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 of God, take it always for granted that Jehovah makes these abstract qualities the rule of his conduct, overlooking the great fact that God is a moral not a physical being, and that he makes fixed and eternal moral principles, not physical ones, the rule of his conduct. And having created us rational and intelligent beings, he acts toward us on such rational and intellectual principles as we can understand. He, therefore, created and fitted Ham for a peculiarity of climate which he contemplated in the destruction of the world; but the conduct of Ham, with the curse upon him and his posterity, were all incidents by the way; and were no more a part of the divine plan and arrangement, than murder, theft and injustice occurring under the moral government of God, is a part of that government. Ham, like Adam, brought himself into his sad dilemma; both having been created for better things: nor are they the only specimens of our race who have frustrated the will and purpose of their Creator, though they are the only two whose delinquencies have reached so far and wide.

We will call your attention back again to a few more particulars in the ix. chapter of Genesis, 26th and 27th verses. “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant.”

In the Asiatic courts and harems, black mutes and eunuchs are preferred as slaves, who are literally the servants of Shem; and servants too under the most painful and humiliating circumstances. But the most remarkable prediction in this memorable transaction is contained in the 27th verse. “God shall enlarge the borders of Japheth; he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant.”

It is a settled point now that our American Indians aye the descendents of the Asiatics, or the children of Shem—and we know that the Europeans are the children of Japheth. And God did literally enlarge the borders of Japheth, when he raised up Columbus to discover America. And now, we, the posterity of Japheth, are literally dwelling in the tents or places of Shem; and Canaan is our servant.

But it is worthy of remark and of digression from our subject, that this prediction of the enlargement of the borders of Japheth, and his dwelling in the tents of Shem are in our own day receiving a further fulfilment.

In looking at the blessing pronounced, Japheth was ultimately to have the pre-eminence even to the supplanting of Shem. Now,