abstract notions, or the fentiments of the mind, were the literature of the first ages of the world. So here, the approbation of the judgment, or what is pleafing to the mind, is fignified by an odour or fragrance grateful to the fmell. Or the tafte and relifh of the body is transferred to the taste and relifh of the mind. This language is frequently used in the Levitical law; as in Lev. i. 9, 13, 17. ii. 2, 9. iii. 5, &c. meaning the acceptableness of the Sacrifice or Offering. So the fragrance of burnt incenfe reprefents the acceptableness of fincere prayer, Pfal. cxli. 2. Luke i. 10. Rev. viii. 3, 4.

It is alfo applied, in the fame fenfe, to the offering and facrifice of our Lord, Ephef. v. 2. And walk in love, as Chrift alfo hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an Offering and Sacrifice to God for a fweet-smelling favour. God, who is a fpirit, can relifh, or be pleafed with, only that which is morally or fpiritually good, the love and obedience of the heart: this is the only favour that is grateful to him. And therefore, the Sacrifice of our Lord muft have been an actual exhibition of obedience and love; and the Sacrifices of Noah, and of the Ifraelites, muft have been hieroglyphic reprefentations of, or inftructions in, the like moral difpofitions, in order to exprefs, or produce them in the hearts of the worshippers. Smelling a sweet favour is plainly hieroglyphic or figurative language; and therefore the Sacrifice, or Offering, the object of fuch smelling, must also be figurative, representing thofe good difpo→ fitions which were, or ought to have been, in the worshipper's heart, and which were in the highest and most perfect degree in our Lord. The Sacrifice of a clean beast or fowl figuratively represented what the worshipper was, or ought to be and do; and our Lord really was, and perfectly did what the Sacrifice reprefented. Hence Sacrifice is applied to beneficent actions, or actions morally good, and pleafing to God, Pfal. iv. 5. 1. 14, 23. Phil. iv. 18. Heb. xiii. 15, 16. And in the Book of Wisdom is applied to the whole of a virtuous life, as gold in the furnace bath he tried them, [afflicted good men,] and received them as a BurntOffering.

The fmell, or favour, of a perfon, or thing, is the quality of it, good or evil, which occafions the approbation or diflike of thofe that pafs a judgment upon it. Exod. v. 21. You have made our favour, that in us which is the object of Pharaoh's judgment, to be abhorred, to ftink, in the eyes, the opinion, of Pharaoh. So Gen. xxxiv. 30. Jer. xlviii. 11. Moab hath been at eafe from his youth, and he hath fettled on his lees, —therefore his tafte, y his relifh remaineth in him, and his fcent, his favour, his bad qualities, is not changed. 2 Cor. ii. 14, 15, 16. Now thanks be unto God, who always caufeth us to triumph in Chrift, and maketh manifeft, difplays, the favour, Try on the excellent qualities, f his knowledge, the knowledge of Chrift, by us in every place. For we are to God, svadav, the fweet-fmelling favour of Chrift, [i.e. my miniftry is to God a Sacrifice of a fweet-fmelling favour, which I offer unto him on the behalf of Chrift. See Rom. xv. 16.] both in regard of them that are faved, and alfo of them that perish. [For in both cafes the counfels and fchemes of Divine Wisdom are accomplished.] Though to the one we are, coun, the faveur of death unto death; and to the other we are the favour

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of life unto life. [i. e. to the minds of the one my preaching is offenfive; and rejecting it, they are advancing towards eternal death: to the minds of the other it is grateful and pleafing; and embracing it, they are advancing towards life eternal.] And who is fufficient for these things of so great confequence? Note-A faviour of death unto death, is a faviour which occafions their advancing towards eternal death.

Upon the folemn occafion of Noah's Sacrifice, the Lord faid in his beart, i. e. determined, or refolved, that he would not again curfe the ground any more for man's fake; (chap. viii. 21.) for [ though] the imagination of man's heart is [fhould be] evil from his youth. From his youth, denotes a corruption of manners of long continuance. See Ifai. xlvii. 12, 15. Fer. iii. 25. Ezek. xxiii. 8. See allo Job xxxi, 18. The Lord was also pleased to repeat to Noah and his fons the fame bleffing upon the propagation of the human fpecies, and the fame marks of diftinction upon our nature, as he had given Adam at his creation, with an additional grant of animal food, (chap. ix. 3, 4) with this reftriction, that they should not eat the fifh of an animal in the life thereof, the blood thereof; or that they fhould not eat any flesh cut off from any animal while it is alive. At the fame time God made a covenant with Noah, and with every living creature, or he made a free and abfolute grant or promise to them, that all flesh should not any more be cut off with the waters of a flood. Of which more hereafter.

What is here particularly to be obferved is, the inftitution of magiftracy, and the punishment of murder. Ver. 6. Whofo fheds man's blood, by man fhall his blood be fhed. Ver. 5. And, furely your blood of your lives will I require, at the hand of every beast will I require it; and at the hand of man, at the hand of every man's brother, will I require the life of man. The beaft that killed, or the man that murdered a man, is here commanded to be put to death by man, i. e. by the magistrate or judge. Here courts of judicature are authorized, not only for the punishment of murder, but, by parity of reafon, of any other great offences which may effect life nearly as much as murder."

This feems to be the original inftitution of magiftracy, of which we have not hitherto the leaft intimation in the facred history. On the contrary, it appears from the cafe of Cain, (Gen. iv. 15.) and of Lamech, (Gen. iv. 23, 24.) that murder, the greatest of crimes, was left to be punifhed as God in his providence fhould fee fit. And if murder, much more every leffer inftance of injury. It feems probable, there were no separate states, nor regular governments, among the antediluvians; but that, as they spread over the face of the earth, they removed further from the place of public worship, loft a fenfe of God, and lived in a diforderly manner, exercifing violence and outrage, as they had power; and were inftigated by luft, avarice and revenge, till the earth was filled with violence. Which, I apprehend, could not have been the cafe, under laws and governors armed with power to restrain outrage and injuftice; for though governors themselves, and their creatures, may be tyrannical and oppreffive, yet, for their own fecurity, they will not fuffer their fubjects to break out into anarchy and licentious invafion of life and property, becaufe (his is open rebellion against governors. The state of VOL. 1.

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the old world, probably, was like that of the Ifraelites, when there was no king, no magiftrate among them, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes, Jud. xxi. 25. Which proves the poffibility of fuch a licentious ftate, and the fhocking diforders that would attend it.

The leaving mankind, in the first ages of the world, in this loose and difcretionary ftate, certainly, was not to lead them into wickedness; but I conceive, to teach them by experience the neceffity of laws and governors, and the reasonableness of fubmitting to them. [See Chap. III. § IV. the Corollary.] For even upon the contrary fuppofition, that magiftracy, in fome form or other, was inftituted from the beginning of the world, yet it is plain, that mankind in those ages would not bear the yoke, but univerfally fhook it off. Nor could government, in fact, be permanently established, till the ruin of the world demonftrated the neceffity of it. Therefore, if God did not fee fit to establish magiftracy from the beginning, it was because he knew mankind would not bear the reftraints of government with a rational confent and approbation (without which confent and approbation, at leaft from the majority, government could not have been either erected or fupported), till fad experience had taught them the utility and importance of it. Thus a particular fpecies of injuftice, and even of murder, is permitted under our prefent difpenfation, and, inftead of being restrained, is established by Jaw; I mean perfecution, or the taking away of life for difference of fentiments in religion, which fubfifts in moft Chriftian countries. And this, I apprehend, the wifdom of God has permitted, that Chriftians at length may be rationally convinced of the monftrous iniquity of fuch practice, and fo be generally induced by the fenfe of their own minds to approve and chooie goodnefs, love and mutual forbearance; which we hope will be the genius and happy temper of the next enfuing difpenfation. This is the only method of moral improvement, namely, when the mind, by proper methods, is led to apprehend, and freely embrace, what is right and fit; and, I doubt not, takes place in the gradual advances of all, or of any part of mankind in wisdom, as well as of particular fingle perfons. This, with what hath been faid before, is the best account I can give of this antediluvian dispensation.

N. B. The curfe upon Canaan, ver. 25. is to be understood as affecting only the temporal circumstances of his pofterity, a fervant of fervants fhall he be. As in Deut. xxviii. 16, 17, &c. Curfed shall be thy baf ket and thy flore. Nor is it to be confidered in Noah as a malevolent with, or imprecation, but fimply as a prediction of the future ftate of Ham's pofterity; as appears from the whole of Noah's difcourfe, which is plainly prophetic.

С НА Р. XX.

CHA P. XX.

Of the DISPERSION at the Tower of BABEL.

Gen. x.

ERE Mofes gives an account how the earth was peopled by the and Japhet, ver. 32. For the particulars of this curious account confult the Commentators, efpecially Bp. PATRICK. What I would obferve is this-That, after the account of the several nations defcended from each of Noah's fons, it is added, as in ver. 5. By thefe defcendents of Japhet, were the ifles, or tranfmarine countries, of the Gentiles divided in their feveral lands; every one after his tongue, or language, after their families, in their nations. The fame is faid ver. 20, 31. of the pofterity of Ham and Shem. Which plainly fignifies, that they did not all speak the fame language; but that the defcendents from Noah's fons, at leaft in general, if not feveral of the particular nations, had a language peculiar to themfelves, diftinct from the reft, and unintelligible to them. Noah and his pofterity, while they lived together after the flood, which must be for fome confiderable time, could have but one and the fame language amongst them. How they came to have different languages, and how they were feparated into feveral diftant countries, by a very memorable event, Mofes relates in the next chapter. When Noah's family was numerous enough, probably the Lord, by the mouth of Noah, commanded them to feparate into different countries, particularly fpecified, that the earth might be better cultivated and governed. Certainly their divifion and removal into diftant countries (Gen. x. 5.) must have been a general public act. And, as Mofes faith, the earth was divided into nations in Peleg's days, (ver. 25, 32.) it seems to imply, that it was done by a divine command, and not accidentally, as any might choose a more convenient fituation. Which is more clearly expreffed, Deut. xxxii. 8, where it is faid, when the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he feparated the fons of Adam, [referring to this divifion of the earth] he fet the bounds of the people, the adjacent nations, according to the number of the future children of Ifrael, leaving for them a convenient fituation, and room fufficient. In profecution of this defign, the whole earth, except perhaps the eldeft Patriarchs, and their attendants, journeying from the mother-colony towards the weft, and finding a spacious fruitful vale in the land of Shinar, there they determined to fettle, and build a city and a tower, reaching up to heaven, or of a very great height. Deut. i. 28. ix. 1. Pfal. cvii. 25, 26. [An hyperbole.]

Their intention was to make themselves a name, and to prevent their being scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth, (ver. 4.) as God had probably ordered they fhould. The fcheme was to keep together, and

very likely under one one head. Schultens, upon Job i. 1. derives Wa name, from the Arabic verb or 2 to be high, elevated, eminent. And according to him, the primary and proper notion of is a mark or fign, ftanding out, rifing up, or expofed to open view; a standing mark or title of diftinction and eminence. 2 Sam. vii. 23.and to make him a name, a monument of honour and eminence, chap. viii. 13. 1 Kin. v. 3, 5. build an houfe unto, or for, the name, honour, eminent diftinction of the Lord, to denote that he is the only true God, and King of the Ifraelites. 1 Kings viii. 16, 29. 1 Chron. xvii. 21.to make thee a name, a monument, of greatnefs and terribleness. Ifai. xviii. 7. lv. 13.

it fhall be to the Lord for a name, i. e. for an everlofting fign, that shall not be cut off. chap. xiii. 12, 14. So in this place, Gen. xi. 4.—and let us, fay the heads or leaders, make us a name, a monument or token of fuperiority and eminence, I conceive to fignify to all fucceeding generations, that they were the true original governors, to whom all mankind ought to be in fubjection; left other leaders ftarting up fhould carry off parties, and fo break the body, and fet up feparate governments. It Teems to have been a piece of ftate-policy, to keep all mankind together, under the prefent chiefs and their fucceffors. And the lofty Tower was probably intended to command every part of the town, and keep off any body of men, that fhould attempt to break in upon them.

But God, whofe wifdom perfectly forefaw the mifchievous effects of fuch an attempt, determined to fruftrate and defeat it. By this fcheme a great part of the earth muft for a long time have been uninhabited, uncultivated, and overrun with beggary and wild beafts; which, as it was, for a long time, according to ancient authors, exercifed the induftry and valour of the primitive heroes in hunting and fubduing them. It was thus Nimrod, that mighty hunter, gained his renown. Gen. x. 9. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Which is an Hebrew phrafe, to fignify the greateft, and moft eminent thing of any kind. Acts vii. 20. 'Assios TW Dew, exceeding fair; 2 Cor. viii. 1. Ty xagi te bie, the very great liberality befowed by the churches of Macedonia. chap. x. 4. Auvara TW DIN, exceeding powerful. Pfalm lxxx. 10, 11. the cedars of God, the goodly cedars.

Moft probably the bad effects which this project would have had upon the minds, the morals, and religion of mankind, was the chief reafon why God interpofed to crush it as foon as it was formed. It manifeftly had a direct tendency to tyranny, oppreffion, and flavery. Whereas, in forming feveral independent governments by a small body of men, the ends of government, and the fecurity of liberty and property, would be much better attended to, and more firmly established; which, in fact, was generally the cafe, if we may judge of the reft, by the conftitution of one of the most eminent, the kingdom of Egypt. Gen. xlvii. 15-27. The Egyptians were mafters of their perfons and properties, till they fold them to Pharaoh for bread: and then their fervitude amounted to no more than the fifth part of the produce of the country, as an annual tax pay'able to the king; which is not near fo much as we, with all our English liberties, pay yearly to the church and government.

Corruption may creep into religion under any conftitution; but tyranny and defpotic power is the readieft and fureft way to deprive men of the use of underftanding and confcience; and vice and idolatry would

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