and the parent of him, in whom all the elect are chofen.

→ XXXVII. This doctrine of falvation flourished Enoch's both in the mouths and in the hearts of believers, prophecy. who began maps, that is, as Aquila tranf hates it, Καλεῖσθαι ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίω, to be called by the name of the Lord, Gen 4. 26; and they were called the fons of God, as diftinguished from the fons of man. Above all, the prophecy of Enoch is very remarkable, which the Apostle Jude relates in his epiftle, not from any apocryphal book, nor from the mere authority of any unwritten tradition, nor by a fagacious conjecture from the history of Mofes, but by the inspiration of that fame Spirit, who prompred Enoch to prophefy, v14, 15, in these words: and Enoch alfo, the jeventh from Adam, prophesied of thefe, faying, bebold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his faints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them, &c. That Lord, of whom Enoch fpeaks, is the Meffiah, in unity of effence the fame Jehovah with the Father and the Holy Spirit, to whom alfo all power is given in heaven) and in earth, and whofe peculiar property the elect are on a fpecial account. He foretels his coming by a verb of the preterperfect tense, to exprefs the undoubted certainty of the thing, and the full affurance of his own faith, he prophefies, that the Meffiah, at that coming, will be attended with myriads of angels. Which happened, when he came down upon mount Sinai to give the law, Deut. 33. 2: and when he came in the flesh, to vifit his people: for, then a multitude of the heavenly hoft, declaring his nativity, was feen and heard in the country of Bethlabem, Luke 3. 13: but this will be the cafe in a moft illuftrious manner when he shall come in the clouds of beaven, and all the holy angels with bim, Mat. 25. 31. The end of this coming will be to execute judgment upon all: for, the father hath committed all judgment to the fon, John 5. 22, and to convince all that are ungodly, by inflicting the punish

ments

ments due to their impiety. These things Enoch preached to the people in his days, who, giving a loose to their lufts, impiously denied the future coming of the Lord. And feeing that prophecy contains an univerfal truth, it is applicable to all, who walk according to their lufts. And these are the things, which the fcripture teftifies, were delivered concerning the doctrine of falvation, in the first age of the world

NOAH. 1.

CHAP.

II.

Of the Doctrine of Grace under Noah.

A

S Noah was the patriach of the new world, we are now to explain, what was handed down to us in his time, concerning the doctrine of falvation; as foon as he was born, his father Lamech called him, Noach, faying, "on, this fame ball comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground, which the Lord hath curfed, Gen. 5. 29.

The figni II. And here, in the first place, we are to take cation and notice of the name given to the child, both with etymolo- refpect to its etymology, and the reafon affigned by gy of that the pious parent for that name. The name is n

name.

Noah, which, if we follow the rules of grammar, is derived from the root, to rest or be quiet; to which word, both as to letters and fignification, n, bé comforted, is near of kin, which, Lamech used in affigning the reafon of the etymology. They who keep clofe to grammatical niceties, endevour to correct the words of the text, and, inftead of my would have us read as the feptuagint, in order to come nearer to the etymology of the word, and to the name My, have alfo rendered it, ὗτος ἀναπασει ἡμᾶς this fame fhall refresh us. But feeing theHebrew

copies,

copies, the Chaldee paraphraft, Jerome, &c. conftantly read on, we dare not rely only on our own judgement, or be willing to have any thing altered. In proper names, derived from a verb, commonly fome letter or other is either added, taken away, or tranfpofed, and the accuracy of grammatical etymology not conftantly obferved; which the celebrated Buxtorf has fhewn, by feveral examples, in his Vindiciis veritatis hebraicæ p. 267. Whence the Hebrew doctors generally incline to derive П from, by cutting away the last letter. But Mercer's opinion appears more probable, who, affirms, here only is a refemblance of words, but not a reason taken from etymology; because the verb on, both in found and fignification, comes near to the noun 3, which fignifies rest and comfort: and as Alen Ezra learnedly fays, comfort alfo is rest from grief of heart. And then the Hebrews ufually have a greater regard to the sense than to the found of words. As therefore the reafon of the name is thus expreffed, nm, he shall comfort us, it is altogether the fame, as if he had faid 1. be fhall make us to reft; because to the fame purpofe; whoever comforts, caufes reft from trouble. But these are rather nicities, tho' not to be overlooked, in order to preferve the integrity of the Hebrew copies inviolable. This one thing is evident, that Lamech, in the name of his fon, intended a standing monument of his own wifhes and hopes.

mifed to

III. Let us therefore fee, what he intended by this What Laname. This fame, fays he, fhall comfort us concerning mech proour work and toil of our bands, because of the ground himself by which the Lord hath curfed. Three things are con- the birth tained in this fentence. ift. The evil, under which, of Noah. with other pious people, he groaned. 2dly. The good oppofed to that evil, which he had the hopeful profpect of. 3dly. The author of that good.

IV. He makes the evil, he complains of, to confift The evil in our work, in the toil of our hands, and in the ground complain which God hath curfed. The carnal Jews generally 17- VOL. II.

B b

reftrict

ed of

reftrict this to that fatigue of body, which men are forced to bear, in the culture of the earth, occafioned by the curfe of God, and that these words only contain a prophecy concerning an easier method of agriculture, which Noah would difcover.

But his pious parents were not fo delicate, and fo much taken up with the conveniencies of this life, as to place the greatest part of their mifery in those fatigues of the body. These things have a higher view. By wyn, our work, are principally to be understood thofe evil works, which bring grief and forrow to the foul. For, these are our works, opposed to the work of God in us. These produce an unspeakable trouble and fatigue to the godly, as an heavy burden, they are too heavy for them, Pf. 38. 4. These were at that time vifible every where, men being arrived at the utmost pitch of wickedness. Whence Peter, 2 Pet. 2. 5, calls the men of that generation, the world of the ungodly. But to those evil works was added the toil of their hands. To this I refer all the labour, mifery and calamity of this life, which were to be undergone in the sweat of our brow. This is accompanied with dwelling on the earth which is curfed; fo that while man lives there, he cannot poffibly enjoy a full state of holiness and tranquillity of foul, and fee the light of God's face in glory. For, whilst we are at home in the body, we are abfent from the Lord, 2 Cor. 5. 6.

The good V. The good, oppofed to this evil, which he expected. defired, and was in expectation of, he calls confolation or comfort. This confifts in the applying fome effectual remedy against, and in the very removal of, thofe evils. The comfort against our vicious works confifts in the expiation and remiffion of them, in the intimation of that gracious fentence, by which they are pardoned on the account of the Meffiah, and finally, in the purging them away by the fpirit of fanctification. Comfort from the miseries of this life or from the toil of our hands, is partly a leffening of that affliction, by granting a more profperous and happy

ftate

ftate of things, partly the delighting the foul with an inward relifh of divine goodness, whereby it is enabled to bear all thofe toils, with which God is pleafed to exercife his peop e, willingly and with cheerfulness, from a fenfe of the love of God. Comfort, as to the ground, which God hath curfed, confifts in the beginnings and preludes of the heavenly glory, which the elect are even here favoured with; but chiefly, in a freedom from the body of death, and the tranflation of the foul into a better state and manfion. Lamech breathed after thefe bleffings, defired them and hoped for them: and was willing to have a monument of this defire and hope in the name of his fon.

thor there

VI. But whom did he point to, as the author of The authis great bleffing, when he said to his fon, when he of was born, this fame Jhall comfort us? Some think that, being miftaken in the perfon, he flattered himfelf that Noah was the Meffiab. And indeed, as the believers of that age, with the greatest and most affured hope, preffed earnestly, after the accomplishment of the promise made in paradife, and prepoffeffed it in their longings, but not having any certainty about the time when it was to be fulfilled, it is not fo very improbable, that, in the warmth, of defire they promised to themselves the expected feed in the perfons of the fons, which were born to them. But what we lately obferved concerning the expectation of our mother Eve, are objections to this. It feems therefore fafer to believe, that, on occasion of this fon, he comforted himfelf with the hope of the fpeedy coming of the Meffiah, and confidered him as a forerunner and type, and an extraordinary herald of the Meffiah. Finely ipeaks Martyr to this purpofe : I would rather imagine, they acknowledged their fons to be fhadows or types of Chrift, and therefore diftinguished them by fuch names. But Noah was not only a fhadow of Chrift &c. Tho' a genuine and real confolation proceeds alone from the Meffiab and his Spirit, yet Bb 2 Lamech