for his work but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots, and horsemen." 2 Chron. viii. 7, 8, 9.

The Greeks and Romans too, who were descendants of Japheth, not only subdued Syria, and Palastine, but also pursued and conquered such of the Canaanites as were any where remaining; as for instance, the Tyrians and Carthagenians; the former of whom were ruined by Alexander and the Grecians; and the latter by Scipio and the Romans. And ever since, the miserable remainder of this people, have been slaves to a foreign yoke; first to the Saracens, who descended from Shem and afterwards to the Turks, who descended from Japheth; and they groan under their dominion at this day. Egypt was the land of Ham, as it is often called in Scripture; and, for many ages, it was a great and flourishing kingdom; but it was subdued by the Persians, who descended from Shem; and afterwards by the Grecians, who descended from Japheth; and from that time to this, it hath constantly been in subjection to some or other of the posterity of Shem or Japheth.

The whole continent of Africa, was principally peopled by the children of Hamx; and for how

x "Ham," says Dr. Hales, "signifies burnt or black; and this name was peculiarly significant of regions allotted to his family." Adam Clarke.

many ages have the better parts of that country been successively under the dominion of the Romans, and the Saracens, and now of the Turks! In what ignorance, barbarity, slavery, and misery, live most of the inhabitants! And how

many thousands of the poor Negroes, have been annually sold and bought like cattle in the market, and conveyed from one quarter of the world to another, to do the work of beasts!

Nothing can be more complete than the execution of this sentence upon Ham, as also upon Canaan1.

It is clear, from various parts of the Scriptures, that when the wickedness of a nation or people, has occasioned the divine protection to be withdrawn from them, they have become an easy prey to their enemies. It is not however less obvious, from the sacred page, that the Judge of all the earth, will not acquit those, who, in the wanton exercise of power, gratify unreasonable and merciless dispositions; not even when those whom they unjustly oppress or cruelly entreat, are offenders in his sight, and worthy of punishment.

The prediction concerning Ham or Canaan, foretold the condition of his posterity; but it does not warrant the cruelties with which the hand of man has executed, and highly aggravated the sentence. Was not the prophecy most amply

L

fulfilled by Heathen nations? And may it not be said of Christians, because of the rapine promoted amongst this people, the unjust bondage and oppression in which they are held, and the direful consequences of their captivity: "Ye have slain them in a rage, which reaches up unto Heaven!"

Now let us consider the promises made to Shem and Japheth; and Noah said:

"Blessed be the God of Shem;

And Canaan shall be his servant.”

Or rather," and Canaan shall be servant to them, or their servant," that is to his brethren; for that, as has been before observed, is the main part of the prophecy, being frequently repeated. We may observe, that the old Patriarch doth not say blessed be Shem, as he said: cursed be Canaan; for men's evil springeth of themselves; but their good from the fountain of all goodness: he therefore, in a strain of devotion, breaketh forth into thanksgiving to God, as the author of all good to Shem. Neither doth he say the same to Japheth; for certainly an Omniscient Being may dispense his particular favours according to his good pleasure; and salvation was to be derived to mankind through Shem and his posterity.

God prefers Shem to his elder brother Japheth, as Jacob was afterwards preferred to Essau, and David to his elder brothers; to show that the order of grace supercedes the order of nature.

The Lord being called, the God of Shem, particularly, it is plainly intimated that the Lord would be his God in a particular manner. And accordingly the church of God was among the posterity of Shem for several generations, and of them," as concerning the flesh, Christ came." Rom. ix. 5.

But Japheth was not dismissed without a promise:

“God shall enlarge Japheth,

And shall dwell in the tents of Shem;

And Canaan shall be their servant."

Was Japheth then more enlarged than the rest? Yes, he was, both in territory and children. The territories of Japheth's posterity were indeed very large; for, besides all Europe, they possessed the lesser Asia, Media, part of Armenia, Iberia, Albania, and those vast regions towards

x Shem signifies name or renown; his was great in a spiritual sense, as he was to be the lineal ancestor of the blessed seed of the woman. Adam Clarke.

Bocharti, Phaleg, Lib. 3, Cap 1.

the north, which anciently the Scythians inhabited, and now the Tartars inhabit; and it is not improbable that America was peopled, by some or other of his descendants passing thither by the straits of Anian.

The enlargement of Japheth may also denote a numerous progeny, as well as an ample territory; and according to the genealogy of the three brothers, Japheth had seven sons, Ham had only four, and Shem only five.

The following clause: " he shall dwell in the tents of Shem," will admit of a double construction; for thereby may be meant, either that God, or that Japheth shall dwell in the tents of Shem. They who prefer the former construction seem to have the authority of the original text on their side; for there is no other noun to govern the verbs in the period, but God. There is no pronoun in the Hebrew, answering to the "he," which is inserted in our English translation; and the whole sentence would run thus: "God will enlarge Japheth, and will dwell in the tents of Shem." And the Chaldee of Onkelos also thus paraphraseth it: "And will make his glory to dwell in the tents of

x Japheth signifies enlargement. And his posterity spread throughout the whole extent of Asia. They probably crossed Berings straits to America, and, in the opposite direction, passed throughout Europe to the Mediterranean sea,