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No. II.

NOAH'S ARK.

DID you ever hear of a great flood of waters

which once overspread the earth, and destroyed the whole human race, with the exception of one family; and how this flood was brought upon the earth, because the wickedness of mankind had become so very great, in the eyes of God?

It was one thousand six hundred and fifty six years after the creation of the world; the children and children's children of Adam and Eve had become very numerous then, and their wickedness had increased to such a degree, that God determined to destroy them all. God said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth both man and beast and the creeping thing, and the

fowls of the air: for it repenteth me that I have made them."

There was one man, however, whose name was Noah, who was a just and good man, and had always acted in obedience to the will of God, and whose life, therefore, the Lord determined to spare. Noah had three sons; Shem, Ham, and Japheth. God spoke to Noah, and told him that the end of all living things was at hand, and that he would destroy them from the face of the earth, but he commanded Noah to build an ark of a kind of wood called Gopher wood, and to make it large enough to contain himself and his three sons, his own wife and the wives of his sons; and besides this, to receive within it, a pair, male and female, of every kind of beast and bird and crawling thing. desired Noah to make three stories or floors above each other to the ark: he was to make a window in it, and a door at the side, and to cover all the inside with pitch to prevent the water from getting in.

God

Noah and his sons set to work eagerly, to make the ark according to the directions of God. In this picture, you may see how busy they all are. Noah stands by, looking on and directing the work: he is

already very old and venerable, and cannot take an active part, whilst the sons, who are young and strong, are busy with axe and saw, cutting and preparing the Gopher wood. You may see the skeleton of the ark already completed, but there is much yet remaining to be done. The space between the ribs must be filled up with planks of wood: these must be made to fit closely and neatly together, and then be smeared with pitch both inside and outside, to prevent the water from entering between them.

When the ark was completed, the Lord bade Noah and his family go into it; because he had always been a righteous and good man. Then a male and female of every beast, bird, and living thing entered, two and two, into the ark also. Noah was six hundred years old when he entered into the ark. You may learn from this, how many years longer men lived in those times than they do now.

After seven days had passed away, the rain began to fall heavily upon the earth, and did not cease for forty days and forty nights. As the waters increased, the ark was lifted up from the earth, and floated on the face of the waters: at last the highest hills and mountains were covered with water, and every thing

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