It must be confess'd it was a strange Conquest the _Devil_ had made in the Antediluvian World, that he had, as I may say, brought the whole Race of Mankind into a general Revolt from God; _Noah_ was indeed a Preacher of Righteousness, and he had preach'd about 500 Years to as little Purpose as most of the good Ministers ever did; for we do not read there was one Man converted by him, or at least not one of them left, for that at the Deluge there was either none of them alive, or none spar'd but _Noah_ and his three Sons, and their Wives; and even they are ('tis evident) recorded, not so much to be sav'd for their own Goodness, but because they were his Sons; Nay, without Breach of Charity we may conclude, that at least one went to the _Devil_ even of those three, namely, _Ham_ or _Cham_ for triumphing in a brutal Manner over his Father's Drunkenness; for we find the Special Curse reach'd to him and his Posterity for many Ages; and whether it went no farther than the present State of Life with them, we cannot tell. We will suppose now that thro' this whole 1500 Years the Devil having so effectually debauch'd Mankind, had advanc'd his infernal Kingdom to a prodigious Height; for the Text says, _the whole Earth was fill'd with violence_; in a Word, Blood, Murder, Rape, Robbery, Oppression and Injustice prevail'd every where, and Man, like the wild Bear in the Forest, liv'd by Prey, biting and devouring one another. At this Time _Noah_ begins to preach a new Doctrine to them, for as he had before been a Preacher of Righteousness, now he becomes a Preacher of Vengeance; first he tells them they shall be all overwhelm'd with a Deluge, that for their Sins God repented they were made, and that he would destroy them all, adding, that to prevent the Ruin of himself and Family, he resolv'd to build him a Ship to have recourse to when the Water should come over the Rest of the World.