LECTURES ON THE EVIDENCES OF DIVINE REVELATION.

No. XVI.

SEVERAL facts, of very consider able importance, immediately followed the great event of the deluge.

1st; Noah, after he left the ark, built an altar; and offered to God a sacrifice of every clean beast, and every clean fowl.

2dly; God promised, that the fear of man should be on all the animal world.

3dly; He gave permission to Noah, and his descendants, to eat flesh.

4thly; He forbade them to eat blood;

First, To keep alive in mankind a sacred sense of the importance of life;

Secondly, To turn their eyes perpetually to the great Atonement for sin, which was to be accomplished by the shedding of blood; and

Thirdly, In the renewal of this prohibition to the Israelites, to prevent them from idolatry. The heathen, it is to be remembered, had feasts of blood in their idolatrous rites.

5thly; He made an universal law concerning murder, to wit, VOL. IX.

that every murderer should be put to death.

The blood of every person murdered was required at the hand of every man, and partic ularly of every man's brother. In accordance with this law, mankind with an almost absolute universality have put the mur. derer to death. It deserves particular notice, that in uncivilized nations the avenger of blood has very generally been the brother, or some other person of near kindred to him who was murdered.

6thly; God made a covenant with Noah, that the earth should no more be overflowed by a deluge; but that seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, should not cease any more.

7thly; Of this covenant he made the rainbow a perpetual token.

The original mode of watering the earth was by mists and dews. This mode was continued, not improbably, until the deluge: and the first rain was that, which accomplished the destruction of the world. When, therefore, Noah beheld the clouds again gathered for rain; he would necessarily conclude, that the work of destruction was to be re

7

newed. This covenant precluded these fears: and this glorious object, the rainbow, so beautiful, and so wonderful, became a delightful seal of its truth.

The Greeks have preserved the memory of this fact in the fable, to which I have several times alluded: that Iris, (the Rainbow,) was the daughter of Thaumas, (Wonder,) sent to carry the oath of the gods to men. 8thly; God repeated to Noah and his family the command, originally given to our first parents; to be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

On this subject it deserves particularly to be remarked, that at the two periods, when the multiplication of mankind was more necessary than at any other, mankind existed, and were connected, in pairs. The union of one man with one woman in marriage is, therefore, the state, in the eye of God the most favorable to the multiplication of our species. Accordingly, the Turks, who have every inducement to have families, arising from independence, wealth, and ample means of subsistence, and who are polygamists, are far less numerous than the Greeks, inhabiting the same country, who are monogamists, and labor under all the discouragements to marriage, found in poverty, depression, and bondage.

9thly; Noah began the business of agriculture speedily after the flood; and, having planted a vine, and drunk imprudently of the wine which it yielded, became intoxicated, and disgraced. In this situation his younger son, Ham, in a very unfilial manner treated his father with indecency,

and insult. Noah, in consequence of the impiety of Ham, uttered that memorable prediction concerning his three sons, which is recorded in the ninth chapter of Genesis: And he said, "Cursed be Ham, the father of Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren." And he said, "Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth; and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant." This prediction, you will remember, respected supremely the descendants of these three persons. The punishment, which Ham suffered was chiefly, if not wholly, the pain, which he experienced in his father's displeasure, and in the knowledge, conveyed to him on this occasion, of the future degradation, and sufferings, of his descendants; a pain, which he obviously deserved. On the other hand, there was an obvious propriety in rewarding Japheth, and Shem, for their filial piety by announcing to them the blessings, which God had treasured up for their posterity. These predictions have been remarkably fulfilled. The subjection of the Canaanites to the children of Israel; of the Egyptians to the Turks, the Arabians, and the several nations, who before them subdued Egypt, and held its inhabitants in bondage; and the extensive slavery, in which the people of Africa have for a long time been holden by the Europeans, and their colonies; exhibit a terrible accomplishment of that, which respects Ham. That, concerning Shem, was remarkably fulfilled in the fact, that his descendants were peculiarly bles

sed with spiritual blessings. For more than two thousand years they were the depositaries of the true religion; while the rest of the world was chiefly lost in idolatry. It will also be illustriously fulfilled in the future restoration of the Jews. The prediction concerning Japheth has been remarkably accomplished in two modes. God has enlarged Japheth by spreading his descendants over all the north of Asia, throughout Europe, and throughout America, His descendants have also dwelt in the tents of Shem by means of the conquests of the Greek and Roman empires, of the Tartar princes, and of the modern Europeans, in the different countries of Asia. God has also enlarged Japheth in the spiritual sense. The Gospel has principally prevailed among his descendants, together with the religion, which it contains: and they, in every age, have constituted what has been styled the Christian world. In this sense also, Japheth has dwelt in the tents of Shem.

10thly; We are informed by Moses, that in the days of Peleg, the son of Heber, the fifth generation from Noah, the earth was divided among the descendants of this patriarch after their families. To this subject I shall devote the remainder of the lecture.

You cannot be ignorant, that the question, whether the inhabitants of the earth sprung from the stock of Noah, or have derived their origin from different pairs, has been extensively agitated within the last fifty years; that both sides have found their champions; and that volumes have been written to support

their respective opinions. Independently of the labor, which it would require, it would be no difficult matter to add another volume on the same subject. I discuss it, here, very briefly indeed, only because it falls in my way; and shall excuse myself from multiplying observations upon it, because that would be inconsistent with the scheme of these lectures; which is to epitomize whatever subject is handled in them.

To the doctrine, that all mankind have sprung from Noah, there are two objections, on which its opposers appear to have placed their chief reliance. Of these the

First is, That the differences of complexion, features, and shape, found in the human species, are irreconcilable with this doctrine. The

Second is, That America, and the islands in the Pacific Ocean, could not have been peopled from the Eastern Continent.

I suppose, the latter of these objections is now generally given up. If it is not, it must be retained from mere obstinacy. When we are told by Capt. Cook, that he saw the inhabitants of the Friendly Isles two hundred leagues at sea on a military expedition; when we find the inhabitants on both sides of Beh ring's straits now crossing those waters familiarly; when we know, that the Narrhagansets customarily went from Rhode Island to Montauk Point, or to Southhold, about the same distance; and when we find all the Aborigines of North America declaring with one voice, that they came from the West, and crossed the waters before they

arrived in this country, it must be merely trifling either to insist on this objection, or to answer it. With regard to the other objection I observe universally, that it is founded upon mere Inexplicableness. It is this: We do not see how all mankind, if they descended from one stock, came to differ so much in complexion, features, and figure; and therefore conclude, that they did not spring from one stock. This mode of arguing certainly ill becomes those who use it. They cannot see how their thoughts move their hands, or their feet, or their tongues. Yet they admit the fact, every day, in each of these cases. What is true of these is true of far the greater number of cases, in which either causation, or the modus operandi, is concerned. Were instances of this nature very rare, the argument might be appealed to with decency: now the use of it is ridiculous. But nothing can give this argument the least weight. A A truth can in no way depend upon my knowledge that it is a truth; nor be in any degree af fected by my ignorance. The persons, who make this objection, must, before they can challenge to it the least regard, shew us, that the scriptural account is inconsistent with something, which we know; and not merely, that they, or we, or both, are ig⚫ norant of the manner, in which this state of things took place.

Having made these preliminary remarks, I observe,

1st; That the objectors do not inform us how many these pairs were, or must have been.

This part of the subject seems to be no less inexplicable than

the descent of the whole from Noah. I mention this to show, that, hitherto, they are unsatisfied with their own scheme; have formed no definite ideas of what the difficulties alleged amount to; and, therefore, raise the objection, merely from a spirit of hostility, and not from any acquaintance with the subject; nor with a knowledge of the limits, to which it ought to extend.

I will, however, suppose, what they must mean, if they can be supposed to mean any thing definitely; that the black men, and the whites, are especially intended to be included in it. Leaving, therefore, the Samoiedes, and Laplanders, out of the question, and confining myself within these limits, I observe,

2dly; That the Scriptures, which assert all nations to have been made of one blood, are proved to be the word of God by incomparably better evidence, than can be alleged in favor of the contrary assertion; and all this evidence is directly applicable to the scriptural assertion.

3dly; The arguments, which prove the existence of the Deluge, are attended with incomparably more evidence, than can be alleged by these objectors in favor of their own opinions. All this evidence, also, supports the scriptural assertion.

4thly; Moses could not have been ignorant of the true origin of the Cushites; at least of those tribes, which dwelt in the near neighborhood of Egypt and Judea.

Isaac was fifty years old at the death of Shem. Levi was forty years old at the death of Isaac. Between Shem, therefore, who was the uncle of Cush, and Moses, when arrived at full age,

there were but three interventions: those of Isaac, Levi, and Amram. Besides, the Cushites were so near to Abraham and his family, that it is impossible for any mistake to have arisen concerning their origin, if we suppose it to have been once known. To this must be added, that Moses married a Cushite; and had the benefit of the traditions of that people, also, conveyed down through the principal family of the tribe, and plainly incapable of any error. Even this is not all. The Cushites still inhabit the mountains of Habesh on the Red Sea; still call themselves Cushites; and declare themselves to be descendants from Ham, and from Cush, his son. They declare, that their ancestor was preserved from the deluge; and that descendants from him, and ancestors of themselves, formed caves on the heights of these mountains, to secure themselves from being drowned by another deluge, if such an one should occur. To these caves the present Cushites retire, every rainy season, from the fruitful vallies beneath. These Cushites are now black. They were black in the time of Jeremiah, who says, Can the Cushite change his skin, or the leopard his spots? As these people were marked in ev. ery age of the Jewish nation, from Moses onward, it is plainly impossible, that there should be any mistake with regard to their identity, or descent. Here, then, is an unanswerable proof, that black men have descended from Nouh. That white men are de scended from him will not be questioned. It ought, perhaps, to be added, that these Cushites are woolly headed.

5thly; There is a colony of Portuguese on the western coast of Africa, who have scarcely been there three hundred years, and yet are so black, as hardly to be distinguishable from the absolute negro. Yet they are certainly known to be Portuguese by their language, their religion, and their history.

6thly; The Jews have spread over all climates; and are of all complexions, from pure white to pure black.

Dr. Buchanan informs us, that the black Jews in Hindostan are as black, as any of the Hindoos: and these are as black, as the genuine African. These Jews left Palestine at the time either of the Assyrian, or Babylonish, captivity. Another body of their countrymen, (a part of the ten tribes, carried away by Shalmanezer,) settled ultimately in the mountainous country, which forms the eastern border of Persia, and the western of Hindostan. They are called Afghans; and are numerous, and powerful. Their history, religion, and language, prove beyond debate, that they are of the stock of Israel: and they are white.

7thly; The Hindoos, properly so called, are plainly of one stock. Yet those, who live in the north of Hindostan, are white: while those, who live in the south, are black.

As I suppose, that these facts cannot be denied, I shall consider the general conclusion from them as established: to wit, that black and white men have both descended from Noah.

As to the philosophical question; "In what manner is this change accomplished?" I am uninterested in it; because it does