Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah. It was in this race of Seth, that the church of God was continued; and therefore they were called the children of God. There is a tradition, that immediately upon the death of Adam, Seth abhorring the wickedness of Cain's family, which he feared would then grow worse, retired with his wife and children farther off to the top of the mountain where Adam was buried; where becoming very famous for their holiness, justice, and purity, and being forewarned by God of the intended deluge, they erected two pillars, one of brick and another of marble, inscribed with many astronomical observations. But however this be, we observe none of this holy race spoken of with so much honor as his grand son Enoch, who walked with God; which phrase of scripture includes all the parts of a godly, righteous, and sober life, and implies a life of communion with God, both in ordinances and duties; to make God's word our rule; and his glory the end of all our actions; to have our constant care and endeavour in every thing to please God, and in nothing to offend him; to comply with his will, and to follow him as dear children. This Enoch also warned that generation, in which he lived, of God's speedy coming to punish the earth by the flood, and exhorted the wick'ed to forsake the evil of their ways, that they might not be condemned by the righteous judge of all the earth. He, in the 365th year of his age, was taken up into heaven the Almighty, so that he could where be found by his unjust enemics. For, Adam being dead, it seemed expedient to the divine wis dom, in the person of Enoch, to give his posterity true notions of a future happy state, and as it were an anticipation of it; that under the sense of their mortality, they might be supported and comforted with the prospect and assured hope, that they, who should walk in the fear of the Lord in this world, should be translated to mansions of eternal bliss in the world to come. became a type of the ascension of Jesus our redeemer, into heaven. St. Jude calls him a prophet; the Arabians represent him as a great scholar; he was estemed the author of their astrology by the Babylonians; and the Grecians call him their Atlas, who first taught men the knowledge of the stars. And thus he S. Was Enoch's translation into heaven real? T. Yes; God took him both body and soul into heaven, without undergoing the pains of death; whereas, if we should interpret the text of a natural death, there would be nothing peculiar to this patriarch; and the same might be observed with equal justice of all others. And besides, as this was the consequence of his walking with God, it is most reasonable to understand it of the reward of his piety, and therefore of his assumption to glory. S. You say that Seth removed farther off from Cain, at Adam's death: pray when did Adam die? T. Adam perceiving that his nature must soon yield to the stroke of death, and that through the grave he should return to dust, out of which he had been made, is said to have forbid his family, in all its other branches, to have any com munication with the impious off spring of Cain the murderer. After which he departed this life in the 930th year, after he had been created; which, considering that Adam was created in the full perfection of his nature, and that all his descendants, being born infants, did gradually proceed to maturity, and few of them are recorded to have begat children till they were 90 or upwards, will appear to exceed the age of Methuselah 51 years, if we subtract 90 years, between his birth and manhood, from his age of 969 years. S. What are the memorable actions of the other patriarchs during this space? T. Enos appears to have been a strenuous opposer of vice, and zealous promoter of piety, and all virtue. It was in his time that men began to call upon the name of the Lord; or to distinguish themselves by some peculiar rites and appellations from the servants of sin and satan, and the idolatrous worship of the Cainites. He died 005 years old, and was succeeded by the virtuous Cainan, who treading in the steps of his pious father, continued the probibition against any intercourse with the family of Cain, and died in the 910th year of his age. But, In the days of Mahalaleel, according to tradition, some of the Sethites, being led by mere curiosity to go down from the mountains, which they had chosen for their habitations, to see the manner of living in the land of Nod, were soon tempted with the harmony of their music, riotous mirth, and the enticements and beauty of their women, to take to themselves wives from that impious race; of whom were born men of a gigantie stature, and if possible of worse principles, and more bold and adventurous than the Cainites themselves. Mahalaleel lived 895 years, and left a son named Jared, or descending, so called from this descent of so ma ny of his house to marry the Cainites. Jared being instructed by his sorrowful father to preserve himself from the like misfortune, is said to have guarded against the general corruption, by devoting himself and family more zealously to the service of God; and as a token thereof he called his son Enoch, which is interpre ted, a dedication, & died 962 years of age. Of Enoch I have already given a particular account. But notwithstanding all the care of some good men to preserve the world from sin and wickedness, the house of Seth daily yielded to the allurements of their bad neighbours, and so degenerated from the holiness, justice, Enoch by way of prophesy, foreand purity of their forefathers; that Methuselah, or he hath sent his seeing the flood called his son's name death; who perceiving the wickedSeth to increase, may be well ness of the world in the family of thought to have grieved, and bumbled himself for the present corruption; and the fear of future punishment; which he, in a particular manner, also testified in the name of his son Lamech. This Mathuselah is generally called the oldest man, having lived 969 years. Lamech called his son, Noah, which some interpret a comforter, but which signifies rest; the birth of this son was matter of great joy to his father, who prophesied, that he should be the cause of consolation to his family, and an instrument of taking off the curse from the ground. Lamech slept with his fathers in the 777th year of his age. And here let it be observed, that this part of the Bible, from the creation to the flood, contains the history of above 1600 years, in which time every thing mentioned therein, did not immediately succeed cach other; but there was a long interval of time between some of them. Now it was that God, perceiving the wickedness of man increased, and that his laws and worship were totally disregarded, and set aside by human inventions, was grieved for what in justice he must shortly bring upon the earth; it repented him that he had made man and other living creatures, and he resolved to destroy all flesh upon the earth, except Noah, who being a just man, and perfect in his generations, and having walked in the ways of God, found grace in the eyes of the Lord. This preacher of righteousness, and his family, God was pleased to spare, and accordingly commanded him to make an ark according to the instructions he would give him, to preserve therein, such persons and creatures as he had ordained to be saved from the flood of waters, by which he was determined to destroy all flesh, wherein was the breath of life, under heaven. Yet in this most just sentence the divine mercy appeared, in that God proposed at the same time to respite their punishment for 120 years, allowing them this space for repentance and ameudment of life. But at last he saw it in vain to use any farther methods of mercy, or monitions of providence with man, who was now entirely given up to all manner of wickedness, cruelty, corruption, and disobedience, and by that means sunk down into the lowest condition of brutality. S. Does the Hebrew computation from the creation to the flood, agree with the Septuagint version and Samaritan copy? T. No; for the Hebrew includes that whole time in 1656 years; the Samaritan copy reckons not many more than 1307; and the Septuagint version raises it to 2227, or 2242, and some copies have it 2262 years. S. I should be glad to have this chronology reconciled. T. As to the difference between the Hebrew and Samaritan, it is not to be much regarded, because the Samaritan copies do not always agree among themselves; and as to the Septuagint, though it differs at least 600 years from the Hebrew, it also is inconsistent with itself, several copies of this translation rendering various accounts. Therefore the Hebrew text, which is the ori ginal, and which always agrees with itself, being wrote by the direction and assistance of the spirit of God, is to take place of all translations, when they deviate from the truth of the original. S. I have heard that the word, which in our translation, is rendered giants, signifies no more than violent and cruel men; famous for the crimes and violences they committed, rather than for the height and largeness of their stature. T. This to be sure has been pretended; but certainly there is no more inconsistency in this case than in many more; we read of giants in the land of promise, before the Israelites took possession of it: they, says Josephus, were descended from these very giants mentioned in the account before us; and they were amazing to see, and terrible to hear of, because of their largeness and shapes. Therefore, by giants we may here understand men of great bulk and stature, who might also be proportionably violent and cruel; a race of men permitted by God in vengeance t their parents, crimes; for, proceeding from unlawful mixtures, they became monstrous in their kind, and have been abhorred by all future generations. S. Are there any heathen authors now extant, that give an account of the time we have traced Moses, before the flood? T. There are some remains of Berosus, Sanchoniatho, and Manetho. Berosus, wrote the history of the Chaldeans, about the year 260 before Christ; though he disguised his history of the creation, and of the flood, with fictitious names; his remains, which are preserved by ancient authors, may be very useful for proving the antiquity and truth of scripture history. Sanchoniatho, the Phoenician historian, may in some measure serve to the same purpose. Manetho was an antiquarian of Egypt, and the high-priest of Heliopolis, in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus; his history has always been disregarded, as fabulous, and he supposed to have made it his principal aim to defend the Egyptian antiquity, by forcing it up higher than the Mosaic account of the creation, by fictitious eras and new invented monarchs. S. I do not yet understand what was the religion, polity, and learning of the people before the flood D T. As to their religion, they mistake, who peremptorily assert that it was purely natural, or such as was dictated only by right reason > for, though it was founded upon the law of nature, there was a di vine precept concerning sacrifices; which, as they carried with them the notion of expiation and atonement for the sins of mankind, and had relation to Christ the promised seed, must certainly have been instituted by God, and by him commanded to be offered. Again, there was a divine promise concerning the Nessiah, and several precepts and injunctions given to the patriarchs; Adam taught his children their duty to God and man, but in the days of Enos his grandson, the people enjoyed a public form of worship. The distinction between clean and unclean animals in their sacrifice was another divine injunction under this dispensation; and God's anger with the children of Seth for cohabiting with the pos terity of Cain, is a strong presumption that God had forbid his people to marry with infidels or idolaters; not to mention the six great precepts, which, the Jewish doctors say, God gave to Adam, against idolatry, blas phemy, unlawful copulation, homicide, theft, and perverting of judgment. From hence you may collect that God did exact a pcculiar worship from these generations by a particular revelation of his will. Their government at first was pa triarchal; but after the union of Seth's family with Cain's, it in all probability degenerated into anarchy, and became divided into seve ral disorderly associations; no men nature, and the ruin of human soriety, filled the earth; for all flesh had corrupted his way, when the Lord came to visit for the wicked1ess of inan. As to their learning, you have heard that the voluptuous race of Cain exerted thems. Ives in music, and other inventions that ministered to their luxury, pride, and cruelty; and no doubt but, as Enoch was an cloquent preacher and astronoirer, other useful and entertaining arts and sciences flourished among the children or servants of God in the family of Seth, though there now emain no monuments of their skill, learning nor industry. Were they solar years, whereby Moses computes the lives before the flood? T. Yes; and almost of the same length with what we now use. S. Can you satisfy me then, as to the disproportion of years between the lives of these antediluvians and till at last it has continued from the Israelites' idolatry in the wilderness, to be fixed at 70 or 80 years; because, not taking warning from the punishment of their fore-fathers, they sought out many inventions and again departed from the law of the Lord. All the patriarchs before Noah, were born before Adam died: so as from him, they might all receive a full and satisfactory account of the creation, of paradise, of the state of innocence, of the fall of man, and of the first promise of salvation: therefore the divine precepts concerning religious worship and a holy life, might be the more effectually preserved in an age, wherein there was no written word. But, whatever reasons Divine Providence had for abridging the age of mankind, there can no more objection lie against the account delivered by Moses of the antediluvian longevity, than against the unanimous agree ment of the most ancient heathen authors, who assert, that in the first ages of the world, men lived a thousand years. And here I cannot pass over the just observation of a learned commentator, That the ages of men were cut half off by the flood; for Heber or Eber, the longest liver of all born after, lived but 464 years: after that, they were again reduced another half, on account of the Babel attempt; for Peleg and Ragau did not exceed 239 years: again, after Thara's idolatry, none arrived at 200 years; and when God was tempted by the Israelites in the wilderness, he reduced the age of man to its present ordinary period of 70 or 80 years, |