Page:An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (1828) vol 1.djvu/91

Rh for God took him. (1.) He was not any longer in this world; it was not the period of his being, but of his being here; he was not found, so the apostle explains it from the LXX, not found by his friends, who sought him, as the sons of the prophets sought Elijah, 2 Kings 2. 17; not found by his enemies, who, some think, were in quest of him, to put him to death in their rage against him for his eminent piety: it appears by his prophecy, that there were then many ungodly sinners, who spake hard speeches, and, probably did hard things too, against God's people, Jude 15, but God hid Enoch from them, not under heaven, but in heaven. (2.) God took him body and soul to himself in the heavenly paradise, by the ministry of angels, as, afterward, he took Elijah. He was changed, as those saints shall be, that will be found alive at Christ's second coming. Whenever a good man dies, God takes him, fetches him hence, and receives him to himself. The apostle adds concerning Enoch, that before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased God, and this was the good report he obtained. Note,

[1.] Walking with God, pleases God. [2.] We cannot walk with God, so as to please him, but by faith. [3.] God himself will put an honour upon those that by faith walk with him so as to please him. He will own them now, and witness for them before angels and men at the great day: they that have not this testimony before the translation, yet shall have it after. [4.] Those whose conversation in the world is truly holy, shall find their removal out of it truly happy. Enoch's translation was not only an evidence to faith of the reality of a future state, and of the possibility of the body's existing in glory in that state; but it was an encouragement to the hope of all that walk with God, that they shall be forever with him: signal piety shall be crowned with signal honours.

25. And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech: 26. And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters: 27. And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.

Concerning Methuselah observe, 1. The signification of his name, which some think, was prophetical, his father Enoch being a prophet; Methuselah signifies, he dies, there is a dart, or, a sending forth, namely, of the deluge, which came the very year that Methuselah died. If indeed his name was so intended, and so explained, it was fair warning to a careless world, a long time before the judgment came. However, this is observable, that the longest liver that ever was, carried death in his name, that he might be reminded of its coming surely, though it came slowly. 2. His age: he lived nine hundred and sixty-nine years, the longest we read of, that ever any man lived to, on earth; and yet he died: the longest liver must die at last. Neither youth nor age will discharge from that war, for that is the end of all men: none can challenge life by long prescription, nor make that a plea against the arrests of death. It is commonly supposed that Methuselah died a little before the flood; the Jewish writers say, "seven days before," referring to ch. 7. 10, and that he was taken away from the evil to come; which goes upon this presumption which is generally received, that all these patriarchs in this chapter were holy good men. I am loath to offer any surmise to the contrary; and yet I see not that that can be any more inferred from their enrolment here among the ancestors of Christ, than that all those kings of Judah were so, whose names are recorded in his genealogy, many of whom, we are sure, were much otherwise: and if this be questioned, it may be suggested as probable, that Methuselah was himself drowned with the rest of the world; for it is certain that he died that year.

28. And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: 29. And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the hath cursed:  30. And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters: 31. And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died: 32. And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Here we have the first mention of Noah, of whom we shall read much in the following chapters. Here is,

I. His name, with the reason of it: Noah signifies rest; his parents gave him that name, with the prospect of his being a more than ordinary blessing to his generation. This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath cursed. Here is, 1. His complaint of the calamitous state of human life; by the entrance of sin, and the entail of the curse for sin, it is become very miserable: our whole life is spent in labour, and our time filled up with continual toil. God having cursed the ground, it is as much as some can do, with the utmost care and pains, to fetch a hard livelihood out of it. He speaks as one fatigued with the business of this life, and grudging that so many of our thoughts and precious minutes, which otherwise might have been much better employed, are unavoidably spent for the support of the body. 2. His comfortable hopes of some relief by the birth of this son: This same shall comfort us; which denotes not only the desire and expectation which parents generally have concerning their children, that when they grow up, they will be comforts to them, and helpers in their business, though they often prove otherwise; but it denotes also an apprehension and prospect of something more: very probably, there were some prophecies that went before him, as a person that should be wonderfully serviceable to his generation, which they so understood as to conclude that he was the promised Seed, the Messiah that should come: and then intimates that a covenant-interest in Christ as our's, and the believing expectation of his coming, furnish us with the best and surest comforts, both in reference to the wrath and curse of God which we have deserved, and to the toils and troubles of this present time which we are often complaining of. "Is Christ our's? Is heaven our's? This same shall comfort us."

II. His children, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. These Noah begat, (the eldest of these,) when he was 500 years old. It should seem that Japheth was the eldest, ch. 10. 21; but Shem is put first, because on him the covenant was entailed, as appears ch. 9. 26, where God is called the Lord God of Shem; to him, it is probable, the birth-right was given, and from him, it is certain, both Christ the Head, and the church the body, were to descend; therefore he is called Shem, which signifies a name, because in his posterity the name of God should always remain, till he should come out of his loins, whose name is above every name; so that in putting Shem first, Christ was in effect put first, who in all things must have the pre-eminence.