by 177 years; while the life of Arphaxad was shorter than that of his father by 162 years, and the days of Tera.hat the close dwindled down to 205 years. 2. A potent sermon. Whether the comparative brevity of life immediately after the Flood we.a due to any change in the physical constitution of man, or to the altered conditions of existence under the N oachic covenant, or to the grndnal deterioration of the race through the lapse of time, or to the direct appointment of Heaven, it was admirably fitted to remind them of-(1) The reality of sin. With its penalty descending so palpably e.nd frequently it would seem impossible to challenge the fact of their being e. guilty and condemned race. (2) Tlie necessity of repentance. Every death that happened would sound like a trumpet-call to sinful men to tnrn to God. (3) Tlie vanity of lije. The long terms of existence that were meted ont to men before the Flood might tempt them to forget the better country, even an heavenly, and to seek a permanent inheritance on eartl,; it would almost seem apparent to these short livers that no such inheritance could be obtained below. Alas that the shortness of man's career beneath the sun is now so familiar that it has well nigh ceased to impress the mind with anything I ( 4) Tlie certainty of death. When men's lives were counted by centuries it might be easy to evade the thought of death. When decades came to be enough to reckon up the longest term of existence, it could scarcely fail to remind them that "it was appointed unto all men once to die" III. THE NEARING Oil' TH!l: GOSPEL PROMISE. Ten generations further down the stream of time do we see the promise carried in this second genealogical table. It was-1. .A vindication of the Divine faithfulness in adhering to his promise. Already twenty generations had come and gone, and neither was the promise forgotten nor had the holy line been allowed to -become extinct. Ever since Adam's day in Eden the covenant-keeping Jehovah had found a seed to serve him, even in the darkest times, and had been careful to raise up saints who would transmit the hope of the gospel to future times. It was a proof to the passing generations that God was still remembering his promise, and was intending to make it good in the fulness of the times, 2. A demonstration of God's ability to keep his promise. Not once through all the bygone centuries had a link been found wanting in the chain of saintly men through whom the promise was to be transmitted. It was a clear pledge tl111t God would still be able to supply the necessary links that might be required to carry it forward to its ultimate fulfilment.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS.
Vera. 10-26.-The order of grace is-1. Determined by God, and not by man. 2. Arranged after the Spirit, and not according to the flesh. 3. Appointed for the world's good as well as for the Church's safety.-W.
Vera. 10-32.-Divine traditions. A genealogy of Shem and of Terah, in order to set forth clearly the position of Abraham e.nd the.t of his nephew Lot, and their connection with Ur of the Che.ldees and Canaan. The chosen family is a.bout to be separated from their country, but we a.re not told that there was no light of God shining in Ur of the Chaldees. Probably there was the tradition of Shem's knowledge handed down through the generations. Arphaxad was born two years after the Flood; Salah, thirty-seven years; Eber, sixty-seven years; Peleg, one hundred and one years; Ileu, one hundred and thirty-one years; Serug, one hundred and sh:ty-three years; Nabor, one hundred and ninety-three years; Terah, the father of- Abraham, two hundred and twenty-two years-no great length of time for traditions to be preserved. The call of Abram was not merely his separatiou from idolatry, but his consecration to the special vocation of founding the religious institutions which were to be connected with his family.-R. 174 THl:1: BOOK OF GENESIS. [cu. xr. 27-89.
PART III. THE PATRIA.ROHAL .A.GE OF THE WORLD. CH. XI. 27--L. 26.
§ 7. THE GENERATIONS OF TERAH (CH. XI. 27-XXV. 11 ).