257. Above God has threatened in general the human race with destruction. Here he points out the method; namely, that he intends to destroy everything by a new disaster, a flood. Such a punishment the world hitherto had not known. The customary punishments, as we see from the prophets, are pestilence, famine, the sword and fierce beasts. Men and beasts perish of pestilence. The earth is laid waste by war, for it is deprived of those who till it. The sufferings of famine, though they seem to be less cruel, are by far the most terrible. With the fourth class of penalties, our regions have almost no experience at all. Although these are severally sufficient for the chastisement of the human race, the Lord desired to employ a novel kind of punishment against the primeval world, through which all flesh having the breath of life was to perish. 258. Because this punishment was unheard of in former ages, the wicked were slower to believe it. They reasoned thus: If God is at all angry, can he not correct the disobedient by the sword, by pestilence? A flood would destroy also the other creatures which are without sin; surely God will not plan anything like this for the world. 259. But in order to remove such unbelief from the mind of Noah and the righteous, he repeats with stress the pronoun, "And I, behold, I do bring." Afterward he clearly adds that he will destroy all flesh that is under heaven and in the earth; for he excludes here the fishes whose realm is widened by the waters. This passage tends to show the magnitude of the wrath of God, through which men lose, not only body and life, but also universal dominion over the earth. C. GOD'S COVENANT WITH NOAH. * The way God comforted Noah in announcing the flood, and why such comfort was needed 260. 1. The nature of this covenant. a. The views of Lyra, Burgensis and others 261. b. Luther's views 262-263. 2. Whether the giants or tyrants were embraced in this covenant and how received by them 262-263. 3. Why it was made only with Noah 264. 4. How this covenant was made clearer from time to time, and why it was needed at this time 265. 5. How a special call was added to this covenant 266. * God's judgment upon the first world terrible 267. * Why Ham was taken into the ark, who was later rejected 267. * Foreknowledge and election. a. Why we should avoid thinking and disputing on this subject 268. b. To what end should the examples of Scripture on this theme serve 269. c. How consideration of the same may help and harm us 270. C. GOD'S COVENANT WITH NOAH. V. 18. _But I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee._