1 And God remembred Noah, and euery liuing thing, and all the cattell that was with him in the Arke: and God made a winde to passe ouer the earth, and the waters asswaged.
2 The fountaines also of the deepe, and the windowes of heauen were stopped, and the raine from heauen was restrained.
3 And the waters returned from off the earth, continually: and after the end of the hundred and fiftie dayes, the waters were abated.
4 And the Arke rested in the seuenth moneth, on the seuenteenth day of the moneth, vpon the mountaines of Ararat.
5 And the waters decreased continually vntill the tenth moneth: in the tenth moneth, on the first day of the moneth, were the tops of the mountaines seene.
6 ¶ And it came to passe at the end of forty dayes, that Noah opened the window of the Arke which he had made.
7 And he sent forth a Rauen, which went foorth to and fro, vntill the waters were dried vp from off the earth.
8 Also hee sent foorth a doue from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground.
9 But the doue found no rest for the sole of her foote, and she returned vnto him into the Arke: for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. Then he put foorth his hand, and tooke her, and pulled her in vnto him, into the Arke.
10 And hee stayed yet other seuen dayes; and againe hee sent foorth the doue out of the Arke.
11 And the doue came in to him in the euening, and loe, in her mouth was an Oliue leafe pluckt off: So Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
12 And hee stayed yet other seuen dayes, and sent forth the doue, which returned not againe vnto him any more.
13 ¶ And it came to passe in the sixe hundredth and one yeere, in the first moneth, the first day of the moneth, the waters were dryed vp from off the earth: and Noah remooued the couering of the Arke, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was drie.
14 And in the second moneth, on the seuen and twentieth day of the moneth, was the earth dried.
15 ¶ And God spake vnto Noah, saying,
16 Goe foorth of the Arke, thou, and thy wife, and thy sonnes, and thy sonnes wiues with thee:
17 Bring foorth with thee euery liuing thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowle, and of cattell, and of euery creeping thing that creepeth vpon the earth, that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitfull, and multiply vpon the earth.
18 And Noah went foorth, and his sonnes, and his wife, and his sonnes wiues with him:
19 Euery beast, euery creeping thing, and euery fowle, and whatsoeuer creepeth vpon the earth, after their kinds, went foorth out of the Arke.
20 ¶ And Noah builded an Altar vnto the LORD, and tooke of euery cleane beast, and of euery cleane fowle, and offred burnt offrings on the Altar.
21 And the LORD smelled a sweete sauour, and the LORD said in his heart, I will not againe curse the ground any more for mans sake; for the imagination of mans heart is euil from his youth: neither will I againe smite any more euery thing liuing, as I haue done.
22 While the earth remaineth, seed-time and haruest, and cold, and heat, and Summer, and Winter, and day and night, shall not cease.
God remembers Noah, and dries up the waters. (1-3) The ark rests on Ararat, Noah sends forth a raven and a dove. (4-12) Noah being commanded, goes out of the ark. (13-19) Noah offers sacrifice, God promises to curse the earth no more. (20-22)1-3 The whole race of mankind, except Noah and his family, were now dead, so that God's remembering Noah, was the return of his mercy to mankind, of whom he would not make a full end. The demands of Divine justice had been answered by the ruin of sinners. God sent his wind to dry the earth, and seal up his waters. The same hand that brings the desolation, must bring the deliverance; to that hand, therefore, we must ever look. When afflictions have done the work for which they are sent, whether killing work or curing work, they will be taken away. As the earth was not drowned in a day, so it was not dried in a day. God usually works deliverance for his people gradually, that the day of small things may not be despised, nor the day of great things despaired of.
4-12 The ark rested upon a mountain, whither it was directed by the wise and gracious providence of God, that might rest the sooner. God has times and places of rest for his people after their tossing; and many times he provides for their seasonable and comfortable settlement, without their own contrivance, and quite beyond their own foresight. God had told Noah when the flood would come, yet he did not give him an account by revelation, at what times and by what steps it should go away. The knowledge of the former was necessary to his preparing the ark; but the knowledge of the latter would serve only to gratify curiosity; and concealing it from him would exercise his faith and patience. Noah sent forth a raven from the ark, which went flying about, and feeding on the carcasses that floated. Noah then sent forth a dove, which returned the first time without good news; but the second time, she brought an olive leaf in her bill, plucked off, plainly showing that trees, fruit trees, began to appear above water. Noah sent forth the dove the second time, seven days after the first, and the third time was after seven days also; probably on the sabbath day. Having kept the sabbath with his little church, he expected especial blessings from Heaven, and inquired concerning them. The dove is an emblem of a gracious soul, that, finding no solid peace of satisfaction in this deluged, defiling world, returns to Christ as to its ark, as to its Noah, its rest. The defiling world, returns to Christ as to its ark, as to its Noah, its rest. The carnal heart, like the raven, takes up with the world, and feeds on the carrion it finds there; but return thou to my rest, O my soul; to thy Noah, so the word is, #Ps 116:7|. And as Noah put forth his hand, and took the dove, and pulled her to him, into the ark, so Christ will save, and help, and welcome those that flee to him for rest.
13-19 God consults our benefit, rather than our desires; he knows what is good for us better than we do for ourselves, and how long it is fit our restraints should continue, and desired mercies should be delayed. We would go out of the ark before the ground is dried; and perhaps, if the door, is shut, are ready to thrust off the covering, and to climb up some other way; but God's time of showing mercy is the best time. As Noah had a command to go into the ark, so, how tedious soever his confinement there was, he would wait for a command to go out of it again. We must in all our ways acknowledge God, and set him before us in all our removals. Those only go under God's protection, who follow God's direction, and submit to him.
20-22 Noah was now gone out into a desolate world, where, one might have thought, his first care would have been to build a house for himself, but he begins with an alter for God. He begins well, that begins with God. Though Noah's stock of cattle was small, and that saved at great care and pains, yet he did not grudge to serve God out of it. Serving God with our little is the way to make it more; we must never think that is wasted with which God is honoured. The first thing done in the new world was an act of worship. We are now to express our thankfulness, not by burnt-offerings, but by praise, and pious devotions and conversation. God was well pleased with what was done. But the burning flesh could no more please God, than the blood of bulls and goats, except as typical of the sacrifice of Christ, and expressing Noah's humble faith and devotedness to God. The flood washed away the race of wicked men, but it did not remove sin from man's nature, who being conceived and born in sin, thinks, devises, and loves wickedness, even from his youth, and that as much since the flood as before. But God graciously declared he never would drown the world again. While the earth remains, and man upon it, there shall be summer and winter. It is plain that this earth is not to remain always. It, and all the works in it, must shortly be burned up; and we look for new heavens and a new earth, when all these things shall be dissolved. But as long as it does remain, God's providence will cause the course of times and seasons to go on, and makes each to know its place. And on this word we depend, that thus it shall be. We see God's promises to the creatures made good, and may infer that his promises to all believers shall be so.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.