Genesis 9

9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons - He assured them of his good - will to them, and his gracious intentions concerning them. The first blessing is here renewed, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and repeated, Ge 9:7; for the race of mankind was as it were to begin again. By virtue of this blessing mankind was to 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 tho' one generation should pass away, yet another generation should come, 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 swallowed up in the ocean of eternity.

CHAPTER 9Ge 9:1-7. Covenant.1. And God blessed Noah—Here is republished the law of nature that was announced to Adam, consisting as it originally did of several parts.Be fruitful, &c.—The first part relates to the transmission of life, the original blessing being reannounced in the very same words in which it had been promised at first [Ge 1:28].

Chapter 9 Both the world and the church were now again reduced to a family, the family of Noah, of the affairs of which this chapter gives us an account, of which we are the more concerned to take cognizance because from this family we are all descendants. Here is, I. The covenant of providence settled with Noah and his sons (v. 1–11). In this covenant, 1. God promises them to take care of their lives, so that, (1.) They should replenish the earth (v. 1, 7). (2.) They should be safe from the insults of the brute-creatures, which should stand in awe of them (v. 2). (3.) They should be allowed to eat flesh for the support of their lives; only they must not eat blood (v. 3, 4). (4.) The world should never be drowned again (v. 8–11). 2. God requires of them to take care of one another’s lives, and of their own (v. 5, 6). II. The seal of that covenant, namely, the rainbow (v. 12–17). III. A particular passage of story concerning Noah and his sons, which occasioned some prophecies that related to after-times, 1. Noah’s sin and shame (v. 20, 21). 2. Ham’s impudence and impiety (v. 22). 3. The pious modesty of Shem and Japheth (v. 23). 4. The curse of Canaan, and the blessing of Shem and Japheth (v. 21–27). IV. The age and death of Noah (v. 28, 29).Verses 1-7 We read, in the close of the foregoing chapter, the very kind things which God 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 these 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, God will graciously bless (that is, do well for) those who sincerely bless (that is, speak well of) him. 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 should 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.