Dissertations on the prophecies which have remarkably been fulfilled, and at this time are fulfilling in the world / Revised by the Rev. W.S. Dobson.

  • Thomas Newton
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Credit: Dissertations on the prophecies which have remarkably been fulfilled, and at this time are fulfilling in the world / Revised by the Rev. W.S. Dobson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Ham: and for how many ages have the better parts of that country lain under the dominion of the Romans, and then of the Saracens, and now of the Turks? in what wickedness, igno- rance, barbarity, slavery, misery, live most of the inhabitants? and of the poor negroes how many hundreds every year are sold and bought like beasts in the market, and are conveyed from one quarter of the world to do the work of beasts in another ? Nothing can be more complete than the execution of the sentence upon Ham as well as upon Canaan: and now let us consider the promises made to Shem and Japheth. ‘ And he said (Gen. ix. 26.) Blessed be the Lord 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 we observed before, is the main part of the prophecy, and therefore is so frequently repeated. A learned ‘critic in the Hebrew language, who hath lately published some remarks on the printed Hebrew text, saith that ‘if it should be thought preferable to refer the word blessed directly to Shem, as the word cursed is to Canaan; the words may be (and perhaps more per- tinently) rendered— Blessed of Jehovah, my God, be Shem! See Gen. xxiv. 31.’ Or if we choose(as most perhaps will choose) to follow our own as well as all the ancient versions, 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 them- selves, but their good from God: and therefore in a strain of devotion breaking forth into thanksgiving to God as the author of all good toShem Neither doth he say the same to Japheth ; for God certainly may dispense his particular favours according to his good pleasure, and salvation was to be derived to man- kind through Shem and his posterity. God prefers Shem to his elder brother Japheth, as Jacob was afterwards preferred to Esau, and David to his elder brothers, to shew that the order of grace is not always the same as the order of nature. The Lord being called the God of Shem particularly, it is plainly intimated that the Lord would be Ais God in a particular man- ner. And accordingly the church of God was among the pos- terity of Shem for several generations; and of ‘them (Rom. ix. 5.) as concerning the flesh Christ came.” But still Japheth was not dismissed without a promise. (Gen. ix. 47.) “ God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be servant to them,” or thea servant. ‘‘ God shall entarge Japheth.”’ Some render the word (it is so rendered in the margin of our Bibles) God shall per- suade or allure Japheth, so that he shall come over to the true religion, ‘‘and dwell in the tents of Shem.” But the*% best 4 See Kennicott’s Dissertation, p. 561. * Bocharti Phaleg. 1], 3. c. 1. col. 149. Clericus in loc &c.
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