164. Thus the Jews also had their representations in which Godmanifested himself to them, as the mercy-seat, the ark of thecovenant, the tabernacle, the pillars of smoke and fire. God says inExodus 33, 20, "Man shall not see me and live, " therefore he gives arepresentation of himself in which he so manifests himself to us thatwe may lay hold of him. In the new covenant we have Baptism, theLord's Supper, absolution and the ministry of the Word. 

165. These are what the scholastics call _voluntas signi_, the willexpressed through signs, which we must view when we desire to know thewill of God. Another is the _voluntas beneplaciti_, the will of hisgood pleasure, the essential will of God, or his unveiled majesty, which is God himself. From this our eyes are to be turned away. Itcannot be laid hold of; for in God is nothing but divinity, and theessence of God is his infinite wisdom and almighty power. These areabsolutely inaccessible to reason: what he has willed according to thewill of his good pleasure, that he has seen from eternity. 

166. Into this essential and divine will we should not pry, but shouldabsolutely refrain from it as from the divine majesty, for it isinscrutable, and God has had no desire to declare it in this life. Hedesires to show it under certain tokens or coverings, as Baptism, theWord and the Lord's Supper. These are the images of the deity and arehis will as expressed through signs, by which he deals with us on theplane of our intelligence. Hence, we should look to these alone. Thewill of his good pleasure is to be left entirely out of contemplation, unless you happen to be Moses, or David, or some similarly perfectman, although even they so looked to the will of the divine goodpleasure as never to turn their eyes from the will expressed by signs. 

167. This will of God is called his activity (_effectus Dei_), whereinhe comes out to us and deals with us garbed in the drapery of thingsextraneous to himself; these we can lay hold of--the Word of God andthe ceremonies instituted by himself. This will of God is not that ofhis omnipotence, for though God in the ten commandments enjoins whatought to be done it is yet not done. Thus, Christ has instituted theLord's Supper to strengthen in us faith in his mercy, and yet manyreceive it to their condemnation, that is, without faith. 

168. But I return to Moses. He says that God sees man's wickedness andrepents. The scholastics explain this: He sees and repents, namely, according to the expressed will, not that of his good pleasure, or theessential will. 

169. We say that Noah's heart is moved by the Holy Spirit tounderstand that God is wroth with man and desires his destruction. This interpretation commends itself to our intelligence and does notdraw us into discussions concerning the absolute will or majesty ofGod, which are very dangerous, as I have seen in many. Such spiritsare first puffed up by the devil so that they believe themselves to bein possession of the Holy Spirit, neglect the Word to the point ofblaspheming it and vaunt nothing but the Spirit and visions. 

170. This is the first degree of error--that men, paying no heed tothe Deity as imaged and incarnate, seek after the unveiled God. Afterward, when the hour of judgment comes, and they feel the wrath ofGod, God himself judging and searching their hearts, the devil ceasesto puff them up and they despair and die. They go about in theuntempered sunlight and forsake the shade that delivers from the heat, Is 4, 6. 

171. Let no one therefore meditate upon divinity unveiled, but fleefrom such thoughts as from the infernal regions and the verytemptations of Satan. But let us take care to abide in these symbolsthrough which God has revealed himself to us--the Son, born of theVirgin Mary, lying among beasts in the manger, and the Word, Baptism, the Lord's Supper and absolution. In these images we see and find Godin a way wherein we can endure him; he comforts us, lifts us up intohope and saves. Other thoughts about the will of the good pleasure, orthe essential and eternal will, kill and damn. 

172. However, to name this the will of "good pleasure" is a misnomer. For that deserves to be called the will of good pleasure which theGospel discloses, concerning which Paul says, "that ye may prove whatis the good will of God, " Rom 12, 2. And Christ says, "This is thewill of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son should haveeternal life, " Jn 6, 40. Also, "Whosoever shall do the will of myFather who is in heaven, he is my brother, " Mt 12, 50. Again, "This ismy beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, " Mt 3, 17. This will ofgrace is correctly and properly called the will "of the divine goodpleasure" and it is our only remedy and safeguard against that otherwill, be it called the "expressed will" or the "will of goodpleasure, " about the display of which at the flood and the destructionof Sodom the scholastics dispute. 

173. On both occasions a terrible wrath is in evidence, against whichno soul could find protection, except in that gracious will, keepingin mind that the Son of God was sent into the flesh to deliver us fromsin, death and the power of the devil. 

174. This will of the divine good pleasure has been determined frometernity, and revealed and published in Christ. It is a quickening, gracious and lovable will, and consequently it alone merits to becalled "the will of good pleasure. " But the good fathers almost passthe promises by; they do not press them, though they could properly becalled "the will of the good pleasure. "

175. Therefore, as they enjoin looking to the will expressed by signs, they do well, but this is in no wise sufficient; when we consider theten commandments, are we not frightened by the sight of our sins? Whenthose terrible examples of wrath are added which are also divine willas expressed by signs, it is impossible for the soul to be lifted upexcept by looking back to the will of the good pleasure, as we callit, that is, the Son of God, who portrays for us the spirit and thewill of his Father, who does not hate sinners but desires to havecompassion upon them through his Son. Christ says to Philip, "He thathath seen me hath seen the Father, " Jn 14, 9. 

176. The Son of God, therefore, who became incarnate, is that sign orveil of God in which the divine majesty with all its gifts so offersitself to us that no sinner is so wretched but he dare approach him incertain confidence of obtaining forgiveness. This is the only visionof Deity which in this life is expedient and possible. However, thosewho have died in this faith shall on the last day be so illumined bypower from on high as to behold the majesty itself. In the meantime, it behooves us to approach the Father through the way, which is Christhimself. He will lead us safely and we shall not be deceived. 

177. The additional statement of the text, "It repented Jehovah thathe had made man on the earth, " I believe to be meant to bring out theantithesis, that God has in mind not the earthly man, who is subjectto sin and death, but the heavenly man, who is lord over them. Heexpresses his love for the latter, while he hates the former and planshis destruction. 

B. THE GRIEF OF GOD. 

 1. This is not to be understood of the divine nature, but of the hearts of the patriarchs 178-179. 

 2. Abraham, Samuel and Christ grieved in like manner 180. 

 3. By whom such grief is awakened in the heart 181. 

 4. The cause of this grief 182. 

 * The character of the children of God and of the world in the face of the approaching calamity 183-184. 

 * How the patriarchs and the Church were walls of defense 185. 

 5. What made the grief of the holy patriarchs greater 185. 

 6. Moses describes this grief very carefully 186. 

 * How we see the grief of God in his saints 187. 

 * How all is ruined on account of sin 187. 

 * Why Noah did not dare to reveal the great wrath of God to the world 188. 

 * What prevents the world from believing God's threatenings 188-189. 

 * To whom God's promises do and do not apply 190. 

 * Why the old world did not believe the threat of the deluge 191. 

 * The fate of true doctrine in our day is the same as it was in Noah's 192. 

B. THE GRIEF OF GOD. 

V. 6b. _And it grieved him at his heart. _

178. Such was the regret of God that he was pained in his heart. Theword here is _azab_, which was used before when he said (Gen 3, 16), "In pain shalt thou bring forth children"; also in Psalm 127, 2, "thebread of toil. " This expression must be understood according to theusage of Scripture. We must not think that God has a heart or that hecan suffer pain, but when the spirit of Noah, Lamech or Methuselah isgrieved, God himself is said to be grieved. We may understand suchgrief not of his divine nature, but of his conduct. Noah, with hisfather and grandfather, feels in his heart, through a revelation ofthe Holy Spirit, that God hates the world because of sin and desiresits destruction; therefore they are grieved by this impenitence. 

179. This is the simple and true meaning. If you refer these words tothe will of the divine essence and hold that God has resolved thisfrom eternity, a perilous argument is employed to which are equal onlymen who are spiritual and tested by trial, like Paul, for instance, who has ventured to argue concerning predestination. Let us take ourstand on an humbler plane, one less open to danger, and hold that Noahand the other fathers were most grievously pained when the Spiritdisclosed to them such wrath. These inexpressible groanings of thebest of men are accordingly attributed to God himself, because theyemanate from his Spirit. 

180. An example of such groanings we see later in the case of Abraham, who interposed himself like a wall in behalf of the safety of theSodomites and did not abandon the cause until they came down to fiverighteous ones. Without a doubt the Holy Spirit filled the breast ofAbraham with infinite and frequent groanings in his attempts to effectthe salvation of the wretched. Likewise Samuel--what does he not dofor Saul? He cries and implores with such vehemence that God iscompelled to restrain him: "How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeingI have rejected him from being king over Israel?" 1 Sam 16, 1. SoChrist, foreseeing the destruction of Jerusalem within a few years byreason of its sins, is most violently moved and pained in his soul. 

181. Such promptings the Spirit of prayer arouses in pious souls. Present everywhere, he is moved by the adversities of others, teaches, informs, spares no pains, prays, complains, groans. Thus Moses andPaul are willing to be accursed for the sake of their people. 

182. In this manner Noah, the most holy man, and his father andgrandfather are consumed with pain at the sight of such terrible wrathof God. He is not delighted at this overthrow of the whole human race, but is filled with anxiety and the most grievous pain, while at thesame time the sons of men live in the greatest security, mocking, boasting and taunting. Thus Psalms 109, 4, "For my love they are myadversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. " Thus Paul, "I tell youeven weeping. " Phil 3, 18. And what else could holy men do but weepwhen the world would in no wise permit itself to be corrected?

183. It is always the appearance of the true Church that she not onlysuffers, not only is humiliated and trampled under foot, but alsoprays for her tormentors, is seriously disturbed by their dangers; onthe contrary, others play and frolic in proportion as they approachtheir doom. But when the hour of judgment comes, God in turn closeshis ears so completely that he does not even hear his own belovedchildren as they pray and intercede for the wicked. So Ezekiel lamentsthat no one is found who will stand for Israel as a protecting wall, saying that this is the office of the prophets, Ezek 13, 5. 

184. It is impossible for the ungodly to pray; let no one, therefore, entertain the hope concerning the papists, our adversaries, that theypray. We pray for them and plant ourselves like a wall against thewrath of God and, without doubt, it is by our tears and groanings thatthey are saved, if, perchance, they will repent. 

185. It is a terrible example, that God has spared not the firstworld, for which Noah, Lamech and Methuselah set themselves like awall. What, then, shall we expect where such walls do not exist, wherethere is no Church at all? The Church is always a wall against thewrath of God. She feels pain, is tormented in her soul, prays, intercedes, instructs, teaches, exhorts, as long as the judgment houris not here but coming. When she sees these ministrations to beunavailing, what else can she do but feel grievous pain at thedestruction of the impenitent? The pain of the godly fathers wasaugmented by the sight of so many relatives and kindred at one timegoing to destruction. 

186. This pain Moses could not express in a better and more graphicdescription than to say that God repented of having made man. Before, when he describes man's nature as having been formed in God's image, he says that God beheld all that he had made and it was very good. God, then, is delighted with his creatures and has joy in them. Herehe absolutely alters that statement by one altogether at variance withit--that God is grieved at heart and even repents of having createdman. 

187. It was Noah and the other fathers who felt this through therevelation of the Holy Spirit; otherwise, they would have shared thosethoughts of joy and would have judged according to the earlierprophecy that God had delight in all his works. Never would they havethought that the wrath of God was such as to destroy not only thewhole human race, but also all living flesh of sky and earth, whichsurely had not offended, yea, the very earth also; for the earth, because of man's sin, had not retained after the flood its pristineexcellence. Some have written, as Lyra reminds us, that by the floodthe surface of the earth was washed away three hands deep. Certain itis that paradise has been utterly destroyed through the flood. Therefore, we possess today an earth more deeply cursed than beforethe flood and after the fall of Adam; though the state of the earthafter the fall could not compare with the grandeur of its primevalstate before sin. 

188. These disasters, therefore, the holy fathers saw through therevelation of the Holy Spirit a hundred and twenty years before. Butsuch was the wickedness of the world that it put the Holy Spirit tosilence. Noah could not venture to reveal such threats without risk ofthe gravest dangers. With his father and grandfather, with hischildren and wife, he would discuss this great wrath of God. The sonsof men, however, had no more inclination to hear these things than thepapists today have to hear themselves called the church of Satan andnot of Christ. Accordingly, they would vaunt their ancestors and overagainst Noah's proclamations they would plead the promise of the seed, believing it to be impossible for God, in this manner, to destroy allmankind. 

189. For the same reason, the Jews did not believe the prophets noreven Christ himself when called to repentance, but maintained thatthey were the people of God, inasmuch as they had the temple andworship. The Turks today are inflated with victories which theybelieve to be the reward for their faith and religion because theybelieve in one God. We, however, are viewed as heathen and reputed tobelieve in three Gods. God would not give us such victories anddominions, they say, if he did not favor us and approve our religion. This same reasoning blinds also the papist. Occupying an exaltedposition, they maintain they are the Church and hence they have nofear of divine punishment. Devilish, therefore, is that argumentwhereby men take the name of God to palliate their sins. 

190. But if God did not spare the first world, the generation of theholy patriarchs, which had the promise of the seed as its very own--ifhe saved only a very small remnant--the Turks, Jews and Papists shallboast in vain of the name of God. According to Micah 2, 7, the Word ofGod promises blessings to those who walk in uprightness. But those whodo not walk in uprightness are cursed. Those he threatens, those hedestroys. Neither does he take account of the name "Church", nor oftheir number, whereas he saves the remnant which walks in uprightness. But never will you convince the world of this. 

191. In all probability the descendants of the patriarchs who perishedin the flood abused quite shamefully the argument of the dignity ofthe Church, and condemned Noah for blasphemy and falsehood. To say, they argued, that God was about to destroy the whole world by a floodis equal to saying that God is not merciful, nor a Father, but a crueltyrant. You proclaim the wrath of God, O Noah! Then God is not such abeing as to promise deliverance from sin and death through the seed ofwoman? The wrath of God, therefore, will not swallow the whole earth. We are the people of God. We have from God magnificent gifts; neverwould God have given these to us if he had resolved to act against uswith such hostility. In this fashion the wicked are in the habit ofapplying to themselves the promises and trusting to the same. Allwarnings, however, they neglect and deride. 

192. It is profitable to contemplate this diligently so that we may besafeguarded against such vicious heedlessness of the wicked. For whathappened to Moses, now happens also to us. Our adversaries ascribe tothemselves the name of God's people, true worship, grace andeverything holy; to us, everything devilish. Now, when we reprove themfor blasphemy and say that they are the church of Satan, they rageagainst us with every kind of cruelty. Hence we mourn with Noah, andcommend the cause to God, as Christ did on the cross--what else couldwe do?--and wait till God shall judge the earth and show that he lovesthe remnant of those that fear him and that he hates the multitude ofimpenitent sinners in spite of their boast of being the Church, ofhaving the promises, of having the worship of God. When God destroyedthe whole original world, he manifested the promise of the seed tothat wretched and tiny remnant, Noah and his sons. 

V. NOAH ALONE WAS RIGHTEOUS; THE WORLD DESTROYED. 

 A. NOAH ALONE WAS FOUND RIGHTEOUS. 

 1. What comfort was offered Noah by his righteousness in the midst of his suffering 193. 

 * To find grace before God leads to faith and excludes works 194. 

 2. For what was righteous Noah especially praised by God 195. 

 * Many great men lived in the days of Noah 196. 

 3. How righteous Noah had to contend against so much all alone 197. 

 * By what means the Papists contend against the Evangelicals 198. 

 4. With what the world especially upbraided righteous Noah 199. 

 * People then were wiser and more ingenious than now 200. 

 5. Noah may be called both just and pious 201. 

 6. Righteous Noah led a godly life, possessed great courage and was a marvelous character 202. 

 7. By his piety Noah was a confessor of the truth 203-204. 

 * It is very difficult for one man to withstand the united opposition of many 204. 

 8. Being a preacher of righteousness Noah was in greater danger 205. 

 9. Noah an example of patience and of all virtues 206. 

 10. How he traveled and preached everywhere in the world, and preserved the human race temporally and spiritually 207-208. 

 11. The world takes offense at righteous Noah's marrying, and adds sin to sin 209. 

 12. The order of the birth of Noah's sons 210. 

 B. THE WHOLE WORLD DESTROYED. 

 1. Whether, as Lyra teaches, birds and animals were destroyed 211. 

 * Why the punishment of sin was visited also upon the animals 212-213. 

 2. The meaning of "the earth was corrupt before God" 214-216. 

 * The sins against the first table of the law can easier be concealed than those against the second table 214. 

 * Where false doctrine is taught, godless living follows 215. 

 3. How the earth was corrupt in the light of the first table of the law 215-216. 

 4. How the earth was corrupt in the light of the second table 217-218. 

 * The meaning of "violence" in Scripture 218. 

 * The greatest violence can obtain under the appearance of holiness, as among the Papists and Turks 219-221. 

 * Moses beautifully traces the course God takes in his judgments 222. 

 * Who can pass the right judgment upon the pope that he is Antichrist 223. 

 * How Antichrist strengthens the courage of the godly, and whether they can check him 223. 

 5. Noah laments this corruption 224. 

 * Godlessness cannot be remedied when it adorns itself with the appearance of holiness 225. 

 6. How God views this corruption 226. 

 * Luther laments the wickedness of the enemies of the Gospel 227. 

 * How we should view God's delay in punishing the wickedness of his enemies 228. 

 * God's delay is very hard for believers 229. 

 7. The first world, although corrupt, was much better than the present world 230. 

V. HOW NOAH ALONE WAS FOUND RIGHTEOUS, AND HOW THE WHOLE WORLD WASDESTROYED. 

A. Noah Alone Was found Righteous. 

V. 8. _But Noah found grace in the eyes of Jehovah. _

193. These are the words through which Noah was lifted up andquickened again. For such wrath of the divine majesty would havekilled him, had not God added the promise of saving him. It is likely, however, that his faith had a struggle and was weak. We cannot imaginehow such contemplation of God's wrath weakens courage. 

194. This novel expression of the Holy Spirit the heavenly messengerGabriel also uses when speaking to the Blessed Virgin Lk 1, 30, "Thouhast found favor (grace) with God. " The expression most palpablyexcludes merit and commends faith, through which alone we arejustified before God, made acceptable and well pleasing in his sight. 

V. 9. _These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, and perfect in his generations; Noah walked with God. _

195. With this passage the Jews commence not only a new chapter, butalso a new lesson. This is a very brief history, but it greatly extolsour patriarch Noah; he alone remained just and upright while the othersons of God degenerated. 

196. Let us remember many most excellent men were among the sons ofGod, of whom some lived with Noah well nigh five hundred years. Man inthat age before the flood was very long-lived; not only the sons ofGod, but also the sons of men. A very wide and rich experience hadbeen gathered by these people during so many years. Much they learnedfrom their progenitors and much they saw and experienced. 

197. Amid the corruption of all these stands Noah, a truly marvelousman. He swerves neither to the left nor to the right. He retains thetrue worship of God. He retains the pure doctrine, and lives in thefear of God. There is no doubt that a depraved generation hated himinordinately, tantalized him in various ways and thus insulted him:"Art thou alone wise? Dost thou alone please God? Are the rest of usall in error? Shall we all be damned? Thou alone dost not err. Thoualone shalt not be condemned. " And thus the just and holy man musthave concluded in his mind that all others were in error and about tobe condemned, while he and his offspring alone were to be saved. Although his conviction was right in the matter, his lot was a hardone. The holy man was in various ways troubled by such reflections. 

198. The wretched Papists press us today with this one argument: Doyou believe that all the fathers have been in error? It seems hard soto believe, especially of the worthier ones, such as Augustine, Ambrose, Bernard and that whole throng of the best men who havegoverned Churches with the Word and have been adorned with the augustname of the Church. The labors of such we both laud and admire. 

199. But surely no less a difficulty confronted Noah himself, whoalone is called just and upright, at a time when the very sons of menparaded the name of the Church. When the sons of the fathers alliedthemselves with these they, forsooth, believed that Noah with hispeople raved, because he followed another doctrine and anotherworship. 

200. Today our life is very brief, still to what lengths human naturewill go is sufficiently in evidence. What may we imagine the conditionto have been in such a long existence, in which the bitterness andvehemence of human nature were even stronger? Today we are naturallymuch more dull and stupid, and yet men singularly gifted rush intowickedness. It is afterward said that all flesh had corrupted its wayupon the earth, only Noah was just and upright. 

201. From these two words we may gather the thought that Noah is heldto be "just" as he honored the first table and "upright" as he honoredthe second. "Just" he is called, because of his faith in God, becausehe first believed the general promise with respect to the seed ofwoman and then also the particular one respecting the destruction ofthe world through the flood and the salvation of his own offspring. Onthe other hand he is called "upright" because he walked in the fear ofGod and conscientiously avoided murder and other sins with which thewicked polluted themselves in defiance of conscience. Nor did hepermit himself to be moved by the frequent offenses of men mostillustrious, wise and apparently holy. 

202. Great was his courage. Today it appears to us impossible that oneman should oppose himself to all mankind, condemning them as evil, while they vaunt the Church and God's Word and worship, and tomaintain that he alone is a son of God and acceptable before him. Noah, accordingly, is a marvelous man, and Moses commends this samegreatness of mind when he plainly adds "in his generation, " or "in hisage, " as if he desired to say that his age was indeed the most wickedand corrupt. 

203. Above, in the history of Enoch, we explained what it means towalk with God, namely, to advocate the cause of God in public. To bejust and upright bespeaks private virtue, but to walk with God issomething public--to advocate the cause of God before the world, towield his Word, to teach his worship. Noah was not simply just andholy for himself but he was also a confessor; he taught others thepromises and threats of God, and performed and suffered all thatbehooves a public personage in an age so exceedingly wicked andcorrupt. 

204. If it were I who had seen that so great men in the generation ofthe ungodly were opposed to me, I surely in desperation should havecast aside my ministry. For one cannot conceive how difficult it isfor one man to oppose himself alone to the unanimity of all churches;to impugn the judgment of the best and most amicable of men; tocondemn them; to teach, to live, and to do everything, in oppositionto them. This is what Noah did. He was inspired with admirableconstancy of purpose, inasmuch as he, innocent before men, not onlyregarded the cause of God, but most earnestly pressed it among themost nefarious men, until he was told: "My spirit shall not furtherstrive with man. " And the word "strive" finely portrays the spiritwith which the ungodly heard Noah instruct them. 

205. Peter also beautifully sets forth what it means to walk with Godwhen he calls Noah a preacher, not of the righteousness of man, but ofGod; that is, that of faith in the promised seed. But what reward Noahreceived from the ungodly for his message Moses does not indicate. Thestatement is sufficient, that he preached righteousness, that hetaught the true worship of God while the whole earth opposed him. Thatmeans the best, most religious and wisest of men were against him. More than one miracle, in consequence, was necessary to prevent hisbeing waylaid and killed by the ungodly. We see today how much wrath, hate, and envy one sermon to the people may create. What shall webelieve Noah may have suffered who taught not a hundred, not twohundred, but even more years, down to the last century, when God didnot desire the wicked to receive instruction any longer lest theybecome still fiercer and more depraved. 

206. Therefore we may conjecture from the condition and nature of theworld itself, and of the devil, from the experience of the apostlesand the prophets, and likewise from our own, what a noble example ofpatience and other virtues Noah has been, who was just andirreproachable in that ungodly generation and walked with God--thatis, governed the churches with the Word--and who, when the one hundredand twenty years were determined upon, after the lapse of which theworld was to be destroyed by a flood, in face of such a terriblethreat, entered into matrimony and begot children. 

207. It is very probable that he traveled up and down the earth; thathe taught everywhere; that everywhere he exhorted to worship God intruth; that he, hindered by many labors, refrained from matrimony onaccount of abundance of tribulations and in the expectation of theadvent of a better and more religious age. But when he recognized thishope as unfounded and by a voice divine was warned that a time hadbeen set for the world's destruction, then and not before, prompted bythe Spirit, did he make up his mind to marry, in order to transmit tothe new age seed out of himself. And thus the holy man preserved thehuman race, not only spiritually, in the true Word and worship, butalso bodily, by begetting children. 

208. As in paradise a new Church had its beginning, before the flood, through Adam and Eve's faith in the promise, so also here a new worldand a new Church arise from the marriage of Noah--a nursery of thatworld which shall endure to the end. 

209. I stated above (§88) that this marriage was an occasion of greatoffense to the ungodly and that they made the most extraordinary sportof it. How inconsistent that the world is to perish so soon, whenNoah, five hundred years old, becomes a father! They deemed his actthe surest evidence that the world was not to perish by a flood. Hence, they began to live even more licentiously, and in the greatestsecurity to despise all threats. Christ says in Matthew 24, 38, thatin the days of Noah they ate, they drank, etc. The world does notunderstand the plans of God. 

210. Concerning the order of the sons of Noah, I said above thatJapheth was first, that Shem was born two years afterward when Noahcommenced to build the ark, and Ham two years later. This has not beenclearly explained by Moses, but still it has been carefully noted. 

B. Destruction of the Whole World. 

V. 11. _And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filledwith violence. _

211. Lyra, perhaps under the influence of rabbinic interpretation, contends here that even the birds and other animals forsook theirnature and mixed with those of another species. But I do not believeit, for the creation or nature of animals remains as it was fashioned. They have not fallen through sin, like man, but are, on the contrary, fashioned for this bodily life alone. In consequence they neither hearthe Word, nor does the Word concern them. They are absolutely withoutthe Law of the first and the second tables. Accordingly, this passagerefers only to man. 

212. But that the beasts bore the penalty of sin and perished at thesame time with man through the flood was the result of God's purposeto destroy man altogether; not alone in body and soul, but with thepossessions and dominion which were his at creation. Instances ofsimilar retribution occur in the Old Testament. In the sixth chapterof Daniel we see the enemies of Daniel cast into the lions' den, together with their wives, children and whole families. In thesixteenth chapter of Numbers a like incident is narrated in connectionwith the destruction of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Similar is also aninstance spoken of by Christ when the king commands to sell theservant together with wife, children and all his substance. 

213. In this manner, evidently, not only men but all their goods weredestroyed, so that punishment might be full and complete. Beasts, fields and the birds of heaven were created for man. They are man'sproperty and chattels. Therefore, the animals perished, not becausethey had sinned, but because God wanted man to perish amid all hisearthly possessions. 

214. In this passage Moses' specific statement that "the earth wascorrupt before God, " is made to show that Noah was treated andesteemed in the eyes of his age as a stupid and good for nothingcharacter. The world, on the contrary, appeared in its own eyesperfectly holy and righteous, believing it had just cause for thepersecution of Noah, especially in regard to the first table of theLaw and the worship of God. The second table is not without itsdisguise of hypocrisy, but in this respect it bears no comparison tothe former. The adulterer, the thief, the murderer can remain hiddenfor a while, though not forever. But the sins of the first tablegenerally remain hidden under the cloak of sanctity until God bringsthem to light. Godlessness never wishes to be godlessness, but chasesafter a reputation for piety and religion; and trims its cult sofinely that in comparison with it the true cult and the true religionappear coarse. 

215. The verb _shiheth_ is very frequent and conspicuous in HolyScripture. Moses uses it in the thirty-first chapter of Deuteronomy, verse 29: "For I know that after my death ye will utterly corruptyourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. "And David says, "They are all gone aside; they are together becomefilthy, " Ps 14, 3. Both passages speak particularly of the sinsagainst the first table; that is, they accuse the apparently devoutestsaints of false worship and false doctrine, for it is impossible for arighteous life to follow teaching that is false. 

216. When Moses says the earth was corrupt before God, he clearlypoints out the contrast--the hypocrites and oppressors judged Noah'steaching and practise as wholly wrong, and their own as altogetherholy. The reverse, Moses says, was true. Mankind was assuredly corruptmeasured by the first table. They lacked the true Word and the trueworship. This distinction between the first and the second tablescommends itself strongly to my judgment and was doubtless suggested bythe Holy Spirit. 

217. The additional statement--"and the earth was filled withviolence"--points to this unfailing sequence. With the Word lost, withfaith extinct, with traditions and will-worship--to use St. Paul'sphraseology (Col 2, 8)--having replaced the true cult, there resultsviolence and shameful living. 

218. The correct significance of the word _hamas_ is violence force, wrong, with the suspension of all law and equity, a condition wherepleasure is law and everything is done not by right, but by might. Butif such was their life, you may say, how could they maintain theappearance and reputation of holiness and righteousness? As if we didnot really have similar instances before our eyes today. Has the worldever seen anything more cruel than the Turks? And they adorn all theirfierceness with the name of God and religion. 

219. The popes have not only seized for themselves the riches of theearth, but have filled the Church itself with stupendous errors andblasphemous doctrines. They live in shocking licentiousness. Theyalienate at pleasure the hearts of kings. Much is done by them tobring on bloodshed and war. And yet, with all such blasphemies andoutrages, they arrogate to themselves the name and title of thegreatest saints and boast of being vicars of Christ and successors ofPeter. 

220. Thus the greatest wrong is allied to the names of Church and truereligion. Should any one offer objection, immediately is he put underthe ban and condemned as a heretic and an enemy of God and man. Barring the Romans and their accomplices, there is no people whichplumes itself more upon religion and righteousness than the Turks. TheChristians they despise as idolaters; themselves they esteem as mostholy and wise. Notwithstanding, what is their life and religion butincessant murder, robbery, rapine and other horrible outrages?

221. The present times, therefore, illustrate how those twoincompatible things may be found in union--the greatest religiousnesswith abominations, the greatest wrong with a show of right. And thisis the very cause for men becoming hardened and secure withoutapprehending the punishment they merit by their sins. 

V. 12. _And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for allflesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. _

222. Inasmuch as the wrath of God is appalling and destruction isimminent for all flesh except eight souls, Moses is somewhat redundantin this passage, and uses repetitions, which are not superfluous butexpress an emphasis of their own. Above he said the earth was corrupt;now he says that God, as if following the customary judicial method, saw this and meditated punishment. In this manner he pictures, as itwere, the order in which God proceeds. 

223. The judgment of spiritual people concerning the pope at thepresent day is that he is the Antichrist, raging against the Word andthe kingdom of Christ. But they who censure it are unable to correctthis wickedness. Wickedness is growing daily and contempt forgodliness is becoming greater every day. Now comes the thought: Whatis God doing? Why does he not punish his enemy? Does he sleep and careno longer for human affairs? The delay of judgment causes therighteous anguish. They themselves cannot come to the succor of astricken religion and they see God who could help, connive at the furyof the popes, who securely sin against the first and the second tablesof the Law. 

224. Just so Noah sees the earth filled with wrongs. Therefore, hegroans and sighs to heaven in order to arouse God from the highestheaven to judgment. Such voices occur here and there in the Psalms(10, 1): "Why standest thou afar off?"; (13, 1): "How long, OJehovah?"; (9, 13): "Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah; consider mytrouble"; (7, 6-9): "Arise, judge my cause, etc. "

225. What Moses here describes comes at length to pass, that God alsosees these things and hears the cry of the righteous who are able tojudge the world; for they who are spiritual judge all things (1 Cor 2, 15), though they cannot alter anything. Wickedness is incorrigiblewhen adorned with a show of piety, and so is oppression when itassumes the disguise of justice and foresight. It is nothing new thatthey who seize the wives, daughters, houses, lands and goods of othersdesire to be just and holy, as we showed above in respect of thepapacy. 

226. This is the second stage then: When the saints have seen andjudged the wickedness of the world, God also sees it. He says of theSodomites: "The cry of them is waxed great before Jehovah" (Gen 19, 13); and above (ch 4, 10): "The voice of thy brother's blood criethunto me. " But always before the Lord takes note, the sobs and groansof the righteous precede, arousing, as it were, the Lord from slumber. 

What Moses desires to show in this passage through the word, "saw" isthat God finally perceived the afflictions and heard the cries of therighteous, filling at last all heaven. He who hitherto had winked ateverything and seemed to favor the success of the wicked, was awakenedas from slumber. The fact is he saw everything much sooner than Noah;for he is the searcher of hearts and cannot be deceived by simulatedpiety as we can. But not until now, when he meditates punishment, doesNoah perceive that he sees. 

227. Thus we are afflicted today by extreme and unheard of wickedness, for our adversaries condemn from sheer caprice the truth they know andprofess. They try to get at our throats and shed the blood of therighteous with a satanic fury. Such blasphemous, sacrilegious andparricidal doings against the kingdom and name of God, manifest assuch beyond possibility of denial, they defend as the acme of justice. While contending for the maintenance of their tyrannical position theygo so far as to arrogate to themselves the name of the Church. Whatelse can we do here but cry to Jehovah to make his name sacred and notto permit the overthrow of his kingdom nor resistance to his paternalwill?

228. But so far the Lord sleeps. He apparently does not observe suchwickedness, because he gives no sign as yet of observing it. Rather hepermits us to be tormented by such woeful sights. We are, therefore, thus far in the first stage and this verse, stating that the wholeearth is corrupt, applies to our age. But at the proper time thesecond stage will be reached, when we can declare in certainty offaith that not only we but God also sees and hates such wickedness. Though God, in his long-suffering, has continued to wink at manythings, he shall retain the name of One who in righteousness shalljudge the earth. 

229. How bitter and hard such delay is for the righteous, thelamentations of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 12, 1ff. , and 20, 7ff, show. There the holy man almost verges on blasphemy until he is told thatthe Babylonian king should come and inflict punishment upon theunbelieving scoffers. Thereupon Jeremiah recognizes that God looksdown on the earth and is Judge upon the earth. 

230. The universal judgment which follows is terrible in the extreme, namely that all flesh upon the earth had corrupted its way and thatGod, when he had begun to examine the sons of men, did not, from theoldest to the youngest of the fathers, find any he could save fromdestruction. 

This strikes our ears as still more awful when we take intoconsideration the condition of the primitive world, not judging by themiserable fragments we have today. As the physical condition of theworld at that time was infinitely ahead of this age, so we mayconclude that the majesty and pomp of our rulers and the show ofsanctity and wisdom on the part of the popes are not to be compared tothe show of religion, righteousness and wisdom found among thoserenowned men of the primitive world. 

And yet the text says that all flesh had corrupted its way, save Noahand his offspring. That means all men were wicked, lived in idolatryand false religion and hated the true worship of God. They despisedthe promise of the seed, and persecuted Noah, who proclaimedforgiveness through the seed and threatened to those, who should failto believe his forgiveness, eternal doom. 

VI. GOD DECIDES TO PUNISH THE FIRST WORLD; COMMANDS NOAH TO BUILD AN ARK; THE COVENANT. 

 A. HOW GOD DECREED TO PUNISH THE OLD WORLD IN HIS WRATH. 

 1. How punishment finally comes when God has suffered sin long enough 231. 

 * Luther's hope that God's judgment may soon break upon the last world 231. 

 2. Whether reason can grasp the wrath and punishment of God 232. 

 3. How God's promises stand in the midst of his wrath and punishment 232. 

 4. The first world thought itself secure against God's wrath 233. 

 * The Papal security and boldness against the Evangelicals 234. 

 5. By what means God punished the first world 235. 

 * The Holy Spirit must reveal that God's wrath and punishment do not violate his promises 236. 

 6. The causes of this wrath and punishment 237. 

 * By what may it be known that God will visit Germany with punishment 238. 

 * God complains more of the violence shown to the neighbor than to himself 239. 

 * The damages of the deluge 240. 

 * The ground of the earth was in a better state before the flood than now 240. 

 * The colors in the rainbow signs of the punishment of the first and the last world 241. 

VI. GOD DECIDES TO PUNISH THE FIRST WORLD; COMMANDS NOAH TO BUILD ANARK; THE COVENANT. 

A. God Decides to Punish the Old World. 

V. 13. _And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come beforeme; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, Iwill destroy them with the earth. _

231. After Noah and his people had for a long time raised theiraccusing cry against the depravity of the world, the Lord gaveevidence that he saw the depravity and intended to avenge it. This, the second stage, we also look for today, nor is there any doubt thatmen shall exist, to whom this coming destruction of the world is to berevealed, unless the destruction be the last day and the finaljudgment, which I truly wish. We have seen enough wickedness in thesebrief and evil days of ours. Godless men, as in Noah's time, adorntheir vices with the name of holiness and righteousness. Hence, nopenitence or reformation is to be hoped for. This stage having beenreached in the times of Noah, sentence is finally passed, having beenpreviously announced by the Lord when he gave command that strivingshould cease and issued the declaration that he regretted having mademan. 

232. Reason is incapable of believing and perfectly understanding suchwrath. Just consider how different this is from what had been. Abovewe have read (ch 1, 31) that God saw everything he had made andbehold, it was very good; that he gave man and beast the additionalblessing of propagation; that he subjected to man's rule the earth andall the treasures of the earth; that as the highest blessing, he addedthe promise of the woman's seed and life eternal and instituted notonly the home and the State, but also the Church. How, then, is itthat the first world, called into being in this way through the Word, should, to use Peter's expression, perish by water?

233. There is no doubt that the sons of the world threw all this up toNoah as he preached the coming universal destruction, and publiclycharged him with lying, on the ground that home, State and Church hadbeen instituted by God; that God surely would not overturn his ownestablishment by a final destruction; that man had been created forpropagation and dominion upon the earth, not for the rule of waterover him to his destruction. 

234. Just so the Papists press us with the one argument that Christwill be with the Church to the end of the world (Mt 28, 20); that thegates of hell will not prevail against it (Mt 16, 18). This they vauntin a loud-voiced manner, believing their destruction to be animpossibility. Swept by the waves Peter's ship may be, they say, butthe waters cannot overwhelm it. 

235. Quite similar was the security and assurance before the flood;notwithstanding, we see that the whole earth perished. The scoffersboasted that God's regulations are perpetual, and that God had nevercompletely abolished or altered his creation. But consider the outcomeand you will see that they were wrong, while Noah alone was right. 

236. Unless the additional light of the Holy Spirit is vouchsafed, manwill surely be convinced by such argument; for is it not equivalent tomaking God inconstant and changeable, to maintain that he willcompletely destroy his creature? Yet God gives Noah the revelationthat he will make an end of flesh and earth, not in part, but of allflesh and all the earth. Would it not be awful enough to partition theearth into three parts and to threaten destruction to one? But to rageagainst the whole earth and against all mankind seems to be inconflict with God's government and the declaration that everything isvery good. These things are too sublime to be understood orcomprehended by human reason. 

237. What is the cause of wrath so great? Surely, the fact that theearth is filled with violence, as he here says. Astonishing reason! Hesays nothing here concerning the first table; he mentions only thesecond. It is, as if he said: I shall say nothing of myself that theyhate, blaspheme and persecute my Word. Among themselves how shamefullydo they live! Neither home nor State are properly administered;everything is conducted by force, nothing by reason and law. Therefore, I shall destroy at the same time both mankind and theearth. 

238. We see also in our age that God winks at the profanation of themass, a horrible abomination that fills the whole earth, and atungodly teachings and other offenses which have hitherto been in voguein religion. But when men live so together that they disregard bothState and home, when huge covetousness, graft of every description andmanifold iniquity have waxed strong, does it not become clear to everyman that God is compelled, as it were, to punish, yea to overturnGermany?

239. It is the fullness of his mercy and love that prompts God ratherto make complaint concerning the wrongs inflicted upon his membersthan those inflicted upon himself. We observe he maintains silencerespecting the latter, while he threatens punishment, not to manalone, but even to the very earth itself. 

240. A twofold effect is traceable to the flood; a weakening of man'spowers and an impairment of his wealth and that of the earth. Thelatter-day fruit of trees is in nowise to be compared with that in thedays before the flood. The antediluvian turnips were better thanafterward the melons, oranges or pomegranates. The pear was finer thanthe spices of today. So it is likely that a man's finger possessedmore strength than today his whole arm. Likewise man's reason andunderstanding were far superior. But God, because of sin, has broughtpunishment to bear, not alone upon man, but also upon his property anddomain, as witness to posterity also of his wrath. 

But how is the destruction to be effected? Assuredly, by his seizingthe watery element and blotting out everything. The force with whichthis element is wont to rage is common knowledge. Though theatmosphere be pestilential, it does not always infect trees and roots. But water not only overturns everything, not only does it tear outtrees and roots, but it also lifts the very surface of the earth. Italters the soil, so that the most fertile fields are marred by theoverflow of salty earth and sand (Ps 107, 34). This was thereforeequal to the downfall of the primitive world. 

241. The penalty of the present world, however, will be different, asthe color of the rainbow shows. The lowest color the extent of whichis well defined, is that of water. For the fury of the water in thedeluge was so great that limits were set to its havoc, and the earthwas restored to the remnant of the godly after the destruction of theevil-doers. But the other arch of the rainbow, the outer, which has noclearly defined bounds, is of the color of fire, the element whichshall consume the whole world. This destruction shall be succeeded bya better world, which shall last forever and serve the righteous. Thisthe Lord seems to have written in the color of the rainbow. 

B. GOD COMMANDS NOAH TO BUILD AN ARK. 

 * That Noah had only three children is a sign of God's mercy 242. 

 1. The kind of wood used in building the ark 243. 

 2. Its various rooms 244. 

 3. The pitch by which it was protected 245. 

 4. Why God instructed Noah so particularly how each part was to be constructed 246. 

 5. The form of the ark, and how teachers differ on this point 247. 

 6. The place Noah occupied in the ark, and that of the animals 248. 

 7. Whether the ark had the proportions of a human body 249. 

 8. How the ark was a type of the body of Christ--of the Church 250. 

 9. The windows of the ark:

 a. Whether it had more than one window 251. 

 * The Latin version is not clear here 252. 

 b. What kind of a window it was, and how it could stand the rain 253. 

 c. Luther's opinion of the Jews' ideas about the window 253. 

 10. The door of the ark 254. 

 11. How to meet the various questions about the ark 255-256. 

 * The deluge was a new method of punishment, hence the non incredible 257-258. 

 * God was in earnest in the threatening of this flood 259. 

B. GOD COMMANDS NOAH TO BUILD AN ARK. 

V. 14. _Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in theark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch (bitumen). _

242. God's first thought was to save a remnant through that tiny seed, the three sons of Noah, for Noah ceased henceforth to beget children. This strongly attests the mercy of God toward those who walk in hisways. 

243. _Gopher_ some make out to be pine, others hemlock, still otherscedar; hence, a guess is rather difficult. The choice appears to havebeen made owing to its lightness or its resinous quality, so that itmight float more easily upon the water and be impervious to it. 

244. _Kinnim_ signifies "nests" or "chambers"; that is separate spacesfor the various animals. Bears, sheep, deer and horses did not dwellin one and the same place, but the several species had theirrespective quarters. 

245. But what is meant by _bitumen_, I do not know. With us vesselsare made water tight with pitch and tow. Pitch, it is true, withstandswater, but it also invites the flame. There is no bitumen with uswhich resists water, hence we raise no objection to "bitumen" beingrendered "pitch. "

246. You may ask: Why does God prescribe everything so accurately? Theinjunction to build the ark should have been sufficient. Reason coulddetermine for itself the rules concerning dimensions and mode ofconstruction. Why, then, does God give such careful instruction withreference to dimensions and materials? Certainly that Noah, afterundertaking all things according to the Lord's direction (as Mosesbuilt the tabernacle according to the model received on the mount), should with the greater faith trust that he and his people were to besaved, nor entertain any doubt concerning a work ordered by the Lordhimself, even how it should be made. This is the reason the Lord giveshis directions with such attention to detail. 

V. 15. _And this is how thou shalt make it: the length of the arkthree hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the heightof it thirty cubits. _

247. A nice geometrical and mathematical exercise concerning the formand dimensions of the ark is here presented. The views of writersvary. Some claim it was four-cornered, others that it was gabled likenearly all our structures in Europe. As for myself, I hold it wasfour-cornered. Eastern people's were not acquainted with gabledbuildings. Theirs were evidently of four-cornered form, as the Biblementions people walking on roofs. Similar was the shape of the temple. 

248. There is a difference of opinion also concerning the arrangementof the animals in their quarters, which occupied the upper, which thecentral and which the lower places, this being the distinctionwarranted by the text. No certainty, however, can be arrived at. It islikely that Noah himself and the birds occupied the upper part, theclean animals the central and the unclean animals the lower one. Therabbis assert the lower part served the purpose of storing dung. But Ithink the dung was thrown out of the window, for its removal wasnecessitated by such a multitude of beasts abiding in the ark for overa year. 

249. Augustine quotes Philo against Faustus in stating that ongeometrical principles, the ark had the proportions of the human body, for when a man lies on the ground his body is ten times as long as itis high and six times as long as broad. So three hundred cubits aresix times fifty and ten times thirty. 

250. An application is made of this to the body of Christ, the Church, which has baptism as the door, through which clean and unclean enterwithout distinction. Although the Church is small, she rules the earthnotwithstanding, and it is due to her that the world is preserved, just as the unclean animals were preserved in the ark. Others stretchthe application so far as to point to the wound in the side of Jesus'body as prefigured by the windows in the ark. These are allegorieswhich are not exactly profound, but still harmless because they harborno error and serve a purpose other than that of wrangling, namely, that of rhetorical ornamentation. 

V. 16. _A light shalt thou make to the ark, and to a cubit shalt thoufinish it upward; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the sidethereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. _

251. Behold, how diligent an architect God is! With what care heinterests himself in all the parts of the structure and theirarrangement. Furthermore, the word _Zohar_ does not properly signifywindow, but southern light. The question may be raised here whetherthe ark had only one window or several. For the Hebrew languagepermits the use of the singular for the plural, or of the collectivefor the distributive term, as for instance: "I will destroy man fromthe face of the ground. " Here evidently not one man but many arespoken of. But to me it seems there was only one window that shedlight upon man's domicile. 

252. The Latin interpreter is so strangely obscure as to fail to makehimself understood. My unqualified opinion is that he was unable todivest himself of the image of a modern ship, in which men arecommonly carried in the lower part. Nor is it quite intelligible whathe says about the door, inasmuch as it is certain that the ell-longwindow was in the upper part, and the door in the center of the sideor in the navel of the ark. Thus, also, Eve was framed from the middleportion of man's body. The whole structure was divided into threepartitions, a higher, a central and a lower one, and it was the upperone which, according to my view, was illuminated by the light of daythrough the window. 

253. You may say, however: What kind of a window was it, or how couldit exist in those frequent and violent rains? For rain did not fallthen as it does ordinarily, since the water in forty days rose to suchproportions as to submerge the highest mountains by fifteenarm-lengths. The Jews claim that the window was closed by a crystalwhich transmitted the light. But too curious a research into thesematters appears to me useless, since neither godliness nor Christ'skingdom are put in jeopardy from the fact of our remaining inignorance concerning some features of this structure of which God wasthe architect. It seems to me sufficiently satisfactory to assume thatthe window was on the side of the upper partition. 

254. As to the door, it is certain that it was about thirteen orfourteen cubits from the earth. The ark, when it floated, sank aboutten feet into the water with its great weight of animals of every kindand provender for more than a year. This may suffice as a crudeconception of the ark; for, besides height and length, Moses merelyindicates that it had three partitions, a door and a window. 

255. We will dismiss innumerable other questions such as: What kind ofair was used in the ark? for such a stupendous mass of water, particularly falling water, must have produced a violent andpestilential stench; whence did they draw their drinking-water? forwater cannot be preserved a whole year, hence mariners often call atports in their vicinity for the purpose of drawing water; again, howcould the bilge-water with its obnoxious odor be drawn up?

256. Such questions and other subordinate points related to theexperience of the mariner we may pass by. Otherwise there will be noend of questions. We will be content with the simple supposition thatthe lower part probably served the purpose of securing the bears, lions, tigers and other savage animals; the middle part, that ofhousing the gentle and tractable animals, together with the provender, which cannot be kept in a place devoid of all air-currents; the upperthat of accommodating human beings themselves, together with thedomestic animals and the birds. This should be enough for us. 

V. 17. _And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from underheaven; everything that is in the earth shall die. _

257. Above God has threatened in general the human race withdestruction. Here he points out the method; namely, that he intends todestroy everything by a new disaster, a flood. Such a punishment theworld hitherto had not known. The customary punishments, as we seefrom the prophets, are pestilence, famine, the sword and fiercebeasts. Men and beasts perish of pestilence. The earth is laid wasteby war, for it is deprived of those who till it. The sufferings offamine, though they seem to be less cruel, are by far the mostterrible. With the fourth class of penalties, our regions have almostno experience at all. Although these are severally sufficient for thechastisement of the human race, the Lord desired to employ a novelkind of punishment against the primeval world, through which all fleshhaving the breath of life was to perish. 

258. Because this punishment was unheard of in former ages, the wickedwere slower to believe it. They reasoned thus: If God is at all angry, can he not correct the disobedient by the sword, by pestilence? Aflood would destroy also the other creatures which are without sin;surely God will not plan anything like this for the world. 

259. But in order to remove such unbelief from the mind of Noah andthe righteous, he repeats with stress the pronoun, "And I, behold, Ido bring. " Afterward he clearly adds that he will destroy all fleshthat is under heaven and in the earth; for he excludes here the fisheswhose realm is widened by the waters. This passage tends to show themagnitude of the wrath of God, through which men lose, not only bodyand life, but also universal dominion over the earth. 

C. GOD'S COVENANT WITH NOAH. 

 * The way God comforted Noah in announcing the flood, and why such comfort was needed 260. 

 1. The nature of this covenant. 

 a. The views of Lyra, Burgensis and others 261. 

 b. Luther's views 262-263. 

 2. Whether the giants or tyrants were embraced in this covenant and how received by them 262-263. 

 3. Why it was made only with Noah 264. 

 4. How this covenant was made clearer from time to time, and why it was needed at this time 265. 

 5. How a special call was added to this covenant 266. 

 * God's judgment upon the first world terrible 267. 

 * Why Ham was taken into the ark, who was later rejected 267. 

 * Foreknowledge and election. 

 a. Why we should avoid thinking and disputing on this subject 268. 

 b. To what end should the examples of Scripture on this theme serve 269. 

 c. How consideration of the same may help and harm us 270. 

C. GOD'S COVENANT WITH NOAH. 

V. 18. _But I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shaltcome into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons'wives with thee. _

260. To this comfort Moses before pointed when he declared that Noahhad found grace. Noah stood in need of it, not only to escape despairamid such wrath, but also for the strengthening of his faith in viewof the raging retribution. For it was no easy matter to believe thewhole human race was to perish. The world consequently judged Noah tobe a dolt for believing such things, ridiculed him and, undoubtedly, made his ship an object of satire. In order to strengthen his mindamid such offenses, God speaks with him often, and now even remindshim of his covenant. 

261. Interpreters discuss the question, what that covenant was. Lyraexplains it as the promise to defend him against the evil men who hadthreatened to murder him. Burgensis claims this covenant refers to theperils amid the waters, which were to be warded off. Still othersbelieve it was the covenant of the rainbow, which the Lord afterwardmade with Noah. 

262. In my opinion, he speaks of a spiritual covenant, or of thepromise of the seed, which was to bruise the serpent's head. Thegiants had this covenant, but when its abuse resulted in pride andwickedness, they fell from it. So it was afterward with the Jews, whose carnal presumption in reference to God, the Law, worship andtemple led to their loss of these gifts and they perished. To Noah, however, God confirms this covenant by certainly declaring that Christwas to be born from his posterity and that God would leave, amid suchgreat wrath, a nursery for the Church. This covenant includes not onlyprotection of Noah's body, the view advocated by Lyra and Burgensis, but also eternal life. 

263. The sentiment, therefore, of the promise is this: Those insolentdespisers of my promises and threats will compel me to punish them. Ishall first withdraw from them the protection and assurance which aretheirs by reason of their covenant with me, that they may perishwithout covenant and without mercy. But that covenant I shall transferto you so that you shall be saved, not alone from such power of thewaters, but also from eternal death and condemnation. 

264. The plain statement is, "With thee. " Not the sons, not the wives, does he mention, whom he was also to save; but Noah alone he mentions, from whom the promise was transmitted to his son Shem. This is thesecond promise of Christ, which is taken from all other descendants ofAdam and committed alone to Noah. 

265. Afterward this promise is made clearer from time to time. Itproceeded from the race to the family, and from the family to theindividual. From the whole race of Abraham it was carried forward toDavid alone; from David to Nathan; from Nathan down to one virgin, Mary, who was the dead branch or root of Jesse, and in whom thiscovenant finds its termination and fulfilment. The establishment ofsuch a covenant was most necessary in view of the imminence of theincredible and incalculable wrath of God. 

266. You will observe here, however, a special call when he says:"Thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, etc. " If Noah hadnot received this special call, he would not have ventured to enterthe ark. 

267. How terrible is it that from the whole human race only eightpersons should be selected for salvation and yet from among them, Ham, the third son of Noah, be rejected! By the mouth of God he is numberedhere among the elect and saints. Yea, with them he is protected andsaved. Nor is he distinguished from Noah. If he had not believed andprayed for the same things, if he had not feared God, he would innowise have been saved in the ark; and yet, afterward he is rejected!

268. The sophists wrangle here concerning an election that takes placeaccording to the purpose of God. But often have I exhorted to bewareof speculations about the unveiled majesty, for besides being anythingbut true, they are far from being profitable. Let us rather think ofGod as he offers himself to us in his Word and sacraments. Let us nottrace these instances back to a hidden election, in which God arrangedeverything with himself from eternity. Such doctrine we cannotapprehend with our minds, and we see it conflicts with the revealedwill of God. 

269. What, then, you will ask, shall we declare with reference tothese examples? Nothing but that they are pointed out to inspire uswith the fear of God, so that we believe it is possible to fall fromgrace after once receiving grace. Paul warns, "Let him that thinkethhe standeth take heed lest he fall. " 1 Cor 10, 12. We should heed suchexamples to teach us humility, that we may not exalt ourselves withour gifts nor become slothful in our use of blessings received, butmay reach forth to the things which are before, as Paul says inPhilippians 3, 13. They teach us not to believe that we haveapprehended everything. 

270. Malignant and most bitter is our enemy, but we are feeble, bearing this great treasure in earthen vessels. 2 Cor 4, 7. Therefore, we must not glory as if we were secure, but seeing that men so holyfell from grace, which they had accepted and for a long time enjoyed, we should look anxiously to God as if in peril at this very moment. Inthis manner these examples are discussed to our profit; but those whogive no attention to them and chase after complex high thoughts on anelection according to the purpose of God, drive and thrust their soulsinto despair, to which they naturally incline. 

VII. ANIMALS AND FOOD IN THE ARK; NOAH'S OBEDIENCE. 

 A. THE ANIMALS NOAH TOOK INTO THE ARK. 

 1. The number and kinds of animals 271-272. 

 2. The differences in the animals 273. 

 a. What is understood by the "Behemoth" 274. 

 b. By the "Remes" 275. 

 c. Whether this difference is observed in all places 276. 

 3. Whether wild and ferocious animals were in paradise, and if created from the beginning 276-277. 

 4. How Noah could bring the animals, especially the wild ones, into the ark 278-279. 

 * The animals at the time felt danger was near 278-279. 

 5. The animals came of themselves to Noah in the ark 280. 

 B. THE FOOD NOAH TOOK INTO THE ARK. 

 1. Why necessary to take with them food 281. 

 * The kind of food man then had, and if he ate flesh 282. 

 2. God's foreknowledge shines forth here 283. 

 3. Why God did not maintain man and the animals in the ark by a miracle 284. 

 * The extraordinary ways and miracles of God. 

 a. Why man should not seek miracles, where ordinary ways and means are at hand 285. 

 b. The monks seek extraordinary ways and thus tempt God 286. 

 * Whether we should use medicine, and if we should learn the arts and languages 286. 

 c. Why God did not save Noah in the water without the ark, when he could have done so 287. 

 d. When does God use extraordinary means with man 288. 

 C. NOAH'S OBEDIENCE. 

 1. In what respect it was especially praised 289. 

 * Obedience to God. 

 a. How one is to keep the golden mean, and not turn to the right or left 290. 

 b. How man can by obedience or disobedience mark out his own course 290-291. 

 c. Why most people shun obedience 291. 

 d. How we are here not to look to the thing commanded, but to the person commanding 292-296. 

 e. How sadly they fail who look at the thing commanded 293. 

 * How the Papists neither understand nor keep God's commandments 294. 

 * What we are to think of the holiness of the Papists 295. 

 f. All God commands is good, even if it seems different to reason 296. 

 * How the Papists do harm by the works of their wisdom, and only provoke God to anger, as king Saul did 297. 

 g. How in his obedience Noah held simply to God's Word and overcame all difficulties 298. 

VII. THE ANIMALS AND THEIR FOOD, AND NOAH'S OBEDIENCE. 

A. THE ANIMALS NOAH TOOK INTO THE ARK. 

Vs. 19-20. _And every living thing of all flesh, two of every sortshalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; theyshall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of thecattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground afterits kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. _

271. Here again a dispute arises, as is the case when in historicalnarratives one proceeds to the application and incidental features. Our text appears to vindicate the view that here two and two arespoken of; but in the beginning of the seventh chapter seven andseven. Hence, Lyra quarrels with one Andrea, who believed fourteenspecimens were included in the ark, because it is written: "Of everyclean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven. " But I approveLyra's interpretation, who says seven specimens of every class wereinclosed in the ark, three male and three female, and the seventh alsomale, to be used by Noah for purposes of sacrifice. 

272. When Moses says here that two and two of the several species werebrought into the ark, we must necessarily understand the seventhchapter as speaking only of the unclean animals, for the number ofclean animals was the greater. Of the unclean seven of every specieswere inclosed in the ark. 

273. It is also necessary that we here discuss the signification ofterms as "all life, " "beasts, " "cattle. " Though these are often usedwithout discrimination, still at various places the Scripture employsthem discriminatingly; for instance, when it says, "Let the earthbring forth living creatures. " Gen 1, 24. "Let the waters swarm withswarms of living creatures. " Gen 1, 20. In those places the words ofthe genus stand for all living beings on the earth and in the waters. Here the constituent species are named--_chayah_, _remes_, and_behemah_--though frequently used without discrimination. 

274. The cattle he calls here _behemoth_, though in Ezekiel, firstchapter, those four animals are called by the common name, _hachayoth_, a word by which we commonly designate not so much animalsas beasts, subsisting not on hay or anything else growing out of theearth, but flesh; as lion, bear, wolf and fox. _Behemoth_ are cattleor brutes which live on hay and herbs growing from the earth; assheep, cows, deer and roe. 

275. _Remes_ means reptile. The word is derived from _ramas_, whichmeans to tread. When we compare ourselves with the birds, we are_remasian_, for we creep and tread upon the earth with our feet likethe dogs and other beasts. But the proper meaning is, animals which donot walk with face erect. The animals which creep and which we termreptiles have a specific name, being called _sherazim_, as we see inLeviticus from the word _sharaz_, which means to move, hereafter usedin the seventh chapter. The word _oph_ is known, meaning bird. 

276. Such are the differences among these terms, although, as I saidbefore, they are not observed in some places. The interpretation mustbe confined, however, to the time after the flood; otherwise theinference would be drawn that such savage beasts existed also inparadise. Who will doubt that before sin, dominion having been givento man over all animals of earth, there was concord not only among menbut also between animals and man?

277. Though the first chapter clearly proves that these wild beastswere created with the others, on account of sin their nature wasaltered. Those created gentle and harmless, after the fall became wildand harmful. This is my view, though since our loss of that state ofinnocent existence it is easier to venture a guess than to reach adefinition of that life. 

278. But, you ask, if because of sin the nature of animals becamecompletely altered, how could Noah control them, especially the savageand fierce ones? The lion surely could not be controlled, nor tigers, panthers and the like. The answer is: Such wild animals went into theark miraculously. To me this appears reasonable. If they had not beenforced by a divine injunction to go into the ark, Noah would not havehad it within his power to control such fierce animals. Undoubtedly hehad to exercise his own human power, but this alone was insufficient. And the text implies both conditions, for at first it says: "Thoushalt bring into the ark, " and then adds: "Two of every sort shallcome unto thee. " If they had not been miraculously guided, they wouldnot have come by twos and sevens. 

279. That two by two and seven by seven came of their own accord is amiracle and a sign that they had a premonition of the wrath of God andthe coming terrible disaster. Even brute natures have premonitions andforebodings of impending calamities, and often as if prompted by acertain sense of compassion, they will manifest distress for a man inevident peril. We see dogs and horses understand the perils of theirmasters and show themselves affected by such intelligence, the dogs byhowling, the horses by trembling and the emission of copious sweat. Asa matter of fact it is not rare that wild beasts in danger seek refugewith man. 

280. When, therefore, there is elsewhere in brute natures such anintelligence, is it a wonder that, after having been divinely arousedto a sense of coming danger, they joined themselves voluntarily toNoah? For the text shows they came voluntarily. In the same mannerhistory bears witness, and our experience confirms it, that, when aterrible pestilence rages or a great slaughter is imminent, wolves, the most ferocious of animals, flee not only into villages, but, onoccasion, even into cities, taking refuge among men and humbly asking, as it were, their help. 

B. THE FOOD NOAH TOOK INTO THE ARK. 

V. 21. _And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and gatherit to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. _

281. Inasmuch as the flood was to last a whole year, it was necessaryto remind Noah of the food to be collected from the herbs and thefruits of trees in order to preserve the life of man and of animals. Though the wrath of God was terrible, to the destruction of everythingborn on earth, the goodness of the Lord shines forth, notwithstanding, in this an awful calamity. He looks to the preservation of man and theanimals, and through their preservation to that of the species. Theanimals chosen for preservation in the ark were sound and ofunblemished body, and through divine foresight, they received foodsuitable to their nature. 

282. As for man, it is established that, as yet, he did not use fleshfor food. He ate only of the vegetation of the earth, which was farmore desirable before the flood than at present, after the remarkablecorruption of the earth through the brackish waters. 

283. We observe here the providence of God, by whose counsel the evilare punished and the good saved. By a miracle God preserves a portionof his creatures when he punishes the wicked and graciously makesprovision for their posterity. 

284. It would have been an easy matter for God to preserve Noah andthe animals for the space of a full year without food, as he preservedMoses, Elijah and Christ, the latter for forty days, without food. Hemade everything out of nothing, which is even more marvelous. Yet God, in his government of the things created, as Augustine learnedlyobserves, allows them to perform their appropriate functions. In otherwords, to apply Augustine's view to the matter in hand, God performshis miracles along the lines of natural law. 

285. God also requires that we do not discard the provisions ofnature, which would mean to tempt God; but that we use withthanksgiving the things God has prepared for us. A hungry man wholooks for bread from heaven rather than tries to obtain it by humanmeans, commits sin. Christ gives the apostles command to eat what isset before them, Lk 10, 7. So Noah is here enjoined to employ theordinary methods of gathering food. God did not command him to expectin the ark a miraculous supply of food from heaven. 

286. The life of the monks is all a temptation of God. They cannot becontinent and still they refrain from matrimony; likewise they abstainfrom certain meats, though God has created them to be received withthanksgiving by them that believe, and by those who know the truth, that every creature of God is good, and nothing to be rejected, if itbe received with thanksgiving, 1 Tim 4, 3-4. The use of medicine islegitimate; yea, it has been created as a necessary means to conservehealth. The study of the arts and of language is to be cultivated and, as Paul says, "Every creature of God is good, and nothing is to berejected, if it be received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctifiedthrough prayer. " 1 Tim 4, 4-5. 

287. God was able to preserve Noah in the midst of the waters. Theyfable of Clement that he had a cell in the middle of the sea. Yea, thepeople of Israel were preserved in the midst of the Red Sea and Jonahin the belly of the whale. But this was not God's desire. He ratherwilled that Noah should use the aid of wood and trees, so that humanskill might thereby have a sphere for its exercise. 

288. When, however, human means fail, then it is for you either tosuffer or to expect help from the Lord. No human effort could supportthe Jews when they stood by the sea and were surrounded in the rear bythe enemy. Hence, a miraculous deliverance was to be hoped for, or asure death to be suffered. 

C. NOAH'S OBEDIENCE. 

V. 22. _Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so didhe. _

289. This phrase is very frequent in Scripture. This is the firstpassage in which praise for obedience to God is clothed in such a formof words. Later we find it stated repeatedly that Moses, the people, did according to all that God commanded them. But Noah receivedcommendation as an example for us. His was not a dead faith, which isno faith at all, but a living and active faith. He renders obedienceto God's commands, and because he believes both God's promises andthreats, he carefully carries out what God commanded with reference tothe ark and the gathering of animals and food. This is unique praisefor Noah's faith, that he remains on the royal way--adds nothing, changes nothing and takes nothing from the divine command, but abidesabsolutely in the precept he has heard. 

290. It is the most common and at the same time most noxious sin inthe Church, that people either altogether change God's commands orrender something else paramount to them. There is only one royal roadto which we must keep. They sin who swerve too much to the left byfailing to perform the divine commands. Those who swerve to the rightand do more than God has commanded, like Saul when he spared theAmalekites, also sin even more grievously than those who turn to theleft. They add a sham piety; for, while those who err on the leftcannot excuse their error, these do not hesitate to ascribe tothemselves remarkable merit. 

291. And such error is exceedingly common. God is wont sometimes tocommand common, paltry, ridiculous and even offensive things, butreason takes delight in splendid things. From the common ones iteither shrinks or undertakes them under protest. Thus the monks shrankfrom home duties and chose for themselves others apparently of greaterglamour. Today the great throng, hearing that common tasks arepreached in the Gospel, despises the Gospel as a vulgar teaching, lacking in elegance. What noteworthy thing is it to teach thatservants should obey their master and children their parents? Such acommon and oft-taught doctrine the learned papists not only neglectbut even ridicule. They desire rather something unique, somethingremarkable either for its reputed wisdom or for its apparent difficultcharacter. Such is the madness of man's wisdom. 

292. In general it is wisdom to observe not so much the person thatspeaks as that which he says, because the teacher's faults are alwaysin evidence. But when we consider precepts of God and true obedience, this axiom should be reversed. Then we should observe not so much thatwhich is said, but the person of him who speaks. In respect to divineprecepts, if you observe that which is said and not him who speaks, you will easily stumble. This is illustrated by the example of Eve, whose mind did not dwell upon the person who issued the command. Sheregarded only the command and concluded it to be a matter of smallmoment to taste the apple. But what injury was thereby wrought to thewhole human race!

293. He who observes him that gives the command will conclude thatwhat is very paltry in appearance is very great. The Papists estimateit a slight thing to govern the State, to be a spouse, to trainchildren. But experience teaches that these are very importantmatters, for which the wisdom of men is incompetent. We see that attimes the most spiritual men have here shamefully fallen. When we, therefore, remember him who gives the command, that which is paltryand common becomes a responsibility too great to discharge withoutdivine aid. 

294. The Papists, therefore, who look only at the outward mask, likethe cow at the gate, can make light of duties toward home and State, and imagine they perform others of greater excellence. In the veryfact that they are shameless adulterers, blasphemers of God, defilersof the sanctuary and brazen squanderers of the Church's property, theypowerfully testify against themselves that they can in no wiseappreciate the paltry, common and vulgar domestic and public duties. 

295. In what, therefore, consists the holiness they vaunt? Forsooth, in that on certain days they abstain from meat, that they bindthemselves to certain vows, that they have a liking for certain kindsof work. But, I ask you, who has given command to do those things? Noone. That which God has enjoined or commanded, they do not respect. They render paramount something else concerning which God has given nocommand. 

296. Hence, the vital importance of this rule, that we observe not thecontents of the command but its author. He who fails to do this willoften be offended, as I said, by the insignificance or absurdity of atask. God should receive credit for wisdom and goodness. Assuredlythat which he himself enjoins is well and wisely enjoined, thoughhuman reason judge differently. 

297. From the wisdom of God the Papists detract when they considerdivinely enjoined tasks as paltry and attempt to undertake somethingbetter or more difficult. God is not propitiated by such works, butrather provoked, as Saul's example shows. As if God were stupid, dastardly, and cruel in that he commanded to destroy the Amalekitesand all their belongings, Saul conceived a kinder plan and reservedthe cattle for the purpose of sacrifice. What else was such action butto deem himself wise and God foolish. 

298. Hence Moses rightly commends in this passage Noah's obediencewhen he says that he did everything the Lord had enjoined. That meansto give God credit for wisdom and goodness. He did not discuss thetask, as Adam, Eve and Saul did to their great hurt. He kept his eyeon the majesty of him who gave the command. That was enough for him, even though the command be absurd, impossible, inexpedient. All suchobjections he passes by with closed eyes, as it were, and takes hisstand upon the one thing commanded by God. This text therefore isfamiliar as far as hearing it is concerned, but even as to theperformance and practice of it, it is known to very few and isextremely difficult. 

CHAPTER VII. 

I. NOAH OBEYS COMMAND TO ENTER THE ARK. 

 1. Noah saw God's favor in his command 1. 

 * Noah experienced severe temptations and needed comfort 1-2. 

 2. What God wished to teach Noah by calling him to enter the ark 3. 

 3. Whether God spoke this commandment directly to Noah 4-5. 

 * When God speaks to us through men it is to be viewed as God's Word 4-5. 

 * The thoughts of the Jews on the seven days 6. 

 * The office of the ministry. 

 a. Through it God deals with mankind 7. 

 b. Why we should not despise the office and expect revelations direct from God 8-9. 

 * God speaks with man in various ways 9. 

 * Corruption and destruction of the first world. 

 a. The ruin of the first compared with that of the last world 10-13. 

 * The need of posterity to pray that they retain pure doctrine 12. 

 b. Why so few righteous persons were found in Noah's day 12. 

 * The efforts of the pope and bishops to crush the Gospel 13. 

 c. First world severely punished, neither old nor young were spared 14-15. 

 d. Punishment of first world greatly moved Peter when he wrote about it 16-17. 

 * Peter's record of sermon Christ delivered to the spirits of the first world in prison 16-17. 

 a. Who are to be understood here by the unbelieving world 18. 

 b. Peter here shows the wrath and long suffering of God 19. 

 c. Nature and manner of this sermon 20. 

 * Apostles had special revelations we cannot grasp 20-21. 

 4. How Noah was righteous before God 22. 

 5. How the world laughed at him while executing God's command, God then comforted him 23-24. 

 6. Greatness of Noah's faith and steadfastness in executing this command 25-26. 

 * Luther's confession he would have been too weak for such a work 25-26. 

 * The great firmness of John Huss and Jerome of Prague 27. 

 * We are to comfort ourselves when all the world forsakes and condemns us 28. 

 7. God commands Noah to take the animals he names along into the ark 29. 

 * Why God so often repeats the same thing 29. 

 a. What is to be understood by Behemoth 30. 

 b. How many of each kind entered the ark 31. 

 * The rain at the flood was exceptional 32. 

 * The flood is a token of God's righteousness and from it we conclude God will punish the sins of the last world 33. 

 8. By what may we learn Noah's faith and obedience to God 34. 

 * Why God did not save Noah in some other way 34. 

I. NOAH OBEYS COMMAND TO ENTER THE ARK. 

V. 2a. _And Jehovah said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house intothe ark. _

1. As soon as that extraordinary structure, the ark, was built, theLord commanded Noah to enter it, because the time of the deluge, whichthe Lord announced one hundred and twenty years before, was now athand. All this convinced Noah that God was taking care of him; and notonly this, but also, as Peter says (2 Pet 1, 19), gave him an ampleand abundant word to support and confirm his faith in such greatstraits. Having foretold the deluge for more than a century, hedoubtless was bitterly mocked by the world in many ways. 

2. As I have said repeatedly, God's wrath was incredible. It could notbe grasped by the human mind, in that original age of superior men, that God was about to destroy the whole human race, except eightsouls. Noah, being holy and just, a kindly and merciful man, oftenstruggled with his own heart, hearing with the greatest agitation ofmind the voice of the Lord, threatening certain destruction to allflesh. It was needful, then, that repeated declaration should confirmhis agitated faith, lest he might doubt. 

3. God's command to enter the ark amounted to this: "Doubt not, thetime of punishment for the unbelieving world is close at hand. Buttremble not, do not fear, for faith is at times very weak in thesaints. I shall take care of you and your house. " To us such promisewould have been incredible, but we must admit that all things arepossible with God. 

4. Notice Moses' peculiar expression again: "Jehovah said. " It givesme particular pleasure that these words of God did not sound fromheaven, but were spoken to Noah through the ministry of man. AlthoughI would not deny that these revelations may have been made by anangel, or by the Holy Spirit himself, yet where it can plausibly besaid that God spoke through men, there the ministry must be honored. We have shown above that many of God's words according to Moses, werespoken through Adam; for the Word of God, even when spoken by man, istruly the Word of God. 

5. Now, as Methuselah, Noah's grandfather, died in the very year ofthe deluge, it would not be inapt to infer that (since Lamech, Noah'sfather, had died five years before the flood, ) this was, so to speak, Methuselah's last word and testament to his grandson, a dyingfarewell. Perhaps he added some remarks as these: My son, as thou hastobeyed the Lord heretofore, and hast awaited this wrath in faith, andhast experienced God's faithful protection from the wicked, henceforthfirmly believe that God will take care of thee. The end is now athand, not mine alone, which is one of grace, but the end of allmankind, which is one of wrath. For after seven days the flood willbegin, concerning which thou hast long and vainly warned the world. After this manner, I think, spoke Methuselah, but the words areattributed to God, because the Spirit of God spoke through the man. 

Thus I like to interpret these instances to the honor of the ministrywherever, as in this case, it can appropriately be done. Since it iscertain that Methuselah died in the very year of the flood, thesupposition is harmless that these were his last words to Noah, hisgrandson, who heard his words and accepted them as the Word of God. 

6. The Jews' peculiar idea concerning these seven days is that theywere added to the one hundred and twenty years in honor of Methuselah, that therein his posterity might bewail his death. This is a harmlessinterpretation, for the patriarch's descendants did not fail to dotheir duty, particularly his pious children. 

7. But the first view concerning the ministry of the Word, is not onlyplausible, but also practical. God does not habitually speakmiraculously and by revelation, particularly where, he has institutedthe ministry for this very purpose of speaking to men, teaching, instructing, consoling and entreating them. 

8. In the first place, God entrusts the Word to parents. Moses oftensays: "Thou shalt tell it to thy children. " Then to the teachers ofthe Church is it entrusted. Abraham says (Lk 16, 29): "They have Mosesand the prophets; let them hear them. " We must expect no revelation, be it inward or outward, where the ministry is established; otherwiseall ranks of human society would be disturbed. Let the pastor preachin Church; let the magistrate rule the State; let parents control thehouse or family. Such are the ministries of men instituted by God. Weshould make use of them and not look for new revelations. 

9. Still I do not deny that Noah heard God speak after Methuselah'sdeath. God speaks ordinarily through the public ministry--throughparents and the teachers of the Church--and in rare cases by inwardrevelation, through the Holy Spirit. It is well that we remember notto overlook the Word in vain expectation of new revelations, as thefanatics do. Such a course gives rise to spirits of error, a source ofdisturbance to the whole world, as the example of the Anabaptistsproves. 

V. 1b. _For thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. _

10. This is truly a picture of the primitive, ancient world, as Petercalls it. 2 Pet 2, 5. His appellation carries the thought of apeculiarity of that particular age, which is foreign to the people ofour own. Could words be more appalling than these, that Noah alone wasrighteous before the Lord? The world is similarly pictured in Ps 14, 2-3, where we read that the Lord looked down from heaven to see ifthere were any that did understand, that did seek God. But he says:"They are all gone aside; they are together become filthy; there isnone that doeth good, no, not one. "

11. Similar to this judgment upon the world was Christ's declarationas to the last days. He says: "When the Son of man cometh, shall hefind faith on the earth?" Lk 18, 8. It is a fearful thing to live insuch an evil and godless world. By the goodness of God, since we havethe light of his Word, we are still in the golden age. The sacramentsare rightfully administered in our Churches, pious teachers proclaimthe Word purely, and, though magistrates be weak, wickedness is notdesperately rampant. But Christ's prophecy shows that there will beevil times when the Lord's day approaches. Wholesome teaching nowherewill be found, the Church being dominated by the wicked, as today theplans of our adversaries are a menace. The pope and the wicked princeszealously strive totally to destroy the ministry of the Word, oppressing or corrupting the true ministries, that everyone maybelieve whatever pleases him. 

12. So much the more diligently should we pray for our posterity, andtake earnest heed that a more wholesome doctrine be transmitted tothem. If there had been more godly teachers in the days of Noah, theremight have been more righteous people. The fact that Noah alone wasproclaimed a righteous man makes it evident that the godly teachershad been either destroyed or corrupted, leaving Noah the sole preacherof righteousness, as Peter calls him, 2 Pet 2, 5. Since government hadbeen turned into tyranny and the home vitiated by adultery andwhoredom, how could punishment be delayed any longer?

13. Such danger awaits us also if the last days are to be like thedays of Noah. Truly, the popes and bishops strenuously endeavor tosuppress the Gospel and to ruin the Churches which have beenrightfully established. Thus does the world assiduously press onwardto a period similar to the age of Noah, when, with the light of theWord extinguished, all shall go astray in the darkness of wickedness. For without the preaching of the Word, faith cannot endure nor prayer, nor the purity of the sacraments. 

14. Such, according to Moses, was the condition of the ancient worldin Noah's day, when the world was young and at its best. The greatestgeniuses flourished everywhere and people were well educated byexperience because they lived so long. What will be our fate in thefrenzy, so to speak, that shall befall the world in its dotage? Weshould remember to care for our posterity and continually pray for it. 

15. As the first world was most corrupt, it was thus subject toterrible punishment. Adults perished who provoked God to anger bytheir wicked deeds, also those of an innocent age, who had knowledgeand were unable to distinguish between their right hand and theirleft. Many, doubtless, were deceived by their own guilelessness; butGod's wrath does not discriminate, it falls upon and destroys alikeadults and infants, the crafty and the guileless. 

16. This awful punishment appears to have moved even the ApostlePeter. Like one besides himself, he uses words which we today are notable to understand. He says: Christ, having been made alive in theSpirit, also "went and preached unto the spirits in prison, thataforetime were disobedient, when the long suffering of God waited inthe days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water, " etc. (1 Pet 3, 19-20). 

17. A strange declaration, and an almost fanatical saying, by whichthe Apostle describes this event! By these words, Peter assures usthat there was a certain unbelieving world to whom the dead Christpreached after their death. If this is true, who would doubt thatChrist took Moses and the prophets with him to those who were fetteredin prison, in order to change the unbelieving world into a new andbelieving one? This seems to be intimated by Peter's words, though Ishould not like to make this assertion authoritatively. 

18. But doubtless those whom he calls an unbelieving world were notthe wicked despisers of his Word nor the tyrants. If they wereoverwhelmed in their sins, these were certainly condemned. Theunbelieving world of which he speaks seems rather to be the childrenand those whose lack of judgment precluded belief. These were at thattime, seized and carried away headlong to their destruction, by theoffenses of the world, as if in the power of a rapid stream, onlyeight souls being saved. 

19. In this way does Peter magnify the awful intensity of God's wrath. At the same time he praises his long-suffering in that he did notdeprive those of the Word of salvation who at the time did not orcould not believe because they hoped in the patience of God and wouldnot be convinced that he would visit such fearful and universalpunishment upon the world. 

20. How this came to pass is beyond our understanding. We know andbelieve that God is wonderful in all his works and has all power. Therefore he who in life preached to the living, could also in deathpreach to the dead. All things hear, feel and touch him, though ourhuman minds can not understand the process. Nor is it to our discreditwhen we are ignorant of some of the mysteries of Holy Writ. Theapostles had each his own revelation, and contention concerning themwould be presumptuous and foolish. 

21. Such was the revelation of Christ given to the spirits thatevidently perished in the flood, and we may perhaps, notinappropriately connect it with that article of our creed which speaksof the descent of Christ into hell. Such was also Paul's revelationconcerning paradise, the third heaven (2 Cor 12, 2-4), and certainother matters of which we may be ignorant without shame. It is falsepride to profess to understand these things. St. Augustine and otherteachers give their fancy loose rein when they discuss these passages. May it not be that the apostles had revelations which St. Augustineand others did not have? But let us return to Moses. 

22. A truly fearful description of the world is vouchsafed in thisdeclaration of God that he saw Noah alone to be righteous before him, in spite of the small children and those others who had innocentlybeen misled. Let us particularly note the term, "Before me. " Itsignifies that Noah was blameless not only as regards the second tableof the Law, but also as regards the first. He believed in God, andhallowed, preached and called upon his name; he gave thanks to God; hecondemned godless teachings. For, to be righteous before God means tobelieve God and to fear him, and not, as they taught in popedom, toread masses, to free souls from purgatory, to become a monk, and likethings. 

23. This term "Before me" has reference also to the condemnation ofthe ancient world. Having neglected the worship demanded by the firsttable, they criminally transgressed also the second. Not only did theymock Noah as a fool, but they went so far as to condemn his teachingas heresy. Meanwhile they ate, drank, and celebrated festivals insecurity. Before the world, accordingly, Noah was not righteous;measured by her code he was a sinner. 

24. Hence God, or the grandfather, Methuselah, consoles Noah with theWord of counsel to disregard the blind and wicked verdict of theworld, neither to care for her views and utterances, but to close eyesand ears while heeding alone the Word and verdict of God, believinghimself to be righteous before God, or approved and acceptable to him. 

25. And Noah's faith was truly great; he could rely upon God'sutterance. I, forsooth, should not have believed. I realize whatweight the whole world's hostile and condemnatory judgment must carry. We are condemned in the judgment of the Pope, the Sacramentarians, andthe Anabaptists, but this is mere play and pleasure, compared to whatthe righteous Noah had to bear, who found not a single person in thewhole world to approve of his religion or life, except his own sonsand his pious grandfather. We have, the endorsement of many Churches, by God's grace, and our princes fear no danger in defense of theirdoctrine and religion. Noah had no such protectors, and he saw hisenemies living in peaceful leisure and enjoyment. If I had been he, Isurely should have said: Lord, if I am righteous, if I am wellpleasing to thee and if those people are wicked and displeasing tothee, why, then, dost thou enrich them? Why dost thou heap upon themall manner of favors, while I, with my family, am greatly harassed andalmost without assistance? In short, I should have despaired in suchgreat afflictions unless the Lord had given me that spirit which Noahhad. 

26. Therefore, Noah is a brilliant and admirable example of faith, whoopposed the judgments of the world with an heroic steadfastness ofmind in the assurance that he was righteous while all the rest of theworld was wicked. 

27. Often when I think of those most holy men, John Huss and Jerome ofPrague, I view with astonishment the courage of their souls, as they, only two in number, set themselves against the judgment of the wholeworld, of pope, emperor, bishops, princes, universities and all theschools throughout the empire. 

28. It is helpful often to reflect upon such examples. Since theprince of the world battles against us, endeavoring to kindle despairin us with his fiery darts, it behooves us to be well armed, lest wesuccumb to the enemy. Let us say with Noah: I know that I am righteousbefore God, even though the whole world condemn me as heretical andwicked, yea, even desert me. Thus did the apostles desert Christ, leaving him alone; but he said (Jn 16, 32): "I am not alone. " Thus didthe false brethren desert Paul. Hence, this is no uncommon danger, andit is not for us to despair; but with courage to uphold the truedoctrine, in spite of the world's condemnation and curse. 

Vs. 2-3. _Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven andseven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not cleantwo, the male and his female. Of the birds also of the heavens, sevenand seven, male and female; to keep seed alive upon the face of allthe earth. _

29. It is evident that God takes pleasure in speaking to Noah. Hence, he does not confine himself to a single command, but repeats the samethings in the same words. To human reason such repetition appears tobe absurd talkativeness, but to a soul struggling against despair thewill of God cannot be repeated too often, nor can too exhaustiveinstruction be given relative to the will of God. God recognizes thestate of a soul that is tempted, and hence makes the same statementsagain and again, so that Noah may learn from frequent conversationsand conferences that he is not only not forsaken though the wholeworld forsake him, but that he has a friend and protector in God whoso loves him that he never seems to weary of conversing with him. Thisis the cause of the statements being repeated. However, as has beenexplained, God spoke with Noah not from heaven but through men. 

30. In respect to the language, this passage shows that _ha-behemah_signifies not only cattle, the larger animals, but also the smallerones which were commonly used for sacrifice, as sheep, goats and thelike. The custom of offering sacrifices was not first instituted byMoses, but was in the world from the beginning, being handed down, asit were, by the patriarchs to their posterity; as shown by the exampleof Abel, who brought of his first fruits an offering to God. 

31. As to the remainder of the passage, we explained at the end of thesixth chapter how to harmonize the discrepancies apparent in the factthat here seven beasts of each kind are ordered to be taken into theark while only two of each kind are mentioned there. To repeat is notnecessary. Since Noah was saved by a miracle, he thought that aseventh animal should be added to the three pairs of clean beasts as athank-offering to God, after the flood, for his deliverance. 

V. 4. _For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earthforty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have madewill I destroy from off the face of the ground. _

32. Here you see God's care to give Noah complete assurance. He sets alimit of seven days, after which will follow a rain of forty days andforty nights. God speaks with peculiar significance when he says thatit shall rain. It was not a common rain, but fountains of the deep aswell as the windows of heaven were opened; that is, not only did agreat mass of rain fall from heaven, but also an immense amount ofwater streamed forth from the earth itself. And an immense amount ofwater was necessary to cover the highest mountain tops to a depth offifteen cubits. It was no ordinary rain, but the rain of God's wrath, by which he set out to destroy all life upon the face of the earth. Because the earth was depraved, God despoiled it, and because thegodless people raged against the first and second tables of thecommandments, therefore God also raged against them, using heaven andearth as his weapons. 

33. This story is certain proof that God, though long-suffering andpatient, will not allow the wicked to go unpunished. As Peter says (2Pet 2, 5), if he "spared not the ancient world, " how much less will hespare the popes or the emperors who rage against his Word? How muchless will he spare us who blaspheme his name when our life is unworthyof our calling and profession, when we freely and daily sin againstour consciences? Let us, then, learn to fear the Lord, humbly toaccept his Word and obey it; otherwise punishment will overtake alsous, as Peter threatens. 

Vs. 5-10. _And Noah did according unto all that Jehovah commanded him. And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was uponthe earth. And Noah went in, and his sons and his wife, and his sons'wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Ofclean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of birds, and ofeverything that creepeth upon the ground, there went in two and twounto Noah into the ark, male and female, as God commanded Noah. And itcame to pass after the seven days, that the waters of the flood wereupon the earth. _

34. This is clear from what precedes. Noah's faith is praiseworthy inthat he obeyed the Lord's command and unwaveringly entered the arkwith his sons and their wives. God truly could have saved him ininnumerable other ways; he did not employ this seemingly absurd methodbecause he knew no other. To him who kept Jonah for three days in themidst of the sea and in the belly of the whale, what do you think isimpossible? But Noah's faith and obedience are to be commended becausehe took no offense at this plan of salvation divinely shown to him, but embraced it in simple faith. 

II. COMPLETE DESTRUCTION BY FLOOD. 

 * Why Moses so often repeats and expresses in few words what other writers describe at length 35-39. 

 * Noah's grief because of the approaching calamity 38. 

 * The way of coarse and satiated spirits 39. 

 1. When did the flood commence. 

 a. Some think it began in the spring 40. 

 b. Others think it began in the autumn 41. 

 c. Which is the more probable 42. 

 * What to think of the Jews reckoning the year has two beginnings 44. 

 2. How the flood continued. 

 a. Must distinguish the fountains of the earth, the windows of heaven and the rain 45. 

 * Of the earth and the water. 

 (1) Why the water does not overflow the earth since the earth floats in the water 46. 

 (2) Why the water above the earth does not fall and overflow the earth 47-48. 

 (3) How the prophets wondered at this as a miracle, but we in our day give it little thought 49. 

 b. How were the fountains broken up, how can such a work be ascribed to God 50-51. 

 * Overflowing of the German fountains at Halle 51. 

 c. How were the windows of heaven opened 52. 

 (1) What is meant by the windows of heaven 53. 

 (2) Why such words used here 53. 

 3. Flood covered and destroyed the whole earth 54. 

 4. Why God sent the deluge 54. 

 * Why God so often repeats the same thing 55-60. 

 * What is meant by Zippor 55. 

 * How God's wrath as seen in the deluge was very great 56-57. 

 5. The deluge was a terrible spectacle; Noah and his sons took courage from it 58-60. 

 * Noah's glorious faith at the sight of the deluge 60. 

 * Noah's long ship voyage; how he was comforted 61. 

 6. How the world's destruction harmonizes with God's promises: how the promises to the Church agree with his threatenings 62ff. 

 * God's threatenings and man's unbelief. 

 a. Why the first world believed not the threatenings about the deluge 62ff. 

 b. Why the Jews believe not the threatenings of the prophets 63. 

 c. Why the Papists believed not the threats against them 64. 

 * God's Church and her maintenance. 

 a. The world understands not how the church is maintained 66. 

 b. What is the true form of the true Church 66. 

 c. God's promises not rescinded when rejected; who bear the name of the Church 67-68. 

 7. Whether God fully rescinded through the flood the rule over the earth he once gave man 69. 

 * How God preserved his Church through the deluge 69. 

 8. The deluge was apparently against God's promise 70. 

 * God allows nothing to hinder the punishment of the impenitent 71-73. 

 * By what means Papists adorn themselves and how it is all in vain 72. 

 * Why we should not rely on present, temporal things, but upon God's Word 73. 

 * The marks of a true Church. 

 a. What they are not and what they are 74-76. 

 b. Papists have characteristics Holy Scriptures give as marks of Antichrist 75. 

 c. Church born of God's Word and is to be known by that Word 76. 

 d. Rule to be observed in the marks of the true Church 77. 

 e. How far one may consider the Papists the true church, and how far not 78-79. 

 f. The true church is where the Word is, although few belong to it and it has no temporal power 79. 

 g. Whether the Evangelicals can justly be accused of falling from the old church 80. 

 h. How and why the Evangelical or Gospel Church is really the true Church 81. 

 * How Noah retained all and remained lord of the world although the deluge destroyed everything 81. 

II. COMPLETE DESTRUCTION. 

Vs. 11-12. _In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the secondmonth, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day were allthe fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heavenwere opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and fortynights. _

35. We see that Moses uses a great many words, which results intiresome repetition. How often he mentions the animals! how often theentrance into the ark! how often the sons of Noah who entered at thesame time! The reason for this must be left to the spiritually minded;they alone know and see that the Holy Spirit does not repeat in vain. 

36. Others, however, who are more materially minded may think thatMoses, being moved, when he wrote the passage, by the greatness ofGod's wrath, desired to enforce its truths by repetition; forreiteration of statements is soothing to troubled minds. Thus didDavid repeat his lament over his son Absalom, 2 Sam 18, 33. So viewed, this narrative shows depth of feeling and extreme agitation of mind. This example of wrath so impresses the narrator that for emphasis hementions the same thing again and again, and in the same words. 

37. This is not the custom of poets and historians. Their emotions arefactitious; they are diffuse in their descriptions; they pile up wordsfor mere effect. Moses husbands his words, but is emphatic byrepetition that he may arouse the reader's attention to the importanceof the message and compel him to feel his own emotions instead ofreading those of another. 

38. Evidently Moses did not only wish to convey by persistentrepetition the extreme agitation of his own mind, but also of that ofNoah himself, who, being filled with the Holy Spirit, and burning withlove, necessarily deplored the calamity when he saw that he could notavert it. He foresaw the doom of the wisest and most distinguished andeminent men. Thus did David mourn when he could not call back Absalomto life. So Samuel mourned when he despaired of saving Saul. 

39. The text is not a mere tautology or repetition. The Holy Spiritdoes not idly repeat words, as those superficial minds believe, which, having read through the Bible once, throw it aside as if they hadgathered all its contents. Yet these very repetitions of Moses containa statement more startling than any to be found in heathenrecords--that Noah entered the ark in the six hundredth year, thesecond month and the second day of his life. 

40. Opinions differ as to the beginning of the year. One is, that theyear begins at the conjunction of the sun and the moon which occursnearest to the vernal equinox. Thus this month is called the first byMoses in Exodus. If the flood set in on the seventeenth day of thesecond month, it must have continued almost to the end of April, themost beautiful season of the year, when the earth seemingly gathersnew strength, when the birds sing and the beasts rejoice, when theworld puts on a new face, as it were, after the dreary season ofwinter. Death and destruction must have come with added terror at thatseason which was looked forward to as a harbinger of joy and theapparent beginning of a new life. This view is substantiated by thewords of Christ in Matthew 24, 38, where he compares the last days ofthe world to the days of Noah and speaks of feasting, marriage andother signs of gladness. 

41. A second opinion makes the year begin with that new moon which isnearest to the autumnal equinox, when all the harvest has beengathered from the fields. Its advocates declare this to be thebeginning of the year, because Moses calls that month in which suchnew moon occurs, the end of the year. They call this autumnal equinoxthe beginning of the civil year, and the vernal equinox the beginningof the holy year. The Mosaic ceremonies and festivals extend from thelatter season up to the autumnal equinox. 

42. If Moses in this passage is speaking of the civil year, then theflood occurred in September or October, an opinion I find Lyra held. It is true that fall and winter are more liable to rains, the signs ofthe zodiac pointing to humidity. Again, as Moses writes further on, adove was sent forth in the tenth month and brought back a green olivebranch. This fact seems to harmonize with the view that the delugebegan in October. 

43. But I cannot endorse this argument of the Jews, assuming twobeginnings of the year. Why not make four beginnings, since there arefour distinct seasons according to the equinoxes and solstices? It issafer to follow the divine order, making April the first month, starting with the new moon which is nearest to vernal equinox. TheJews betray their ignorance in speaking of an autumnal beginning ofthe year: the autumnal equinox is necessarily the end of the year. Moses so calls it for the reason that all field labors had then ceasedand all products had been gathered and brought home. 

44. Hence, it is my belief that the flood began in the spring, whenall minds were filled with hope of the new year. Such is the death ofthe wicked that when they shall say, "Peace and safety, " they perish. 1 Thes 5, 3. Nor is any inconsistence shown in the fact that the greenolive branch is afterward mentioned, for certain trees are evergreen, as the boxwood, fir, pine, cedar, laurel, olive, palm and others. 

45. But what does Moses mean by saying that the fountains of the greatdeep burst, and that the windows of heaven were opened? No such recordis found in all pagan literature, although the heathen searched withzeal the mysteries of nature. One discrimination should be made asregards the abysses of the earth, the floodgates or windows of heaven, and the rain. Rain, as we know it, is a common phenomenon, while thatof bursting floodgates and abysses is both unfamiliar and amazing. 

46. Almost all interpreters are silent on this point. We know fromHoly Writ that God, by his Word, established a dwelling-place for manand other living beings on dry land, above the water, contrary tonature; for it is opposed to natural law that the earth, being placedin water, should rise up out of it. If you cast a clod into the water, it sinks at once. But the dry land stands up out of the water byvirtue of the Word, which has set bounds for the sea, as Solomon (Prov8, 27) and Job (ch 38, 11) declare. Unless the water were restrainedby the power of the Word, with a bound, as it were, they wouldoverflow and lay waste everything. Thus is our life guarded everysingle moment, and wonderfully preserved by the Word. We have anillustration in partial deluges, when at times entire states orregions are flooded, proving that we should daily suffer suchunpleasant things if God did not take care of us. 

47. But just as there are waters below us, and beneath the earth, so, too, are there waters above us, and beyond the sky. If they shoulddescend, obeying natural law, destruction would result. The cloudsfloat as if suspended in space. When at times they descend, how greatthe terror they cause! But imagine the result of a universal collapse!How they would burst, in obedience to the law of their nature, didthey not remain in place above us, suspended, as it were, by the Word!

48. Thus we are girt about on all sides by water, shielded only by afrail ceiling of unsubstantial material--the air that webreathe--which bears up the clouds and carries that weight of water, not in obedience to the laws of nature, but by the command of God, orby the power of the Word. 

49. When the prophets think of these things they are lost inadmiration. It is contrary to nature that such a weight should remainin suspension above the earth. But we, blinded by daily witnessing ofsuch wonders, neither observe nor admire them. That we are not at anymoment overwhelmed by waters from above or from below, we owe to thedivine majesty which orders all things and preserves all creatures sowonderfully, and he ought to be the object of our praise. 

50. Startling and significant are the words Moses uses--the fountainsof the great deep were broken up. The conception he would convey isthat they had been closed by God's power and sealed, as it were, withGod's seal, as today; and that God did not open them with a key, butrent them with violence, so that the ocean, in a sudden upheaval, covered everything with water. It is not to be supposed that God movedhis hand, because the fountains of the deep are said to have beenbroken up. It is the custom of Scripture to adapt itself to ourunderstanding in the phraseology employed, and that underconsideration here denotes that God gives leave to the waters in thathe no longer restrains or coerces them but suffers them to rage andbreak forth unchecked according to their nature. That is the reasonthe ocean seemed to swell and boil. In the salt works in ourneighborhood there is a spring named after the Germans, which, if itis not pumped out at certain times, swells and overflows with terrificforce. 

51. They say that in olden times the town of Halle was once destroyedby a violent overflow of a spring of the kind described. If a singlespring could work such destruction what would be the result of theuncurbed power of ocean and seas? Thus mankind was destroyed beforethey even knew their danger. Whither should they flee when the waterspoured in upon them with such force?

52. But this is not all: the windows of heaven also were opened. Moses' word implies that to that time the windows were closed as theyare closed today. Indeed, the world thought such opening impossible;their sins, however, made it possible. 

53. Moses' use here of the word "windows" signifies the literalopening of heaven. With rain as we know it, the water appears to fallby drops from the pores of the rain-clouds, but at the time of theflood it came down with great force, not through pores, but throughwindows, like water poured from a vessel with one movement, or as whenwater-skins burst in the middle. Moses uses this figure of speech forthe sake of effect, so that those occurrences are brought to ourvision. 

54. A volume of water, therefore, swept over the earth, from the skyas well as from the innermost parts of the earth, until at last thewhole earth was covered with water, and the fertile soil, or theentire face of the earth was destroyed by the briny flood. A likeinstance occurs nowhere in any book. The Holy Scriptures alone teachus that these things were visited upon the world sinning in imaginedsecurity, and that to this day the waters suspended in the clouds arerestrained only by the kindness of God. Otherwise they would descendin vast volume, as in the flood, according to the law of their nature. 

Vs. 13-16. _In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, andJapheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and three wives of hissons with them, into the ark; they, and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing thatcreepeth upon the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. And, they went in unto Noah and the ark, twoand two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life. And they that wentin, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him. _

55. Here Moses begins to be remarkably verbose. His wordiness hurtstender ears when he so often and apparently without any use repeatsthe same things. It is not sufficient to say "all birds, " but he namesthree kinds of birds. Of these, the term _zippor_ is usually said tomean "a sparrow, " but this passage shows clearly that it is a genericterm, doubtless so called from the sound, _zi, zi_. He also namesthree kinds of beasts. Also, when speaking of the flood itself, he isvery wordy, saying that the waters prevailed, that they increased, that they flooded and covered the face of the earth. Finally, when hetells of the effect of this flood, he makes similar repetition: "Allflesh expired, died, was destroyed, " etc. 

56. But I said above (§37) that Moses repeats these things contrary tohis style, in order to force the reader to pause and more diligentlylearn and meditate upon this great event. We cannot fully comprehendthe wrath which destroys, not man alone, but all his possessions. Moses wishes to arouse hardened and heedless sinners by such aconsideration of God's wrath. 

57. Hence, these words are not idle, as a shallow and unspiritualreader might judge. They rather challenge us to fear God, and callattention to the present so that, sobered by the thought of suchwrath, we may make an earnest beginning in the fear of God, and ceasefrom sin. For not without many tears does Moses appear to have writtenthis account! So utterly is he with eyes and mind absorbed in thishorrible spectacle of wrath that he cannot but repeat the samestatements again and again. Doubtless he does this with the purpose tothrust such darts of divine fear, so to speak, into the souls of piousreaders. 

58. It may be well to transport ourselves in thought into the time ofthe event. What do you think would be our state of mind if we had beenput into the ark, if we had seen the waters spreading everywhere withoverwhelming force and the wretched human beings perishing withoutpossibility of help? Let us remember that Noah and his sons were alsoflesh and blood; that is, they were men who, as that person in thecomedy (Terence, Heaut. 1: 1, 25) says, thought nothing human wasforeign to themselves. They were in the ark for forty days before itwas lifted off the earth. In those days were destroyed all the humanbeings and animals living upon the earth. This calamity they saw withtheir own eyes; who would doubt that they were violently stirred bythe sight?

59. Furthermore, the ark floated upon the waters for one hundred andfifty days, buffeted on all sides by the waves and winds. There was nohope for any harbor, or for any meeting with men. As exiles, therefore, as vanished from the earth, as it were, they were drivenhere and there by currents and winds. Is it not a miracle that thoseeight human beings did not die from grief and fear? Truly, we are madeof stone if we can read this story with dry eyes. 

60. What outcry, sorrow and wailing if from the shore we see a smallboat overturned, and human beings miserably perishing! Here, however, not one boat-load, but the entire world of men perish in the waters; aworld composed not only of grown persons, but also babes; not only ofcriminal and wicked ones, but also simple-hearted matrons and virgins. They all perished. Let us believe that Moses told the tale of thiscalamity with such redundancy of words in order that we might beimpelled to give earnest attention to this important event. Noah'sfaith was truly of a rare kind, since he consoled himself and hisfamily with the hope of promised seed and dwelt more upon this promisethan the destruction of all the rest of the world. 

Vs. 16-24. _And Jehovah shut him in. And the flood was forty days uponthe earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it waslifted up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and increasedgreatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the highmountains that were under the whole heaven were covered. Fifteencubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both birds, and cattle, and beasts, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, andevery man: all, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit oflife, of all that was on the dry land, died. And every living thingwas destroyed that was upon the face of the ground, both man, andcattle, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; and they weredestroyed from the earth: and Noah only was left, and they that werewith him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundredand fifty days. _

61. For forty days the ark stood in some plain. By that time thewaters had risen to such an extent that they lifted the ark, whichthen floated for one hundred and fifty days. A long sea voyage indeed, and one of great mourning and tears. Yet the occupants upheldthemselves by faith, not doubting the kindness of God toward them. They had experienced his goodness when building the ark, whenpreparing the food, when getting ready other things needful for thisoccasion, and finally when the Lord closed the ark after the floodcame in its power. 

62. The question arises, how can God be truthful here? He had set manas master over the earth to cultivate and rule it. God did not createthe earth to lie waste, but to be inhabited and give its fruits tomen. How can we reconcile such purpose of the creator with the factthat he destroyed all mankind except eight souls? I have no doubt thatthis argument influenced the descendants of Cain as well as the wickedposterity of the righteous generation not to believe Noah when heproclaimed the flood. How can we harmonize God's promise to Adam andEve, "You shall rule the earth, " and his words here to Noah, "Thewater shall overpower all men, and destroy them all. " So theunbelievers decided that Noah's preaching was wicked and heretical. 

63. In like manner the books of the prophets bear witness that thethreats of the Assyrian and Babylonish captivity were not believed bythe priests and kings, who knew this grand promise: "This is myresting-place forever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it, " Ps132, 14; and that other, by Isaiah: "Here is my fire, and myhearth-stone, " Is 31, 9. To them it was incredible that either theState or the temple should be overthrown by the gentiles. And theJews, miserable outcast though they be, even to this day hold fast thepromise that they are God's people and heirs of the promises givenAbraham and the fathers. 

64. Thus is the pope puffed up with the promises given to the Church:"I am with you unto the end of the world, " Mt 28, 20; "I will notleave you desolate, " Jn 14, 18; "I made supplication for thee, thatthy faith fail not, " Lk 22, 32; and others. Though he sees and feelsthe wrath of God, yet, caught in these promises, he dreams, andlikewise his followers, that his throne and power are secure. Hencethe Papists blatantly use the name of the Church to overwhelm us, promising themselves the utmost success, as if they could force God toestablish the Church according to their dreams and desires. 

65. Fitly, then, do we here raise the question how the flood, by whichall mankind perished, agrees with the will of God, who created humannature and gave it the promise and endowment of dominion. The answerto this question will likewise settle the one concerning the Church. It is this: God remains truthful, preserving, ruling and governing hisChurch though in a manner transcending the observation andunderstanding of the world. He permits the Roman pontiff and hisadherents to think that the pope is the Church. He suffers him to feelsecure and to enjoy his dignity and title. But in fact God hasexcommunicated the pontiff, because he rejects the Word andestablishes idolatrous worship. 

66. On the other hand, God has chosen for himself another Church, which embraces the Word and flees idolatry, a Church so oppressed andshamefully afflicted that it is not considered a Church but a band ofheretics and the devil's school. Thus Paul writes to the Romans (ch 2, 17) that the Jews do not fear God yet they glory in the Law and inGod, at the same time denying, blaspheming and offending God. Andwhile the Jews, who take pride in being God's people, are doing this, God prepares for himself a Church from the gentiles, who truly gloryin God and embrace his Word. 

67. But who should dare to accuse God of untruthfulness because hepreserves the Church in a manner unknown and undesired by man? Ofsimilar nature were the promises concerning the preservation ofJerusalem and the temple. These promises were not violated when thatcity and temple were laid waste by the Babylonians. For Godestablished another Jerusalem and another temple in the Spirit and bythe Word; Jeremiah promised (Jer 29, 10-11) that the people shouldreturn after seventy years and that then both the temple and thenation should be re-established. 

68. As regards the Jews, these were destroyed at that time, but not asregards God who had promised in his Word that they should be rebuilt. The Jews argue correctly that God will not desert the nation andtemple; but God keeps his promise in a way foreign to the thought ofthe Jews, who believed that the nation would not be destroyed becausethe promise said: "This is my resting-place forever. " God permitteddestruction in order to punish the sins of his people, and yet hepreserved and protected the Church when the pious were brought back byCyrus and built the temple. 

69. In like manner, dominion over the world was given to man in thebeginning of creation. This is taken away in the flood, not forever, but for a time, and that not altogether. Though the greater part ofthe world perishes, yet man retains his mastery; and this mastery ispreserved to mankind, not as represented by a multitude, as the worlddesired and believed, but by a few persons--eight souls--a thing whichseemed incredible to the world. 

70. Hence God did not lie; he kept his promise, but not as the worldwould have had it. He destroyed the sinners and saved the righteousfew, which, like a seed, he thereafter multiplied in many ways. 

71. The Papists should keep before their eyes this judgment of God. Itteaches that neither numbers nor power nor his own promise is allowedto prevent him from punishing the impenitent. Otherwise he would havespared the first world and the offspring of the patriarchs to whom hehad granted dominion over the earth. Now he destroys all and savesonly eight. 

72. Is it wonderful, then, that he deals with the Papists in the sameway? Though they boast of rank, dignity, numbers, and power, yet, because they trample the Word of God under foot and rage against it, God will cast them away, choosing for himself another Church, whichwill humbly obey the Word and accept with open arms the gifts ofChrist which the pope's Church, trusting in its own merits, haughtilyspurns. 

73. Therefore none should trust in the good things of presentpossession, though they be promised by the divine Word. We must lookto the Word itself and trust in it alone. Those who set the Word asideand put their trust in present things, will not go unscathed in theirfall from faith, however much they may boast of power and numbers. This truth is shown by the flood, by the captivity of the Jews andtheir present misfortune, and by the seven thousand men in the kingdomof Israel. 

74. The proof is sufficiently strong, that great numbers do not make aChurch. Nor must we trust in holiness of origin, in forefathers, or inthe gifts of God which we enjoy. We must look to the Word alone andjudge thereby. Those alone who truly embrace the Word will be asimmovable forever as Mount Zion. They may be few in number andthoroughly despised by the world, as were Noah and his children. ButGod, through these few, preserved to man the truth of that promisedmastery when he had not even room to set his foot upon the earth. 

75. Our enemies, setting aside the Word, make much of number, outwardappearance, and persons. But the apostles foretold that the Antichristwill be a respecter of persons, that will rely upon numbers andancient origin, that he will hate the Word and corrupt God's promisesand that he will kill those who cling to the Word. Shall we, then, consider such people to be the Church?

76. The Church is a daughter born from the Word, not the mother of theWord. Therefore, whoever loses the Word and looks to men instead, ceases to be the Church and lapses into utter blindness; nor willeither great numbers or power avail. They who keep the word, as didNoah and his family, are the Church, though they be few in number, even but eight souls. The Papists at this time surpass us in numbersand rank; we not only are cursed, but suffer many things. But we mustendure until the judgment, when God will reveal that we are hisChurch, and the Papists the church of Satan. 

77. So, then, we must observe that rule in 1 Sam 16, 7, where the Lordsays to Samuel: "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of hisstature; because I have rejected him: for Jehovah seeth not as manseeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but Jehovah lookethon the heart. "

78. Let us not, therefore, give heed to the greatness and might of thepope, who boasts that he is the Church, proclaiming the apostolicsuccession and the majesty of his person. Let us look to the Word. Ifthe pope embraces it, let us judge him to be the Church; but if hedoes violence to it, let us judge him to be the slave of Satan. 

79. Paul says (1 Cor 2, 15) that the spiritual person judgeth allthings. If I were the only one on the face of the earth to keep theWord, I should be the Church, and rightfully pass judgment upon allthe rest of the world that they were not the Church. Our enemies havethe office without the Word, and really have nothing. We, on the otherhand, have the Word, though we have nothing; yet we have everythingthrough the Word. Therefore, either let the pope, the cardinals andthe bishops come over to our side, or let them cease to boast thatthey are the Church, which they cannot be without the Word, since itis begotten only by the Word. 

80. We bear a great load of hatred, being accused of having desertedthe ancient Church. The Papists, on the other hand, boast that theyhave remained true to the Church, and they want to leave everything tothe judgment of the Church. But we are accused falsely. To speak thetruth, we must say that we departed from the Word when we were stillin their Church and now we have returned to the Word and have ceasedto be apostates from the Word. 

81. Therefore though in their judgment they rob us of the title of theChurch, still we retain the Word, and through the Word we have allornaments of the true Church. For whoever has the Creator of all, mustneeds also possess the creatures themselves. In this sense Noahremained master of the world, though the waters prevailed, and theearth perished. Though he lost his property, yet, because he retainedthe Word by which everything was created, it may truly be said heretained everything. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

I. NOAH'S CONDITION IN THE ARK; THE WATERS ABATE. 

 A. NOAH'S CONDITION IN THE ARK. 

 1. How Noah and his family anxiously waited for God's promise, and lived in faith, which is a hard life 1-3. 

 2. He had a hard time in the ark. What sustained him 2-4. 

 3. How he suffered in two ways 5. 

 * Whether God can forget his saints 6. 

 * Severest temptations are when man thinks he is forsaken by God 7. 

 4. Noah's condition became more miserable because of his family's distress 8-10. 

 5. Noah and family with difficulty overcame their temptation 11. 

 * Christians need steadfastness 12. 

 * Why God for a time conceals himself from his faithful ones 13. 

 * Temptations severe when saints imagine God has forsaken them 14. 

 B. THE WATERS ABATE. 

 1. The time the waters abated 15. 

 2. How the wind blew upon the earth and dried it. 16-17. 

 3. The abating of the waters was a sign by which God comforted Noah 18. 

 * Noah's Ark. 

 a. When it began to float, how long it floated and when it rested 19. 

 b. On what mountain did it rest 20. 

 c. What to think of Josephus' testimony 21. 

 4. When the mountain tops first seen 22. 

 5. How Noah learned the deluge had ceased. 

 a. Why Noah sent forth the raven, and how the error arose the raven never returned 23-24. 

 * The Jews' unclean thoughts of the raven 24. 

 b. Noah sent forth a dove, and if at the same time with the raven 25. 

 c. Noah sent out a second dove, which assured him that the flood had ceased 26. 

 (1) Dove returned with an olive leaf 26. 

 (2) Whether it did this of its own impulse, and what God thereby wished to indicate 27-28. 

 (3) The Jews' ideas on where the dove got the olive leaf 27. 

 (4) Why an olive leaf 28. 

 6. How long Noah and family were in the ark 29. 

I. NOAH IN ARK--FLOOD ABATES. 

A. NOAH'S CONDITION IN THE ARK. 

V. 1a. _And God remembered Noah, and all the beasts, and all thecattle that were with him in the ark. _

1. When that horrible wrath had exhausted itself, and all flesh withthe earth had been destroyed, the promise made by God to Noah and hissons, that they were to be the seed of the human race, began to berealized. No doubt this promise was to them an object of eagerexpectation. No life is so hedged about with difficulties as that offaith. This was the life lived by Noah and his sons, whom we seeabsolutely depending upon the heavens for support. The earth wascovered with water. Bottom on which to stand there was none. It wasthe word of promise that upheld them, as they drifted in this welterof waters. 

2. When the flesh is free from danger, it holds faith in contempt, asthe claims of the Papists show. It loves showy and toilsome tasks; inthese it sweats. But behold Noah, on all sides surrounded by waters, yet not overwhelmed! Surely it is not works that sustain him but faithin God's mercy extended through the word of promise. 

3. The difficulty besetting Noah is hinted at in the words: "Godremembered. " Moses thus intimates that Noah had been tossed on thewater so long that God seemed to have forgotten him altogether. Theywho pass through such a mental strain, when the rays of divine graceare gone and they sit in darkness or are forgotten by God, find byexperience that it is far more difficult to live in the Word or byfaith alone than to be a hermit or a Carthusian monk. 

4. Hence, it is not a meaningless expression when the Holy Spirit saysthat "God remembered Noah. " He means that from the day Noah enteredthe ark, no word was spoken, nothing was revealed to him; that he sawno ray of divine grace shining, but merely clung to the promise whichhe had accepted, while in the meantime the waters and waves raged asif God had certainly forgotten. The same danger beset his children andalso the cattle and all the other animals throughout the one hundredand fifty days they were in the ark. And though the holy seed by theaid of the conquering Spirit overcame those difficulties, the victorywas not won without vexation of the flesh, tears and stupendous fear, felt, in my opinion, even by the brutes. 

5. Thus a twofold danger beset them. The universal flood whichswallowed up all mankind could not vanish without stupendous grief tothe righteous, particularly as they saw themselves reduced to so smalla number. Further, it was a serious matter to be buffeted by thewaters for almost half a year without any consolation from God. 

6. The expression used by Moses, "God remembered Noah, " must not beshort of its meaning by calling it a rhetorical figure, signifyingthat God acted after the manner of one who had forgotten Noah, whereasGod cannot in truth forget his saints. A mere master of rhetoric, indeed, does not know what it means to live in such a state as to feelthat God has forgotten him. Only the most perfect saints understandthat, and can in faith bear, so to speak, a God who forgets. Thereforethe Psalms and all the Scriptures are filled with complaints of thisnature, in which God is called upon to arise, to open his eyes, tohear, to awaken. 

7. Monks possessed of a higher degree of experience, at timesunderwent this temptation and called it a suspension of grace. Thelatter may be experienced also in temptations of a slighter nature. The flame of lust found in young people is altogether unbearableunless it is held in check by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. Similarly, at a more mature age, impatience and the desire for revengecan nowise be overcome unless God tears them from the soul. How muchmore liable is the soul to fall into the darkness of despair, or intoensnaring predestinarian tenets, when more severe temptations beset usand the suspension of grace is felt. 

8. Hence this expression is not to be passed by as a mere rhetoricalornament, according to the interpretation of the rabbis. It isintended rather to portray the state of soul which feels despaircoming on amid unutterable groanings of heart, with just a spark offaith left to wrest victory from the flesh. In the same way that Paulsuffered from Satan's messenger, we may believe that Noah felt himselfstabbed in the heart, and that he often argued thus within himself:Dost thou believe that thou alone art so beloved of God? Dost thoubelieve that thou will be kept safe to the end, when waters areboundless, and those immense clouds seem to be inexhaustible?

9. When, then, such broodings found their way also into the weak soulsof the women, what cries, wails and tears may we surmise to have beenthe result? Almost overcome by sadness and grief, he was forced tolift up and comfort those with the cheer his own heart did not feel. 

10. It was, therefore, no jest or frolic for them to live so longlocked up within the ark, to see the endless downpour of rain and tobe carried to and fro floating upon the waves. This was the experienceof having been forgotten by God which Moses implies when he says thatGod at last remembered Noah and his sons. 

11. Though the occupants of the ark overcame this feeling by faith, they did not do so without great vexation of the flesh; just as ayoung man who leads a chaste life overcomes lust, but surely notwithout the greatest vexation and trouble. In this instance, where thetrial was greater, where all evidence was at variance with the factthat God was gracious and mindful of them, they indeed triumphed, butnot without fearful tribulation. For the flesh, weak in itself, canbear nothing less patiently than the thought of a God who hasforgotten. Human nature is prone to be puffed up and haughty when Godremembers it, when he vouchsafes success and favor. Is it a wonder, then, that we become broken in spirit and desperate when God seems tohave cast us away and everything goes against us?

12. Let us remember that this story sets before us an example offaith, of endurance, and of patience, to the end that, having thedivine promise, we should not only learn to believe it, but shouldalso consider that we are in need of endurance. Endurance is notmaintained without a great struggle, and Christ calls upon us, in theNew Testament, to acquire it when he says: "He that endureth to theend, the same shall be saved, " Mt 24, 13. 

13. This is the reason why God hides for a time, as it were, seemingto have forgotten us, suspending his grace, as they say in theschools. As in this temptation not only the spirit but also the fleshis afflicted, so afterward, when he again begins to remember us, theperception of grace which during the trial was evident only to thespirit and most faintly at that, is extended to the flesh also. 

14. Hence, the word "remembered" indicates that great sadness besetboth man and beast during the entire time of the flood. It must havebeen by dint of great patience and extraordinary courage that Noah andthe others bore this lapse from God's memory, which is simplyunbearable to the flesh without the spirit even in slight trials. True, God always remembers his own, even when he seems to haveforsaken them; but Moses indicates that he remembered his people herein a visible way, by a sign, and by openly fulfilling what he hadpreviously promised through the Word and the Spirit. This is the mostimportant passage in this chapter. 

B. Waters Abate. 

Vs. 1b-3. _And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the watersassuaged; the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heavenwere stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; and the watersreturned from off the earth continually; and after the end of ahundred and fifty days the waters decreased. _

15. Moses said above (ch 7, 11-12) that the deluge raged in threedifferent ways; for not only were the fountains of the great deepbroken up and the windows of heaven opened, but also the raindescended. When these forces ceased on the one hundred and fiftiethday, quiet was once more in evidence and the fact that God remembered, and Noah with his sons and their wives, as also the animals, wasrefreshed after terror so great and continuous. If a storm of two daysduration causes seafarers to despair, how much more distressing wasthat tossing about for half a year!

16. The question here arises, how the wind was made to pass over theearth, which as yet was entirely covered with water. It is nothing newthat winds have the power to dry, especially those from the east, called by our countrymen "hohle winde, " and by Virgil "parchingwinds, " from the drouth which they bring upon the earth. These arementioned also by Hosea 13, 15. The explanation, accordingly, issimple. Moses says that the wind was made to pass over the earth, thatis, over the surface of the waters, for such a length of time that atlast, the waters being dried up, the earth again appeared. So, inExodus, a burning wind is said to have dried up the Red Sea. Now, Godmight have accomplished this without any wind, yet he habituallyemploys a natural means to attain his purposes. 

17. Up to this time Noah had lived in darkness, seeing nothing but thewaters rolling and raging in a terrifying volume. Now the deliciouslight of the sun bursts forth once more, and the winds cease to roarfrom all points of the compass. Only the east wind, calculated toreduce the waters, is blowing, and gradually it takes away thestagnant flood. Other means also are effective; the ocean no longerhurls its waves upon the land, but takes back the waters which it hadspewed forth, and the floodgates of heaven are closed up. 

18. These are outward and tangible signs by which God consoles Noah, showing him that he had not forgotten, but remembered him. This is apractical and needed lesson also for us. When in the midst of dangerswe may with certainty look for God's help, who does not desert us ifwe continue in faith, looking forward to the fulfilment of God'spromises. 

V. 4. _And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth dayof the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. _

19. The waters increased for forty days, until the ark was lifted fromthe earth. Then for one hundred and fifty days it floated upon thewaters, driven by the winds and the waves, without a sign of God'sremembrance. At length the waters began to decrease, and the arkrested. 

20. The point of dispute among the Jews here is the number of months. But why waste any more time upon immaterial matters, particularly aswe see that the suggestions of the rabbis are not at all wise? It ismore to the purpose for us to inquire where the mountains of Araratare to be found. It is generally believed that they are mountains ofArmenia, close by the highest ranges of Asia Minor, the Caucasus andthe Taurus. But it appears to me that more likely the highest of allmountains is meant, the Imaus (Himalaya), which divides India. Compared to this range, other mountains are no more than warts. Thatthe ark rested upon the highest mountain is substantiated by the factthat the waters continued to fall for three whole months before suchsmaller ranges as Lebanon, Taurus, and Caucasus were uncovered, whichare, as it were, the feet or roots of the Himalaya, just as themountains of Greece may be called branches of the Alps extending up toour Hercinian Forest (Harz). To anyone who surveys them with care themountains seem to be wonderfully related and united. 

21. Josephus has wonderful things to tell about the mountains ofArmenia, and he records that during his time remains of the ark werediscovered there. But I suppose nobody will judge me to be a hereticif I occasionally doubt the reliability of his statements. 

V. 5. _And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: inthe tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of themountains seen. _

22. Moses said before that by the seventh month the waters had fallenso far that the ark rested upon Ararat. In the third month thereafter, the tops of the lower mountains began to appear, so that Noah, lookingdown from the mountains of Ararat as if from a watchtower, saw alsothe peaks of the other mountains, of the Taurus in Asia, the Lebanonin Syria, and the like. All these were signs of God's remembrance. 

Vs. 6-7. _And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noahopened the window of the ark which he had made: and he sent forth araven, and it went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried upfrom off the earth. _

23. So far the history; the allegorical significance we shall discussat its proper place. The carelessness of a translator has caused adispute upon this part of the story. The Hebrew text does not say thatthe raven did not return, as Jerome translated; hence there was noneed to invent a reason why he did not return--because he found deadbodies lying about everywhere. They claim that abundance of foodprevented him. 

24. On the contrary, Moses says that the raven which had been sentforth, returned; although he did not permit himself to be againimprisoned in the ark as the dove did. Moses implies that Noah sentforth the raven to find out whether animals could, by that time finddry land and food. The raven, however, did not faithfully carry outhis mission, but rejoicing to be set free from his prison, he flew toand fro, and paying no attention to Noah, he enjoyed the free sky. Theswinish Jews, however, show the impurity of their minds everywhere. For they suppose that the raven had fears concerning his mate, andthat he even suspected Noah concerning her. Shame upon those impureminds!

Vs. 8-9. _And he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters wereabated from off the face of the ground; but the dove found no rest forthe sole of her foot, and she returned unto him to the ark; for thewaters were on the face of the whole earth: and he put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her unto him into the ark. _

25. When Noah's hopes had been set at naught by the raven, which flewabout wantonly but brought no tidings concerning the condition of theearth, he took a dove, thinking that she would more truly perform themission. The text almost authorizes us to say that those two birdswere sent forth at the same time, so that Noah might have twowitnesses from whom to gain desired knowledge. The raven enjoying thefree sky, flew round about the ark, but did not want to return intoit. The dove, however, fleeing from the corpses and corruption, comesback and permits itself to be caught. This story, as we shall hear, offers a fine allegory concerning the Church. 

Vs. 10-12. _And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sentforth the dove out of the ark; and the dove came in to him ateventide; and, lo, in her mouth an olive-leaf plucked off: so Noahknew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yetother seven days, and sent forth the dove; and she returned not againunto him any more. _

26. The dove, being a faithful messenger, is sent forth once more. Moses carefully describes how the waters decreased gradually, until atlast the surface of the earth, together with the trees, was laid bare. We do not believe that the dove brought the olive leaf intentionally, but by the command of God, who wanted to show Noah, little by little, that he had not altogether forgotten but remembered him. This oliveleaf was an impressive sign to Noah and his fellow-prisoners in theark, bringing them courage and hope of impending liberation. 

27. The Jews dispute sharply in respect to this matter of where thedove found the olive leaf, and some, in order to secure special gloryfor their homeland, make the ludicrous assertion that she took it fromthe Mount of Olives in the land of Israel, which God had spared fromthe flood that destroyed the remainder of the earth. But the sanerJews rightly refute this nonsense by arguing that if this were true, the olive leaf could not have been a sign for Noah that the waters hadfallen. Others have invented the fable that the dove was admitted toparadise and brought the leaf from there. 

28. But I have (ch 2, §39-42) set forth at length my views concerningparadise, and this nonsense is not worthy the effort of a refutation. It serves a better purpose to remind you that all these thingshappened miraculously and supernaturally. A dove is not so intelligentas to pluck a bough and bring it to the ark in order that Noah mightform a judgment with reference to the decrease of waters. God ordainedthese events. Other trees had leaves at that time, particularly thetaller ones which rose sooner from the waters. The olive tree iscomparatively short, hence it was calculated to furnish informationconcerning the decrease of the waters and to serve as an object lessonof the cessation of the wrath of God and the return of the earth toits former state. Of this he had more certain proof however, when thedove, having been sent out the third time, did not return: for notonly did it find food on earth, but was able to build nests and toflit to and fro. 

Vs. 13-14. _And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, inthe first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried upfrom off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, andlooked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dried. And in thesecond month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was theearth dry. _

29. Here we see that Noah was in the ark an entire year and ten days;for he entered the ark on the seventeenth day of the second month, andcame out again, after a year had passed, in the same month, but on thetwenty-seventh day. Poor Noah, with his sons and the women, lived inthe ark more than half a year in sore grief, without a sign of beingremembered by God. Afterward God gave him gradual proof, throughvarious signs, that he had not forgotten him, until at last, after thelapse of a year and ten days, he was again given dominion over theearth and sea. On this day of the second month, the flood had not onlydisappeared, but the earth was dry. This is the story of the flood andits abatement. After this fearful wrath, there ensues an immeasurablelight of grace, as is shown in the following sermon addressed to Noahby God himself. 

II. NOAH COMMANDED TO LEAVE THE ARK; HIS OFFERING TO GOD; GOD'S RESOLVE NOT TO CURSE THE EARTH AGAIN. 

 A. NOAH COMMANDED TO LEAVE THE ARK, AND HE OBEYED 30-32. 

 * Man should do nothing but what God commands 30-32. 

 * Is it right to start a new worship without God's command to do so 33-34. 

 * The examples of saints and special works. 

 1. Should we imitate the works of the holy patriarchs 34-35. 

 2. The result among the Jews of a reckless imitation of the saints 36. 

 3. Should have regard here, not to works but to faith 37-38. 

II. NOAH LEAVES ARK, HIS SACRIFICE AND GOD'S PROMISE. 

A. Noah Obeys Command to Leave the Ark. 

Vs. 15-17. _And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. Bringforth with thee every living thing that is with thee of all flesh, both birds, and cattle, and every creeping thing that creepeth uponthe earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth. _

30. Up to this point the narrative is only a record of facts, or thedescription of a divine work. Though the works of God are not mute buteloquent witnesses, and present to our vision the will of God, a stillgreater comfort is vouchsafed when God links to the works the Word, which is not manifest to the eye but perceptible to the ear andintelligible to the heart through the promptings of the Holy Spirit. So far God had given proof by his work that he was appeased, that theGod of wrath had turned into a God of mercy, who turns back the watersand dries up the earth. Such comfort he now amplifies by his Word inthat he lovingly accosts and enjoins him to leave the ark with theother creatures, both men and animals. 

31. In the light of this passage the frequent and emphatic applicationof the principle is justified that we should neither design nor doanything, especially in respect to God's service and worship, withoutthe initiative and command of the Word. As above narrated, Noah entersthe ark upon God's command; and he leaves the ark upon God's commandto leave it. He does not follow superstitious notions, as we see theJews do, who, when they establish anything temporary by command, endeavor to retain it forever, as if it were essential to salvation. 

32. Noah might have argued thus: Behold, I built the ark by thecommand of God; I was saved in it while all other men perished:therefore I will remain in it, or keep it for a place of divineworship, since it has been sanctified by the Word of God and thepresence of the saints, the Church. But the godly man did nothing ofthe kind. The Word had commanded him to go forth, therefore he obeyed. The ark had done its service during the flood and he left it, assuredthat he and his children were to live on the earth. So must weundertake nothing without the Word of God. In a holy calling, whichhas the Word and command of God, let us walk! For whosoever attemptsanything without the command of God, will labor in vain. 

33. To deny this, some one might cite as example the act of Noah, described below, when he built an altar without God's command, andoffered a burnt-offering thereon to God from the clean animals. Ifthis was permitted to Noah, why should we not be permitted to choosecertain forms of worship? And, in truth, the Papacy has heaped upworks and forms of worship in the Church without measure, just as itpleased. But we must hold fast to the principle, which is a theorem ofgeneral application, that whatsoever is not of faith, is sin, (Rom 14, 23). But faith cannot be separated from the Word; hence, whatsoever isdone without the Word, is sin. 

34. Furthermore, it is plainly dangerous to take the acts of thefathers as models. As individuals differ, so also do their dutiesdiffer, and God requires diverse works according to the diversity ofour calling. Accordingly the epistle to the Hebrews fitly refers thevarious acts of the fathers to the one faith, in order to show thateach of us must imitate, in his calling, not the works, but the faithof the fathers. Heb 11. 

35. Hence works peculiar to the holy fathers must by no means beconsidered as models for us each to imitate as the monks imitate thefasting of Benedict, the gown of Francis, the shoes of Dominic and thelike. Men become apes who imitate without judgment. The monks try toape the works, but know nothing of the faith of the fathers. 

36. Abraham was commanded to slay his son. Afterward his descendantsmost wickedly believed they should follow his example, and they filledthe earth with innocent blood. In a similar manner the peopleworshiped the brazen serpent and offered sacrifices before it. In bothinstances the people wanted to justify themselves by the example oftheir forefathers; but since they established these forms of worshipwithout the Word, they were righteously condemned. 

37. Let us, therefore, remember not to establish anything without theWord of God. Duties differ, and so must the works of individuals. Howfoolish it would be for me to proclaim that I must follow Caesar'sexample, and that others must obey my laws! How wicked it would be forme to assert that I must follow the example of a judge, condemningsome to the cross, others to the sword! Then, we must look, not uponthe works, but upon the faith of individuals; for the faith of allsaints is one, though their works are most diverse. 

38. Think not that because Noah built an altar, you may do likewise;but follow the faith of Noah, who thought it right to show hismerciful Savior that he understood his beneficent gifts, and wasgrateful for them. Follow Abraham, not in slaying your son, but inbelieving the promises of God, and in obeying his commandments. Theepistle to the Hebrews fitly refers the deeds and acts of the fathersto their faith, setting forth that we should follow their faith. 

B. NOAH'S SACRIFICE. 

 1. Whether Noah was commanded to offer a sacrifice and in what way sacrificing is justified 39-41. 

 * Have monks divine command to support their order 40. 

 * Shall we find fault with the works of saints, for which they apparently had no command 41. 

 * How in all works we should have respect for God's command 42. 

 * Lyra's unfounded thoughts on the words, "Be fruitful" etc. 43. 

 * Why Moses said so much about their leaving the ark 44. 

 2. Noah's sacrifice proves Moses did not originate the idea of sacrifice 45-46. 

 3. Why Noah's sacrifice was pleasing to God 47-48. 

 * The meaning of "sweet savor" 47-48. 

 4. How it can be said God "smelled the sweet savor", and why this form of speech used 49-50. 

B. NOAH'S SACRIFICE. 

39. The objection under consideration can be invalidated by therejoinder that Noah did have a command to erect an altar and offersacrifices. God approved the rite of sacrifice by ordering that moreof the clean animals--suitable for sacrifice--should be taken into theark. Nor was Noah permitted to cast aside the office of thepriesthood, which had been established by the Word before the floodand had come down to him by the right of primogeniture. Adam, Seth, Enoch and others had been priests. From them Noah possessed the officeof the priesthood as an inheritance. 

40. Therefore Noah, as priest and prophet, was not only at liberty tooffer sacrifice, but he was under obligation to do so by virtue of hiscalling. Since his calling was founded on God's Word, in harmony withthat Word and by God's command he built an altar and offeredsacrifices. Therefore let a monk prove it is his office and calling towear a cowl, to worship the blessed Virgin, to pray the rosary and dolike things, and we will commend his life. But since the call islacking, the Word is not the authority and the office does not exist, the life and works of the monks in their entirety stand justlycondemned. 

41. Finally, even if all other arguments should fail, this argument, according to which man judges the cause by the effect, remains;namely, that God expresses approval of Noah's deed. Although suchreasoning from effect to cause may not be unassailable, it yet is notwithout value in respect to such heroic and uncommon men, who meet notwith rejection but approval on the part of God, although they appearto do what they have not been expressly commanded. They possess theinward conviction that they are guilty of no transgression, though thedisclosure of this fact is delayed until later God expresses hisapproval. Such examples are numerous and it is noteworthy that God hasexpressed approval even of the acts of some heathen. 

42. Let this maxim, then, stand, that everything must be done by thecommand of God in order to obtain the assurance of conscience that wehave acted in obedience to God. Hence they who abide in their divinelyassigned calling, will not run uncertainly nor will they beat the airas those who have no course in which they have been commanded to run, and in consequence may not look forward to a prize. 1 Cor 9, 24. 

But I return to the text. Noah, with his sons and the women, iscommanded to leave the ark, and to lead forth upon the earth everyspecies of animals, that all his works may be sanctified and found inkeeping with the Word. Concerning the animals Moses now expresslystates:

Vs. 17-19. _Be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. And Noah wentforth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: everybeast, every creeping thing, and every bird, whatsoever moveth uponthe earth, after their families, went forth out of the ark. _

43. The Lord speaks of the propagation of Noah and his sons in theninth chapter and that, I believe, is the reason why he speaks hereonly of the propagation of the animals. From the expression here used, Lyra foolishly concludes that cohabitation had been forbidden duringthe flood and was now again permitted after the departure from theark, since God says, "Go forth, . .. Thou and thy wife. " Such thoughtsbelong to monks not to God, who plans not sinful lust, butpropagation; the latter is God's ordination, but lust is Satan'spoison infused into nature through sin. 

44. Moses here uses many words to illustrate the overflowing joy ofthe captives' souls, when they were commanded to leave their prison, the ark, and to return upon the earth now everywhere open before them. In recounting the kinds of animals, however, he arranges them in adifferent order, distinguishing them by families, as it were, to letus see that only propagation was God's aim. It must have been a gladsight when each one of the many beasts, after leaving the ark, foundits own mate, and then sought its accustomed haunt: the wolves, thebears, the lions, returning to the woods and groves; the sheep, thegoats, the swine, to the fields; the dogs, the chickens, the cats, toman. 

V. 20. _And Noah builded an altar unto Jehovah, and took of everyclean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt-offerings onthe altar. _

45. This text shows conclusively that Moses was not the first personto introduce sacrifices but that, like a bard who gathers chants, hearranged and classified them as they had been in vogue among thefathers and transmitted from the one to the other. Thus also the lawof circumcision was not first written by Moses but received from thefathers. 

46. Above (ch 4, 4-5), where Moses mentioned the sacrifice of Abel andCain, he called it _minchah_, an offering; here, however, we find thefirst record of a burnt-offering, one entirely consumed by fire. This, I say, is a clear proof that the law of sacrifices had beenestablished before the time of Moses. His work, then, consisted inarranging the rites of the forefathers in definite order. 

V. 21. _And Jehovah smelled the sweet savor. _

47. It is set forth here that Jehovah approved Noah's sacrifice whichhe offered by virtue of his office as a priest, according to theexample of the fathers. However, the differences of phraseology is toreceive due attention. Of the former sacrifice he said that Jehovah"had respect" to it; here he says that "Jehovah smelled the sweetsavor. " Moses subsequently makes frequent use of this expression. Theheathen also adopted it; Lucian, for example, makes fun of Jove whowas conciliated by the odor of meats. 

48. The word in the original, however, does not properly signify the"savor of sweetness, " but "the savor of rest", for _nichoach_ meaning"rest", is derived from the verb _nuach_, which Moses used before, when he said that the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat. Therefore it is the "savor of rest, " because God then rested from hiswrath, dismissing his wrath, becoming appeased, and, as we commonlysay, well content. 

49. Here the question might be raised why does he not say, Jehovah hadrespect to Noah and his burnt offering, rather than, Jehovah smelledthe savor of rest, which latter certainly sounds shocking, as thoughhe were not commending the man for his faith, but merely for his work. This objection is usually answered by saying that the Scriptures speakof God in human fashion. Men are pleased by a sweet savor. But itseems to me there is still another reason for this expression, namely, that God was so close at hand that he noticed the savor; for Mosesdesires to show that this holy rite was well-pleasing to God: Solomonsays (Prov 27, 9) that perfume rejoiceth the heart. Physicianssometimes restore consciousness by sweet odors. On the other hand, aviolent stench is extremely offensive to our nature, and oftenoverpowers it. 

50. In this sense, one may say that God, having been annoyed by thestench of wickedness, was now refreshed, so to speak, when he saw thisone priest girded himself to perform holy rites in order to give proofof his gratitude, and to manifest by some public act he did not belongto the ungodly, but that he had a God whom he feared. This is the realmeaning of a sacrifice. As it had pleased God to destroy mankind, heis now delighted to increase it. Moses uses this expression for oursake, that we, through the experience of God's grace, may learn thatGod delights to do us good. 

C. GOD'S RESOLVE NOT TO CURSE THE EARTH AGAIN. 

 1. God solemnly and earnestly means it 51. 

 * How understood "it repented God that he had made man" 52-54. 

 * Experiences in spiritual temptations and how God helps us to bear them 54. 

 2. The meaning of "God will not again smite the earth" 55. 

C. GOD'S RESOLVE NOT TO CURSE THE EARTH AGAIN. 

V. 21b. _And Jehovah said in his heart. _

51. Moses points out that these words were not spoken by God withoutheart and feeling, but from his very vitals. This is the meaning ofthe Hebrew text which has it that God spoke to his own heart. 

V. 21c. _I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake. _

52. God speaks as if he were sorry for the punishment inflicted uponthe earth on account of man, just as formerly he expressed regret forhis creation, reproving himself, as it were, for his fury against man. This must not, of course, be understood as implying that God couldpossibly change his mind; it is written only for our consolation. Heaccuses and blames himself in order to rouse the little flock to thecertain faith that God will be merciful hereafter. 

53. And their souls stood in real need of such consolation. They hadbeen terrified as they witnessed God's raging wrath, and their faithcould not but be shaken. So now God is impelled to so order his actsand words that these people might expect only grace and mercy. Accordingly he now speaks with them, is present at their sacrifice, shows that he is pleased with them, blames his own counsel, andpromises that he will never do anything like it in the future. Inbrief, he is a different God from what he had been before. While God, indeed, does not change, he wants to change men, who have becomealtogether habituated to thoughts of wrath. 

54. They who have experienced trials of the spirit, know full well howmuch the soul then stands in need of sure and strong consolation toinduce it once more to hope for grace and to forget the wrath. Oneday, a whole month, perhaps is not enough for this change. Just as ittakes a long time to recover from bodily disorders, so such wounds ofthe soul cannot be healed at once, or by one word. God sees this, andtries by various means to recall the terrified souls to a certain hopeof grace; he even chides himself, speaking to his own heart, as inJeremiah 18, 8, where he promises to repent of the evil he thought ofdoing, if the offenders also repent. 

55. It should furthermore be noted that he says, "I will not againcurse the ground. " He speaks of a general destruction of the earth, not of a partial one, as when he destroys fields, cities, or kingdoms. The latter instances are for a warning; as Mary says, "He hath putdown princes from their thrones. " Lk 1, 52. 

III. MAN'S NATURAL DEPRAVITY AND HIS NATURAL POWERS. 

 1. Natural depravity crops out in infancy 56. 

 2. It is seen as the years advance 57-58. 

 3. Whether those who would drown it have reason for doing so 59-60. 

 4. There is none untainted by it 61-62. 

 5. The godless yield to it, believers resist it 62. 

 * Can God be charged with being changeable 63-64. 

 6. The knowledge of natural depravity is very necessary 65. 

 7. What moves sophists to ignore natural depravity 65-66. 

 8. How to view those who lightly regard natural depravity, and how to refute them 68-69. 

 * Meaning of "the imagination of the heart" 70. 

 * True theological definition of man 71. 

 9. The proof of natural depravity and that the natural is not perfect 72-73. 

 10. Consequence of false teaching on natural depravity and the natural 74-75. 

 * What sophists understand by Merito congrui and condigni 74. 

 11. How Scotus tried to prove that man's natural powers were all he had, and how to refute his opinion 75-76. 

 * Value of the Scholastics and their theology 77. 

 12. How teachers in these things lead astray 78. 

 * The virtues of the heathen. 

 a. Estimate of them 79-80. 

 b. How they differ from the good works of the saints 81. 

 c. What they lack 82-83. 

 13. Natural depravity may sleep in youth, but it will awake as the years advance 84-86. 

 14. Those who ignore natural depravity may be refuted by experience 87. 

 15. Philosophy manifests its vanity and blindness in its attitude to this doctrine 88-89. 

 16. Experience confirms natural depravity 89-90. 

 17. Whether natural depravity can be completely eradicated: how to check it 91. 

 * How to understand "God will not smite the earth again" 92. 

 * Nature thrown into great disorder by the deluge 93. 

 * Seasons of the year again put in their order 94. 

 * The people's talk about the signs of the last times 95. 

 * The days of earth to be followed by the days of heaven, and we should prepare for them 96. 

III. MAN'S NATURAL DEPRAVITY AND HIS NATURAL POWERS. 

V. 21d. _For that the imagination of man's heart is evil from hisyouth. _

56. This is a powerful passage, relating to original sin. Whoeverweakens its force, goes straying like the blind man in the sunlight, failing to see his own acts and experiences. Look at the days of ourswaddling clothes; in how many ways sin manifests itself in ourearlier years. What an amount of switching it requires until we aretaught order, as it were, and attention to duty!

57. Then youth succeeds. There a stronger rebellion becomesnoticeable, and in addition that untamable evil, the rage of lust anddesire. If one take a wife, the result is weariness of his own and apassion for others. If the government of a State is entrusted to him, an exceptionally fruitful harvest of vice will follow--as jealousy, rivalry, haughtiness, hope of gain, avarice, wrath, anger, and otherevils. 

58. It is true, as the German proverb has it, that sins grow with theyears: Je laenger, je aerger; je aelter, je kaerger (worse with time, stingier with age). All such vices are so blatant and gross as tobecome objects of observation and intelligence. What, then shall wesay of the inward vices when unbelief, presumption, neglect of theWord, and wicked views grow up?

59. There are those who are and desire to be considered powerfultheologians, though they extenuate original sin by sophistry. Butvices so numerous and great cannot be extenuated. Original sin is nota slight disorder or infirmity, but complete lawlessness, the like ofwhich is not found in other creatures, except in evil spirits. 

60. But do those extenuators have any Scriptural proof to rest upon?Let us see what Moses says. As I pointed out in explaining the sixthchapter, he does not call such things evil, as lust, tyranny, andother sins, but the imagination of the human heart; that is, humanenergy, wisdom and reason, with all the faculties the mind employseven in our best works. Although we do not condemn acts which belongto the social or civil sphere, yet the human heart vitiates theseworks in themselves proper, by doing them for glory, for profit, orfor oppression, and either from opposition to the neighbor or to God. 

61. Nor can we escape the force of this passage by saying that thoseare meant who perished by the flood. God uses a generic term whichdenotes that the heart of man, as such, is meant. At the time this wasspoken there were no other people than those saved in the ark, and yetthe declaration is: the imagination of man's heart is evil. 

62. Therefore, not even the saints are excepted. In Ham, the thirdson, this imagination of the heart betrayed its nature. And the otherbrothers were no better by nature. There was only this difference, that they, believing in the promised seed, retained the hope offorgiveness of sin, and did not give way to the evil imagination oftheir hearts, rather resisting it through the Holy Spirit, who isgiven for the very purpose of contending against, and overcoming, themalignity of man's nature. Because Ham gives way to his nature, he iswholly evil, and totally perishes. Shem and Japheth, who contendagainst it in their spirit, though being evil, are not altogether so. They have the Holy Spirit, through whom they contend against the evil, and hence are holy. 

63. It would seem here that God might be accused of fickleness. Before, when he was about to punish man, he assigned as a reason forhis purpose the fact that the imagination of man's heart is evil;here, when he is about to give unto man the gracious promise that hewill not thereafter show such anger, he puts forward the same reason. To human wisdom this appears foolish and inconsistent with divinewisdom. 

64. But I gladly pass by such sublime themes, and leave them to mindspossessed of leisure. For me it is enough that these works are spokento suit our spiritual condition, inasmuch as God points out that he isnow appeased and no longer angry. So parents, having chastised theirdisobedient children as they deserve, win again their affections bykindness. This change of mood is not deserving of criticism but ratherof commendation. It profits the children; otherwise they, whilefearing the rod, might also begin to hate their parents. Thisexplanation is good enough for me, for it appeals to our faith. Othersmay explain differently. 

65. We should give diligent attention to this passage because itplainly shows that man's nature is corrupt, a truth above all othersto be apprehended, because without it God's mercy and grace cannot berightly understood. Hence, the quibblers previously mentioned are tobe despised and we have good reason to take to task the translator whogave occasion for this error by rendering the words so as to say, notthat the imagination of man's heart is evil, but that it is inclinedto evil. Upon this authority the quibblers distort or set aside thosepassages of Paul where he says that all are children of wrath (Eph 2, 3) that all have sinned (Rom 5, 12) and are under sin (Rom 3, 9). Theyargue from our passage as follows: Moses does not say that humannature is evil, but that it is prone to evil; this condition, call itinclination or proclivity, is under the control of free will, nor doesit force man toward the evil, or (to use their own words) it imposesno constraint upon man. 

66. Then they proceed to find a reason for this statement and declarethat even after the fall of man, there remains in him a good will anda right understanding. For the natural powers, say they, areunimpaired, not only in man but even in the devil. And finally they sotwist Aristotle's teachings as to make him say that reason tendstoward that which is best. Some traces of these views are found alsoin the writings of the Church fathers. Using Psalms 4, 6 as a basis, where the prophet says, "Jehovah, lift thou up the light of thycountenance upon us, " they distinguish between a higher part of reasonwhich inquires concerning God, and a lower part employed in temporaland civil affairs. Even Augustine is pleased with this distinction, aswe stated above when discussing the fall of man. 

67. But if only a spark of the knowledge of God had remainedunimpaired in man, we should be different beings by far from what wenow are. Hence, those quibblers who pick flaws in the plain statementsof Paul are infinitely blind. If they would carefully and devoutlyconsider that very passage as they read it in their Latin Bible, theywould certainly cease to father so bad a cause. For it is not aninsignificant truth which Moses utters when he says the senses and thethoughts of the heart of man are prone to evil from his youth. This isthe case especially in the sixth chapter (vs 5) where he says that thewhole thought of his heart was bent on evil continually, meaningthereby that he purposes what is evil, and that in inclination, purpose and effort he inclines to evil. For example; an adulterer, whose desires are inflamed, may lack the opportunity, the place, theperson, the time, and nevertheless be stirred by the fire of lust, unable to dwell upon anything else. In this manner, says Moses, doeshuman nature always incline toward evil. Can, then, the natural powersof man be said to have remained unimpaired, seeing that man's thoughtsare always set upon evil things?

68. If the minds of the sophists were as open toward the holy doctrinecontained in the prophetical and apostolical writings as toward theirown teachers who teach the freedom of the will and the merit of works, they surely would not have permitted themselves by so small aninducement as one little word to be led away from the truth so as toteach, contrary to Scripture, that man's natural powers are uninjured, and that man, by nature, is not under wrath or condemnation. Notwithstanding, it appears that they turn against their ownabsurdity. Although the natural powers of man are uninjured, yet theymaintain that, to become acceptable, grace is required; in otherwords, they teach that God is not satisfied with man's naturalgoodness, unless it be improved by love. 

69. But what is the need to argue longer against the madness of thesophists, since we know the true meaning of the Hebrew text to be, notthat man's mind and thoughts are inclined to evil, but that theimagination of the human heart is evil from youth?

70. By imagination, as I stated several times before (ch 6, §148), hemeans reason itself, together with the will and the understanding, even when it dwells upon God, or occupies itself with most honorablepursuits, be they those of State or Home. It is always contrary toGod's law, always in sin, always under God's wrath, and it cannot befreed from this evil state by its own strength, as witness Christ'swords: "If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be freeindeed, " Jn 8, 36. 

71. If you wish a definition of the word "man" take it from this textteaching that he is a rational being, with a heart given toimagination. But what does he imagine? Moses answers, "Evil"; that is, evil against God or God's Law, and against his fellow man. Thus holyScriptures ascribe to man a reason that is not idle but alwaysimagines something. This imagination it calls evil, wicked, sacrilegious, while the philosophers call it good, and the quibblerssay that the natural gifts are unimpaired. 

72. Therefore this text should be carefully noted and urged againstthe caviling quibblers: Moses declares the imagination of the humanheart to be evil. And if it be evil, the conclusion is natural thatthe natural gifts are not unimpaired, but corrupted: Inasmuch as Goddid not create man evil, but perfect, sound, holy, knowing God, hisreason right and his will toward God good. 

73. Seeing we have clear testimony to the fact that man is evil andturned away from God, who would be mad enough to say that the naturalgifts in man remain unimpaired? That would be practically saying thatman's nature is unimpaired and good even now, whereas we haveoverwhelming evidence in our knowledge and experience that it isdebased to the utmost. 

74. From that wicked theory there have sprung many dangerous and somepalpably wicked utterances, for instance, that when man does the bestin his power, God will unfailingly give his grace. By such teachingthey have driven man, as by a trumpet, to prayer, fasting, self-torture, pilgrimages and similar performances. Thus the world wastaught to believe that if men did the best that nature permitted, theywould earn grace, if not the grace "de merito, " at least that "decongruo. " A "meritum congrui" (title to reward based upon equity) theyattribute to a work which has been performed not against but inaccordance to the divine law, inasmuch as an evil work is subject notto a reward but a penalty. The "meritum condigni" (a title to rewardbased upon desert) they attribute not to the work itself but to itsquality as being performed in a state of grace. 

75. Another saying of this kind is the declaration of Scotus that manby mere natural powers may love God above all things. This declarationis based upon the principle that the natural powers are unimpaired. Heargues as follows: A man loves a woman, who is a creature, and heloves her so immoderately that he will imperil his very life for hersake. Similarly, a merchant loves his wares, and so eagerly that hewill risk death a thousand times if only he can gain something. Iftherefore, the love of created things is so great, though they rankfar below God, how much more will a man love God who is the highestgood! Hence, God can be loved with the natural powers alone. 

76. A fine argument, indeed, and worthy of a Franciscan monk! For heshows that, though he is a great teacher, he does not know what itmeans to love God. Nature is so corrupt that it can no longer know Godunless it be enlightened by the Word and Spirit of God; how then canit love God without the Holy Spirit? For it is true that we have nodesire for what we do not know. Therefore, nature cannot love God whomit does not know, but it loves an idol, and a dream of its own heart. Furthermore, it is so entirely fettered by the love of created thingsthat even after it has learned to know God from his Word, itdisregards him and despises his Word. Of this the people of our owntimes are an example. 

77. Such foolish and blasphemous deliverances are certain proof thatscholastic theology has degenerated into a species of philosophy thathas no knowledge of God, and walks in darkness because it disregardshis Word. Also Aristotle and Cicero, who have the greatest influencewith this tribe, give broad instructions concerning moral excellences. They magnify these exceedingly as social forces since they recognizethem as useful for private and public ends. In nowise, however, dothey teach that God's will and command is to be regarded far more thanprivate or public advantage (and those who do not possess the Word areignorant of the will of God). Quite plainly the scholastics havefallen victims to philosophical fancies to such an extent as to retaintrue knowledge neither of themselves nor of God. This is the cause oftheir lapse into such disastrous errors. 

78. And, indeed, it is easy to fall after you have departed from theWord; for the glitter of civil virtues is wonderfully enticing to themind. Erasmus makes of Socrates almost a perfect Christian, andAugustine has unbounded praise for Marcus Attilius Regulus, because hekept faith with his enemy. Truthfulness indeed is the most beautifulof all virtues, and in this case another high commendation is added inthat there was combined with it love of country, which in itself is apeculiar and most praiseworthy virtue. 

79. You may find men of renown not famous for truthfulness. Themistocles, for instance, did not have this virtue though he was aheroic man and did his country great service. That is the reason whyAugustine admires Attilius, finding his reason and will to be utterlyrighteous, that is as far as it is possible for human nature to be. Where, then, is vice in this case? Where is wickedness? The hero'swork surely cannot be censured. 

80. First, Regulus knew not God, and, although his conduct was right, it is still to be seen whether a theologian should not censure hismotive. For to his zeal in behalf of his country is added the thirstfor glory. He evinces contempt for his life so as to achieve immortalglory among those to live after him. Contemplating, therefore, merelyhis life's dream, as it were, and the outward mask, it is a mostbeautiful deed. But before God it is shameful idolatry; because heclaims for himself the glory of his deed. And who would doubt that hehad other failings besides this thirst for glory? Attilius cannotclaim the great virtues of truthfulness and love of country withouttending violently and insanely toward wickedness. For it is wicked forhim to rob God of the glory and to claim it for himself. But humanreason cannot recognize this spoliation of the Deity. 

81. A distinction must be made between the virtues of the heathen andthe virtues of Christians. It is true that in both instances heartsare divinely prompted, but in the former ambition and love of gloryafterward defile the divine impulse. 

82. If now, an orator should come forth, who would dilate upon theefficient cause, but disguise the ultimate and vicious one, would itnot be apparent to every one that with the two most potent causes, theformal (that which gives moral value to an act) and the ultimate one, disguised, an eloquent man could extol such a wretched shadow of avirtue? But a man apt in logic will readily discover the deception; hewill observe the absence of the formal cause, namely the rightprinciple, there being no true knowledge of God nor of the properattitude toward him. He sees, furthermore, that the final cause isvicious, because the true end and aim, obedience to God and love ofneighbor, is not taken into consideration. But what kind of virtue isthat where nearly every cause is lacking except the natural cause, which is a passion, an impetus or impulse, by which the soul is movedto show loyalty to an enemy? These impulses, as I said, are found alsoin the ungodly. If exercised for the good of the country, they becomevirtues; if for its injury, they become vices. This Aristotle setsforth very skillfully. 

83. I refer to these things that students of sacred literature maymake special note of this passage, which advisedly declares humannature to be corrupt. For those make-believe virtues, found among theheathen, seem to prove the contrary--that some part of nature hasremained as it was originally. Hence there is need of careful judgmentin order to distinguish in this matter. 

84. Moses adds, "from his youth, " because this evil is concealedduring the first period of life and sleeps, as it were. Our earlychildhood so passes that reason and will are dormant and we arecarried along by animal impulses, which pass away like a dream. Hardlyhave we passed our fifth year when we affect idleness, play, unchastity, and evil lust. But we try to escape discipline, weendeavor to get away from obedience, and hate all virtues, especiallyof a higher order as truth and justice. Then reason awakes out of adeep sleep, as it were, and sees certain kinds of pleasure, but notyet the true ones, and certain kinds of evils, but not yet the mostpowerful ones, by which it is held captive. 

85. Where, then, the understanding has attained to maturity, not onlythe other vices are found to have grown strong, but there are joinedto them now sexual desire and unclean passion, gluttony, gambling, strife, rape, murder, theft, and what not? And as the parents had toapply the rod, so now the government must needs use prison and chainsin order to restrain man's evil nature. 

86. And who does not know the vices of a more advanced age? They marchalong in unbroken file--love of money, ambition, pride, perfidy, envy, and others. These vices are so much the more harmful as at this age weare more crafty in concealing and masking them. Hence, the sword ofgovernment is not sufficient in this respect; there is need of hellfire for the punishment of crimes so manifold and great. Justly, then, did Moses say above (ch 6) that the human heart, or the imagination ofthe heart, is only evil each day--or at all times--and here again, that it is evil from youth. 

87. The Latin version, it is true, makes use of a weaker term; yet itsays enough by stating that it is inclined toward evil, just as thecomic dramatist says that the minds of all men are inclined to turnfrom labor to lust, Ter Andr 1, 1, 51. But those who try to misusethis expression for the purpose of making light of original sin, areshown to be in the wrong by the common experience of mankind; chiefly, however, that of the heathen, or ungodly men. For if spiritual men, who surely enjoy divine help from heaven, can hardly hold their groundagainst vices and be kept within the bounds of discipline, what canany man do without this help? If divine aid contends against thecaptivity of the law of the flesh only with fierce struggles (Rom 7, 22-23), how insane is it to dream that, without this divine help, human nature can withstand corruption?

88. Hence reason of itself does not decide upon the right, nor doesthe will, of itself, strive after the same, as a blind philosophydeclares which does not know whence these fearful impulses to sinarise in children, youths, and old men. Therefore it defends them, calls them emotions or passions only, and does not call them naturalcorruption. 

89. Furthermore, in noble men, who check and control these impulses, it calls them virtues; in others who give the reins to their desires, it calls them vices. This is nothing less than ignorance of the factthat human nature is evil. The Scriptures, on the contrary agree withour experience and declare that the human heart is evil from youth. For we learn by experience that even holy men can scarcely stand firm;yea that even they are often entangled by gross sins, beingoverwhelmed by such natural corruptions. 

90. The term _ne-urim_ denotes the age when man begins to use hisreason; this usually occurs in the sixth year. Similarly, the term_ne-arim_ is used to denote boys and youths who need the guidance ofparents and teachers up to the age of manhood. It will be profitablefor each of us to glance backward to that period of life and considerhow willingly we obeyed the commands of our parents and teachers, howdiligent we were in studying, how persevering we were, how often ourparents punished our sauciness. Who can say for himself that he wasnot much more pleased to go out for a walk, to play games, and togossip, than to go to Church in obedience to his parents?

91. Although these impulses can be corrected or bridled to a certainextent by discipline, they cannot be rooted out of the heartaltogether, as the traces of these impulses show when we are grown. There is truth in that unpolished lie: "The angelic youth becomessatanic in his older years. " God, indeed, causes some persons toexperience emotions which are naturally good; but they are induced bysupernatural power. Thus Cyrus was impelled to restore the worship ofGod, and to preserve the Church. But such is not the tendency of humannature. Where God is present with his Holy Spirit, there only, theimagination of the human heart gives place to the thoughts of God. Goddwells there through the Word and the Spirit. Of such, Moses does notspeak here, but only of those who are without the Holy Spirit; theyare wicked, even when at their best. 

V. 21e. _Neither will I again smite any more everything living, as Ihave done. _

92. Moses clearly speaks of a general destruction, like that which wascaused by the flood. From this it does not follow that God will alsoabstain from partial destruction, and that he will take no heed ofanybody's sin. There will also be an exception in the case of the lastday, when not only all living things will be smitten, but all creationwill be destroyed by fire. 

V. 22. _While the earth reigneth, seedtime and harvest, and cold andheat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. _

93. Following this text, the Jews divide the year into six parts, eachcomprising two months, a fact which Lyra also records in thisconnection. But it seems to me that Moses simply speaks of the promisethat we need not fear another general flood. During the time of theflood such confusion reigned that there was no season, either ofseedtime or harvest, and by reason of the great darkness caused by theclouds and the rain, day could not readily be distinguished fromnight. We know how heavy clouds obscure the light. How much greater, then, was the darkness when the waters, lying under the clouds like amirror, reflected the darkness of the clouds into the faces and eyesof the beholders!

94. The meaning, accordingly, is simply that God here promises Noahthe imminent restoration of the earth, so that the fields might againbe sowed; that the desolation caused by the flood should be no more;that the seasons might run their course in accordance with regularlaw: harvest following seedtime, winter following summer, coldfollowing heat in due order. 

95. This text should be carefully remembered in view of the commonnotions concerning the signs before the last day. Then, some declare, there will be eclipses of I know not how many days duration. They sayfoolishly that for seven years not a single woman will bring forth achild, and the like. But this text declares that neither day nornight, neither summer nor winter, shall cease; therefore these naturalchanges will go on, and there will never be an eclipse which will robhuman eyes of an entire day. 

96. Nor is it a phrase devoid of meaning when he says, "While theearth remaineth, " for he gives us to understand that the days of thisearth shall sometime be numbered, and other days, days of heaven, shall follow. As long, therefore, as the days of the earth endure, solong shall the earth abide, and with it the rotation of seasons. Butwhen these days of the earth shall pass, then all these things shallcease, and there shall follow days of heaven, that is, eternal days. There shall be one Sabbath after the other, when we shall not beengrossed with bodily labor for the purpose of gaining a livelihood;for we shall be as the angels of God, Mk 12, 25. Our life will be toknow God, to delight in God's wisdom and to enjoy the presence of God. This life we attain through faith in Christ, in which the eternalFather may mercifully keep us, through the merit of his son, ourSavior, Jesus Christ, by the ruling and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen. 

CHAPTER IX. 

I. GOD BLESSES NOAH AND THE RACE. 

 A. MARRIAGE STATE BLESSED 1-5. 

 1. Why this blessing necessary 1. 

 2. Wedlock established twice 2. 

 3. Evidence of God's love to the human race 3. 

 4. Did this blessing pertain to Noah 4. 

 * Bearing of children a special blessing of God unknown to the heathen 5. 

I. GOD BLESSES NOAH AND THE RACE. 

A. Marriage State Blessed. 

V. 1. _And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Befruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. _

1. This consolation was indeed needed after the whole human race hadbeen destroyed by the flood and only eight souls were saved. Now Noahknew that God was truly merciful, since, not content with that firstblessing which he had bestowed upon mankind in the creation of theworld, he added this new blessing, that Noah might have no misgivingswhatever in regard to the future increase of his posterity. And thejoy brought by this promise was all the greater for God's emphaticpromise on a previous occasion, that he would never again visitmankind with such severe punishment. 

2. In the first place, then, this chapter renews the establishment ofmarriage. God, by his Word and command, joins male and female for thepurpose of repopulating the earth. Inasmuch as God had been roused toanger before the flood by the sin of lust, it was now needful, byreason of that fearful proof of wrath, to show that God does not abhorthe lawful cohabitation of man and woman, but that it is his will toincrease mankind by this means. 

3. The fact that God had expressed it as his will that the human raceshould be propagated through a union between man and woman, an endwhich could have been attained from stones had he failed to approvesuch union as lawful, after the manner of Deucalion of whom the poetsfable--this fact tended to furnish Noah sure evidence that God lovedman, and desired his welfare, and that now all anger was at an end. Therefore this passage illustrates the dignity of wedlock, which isthe foundation of the family and State, and the nursery of the Church. 

4. The objection is here raised that Noah had already reached an ageno longer fit for procreation in view of the fact that the Biblerecords no instance of children being born to him afterwards, andtherefore this promise was valueless. To this I reply that thispromise was given, not to Noah alone, but also to his sons, even toall mankind; so that the expectation of offspring was entertained evenby the grandsire Noah. 

5. This passage, furthermore, tends to convince us that children are agift of God and a result of his blessing, as is shown in Psalms 127, 3. The heathen, who know nothing of God's Word, ascribe the increaseof mankind partly to nature and partly to chance, in view of the factthat those who are evidently most fit for procreation often remainwithout offspring. Hence, they do not thank God for this gift, nor dothey receive their children as a blessing from God. 

B. MAN'S USE OF AND DOMINION OVER ANIMALS 6-31. 

 1. Whether animals feared man before the flood 6-7. 

 2. Relation between this use and dominion and of what they give evidence 7-9. 

 3. This use and rule a special blessing of God 8-10. 

 * Whether the custom of slaying cattle dates from the beginning of the world 10-11. 

 4. Whether Adam knew of this use and dominion 12. 

 5. This use of animals is evidence of God's love to the human race 13. 

 * God's blessings greater than his wrath 13. 

 6. Whether this use extends to unclean animals 14-15. 

 7. How man's fear of animals and their wildness and cruelty can exist with this dominion 16-18. 

 * New sins accompanied by new punishments 19-20. 

 * Sodom before and after its destruction 21. 

 * God's punishment of Wittenberg, Bruges and Venice, and the cause 22-23. 

 * God's command not to eat blood. 

 a. Why given 24. 

 b. How to treat this text, which contains God's Word 25. 

 * Meaning of Nephesch and Basar 26. 

 c. Right understanding of the command 27. 

 * The words, "Surely your blood will I require" etc. 

 a. Lyra's and the Rabbis' explanation, 28-29. 

 b. Their true meaning 30-31. 

B. MAN'S USE OF AND DOMINION OVER ANIMALS. 

V. 2. _And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon everybeast of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens; with allwherewith the ground teemeth, and all the fishes of the sea, into yourhand are they delivered. _

6. It would seem that the dominion of man is here increased for hisgreater consolation. For though after the creation man was givendominion over all animals, yet we do not read that the beasts fearedand fled from him according to the description of Moses. The reason isfound in the fact that heretofore the animals were not destined to beman's food; man had been a kind ruler of the beasts, not a killer andeater. 

7. Here, however, they are subjected to man as a tyrant with unlimitedpower of life and death. Since the servitude of the beasts isincreased and the power of man over them extended, the animals areharassed by terror and fear of man. We see even the tamed ones do notreadily allow themselves to be handled; they feel the mastery of manand have a constant instinct of danger. I do not believe that such wasthe case before this Word of God was spoken. Before that time, menused suitable animals for their work and for sacrifice, but not forfood. This increase of power also is a token of God's favor; heconfers a privilege unknown to the patriarchs, as a token of his loveand interest in man. 

8. We must not undervalue this boon authority over the beasts; for itis a special gift of God, of which the heathen knew nothing, becausethey lack the Word. We are the ones who derive the greatest benefitfrom this gift. When this revelation was given to Noah, and such aprivilege granted, there was really no need of it. A few men possessedthe whole earth, so that its fruits were to be enjoyed by them inabundance and it was not necessary to add the flesh of beasts. But wetoday could not live altogether on the fruits of the earth; it is agreat boon to us that we are permitted to eat the flesh of beasts, ofbirds and of fish. 

9. This word, therefore, establishes the butcher's trade; it putshares, chickens, and geese upon the spit and fills our tables with allmanner of dishes. Necessity makes men industrious. Not only do theyhunt the animals of the forests, but carefully fatten others at homefor food. God in this passage establishes himself a slaughterer, as itwere, for by his word he consigns to slaughter and death those animalswhich are suitable for food, as recompence to God-fearing Noah for histribulations during the flood. For that reason would God feed Noahwith lavish hand. 

10. We must not think that this privilege was not divinely ordered. The heathen believe that this custom of slaughtering animals alwaysexisted. Such things are established, or rather permitted, by the Wordof God; beasts could not have been killed without sin if God had notexpressly permitted it by his Word. It is a great liberty for man toslaughter all kinds of beasts fit for food and eat them withoutwrong-doing. Had but a single kind of beasts been reserved for food, it would still have been a great boon; how much more should we valuethis lavish blessing, that all beasts suitable for sustenance aregiven into the power of man!

11. The godless and the gentiles do not recognize this; nor do thephilosophers. They believe that this privilege has always been man's. As for us, however, we should have full light on the subject, in orderthat our consciences may enjoy both rest and freedom in the use ofwhat God has created and allowed, there being absolutely no lawagainst such food. There can be no sin in their use, though the wickedpriests have criminally burdened the Church on this subject. 

12. In this passage, then, the power of man is increased and the brutebeasts are committed to him, even unto death. They fear man and fleehim under the new order, running counter to the experience of thepast. Adam would have been averse to killing even a small bird forfood. But now, since the promulgation of this Word, we know that, as aspecial blessing, God has furnished our kitchens with all kinds ofmeat. Later on he will also take care of the cellar by showing man howto cultivate the vine. 

13. These are sure proofs that God no longer hates man, but favorshim. This story bears witness that, as God's wrath, once aroused, isunbearable, so his mercy is likewise endless and without measure whenit again begins to glow. But his mercy is the more abundantlyexercised because it is the very nature of God, while wrath really isforeign to God; he takes it upon himself contrary to his nature andforced thereto by the wickedness of men. 

V. 3. _Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you; as thegreen herb have I given you all. _

14. Here a question arises. In chapter 7, 2, Moses showed thedifference between clean and unclean beasts; here, however, he speaksof all animals, without any distinction. Did God, then, permit man touse also the unclean animals for food?

15. The statement as such is general: every moving thing that movethupon the earth. There are some who believe that men at the time ofNoah made no distinction between clean and unclean animals as regardsfood. But I hold a different opinion. For since such difference hadbeen established before that time and was carefully observed in theLaw afterward, I believe that men used only clean beasts for food;that is, such as were offered in sacrifice. Hence the generaldeclaration must be understood with a modification: Everything thatliveth and moveth, of clean beasts, is to be food for you. For, ingeneral, human nature loathes serpents, wolves, ravens, mice, anddormice, though certain tribes may be found who relish even theseanimals. The fear and terror of man is upon all beasts of the earth, because he is allowed to kill them; but it does not follow that manuses them all for food. It is probable that Noah ate clean beastsonly; and only clean beasts, he knew, were acceptable to Jehovah insacrifice. 

16. But there is another thing hard to understand. How can it be thatthe terror and fear of man is upon all animals when wolves, lions, bears, wild boars, and tigers devour men, and are rather a terror tomen? So with the entire family of serpents, from which we flee at aglance. What shall we say here? Is the Word of God untruthful? Ianswer: Though we, being aware of our danger, flee from such beastsand are afraid of them, yet they, likewise, fear man. Even thefiercest beasts become terrified and flee at the first sight of man;but when they become enraged they overcome man by reason of theirbodily strength. 

17. But, you say, why do they fear when they are stronger? I answer:They know that man is endowed with reason, which is more powerful thanany beast. The skill of man masters even elephants, lions, and tigers. Whatever man's bodily strength is unable to do, that he accomplishesby his skill and his reasoning powers. How would it otherwise bepossible for a boy of ten years to control an entire herd of cattle?Or for man to guide a horse, an animal of singular fierceness andstrength, to go in whatever direction he desires, now urging itforward and then compelling it to a more moderate gait? All thesethings are done by man's skill, not by his strength. Hence, we do notlack clear proofs that the fear of man remains upon the beasts, whichharm man when they become enraged, and for that reason are feared byhim. 

18. I have no doubt, however, that at the time of Noah and thepatriarchs immediately succeeding, this fear in the beasts wasgreater, because righteousness then flourished and there was less ofsin. Afterward, when holiness of life declined and sin increased, manbegan to lose this blessing, and the wild beasts became a punishmentfor sin. Moses threatens in Deut 32, 34 that God would send upon themthe teeth of beasts. How fearful, also, was the plague of the fieryserpents in the desert! Num 21, 6. Bears tore to pieces the lads whomocked the prophet, 2 Kings 2, 24. Why did the beasts here lose theirfear of man? Why did they rage against man? Was not sin the cause?

19. Therefore, as stated before, when new sins arise, new punishmentswill also arise. So we see that in our day disease and misfortunesheretofore rare become general, like the English sweat, the locustswhich in the year 1542 devastated great stretches of land in Polandand Silesia, and other examples. 

20. In like manner, God promised seasons of seeding and of harvest, ofheat and cold, and yet he does not so close his eyes to our sins thatthe seasons, both of seeding and of harvest, are not subject toclimatic disturbances, such as the fearful drouth of the year 1504 andthe almost unending rains of the two following years. Considering thewickedness of our age, why should we wonder that the blessing givesplace to a curse, so that the beasts, which would fear us were we notwicked, are now a terror unto us and harmful?

21. The country of the Sodomites was like a paradise; but by reason ofsin it was turned into a sea of asphalt; and those who have seen thatcountry tell us that most beautiful apples grow there, but when theyare cut open they are found to be filled with ashes and offensiveodor. The reason for this is that the Sodomites did not acknowledgethe gifts of God who blessed them, but misused them according to theirown will. Furthermore, they blasphemed God, and persecuted his saints, being haughty by reason of those good gifts. Therefore the blessingwas taken away, and everything became curse-ridden. This is the trueexplanation of the fact that, though there are signs of terror in wildanimals, we are nevertheless afraid of them, and they inflict harmupon us. 

22. I am quite certain that very wicked men once lived in this countryof ours; how could we otherwise explain the parched soil and barrensands? Names also show that the Jews at one time peopled this country. Where bad people live, there the land gradually grows bad by the curseof God. 

23. The city of Bruges in Flanders used to be a renowned port; butfrom the time when they held King Maximilian captive, the searetreated, and the port ceased to exist. Of Venice they say the samething today. Nor is this very astonishing, since to the numberlesssins of rulers of the State, defence of idol worship and persecutionof the Gospel was added. 

V. 4. _But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. _

24. What we have heard so far, referred to domestic matters; now Godadds a commandment pertaining to civil government. Since it was nomore a sin to kill an ox or a sheep for food than it was to pluck aflower or an herb, growing in the field, there was some danger thatmen might misuse this God-given power over the beasts and go beyond iteven to the shedding of human blood. Hence, he now adds a new law, that human blood must not be shed, and at the same time he curtailsthe liberty of eating flesh; he forbids them to eat flesh which hasnot first been drained of blood. 

25. The Hebrew text presents many difficulties, and, for this reason, interpreters are at variance. It is needless to recite all renderingsof this verse. I steadily follow the rule that the words must explainthe things, not the things the words. Hence, I spend no time upon theideas of those who explain the words according to their owninclinations, making them serve the preconceived notions which theybring to their literature. 

26. Let us first look at the meaning of the words. _Rephesh_ properlydenotes a body with a soul, or a living animal, such as the ox, thesheep, man, etc. It denotes not merely the body, but a living body, aswhen Christ says: I lay down my life for the sheep, Jn 10, 15. Herethe word "life" means nothing else than the life animating the body. _Basar_, however, means flesh, which is a part of the materialelement, and yet has its breath and its energy, not from the body, butfrom the soul. For the flesh or the body, of itself and without thesoul, is an inanimate thing, like a log or a stone; but when it isfilled with the breath of the soul, then its fluids and all bodilyforces assume activity. 

27. God here forbids the eating of a body which still contains thestirring, moving, living soul, as the hawk devours chickens, and thewolf sheep, without killing them, but while still alive. Such crueltyis here forbidden by Jehovah, who sets bounds to the privilege ofslaughtering, lest it be done in so beastly a manner that livingbodies or portions thereof be devoured. The lawful manner ofslaughtering is to be observed, such as was followed at the altar andin religious rites, where the beast, having been slain without crueltyand duly cleansed from blood, was finally offered to God. I hold thatthe simple and true meaning of the text, which is also given by someJewish teachers, is that we must not eat raw flesh and members stillpalpitating, as did the Laestrygones and the Cyclopes. 

V. 5. _And surely your blood, the blood of your lives, will I require;at the hand of every beast will I require it: and at the hand of man, even at the hand of every man's brother, will I require the life ofman. _

28. Here the Hebrew text is even more difficult than in the foregoingverse. Lyra, quoting the Rabbins, finds four kinds of manslaughterindicated here; he divides the statement into two parts, and finds atwofold explanation for each. He understands the first part to meanthose who lay murderous hands upon themselves. If this is correct, then this passage is a witness for immortality; for how could God callto account a person who, being dead, no longer exists? Hence, punishment of sin after this life could be indicated here. But itseems to me that philology militates against this explanation. ThoughI do not lay claim to a perfect knowledge of the Hebrew tongue, yet Iam certain that such a meaning is not here apparent. 

29. The second kind of murder, he illustrates by the custom ofthrowing human beings before wild beasts, as was done aforetime in thetheatres, truly a barbaric spectacle, repulsive to all human feeling;the third kind is murder at the instigation of another; the fourth, murder of a relative. 

30. This distinction would be quite satisfactory if it could be provenfrom the words of the text; but it is a Jewish invention born of theirhatred of the Roman laws. It is much simpler to understand thispassage as a general prohibition of murder, according to the fifthcommandment, which says, "Thou shalt not kill. " God desires not even abeast to be killed, except for a sacred purpose or for the benefit ofman. Much less does he permit taking the life of man, except by divineauthority, as will be explained hereafter. 

31. In the first place, then, wilful and wicked slaughter isforbidden. Culture is opposed to the wanton killing of animals and tothe eating of raw meat. In the second place God forbids homicide ofany description; for if God will require the blood of a murdered humanbeing from the beast that slew him, how much more relentlessly will herequire it at the hand of man? Thus this passage voices the sentimentof the fifth commandment, that no one shall spill human blood. 

II. LAW CONCERNING MAN'S SLAUGHTER; GOD'S COVENANT WITH NOAH; THE RAINBOW 32-68. 

 A. LAW CONCERNING SLAYERS OF LIFE. 

 1. If it existed before the flood 32. 

 2. Relation of the flood to this law 33. 

 3. This the source of all human laws 34-36. 

 4. When and how this law can be executed 35. 

 * Why is it well to observe that government was instituted by God 36-37. 

 5. In what respect is it a great blessing from God 37. 

 6. How is government a proof of God's love to man 38. 

 7. Why God gave this command, and why he punishes man-slaughter 39. 

 8. Hereby a new police and a new order are instituted 40. 

 * Verdict of philosophy and of reason on civil authority 41. 

 * Verdict of God's Word 42. 

 9. This law applies to all men 43. 

 10. Why God is such an enemy of man-slaughter, and so earnestly forbids it 44-45. 

 11. The conclusion that God loves life 46. 

II. THE LAW AGAINST TAKING LIFE; GOD'S COVENANT WITH NOAH; THERAINBOW. 

A. The Law Against Taking Life. 

V. 6a. _Who sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. _

32. Here the carelessness of the Latin translator deserves reproof;for he omitted the very necessary expression "by man. " The differencebetween the time before and that after the flood is thus brought out. When Cain had murdered his brother Abel, God revered human blood sohighly that he threatened to visit sevenfold punishment upon anyonewho should kill Cain. He would not have the slayer of man put to deatheven by due process of law; and though Adam punished the sin of hisson severely by casting him out, he did not dare to pronounce sentenceof death upon him. 

33. But here Jehovah establishes a new law, requiring the murderer beput to death by man--a law unprecedented, because heretofore God hadreserved all judgment to himself. When he saw that the world wasgrowing worse and worse, he finally enforced punishment against awicked world by the flood. Here, however, God bestows a share of hisauthority upon man, giving him the power of life and death, that thushe may be the avenger of bloodshed. Whosoever takes man's life withoutdue warrant, him God subjects not only to his own judgment, but alsoto the sword of man. Though God may use man as his instrument inpunishing, he is himself still the avenger. Were it not for the divinecommand, then, it would be no more lawful now to slay a murderer thanit was before the flood. 

34. This is the source from which spring all civil laws and the lawsof nations. If God grants man the power of life and death, hecertainly also grants power in matters of lesser importance--powerover property, family, wife, children, servants and fields. God willsthat these things shall be under the control of certain men, who areto punish the guilty. 

35. We must remember well that between the power of God and of menthere is this difference: God has the power to slay us when the worldcannot even accuse us--when before it we are innocent. Sin is bornwith us; we are all guilty before God. Men have no authority to slayexcept where guilt is apparent and crime is proven. Hence courts havebeen established and a definite method of proceeding instituted forthe purpose of investigating and proving the crime before the sentenceof death is passed. 

36. Heed, then, this passage. It establishes civil authority as God'sinstitution, with power, not only of life and death, but jurisdictionin matters where life is not involved. Magistrates are to punish thedisobedience of children, theft, adultery, perjury--all sins which areforbidden in the second table. He who grants jurisdiction over thelife of man, at the same time grants judgment over lesser matters. 

37. The importance of this text and its claim to attention consists inthe fact that it records the establishment of civil authority by Godwith the sword as insignia of power, for the purpose that license maybe curbed and anger and other sins inhibited from growing beyond allbounds. Had God not granted this power to man, what kind of lives, Iask you, would we lead? He foresaw that wickedness would everflourish, and established this external remedy to prevent theindefinite spread of license. By this safeguard God protects life andproperty as by a fence and a wall. 

38. We find here no less a proof of God's great love toward man thanhis promise that the flood shall never again rage, and his promisethat flesh may be eaten for the sustenance of human life. 

V. 6b. _For in the image of God made he man. _

39. This is the powerful reason why God does not wish men to be killedby private arbitrament. Man is a noble creature, who, unlike otherliving beings, has been fashioned according to the image of God. Whileit is true that he has lost this image through sin, as we have seenabove, it is capable of being restored through the Word and the HolySpirit. This image God desires us to revere in each other; he forbidsus to shed blood by the exercise of sheer force. But he who refuses torespect the image of God in man, and gives way to anger andprovocation, those worst counselors of all, as some one has calledthem, his life is surrendered to civil authority in forfeit, by God, in that God commands that also his blood shall be shed. 

40. Thus the subject under consideration teaches the establishment ofcivil authority in the world, which did not exist before the flood. Cain and Lamech--and this is a case in point--were not slain, thoughthe holy patriarchs were the arbiters, judges, of public action. Butin this Scripture they who have the sword, are commanded to use itagainst those who have shed blood. 

41. Thus the problem is here solved that worried Plato and all sages. They concluded that it is impossible to administer government withoutinjustice, because all men occupy the same level of dignity andposition. Why did Caesar rule the world? Why did others obey him, since he was only human like themselves--no better, no stronger andliable to die as soon as themselves? He was subject to the sameconditions as all men. Hence it seems to be tyranny for him, who wasquite similar to other men, to usurp rulership among men. If he islike other men it is the highest wrong and injustice to ignore thissimilarity, and to foist his rule by force upon others. 

42. This is the conclusion at which reason arrives and it cannotentertain any view to the contrary. But we, having the Word, can seethat we must oppose to such reasoning the command of God, the authorof this order of things. Accordingly, it is for us to render obedienceto the divine order and to endure it, so that to our other sins thismay not be added, that we are disobedient to the will of God at thevery point where we derive benefit in so many ways. 

43. To sum up, this passage permits the slaughter of animals forreligious and personal use, but it emphatically forbids the taking ofman's life, because man is made in the image of God. Those who violatehis command he gives into the hands of the authorities to be slain. 

V. 7. _And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantlyin the earth, and multiply therein. _

44. The slaughter of animals having been granted, not only forsacrifice, but also for food, and the killing of human beings havingbeen forbidden, we are given the reason why God regards the sheddingof human blood with so much aversion. He desires mankind to multiplyon the earth; but the slaughter of men lays the earth waste andproduces a wilderness. We see this in case of war. God did not createthe earth without purpose. He intended it to be inhabited, Is 45, 18. He makes it fruitful by rain and sunshine for man's benefit. Thereforehe is displeased with those who remove from the earth its inhabitants. His will is life, and not death, Ps 30, 5. 

45. These and similar sayings of the prophets are based upon promiseslike we find here, that God commands man to multiply. Plainly he ismore inclined to give life and to do good than to be angry and tokill. If it were otherwise, why should he forbid the taking of humanlife? Why should pestilence be of rare occurrence? Pestilence andgeneral epidemics occur scarce once in ten years. Men are born, animals grow, and crops without end are growing continually. 

46. All these facts go to show that God loves, not death, but life. Hecreated man, not that he should die, but that he should live; "butthrough the envy of the devil did death enter the world, " Sap 2, 24. But even after the fall, the blessings which remain are so guarded asto render the conclusion inevitable that God loves life rather thandeath. 

It is well for us to ponder these matters very often; thus, as Solomonhas truly said, Jehovah shall be to us a fountain of blessings. Prov18, 22. 

B. GOD'S COVENANT WITH NOAH 47-55. 

 * Why the same thing is repeated 47. 

 1. Whether this covenant applies to man alone or also to the animals 48. 

 2. Whether this covenant applies to the men and animals of that day only 49. 

 * God always connected signs with his promises 49. 

 * The significance of these to our first parents 49-50. 

 3. Nature of this covenant 51. 

 * Characteristics of a humble heart and God's dealings with it 52-54. 

 4. This covenant given for man's comfort and as a proof of God's love 53-54. 

 5. It is a comfort to us at present 55. 

B. GOD'S COVENANT WITH NOAH. 

Vs. 8-11. _And God spake unto Noah, and his sons with him, saying, AndI, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed afteryou; and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, thecattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that go out ofthe ark, even every beast of the earth. And I will establish mycovenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by thewaters of the flood; neither shall there any more be a flood todestroy the earth. _

47. Previously we at various times explained this massing of words. When the Holy Spirit is prolix, there is a cause for it. Let ustherefore, consider what fear, dread and peril Noah and his familyendured and it will be easily understood why it was necessary for Godto say and to emphasize the same things with such frequency. 

48. When, in addition it is remembered that the covenant here spokenof does not pertain to man alone but embraces every living soul, werecognize that the promise does not relate to the seed but merely, tothis bodily life, enjoyed by man in common with the beasts; this Godwill not destroy by another flood. 

Vs. 12-16. _And God said, This is the token of the covenant which Imake between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for the perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and itshall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And itshall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bowshall be seen in the cloud, and I will remember my covenant, which isbetween me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and thewaters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bowshall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may rememberthe everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of allflesh that is upon the earth. _

49. The term "perpetual generations" deserves particular notice; itembraces not only man and beast at that time, but all their offspringdown to the end of the world. We learn another thing from thispassage. God usually confirms his promise with an outward sign. In thethird chapter above we read of the coats of skin with which he coveredthe nakedness of the first parents as token of his protection andguardianship. 

50. Some offer the following apt allegorical explanation. As the skinof the dead sheep keeps warm our body, so Christ, having died, keepsus warm by his Spirit, and will, on the last day, raise us up and giveus life. Others say that the skins were selected as a sign ofmortality. But this seems unnecessary; all our life reminds us ofmortality. More expedient was a token of life, suggesting the blessingand favor of God. The office of such tokens is to console, not toterrify. So was the sign of the rainbow given, a supplement of thepromise. 

51. In chapter 8, 21-22, God says in his heart that he repents of thatterrible punishment, and promises that he will not repeat it, becausethe imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. If he shoulddesire to so punish evil, there would be need of a flood every day. Here he again sends forth his Word to mankind, through an angel, orpossibly through the mouth of Noah, promising that no flood shallhereafter come upon the earth. That the promise is repeated so oftenis evidence of God's endeavor, in loving kindness, to remove man'sfear of punishment and to set before him a hope of blessing and utmostmercy. 

52. Such consolation Noah and his loved ones required. One who hasbeen humbled by God cannot forget the wound and the pain. Chasteningis longer remembered than blessing. Boys are a case in point. Thetender mother, having chastised her child with the rod, endeavors tocalm him with toys and other allurements, yet the memory of painlingers, and the child cannot restrain frequent sighs and bitter sobs. How much more difficult for the conscience to accept solace afterhaving felt the wrath of God and the fear of death! So firmly fixedare these in the mind that the soul trembles and fears in spite ofgifts and consolations offered. 

53. So God here shows his good will in manifold ways and feelssingular joy in pouring forth mercy. He is like a mother who pets andcaresses her boy until he at last begins to forget his tears and tosmile into his mother's face. 

54. Hence figures are employed, and words are massed and the subjectis presented in a clearer and clearer light, in order to adapt theconsolation to the needs of the wretched people who, for an entireyear, had been witnesses of the immeasurable wrath of God. They couldnot be delivered from fear and terror by an occasional word. There wasneed of repeating the promise with much exposition to dry their tearsand to soften their grief. For, though they were saints, they wereflesh, even as we are. 

55. Likewise we in our day need this consolation. At all times whenthe elements rage, we may be secure in the thought that the fountainsof heaven and the wells of the deep are closed up by the word of God. The rainbow shows itself to this day for the purpose of symbolizingthat, henceforth, there shall never be another general flood. And thispromise requires, on our part, the faith that we trust God, in hismercy, will never bring another great flood upon us. 

C. THE RAINBOW. 

 1. Can it be assigned to natural causes 56-58. 

 * What to think of the fiery meteors 59-60. 

 2. Can it be caused by the position of the clouds 60. 

 3. The rainbow witnesses of God's wrath and of his goodness 61. 

 4. Did it exist before the flood?

 a. Opinion of those believing it did, and their reasons 62. 

 b. Luther's opinion that it was a new creation 63. 

 c. Solomon's words, "There is nothing new", do not apply here 64. 

 5. Rainbow to be viewed as a new creature and as God's sign-board 65. 

 6. Colors of the rainbow. 

 a. What are they and their number 66. 

 b. What do they signify 67. 

 7. To what end should the rainbow serve us 68. 

C. THE RAINBOW. 

56. They further dispute whether the natural causes in the rainbowsignify this. It is well known that philosophers, especially Aristotlein his book on Meteors, use all sorts of arguments on the color of therainbow, on the character of the clouds where it is produced, and onits curvature. Quite appropriately the resemblance is noted between amirror, which reflects an image, and the moist and arched cloud, whichcatches the rays of the sun, and by reflection produces the rainbow. Reason sees in such phenomena what appears to it most probable, but itdoes not discover the truth everywhere. That is not in the power ofthe creature but of the Creator alone. As for me, I have never givento any book less credence than to that on meteors, the basic principleof which is the assumption that natural causes explain everything. 

57. Some declare the rainbow to be a forerunner of a storm lastingthree days, which I am ready to admit, but this much is certain, thatit signifies that there will never be another flood. However, itderives this signification, not from any natural causes but only fromthe Word of God. Its meaning is such, only because God orders anddeclares it to be so through his Word. Circumcision was a token thatthe seed of Abraham were the people of God; yet circumcision did nothave this meaning in itself, but only through the Word which wasjoined with it. Again, the clothing of skin signified life and safety, not because they contained this guarantee by nature, but because Godhad promised it. So, the significance of the rainbow that the floodshall not return, is not based upon the Word of God. 

58. I do not altogether ignore theories along the lines of natural lawconcerning these matters; but since they are not substantiated, Iplace little trust in them. The reasoning of Aristotle regarding thehumid and hollow cloud as the cause of the rainbow is not reliable, such clouds may exist without producing a rainbow. Again, according tothe greater or lesser density of the medium, the bow may appear wideror narrower. I have seen here at Wittenberg a circular rainbow, forming a complete ring, not simply an arch terminating on the surfaceof the earth, as rainbows generally appear. Why, then, do rainbowsassume different forms at different times? A philosopher, I suppose, will think of some reason; for he will consider it a disgrace not tobe able to assign a reason for all things. But indeed, he will neverpersuade me to believe that he speaks the truth. 

59. The only consistent and incontrovertable view to take is that allthese phenomena are either works of God or of evil spirits. I have nodoubt that the dancing goats (stars), the flying serpents, fierylances, and the like, are produced by evil spirits, which thus gambolin the air, either to terrify or to deceive men. The flames whichappear on board of ships were thought by the heathen to be Castor andPollux. Sometimes the image of a moon appears above the ears ofhorses. It is certain that all these things are due to the antics ofevil spirits in the air, though Aristotle believes them to be luminousair, just as he also declares that a comet is shining vapor. 

60. To me it appears that we shall move with greater security andcertainty, when, arguing from cause to effect, we conclude that thecomet blazes, when it pleases God, as a sign of calamity, just as therainbow glows, when it pleases God as a sign of mercy. Who can computeall the causes which produce the appearance of the rainbow in suchdiversity of beautiful color, and in the form of an arch of perfectcurvature? The arrangement of the clouds alone surely does not producethis perfection. Hence it is by the will and the promise of God, andfulfilling his pleasure, that the rainbow is a sign to man and beastthat there will nevermore at any time be a flood. 

61. In recognition of this token we ought to give thanks to God. Asoften as the rainbow appears, it proclaims to the world with a loudvoice, as it were, the story of the wrath of God, which once destroyedthe world by a flood. And it proclaims solace for us, so that we mayconclude that God is propitious to us henceforth and will never againvisit upon us so fearful a punishment. It teaches both the love andthe fear of God, the highest virtues, of which philosophy knowsnothing. Philosophy only disputes about material and formal causes. Itdoes not know the final cause of this most beautiful creation. Buttheology does explain it. 

62. In this connection also the question has received much attentionwhether the rainbow existed from the beginning. And in thiscontroversy much force has been displayed. Since it is written above(ch 2, 23) that God created heaven and earth in six days, and thenrested from all his works, some conclude that the rainbow existed fromthe beginning. Otherwise it would follow that creation extended beyondthose six days. What, however, occurred in Noah's time is this, thatthe rainbow, created in the beginning, was selected by God and made, through a new word, a fixed symbol, having existed hitherto withoutspecial significance. To support this view, they even quote the wordof Solomon that "there is no new thing under the sun, " Ec 1, 9. Onthis they base their argument that after those six days no new thinghas been created. 

63. My opinion is quite the contrary--that the rainbow never hadexisted before; it was then and there created. Thus, the coats of skinwith which God clothed the first parents certainly were not created inthose six days, but after man's fall; hence, they were a new creation. The statement that God rested, must not be interpreted to mean that hecreated nothing thereafter; for Christ says, "My Father worketh evenuntil now, and I work, " Jn 5, 17. 

64. Solomon's statement that there is no new thing under the sun, hasgiven much trouble to the learned. But is it not apparent that itrefers not to the works of God, but to original sin, meaning that thesame reasoning powers Adam had after the fall are found in mantoday--the same debates concerning morals, vices, virtues, the nurtureof the body and the transaction of business? As the comic poet has it, speaking of another matter, "Nothing is said that has not been saidbefore. " Really, within the sphere of man's activity and effort thereis nothing new; the same words, thoughts, designs, the same emotions, griefs, affections and incidents exist now which always existed. Consequently it is quite inappropriate, in consequence to apply thisaphorism to God and his works. 

65. Therefore, I believe that the rainbow was a new creation, not seenin the world before that time. It was established to remind the worldof the bygone wrath, traces of which are still seen in the rainbow, and to give assurance of the mercy of God. It is a record, or picturein which both the bygone wrath and the present mercy are revealed. 

66. There is also a difference of opinion as to the colors of therainbow. Some say there are four colors: the fiery, the bright yellow, the green and the color of water, or blue. But I think there are onlytwo, those of fire and water. The fiery color is above, unless therainbow is seen reversed; then, as in a mirror, that which is above isseen below. Where the hues of fire and water meet, or blend, yellowresults. 

67. The colors have been thus arranged by God for a definite purpose. The blue should be a reminder of bygone wrath; the fiery color, apicture to us of the future judgment. While the interior or blueportion is restricted, the outer and fiery color is without bounds. Thus, the first world perished by the flood, but an end was set toGod's wrath. A remnant was preserved and a second world arose, butbounds are set to it. When God shall destroy the world by fire, thisbodily life will never be restored. The wicked will suffer theeverlasting punishment of death in the fire, while the saints will beraised up unto a new and everlasting life, which, though in the body, shall not be of the body, but of the spirit. 

68. Let this sign teach us to fear God and to trust in him. So may weescape the punishment of fire, even as we have escaped the punishmentof the flood. It will be more practical to think of these things thanto consider those philosophical arguments concerning the materialcause. 

III. ALLEGORIES 69-132. 

 A. ALLEGORIES IN GENERAL 69-81. 

 1. Luther at first given to allegories 69-70. 

 2. How and why monks and Anabaptists esteem them so highly 71. 

 3. How we should regard them 72. 

 4. Are they to be entirely rejected 73. 

 5. Some are, and others not 74-76. 

 6. How to regard Origen's, Augustine's and Jerome's allegories 77-78. 

 7. Pope's allegories of the sun, moon and ark 79-80. 

 8. What to think of the doctrine of these allegories 81. 

III. CONCERNING ALLEGORIES. 

A. Allegories in General. 

69. At last we have finished the story of the flood, which Mosessatisfactorily describes at great length. It is a fearful example ofthe immeasurable and all but boundless wrath of God, which is beyondthe power of human utterance. There remains to be said a word or twoconcerning its allegorical meaning. I have often declared that I takeno great pleasure in allegories, although in my younger days they hadsuch a fascination for me that I thought everything ought to be shownto have an allegorical meaning. I was influenced in this respect bythe example of Origen and Jerome, whom I admired as the greatest ofall theologians. I may add that Augustine also uses the allegory quitefrequently. 

70. But while I followed the example of these men, I discovered atlast that, to my great loss, I had followed a shadow, and hadoverlooked the very sap and marrow of the Scriptures. Thereupon Ibegan to hate allegories. They are pleasing, to be sure, especiallywhen they contain happy allusions. They may be compared to choicepictures. But as much as real objects with their native hues surpass apicture, even though it should glow, as the poet has it (stat silo V. 1, 5), with Apelles-like colors, closely copied from nature, so muchthe historical narrative itself is superior to the allegory. 

71. In our day the ignorant mob of the Anabaptists is as much filledwith immoderate craving for allegory as are the monks. They love todelve in the more mysterious books, such as the Revelation of John, and that worthless fabrication passing under the title of the secondand third books of Esdras. For, there you are at liberty to followyour fancy as you please. We recall that Muntzer, the seditiousspirit, turned everything into allegory. But true it is, that he who, without judgment, makes allegories or follows those made by others, will not only be deceived but sustain deplorable injury, as there areexamples to prove. 

72. Allegories must either be avoided altogether or be worked out withthe best judgment. They must conform to the rule followed by theapostles, of which we shall soon have occasion to speak. Let us avoidfalling into those ugly and baneful absurdities, not only of those whoare misnamed theologians, but also of the Canonists, or ratherAssinists, of which the decretals and decisions of that mostdetestable master, the pope, are an example. 

73. This statement, however, must not be taken for a generalcondemnation of all allegory. Christ and the apostles made use ofallegories at times. These, however, were in keeping with the faithaccording to the injunction of Paul (Rom 12, 6) that prophecy, ordoctrine, should be according to the proportion of faith. 

74. When we put the allegory under the ban, we confine ourselves tothat species which, with the setting aside of scriptural warrant, isaltogether the product of man's mind and fancy. Those which are testedby the analogy of faith, serve not only as ornaments of the doctrinebut also as consolation for the soul. 

75. Peter turns this very story of the flood into a most beautifulallegory, saying that baptism is symbolized by the flood, and savesus. For, in it not only the filth of the flesh is washed away, butconscience makes good answer toward God through the resurrection ofJesus Christ, who is enthroned at the right hand of God and hasdestroyed death in order to make us heirs of eternal life; who, moreover, is gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers beingmade subject unto him, 1 Pet 3, 21-22. This is, indeed, a theologicalallegory, in accordance with faith, and full of solace. 

76. Such is also the allegory of Christ in John 3, 14, concerning theserpent lifted up in the wilderness and the healing of those bitten bythe serpent's tooth who gazed upon it. Again, there is that one byPaul (1 Cor 10, 1), All our fathers did drink from the same spiritualrock, etc. Such allegories as these not only agree with the matteritself, but also instruct the heart in faith and are a help to theconscience. 

77. But take a look at the ordinary allegory of Jerome, Origen andAugustine. These men, when they create an allegory, leave faithaltogether out of consideration, and merely air philosophicalopinions, foreign alike to the sphere of faith and to that of morals;not to speak of the fact that they are quite silly and a mass ofabsurdities. 

78. In a former chapter (ch 3. §§61, 298, 304), we heard ofAugustine's allegory concerning the creation of man and woman, bywhich he illustrates the higher and the lower attributes of man, thatis, reason and the emotions. But, I ask you, what is the value of thisfigment?

79. The pope, however, carries away the real honors for piety andlearning when he thunders from his high seat as follows: God made twogreat lights, the sun and the moon; the sun represents the authorityof the pope, from which his imperial majesty borrows its light as themoon does from the sun. Away with such rash impudence and viciousambition!

80. In a similar style the ark, of Noah's story, is compared to theRoman Catholic Church, in which is found the pope with his cardinals, bishops, and prelates, while the laymen are swimming in the sea. Thatis, the laymen are altogether given to earthly business and would notbe saved did not those helmsmen of the ark, or Church, cast boards andropes to the swimmers, drawing them into the ark by these means. Pictures of this nature were frequently painted by monks to representthe Church. 

81. Origen shows more sanity than the papists, in that his allegoriesconform to moral standards, as a rule. Yet, he ought to have kept inview the rule laid down by Paul, who demands that prophesy is to bethe guardian of faith; for faith is edifying and the proper sphere ofthe Church. Rules governing morals can be laid by even heathenphilosophers who know nothing whatever concerning faith. 

B. ALLEGORIES IN DETAIL 82-132. 

 1. Allegory of the baptism of the Israelites under Moses; the ark and the flood 82ff. 

 * Points of likeness and unlikeness in the death of believers and unbelievers 84-86. 

 * In what way is death to be conquered 87. 

 * How all temptations are to be overcome and believers be preserved 88-90. 

 2. Allegories of the ark's proportions 91-92. 

 3. Allegories of the sun and moon 93. 

 * To what all allegories should point 94. 

 4. Allegory of the cup 95-96. 

 5. Allegory of the dove Noah sent out of the ark 97-99. 

 6. Allegory of the raven Noah sent forth. 

 a. Thoughts of the fathers on this point 100. 

 b. The correct allegory of the raven 101-116. 

 * The law and the teachings of the law 101-116. 

 (1) How illustrated by the raven 102-105. 

 * Luther's opponents falsely accuse him of forbidding good works 106-107. 

 (2) They are no better than the intelligent moralists among the heathen 108-110. 

 (3) They cannot quiet the conscience 111. 

 * The raven a perfect representative of the Papists 112-113. 

 (4) How the Papists make the unrighteous righteous and condemn the righteous 114-115. 

 7. Allegories of the doves in detail 116-124. 

 * Characteristics of the dove 116. 

 a. First dove sent forth. 

 (1) A figure of the office of grace 117. 

 (2) A figure of the Old Testament prophets 118-119. 

 b. Second dove returned with the olive leaf. 

 (1) A figure of New Testament preachers 120-122. 

 * The fanatics and Anabaptists wait in vain for new revelations 121. 

 * Nature of true Gospel preachers 122. 

 (2) A figure of the New Testament 123. 

 c. Third dove did not return 124ff. 

 8. Allegory of the seven days Noah waited after he sent forth the first dove 125. 

 9. Allegory of the evening the dove returned 126-127. 

 * Several things to be remembered in this connection. 

 (1) Allegories are not to have a world-wide treatment like the articles of faith 128. 

 (2) Defects in the allegories of the fathers 129-130. 

 * Lyra is to be preferred to all commentators 131. 

 (3) Right use of allegories 132. 

B. ALLEGORIES IN DETAIL. 

82. Writing to the Corinthians, Paul says (1 Cor 10, 2) that theIsraelites "were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. "If you regard only the outward circumstance and the words, evenPharaoh was baptized, but he perished with his men, while Israelpassed through safe and unharmed. Noah and his sons were saved in thisbaptism of the flood, while all the rest of the world, being outsideof the ark, perished thereby. Such a way of speaking is appropriateand forcible. "Baptism" and "death" are interchangeable in Scripture. Paul says (Rom 6, 3): "All we who were baptized into Christ Jesus werebaptized into his death, " and Jesus says, "I have a baptism to bebaptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!" (Lk12, 50). And to his disciples he said, "Ye shall . .. Be baptized withthe baptism that I am baptized with" (Mt 20, 23). 

83. In this sense the Red Sea was a baptism indeed. It represented toPharaoh death and God's anger. Yet though Israel was baptized with thesame baptism, they passed through it unharmed. So the flood is trulydeath and the wrath of God, and yet, the faithful are saved in themidst of the flood. Death engulfs and swallows all mankind; for, thewrath of God smites both the good and the bad, the pious and thewicked, without distinction. The flood was sent upon Noah the same asupon the rest of the world. The Red Sea that engulfed Pharaoh was thesame as that through which Israel passed unharmed. But in both casesthe believers are saved while the wicked perish. That is the point ofdifference. The ark was Noah's salvation, and it was but an expressionof the promise and Word of God. In these he had life, but the wicked, who believed not the Word, were left to perish. 

84. This is the difference which the Holy Spirit desired to bring out, so that the righteous, warned by this example, might believe and hopefor salvation through the mercy of God in the very midst of death. They consider baptism as bound together with the promise of life, asNoah did the ark. Therefore, though the wise man and the fool mustsuffer the same death--for Peter and Paul die, not otherwise than Neroand other wicked persons die--yet the righteous believe that in deaththey will be saved unto eternal life. And this hope is not vain, forthey have Christ, who receives their souls, and will, on the last day, raise up also the bodies of his believers unto eternal life. 

85. This class of allegory is of great service, and tends to comfortthe heart when you consider the contrast in the ultimate outcome. Thetestimony of the material eye would seem to confirm the statement ofSolomon (Ec 2, 16) that the wise man dieth as the fool, that therighteous man dieth as though he were not the beloved of God. But theeyes of the soul must view this point of difference, that Israelenters into the Red Sea and is saved, while Pharaoh, pressing upon theheels of Israel, is overwhelmed by the waves and perishes. It is thesame death, then, which takes away the righteous and the wicked, andalmost always the end of the former is ignominious, while that of thelatter is attended by elements of splendor and power; but in the eyesof God, while the death of sinners is deplorable, that of his saintsis precious, for it is consecrated by Christ, through whom it becomesthe beginning of eternal life. 

86. As the flood and the Red Sea were instruments to save Noah andIsrael from death, so to us, death is but the instrument to give uslife, if we remain in faith. When the children of Israel were inutmost peril, suddenly the sea parted and rose on the right side andon the left, like an iron wall, so that Israel passed through withoutdanger. Why was it? In order that so death might be made to servelife. Divine power overcomes the assaults of Satan. Thus it was inParadise. Satan purposed to slay all mankind by his venom. But whathappens? By reason of the truly happy guilt of our first parents, asthe Church sings, it comes to pass that the Son of God becameincarnate to free us from evil. 

87. This allegory, then, beautifully teaches, strengthens and consolesus, enabling us to fear neither death nor sin, but to despise allperils, giving thanks to God that he has so called and dealt with usthat even death, the universal destroyer, is compelled to be a servantof life, just as the flood, an occasion of destruction to the rest ofthe world, was one of salvation for Noah; and the Red Sea, whenPharaoh met his doom, served to save the children of Israel. 

88. What has been here expressed, finds application to the subject oftemptation in general, so that we learn to despise dangers and behopeful even where no hope seems to remain. When death or any otherdanger is imminent, we should rise to meet it, saying: Behold, here ismy Red Sea; here is my flood, my baptism and my death. Here mylife--as the philosopher said of the sea-farers--is removed from deathbarely by a hand's breadth. But fear not; this danger is as a handfulof water opposed to the flood of grace which is mine through the Word. Therefore death will not destroy me, but will lift me and bear me tolife. Death is so utterly incapable of destroying the Christian, thatit constitutes the very escape from death. For bodily death ushers inthe emancipation of the spirit and the resurrection of the flesh. Thus, Noah in the flood was not borne by the earth, nor by trees, norby mountains, but by the very flood which destroyed the totalremainder of the human race. 

89. Well may the prophets often extol those wonderful works ofGod--the passage through the Red Sea, the exodus from Egypt, and thelike. For the sea, which by its nature can only devour and destroy, isforced to part and rise and protect the Israelites, lest they beoverwhelmed by its tides. That which in its very nature is wrath, becomes grace to the believer; that which in reality is death, becomeslife. Therefore, whatever calamity comes--and this life has it ininfinite measure--to threaten our property and our lives, it will allbecome salvation and joy if we only are in the ark; that is, if byfaith we lay hold of the promise made in Christ. Then even death, bywhich we are removed, must be turned into life, and the hell, whichswallows us, into a way to heaven. 

90. Therefore Peter says (1 Pet 3, 21) that we are saved by the waterin baptism, which was prefigured by the flood. The water which streamsabout us, or the plunge into it, is death, and yet from this death orplunge, life results by virtue of the ark of safety--the Word ofpromise to which we cling. The inspired Scriptures set forth thisallegory, which is not only free from weaknesses but of service inevery way, and worthy of our careful attention, since it offerswonderful consolation even in the utmost perils. 

91. The fathers have added another allegory taken from the form anddimensions of the ark. The human body, measured from the top of thehead to the sole of the foot, is six times as long as it is wide. Now, the ark, which was fifty cubits wide, measured six times as much inlength, namely 300 cubits. Hence, they say, the ark typifies Christthe man, in whom all promises center. Therefore, those who believe inhim are saved even in the midst of the flood, that is, in deathitself. 

92. This conception is both appropriate and beautiful; above all, itagrees with faith. Though there may be a mistake in the application, the groundwork is strong and secure. There is no doubt that the HolySpirit found various ways to illustrate the promises to be fulfilledin Christ, and the wonderful counsel of salvation for mankind throughfaith in Christ. Hence, allegories of this nature, though lacking inaptness, are not necessarily wicked and a source of offense. 

93. If one were to say the sun represents Christ, while the moonrepresents the Church, which receives its light by the grace ofChrist, he might possibly be mistaken in his choice of illustration, yet his error is based, not upon an erroneous, but upon a surefoundation. But when the pope declares the sun represents the papalauthority, while the moon represents the emperor's, then not only theapplication is inapt and foolish, but the very foundation is evil. Such allegories are not conceived and invented by the Holy Spirit, butby the devil, the spirit of lies. 

94. Allegories must have some application to the promises and thedoctrine of faith if they are to comfort and strengthen the soul. Peter's allegory teaches us this. Because Peter saw that Noah was setfree in the midst of death and that the ark was an instrument of life, the ark was rightly applied to typify Christ. Only divine power cansave in the midst of death and lead unto life. The Scriptures declarethat to God belong the issues from death, (Ps 68, 21), and he makesdeath the occasion, yea, even an aid to life. 

95. This has given rise to expressions used in Scripture, whereafflictions and perils are likened to a cup that intoxicates. This isan apt and vivid figure of speech. So the passion of Christ is calleda draught from a brook (Ps 110, 7), meaning that it is a medicinaldraught or mixture, which, though bitter, is healing in its bitternessand gives life by causing death. Such soothing words serve to consoleus that we may learn to despise death and other perils and meet themwith greater readiness. 

96. Satan, also, has his cup; but it is sweet, and inebriates untonausea. He who, attracted by its sweetness, drinks it, loses his lifeand dies the eternal death. Such was the cup the Babylonians drained, as the prophet has it (Jer 25, 15-27). Let us, therefore, accept thecup of salvation with thanksgiving, and, as Paul declares ofbelievers, rejoice in tribulation (Rom 5, 3). 

97. Having explained this figure of the ark and the meaning of theflood according to the canonical Scriptures, we will say somethingalso about the other features of this story--about the raven which didnot return, and the doves, the first of which returned because shefound no resting-place for her foot, while the second brought backwith her a twig from an olive tree, and the third did not returnbecause the earth was no more covered by water. 

98. In our treatise on the narrative proper, we stated that thesethings occurred to be a consolation for Noah and his sons; to assurethem that God's wrath had passed and that he was now pacified. Thedove did not bring the olive branch of her own volition. Shemiraculously obeyed divine power. So the serpent in paradise spoke, not of its own volition, but through the inspiration of the devil, whohad taken possession of it. As, on that occasion, the serpent, by thedevil's prompting, spoke, with the result that man was led into sin, so, on this occasion, it was not its own volition or instinct whichmoved the dove to bring the olive branch, but the prompting of God, inorder that Noah might gain comfort from the pleasant sight. For theolive does not supply the dove with food; she prefers the severalspecies of wheat or pease. 

99. The incident of the dove, then, is a miraculous occurrence with adefinite meaning. The prophets in their messages concerning thekingdom of Christ, frequently make mention of doves (Ps 68, 13) and(Is 60, 8). Solomon also in his Song seems to mention the dove withparticular pleasure. Therefore, we should not despise the picture thisallegory holds before us, but treat its truth skillfully and aptly. 

100. The allegory of the raven, invented by the doctors, is wellknown. Because ravens delight in eating dead bodies, they have beentaken as a likeness of carnal men, who delight in carnal pleasures andindulge in them. The Epicureans were an example. A very fairexplanation but inadequate, because it is merely of that moral andphilosophical sort which Erasmus was in the habit of giving after theexample of Origen. 

101. We must look for a theological explanation. In the first place, those moralists fail to observe that Scripture commends the raven fornot leaving the ark of his own will. He went out at the bidding ofNoah, to ascertain if the waters had ceased and if God's wrath wasended. The raven, however, did not return, neither did he become amessenger of happy omen. He remained without the ark, and, though hecame and went, yet he did not suffer himself to be taken by Noah. 

102. In all these points the allegory fittingly typifies the ministryof the Law. Black, the color of the bird, is a token of sadness, andthe sound of his voice is unpleasant. This is true of the teachers ofthe Law, who teach justification by works. They are the ministers ofdeath and sin, Paul calling the ministry of the Law a ministry ofdeath, (2 Cor 3, 6). The Law is unto death (Rom 7, 10). The Lawworketh wrath. (Rom 4, 15. ) The Law entered that trespass mightabound. (Rom 5, 20). 

103. And yet, Moses was sent forth by God with the Law, just as theraven was sent out by Noah. It is God's will that mankind be taughtmorality and holiness of life, and that wrath and sure punishments beannounced to all who transgress the Law. Nevertheless, such teachersare naught but ravens wandering aimlessly about the ark; nor do theyhave the certain assurance that God is pacified. 

104. For, the Law is a teaching of such character that it cannotassure, strengthen and console an uneasy conscience, but ratherterrifies it, since it only teaches what God requires of us, what hewishes to be performed by us. Our consciences bear witness against usthat we not only have failed to carry out the will of God as set forthin the Law, but that we have done the very contrary. 

105. With all justice, therefore, we may say of the teachers of theLaw, in the words of Psalms 5, 9: "There is no certainty in theirmouth. " Our translation has it "There is no faithfulness in theirmouth. " Their teaching at its best can only say: If you do this, ifyou do that, you will be saved. Christ speaks ironically when heanswers the scribe who had grandly set forth the doctrine of the Law, by saying, "This do, and thou shalt live" (Lk 10, 28). He shows thescribe that the doctrine is holy and good, but since we are corrupt, it follows that we are guilty, since we do not, and cannot, fulfil theLaw. 

106. Hence, we declare rightly that we are not justified by the worksof the Law. By the works of the Law we mean, not the ceremonialcommandments, but those highest commandments of all, to love God andour neighbor. The reason we are not justified is that we cannot keepthe commandments. We have reason, however, to challenge the impudenceof our opponents who set up the cry that we forbid good works andcondemn the Law of God because we deny that justification is by works. This would be true if we did not admit that the raven was sent forthfrom the ark by Noah. But we do say that the raven was sent out fromthe ark. And this we deny, that it was not a raven, or that it was adove. All the clamor, the abuse, the blasphemy of our opponents haveno other purpose than to force us to declare that the raven was adove. 

107. But now examine their books and carefully consider theirdoctrine. Is it anything but a doctrine of works? This is good, thisis honorable, they say; this you must do; the other is dishonorableand wicked, hence you must not do it. On the strength of suchteaching, they believe themselves to be true theologians and doctors. But let them show us the person who either has done or will do allthose things, especially if you present, not only the second table ofthe Law, as they do, but also the first one. 

108. He who takes his stand upon this doctrine of the Law, then, istruly nothing but a hearer. He does not learn anything except itsdemands. Since such persons have no desire to learn anything further, it should suffice for them if they are given the poem of Cato, orgiven Esop, whom I consider a better teacher of morals. These twowriters are profitable reading for young men. Older persons shouldstudy Cicero, who, to my astonishment, is considered by some asinferior to Aristotle in the sphere of ethics. This would be arational course of study. So far as imparting moral precepts isconcerned, the good intentions and the assiduity of the heathen mustbe commended. Yet they are inferior to Moses. He sets forth not onlymorality, but also teaches the true worship of God. Nevertheless, hewho places his trust solely in Moses has nothing but the ravenwandering aimlessly about outside of the ark. Of the dove and theolive branch, he has nothing. 

109 The raven, then, represents not only the Law given by God, but alllaws and all philosophy which are the product of human reason andwisdom. They tell us no more than what ought to be done and do notprovide the strength to do it. The judgment of Christ is true: "Whenye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We areunprofitable servants" (Lk 17, 10). 

110. True the raven is sent out. God desires the Law to be taught. Hereveals it from heaven; yea, he writes it upon the hearts of all men, as Paul proves (Rom 2, 15). From this inherent knowledge originatedall writings of the saner philosophers, of Esop, Aristotle, Plato, Xenophon, Cicero and Cato. And these are not unfit to set beforeuntrained and vicious persons, that their vile tendencies may becurbed to some extent. 

111. If, however, you seek for peace of conscience and for certainhope of eternal life, such philosophers are like the raven, whichwanders around the ark, finding no peace outside, but not looking forit within. Paul says of the Jews, "Israel, following after a law ofrighteousness, did not arrive at that law" (Rom 9, 31). The reason forthis is in the fact that the Law is like the raven; it is either theministry of death and sin or it produces hypocrites. 

112. Now, let those who wish, follow out this allegory by studying thenature of the raven. It is an impure bird, of somber and funerealcolor, with a strong beak and a harsh, shrill voice. It scents deadbodies from a great distance, and therefore men fear its voice as acertain augury of an impending death. It feeds upon carrion and enjoyslocalities made foul by public executions. 

113. Though I would not apply each and every one of thesecharacteristics to the Law, yet who does not see how well they fit theservants of the Pope, the mass-priests and the monks, who were notonly richly fed upon the slaughter of consciences by their falsedoctrines, but also used the dead bodies to obtain their livelihood, since they made a paying business out of their vigils, theiranniversaries, their purifying water used in burials, and even ofpurgatory itself. And surely, this devotion to the dead was moreprofitable to them than their care of the living. 

Truly, then, they are ravens, feeding on corpses and sitting upon themwith wild cries. Not only may the popish priests be fitly likened tothe ravens, but indeed the whole ministry of the papacy, where it isat its best, does nothing but to gash and murder consciences. It doesnot show the way to true righteousness, but merely makes hypocrites, as does the Law. 

114. Among other crimes of false prophets, Ezekiel enumerates (ch 13, 19) the fact that, for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, they slay souls that should not die, and save the souls alive thatshould not live. This is true of these ravens, the teachers of theLaw. They call those righteous who live according to the letter of theLaw, and yet these are the very souls which do not live. On the otherhand, they condemn those who violate their traditions, just as thePharisees condemned the disciples when they plucked ears of corn, whenthey did not wash their hands and when they failed to fast. This is anoutcry, fierce and dismal, reminding us of ravens which sit uponcorpses. 

115. When cursing a wicked person, the Greeks said, "To the ravens!"Similarly, the Germans use the expression, "May the ravens devouryou. " If we make this curse an element of the allegory, its seriouscharacter becomes evident. For what is more deplorably disastrous thanto have teachers, the outcome of whose best teaching is death, and whoensnare the conscience with difficulties that cannot be disentangled?Though some say this allegory of the raven is inaptly applied to thepriesthood, it is true nevertheless and agrees with the fundamentaltruth, and it is not only most apt, but very profitable forinstruction. 

116. On the other hand, the incident of the dove is a most delightfulpicture of the gospel, especially if you carefully consider thecharacteristics of the dove. Ten of these are usually enumerated: 1. It is without guile. 2. It does not harm with its mouth. 3. It doesnot harm with its claws. 4. It gathers pure grains. 5. It nourishesthe young of others. 6. Its song is a sigh. 7. It abides by thewaters. 8. It flies in flocks. 9. It nests in safe places. 10. Itsflight is swift. These ten characteristics have been set forth in sixverses, as follows:

 Free from guile is the dove; the bite of her beak does not injure; Wounds her claws do not strike; pure is the grain that she eats. Frequent and swift is her flight to shining courses of water. List to her voice, and lo! sighs you will hear but no song! Other nestlings she rears; in swarms she flies through the ether. Safe is the place and high where she prepares her abode. 

117. The New Testament tells us the Holy Spirit appeared in the formof a dove (Mt 3, 16). Hence, we are justified in using the dove as anallegory of the ministry of grace. 

118. Moses implies that the dove did not fly aimlessly about the ark, as did the raven, but having been sent out and finding no place torest, it returned to the ark and was seized by Noah. 

119. This dove is a picture of the holy prophets sent to teach thepeople; but the flood, that is, the time of the Law, had not yetpassed away. Thus David, Elias, Isaiah, though they did not live tosee the time of the New Testament, were yet sent as messengers withthe tidings that the flood would eventually be brought to an end, though that time was at a distance. Having delivered their message, they returned to the ark; that is, they were justified and savedwithout the Law, by faith in the blessed seed, in which they believedand for which they longed. 

120. After this, another dove was sent forth, which found the earthdried, and not only the mountains, but also the trees, standing freefrom water. But she alighted upon an olive tree, plucked a branch, andbrought it back to Noah. 

121. The allegorical meaning of this incident is interpreted by theScriptures. The olive tree is very often used as a symbol of grace, ofmercy or of forgiveness of sins. The dove brings the branch in herbeak, thus typifying the outward ministry, or the spoken Word. For theHoly Spirit does not teach by new revelations aside from the ministryof the Word, as the enthusiasts and Anabaptists, those truly fanaticalteachers, dream. It was the will of God that a branch from a livingolive tree should be carried to Noah in the mouth of the bird, toteach that in the New Testament, the time of the flood or anger beingpast, God desires to set his mercy before the world by the spokenWord. 

122. The messengers of this Word are doves; that is, sincere men, without guile, and filled with the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 60, 8, likensministers of the Gospel or of grace to doves which fly to theirwindows. And, though Christ commands them to imitate the harmlessnessof doves, Mt 10, 16, meaning that they should be sincere and free fromvenom, yet, he admonishes them to be wise like serpents; that is, theyshould be wary of false and cunning people, and cautious like theserpent, which is said to shield its head with special skill in afight. 

123. The green freshness of the olive branch, also, is a type of theWord of the Gospel, which endureth forever and is never without fruit. Psalms 1, 3 likens those who study the Word to a tree, the leaves ofwhich do not wither. We heard nothing like this above concerning theraven, which flew to and fro near the ark. This second dove which wassent forth is a type of the New Testament, where grace and theforgiveness of sins are promised openly through the sacrifice ofChrist. This is why the Holy Spirit chose to appear in the form of adove in the New Testament. 

124. The third dove did not return. After the fulfilment of thepromise given the whole world through the mouth of the dove, no newteaching is to be looked for, but we simply await the revelation ofthose things which we believe. Herein is certain testimony for us thatthe Gospel will endure unto the end of the world. 

125. The text, furthermore, specifies the time Noah waited after hehad first sent forth a dove, namely, seven days. These seven daystypify the time of the Law which, of necessity, preceded the period ofthe New Testament. 

126. We read, likewise, that the second dove returned at dusk, carrying the olive branch. To the Gospel the last age of the world hasbeen assigned. Nor should we look for another kind of doctrine, for itis to an evening meal that Christ compared the Gospel (Mt 22, 2; Lk14, 16). 

127. True, the doctrine of the Gospel has been in the world since thefall of our first parents, and the Lord confirmed this promise to thepatriarchs by various signs. The first ages knew nothing of therainbow, nor of circumcision, nor of other signs afterward ordained byGod. But all ages have known of the blessed seed. Since it has beenrevealed, there remains nothing else than the revelation of that whichwe believe. With the third dove, we shall fly away to that other life, never to return to the life here, so wretched and so full of grief. 

128. These are my thoughts concerning this allegory. I have set themforth briefly, for we must not tarry with them as we do withhistorical narratives and articles of faith. 

129. Origen, Jerome, Augustine, and Bernard seek diligently forallegories. But this practice has one drawback. The more attentionthey direct to allegories, the more do they draw it away from thefacts of sacred history and from faith, to the exclusion of these moreimportant things. Allegories should be employed for the purpose ofinducing and increasing, of explaining and strengthening, that faithof which all the stories treat. It is not to be wondered at, thatpersons who do not seek faith in the stories of the Bible, look forthe region of allegorical shades as a pleasant playground in which tostroll about. 

130. Just as in the popish Church false and unscriptural words arerendered in sweet music, so learned men have too often spoiled thegood meaning of a Bible story, which contains a useful lesson offaith, by their childish allegories. 

131. I have often spoken of the kind of theology that prevailed when Ibegan to study. Its advocates said that the letter killeth (2 Cor 3, 6). Therefore I disliked Lyra most of all interpreters, because hefollowed the literal meaning so carefully. But now I prefer him, forthis very reason, to all interpreters of Scripture. 

132. I advise you as strongly as I can to fully appreciate the greatvalue of the Bible history. But whenever you wish to employ allegory, take pains to follow the analogy of faith; that is, make the allegoryagree with Christ, with the Church, with faith, with the ministry ofthe Gospel. If constructed in this manner, allegories will not goastray from faith, even though they may not be genuine in every point. This foundation shall remain firm, while the stubble perishes. But letus return to our story. 

IV. NOAH AND HIS FALL. 

 A. NOAH. 

 1. Noah's character before the flood 133. 

 2. Noah's character after the flood 134. 

 3. Way Noah executed his office as bishop 135. 

 4. Way he executed his office as a civil ruler 136. 

IV. NOAH AND HIS FALL. 

A. Noah. 

Vs. 20-22. _And Noah began to be a husbandman, and planted a vineyard;and he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered withinhis tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of hisfather, and told his two brethren without. _

133. What manner of man Noah was during the flood, is shownsufficiently by the story of the flood itself. What manner of man hehad been before the flood, is shown by Moses' declaration that he wasrighteous and perfect. Great as this man was, we hear nothing elseabout him, except that his wonderful and almost incredible continenceis faintly suggested and commended by the statement that he begat hisfirst born when five hundred years of age. This very fact shows thathuman nature was by far stronger in its integrity at that time, andthat the Holy Spirit held more perfect sway in the holy men of theearly world than He does in us who are, as it were, the dregs and theremnants of the world's production. 

It surely was a commendatory record for Noah to be accorded righteousand perfect before God; that is, full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, adorned with chastity and all good works, pure in worship andreligion, suffering many temptations from the devil, the world, andhimself, all which he overcame triumphantly. Such was Noah before theflood. 

134. Of his life after the flood, Moses tells us very little. But isit not apparent that so noble a man, living for about 350 years afterthe flood, could not be idle, but must have been busy with thegovernment of the Church, which he alone established and ruled?

135. First of all, then, he performed the duties of a bishop. Besetwith various temptations, his foremost endeavor was to resist thedevil, to console the troubled ones, to bring back the erring to thetrue way, to strengthen the doubting, to cheer souls in despair, toexclude from his Church the impenitent, and to receive back withfatherly gladness the repentant. For, these are the duties a bishopmust perform through the ministry of the Word. 

136. Moreover, he had civil duties in establishing forms of governmentand in making laws, without which human passions cannot be held incheck. To this was added the rule of his own household, or the care ofhis home. 

B. NOAH'S FALL. 

 1. Why Moses omitted many important things about Noah and related his fall 137-138. 

 2. Lyra tries to excuse Noah's fall 139. 

 3. Noah's fall cannot be excused 140-141. 

 4. His fall caused a great scandal 142. 

 5. Ham scandalized himself through it 142-143. 

 a. Real root of this scandal 144. 

 b. Thereby Noah greatly sinned 145ff. 

 * Original sin develops presumptuous people 146-148. 

 c. This scandal reveals Satan's bitterest enmity against God's Church 149. 

 * Papists are Ham's disciples 150. 

 * David's enemies rejoiced over his fall 151. 

 6. To what end should Noah's fall serve us 152-154. 

 * The godless are not worthy to see God's glory in believers 155. 

 * Why we should not be vexed at the infirmities of believers 156-157. 

 7. The conduct of Shem and Japheth in this connection 158-173. 

 a. They still honored their father, though they approved not his deed 158. 

 * Origin of outward sin 159. 

 * How to avoid offense 160-162. 

 * Luther aware of his own infirmities 163. 

 * Attitude of the opponents of the Word to true preachers 164. 

 * Why Moses never mentioned many great events in Noah's life, and thought of his fall 165-166. 

 b. How the sons covered their father's shame 167. 

 c. Herein they had regard for God's will and were therefore pleasing to God 168. 

 * Ham's scandal. 

 (1) It was a wilful and grievous sin 168-169. 

 (2) The lesson we may learn from it 170. 

 (3) Reward of this scandalous deed, and why Canaan is here mentioned 172-173. 

B. Noah's Fall. 

137. Though reason tells us that Noah was burdened with these manifoldduties after the flood, yet Moses does not mention them. It appears tohim sufficient to confine his remarks to the statement that Noah beganto plant a vineyard, and that he lay in his tent drunken and naked. 

This, surely, is a foolish and very useless tale in comparison withthe many praiseworthy acts he must have performed in the course of somany years. Other things might have been recorded for edification andfor teaching righteousness of life. But this story even seems toendorse an offense, by abetting drunkards and those who sin indrunkenness. 

138. The purpose of the Holy Spirit, however, is apparent from what wehave said. It is to console by this record of the great sins committedby the holiest and most perfect patriarchs those righteous persons whoare discouraged by the knowledge of their own weakness and are, therefore, cast down. In them we are to find proofs of our ownshortcomings, that we may come to humble confession and, at the sametime, seek and hope for forgiveness. This is the real andtheologically true reason why the Holy Spirit records, rather thanseemingly more important matters, the great fall of this grand man. 

139. Lyra states as excuse for Noah that he knew not the power of wineand was deceived into drinking a little too freely. Whether wine hadbeen known before or whether Noah began to cultivate it by his ownskill and by divine suggestion, I know not, but I believe that Noahknew the nature of this produce quite well, and that he had often madeuse of wine in company with his family, partly for his own person andpartly also in his offerings or libations. I think that in making useof wine for his own refreshment, he partook of it too freely. 

140. His action I excuse in no way. Should anyone want to do so, therewould be weightier arguments than those Lyra uses. According to himthis aged man, tired out by the great number of his daily duties andcares, had been overpowered by the wine although he was already usedto it. For wine overcomes more easily those who are either exhaustedby much work or burdened with age. Persons of mature age, on the otherhand, and such of care-free mind, can drink considerable quantities ofwine without greatly impairing their reason. 

141. But he who makes this excuse for the patriarch, wilfully castsaside that consolation which the Holy Spirit considered needful forthe Church, that even the greatest saints sometimes fall into sin. 

142. Transgression like this may seem to be slight, yet it causesgreat offense. Not only is Ham offended, but also the other brother, possibly also their wives. And we must not imagine that Ham was a boyof seven years. Having been born when Noah was five hundred years old, he had reached an age of at least one hundred years and had one or twochildren of his own. 

143. Hence, it was not boyish thoughtlessness which caused Ham tolaugh at his father, as boys will do when surrounding a drunken rusticin the street and making sport of him. He was truly offended by hisfather's sin and thought himself to be more righteous, holy andreligious than his father. Noah's deed was an offense not only inappearance, but in very truth, since Ham was so far tempted by theknowledge of it that he passed judgment upon Noah, and found in suchsin an occasion for mirth. 

144. If we wish to judge Ham's sin aright, we must take into accountoriginal sin, that is, the wickedness of the heart. This son wouldnever have derided his father for being overcome by wine had he notfirst dismissed from his soul that reverence and esteem which God'scommandment requires children to cherish toward their parents. 

145. Noah had been considered a fool before the flood, by the majorityof mankind, and had been condemned as a false teacher and despised asa man of wild ideas. Now he is laughed at by his son as a fool, andcondemned as a sinner. Noah was sole governor of the Church and State, and ruled his own household with tireless care and labor. He haddoubtless therein offended the proud and haughty spirit of his son inmany ways. But the depravity of his heart which now, that the father'ssin had become manifest, leaped to the surface, had so far beensuccessfully concealed. 

146. When we consider the source of Ham's sin, its hideousness firstappears in its true light. One never becomes an adulterer or commitsmurder until he has first cast out of his heart the fear of God. Apupil does not rebel against his teacher unless he has first lost duereverence for that teacher. The fourteenth Psalm, verse 2, says thatJehovah looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see ifthere were any that did understand, and that did seek after God. Whenhe saw there was none he adds there was none who did good; that theyhad all become worthless, sinning tongues, sinning with their hands, fearing where there was no need of fear, and the like. 

147. So Ham, in his own estimation, was wise and holy. In his judgmenthis father had often acted unrighteously or foolishly. His attitudediscloses a heart that despised, not only the parent, but also thedivine commandment. Hence, nothing remains for the evil-minded son butto grasp an opportunity for obtaining evidence to betray his father'sfoolishness. He does not laugh at his drunken father as a boy would, nor does he call his brethren merely that they may look upon alaughable spectacle. He means that this shall be open proof that Godhas withdrawn from his father and has accepted himself. Therefore, hetakes delight in disclosing his father's sin to others. As I saidbefore, Ham was not a boy of seven years, but had reached the age ofat least one hundred. 

148. Original sin shows its depraving tendency in that it makes menarrogant, haughty and conceited. Paul admonishes in Romans 12, 3, tothink of one's self soberly, "according as God hath dealt to each mana measure of faith. " But, original sin does not permit Ham to occupythis lowly level; hence, he presumes to go beyond his station inpassing judgment upon his father. 

149. We observe the same attitude in Absalom. Before he stirs up arebellion against David, his father, he passes unrighteous judgmentupon David's government. This dissatisfaction with his father's rulewas afterward followed by unconcealed contempt and open violence, withDavid's destruction as the object. Ham's heart being full of poisonwhich he had gathered from his father as a spider gathers poison fromthe fairest rose, precisely such a result had to follow. 

150. These examples serve to call our attention to the battle wagedfrom the beginning of the world between the Church and Satan with hisfollowers, the hypocrites, or false brethren. This deed of Ham mustnot be looked upon as a result of boyish love of pranks, but ofSatan's most bitter enmity, wherewith he inflames his followersagainst the Church. Particularly does he incite them against those inthe ministry, leading them to close watch at all times for materialavailable for purposes of slander. 

The Papists at present have no other business than to watch ourconversation for the purpose of slander. Whenever we fall into humanerror (for we are truly weak and are beset by our failings), theyseize upon our moral uncleanness, like famished swine, and find greatdelight in publishing and betraying our weaknesses, like Ham theaccursed. They truly hunger and thirst after our offenses. Although byGod's grace they cannot fasten adultery, murder or like errors uponus, unless by their own fabrication (this shameless class of peopleabhor no kind of lie), yet they gather up smaller matters, which theyafterward exaggerate to the public. 

151. David's experience is well known. He was surrounded on all sidesby enemies who eagerly sought out every opportunity for persecution. They were envious because he had been called to the throne by God;hence, they triumphed over his horrible fall. 

152. His case, however, serves for our instruction. God sometimespermits even righteous and holy men to stumble and fall into offenses, either really or apparently, and we must take heed lest we passjudgment at once, after the example of Ham, who, having secretlydespised his father long before, now does so openly. He declared thathis parent, being imbecile by age, had clearly been deserted by theHoly Spirit, since he was unable to guard against drunkenness, thoughthe government of the Church, State, and household lay upon hisshoulders. O wretched Ham, how happy art thou, having found at lastwhat thou soughtest--poison in a most delightful rose!

153. Everlasting praises and blessings be given to God, whose dealingswith his saints are wonderful indeed. While he permits them to be weakand to fall, to be overwhelmed with disgrace and offenses, and whilethe world judges and condemns them, he forgives them their weaknessesand has compassion upon them; whereas he delivers into Satan's handsthose who regard themselves angels, and utterly rejects them. 

The first lesson of this story is that godly persons have the neededconsolation against their infirmities when they see that even theholiest men sometimes fell most disgracefully by reason of similarinfirmities. 

154. In the second place, the case of Ham is a fearful example ofdivine judgment, to teach us by Ham's experience not to condemn atonce, even when we see rulers of State, Church, or household--such asour parents--fall into error and sin. Who can tell why God so permits?Such sins must not be excused, yet we see that they are of value forthe consolation of the pious. They teach us that God can bear with theerrors and sins of his people and that even we, when beset with sins, may trust in the mercy of God and need not lose heart. 

155. But what is medicine for the righteous, is poison for the wicked. The latter do not seek to be taught and comforted by God. Theirunworthiness prevents them from recognizing his glory in the saints. They see nothing but the stumbling block and the snare, with theresult that they fall and are left to perish alone. 

156. Let us, therefore, truly respect those in authority over us. Ifthey fall, we must not be offended. We must remember that they arehuman, and that God's ways are wonderful in his saints, because it ishis will that the wicked shall be offended and provoked. Thus Mosesthreatens the Jews: "I will provoke them to anger with a foolishnation" (Deut 32, 21). Because, during the whole period of thekingdom, they refused to hear the prophets, God gave the offense ofcasting away a wise and religious people, which had the promises andwas descended from the patriarchs. In its place, he chose the filthand dregs of the world, a foolish people; that is, it was withoutpiety, without religion, without worship, without that divine wisdomwhich is his Word. This offense roused the Jews to insane anger. 

157. This will be the lot of the papists. Some great offense shall begiven them by God against which they shall find themselves helpless, and thus they shall come to grief like Ham. Renouncing the reverencedue both to God and his father, in deeming himself more capable ofruling the Church than Noah, in secretly deriding or censuring hisparent, he finally presents the spectacle of disclosing his wicked andirreverent attitude before others. 

158. The two other brothers, Shem and Japheth, did not follow Ham'swicked example. While conscious of the scandalous fact that theirfather was drunk and lay in shameless nakedness like a littleboy, --while recognizing that this ill became the ruler of Church andState, they remained mindful of the reverence due a parent. Theygulped down the offense given; they hid the offense and gave it aworthier aspect, so to speak, by covering their father with a garment, approaching him with eyes averted. They would have been incapable ofthis fine outward expression of reverence for their father, had theynot occupied a correct attitude toward God in their hearts andbelieved their father to be both priest and ruler by right divine. 

159. It is a fearful example, this one of Ham. Though one of the fewsaved during the flood, he forgets all piety. It is profitable tocarefully consider how he came to fall. Outward sins must first becommitted in our minds; that is, before sins are visibly committed, the heart first departs from the Word and from the fear of God. Itneither knows God nor seeks after him, as we read in Psalms 14, 2. Assoon as the heart begins to set aside the Word, and to despise theministers and prophets of God, ambition and pride follow. Those whostand in the way of our desires are overborne by hatred and slander, until finally insolent speech ends in murder. 

160. Those who are to become rulers of Church or State, should dailypray earnestly to God that they may remain humble. It is the object ofstories of this character to set this duty before us, for it isevident what occasioned Ham's frightful fall. 

161. If, then, the saints fall into sin, let us not be offended. Muchless should we rejoice over the weakness of others, haughtilyesteeming ourselves braver, wiser, or holier than they. Let us ratherendure and cover up, and even put a good construction upon and excusesuch errors in so far as we can, remembering that perhaps tomorrow wemay suffer what happened to them today. For we all constitute a unit, being born of the same flesh. Let us then heed the advice of Paul, "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall" (1 Cor 10, 12). In this way the other two brothers looked upon their drunkenfather. Their thoughts were these: Behold, our father has fallen. ButGod is wonderful in his dealing with saints, whom he sometimes permitsto fall for our instruction, that we may not despair when afflicted bykindred infirmity. 

162. Let us imitate their wisdom! The sins of others give us no rightto judge them. Before their own master they stand or fall (Rom 14, 4). Furthermore, if the downfall of others displease us (since, in truth, many acts neither can nor ought to be excused), let us be so much themore careful lest something like it overtake ourselves. Let us not sitin proud and haughty judgment, for this is original sin in all itscorruption: To lay claim to exceptional wisdom and to hunt for themoral lapses of others in order to gain the reputation ofrighteousness for ourselves. 

163. We truly are weak sinners and must freely confess, being human, that our conversation is not always free from offense. But while weshare this weakness with our enemies, we nevertheless do our dutydiligently, by spreading God's Word, by teaching the churches, bybettering the evil, by urging the right, by consoling the weak, bychiding the stubborn, and, in brief, by doing whatever duty God laysupon us. 

164. On the other hand since our adversaries strive after nothing buthypocrisy and an outward show of holiness, so they add to the frailtywhich they have in common with us, the most grievous sins, becausethey do not follow their calling, but concern themselves with theirhonors and emoluments. They neglect the churches and suffer them tomiserably decay. They condemn the true doctrine and teach idolatry. Inshort, in public life they are wise, but in their own sphere they areutterly foolish. This is the most destructive evil in the Church. 

165. This is the first part of the story, and, in the preparation ofhis record, Moses has confined himself to the same. It is certain thatNoah was a righteous man, gifted with many heroic virtues, and that heaccomplished most important things both for the Church and for theState. It is not possible either to establish political communities orto found churches except by diligent effort. Life, in both thesemanifestations (I will say nothing of the management of the home) isbeset with many dangers; for Satan, a liar and murderer, is the mostrelentless enemy of Church and State. 

166. But Moses passes by all these achievements, not so much asalluding to them. He records but this one circumstance--that Noahbecame drunk and was scoffed at by his youngest son. He intended it asa valuable example, teaching pious souls to trust in God's mercy. Onthe other hand, the proud, the lovers of cant, the sanctimonious, thewise-acres, --let them learn to fear God and beware of passing areckless judgment upon others! As Manasseh the king declares, Goddisplays in his saints both his wonders and his terrors "againstwicked and sinful men. " This is illustrated in the case of Ham, whodid not now first come to his downfall but had cherished this hateagainst his father for a long time, afterward to fill the world withidolatry. 

Vs. 23-27. _And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon boththeir shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of theirfather; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father'snakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngestson had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant ofservants shall he be unto his brethren. _

167. It is truly a beautiful and memorable example of respect to afather which Moses records in this passage. The sons might without sinhave approached their father and covered him, while turning theirfaces toward him. What sin should it be if one, happening upon a nudeperson, should see what is before him without his will? Still the twosons do not do this. When they heard from their haughty and mockingbrother what had happened to their father, they laid a garment uponboth their shoulders, entered the tent with faces turned away (howadmirable!), and lowering the garment backward, covered their father. 

168. Who can fail to observe here the thoughtfulness of the will andWord of God, and reverence before the majesty of fatherhood, which Godrequires to be honored, not despised or mocked by children? God seemsto approve this reverence and accept it as a most pleasing offeringand the very noblest worship and obedience. But his utmost hatredrests upon Ham, who might have seen without sin what he saw, since itcame to his view by chance, if only he had covered it up, if only hehad remained silent about it, if only he had not shown himself to bepleased by the sin of his father. But he who despised God, the Word, and the order established by God, not only failed to cover his fatherwith a garment, but even derided him and left him naked. 

169. In describing the act of the two brothers Moses emphasizes themalice of Ham, who was filled with violent and satanic hatred againsthis father. Who of us, on finding a stranger lying by the waysidedrunk and nude, would not at least cover him with his own coat toforestall disgrace? How much greater the demand in this case of afather! Ham, however, fails to do for his father, the highest ruler ofthe world, what common humanity teaches us to do for strangers. Moreover he publishes the circumstance joyfully, insulting his drunkenfather and making the sin of his father known to his brothers as if hehad a piece of good news. 

170. Moses, therefore, sets Ham before us as a fearful example, to becarefully taught in the churches, in order that young people may learnto respect their elders, rulers, and parents. Not on account of Noah, not on account of Ham, but on account of those to come--on ouraccount--is this story written, and Ham, with his contempt for God andfather, pictured in most repulsive colors. 

171. Also the punishment of this wickedness is carefully set beforeus. Noah, looked upon by his son as a foolish, insane, and ridiculousold man, now steps forth in the majesty of a prophet, to announce tohis son a divine revelation of future events. Truly does Paul declarethat "power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12, 9); for thecertainty characterizing Noah's utterance is proof that he was filledwith the Holy Spirit, notwithstanding that his son had mocked anddespised him as one utterly deserted by the Holy Spirit. 

172. I will not attempt here to settle the question above referred to(ch 5, §95) concerning the order of the sons of Noah, as to which ofthem was the first-born and which the youngest. A point more worthy ofour attention is the fact that the Holy Spirit is so filled withstrong wrath against that disobedient and scornful son that he doesnot even choose to call him by his own name, but calls him Canaanafter the name of his son. Some say that, because God had desired tosave Ham in the ark as one under his blessing the same as the others, he had no wish to curse him, but cursed Canaan instead, a curse which, nevertheless, could not but recoil upon Ham who had provoked it. ThusHam's name perishes here, since the Holy Spirit hates it, whose hatredis, indeed, a serious hatred. We read in the psalm, "I hate them withperfect hatred" (Ps 139, 22). When the Holy Spirit exercises hiswrath, eternal death must follow. 

173. Although Ham had sinned against his father in many ways, it isremarkable that the fruit of the first sin and the devil's malice didnot become manifest until the father lay drunk and bare. When, withthis sin, the previous ones had attained to fullness of power andgrowth, the Holy Spirit condemned him, and, as a warning to others, also announced the infliction of impending, endless servitude. 

V. 26. _And he said, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem; and letCanaan be his servant. _

These are two sublime prophecies, worthy of close attention. They havesignificance in our time, though they were grossly garbled by theJews. The Jews observe that Ham is cursed thrice; this fact they wrestto the glory of their own nation, promising themselves worldlydominion. 

V. HAM CURSED; SHEM AND JAPHETH BLESSED. 

 A. THE CURSE PRONOUNCED UPON HAM 174-188. 

 1. Why Ham was thrice cursed 174. 

 * Disrespect of parents, pastors and authority signs of approaching misfortune 175. 

 2. Way Ham disregarded the curse 176. 

 3. Why Ham disregarded the curse 177-178. 

 4. Ham's temporal prosperity continued with his curse 179-181. 

 * Faith alone grasps God's threatenings and promises 180-181. 

 * Reason God postpones punishment and reward 181-182. 

 * The Papal Church is not the true Church 183. 

 * Believers have comfort in their tribulations 184-185. 

 * The pious have their kingdom here in faith 186. 

 5. From this curse it is clear Noah was enlightened by the Holy Spirit 187. 

 * Were all Ham's descendents cursed? 188. 

 B. BLESSING PRONOUNCED UPON SHEM 189-191. 

 1. This is an exceedingly great blessing 189. 

 2. Why is it clothed in praise to God 190. 

 3. This blessing proves that Noah possessed a precious light 191. 

 C. BLESSING PRONOUNCED UPON JAPHETH 192-224. 

 1. Why the form of Japheth's blessing differed from that of Shem's 192. 

 2. Herein lies a special secret 193. 

 3. The Jews' false interpretation of this blessing 194. 

 4. Relation of these two blessings to each other 195. 

 * The Jews' false notion about Shem's blessing 196. 

 5. The order in which these blessings are enjoyed 197-198. 

 * The form God's Church takes in this world 199. 

 * Divine promises and threatenings to be understood in a spiritual sense 199-200. 

 * Ham and Cain resemble one another in their positions and works 201. 

 * The Turk and the Pope. 

 a. What strengthens them in their opposition to the true Church 202. 

 * How a Christian should conduct himself in times of misfortunes 203. 

 b. The power and advantages of the Turk and Pope of no avail 204. 

 c. Attitude of Church members to their pride 205-206. 

 * Why Ham's name was not mentioned when he was cursed 207-208. 

 6. The word dilatet the Latins use in explaining Japheth's blessing 209-210. 

 a. It is not in harmony with the Hebrew 209-210. 

 b. Why all Latin interpreters use it 211. 

 c. It does not fully express the sense of the Holy Spirit 212. 

 d. What explanation should be given here 213-215. 

 7. All descendents of Japheth partake of this blessing through the Gospel 216-217. 

 8. Translations of Latin interpreters of this blessing are to be harmonized with the original text 218-219. 

 * Ham's name 220-221. 

 a. Its meaning and reason his parents gave it to him 220. 

 b. The hope of his parents in this name disappointed 221. 

 9. It is ascribed to this promise that Germany in these last days received the light of the Gospel 222. 

 * Abraham had Noah as his teacher 223. 

 * The temporal prosperity of Ham's family, and their wickedness 224. 

V. HAM CURSED; SHEM AND JAPHETH BLESSED. 

A. The Curse Pronounced Upon Ham. 

174. But there is another reason for this repeatedly uttered curse. God cannot forget such great irreverence toward parents, nor does hesuffer it to go unpunished. He requires that parents and rulers beregarded with reverence. He requires that elders be honored, commanding that one shall rise up before a hoary head (Lev 19, 32). And, speaking of ministers of the Word, he says, "He that despisethyou, despiseth me" (Mt 10, 40; Lk 10, 16). 

175. Hence disobedience of parents is a sure indication that curse anddisaster are close at hand. Likewise is contempt of ministers and ofrulers punished. When the people of the primitive world began toderide the patriarchs and to hold their authority in contempt, theflood followed. When, among the people of Judah, the child began tobehave himself proudly against the old man, as Isaiah has it (ch 3, 5), Jerusalem was laid waste and Judah went down. Such corruption ofmorals is a certain sign of impending evil. We justly fear for Germanya like fate when we look upon the prevailing disrespect for authority. 

176. Let us, however, bear witness of a practice to which both HolyWrit and our experience testify. Because God delays the threatenedpunishment he is mocked and considered a liar. In this practice weshould see the seal, as it were, to every prophecy. Ham hears that heis accursed; but inasmuch as the curse does not go into immediateeffect, he securely despises and derides the same. 

177. Thus did the first world hold Noah's prophecy in ridicule when hespoke of the flood. Had they believed that such a punishment was closeat hand, would they have gone on in a feeling of security? Would theynot rather have repented and begun a better life? If Ham had believedthat to be true which he heard from his father, he would have soughtrefuge in mercy and, confessing his crime, craved forgiveness. But hedid neither; rather did he haughtily leave his father, to go toBabylon. There, with his posterity, he gave himself up to the buildingof a city and of a tower, and made himself lord of all Greater Asia. 

178. What is the reason for this feeling of security? It lies in thefact that divine prophecies must be believed; they cannot be perceivedby our senses, or by experience. This is true both of divine promisesand of divine threats. Therefore the opposite always seems to theflesh to be true. 

179. Ham is cursed by his father; but he lays hold upon the greaterportion of the earth and establishes vast kingdoms. On the other hand, Shem and Japheth are blessed, but in comparison with Ham, they andtheir posterity are beggarly. 

Where then are we to seek the truth of this prophecy? I answer: Thisprophecy and all others, whether they be promises or threats, cannotbe understood by reason, but by faith alone. God delays bothpunishments and rewards; hence there is need of endurance. For "Hethat endureth to the end, the same shall be saved, " as Christ says (Mt24, 13). 

180. The life of all pious people is wholly of faith and hope. Theevidence of our senses, history, and the way of the world, would teachus the opposite. Ham is cursed, yet he alone obtains dominion. Shemand Japheth are blessed, yet they alone bear reproach and affliction. Since both the promises and the threats of God reach out into thefuture, the issue must be awaited in faith. Habakkuk says (ch 2, 3), "It will surely come, it will not delay. "

181. Great is the wrath of the Holy Spirit which here prompts him tosay of Ham, "A servant of servants shall he be;" that is, the lowestand vilest of slaves. But if you let history speak, you will see Hamrule in Canaan, whereas Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and others whofollowed, and had the blessing, lived like servants among theCanaanites. The Egyptians are Ham's offspring, and how cruel was theservitude Israel suffered there!

182. How, then, was it true that Ham was cursed and Shem was blessed?In this way: The fulfillment of the promise and of the threat was inthe future. This delay is ordained in order that the wicked may filltheir measure of sin and may not be able to accuse God of having giventhem no room for repentance. On the other hand, when the righteoussuffer at the hands of the unrighteous and become the servants ofservants, they undergo such trial and discipline for the purpose ofincreasing in faith and in love toward God; so that, trained inmanifold vexations and tribulations, they may attain the promise. 

When the time was fulfilled, the might of Ham's posterity was notgreat enough to withstand the posterity of Shem. Then, indeed, wasfulfilled that curse which Ham and his posterity had so long despisedand disbelieved. 

183. It is much the same with us today. We have the true doctrine andthe true worship. Hence we can boast that we are the true Church, having the promise of spiritual blessings in Christ. As the pope'schurch condemns our doctrine, we know her to be not the Church ofChrist but of Satan, and truly, like Ham, a "servant of servants. " Andyet anyone may see that the pope rules, while we are servants and theoff-scouring, as Paul says (1 Cor 4, 12). 

184. What, then, shall we poor, oppressed people do? We are to comfortour souls meanwhile with our spiritual dominion. We know we haveforgiveness of sins and a gracious God, through Christ, until alsotemporal freedom shall be vouchsafed on the last day. And we are notwithout traces of temporal freedom even in this life; for whiletyrants stubbornly oppose the Gospel, they are cut off from the earth, root and branch. 

185. So was the Roman empire destroyed after all the otherworld-powers perished; but God's Word and Church remain forever. Likewise, Christ weakens the Pope's power, little by little; but thathe may be utterly removed and become a servant of servants with wickedHam is a matter for faith to await. Ham is shut out from the kingdomof God and possesses the kingdoms of the world for a time, just as thepope is shut out from the Church of God and holds temporal dominionfor a time. But his dominion shall vanish. 

186. The divine law and order is that the righteous have dominion, butby faith, being satisfied with such spiritual blessing as a graciousGod and the certain hope of the heavenly kingdom. Meanwhile, we leavepossession of the kingdoms of the world to the wicked until God shallscatter also their worldly power, and, through Christ, make us heirsof all things. 

187. Furthermore, we learn from this prophecy that Noah, by a specialillumination of the Holy Spirit, was enabled to see, in the firstplace, that his posterity would remain forever, and in the secondplace, that the family of Ham, though they were to be rulers for atime, would perish at last and above all would lose the spiritualblessing. 

188. However, the explanation given above (ch 4, §182) with referenceto the descendants of Cain, applies also here. I do not entertain theopinion that the offspring of Ham were doomed, without exception. Somefound salvation by being converted to faith, but such salvation wasnot due to a definite promise but to uncovenanted grace, so to speak. Likewise the Gibeonites and others were saved when the children ofIsrael occupied the land of Canaan. Job, Naaman the Syrian, the peopleof Nineveh, the widow of Zarephath, and others from the heathen weresaved, not by virtue of a promise, but by uncovenanted grace. 

B. Blessing Pronounced Upon Shem. 

189. But why does Noah not say, "Blessed be Shem, " instead of, "Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem"? I answer that it is because ofthe magnitude of the blessing. The reference here is not to a temporalblessing, but to the future blessing through the promised seed. Hesees this blessing to be so great that he cannot express it; hence, heturns to thanksgiving. It seems that Zacharias was thinking of thisvery passage when he said, for a similar reason, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel" (Lk 1, 68). 

190. Noah's blessing takes the form of thanksgiving unto God. God, hesays, is blessed, who is the God of Shem. In other words: It isneedless for me to extend my blessing over Shem, who has been blessedbefore with spiritual blessing; he already is a child of God, and fromhim the Church will be continued, as it was continued from Seth beforethe flood. Full of wonderful meaning is the fact that Noah joins Godwith Shem, his son, and, as it were, unites them. 

191. Noah's heart must have been divinely illumined since he makessuch a distinction between his sons, rejecting Ham with his posterityand placing Shem in line with the saints and the Church because thespiritual blessing, given in paradise concerning the seed, would restupon him. Therefore, this holy man blesses God and gives thanks untohim. 

C. Blessing Pronounced Upon Japheth. 

V. 27. _God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem;and let Canaan be his servant. _

192. This prophecy is wonderful for the aptness of each single word. Noah did not bless Shem, but the God of Shem, by way of giving thanksto God for having embraced Shem and having adorned him with aspiritual promise, or the blessing of the woman's seed. But when hementions Japheth he does not employ the same manner of speaking as inthe case of Shem. His words are chosen for the purpose of showing themystery of which Paul speaks (Rom 11, 11) and Christ (Jn 4, 22), thatsalvation is from the Jews and yet the gentiles also became partakersof this salvation. Shem alone is the true root and stem, yet theheathen are grafted upon this stem, as a foreign branch, and becomepartakers of the fatness and the sap which are in the chosen tree. 

193. Noah, seeing this through the Holy Spirit, predicts, in dimallusions but correctly, that Christ's kingdom is to spread in theworld from the root of Shem, and not from that of Japheth. 

194. The Jews prate that Japheth stands for the neighboring nationsaround Jerusalem which were admitted to the temple and its worship. But Noah makes little ado about the temple of Jerusalem, or thetabernacle of Moses; his words refer to greater matters. He treats ofthe three patriarchs who are to replenish the earth. While he affirmsof Japheth that he does not belong to the root of the people of Godwhich possesses the promise of the Christ, he declares that he shallbe incorporated through the call of the Gospel into the fellowship ofthat people which has God and the promises. 

195. Here, then, we have a picture of the Church of the Gentiles andof the Jews. Ham, being wicked, is not admitted to the spiritualblessing of the seed, except as it happens by uncovenanted grace. ToJapheth, however, though he has not the promise of the seed, likeShem, the hope is nevertheless given that he will, at some futuretime, be taken into the fellowship of the Church. Thus we Gentiles, being sons of Japheth, have no direct promise, indeed, and yet we areincluded in the promise given to the Jews, since we are predestined tothe fellowship of the holy people of God. These matters are hererecorded, not for Shem and Japheth so much as for their posterity. 

196. We learn why the Jews are so haughty and boastful. They see thatShem, their father, alone has the promise of eternal blessing, whichis given through Christ. So far, so good. But when they believe thatthe promise pertains not to faith but rather to the carnal descent, they are in error. This subject has been splendidly treated by Paul(Rom 9, 6). There he establishes the fact that the children of Abrahamare not his carnal descendants but those who have his faith (Gal 3, 7). 

197. The same thought is suggested here by Moses, who says in so manywords, "Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem. " This shows that there isno blessing except by the God of Shem. Hence, no Jew will share thisblessing unless he have the God of Shem; that is, unless he believes. Nor will Japheth share the blessing unless he dwells in the tents ofShem, that is, unless he associates himself with him in faith. 

198. This is a grand promise, valid unto the end of the world. Butjust as it is limited to those who have the God of Shem, that is, whobelieve, so the curse also is limited to those who abide in thewickedness of Ham. Noah spoke these words, not on the strength ofhuman authority and feeling, but by the Spirit of God. His words thenrefer not to a temporal, but to a spiritual and eternal curse. Normust we understand him to speak of a curse that is a curse only in thesight of the world, but rather of one in the sight of God. 

199. The same statement has been made heretofore (ch 4 §182) regardingthe curse of Cain. Judged by outward appearances, Cain obtained agreater earthly blessing than Seth. God desires that his Church inthis world shall apparently suffer the curse pronounced upon thewicked and that, on the other hand, the wicked shall seem to beblessed. Cain was the first man to build a city, calling it Enoch;while Seth dwelt in tents. 

200. Thus did Ham build the city and tower of Babel and ruled far andwide, while Shem and Japheth were poor, living in lowly tents. Thefacts of history, then, teach that both the promises and the curses ofGod are not to be understood carnally, or of the present life, butspiritually. Although oppressed in the world, the righteous are surelyheirs and sons of God, while the wicked, though flourishing for aseason, shall ultimately be cut down and wither; a warning oftenuttered in the Psalms. 

201. There is a striking similarity in the conduct and the lot of Cainand Ham. Cain killed his brother, which shows plainly enough the lackof reverence for his father in his heart. Having been put in the banby his father, he leaves the Church of the true God and the trueworship, builds the city of Enoch, giving himself up altogether toworldly things. Just so does Ham sin by dishonoring his father. Whenalso he subsequently receives as sentence the curse whereby he isexcluded from the promised seed and the Church, he parts with God andthe Church without misgivings, since the curse rests not upon hisperson but upon that of his son, and migrates to Babylon, where heestablishes a kingdom. 

202. These are very illustrious examples and needed by the Church, Turk and Pope today; allow us to boast of the heavenly and everlastingpromise in that we have the Gospel doctrine, and are the Church. Theyknow, however, our judgment of them, that we consider and condemn bothPope and Turk as very Antichrist. How securely they ignore ourjudgment, confidently because of the wealth and power they possess, and also because of our weakness in character and numbers. The verysame spirit we plainly see in Cain and Ham, in the condemned andexcommunicated. 

203. These truths enforce the lesson that we must not seek an abidingcity or country in this bodily existence, but in its varying changesand fortunes look to the hope of eternal life, promised throughChrist. This is the final haven; and we must strive for it with sailand oar, as eager and earnest sailors while the tempest rages. 

204. What if the Turk should obtain sway over the whole world, whichhe never will? Michael, as Daniel says, will bring aid to the holypeople, the Church (ch 10, 13). What matter if the Pope should gainpossession of the wealth of all the world, as he has tried to do formany centuries with all the wealth at his command? Will Turk and Popethereby escape death, or even secure permanence of temporal power?Why, then, should we be misled by the temporal blessings which theyenjoy, or by our misfortunes and dangers, since we know that they arebanished from the fellowship of the saints, while we enjoy everlastingblessings through the Son of God?

205. If Cain and Ham, and Pope and Turk, who are as father and son toeach other, can afford to despise the judgment of the true Church onthe strength of fleeting and meager successes in this life, why cannot we afford in turn to despise their power and censure, on thestrength of the everlasting blessings which we possess? Ham was notmoved by his father's curse. Full of anger against him, and despisinghim as a crazy old man, he goes away and arms himself with the powerof the world, esteeming this more highly than to be blessed with Shemby his father. 

206. This story should give us strength for the similar experiences oftoday. The priests and bishops heap contempt upon us, saying, What canthose poverty stricken heretics do? Priest and bishop are puffed upwith their wealth and power. But let us bear this insolence of thewicked with undisturbed mind, as Noah bore that of his son. Let ustake consolation in the hope and faith of the eternal benediction, ofwhich, we know, they are deprived. 

207. I said above (§172) that the Holy Spirit was so greatly angeredby the sin of Ham that he could not bear even to speak his name in thecurse. And it is true, as the punishment shows, that Ham sinnedgrievously. The other reason mentioned above as not at all unlikely, Iwill here repeat: Ham had been called and received into the ark by thedivine Word, and had been saved with the others, and Noah wanted tospare him whom God had spared in the flood. Therefore, he transferredthe curse which Ham merited, to Canaan, his son, whom Ham doubtlessdesired to keep with him. 

208. The Jews offer a different explanation: Canaan, the son, havingbeen the first to see his grandfather Noah lying naked, announced itto his father, who then saw for himself; hence, Canaan gave his fathercause to commit the sin. Let the reader judge what value there is inthis exposition. 

209. But there is also a philological question which must be discussedin connection. Scholars call translators to account for the rendering, "God enlarge Japheth, " when the Hebrew words do not permit it, thoughnot only the Hebrews but also the Chaldeans, are mostly agreed thatthe word _jepheth_ means "to enlarge. " Technical discussions of thiskind, however, are sometimes very useful to clear up the precisemeaning of a passage. 

210. Some scholars derive the name _Japheth_ from the verb _jephah_, which signifies _to be beautiful_, as in Ps 45, 2: _japhjaphita mibeneAdam_, "Thou art fairer than the children of men. " But this may easilybe shown to be an error; for the true origin of the word is the verb_phatah_, which means "to persuade, " "to deceive with fair words" asin Ex 22 16: _ki jephateh isch betulah_, "If a man entice a virgin, heshall surely pay a dowry for her. " And in Jer 20, 7: _pethithanijehovah va-epath_, "O Jehovah, thou hast persuaded me and I waspersuaded;" Prov 1, 10: _Im-jephatukah_, "If sinners entice thee. "There is no need of more examples, for the word occurs frequently, andI have no doubt that it is derived from the Greek word _peitho_, forit has the same meaning. 

211. But let us turn to the question: Why have all translators made itread, "God enlarge Japheth, " while it is not the word _pathach_, whichmeans "to enlarge" or "to open", but rather the word _pathah_? I haveno doubt that the translators were influenced by the harsh expression. Since this is a promise, it seemed too harsh to state that Noah hadsaid, "God deceive Japheth. " This would appear to be a word ofcursing, not of blessing. Hence they chose a milder term, though itviolated the rules of language. And since there is but a slightdifference between _pathach_, and _pathah_, they used one for theother. They meant to preserve the important fact that this is apromise. 

212. But there is no need for us to alter the text in this manner, andto violate its grammatical construction, since the word _pathah_, offers a most suitable meaning. Being a word of double meaning, as theword _suadere_ in Latin, it may be accepted either in a bad or in agood sense. Hence, it is not irreverent to apply this word to God. Wefind it clearly so used in Hosea 2, 14, where the Lord says:"Therefore, behold, I will (_mephateha_) allure her (or, entice her bycoaxing), and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortablyunto her. " I will suckle her, speak sweetly unto her, and thus will Ideceive her, as it were, so that she may agree with me, so that theChurch will join herself to me, etc. 

In this sense the word may here rightly be taken to mean "allure, ""persuade, " "coax by means of friendly words and flattery. " Godsuckle, persuade, deceive Japheth by persuasion, so that Japhethhimself, being allured, as his name signifies, may be invited in afriendly way and thus be beguiled. 

213. But you say, what will be the meaning of this? or why shouldthere be need for Japheth to be beguiled or persuaded, and that by Godhimself? I answer: Noah makes the names to serve his purpose in thisprophecy. He gives thanks to God that he establishes them to standlike a firm root from which Christ was to spring. For the verb _sum_, signifies "to place, " "to put in position, " "to establish. "

214. For Japheth, however, he prays that he may become a true Japheth. Since he was the oldest son, who ordinarily should have been given theright of the first-born, he prays that God would persuade him in afriendly manner, first, not to envy his brother this honor, nor to bedissatisfied that this privilege was taken from him and given to hisbrother. Furthermore, because this matter touches the person ofJapheth only, God includes his entire offspring in the blessing. Though the promise was given to Shem alone, yet God does not shut outfrom it the offspring of Japheth, but speaks to them lovingly throughthe Gospel, that they may also become _jepheth_, being persuaded bythe Word of the Gospel. This is a divine persuasion, coming from theHoly Spirit; not from the flesh, nor from the world, nor from Satan, but holy and quickening. This expression is used by Paul in Gal 1, 10, where he says, "Am I now persuading men or God?" And Gal 3, 1, "Whodid bewitch you that ye should not obey the truth?"--that ye do notagree to the truth, that ye do not permit yourselves to be persuadedby that which is true?

215. Viewing the name Japheth in this case, it signifies a person ofthe kind which we call guileless, who believes readily, permittinghimself to be easily persuaded of a matter, who does not dispute orcling to his own ideas but submits his mind to the Lord and rests uponhis Word, remaining a learner, not desiring to be master over thewords and works of God. 

Hence it is a touching prayer which is here recorded, that God mightpersuade Japheth; that is, that he might speak fondly with him. Noahprays that, though God does not speak to Japheth on the basis of apromise, as he does with Shem, yet he would speak with him on thebasis of grace and divine goodness. 

216. This prayer of Noah foresees the spread of the Gospel throughoutthe whole world. Shem is the stem. From his posterity Christ was born. The Church is of the Jews, who had patriarchs, prophets, and kings. And yet God here shows Noah that also the wretched Gentiles were todwell in the tents of Shem; that is, they were to come into thatheritage of the saints which the Son of God brought into thisworld--forgiveness of sins, the Holy Spirit, and everlasting life. Heprophesies clearly that also Japheth will hear the sweet message ofthe Gospel as his name suggests; so that, though he have not the sametitle as Shem, who was set to be the stem from which Christ was tospring, yet he should have the persuader, namely the Gospel. 

217. It was Paul through whom this prophecy was fulfilled. He almostunaided taught the Gospel doctrine to the posterity of Japheth. Hesays: "From Jerusalem, and round about even unto Illyricum, I havefully preached the Gospel of Christ" (Rom 15, 19). Almost all of Asia, with the exception of the oriental peoples, together with Europe, belongs to the posterity of Japheth. The Gentiles, therefore, did not, as the Jews did, receive the kingdom and the priesthood from God. Theyhad neither the law nor the promise. Yet by the mercy of God they haveheard that sweet voice of the Gospel, the persuader, which isindicated by the very name of Japheth. 

218. The interpreters failed to recognize this as the true meaning, and God permitted them to make this mistake. Still they did not missthe true meaning altogether. For the verb _hirchib_, which means "toenlarge, " means also "to give consolation, " just as conversely inLatin the word _angustiae_ (narrow place) signifies also "pains, " or"perils, " or "disaster. " Thus we read in Psalms 4, 1: "Thou hast setme at large when I was in distress. " The only real enlargement, orconsolation, is the Word of the Gospel. 

219. Thus the several expositions are harmonized by properinterpretation. But the primary meaning of _enlarge_, which conveysthe idea of _persuasion_, is the native and proper one. It sheds abright light upon the fact that we Gentiles, although the promise wasnot given to us, have nevertheless been called by the providence ofGod to the Gospel. The promise pertains to Shem alone, but Japheth, asPaul has it in Romans 11, 17, was grafted into the olive tree, like awild olive, and became a partaker of the original fatness, or the sap, of the olive. The older portions of the Bible agree with the newer, and what God promised in the days of Noah, he now carries out. 

220. "Ham" signifies "the hot and burning one. " This name was given tohim by his father, I believe, because of the great things he hoped forhis youngest son. To Noah the other two were cold men in comparison. Eve rejoiced greatly when Cain was born (Gen 4, 1). She believed thathe would restore whatever had been wrought amiss. Yet he was the firstto harm mankind in a new way, in that he killed his brother. 

221. Thus God, according to his unsearchable counsel, changes theexpectations even of the saints. Ham, whom his father, at his birth, had expected to be inflamed with greater zeal for the support of theChurch than his brothers, was hot and burning, indeed, when he grewolder, but in a different sense. He burned against his parent and hisGod, as his deed shows. Hence, his name was one of evil prophecy, unsuspected of Noah when he gave it. 

222. This is Noah's prophecy concerning his sons, who have filled theearth with their offspring. The fact, therefore, that God haspermitted the light of the Gospel to shine upon Germany, is due to theprophecy anent Japheth. We see today the fulfillment of that whichNoah foretold. Though we are not of the seed of Abraham, yet we dwellin the tents of Shem and enjoy the fulfilment of the propheciesconcerning Christ. 

Vs. 28-29. _And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fiftyyears. And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; andhe died. _

223. History shows that Noah died fifty years after the birth ofAbraham. Abraham, therefore, enjoying the instruction of so able andrenowned a teacher until his fiftieth year, had an opportunity tolearn something of religion. And there is no doubt that Noah, beingfilled with the Holy Spirit, cared for this grandchild of his withspecial care and love, as the only heir of Shem's promises. 

224. At that time the offspring of Ham flourished, spreading idolatrythroughout the regions of the East. Abraham was in touch with it, andnot without danger to himself. He was saved, however, by Noah, beingalmost alone in recognizing the greatness of a man who was the onlysurvivor of the early world. The others, forgetful of the wrath whichhad raged in the flood, taunted the pious, old man; particularly Ham'sprogeny, puffed up by wealth and power. They heaped insults uponFather Noah, and--frenzied by success--they divided the curse ofservitude pronounced upon them as a sign of his dotage. Amen.