Matthew Henry Commentary Genesis 5:25-32

"And Methuselah lived a hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech: and Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died. And Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: and he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, [which cometh] because of the ground which Jehovah hath cursed. And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died. And Noah was five hundred years old: And Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth." — Genesis 5:25-32 (ASV)

Methuselah signifies, “he dies, there is a dart,” or “a sending forth,” namely, of the deluge, which came the year that Methuselah died. He lived 969 years, the longest that any man ever lived on earth; but the longest liver must die at last. Noah signifies rest; his parents gave him that name with a prospect of his being a great blessing to his generation. Observe his father's complaint about the calamitous state of human life, due to the entrance of sin and the curse of sin.

Our whole life is spent in labor, and our time is filled with continual toil. God having cursed the ground, it is as much as some can do, with the utmost care and pains, to get a hard livelihood and comfort us. This signifies not only that desire and expectation which parents generally have about their children—that they will be comforts to them and helpers, though they often prove otherwise—but it also signifies a prospect of something more. Is Christ ours?

Is heaven ours? We need better comforters under our toil and sorrow than the dearest relations and the most promising offspring; may we seek and find comforts in Christ.