upon the earth on account of the sin

of Adam.

12. Men now began to multiply on the face of the earth; and though Seth and his posterity for some ages lived separate from the descendants of Cain, they at last began to associate with them and to marry their daughters. They began, too, to forsake the service of God, and the ways of piety and virtue; till at length, God complained of the great wickedness which was to be seen continually amongst men. Seeing that the corruption was daily increasing He repented that He had made man; and it grieved Him at His heart; and He said, "I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and the fowls of the air." Only Noah, who was a just and pious man, found favour in the sight of God; and he, and for his sake, his family-in all, eight persons-were saved from the general destruction.

13. But God, who is ever merciful, gave mankind ample warning of the approaching judgment, before He proceeded to execute it, though the wickedness of man was now so great. For He declared that his days should yet be a hundred and twenty years, during which time He would give an

sins and turn to God. Noah, too, preached to them, and told them plainly of the coming judgment which would surely fall upon them, if they did not turn from their folly and wickedness. But they were so hardened in sin that they would not listen to him, and only mocked and laughed at what he told them, foolishly persuading themselves that it was not true. Indeed they did not believe that God would destroy them, nor that He had threatened to do so.

14. When God saw that they took no notice of these repeated warnings, but rather added sin to sin, and increased in wickedness, He commanded Noah to build an Ark, for the preservation of himself and his family from the flood of waters which He was now determined to bring upon the earth. This ark God directed Noah to make of Gopher wood, and to cover it with pitch, both within and without, that the waters might not penetrate it. The length of it was to be three hundred cubits, the breadth fifty cubits, and the height thirty cubits. It was to be made in three stories, one above another, and there was to be a window above, or an opening, to give light, and a large door in the side. God then told Noah what He in

their kind, and of cattle after their

earth after his kind, two of every sort

THE GOPHER TREE.

had finished the ark; saying, "Behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee: they shall be male and female. Of fowls after

shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee, and it shall be for food for thee and for them."

15. When Noah had received his orders and directions how to make the ark, without delay he commenced the work, still warning mankind of the flood that was coming, and giving this constant proof that he believed God, and the word He had spoken. But they did not believe, and it proved their condemnation and destruction. In due time, Noah finished his work, completing the ark exactly according to all that God had commanded him.

16. Then seven days before the time which God had appointed for the commencement of the flood, He said to Noah, "Come thou and all thy family into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. For after seven days, I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth." So in these seven days, Noah, who was now in the six hundredth year of his life, with his

C

wife; and Shem, Ham, and Japheth, their sons; and the three wives of their sons with them; and a male and female of every kind of beasts, and cattle, and creeping things, and fowls, and birds, went into the ark, as God had commanded; and the Lord shut them in.

17. When they were all safely shut up in the ark, on the seventeenth day of the second month, the whole face of nature began to put on a dismal appearance. The cataracts of heaven were opened, and the rain began to fall in torrents; and the sea forgetting its accustomed bounds, began to overspread the earth with a dreadful inundation. Then, too late, wretched man became sensible of his folly and of his deserved fate. In vain he climbed up the trees, or ascended to the tops of the mountains and hills. For even the highest mountains could only yield him a short reprieve; every refuge gradually disappeared. Forty days and nights the rain continued to pour down in overwhelming streams, while the great fountains of the deep escaped only to add their stores to the mighty mass of waters. At length the ark with its varied inhabitants began to float, for the waters had now reached a height of fifteen cubits above the tops of the highest mountains. "Thus every living substance

was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground; both man, and cattle, and creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven. Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark."

18. When the waters had prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days, God made a strong wind to blow over the earth, and stopped the fountains of the deep and the rain from heaven; so that the waters soon abated, and the ark rested on the top of one of the mountains of Ararat, in the country of Armenia, on the seventeenth day of the seventh month, The waters continued to decrease until the tenth month; and on the first day of that month, the tops of the mountains appeared. This was a welcome sight to Noah; but he considered that though he could see the tops of the mountains, the valleys might still be filled with water; so he determined to wait forty days longer. days longer. He then opened the window of the ark which he had made, and let fly a raven, which went forth to and fro, till the waters were dried up. He also let fly a dove, to see whether the waters were abated. But the poor dove soon came back to the ark, for she could find no place to rest upon; so Noah put out his hand and took her into the ark again.

to God, who smelled a sweet savour and said, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, though the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every living thing, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease." God then gave His special blessing to Noah and his sons; commanded them to multiply and fill the earth with people; and appointed them to have dominion over every living creature, telling them that the beasts of the earth, and the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea were all delivered into their hands, and should fear them and dread them.

From the time of Adam men had lived upon vegetables; God having appointed herbs and the fruits of trees for their food: but now, they were allowed to eat flesh, on condition that they did not eat the blood with it, which was strictly forbidden. They were therefore first to take away the life, by letting out the blood, and then to dress and eat the flesh. But at the same time that He permitted them to kill all sorts of animals, He strictly charged them not to shed the blood of man, threatening those who should be guilty of doing so with se

vere punishment.

God then told Noah that He would establish a covenant with him and every succeeding generation, not to destroy the earth any more by a deluge; and for a token of the covenant, He set a bow in the clouds and said that whenever He brought a cloud over the earth, the bow should be seen in the clouds; and that He would look upon it, that He might remember the covenant which He had made with man and every living creature, that the waters should no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. It is now more than four thousand years since God made this covenant with Noah and with all who should live after him; and He is still faithful to His promise. For when the passing cloud is floating over the earth to water the thirsty ground, and the sun shines against it from the opposite side of the heavens; there the rainbow may be seen in all its varied colours, the silent yet beautiful witness for God, that He still remembers the covenant which He made with every living creature upon the earth.

2. The whole race of wicked men having been swept away from the earth, it might have been expected that the world would now be inhabited by a better people, the descendants of righteous Noah. But as