hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man: 6. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man: 7. And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.
We read, in the close of the foregoing chapter, the very kind things which the Lord said in his heart, concerning the remnant of mankind which was now left to be the seed of a new world. Now here we have those kind things spoken to them; in general, God blessed Noah and his sons, v. 1, that is, he assured them of his good will to them, and his gracious intentions concerning them. This follows from what he said in his heart. Note, All God's promises of good flow from his purposes of love, and the counsels of his own will. See Eph. 1. 11. — 3. 11, and compare Jer. 29. 11, I know the thoughts that I think towards you. We read, ch. 8. 20, how Noah blessed God, by his altar and sacrifice. Now here we find God blessing Noah. Note, 1. God will graciously bless (that is, do well for) them who sincerely bless (that is, speak well of) him. 2. Those that are truly thankful for the mercies they have received, take the readiest way to have them confirmed and continued to them.
Now here we have the Magna Charta — the Great Charter of this new kingdom of nature which was now to be erected, and incorporated, the former charter having been forfeited and seized.
I. The grants of this charter are kind and gracious to men. Here is,
1. A grant of lands of vast extent, and a promise of a great increase of men to occupy and enjoy them. The first blessing is here renewed, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, v. 1, and repeated, v. 7, for the race of mankind was, as it were, to begin again. Now, (1.) God sets the whole earth before them, tells them it is all their own, while it remains, to them and their heirs. Note, The earth God has given to the children of men, for a possession and habitation, Ps. 115. 16. Though it is not a paradise, but a wilderness rather, yet it is better than we deserve. Blessed be God, it is not hell. (2.) He gives them a blessing, by the force and virtue of which, mankind should be both multiplied and perpetuated upon earth; so that, in a little time, all the habitable parts of the earth should be more or less inhabited; and though one generation should pass away, yet another generation should come, while the world stands, so that the stream of the human race should be supplied with a constant succession, and run parallel with the current of time, till both be delivered up together into the ocean of eternity. Though death should still reign, and the Lord would still be known by his judgments, yet the earth should never again be dispeopled as now it was, but still replenished. Acts 17. 24..26.
2. A grant of power over the inferior creatures, v. 2. He grants, (1.) A title to them. Into your hands they are delivered, for your use and benefit. (2.) A dominion over them, without which the title would avail little. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast. This revives a former grant, ch. 1. 28, only with this difference, that man in innocence ruled by love, fallen man rules by fear. Now this grant remains in force, and thus far we have still the benefit of it. [1.] That those creatures which are any way useful to us, are reclaimed, and we use them either for service, or food, or both, as they are capable. The horse and ox patiently submit to the bridle and yoke, and the sheep is dumb both before the shearer, and before the butcher; for the fear and dread of man are upon them. [2.] Those creatures that are any way hurtful to us are restrained, so that though now and then man may be hurt by some of them, yet they do not combine together to rise up in rebellion against man, else God could by these destroy the world as effectually as he did by a deluge; it is one of God's sore judgments, Ezek. 14. 21. What is it that keeps wolves out of our towns, and lions out of our streets, and confines them to the wilderness, but this fear and dread? Nay, some have been tamed, James 3. 7.
3. A grant of maintenance and subsistence, v. 3, Every moving thing that liveth, shall be meat for you. Hitherto, most think, man had been confined to feed only upon the products of the earth, fruits, herbs, and roots, and all sorts of corn and milk; so was the first grant, ch. 1. 29. But the flood having perhaps washed away much of the virtue of the earth, and so rendered its fruits less pleasing, and less nourishing; God now enlarged the grant, and allowed man to eat flesh, which perhaps man himself never thought of, till now that God directed him to it, nor had any more desire to, than a sheep has to suck blood like a wolf. But now man is allowed to feed upon flesh, as freely and safely as upon the green herb. Now here see, (1.) That God is a good Master, and provides, not only that we may live, but that we may live comfortably, in his service; not for necessity only, but for delight. (2.) That every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, 1 Tim. 4. 4. Afterward, some meats that were proper enough for food, were prohibited by the ceremonial law; but from the beginning, it seems, it was not so, and therefore it is not so under the gospel.
II. The precepts and provisos of this charter are no less kind and gracious, and instances of God's good-will to man. The Jewish doctors speak so often of the seven precepts of Noah, or of the sons of Noah, which, they say, were to be observed by all nations, that it may not be amiss to set them down. The first against the worship of idols. The second against blasphemy, and requiring to bless the name of God. The third against murder. The fourth against incest and all uncleanness. The fifth against theft and rapine. The sixth requiring the administration of justice. The seventh against eating of flesh with the life. These the Jews required the observation of from the proselytes of the gate. But the precepts here given, all concern the life of man.
1. Man must not prejudice his own life by eating that food which is unwholesome and prejudicial to his health, v. 4, Flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, that is, raw flesh, shall ye not eat, as the beasts of prey do." It was necessary to add this limitation to the grant of liberty to eat flesh, lest, instead of nourishing their bodies by it, they should destroy them. God would hereby show, (1.) That though they were lords of the creatures, yet they were subjects to the Creator, and under the restraint of his law. (2.) That they must not be greedy and hasty in taking their food, but stay the preparing of it; not like Saul's soldiers, 1 Sam. 14. 32, nor riotous eaters of flesh, Prov. 23. 20. (3.) That they must not be barbarous and cruel to the inferior creatures; they must be Lords, but not Tyrants; they might kill them for their profit, but not torment them for their pleasure; nor tear away the member of a creature while it was yet alive, and eat that. (4.) That during the continuance of the law of sacrifices, in which the blood made atonement for the soul, Lev. 17. 11, (signifying that the life of the sacrifice was accepted for the life of the sinner,) blood must not be looked upon as
