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The raven and the dove

Before CHRIST 2349.

+ Heb. in going forth and return

ing.

CHAP. VIII.

7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.

8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took + Heb. caused her, and † pulled her in unto him into the ark.

her to come.

10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark;

dove; and for the rest of the fowls afterwards. Bp. Kidder.

7.- he sent forth a raven,] To make discovery, whether the earth was dry; for if it were, the smell of the dead carcases, he knew, would allure it to fly away from the ark. Bp. Patrick.

went forth to and fro,] In the Hebrew more plainly, going forth and returning. After many flights, finding nothing but water, it still betook itself to the ark; either entering into it, or sitting upon it: till at last, the waters being dried up, it returned no more: that is, fifty days after its first going forth. Bp. Patrick. 8. Also he sent forth a dove] As a proper creature to make farther discoveries; being of a strong flight, loving to feed on the ground, and pick up seeds, and constantly returning to its rest from the remotest places. This was seven days after he had sent forth the raven. Bp. Patrick.

10. And he stayed yet other seven days;] It appears by this, that on the seventh day Noah expected a blessing rather than on another day: it being the day devoted from the beginning to religious services. Having probably performed these services, he sent out the dove again on this day, as he had done before, with hope of good tidings. Bp. Patrick.

11. — in her mouth was an olive-leaf] Some versions read "leaves;" others, "a branch:" perhaps, "a sprig of olive leaves " was what the dove really brought to Noah. Hence the olive-branch has ever been among the forerunners of peace, and chief of those emblems, by which a happy state of renovation and restoration to prosperity has been signified among mankind. Expos. Ind. Script. illust.

Dr. Chandler supposes, that the olive-groves are the principal places for the shooting of birds; and he observes, that when the olive blackens, vast flights of doves, pigeons, thrushes, and other birds, repair to the olive-groves for food: the connexion then between Noah's dove and an olive-leaf is not at all unnatural.

The tops of olive-trees might alone, possibly, be in view of the place where the ark was then floating, though it is a tree of only middling height; but if the dove saw a great number of other trees appear above the water, it was natural for it to repair to olive-trees, where it had been wont to shelter itself, preferably to others, according to Dr. Chandler's account. Harmer.

We may be assured, that the ark was providentially wafted into Armenia; as that region seems to have been particularly well calculated for the reception of the Patriarch's family, and for the repeopling of the world. The soil of the country was very fruitful; and especially of that part, where the Patriarch first made his

are sent out.

11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.

12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.

13 ¶ And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry.

14 And in the second month, on

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descent and we have the attestation of Strabo, that it produced the olive. The region styled Araratia was also very high, though it had fine plains and valleys between the mountains. A country of this nature and situation must, after the flood, have been the soonest dried, and consequently the soonest habitable. And it seems, also, in an eminent degree to have contained every requisite for habitation. Bryant.

14. in the second month, &c.] If their months were such as ours, twelve of which make 365 days, then Noah stayed in the ark a whole year and ten days, as appears by comparing this verse with chap. vii. 11. But if they were lunar months, which is most probable, then he was in the ark just one of our years, going out on the 365th day after his entrance into it. Bp. Patrick.

Basnage has given us the calendar of this melancholy year of Noah's confinement.

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Noah, &c. go forth of the ark.

Before CHRIST 2348.

+ Heb. families.

+ Heb. a savour of rest.

GENESIS.

the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.

15 ¶ And God spake unto Noah, saying,

16 Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.

17 Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

18 And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:

19 Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.

20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the

altar.

21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in

16. Go forth of the ark,] Though Noah saw that the earth was fit to be inhabited, he waited for God's order to go out of the ark, as he had for his entering into it. Bp. Patrick.

20. And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord;] A place, where a sacrifice or oblation was laid, when it was to be offered up. Here is the first express mention of an altar, though it is to be supposed there was one, upon which Cain and Abel offered, in the place appointed for Divine worship. Bp. Kidder.

Noah having been preserved from the flood by a miraculous providence, the first thing he did, was to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving for his deliverance, and for God's faithfulness and truth, in continuing in him and in his posterity the blessing of the promised Seed. This was so acceptable to God, that it drew down a blessing upon the whole earth, and a promise, that it should never be destroyed again by water. Bp. Wilson.

burnt offerings] They were offerings, which were entirely burnt, Levit. vi. 9. Bp. Kidder.

21. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour;] This expression is used in great condescension to human thoughts and human language; and is intended to signify, that God was pleased with the piety and devout services of Noah and others, sacrificing to Him from a pure heart, as men are wont to be pleased with sweet odours. A comparison taken from things human serves in some measure to illustrate things divine: and though it is not exact, as none can be exact, yet it helps to convey a more lively and more affecting idea of the thing than could be given without it. A sweet-smelling savour" is St. Paul's phrase in the New Testament also; where Christ is said to have "given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet

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his heart, I will not again curse ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I Matt. 15. 19. again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

22 While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

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Heb as yet the earth.

all the days of

& 8. 17.

sons, and said unto them, a Be a Chap. 1. 28. fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

smelling savour," Eph. v. 2. Dr. Waterland. See note on chap. vi. 6.

and the Lord said in his heart,] He determined or resolved in Himself. Bp. Patrick. Or, (as the Hebrew will bear,) to his heart, meaning the heart of Noah; that is, God spake comfortably to Noah. To speak to the heart of a man," is, in the Scripture phrase, to comfort and speak kindly to him, Gen. xxxiv. 3; Isai. xl. 2. Bp. Kidder.

- for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth;] Such a proclivity there is in men to evil, that if I should scourge them thus, as often as they deserve it, there would be no end of deluges. Or, the words may mean, Though the imagination, &c."

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Those words, " from his youth," signify a long-rooted corruption, as appears from many places, Isai. xlvii. 12, 15; Jer. iii. 25; Ezek. xxiii. 8, &c. Perhaps they may be extended so far as to signify from his mother's womb. Bp. Patrick.

22 While the earth remaineth, seed-time &c.] This word is our only security. Our only dependence is upon God. To Him therefore we ought to pray and give praise.

This seems to have been what Noah prayed for, and intended by his sacrifice; and this was granted. Bp. Wilson.

Chap. IX. ver. 1. And God blessed Noah and his sons, &c.] As He did our first parents. The blessing upon Noah and his offspring is more particularly expressed afterwards: first, in blessing them with increase, “Be fruitful, &c." ver. 7; secondly, restoring them to their dominion over the creatures, ver. 2; thirdly, allowing them the living creatures for food, ver. 3; fourthly, assuring them that He would take special care of their

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lives, ver. 5, 6; and lastly, that He would not destroy the earth by another flood, ver. 11. Bp. Kidder.

3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you] Here the first grant made to mankind concerning food is enlarged. The first legislation granted them the use of fruits; but now they are permitted to eat of all living creatures as freely, as formerly of all the fruits of the garden. This is the general sense of the Jews, and of the Christian Fathers, and of the first Reformers. Bp. Patrick.

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4. But flesh with the life thereof, &c.] As the criterion of judging of the aptitude of animals for food was declared to be their moving and having life, a danger appeared of misinterpretation, and that these creatures should be used living; a thing, which God by no means intended and therefore, immediately after, it is said, "But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat;" or, as it is explained by the best interpreters, Flesh, or members torn from living animals, having the blood in them, thou shalt not eat. We see by this prohibition, that the abuse of eating living meat, or part of animals while yet alive, was known in the days of Noah, and forbidden after being known: and it is precisely what is practised in Abyssinia to this day. This law then was prior to that of Moses, but it came from the same Legislator. It was given to Noah, and consequently obligatory upon the whole world. Moses, however, insists upon it throughout his law. He positively prohibits it four times in one chapter of Deuteronomy, chap. xii., and thrice in one of the chapters of Leviticus, chap. xvii. Bruce.

Another reason perhaps was, that God intending in after-times to reserve the blood for the expiation of sin, required this early abstinence from it, that men might be the better prepared to submit to that law, and understand the reason of it: which was, that God accepted the life of the beast instead of their life, when they had forfeited it by their sins.

Another plain reason is immediately added, that they might be the more fearful of shedding the blood one of another, when it was not lawful so much as to taste the blood of a beast. Bp. Patrick.

which is the blood thereof,] That blood is the seat of life could not be known to Moses, but by revelation; it being a secret in nature never discovered till of late, and that by many experiments and observations,

God's covenant with Noah.

8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

10 And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.

Before CHRIST 2348.

11 And I will establish my cove- f Isai. 54. 9. nant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

12 And God said, this is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

which the age of Moses, and ages following, knew nothing of. Bp. Wilson. Life is supposed in Scripture to be seated in or attached to, the blood: and that excellent anatomist, Mr. John Hunter, from the result of many experiments, has confirmed the doctrine, that the living principle is inherent in the blood. Dr. Hales.

5. at the hand of every beast will I require it,] That is, Any beast that kills a man, shall itself be killed: not as if beasts were to blame if they killed a man; for they are capable of neither vice nor virtuc: but this was ordained with respect to men, for whose use beasts were created. For 1st, such owners as were not careful to prevent such mischief were hereby punished. 2dly, Others were admonished by their example to be cautious. 3dly, God hereby instructed them that murder was a most grievous crime, the punishment of which extended even to beasts. And 4thly, the lives of men were hereby much secured by killing such beasts_as might otherwise have done the like mischief again. Bp. Patrick.

at the hand of every man's brother] And therefore "if at the hand of every beast, much more will I require it at the hand of every man :" whom He calls brother, to shew that murder is the more heinous on this account, because we are all brethren. Bp. Patrick. 6. — by man shall his blood be shed:] That is, by the magistrate or judges. Bp. Patrick.

Against murder the Lord thus provided by an early law, enacted and published before him, out of whose loins the whole world after the flood was to be re-peopled; to shew that it was not meant for a national and temporary ordinance, but for an universal and perpetual law. Bp. Sanderson.

-for in the image of God made he man.] This is a farther aggravation of the sin of murder. It is a great trespass upon God, as it destroys his likeness. And self-murder upon this account is forbidden, as well as the killing of others. Bp. Kidder.

God having stamped his own image upon every man, and withal signified his blessed pleasure, how precious He would have him to be in our eyes and esteem, according to the tenour of the edict in this verse, and the reason of it; we must expect to answer it as an high contempt of that Sacred Majesty, if we set any man at nought, or make less account of him than God would have us. Bp. Sanderson.

The rainbow,

Before CHRIST 2348.

g Ecclus. 43. 11, 12.

GENESIS.

13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

17 And God said unto Noah, This

13. I do set my bow in the cloud,] It was now that the rainbow was appointed by God to be a memorial both of his justice upon the whole world, and of his mercy to the new. Let us, when we look upon it, bless God for being mindful of his covenant, and securing to us the blessing of his promised Seed. Bp. Wilson. When the Jews behold the rainbow, they bless God, who remembers his covenant, and is faithful to his promise. And the tradition of this its designation to proclaim comfort to mankind was strong among the heathen; for according to the mythology of the Greeks, the rainbow was the daughter of wonder, "a sign to mortal men," and regarded, upon its appearance, as the messenger of the celestial deities. Bp. Horne.

It is not at all necessary to inquire whether there was, or was not, any rainbow before the flood. Upon either supposition the Divine Wisdom is very apparent, in appointing the rainbow for a token of his covenant, and a memorial of his promise: that as often as men should see it, they might remember that God had given them such a promise, and that his infallible word should be their sufficient security. Dr. Waterland.

14. - the bow shall be seen in the cloud :] Not always, but at certain times: often enough to remind men of the promise, and stir up their belief of it. Bp. Patrick. 16. — I will look upon it, that I may remember &c.] God did not "set this bow in the clouds" for his own sake, to engage his attention, and revive his memory whenever He looked on it;" though that be the expression which the Holy Spirit, speaking after the manner of men, has thought fit to make use of: but for our sakes was it placed there, as an illustrious symbol of the Divine Mercy and Goodness, and to confirm our belief and confidence in God. And therefore, whenever we "look upon the rainbow," we should do well to "praise Him that made it; very beautiful it is in the brightness thereof. It compasseth the heaven about with a glorious circle, and the hands of the Most High have bended it," Ecclus. xliii. 11, 12. Stackhouse.

18. Ham is the father of Canaan.] He had other sons besides, chap. x. 6. But Canaan is here mentioned, as the head of a cursed race, whose country God gave to the Israelites; and in order to the ensuing relation, ver. 22. Bps. Patrick and Kidder.

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- of them was the whole earth overspread.] We see then that all mankind are of one blood and original; being descended of one common ancestor; and therefore are all brethren, and, as it were, but one fa

Noah replenisheth the earth,

is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

18 And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth and Ham is the father of + Canaan.

19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole. earth overspread.

20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:

21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.

22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

23 And Shem and Japheth took a

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+ Heb. Chenaan.

mily. This consideration shews not only the reasonableness of that universal benevolence and humanity, which God, the great Lord and Master of all, requires towards all men; but also the folly and injustice of that pride, which puffs up one man against another. "The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the Maker of them all," Prov. xxii. 2. Wogan.

The two continents of Asia and America, so widely separated from each other by the vast Pacific or Eastern Ocean at their southern extremities, are now found to approach each other towards the northern within thirteen leagues, instead of eight hundred, as was supposed. And in this narrow strait there are several intervening islands, as Bering's, &c. Among other good purposes therefore, the voyages of Captain Cook have rendered essential services to religion, by robbing infidelity of a favourite objection to the Mosaical account of the peopling of the earth. North America might have been easily furnished with inhabitants from the opposite coasts of Asia: and South America, by means of the great chain of newly-discovered tropical isles, scattered between the two great continents, and successively colonized from Asia; and also, on its eastern side, by vessels driven by storms, or trade winds and currents, from the shores of Europe and Africa. And indeed the similarity of languages, religion, manners, and customs, in several leading points, furnishes decisive evidence of the descent of all mankind from the same parent stock. Dr. Hales. See the note on chap. x. 32.

21. And he drank of the wine, and was drunken ;] Being unacquainted with the strength of the liquor; or else being old, and unable to bear its strength. This happened a great while after the flood. Bp. Patrick. Bp. Wilson, after Bedford's Scrip. Chronol., says 100 years.

It is a strong argument of the veracity of Moses, that throughout his history he has drawn no character so fair, as not to leave some blemishes, some instances of human frailty, still abiding on it. And indeed it is an act of singular kindness and benefit to us, that God has ordered the faults and miscarriages of his saints so constantly to be recorded in Scripture; since "they are written for our admonition,” to remind us of our frailty, and to alarm our caution and fear. The example of Noah, who had escaped the pollutions of the old world, and was now overcome in a time of security and peace, calls perpetually upon “him that thinketh he standeth, to take heed lest he fall." Stackhouse.

curseth Canaan, blesseth Shem,

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CHAP. IX.

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and prayeth for Japheth. CHRIST garment, and laid it upon both their | a servant of servants shall he be unto shoulders, and went backward, and his brethren. covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. 24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan;

25.-Cursed be Canaan:] The ancient prophecies must be understood, not of single persons, but of whole nations. The curse of servitude pronounced upon Canaan, and the promise of blessing and enlargement made to Shem and Japheth, extend to their whole race; as afterwards the prophecies concerning Ishmael, and those concerning Esau and Jacob, and those relating to the Twelve Patriarchs. The curse therefore upon Canaan was properly a curse upon the Canaanites. God foreseeing the wickedness of this people, which began in their father Ham, and greatly increased in this branch of his family, commissioned Noah to pronounce a curse upon them, and to devote them to the servitude and misery, which their more common vices and iniquities would deserve. And this account was plainly written by Moses for the encouragement of the Israelites in their expedition against a people, who by their sins had forfeited the Divine protection, and were destined to slavery from the days of Noah. Bp. Newton.

This curse did not affect individuals, nor even nations, so long as they continued righteous. In Abraham's days, before the iniquity of the Canaanites came to the full, in the fourth generation afterwards, Melchizedek, whose name was expressive of his character, "king of righteousness," was a worthy "priest of the Most High God:" and Abimelech, whose name denotes "parental king," pleaded the integrity of his heart, and the righteousness of his nation before God, and his plea was admitted. Yet they appear both to have been Canaanites, chap. xiv. 18-20; xv. 16; xx. 4-9. Dr. Hales. —a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.] The word brethren, in Hebrew, comprehends more distant relations. The descendants therefore of Canaan were to be subject to the descendants of both Shem and Japheth: and the natural consequence of vice in communities, as well as in single persons, is slavery.

Several centuries, 800 years, after the delivery of this prophecy, the Israelites, who were descendants of Shem, under the command of Joshua, invaded the Canaanites, smote about thirty of their kings, took possession of their land, slew several of the inhabitants, made the Gibeonites and others servants and tributaries; and Solomon afterwards subdued the rest, 2 Chron. viii. 7-9.

The Greeks and Romans too, who were descendants of Japheth, not only subdued Syria and Palestine, but also pursued and conquered such of the Canaanites as were any where remaining; as for instance, the Tyrians and Carthaginians, the former of whom were ruined by Alexander and the Grecians, and the latter by Scipio and the Romans. And ever since the miserable remainder of this people have been slaves to a foreign yoke; first to the Saracens, who descended from Shem; and afterwards to the Turks, who descended from Japheth; and they groan under their dominion at this day. Bp. Newton.

26. Blessed be the Lord God of Shem] The old Patriarch doth not say, "Blessed be Shem," as he said, "Cursed be Canaan:" for men's evil springeth of themselves, but their good from God: and therefore in

26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be || his servant.

Or, servant to them.

27 God shall || enlarge Japheth, or, perand he shall dwell in the tents of suade. Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.

a strain of devotion he breaks forth into thanksgiving to God as the Author of all good to Shem. Neither doth he say the same to Japheth; for God certainly may dispense his particular favours according to his good pleasure, and salvation was to be derived to mankind through Shem and his posterity. God prefers Shem to his elder brother Japheth, as Jacob was afterwards preferred to Esau, and David to his elder brothers, to shew that the order of grace is not always the same as the order of nature. The Lord being called "the God of Shem" particularly, it is plainly intimated that the Lord would be his God in a particular manner. accordingly the Church of God was among the posterity of Shem for several generations, "of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came. Bp. Newton.

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27. God shall enlarge Japheth,] In the Hebrew there is a plain allusion to Japheth's name, which signifies enlargement; as there is to many others in Scripture; Noah, chap. v. 29; Judah, Dan, Gad, &c. chap. xlix. 8, 16, 19. Japheth was enlarged both in territory and in children. As to territory, his posterity possessed, besides all Europe, the lesser Asia, Media, part of Armenia, Iberia, Albania, and those vast regions to the north, which anciently the Scythians inhabited, and now the Tartars; and it is not improbable that the new world was peopled by some of his northern descendants going thither by the straits of Anian. As to progeny, from the next chapter it appears that Japheth had seven sons, whereas Ham had only four, and Shem only five: and the northern hive was always remarkable for its fecundity, and hath been continually sending out colonies southward, both in Europe and in Asia, both in former and in later times. Bp. Newton.

and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem ;] By this may be meant either that God or that Japheth shall dwell in the tents of Shem. In either sense it has been fulfilled. In the former sense literally, when the Shechinah or Divine Presence rested on the ark, and dwelt in the tabernacle and temple of the Jews; and when "the Word, who was with God and was God," pitched his tent, and "dwelt among us." In the latter sense it was fulfilled, first, when the Greeks and Romans, who sprung originally from Japheth, subdued and possessed Judea and other countries of Asia, belonging to Shem: and again spiritually, when they were proselyted to the true religion; and they, who were not Israelites by birth, became Israelites by faith, and lived, as we and many others of Japheth's posterity live at this day, within the pale of the Church of Christ. Bp. Newton.

How just a regard is here shewn both to piety and disobedience! Because Ham sinned against his father, therefore he shall be plagued in his children. Japheth is dutiful to his father, and finds the reward of it in his posterity. Because Ham was an ill son to his father, therefore his sons shall be servants to his brethren; because Japheth assisted Shem to bear the cloke of shame, therefore shall Japheth dwell in the tents of Shem, partaking with him in blessing, as in duty. When we do but what we ought, yet God is gracious

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