Genesis 9:20-27

CRITICAL NOTES.—

Genesis 9:20. And Noah began to be a husbandman] Heb. The man of the ground. Like the Gr. γεωργος, and the Lat. Agricola. As the Heb. has the article, the meaning is conveyed that such had been his occupation, and it is now resumed after the interruption of the flood.—Planted a vineyard] The first mention of the culture of the grape. This was well known to have been the chief occupation of the Western Asiatics, chiefly Syria and Palestine.—

Genesis 9:21. He was uncovered] More accurately, “he uncovered himself.” Intoxication made him careless regarding the ordinary provisions for preserving modesty.—22 Told his brethren without] Outside the tent.—

Genesis 9:24. And knew] The particular word used implies that he had this knowledge of himself, and not from the information of others. He became sensible of his condition.—His younger son] Heb “His son, the little.” Some consider that Shem was the youngest, as Ham is second in the list in five other places But here, the order of the names is no certain guide; because it was customary to arrange names according to their rhythm, or sound. Others say that the order of the names is determined by their importance and moral nobility as factors in fulfilling the purpose of God. The most likely meaning is, that Ham was the “little one” distinctively, i.e., the youngest of all.—Had done unto him] Heb. “A thing which” The expression implies something more than carelessness or omission, and suggests the idea of some positive act of shame or abuse.—

Genesis 9:25. Cursed be Canaan] “Ham is punished in his sons, because he sinned as a son; and Canaan, because Canaan followed most closely in his father’s footsteps.” Noah fixes his prophetic eye upon this people as the most powerful and persistent enemies of Israel.—Servant of servants] A Hebraism to denote extreme degradation—a state of slavery. “Hewers of wood, and drawers of water” (Joshua 9:23), refers to their complete subjugation in the days of Joshua and Solomon.—

Genesis 9:26. Blessed be the Lord God of Shem] Heb. “Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem.” “If Jehovah is the God of Shem, then is Shem the recipient and the heir of all the blessings of salvation which God, as Jehovah, procures for humanity.”—Keil. Shem has the redeeming name of God—Canaan shall be his servant] Heb. “Servant to them.” Referring to those who should descend from Shem. Fulfilled when Israel conquered Canaan, extirpated the greater part of the inhabitants, and reduced the remnant to entire subjection. The great obstacle to the family of Shem in the time of Abraham was the Canaanite (Genesis 12:6).—

Genesis 9:27. God shall enlarge Japheth] Lange renders it, “God give enlargment to the one who spreads abroad.” The word signifies to make room for, or give space for outspreading. Keil understands it metaphorically, as denoting happiness or prosperity. Bringing into a “large place” is an image frequently employed in the Psalms and other places, to express a state of joy (Psalms 118:5; 2 Samuel 22:20). But the more literal interpretation is probably the true one. Japheth was to spread out through the earth, to have the colonising spirit. And he shall dwell in the tents of Shem]—The chief Jewish authorities, with others, make Elohim the subject of the verb, and with sufficient reason, as there is no necessity for a new grammatical subject. It is more natural to interpret the words as describing two acts of God. He (God) will enlarge Japheth, but He will dwell in the tents of Shem. This view gives a more spiritual significance to the prophecy. Shem was the habitation of God. A merely political interpretation fails to satisfy so high a conception.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Genesis 9:20

THE LESSONS OF NOAH’S FALL

The second head of the human race passed through an experience of moral disaster, which in many features reminds us of the fate of the first. Adam fell through sensual indulgence, and so did Noah. Adam fell after God had given him the charter of dominion over the earth and all creatures. Noah fell when that charter had been renewed with added privileges. Both had received direct assurance of the Divine favour. The fruit which Noah tasted, and which caused him to transgress, was a mild reflex of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam sinned by partaking of that which was prohibited; Noah sinned by excessive indulgence in that which was allowed. There are lessons of Noah’s fall that are of special importance to us. His (unlike that of Adam) was not the fall of the innocent, but the fall of a sinner who had found acceptance with God. The lessons to be derived are most appropriate to our condition. They are—

I. The moral dangers of social progress. Noah had been a husbandman, but he had laid the duties of it aside in order to prepare the ark. Now he resumes his old employment, and advances one step in social progress by beginning to cultivate the vine. Civilisation multiplies and refines our pleasures, opening up to us new sources of enjoyment. But it has special dangers.

1. Increased temptations to sensual indulgence. In the earliest times the habits of those who tilled the ground were simple, and the temptations arising from sensual enjoyments few. When toil “strung the nerves and purified the blood” the appetites were healthy, and easily satisfied. But when arts multiplied, new delights arose to please and stimulate a jaded appetite, and man began to feel the dangerous charms of luxury. Whatever multiplies the pleasures of sense sets more snares in the way of the soul.

2. It exercises a tyranny over us. Civilisation extends and varies our means of enjoyment. We grow accustomed to the luxuries which it brings, until these become a necessity of our nature. We are made their slaves. Noah lighted upon a new means of indulgence which has often created a dangerous craving, and bound man fast by the chains of evil habit. All indulgences, beyond the satisfaction of the simple necessities of nature, have in them some of the elements of seduction. The comforts of civilisation please and charm us; but when in a moment of moral heroism we strive to be independent of them, we feel their chain. The pursuit of pleasure to excess is the great danger of all civilised societies. Few have the moral strength to subjugate the love of earthly delights to the higher purposes of life.

3. It tends to make us satisfied with the present. When sources of pleasure are plentiful, and our taste of them rendered more exquisite by the refinements of an advanced civilisation, we are tempted to become so satisfied with earth that we feel no need of heaven. In the charms of worldly pleasures we grow insensible to the higher joys of the Spirit: we lend but a dull ear to the voice of duty, we become too soft and cowardly to wage the war with temptation and to fight the good fight.

II. The spreading power of evil. Noah did not, at first, intend to prostrate himself beneath the power of wine; but, led on by the gratification it afforded, he relaxed his moral control over himself and fell under the temptation. One evil, having gained admittance, opened the way for many. It is true, especially of the sins of the flesh, that one form of degradation quickly succeeds another. Sensual sin, by weakening the power of self-control, leaves a man helpless against the further assaults of temptation. He who once allows evil to gain the mastery over him cannot tell to what degrading depths he may descend. Evil has a tremendous power to spread. This is illustrated in the history of individuals. One sin generates another, until he who has turned aside from the paths of virtue to taste some forbidden joy, is led further and further astray, and, at length, finds it difficult to return. It is the nature of sin to deceive, so that the victim of temptation has little suspicion of the base uses to which he may come. We have another illustration in the history of families. How often have sins of sensuality acted like a contagion among the members of a family! Besides, sins of this kind are often inherited, the mischief not terminating with the first transgressors, but spreading like a foul infection to others. And a further illustration in the history of nations. At first, they rise to fame and greatness by manly courage and virtue; but prosperity tempts them to sins of luxury and indulgence, and then the worm of decay is at their root. A nation like that of the ancient Romans would never have been conquered by a foreign power, if it had not been first weakened by internal corruptions.

III. The temptations which assail when the excitement of a great purpose is past. While Noah was preparing the ark he was above the assaults of temptation. The excitement of a great purpose filled his mind, and he remained pure in the midst of the profligacy of the age. Now, when the work is over, he falls an easy prey to temptation. Activity with a worthy end in view is the best preservative of virtue. It is the very greatness of man that renders a life having no sufficient aim and purpose intolerable. There should be one great purpose in life, which can be continually reached after but not attained. This alone can promote that activity which preserves our moral health; but if we trust to special victories, the ease and gratification of success which attends them may prove dangerous. Noah rested in one work accomplished, and forgetting that the great purpose of life still remains, the hero of faith falls a victim to the sins of sense. With the height of heaven above us, we should never rest, but keep our graces and virtues alive by exercise.

IV. The power of transgression to develop moral character in others. The tendencies to evil often remain inert in us, but become developed to their issues by outward circumstances. The inward man thus makes himself known to the world what he is.

1. The sins of others give occasion for fresh sins in ourselves. Noah fell under the temptation to self-indulgence, and while helpless with excess of wine his son dishonours him by a shameless deed. By means of the sin of the one the character of the other stands revealed. The true moral nature of a man may be gathered from the manner in which he regards or treats the sin of others. If he glories in their shame, or is driven by it into further sin, his nature must be truly vile.

2. The sins of others may give occasion for some high moral action. Good men may interfere in the transgressions of others by their counsel, by timely reproof, by seeking to remove the temptation and prevent further evils. So it is here. A kind of moral ingenuity was exercised, adapting itself to a sudden emergency. Thus the evil of one man may serve to discover the virtue of another.

V. The apparent dependence of prophecy upon the accidents of human conduct. The sin of Ham, and the generous conduct of his two brothers, furnished what appears to be the accidental occasion of a remarkable prophecy. The words of Noah take too wide a range and are too awful in their import to warrant the interpretation that they were the expression of a private feeling. They are a sketch of the future history of the world. The language is prophetic of the fate of nations. It may seem strange that so important an utterance should arise out of the accident of one man’s transgression. The same account, too, must be given of the greater part of the structure of Scripture. Some portions were written at the request of private persons, some to refute certain heresies which had sprung up in the Church. Many of the books in the New Testament owe their origin to the needs and disorders of the time. But this does not destroy the authority or Divine origin of the Scripture, for the following reasons:

1. The Bible has thus imparted to it a human character and interest. There is in the Word a human element as well as a Divine, a revelation of man as well as a revelation of God. The voice of eternal truth is heard speaking through human passions and interests. The fact that the Bible is true to the realities of human nature accounts, in no small degree, for the hold which it has on the mind and heart. The form in which it is given may, in our present condition, be the best for promoting our spiritual education.

2. The Bible is unfolded by an inner law. We must not regard the Bible as a collection of histories and sayings preserved by the Church, and bound together in one book. It is truly to us the Word of God, for His higher wisdom has guided and inspired each part, and informed the whole with an organic unity of life. As in the ordinary history of the world, God is ever weaving what seems to us accident into the system of His providence, so in the formation of His written Word He makes the passing events of time to be part of the system of spiritual truth.

3. The Bible shows the advance of history towards an end. The Old Testament history looks forward to the coming of the Messiah. No series of events are recorded as facts terminating in themselves, but rather as having reference to that supreme hour of the world’s history when God should be manifest in the flesh. All was ministering to that “fulness of time” when mankind would be prepared to welcome their deliverer from heaven. Human history centres in the Son of Man. Mankind are either looking out for Christ, or they are actors in a history developed from Him. By the Christian mind, history is still to be regarded as working towards that definite end described by St. Paul, when he declares the purpose of God to be the building up of all mankind into one (Ephesians 2:11). The Bible records events not as a chronicle of the past, but as showing how the Divine purpose has been, and is still being accomplished. In this view the human aspect of Scripture history appears as transfigured. The deeper intents of its teaching can only be read by a spiritual light.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES

Genesis 9:20. The second head of the race, as the first, must find his true prosperity and happiness in activity.

If Noah was before a mechanic, it is evident that he must now attend to the cultivation of the soil, that he may draw from it the means of subsistence. He planted a vineyard. God was the first planter (Genesis 2:8), and since that time we hear nothing of the cultivation of trees till Noah becomes a planter. The cultivation of the vine and the manufacture of wine might have been in practice before this time, as the mention of them is merely incidental to the present narrative. But it seems likely from what follows, that though grapes may have been in use, wine had not been extracted from them.—(Murphy.)

The vine in its significance:—

1. In its perilous import.
2. In its higher significance. God hath provided not merely for our necessity, but also for our refreshment and exhilaration. The more refined His gifts, so much the more ought they to draw us, and make us feel the obligation of a more refined life.—(Lange.)

Noah’s care in the cleansed earth is the vine. In the sphere of old Adam, and before the flood, that is before regeneration, Noah was no planter. There his work was the ark: there, day and night, instead of planting the vine, he was cutting down the high trees; as the Church’s work in the world still is to lay the axe to the root of man’s pride; to lay them low, that by the experience of death they may reach a better life. But in the Church, regenerate man has other work. There the vine is to be trained, and pruned, and cultivated: there its precious juice, which gladdens God and man, is to be drunk with thankfulness and joy to God’s glory.—(Jukes: Types of Genesis.)

God plants His own vineyard—the Church—though men may abuse the privileges it affords.

Genesis 9:21. We are not in a position to estimate how much blame is to be imputed to Noah. He may have been ignorant of the strength of the wine, or have been rendered susceptible to its influence by his age. At best, he was overtaken in a fault. The external degradation and the physical penalties would be the same whatever be the amount of guilt.

Times of festivity require a double guard. Neither age nor character are any security in the hour of temptation. Who would have thought that a man who had walked with God, perhaps more than five hundred years, and who had withstood the temptations of a world, should fall alone? This was like a ship which had gone round the world being overset in sailing into port. One heedless hour may stain the fairest life, and undo much of the good which we have been doing for a course of years.—(Fuller.)

Drunkenness:

1. An abuse of the goodness of God.
2. A sin against the body. It deforms and degrades the temple of the soul.
3. Weakens the moral principle, and thus exposes a man to countless evils.

The sins of the flesh reveal the moral nakedness of the soul.

Wine is a mocker, and may deceive the holiest men that are not watchful (Proverbs 20:1).

Intemperance leads to shame, de grades the most respectable to the level of the brute, and subjects the wise and good to derision and scorn, puts a man’s actions out of his own control, and sets a most pernicious example in the family and in society.—(Jacobus.)

Genesis 9:22. In such a world as this the mere sight of evil things may be accidental; the sin lies in the beholding of them so as to make them objects of unlawful interest.

To have complacency in the sin of others, and to make a mock at it is the mark of fools.
A slight circumstance may serve to reveal the moral nature. There is a fine instinct in superior virtue which can adapt itself to the difficulties and complications of the world’s evil.
It is the mark of a base mind to publish the shame of others, when it is in our power to hide it and cover it in oblivion by some loving deed.
Love covers; Ham, instead of veiling his father’s nakedness, only the more openly uncovers what he had left exposed. As a son he transgresses against his father; so, as a brother, would he become the seducer of his brother.—(Lange.)

The evil have an eye for evil, while the good and loving are engaged in acts of charity. Thus He, whose work it is to bring to light the hidden things of darkness, by the failure of one often reveals another’s heart. The Church’s fall, the misuse of gift in some, is made the occasion for stripping the selfdeceiver bare. Men sit in judgment on the evil in the Church, full of impatience and self, laying all iniquity bare, not waiting for the righteous Judge; little thinking that, whilst they are judging evil, God by the evil may be trying and judging them; or that the spirit which exposes others’ sin may be far more hateful to Him than some misuse of privileges.—(Jukes: “Types of Genesis”.)

Genesis 9:23. A virtuous mind is quick to discover means of freeing itself from moral embarrassment.

Reverence for all that is about us—for all that is human—is the root of social virtue.
Two things are brought out by this fall; sin in some, and grace in others, of the Church’s sons. Ham not only sees, but tells the shame abroad, with out so much as an attempt to place a rag on that nakedness, which, as the sin of one so near to him, should have been his own shame. Shem and Japheth will not look upon it, but “walking backward,”—a path not taught by nature, but grace,—cover their father’s nakedness.—(Jukes “Types of Genesis.”)

The conduct of these two brothers is in accordance with the prophecy which follows. Nations, as such, have a moral character. Prophecy is but the distinct announcement of the working out of great moral principles through the course of history.

Genesis 9:24. The degradation of a man must at length come to light, and appear to himself. For every sinner there is an awakening.

When Noah came to himself, he knew what had been done by his younger son. Nothing is said of his grief for his own sin. We are not to consider what follows as an ebullition of personal resentment, but as a prophecy which was meant to apply, and has been ever since applying to his posterity, and which it was not possible for human resentment to dictate. (Fuller.)

God brings to light the wicked practices of ungracious ones against His saints, and sheweth it to His prophets.—(Hughes.)

Genesis 9:25. The interpretation that would resolve this declaration of Noah into an expression of private feeling is refuted by the history of those nations which sprang from his sons. That history confirms the prophecy, and proves it to be such.

The fulfilment of this prophecy took a wider range than could be contemplated by expressions dictated in a moment of passion. The descendants of Ham flourished for long ages after this curse was pronounced, maintained their independence, and founded empires. Their power was not utterly broken, nor did they sink into subjection until the time of the captivity. All this was too wide a prospect into futurity for the unaided mind of man to behold.
It is a historical fact that the degradation of slavery has fallen especially upon the race of Ham. A portion of the Kenaanites became bondsmen among the Israelites, who were of the race of Shem. The early Babylonians, the Phœnicians, the Carthaginians, and Egyptians, who all belonged to the race of Ham, were subjugated by the Assyrians, who were Shemites, the Persians, the Macedonians, and the Romans, who were all Japhethites. And in modern times it is well known that most of the nations of Europe traded in African slaves.—(Murphy.)

There never has been a son of Ham who has shaken a sceptre over the head of Japheth. Shem hath subdued Japheth, and Japheth hath subdued Shem, but Ham never subdued either.—(Mede: quoted by Jacobus.)

This prophecy did not fix the descendants of Ham in the bonds of an iron destiny, nor does it reveal a flaw in the equal ways of God. The Canaanites, on account of their wickedness, deserved Divine chastisements; and the prophecy does but signify what takes place by the operation of great moral laws.

The curse pronounced upon Ham, though terrible, did not affirm a perpetual doom, but was only to operate until the larger blessing and hope should be announced. Prophecy would yet unfold a brighter prospect when the Deliverer would come for all; and in the expansion of Messiah’s empire, even “Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.” (Psalms 68:31.)

Genesis 9:26. As Shem was to possess the redeeming name of God, we have a further advance in prophecy, setting forth the particular race whence the Messiah should come.

To preserve the name of God, and to be conscious of covenant relations with Him, is the true life of nations and of souls. All other greatness dies. The prophet breaks out in benediction on such.
There is a dark side, however, to this prophetic thought, as it implies that the two other families of mankind, at least for part of the period under the prophet’s view, were estranged from the true and living God. History corroborates both aspects of this prophetic sentence for the space of 2,400 years. During the most part of this long period the holy Jehovah Omnipotent was unknown to the great mass of the Japhethites, Hamites, and even Shemites. And it was only by the special election and consecration of an individual Shemite to be the head of a peculiar people, and the father of the faithful, that He did not cease to be the God of even a remnant of Shem.—(Murphy.)

Shem holds the highest grade of honour. Therefore it is that Noah, in blessing him, expresses himself in praise of God, and dwells not upon the person. Whenever the declaration relates to some unusual and important pre-eminency, the Hebrews thus ever ascend to the praise of God. (Luke 1:68.)—(Calvin.)

Where God is truly Lord of His people, all adversaries are made subject to them. The Church shall in her appointed seasons triumph in God, and all enemies be laid under her foot.—(Hughes.)

Genesis 9:27. Japheth was enlarged.

1. In his territory. He was the progenitor of the inhabitants of Europe, Asia, and America, with the exception of the region between the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, the Euxine, the Caspian, and the mountains beyond the Tigris, which was the dwelling of the Shemites. He had the colonising faculty—the disposition to push on his conquests far and wide. Shem was devoted to home and fathers—a conserver of the past—upholding the doctrine of standing still—possessing no spirit of adventure.
2. In his intellectual and active faculties. The metaphysics of the Hindoos, the philosophy of the Greeks, and the military skill of the Romans, bear witness. The race of Japheth have given birth to the science and civilisation of the world. Even religion, though born in the East, has received the greatest expansion and development in the West.

To Japheth it was given to elaborate and perfect that language in which it has pleased God to give His later revelation to mankind. The Greek language was through long ages being gradually fitted to be the most perfect vehicle for the mind of the Spirit.
Nations that did not possess the Divine name have yet contributed to the glory of that name. The consciousness of the indwelling of God, together with the possession of that active energy which applies spiritual principles to life, affords the conditions of the highest prosperity. It is God’s indwelling and enlargement—the union of Shem and Japheth.
Human skill and activity without the grace of religion, however refined, is only intense worldliness. If Japheth would prosper in the highest degree, he must receive from Shem spiritual knowledge and the genius of devotion. Nothing else but Christianity can impart stability and nobleness to civilisation.
The blessing of Shem, or faith in salvation, shall avail for the good of Japheth, even as the blessing of Japheth, humanitarian culture, shall in the end avail for Shem. These two blessings are reciprocal, and it is one of the deepest signs of some disease in our times, that these two are in so many ways estranged from each other, even to the extent of open hostility. What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.—(Lange.)

When Alexander the Great conquered the Persians, he gave protection to the Jews. And when the Romans subdued the Greek monarchy, they befriended the chosen nation. In their time came the Messiah, and instituted that new form of the Church of the Old Testament, which not only retained the best part of the ancient people of God, but extended itself over the whole of Europe, the chief seat of Japheth; went with him wherever he went, and is at this day, through the blessing of God on his political and moral influence, penetrating into the moral darkness of Ham as well as the remainder of Shem and Japheth himself. Thus, in the highest of all senses, Japheth is dwelling; the tents of Shem.—(Murphy).

In that early age, what genius or foresight of man could have thus cast the horoscope of history? Surely the “seventh from Adam” spake as he was moved by the Holy Ghost.
The bondage of Ham has been overruled for good in giving him the means of the knowledge of God. He has been brought thus within the influences of religion.
All human history is working towards that blessed end when mankind shall dwell in peace together, knowing and reverencing the name of God. The Church is the true home for mankind, and the highest style and ideal of social and national life.

ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON

Vine Fables! Genesis 9:20. The Germans fable that an angel visited the earth some time after the subsidence of the Deluge. He discovered Noah sitting at noon under the shade of a fig tree, looking very disconsolate. Inquiring the cause of Noah’s grief, he was told that the heat was oppressive—so oppressive that he wanted something to drink. The angel thereupon pointed to the rippling streams, sparkling fountains flowing around, and said, “Drink, and be refreshed.” But Noah replied that he could not drink of these waters, because so many strong men, beautiful women, innocent children, and countless animals had been drowned in them by the flood. The fable goes on to tell how the angel then spread his white wings—flew up to heaven swift as a lightning flash, and returned with some vine shoots, which he taught Noah to plant and tend. This has no doubt as much truth as that other fable, which represents Satan as killing a lamb, a monkey, a lion, and a pig, and then, pouring their blood upon a vine, watched to see with glee their effects upon Noah. Lucretius puts it thus:

“Dire was his thought, who first in poison steeped,
The weapon formed for slaughter—direr his,
And worthier condemnation, who instilled
The mortal venom in the social cup,
To fill the veins with death instead of life.”—Dryden.

Vineyards! Genesis 9:20. It is a beautiful sight to see the mountain sides of Hermon and Lebanon so neatly terraced, cultivated, and dressed with the vine. What our apple-orchards are in England, that—and much more—are the vineyards in the East. They perform for the Syrians a greater variety of purposes in their dietetic economy than our orchards do for us. Vineyards can thus be looked upon with delight; and God’s blessing can be invoked upon them. The scene is not one which suggests drunken revelry and excess. And the longing of the traveller is that those old, hoary mountains may again be terraced from base to summit with vineyards, and that the valleys may re-echo with the voice of the watchman, whose call in the vineyard to his fellow is, “Watchman, what of the night?” ‘Tis enough to make

“The sad man merry, the benevolent one
Melt into tears—so general is the joy!
While up and down the cliffs, over the lake,
Wains oxen-drawn, and pannier’d mules are seen,
Laden with grapes, and dripping rosy wine.”—Rogers.

Vine! Genesis 9:20. Macmillan says that the vine is one of the most extensively diffused of plants. In this respect it furnishes a beautiful emblem of the universal spread of the Christian Church. Its early history is involved in obscurity. It is as old as the human race. Its cultivation was probably amongst the earliest efforts of human industry. It is first introduced to our notice as the cause of Noah’s drunkenness. It is believed to be originally a native of the hilly region on the southern shores of the Caspian sea, and of the Persian Gulf of Ghilan. The Jews have a tradition that it was first planted by God’s own hand on the fertile slopes of Hebron. There is another tradition, that Noah’s sons, travelling westward, brought it with them to Canaan. The early culture of the vine in Egypt is proved by the paintings on the tombs of that land, where the different processes of winemaking are fully portrayed, and appear to be far more extended than the simple practice of squeezing the juice from the grape. These Egyptian pictures recall the poet’s words:—

“The vines in light festoons

From tree to tree—the trees in avenues,
And every avenue and cover’d walk
Hung with ripe clusters.”

Wine and Heat! Genesis 9:20.

(1) In the East the sherbet of the winter and spring is made of orange blossoms. It is very sweet, rich in perfume, and pleasant to the native palate; but it is not very refreshing. It is, therefore, not adapted for the summer, for the hot July weather compels the stomach to crave an acid by way of refreshment. In July the natives begin to use the green grape, by pounding it to a pumice in a mortar. Strained, sweetened, and diluted with water, it furnishes a drink which rivals our best lemonade, and which the mountaineer employs as a substitute. In August and September the grapes are used for making molasses, wines, vinegars, and jellies. These are invaluable auxiliaries in the hot climates of the East.
(2) It is the Lord Jesus who says, “I am the True Vine.” His precious blood is the vitalising juices of the Church and her true members; while the ripe fruit-clusters of that precious blood afford cooling refreshment to the fevered hearts of the servants of God in this hot, noontide life. As the Syrian says that there is no drink like that of the July vine, and no fruit like that of the August grape, so the children of God say that there is no blood like that of the True Vine, and no fruit like that of His atonement
“Lord of the Vineyard, we adore

That power and grace Divine
Which plants our wild and barren souls
In Christ the Living Vine.”

Use and Abuse! Genesis 9:20. On the fertile island of Chios lived, in ancient times, a noble and generous man, who had come from Asia, and built himself a house not far from the sea. On the sunny hills he had planted grapes, the delicious fruit of his native country. The vines prospered beyond expectation, and yielded the rich wine of Chios. The pious husbandman gave his wine to the rich and suffering, and they blessed the giver and his gift. One day, a great tempest drove a ship among the rocks, but the sailors and officers escaped to shore. Here they were hospitably entertained. The wounded received wine, slumbered, and awoke strengthened and refreshed. But the sailors took too much wine—quarrelled—fought, and slew each other. The hospitable owner was indignant, and said, “Go back, ye evil doers, to the sea, for ye are not worthy to live on the land.” Then, turning to the sailors restored and refreshed, he said, “You see, that as the sun which ripens the grape, and whose lustre beams from its gold, engenders the pernicious miasma when he darts his rays on corruption, so men may misuse the gifts of Nature to their own destruction: therefore, chain thy passions down”—

“For if once we let them reign,
They sweep with desolating train—
’Till they but leave a hated name,
A ruined soul, and blackened fame.”—Cook.

Drink and Drunkenness! Genesis 9:20. It is related of a converted Armenian on the Harpoot mission-field, that he was a strong temperance man. On one occasion, disputing with a drinker of the native wine, he was met with the rejoinder, “Did not God make grapes?” To this, with native warmth, the Armenian replied: “God made dogs; do you eat them? God made poisons; do you suck them?” While not prepared to argue after this fashion, all must admit the appalling follies of excessive drinking. Thomas Watson says that there is no sin which more defaces God’s image than drunkenness. And sadly as it mars and blots the face and form of the body, its deleterious and destructive influences upon the mental powers and moral principles are more distressing. “Alcohol is a good creature of God, and I enjoy it,” said a drinker to James Mowatt. To this he replied, “I dare say that rattlesnakes, boa-constrictors, and alligators are good creatures of God, but you do not enjoy swallowing them by the halfdozen.” As Guthrie says, “No doubt, in one sense, it is a creature of God; and so are arsenic, oil of vitriol, and prussic acid. People do not toss off glasses of prussic acid, and call it a creature of God”—

“Ah! false fiend,

In whose perfidious eye damnation lurks,
A chalice in his hand of sparkling wine
Whereof who drinks must die; and on his lip
Kisses and smiles, and everlasting woe.”—Bickersteth.

Noah’s Nakedness! Genesis 9:21. Noah was perfect in his generation. Canova’s marble plinth was perfect in comparison with many other marble blocks, veined with glaring flaws. Noah’s wealth and conversation were far above the lives and hearts of his day and generation. It was not absolute perfection, such as may be predicated of an angel. This explains his subsequent fall. By his very singularity and prominence he attracts attention—standing alone among millions, a solitary monument of glory amid universal disgrace. But the “Canova” eye of Infinite Purity perceives the flaw. How sad to read, after the noble testimony borne to his character—after witnessing the terrible infliction of judgment, that Noah was drunken. It

(1) Shows how frail man is at his best;
(2) Suggests how dependent he is on Divine grace;
(3) Solaces the groaning believer, fearful of everlasting exclusion for sin; and
(4) Stigmatises all phases and developments of sensual pleasure as branches of that upas-tree which God hates. Habits of intemperance strip off one’s clothes and property, and uncover, disclose their mental and moral state.

“Our pleasant vices

Are made the whip to scourge us!”—Shakespeare.

Saints’ Sins! Genesis 9:21.

(1) As the photographic art will not make the homely beautiful, nor catch a landscape without catching the shadow of deformity as readily as the shadow of beauty; so, says Swing, the historic genius of the Bible gathers up all virtue and vice equally, and transfers it to the record—the one for human as divine commendation—the other for human as divine condemnation. And thus it comes to pass that we do not see a Hebrew nation adorned in the gay robes of a modern frescoe, but one that sinned against God: a beacon tower of warning to all future nations of the earth that the Merciful and All-gracious will by no means clear the guilty.
(2) When the painters of the last century painted the great heroes of that age, they threw upon their subjects the costumes of that day; and now, when in our days their dresses seem ridiculous and create a smile, we rise above the dress—fasten our eye upon the firm-set lips, the chiselled nose and noble forehead, and bless God that we have such portraits of such giants. Just so in the Bible, its great heroes are all represented in the clothes they wore—from Noah, in the cloak of drunkenness, to Peter, in the robe of equivocation: and it is for us to let those garments alone and admire the matchless contour of their spiritual countenances,

“Pure and unspotted as the cleanly ermine,
Ere the hunter sullies her with his pursuit.”—Davenant.

Filial Reverence! Genesis 9:23.

(1) Lettice would quietly watch for her father, and as quietly lead him home, that none of the neighbours might see his shame as a drunkard. With what tenderness she led the reeling form within doors; and when he had flung himself upon his poor bed, how tenderly she covered him, ere she herself retired to rest. She could not bear the thought of friends around knowing that her father lived to drink.
(2) Joe Swayne, the street Arab, had been lured to Sunday School by a teacher on her way. In conversation he had mocked over his mother’s propensity for drink, and jocosely described her words and ways when she returned to their wretched garret after a deep debauch. At school, God’s word taught and God’s grace trained him to think otherwise. Child could not be kinder to mother than he was. No one ever heard him mention his mother’s shame. They could not honour, yet they would not dishonour.

“My father! my mother! how true should I prove!
How well should I serve you, how faithfully love!”

Afterwards! Genesis 9:24. Deep within an adjoining forest was a dell, where the beams of the sun scarcely ever penetrated. Tall trees grew on either side, whose branches, meeting above, formed a canopy of leaves, where the birds built their nests, and poured forth happy songs. Here the awakened drunkard bent his steps. It had been his favourite haunt in the days of his childhood; and as he threw himself upon the soft green award, the recollections of past scenes came crowding over his mind. He thought of the narrow escape he had had but a few weeks before, when the mountain floods turned the river and swept away houses and neighbours, his own home and family narrowly escaping. He covered his face with his hands and groaned deeply. Suddenly a soft arm was thrown round his neck, and a sweet voice resounded in his ear, “God will forgive you, father.” What were Noah’s feelings when he awoke from his drunken sleep? He was the penitent first, the prophet afterwards.

“Deep in his soul conviction’s ploughshare rings,
And to the surface his corruption brings;
He loathes himself, in lowest dust he lies,
And all abased, ‘Unclean! unclean!’ he cries.”—Holmes.

Nazarite Abstinence! Genesis 9:24. Law remarks that, as no juice of the grape, from kernel unto husk, was to pass the consecrated lips of the Nazarite, so Christians should sedulously flee whatever, like the juice of grape, may tend to weaken the firm energy, or stir up the sleeping brood of sensual and ungodly lusts. Touch not the kernel, nor the husk. Flee not strong potions only, but all that may insidiously corrupt the taste. Avoid them. They are the cancer’s touch. They are the weed’s first seed. Rapidly they grow—fatally they spread—mightily they strengthen—and soon they pervade the enervated soul. And as

“In some fair virgin’s bosom a small spot,
As if a thorn had prick’d the delicate skin,
Rises and spreads an ever-fretting sore,
Creeping from limb to limb, corrosive, foul,
Until the miserable leper lives
A dying life, and dies a living death.”—Bickersteth.

Wine-Woes! Genesis 9:25. “A glass of wine did it.” Such was the close of a traveller’s narrative. A partner in one of the largest New York houses, he was now striving to earn a scanty livelihood as a commercial traveller. One of the partners had gone south to collect large sums due to the firm. He was successful in his purpose, and arrived at New Orleans on his way home. He ventured to drink wine, contrary to custom—became drunk—and in his sleep was robbed of all. Next day the telegraph brought the news; the firm became bankrupt; the families of the partners were broken up and separated. Some of the children lost their education—some of them mixed with street Arabs—and one of them died prematurely on the scaffold. The present generations of descendants are suffering more or less from that one glass of wine. Noah’s overindulgence has touched the whole sea of Ham’s family life downwards, even as the pebble cast into the pool ripples and ruffles in ever-widening circles the whole surface of the water.

“Oh! fatal drinking! oh! accursed draught!
Ye stained the streams of time with shame and death!
No crystal streamlet from the fountain flows,
The source is tinged with crime, and stained with woes.”—Mark.

Human Race! Genesis 9:27. In the history of each of these great divisions of mankind, the characteristic sentence of Noah—legibly inscribed at the present time upon the nations that respectively owe their origin to Shem, Ham, and Japhet—it seems impossible to refuse our assent to the inspiration of Moses. As Redford remarks, “No impostor, and no mere philosopher, would have ventured upon such sweeping sentences—views so general, characteristics so peculiar. The correspondences between the historical facts and the written record are such as no ingenuity—no penetration, no calculation of human reason—could have anticipated.

(1) Who could have foreseen—at the age at which we are sure Moses wrote—that the Africans would not emerge and become the conquerors of Europe? Yet Moses plainly declares here that they should not.
(2) Or, who could have predicted that the Asiatics, then comprising all the mighty empires, and almost all the civilised world, would not overrun and subdue all the rest? Yet Moses plainly declares here that they should not.

(3) Or, who could have determined that the Japhet race of Europe, then as uncivilised and degraded as Africa is now, should become the predominant section of mankind, vanquish the vast empires of the East, dwell in the tents of Shem, and make Africa its servant? Yet Moses plainly declares here that they should. Therefore we have a choice between the fancy that Genesis 9:26 have been written within the last century, and the fact that He who knows the end from the beginning

“Pre-ordered and announced the ebb and flow
Of nations and of tribes—offspring of Noah’s sons.”