he folemnly declared, that there never should again be a flood to destroy the earth. And with the most benignant condefcenfion to the weakness of human faith, he further pronounced, that the rainbow, an appearance uniformly produced by drops of falling rain illuminated by the fun, was ordained to be the fign of this everlasting covenant between himfelf and his creatures; and when beheld by him, fhould for ever bring his promife to his remembrance. And in order that he might completely diffipate the fufpicious fears of men, that, if not a deluge, yet fome other convulfion fhould afterwards be commiffioned to ravage the earth and extinguish their race; he made known his merciful and unalterable determination" I will not again curse the ground any more for man's fake-neither " will I again smite any more every thing "living, as I have done. While the earth "remaineth, feed-time and harveft, and "cold and heat, and fummer and winter, "and day and night, shall not cease (x).” (x) Gen. viii. zz. Shortly Shortly after the deluge, Noah, in confequence of the difference between the conduct of his eldeft and youngest fons towards him, and that of his other fon Ham, was commiffioned prophetically to announce to the latter the future fubjection which the pofterity of Canaan, the child of the offender, thould experience under the defcendants of Shem and Japheth; and to foretel that fignal bleffings fhould attend the race of these two righteous men. Among the reasons for which the prophecy was emphatically detailed by Mofes, we may conclude this to have been one; that it was fingularly adapted to encourage the children of Ifrael to carry without fear into the land of the Canaanites that impending invafion, by which the judgements proclaimed by Noah were to be accomplished. In the days of Peleg, who was born about one hundred years after the flood, and was the fourth in descent from Shem, "the earth was divided (y)." Mankind, 4 (y) Gen. x. 25. ftill 1 fill forming one great family, fpeaking the fame language, and journeying still towards the weft, fixed themselves in the land of Shinar, or Chaldea; and arrogantly resolved to "build themselves a city, and a town "whofe top might reach unto heaven; "and to make themselves a name, left they "fhould be fcattered abroad upon the face "of the earth." Baffled in their proud defign by the diverfity of languages, which the Supreme Being fuddenly introduced among them, as the inftrument both of bringing to confusion their present enterprife, and of facilitating their difperfion into different regions where they were to become the founders of many nations; they feparated in fmall bodies from each other, accordingly as Providence impelled them, whether by special command, or by the familiar courfe of events, through which the Deity influences the proceedings of men, no less powerfully and no less efficacioufly, for the furtherance of his own purposes, than by interpofitions evidently miraculous. By the pofterity of Japheth, "the ifles of the Gentiles" (many of the maritime countries washed by the Mediter The every one after his tongue, after their "families, in their nations (x).” defcendants of Ham occupied, among other lands, Affyria, Egypt, Palestine, Chaldea, and part of Arabia. Among the poffeffions of the pofterity of Shem, we find Perfia, and other regions of the eaft. By this time a ftriking change had been experienced in the duration of human life. Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years. His pofterity before the flood appear to have paffed, upon an average, nearly as large a portion of time, and fome individuals even a longer period, upon earth (a). Noah lived to the age of nine hundred and fifty years (b). His fon Shem fell far short of antediluvian longevity: and in the days of Peleg, man (c) appears not to have attained to one half of the original measure of (z) Gen. x. 5. (a) See Gen. v. his his existence. In fucceeding generations a rapid diminution continued to take place: until at length by the time when the children of Ifrael came out of Egypt, and perhaps a century before their departure, the length of the pilgrimage of man upon earth was reduced nearly or altogether within the present span. Was this event then the natural result of alterations occafioned by the deluge in the temperature of the air, the fertility of the earth, and the nutritive powers of the fuftenance of man? Or was it effected by a fecret change wrought in the human. frame and conftitution by the immediate hand of the Creator? The caufe is known to God; but immaterial to us. Our concern is to draw from the fact the moral and religious inftruction, which it is fo well adapted to fuggeft; that our lives are in the hands of God, and depend for their continuance, moment after moment, folely on his will. We may also difcern reasons for concluding that the fhortening of the |