ject to your pleasure and command; and that, as by you and for you they were preserved, so they shall accordingly serve to your

use.

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3. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things."]-Yea, in respect of your diet, I do now, whether give or renew unto you, more ample privileges; for now, sith that the strength of all herbs and plants is decreased with the deluge, I allow you every thing that moveth and liveth to be meat for you; of all which you will wisely make choice for yourselves, of those creatures which are wholesome and fit: even as freely do I now allow you to eat thereof, as I formerly did allow the green herb for them and you; so do I now allow them unto you.

4.

"But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat."]-But so do I give you the liberty to eat of the flesh of all other creatures, as that you abstain from eating the blood of them; whether with the flesh, or severed from it; whether they be alive or dead; for in the blood is the seat of life, which cannot without cruelty be devoured.

5. "And surely 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."] -Further, know ye that I have great respect as to the eating, so to the spilling of blood, wherein the vital spirits are seated; but especially of man, which is my principal creature; and so do detest cruelty in shedding his blood, that if a very brute beast shall be guilty of this fact, I will have his blood shed again for it; much more will I have this satisfaction from a neighbour or brother for the life of a man.

6. "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed for in the image of God made he man."]-Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, unless by lawful authority from God, his blood shall be shed again; for in his own image hath God made man; some remnants whereof there are still in our depravedness: therefore follows it, that both a man may not shed his brother's blood, and that the magistrates in God's name may and must revenge it.

13. "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth."]-I will and ordain, that the rainbow, which you have seen appear in the watery cloud, shall be from henceforth set apart for the sign of a cove

nant made on my part betwixt me and the earth, of never drowning it again; which may the more fitly represent thus much unto you, for that it naturally is wont to foresignify the ceasing of the rain by the appearance thereof.

15. "And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh."]-You shall then know, by this sign, that I remember my purpose of never drowning the world, &c.

20. "And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:"]—And Noah began again, according to his former trade, to exercise himself in tilling the earth; and of those vines which were found here and there sprouting out of the earth, he, with much industry, planted a whole vineyard; and by this means devised the use of wine.

21. "And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent."]-And he drank of that his wine; and whether through ignorance or weakness, was drunk therewith; insomuch that, forgetting himself and all shame and comeliness, he lay immodestly uncovered, and that openly in the floor of his tent.

22. "And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without."]And when Cham, the youngest son of Noah, had unnaturally sported himself in gazing upon his father's nakedness, he told his two brethren without that they might also take part with him in this wicked derision of their father.

24. "And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him."]-Then Noah awoke from his wine; and, by inquiry upon occasion of his sons' garment which he found upon him, knew what his youngest son had done unto him.

25. "And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren."]-And in the spirit of prophecy said, The sin of Cham is so great, that the punishment of it shall not rest in him alone, but shall be derived to his posterity: even Canaan's son, amongst the rest, shall be accursed; he shall be in most slavish servitude, even to his own brethren.

27. "God shall enlarge (or persuade) Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant."] -God shall persuade the posterity of Japheth, by the voice of his

word, to come home into the bosom of the true Church; and Canaan's issue shall be servants unto theirs.

X. 8. "And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth."]-And Cush begat Nimrod, who began to usurp much rule, and by oppression to enlarge the bounds of his dominions.

9. "He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.”]— He was a cruel tyrant, both in his usurpation, and in the manner of his government; without all awe of God or care of men ; wherefore it is ever since grown into a proverb, As great a tyrant as Nimrod.

XI. 1. “And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech."]—Then, all the men upon the whole earth had but one common language, and one fashion of speech.

2. "And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there."] And as they spread themselves from that eastern mountainous country, where the ark first stayed, they found a large and fruitful plain, since called Shinar, now Mesopotamia, and there they settled their abode.

3. "And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter."]-And some years after they had there well seated themselves, they said one to another, Come, let us make brick, and burn it in the fire. So they had brick for stone, the fittest matter that this fat plain would afford for building; and a cleaving pitchy slime, which that soil yieldeth, instead of morter.

4.

"And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”]— Then Nimrod, as their ringleader, and the rest of his followers, said thus in consultation among themselves, Go to, let us build us a large city, and a tower therein, of an exceeding height; partly, that we may make ourselves famous; and partly, that we may unite our power and society, and prevent the danger of being dispersed one from another.

5. "And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded."]-But the Lord, who is every where and seeth all things, to speak of him after the manner of men, as if he should come down and look upon the city

and tower which these vain men in the pride of their hearts had begun to build, so took notice of what they did and meant to do.

6. "And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do."]-And the Lord decreed thus with himself; Behold the people is one in heart, joining together in one common resolution of this work; and they all have one language, that they may the better perform it; and this they have, through our permission, begun and proceeded to do; and now nothing appears which may stop them in all that vain project they have imagined to themselves.

7. "Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."]-Come, let us, as if we should go down amongst them, so from heaven cause their languages to be confounded, &c.

XII. 2. "And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:"-Thou shalt lose nothing by the change; for, instead of a small kindred which thou shalt leave, I will cause thee to be the father of a great and populous nation: and I will prosper thee both outwardly and spiritually, and make thy name famous and reverend; and thou shalt be ever mentioned in the form of all blessings:

3. "And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”]— And in and by that holy seed, the Messiah, which shall come of thy loins, all the people of the earth shall be blessed.

11. "And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon."]-And when he drew near to enter into Egypt, in his infirmity, consulting with flesh and blood, he said to Sarai his wife, Behold now, while I look upon the southern women, and compare them with thee, thy colour and complexion is much more beautiful than theirs.

12. "Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive."]-Therefore it will, I fear, come to pass that the Egyptians, making no conscience of their ways, but being altogether led by their lust, when they see thee, they will say, She is his wife, there is no hope of enjoying her

while he is alive: so they will kill me, that they may with more liberty enjoy thee, and live with thee.

XIII. 10. "And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar."]—So when Lot had taken a view of all that country, he saw that part of the plain of Jordan to be well watered every where, and therefore very rich and commodious for pasture; for before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, with those other three bordering cities, it was a goodly and fruitful land; like unto the garden of Eden for pleasure; or like unto the land of Egypt watered with the streams of Nilus: especially that part that is toward Zoar, as it is now called, then Bela.

11. "Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan &c."]— Then Lot, being led only by his eye, not at all inquiring into the quality of the people, chose to himself, although the younger, all that part of the plain of Jordan.

14. "And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward;"]--Seeing thou hast so willingly yielded to thy nephew, thou shalt sustain no loss by it. Lift up thine eyes now; and look round about thee, from this high place where thou art, northward and southward, &c.

15. "For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever."]-For all the land which thou seest, and all that pertains unto it, will I give to thee in right, and to thy seed after thee, in possession for many ages.

16. "And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered."]-And I will increase thy seed, both carnal and spiritual, unto a very exceeding great number; so as they shall not be counted for multitude.

XIV. 1. “Tidal, king of nations."]—Tidal, king of a mixed people, which dwelt near unto them.

14. "And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan."]-When Abram heard that his nephew Lot was taken captive, he brought forth into the field and armed three hundred and eighteen per