daughters of men, that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they choose." Here then we have a recorded fact that Gods sons took the men's daughters unto them to wife; the two genealogies. The seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman, between whom God had placed an enmity because no unity should take place between them. Cain who was the son of that beguiling serpent, or tree of knowledge of good and evil, the unaccepted and unacknowledged descendant of God, and described here by Moses as men who when they began to multiply on the face of the earth, which is the land of Nod, on the east of Eden, the adopted location of the fugitive from the beginning, the tares of the field, which Christ said are the children of the wicked one, the enemy that sowed them is the devil, and by their fruits we know them, for this seed were of this same discription and described as men multiplying upon the face of the earth and having daughters born unto them, but they were not ugly, frightful or deformed, they are acknowledged to be fair, and were descendant seeds of the tree that was desired by Eve, because he was pleasant to her eyes, and so also was the daughters of his generation desired by the generation of Adam and Eve, who are the acknowledged sons of God, and they took these daughters of the seed of the serpent unto themselves to wife because they were fair, and were undoubtedly pleasant also to their eyes as the serpent had been to their mother before them, and this same propensity is also in nature individually, and will be to the end of time, prevented only and at times by the laws of enmity placed by God between the races, the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. The seed of the serpent must then be understood as the children of the wicked one, and men of the earth, and the seed of the woman as the children of the kingdom, who are the sons of God who took the daughters of the men of the earth, to themselves to wife, thereby doing the same evil as Eve did in the first instance of generature and for the second time was the purity of nature destroyed by the same cause, and became possessed with evil knowledge and inclinations, and lustful, lying propensities through the consequence of this adultery, which is an evident fact, as 4th verse, "When the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children unto them, &c." Surely this requires no further explanation, for through these seeds be-. coming united together, there was an end to the enmity that God had placed between the races, save and except Noah, who alone was found

to be uncorrupted and a just man, and perfect in his generation, so that of the sons of God who are of the generation of Adam, not one in the male line was accepted between Enoch and Noah, for Enoch was the seventh and Noah the eighth, and both walked with God, the others corrupting themselves by taking the daughters of men to wife. The words husband and wife did not prevent it from being adultery between these seeds which are two distinct generations. I have said that Enoch and Noah only made the seventh and eighth in this generation that was accepted by God, neither was there any more that died in a safe position in the male line up to the time of the flood, and one of them (Enoch) though in the number, did not die. I must refer to Peter and Jude for the number accepted in this generation, small as it is, considering that the number of years was nearly the same from the beginning of Creation to the Flood, as it is from the birth of Christ to the present day, Jude 14th verse, "And Enoch also the seventh from Adam," so that he only made as described, seven from Adam as accepted; 2nd Epistle Peter, chap. ii. verse 5, "And spared not the Old World, but saved Noah, the eighth person." This then is the acknowledged number in the book of life, for the world to come, up to the time of destruction of the Old World.

Jude, verse 6.

THE CAUSE OF THE FLOOD.

"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, &c." We must not suppose for a moment that the angels of heaven can leave their habitation voluntarily and willingly when they think proper, to become in a worse position: no man wishes to leave happiness and joy, to sorrow and misery; nor neither can a person be there or go there that has such an inclination in heart; but then this epistle has no such meaning at all for Jude is principally meaning those through whom the world was drowned, for he continues: "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner given them selves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh; are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." So that what these brute beasts knew naturally (or rather what was transferred into nature,) whereby they corrupted themselves after the flood, was in like manner '

done before the flood as going after strange flesh, &c. «Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities, &c." After the flood and before the flood was a similar manner, so that we know what they were before the flood; but to continue more of the epistle:-"Woe unto them; for they have gone in the way of Cain and trees whose fruit withereth; without fruit; twice dead; plucked up by the roots. Raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame: wandering stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever, &c. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage." These are the angels which kept not their first estate of purity, but left their own habitation for the land of Nod; and took the daughters of men to wife, and thus corrupted both generations; but the lusts of the filthy brute beasts did not end here, but went after strange flesh and defiled themselves by corruption, despising the dominion God gave them; foaming out their own shame in ungodly boast of their ungodly deeds, which they committed by going after strange flesh, corrupters of themselves, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage, twice dead and plucked up by the roots, Leviticus, chapter xviii, from the 22nd verse,

"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto : it is confusion.

Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you.

And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.

Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:

(For all these abominutions have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)

That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.

For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.

Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not your selves therein: I am the LORD your God."

Peter also speaks a great deal of these in his 2nd Epistle, chap. ii, v. 4, "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (not from heaven) and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment, and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person." But as Peter spake so much like Jude, both before and after the flood, it is not required to introduce any more, it is sufficient to say, that just Lot was vexed with their filthy conversation, both in seeing and hearing from day to day, with their unlawful deeds, as natural brute beasts, having eyes full of adultery, an heart exercised with covetous practices, cursed children, both before and after the Flood. In introducing the cause of the Flood, I must follow further the shameless practises of these cursed children; It was no small amount of crime committed to grieve God at his heart that he had made man, his works, his blessings reversed, his dignity despised, his spirit strove with man for his good, and to no purpose, so that he said I will destroy man whom I created from off the face of the earth. Man who he made after his own similitude in his own image and likeness, adorned with superior understanding over all other created things; he took an especial pleasure in the image of himself and endowed him with his own breath, the omnicient wisdom of all holy and noble sentiments of his own attributes, the understanding principal of all comprehensible faculties, of perceptive powers, perfect in all parts and wanting in nothing, a perfect God in measure, under divine authority the glory and likeness of his Maker. No man is like this through pollution, corruption, and sin, foaming out their own shame, corrupting and changing this image and glory of God from what it was made unto an image like a corruptable man in birds and four-footed beasts, through the uncleanness of their lusts, and this was undoubtedly the case and the cause of the Flood. I will make another quotation from St. Paul, 1st Romans, commencing at the 20th verse, which ought to be satisfactory to the mind of all men:

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse ;

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Professing the rselves to be wise, they became fools,

And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfvoted beasts, and creeping things.

Wherefore God also gave thom up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves.

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature :

And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient ;

Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

"For

Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. This is certainly a character for an Apostle of God to give to mankind, but it is no more than the truth, for such things were really done, and was the cause of the world being destroyed by water, for God could no longer let them live, his spirit could no longer strive with man, who was at first the image and glory of God, but changed this image by the unlawful lusts they committed with strange flesh, and thereby hrought forth beasts, such as ourang-outangs, apes, and such like things, preserved as living and disgusting witnesses of what was before the Flood. even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature." The Creator never formed any such species of beast so much like the form of man, it would, I think, be disgracing the form of God himself. Well might Moses and the Prophets describe man under all names, even owls and bats, for all flesh was corrupted through them, even birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things, by the direct and indirect crossings of nature; this is doubtless the occasion of that loathsome disease the recompense of error which is meet; the occasion of circumcision, and other sections of the law, as 27th chapter of Deuteronomy, 21st verse, "Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast, And all the people shall say, Amen. Some birds even retain the voice of