Notes On The Book Of Genesis Part 4

No doubt, faith will produce feelings and sentiments,--spiritual feelings and truthful sentiments,--but the fruits of faith must never be confounded with faith itself. I am not justified by feelings, nor yet by faith _and_ feelings, but simply by faith. And why? Because faith believes G.o.d when he speaks; it takes him at his word; it apprehends him as he has revealed himself in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is life, righteousness, and peace. To apprehend G.o.d as he is, is the sum of all present and eternal blessedness. When the soul finds out G.o.d, it has found out all it can possibly need, here or hereafter; but he can only be known by his own revelation, and by the faith which he himself imparts, and which, moreover, always seeks divine revelation as its proper object.

Thus, then, we can in some measure enter into the meaning and power of the statement, "By faith Abel offered unto G.o.d a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." Cain had no faith, and therefore he offered an unb.l.o.o.d.y sacrifice. Abel had faith, and therefore he offered both "blood and fat," which, in type, set forth the presentation of the life, and also the inherent excellency of the Person of Christ. "The blood" set forth the former; "the fat" shadowed forth the latter. Both blood and fat were forbidden to be eaten under the Mosaic economy. The blood is the life; and man, under law, had no t.i.tle to life. But, in the sixth of John we are taught that unless we eat blood we have no life in us. Christ is _the_ life. There is not a spark of life outside of him. All out of Christ is death. "In him was life," and in none else.

Now, he gave up his life on the cross; and, to that life, sin was by imputation attached, when the blessed One was nailed to the cursed tree. Hence, in giving up his life, he gave up also the sin attached thereto, so that it is effectually put away, having been left in his grave from which he rose triumphant, in the power of a new life, to which righteousness as distinctly attaches itself as did sin to that life which he gave up on the cross. This will help us to an understanding of an expression used by our blessed Lord after his resurrection, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."

He did not say, "flesh and blood;" because, in resurrection, he had not a.s.sumed into his sacred person the blood which he had shed out upon the cross as an atonement for sin. "The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood which maketh an atonement for the soul."

(Lev. xvii. 11.) Close attention to this point will have the effect of deepening in our souls the sense of the completeness of the putting away of sin by the death of Christ; and we know that whatever tends to deepen our sense of that glorious reality, must necessarily tend to the fuller establishment of our peace, and to the more effectual promotion of the glory of Christ as connected with our testimony and service.

We have already referred to a point of much interest and value in the history of Cain and Abel, and that is, the entire identification of each with the offering which he presented. My reader cannot possibly bestow too much attention upon this. The question, in each case, was not as to the person of the offerer; but entirely as to the character of his offering. Hence, of Abel we read that "G.o.d testified of his _gifts_." He did not bear witness to Abel, but to Abel's sacrifice; and this fixes distinctly the proper ground of a believer's peace and acceptance before G.o.d.

There is a constant tendency in the heart to ground our peace and acceptance upon something in or about ourselves, even though we admit that that something is wrought by the Holy Ghost. Hence arises the constant looking _in_, when the Holy Ghost would ever have us looking _out_. The question for every believer is not, "what am I?" but, "what is Christ?" Having come to G.o.d "in the name of Jesus," he is wholly identified with him, and accepted in his name, and, moreover, can no more be rejected than the One in whose name he has come. Before ever a question can be raised as to the feeblest believer, it must be raised as to Christ himself. But this latter is clearly impossible, and thus the security of the believer is established upon a foundation which nothing can possibly move. Being in himself a poor worthless sinner, he has come in the name of Christ, he is identified with Christ, accepted in and as Christ, bound up in the same bundle of life with Christ. G.o.d testifies, not of him, but of his gift, and his gift is Christ. All this is most tranquillizing and consolatory. It is our happy privilege to be able, in the confidence of faith, to refer every objection and every objector to Christ and his finished atonement. All our springs are in him. In him we boast all the day long. Our confidence is not in ourselves, but in him who hath wrought every thing for us. We hang on his name, trust in his work, gaze on his person, and wait for his coming.

But the carnal mind at once displays its enmity against all this truth which so gladdens and satisfies the heart of a believer. Thus it was with Cain. "He was very wroth, and his countenance fell." That which filled Abel with peace, filled Cain with wrath. Cain, in unbelief, despised the only way in which a sinner could come to G.o.d. He refused to offer blood, without which there can be no remission; and then, because _he_ was not received, _in his sins_, and because Abel was accepted, _in his gift_, "he was wroth, and his countenance fell." And yet, how else could it be? He should either be received with his sins, or without them; but G.o.d could not receive him with them, and he would not bring the blood which alone maketh atonement; and, therefore, he was rejected, and, being rejected, he manifests in his ways the fruits of corrupt religion. He persecutes and murders the true witness,--the accepted, justified man,--the man of faith; and, in so doing, he stands as the model and forerunner of all false religionists in every age. At all times, and in all places, men have shown themselves more ready to persecute on religious grounds than on any other. This is Cain-like.

Justification--full, perfect, unqualified justification, by faith only, makes G.o.d every thing, and man nothing: and man does not like this; it causes his countenance to fall, and draws out his anger. Not that he can give any reason for his anger; for it is not, as we have seen, a question of man at all, but only of the ground on which he appears before G.o.d. Had Abel been accepted on the ground of aught in himself, then, indeed, Cain's wrath and his fallen countenance would have had some just foundation; but, inasmuch as he was accepted, exclusively on the ground of his offering; and, inasmuch as it was not to him, but to his gift, that Jehovah bore testimony, his wrath was entirely without any proper basis. This is brought out in Jehovah's word to Cain: "If thou doest well, (or, as the LXX. reads it, if thou offer correctly, [Greek: orthos prosenenkes],) shalt thou not be accepted?" The well-doing had reference to the offering. Abel did well by hiding himself behind an acceptable sacrifice. Cain did badly by bringing an offering without blood; and all his after-conduct was but the legitimate result of his false worship.

"And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pa.s.s, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him." Thus has it ever been; the Cains have persecuted and murdered the Abels. At all times, man and his religion are the same; faith and its religion are the same: and wherever they have met, there has been conflict.

However, it is well to see that Cain's act of murder was the true consequence--the proper fruit--of his false worship. His foundation was bad, and the superstructure erected thereon was also bad. Nor did he stop at the act of murder; but having heard the judgment of G.o.d thereon, despairing of forgiveness through ignorance of G.o.d, he went forth from his blessed presence, and built a city, and had in his family the cultivators of the useful and ornamental sciences,--agriculturists, musicians, and workers in metals. Through ignorance of the divine character, he p.r.o.nounced his sin too great to be pardoned.[8] It was not that he really knew his sin, but that he knew not G.o.d. He fully exhibited the terrible fruit of the fall in the very thought of G.o.d to which he gave utterance. He did not want pardon, because he did not want G.o.d. He had no true sense of his own condition; no aspirations after G.o.d; no intelligence as to the ground of a sinner's approach to G.o.d. He was radically corrupt,--fundamentally wrong; and all he wanted was to get out of the presence of G.o.d, and lose himself in the world and its pursuits. He thought he could live very well without G.o.d, and he therefore set about decorating the world as well as he could, for the purpose of making it a respectable place, and himself a respectable man therein, though in G.o.d's view it was under the curse, and he was a fugitive and a vagabond.

Such was "_the way of Cain_," in which way millions are at this moment rushing on. Such persons are not by any means divested of the religious element in their character. They would like to offer something to G.o.d; to do something for him. They deem it right to present to him the results of their own toil. They are ignorant of themselves, ignorant of G.o.d; but with all this there is the diligent effort to improve the world; to make life agreeable in various ways; to deck the scene with the fairest colors. G.o.d's remedy to _cleanse_ is rejected, and man's effort to _improve_ is put in its place. This is "the way of Cain."

(Jude 11.)

And, my reader, you have only to look around you to see how this "way"

prevails at the present moment. Though the world is stained with the blood of "a greater than" Abel, even with the blood of Christ; yet see what an agreeable place man seeks to make of it! As in Cain's day, the grateful sounds of "the harp and organ," no doubt, completely drowned, to man's ear, the cry of Abel's blood; so now, man's ear is filled with other sounds than those which issue from Calvary, and his eye filled with other objects than a crucified Christ. The resources of his genius, too, are put forth to render this world a hot-house, in which are produced, in their rarest form, all the fruits for which nature so eagerly longs. And not merely are the real wants of man, as a creature, supplied, but the inventive genius of the human mind has been set to work for the purpose of devising things, which, the moment the eye sees, the heart desires, and not only desires, but imagines that life would be intolerable without them. Thus, for instance, some years ago, people were content to devote three or four days to the accomplishing of a journey of one hundred miles; but now they can accomplish it in three or four hours; and not only so, but they will complain sadly if they happen to be five or ten minutes late. In fact, man must be saved the trouble of living. He must travel without fatigue, and he must hear news without having to exercise patience for it. He will lay iron rails across the earth, and electric wires beneath the sea, as if to antic.i.p.ate, in his own way, that bright and blissful age when "there shall be no more sea."[9]

In addition to all this, there is abundance of religion, so called; but, alas! charity itself is compelled to harbor the apprehension, that very much of what pa.s.ses for religion is but a screw in the vast machine, which has been constructed for man's convenience, and man's exaltation. Man would not be without religion. It would not be respectable; and, therefore, he is content to devote one-seventh of his time to religion; or, as he thinks and professes, to his eternal interests; and then he has six-sevenths to devote to his temporal interests; but whether he works for time or eternity, it is for _himself_, in reality. Such is "the way of Cain." Let my reader ponder it well. Let him see where this way begins, whither it tends, and where it terminates.

How different the way of the man of faith! Abel felt and owned the curse; he saw the stain of sin, and, in the holy energy of faith, offered that which met it, and met it thoroughly,--met it divinely. He sought and found a refuge in G.o.d himself; and instead of building a city on the earth, he found but a grave in its bosom. The earth, which on its surface displayed the genius and energy of Cain and his family, was stained underneath with the blood of a righteous man. Let the man of the world remember this; let the man of G.o.d remember it; let the worldly-minded Christian remember it. The earth which we tread upon is stained by the blood of the Son of G.o.d. The very blood which justifies the Church condemns the world. The dark shadow of the cross of Jesus may be seen by the eye of faith, looming over all the glitter and glare of this evanescent world. "The fashion of this world pa.s.seth away." It will soon all be over, so far as the present scene is concerned. "The way of Cain" will be followed by "the error of Balaam," in its consummated form; and then will come "the gainsaying of Core;" and what then? "The pit" will open its mouth to receive the wicked, and close it again, to shut them up in "blackness of darkness forever." (Jude 13.)

In full confirmation of the foregoing lines, we may run the eye over the contents of Chapter V. and find therein the humiliating record of man's weakness, and subjection to the rule of death. He might live for hundreds of years, and "beget sons and daughters;" but, at last, it must be recorded that "_he died_." "Death reigned from Adam to Moses."

And, again, "It is appointed unto men once to die." Man cannot get over this. He cannot, by steam, or electricity, or any thing else within the range of his genius, disarm death of its terrible sting. He cannot, by his energy, set aside the sentence of _death_, although he may produce the comforts and luxuries of _life_.

But whence came this strange and dreaded thing, death? St. Paul gives us the answer: "By one man sin entered into the world, and _death by sin_." (Rom. v. 12.) Here we have the origin of death. It came by sin.

Sin snapped asunder the link which bound the creature to the living G.o.d; and, that being done, he was handed over to the dominion of death, which dominion he had no power whatever to shake off. And this, be it observed, is one of the many proofs of the fact of man's total inability to meet G.o.d. There can be no fellowship between G.o.d and man, save in the power of life; but man is under the power of death; hence, on natural grounds, there can be no fellowship. Life can have no fellowship with death, no more than light with darkness, or holiness with sin. Man must meet G.o.d on an entirely new ground, and on a new principle, even faith; and this faith enables him to recognize his own position, as "sold under sin," and, therefore, subject to death; while, at the same time, it enables him to apprehend G.o.d's character, as the dispenser of a new life,--life beyond the power of death,--a life which can never be touched by the enemy, nor forfeited by us.

This it is which marks the security of the believer's life. Christ is his life,--a risen, glorified Christ,--a Christ victorious over every thing that could be against us. Adam's life was founded upon his own obedience; and, therefore, when he disobeyed, life was forfeited. But Christ, having life in himself, came down into this world, and fully met all the circ.u.mstances of man's sin, in every possible form; and, by submitting to death, destroyed him who had the power thereof, and, in resurrection, becomes the Life and Righteousness of all who believe in his most excellent name.

Now, it is impossible that Satan can touch this life, either in its source, its channel, its power, its sphere, or its duration. G.o.d is its source; a risen Christ, its channel; the Holy Ghost, its power; heaven, its sphere; and eternity, its duration. Hence, therefore, as might be expected, to one possessing this wondrous life, the whole scene is changed; and while, in one sense, it must be said, "in the midst of life we are in death," yet, in another sense, it can be said, "in the midst of death we are in life." There is no death in the sphere into which a risen Christ introduces his people. How could there be? Has not he abolished it? It cannot be an abolished and an existing thing at the same time and to the same people; but G.o.d's word tells us it is abolished. Christ emptied the scene of death, and filled it with life; and, therefore, it is not death, but glory that lies before the believer. Death is behind him, and behind him forever. As to the future, it is all glory,--cloudless glory. True, it may be his lot to "fall asleep,"--to "sleep in Jesus,"--but that is not death, but "life in earnest." The mere matter of departing to be with Christ cannot alter the specific hope of the believer, which is to meet Christ in the air, to be with him, and like him, forever.

Of this we have a very beautiful exemplification in Enoch, who forms the only exception to the rule of Chap. V. The rule is, "he died;" the exception is, "he should not see death." "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because G.o.d had translated him; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased G.o.d." (Heb. xi. 5.) Enoch was "the seventh from Adam;" and it is deeply interesting to find, that death was not suffered to triumph over "the seventh;" but that, in his case, G.o.d interfered, and made him a trophy of his own glorious victory over all the power of death. The heart rejoices, after reading, six times, the sad record, "he died," to find, that the seventh did not die; and when we ask, How was this? the answer is, "by faith." Enoch lived in the faith of his translation, and walked with G.o.d three hundred years. This separated him, practically, from all around. To walk with G.o.d must, necessarily, put one outside the sphere of this world's thoughts. Enoch realized this; for, in his day, the spirit of the world was manifested; and then, too, as now, it was opposed to all that was of G.o.d. The man of faith felt he had naught to do with the world, save to be a patient witness therein of the grace of G.o.d and of coming judgment. The sons of Cain might spend their energies in the vain attempt to improve a cursed world, but Enoch found a better world, and lived in the power of it.[10] His faith was not given him to improve the world, but to walk with G.o.d.

And oh, how much is involved in these three words, "walked with G.o.d!"

What separation and self-denial! what holiness and moral purity! what grace and gentleness! what humility and tenderness! and yet, what zeal and energy! What patience and long-suffering! and yet what faithfulness and uncompromising decision! To walk with G.o.d comprehends every thing within the range of the divine life, whether active or pa.s.sive. It involves the knowledge of G.o.d's character as he has revealed it. It involves, too, the intelligence of the relationship in which we stand to him. It is not a mere living by rules and regulations; nor laying down plans of action; nor in resolutions to go hither and thither, to do this or that. To walk with G.o.d is far more than any or all of these things. Moreover, it will sometimes carry us right athwart the thoughts of men, and even of our brethren, if they are not themselves walking with G.o.d. It may, sometimes, bring against us the charge of doing too much: at other times, of doing too little; but the faith that enables one to "walk with G.o.d," enables him also to attach the proper value to the thoughts of man.

Thus we have, in Abel and Enoch, most valuable instruction as to the sacrifice on which faith rests; and, as to the prospect which hope now antic.i.p.ates; while, at the same time, "the walk with G.o.d" takes in all the details of actual life which lie between those two points. "The Lord will give grace and glory;" and between the grace that has been, and the glory that is to be, revealed, there is the happy a.s.surance, that "no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly."

(Psalm lx.x.xiv. 11.)

It has been remarked, that "the cross and the coming of the Lord form the termini of the Church's existence," and these termini are prefigured in the sacrifice of Abel, and the translation of Enoch. The Church knows her entire justification through the death and resurrection of Christ, and she waits for the day when he shall come and receive her to himself. She, "through the Spirit, waits for the hope of righteousness by faith." (Gal. v. 5.) She does not wait for righteousness, inasmuch as she, by grace, has that already; but she waits for the hope which properly belongs to the condition into which she has been introduced.

My reader should seek to be clear as to this. Some expositors of prophetic truth, from not seeing the Church's specific place, portion, and hope, have made sad mistakes. They have, in effect, cast so many dark clouds and thick mists around "the bright and morning star," which is the proper hope of the Church, that many saints, at the present moment, seem unable to rise above the hope of the G.o.d-fearing remnant of Israel, which is to see "the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings." (Mal. iv.) Nor is this all. Very many have been deprived of the moral power of the hope of Christ's appearing, by being taught to look for various events and circ.u.mstances previous to the moment of his manifestation to the Church. The restoration of the Jews, the development of Nebuchadnezzar's image, the revelation of the man of sin,--all these things, it is maintained, must take place ere Christ comes. That this is not true, might be proved from numerous pa.s.sages of New-Testament scripture, were this the fitting place to adduce them.

The Church, like Enoch, will be taken away from the evil around, and the evil to come. Enoch was not left to see the world's evil rise to a head, and the judgment of G.o.d poured forth upon it. He saw not "the fountains of the great deep broken up," nor "the windows of heaven opened." He was taken away before any of these things occurred; and he stands before the eye of faith as a beautiful figure of those, "who shall not all sleep, but shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." (1 Cor. xv. 51, 52.) Translation, not death, was the hope of Enoch; and, as to the Church's hope, it is thus briefly expressed by the apostle, "To wait for the Son from heaven." (1 Thess.

i. 10.) This, the simplest and most unlettered Christian can understand and enjoy. Its power, too, he can, in some measure, experience and manifest. He may not be able to study prophecy very deeply, but he can, blessed be G.o.d, taste the blessedness, the reality, the comfort, the power, the elevating and separating virtue of that celestial hope which properly belongs to him as a member of that heavenly body, the Church; which hope is not merely to see "the Sun of righteousness," how blessed soever that may be in its place, but to see "the bright and morning star." (Rev. ii. 28.) And as, in the natural world, the morning star is seen, by those who watch for it, before the sun rises, so Christ, as the morning star, will be seen by the Church, before the remnant of Israel can behold the beams of the Sun.

FOOTNOTES:

[8] The word used by Cain is [Hebrew: minneso'] which occurs in Psalm x.x.xii. 1, "whose transgression is _forgiven_." The LXX. renders it by [Greek: aphethenai], "to be remitted."

[9] True, the Lord is using all those things for the furtherance of his own gracious ends; and the Lord's servant can freely use them also; but this does not hinder our seeing the spirit which originates and characterizes them.

[10] It is very evident that Enoch knew nothing whatever about the mode of "making the best of both worlds." To him there was but one world.

Thus it should be with us.

CHAPTERS VI.-IX.

We have now arrived at a deeply-important and strongly-marked division of our book. Enoch has pa.s.sed off the scene. His walk, as a stranger on earth, has terminated in his translation to heaven. He was taken away before human evil had risen to a head, and, therefore, before the divine judgment had been poured out. How little influence his course and translation had upon the world is manifest from the first two verses of Chapter VI. "And it came to pa.s.s, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of G.o.d saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose."

The mingling of that which is of G.o.d with that which is of man is a special form of evil, and a very effectual engine, in Satan's hand, for marring the testimony of Christ on the earth. This mingling may frequently wear the appearance of something very desirable; it may often look like a wider promulgation of that which is of G.o.d,--a fuller and a more vigorous outgoing of a divine influence,--a something to be rejoiced in rather than to be deplored: but our judgment as to this will depend entirely upon the point of view from which we contemplate it. If we look at it in the light of G.o.d's presence, we cannot possibly imagine that an advantage is gained when the people of G.o.d mingle themselves with the children of this world; or when the truth of G.o.d is corrupted by human admixture. Such is not the divine method of promulgating truth, or of advancing the interests of those, who ought to occupy the place of witnesses for him on the earth. Separation from all evil is G.o.d's principle; and this principle can never be infringed without serious damage to the truth.

In the narrative now before us, we see that the union of the sons of G.o.d with the daughters of men led to the most disastrous consequences.

True, the fruit of that union seemed exceedingly fair, in man's judgment, as we read, "the same became mighty men, which were of old, men of renown;" yet, G.o.d's judgment was quite different. He seeth not as man seeth. His thoughts are not as ours. "G.o.d saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Such was man's condition before G.o.d,--"evil _only_"--"evil continually." So much for the mingling of the holy with the profane. Thus it must ever be. If the holy seed will not maintain its purity, all must be forfeited, as regards testimony on the earth. Satan's first effort was to frustrate G.o.d's purpose, by putting the holy seed to death; and when that failed, he sought to gain his end by corrupting it.

Now, it is of the deepest moment that my reader should clearly understand the aim, the character, and the result of this union between "the sons of G.o.d" and "the daughters of men." There is great danger, at the present day, of compromising truth for the sake of union. This should be carefully guarded against. There can be no true union attained at the expense of truth. The true Christian's motto should ever be--"maintain truth at all cost; if union can be promoted in this way, so much the better; but maintain the truth." The principle of expediency, on the contrary, may be thus enunciated:--"Promote union at all cost; if truth can be maintained as well, so much the better; but promote union." This latter principle can only be carried out at the expense of all that is divine in the way of testimony.[11] There can, evidently, be no true testimony where truth is forfeited; and hence, in the case of the antediluvian world, we see that the unhallowed union between the holy and the profane--between that which was divine and that which was human--only had the effect of bringing the evil to a head, and then G.o.d's judgment was poured out.

"The Lord said, I will destroy man." Nothing less would do. There must be the entire destruction of that which had corrupted G.o.d's way on the earth. "The mighty men, and men of renown," must all be swept away, without distinction. "All flesh" must be set aside, as utterly unfit for G.o.d. "The end of _all_ flesh is come before me." It was not merely the end of _some_ flesh; no, it was all corrupt, in the sight of Jehovah,--all irrecoverably bad. It had been tried, and found wanting; and the Lord announces his remedy to Noah in these words, "Make thee an ark of gopher wood."

Thus was Noah put in possession of G.o.d's thoughts about the scene around him. The effect of the word of G.o.d was to lay bare the roots of all that which man's eye might rest upon with complacency and pride.

The human heart might swell with pride, and the bosom heave with emotion, as the eye ran down along the brilliant ranks of men of art, men of skill, "men of might," and "men of renown." The sound of the harp and the organ might send a thrill through the whole soul, while, at the same time, the ground was cultivated, and man's necessities were provided for in such a way as to contradict every thought in reference to approaching judgment. But, oh! those solemn words, "_I will destroy!_" What a heavy gloom they would necessarily cast over the glittering scene! Could not man's genius invent some way of escape?

Could not "the mighty man deliver himself by his much strength?" Alas, no: there was one way of escape, but it was revealed to faith, not to sight,--not to reason,--not to imagination.

"By faith Noah, being _warned of G.o.d_, of things _not seen_ as yet, moved with fear ([Greek: eulabetheis]), prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." (Heb. xi. 7.) The word of G.o.d brings his light to shine upon all that by which man's heart is deceived. It removes, completely, the gilding with which the serpent covers a vain, deceitful, pa.s.sing world, over which hangs the sword of divine judgment. But it is only "faith" that will be "warned of G.o.d,"

when the things of which he speaks are "not seen as yet." Nature is governed by what it sees,--it is governed by its senses. Faith is governed by the pure word of G.o.d; (inestimable treasure in this dark world!) this gives stability, let outward appearances be what they may. When G.o.d spoke to Noah of judgment impending, there was no sign of it. It was "not seen as yet;" but the word of G.o.d made it a present reality to the heart that was enabled to mix that word with faith.

Faith does not wait to _see_ a thing, ere it believes, for "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of G.o.d."

All that the man of faith needs, is to know that G.o.d has spoken; this imparts perfect certainty to his soul. "Thus saith the Lord," settles every thing. A single line of sacred scripture is an abundant answer to all the reasonings and all the imaginations of the human mind; and when one has the word of G.o.d as the basis of his convictions, he may calmly stand against the full tide of human opinion and prejudice. It was the word of G.o.d which sustained the heart of Noah during his long course of service; and the same word has sustained the millions of G.o.d's saints from that day to this, in the face of the world's contradiction. Hence, we cannot set too high a value upon the word of G.o.d. Without it, all is dark and uncertainty; with it, all is light and peace. Where it shines, it marks out for the man of G.o.d a sure and blessed path; where it shines not, one is left to wander amid the bewildering mazes of human tradition. How could Noah have "preached righteousness" for 120 years if he had not had the word of G.o.d as the ground of his preaching? How could he have withstood the scoffs and sneers of an infidel world? How could he have persevered in testifying of "judgment to come," when not a cloud appeared on the world's horizon? Impossible. The word of G.o.d was the ground on which he stood, and "the Spirit of Christ" enabled him to occupy, with holy decision, that elevated and immovable ground.

And now, my beloved Christian reader, what else have we wherewith to stand, in service for Christ, in an evil day, like the present? Surely, nothing; nor do we want aught else. The word of G.o.d, and the Holy Ghost, by whom _alone_ that word can be understood, applied, or used, are all we want to equip us perfectly--to furnish us thoroughly--"to all good works," under whatever head those works may range themselves.

(2 Tim. iii. 16, 17.) What rest for the heart! What relief from all Satan's imagery, and man's imaginations! G.o.d's pure, incorruptible, eternal word! May our hearts adore him for the inestimable treasure!

"Every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually;" but G.o.d's word was the simple resting-place of Noah's heart.

"G.o.d said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me.... Make thee an ark of gopher wood." Here was man's ruin, and G.o.d's remedy. Man had been allowed to pursue his career to the utmost limit, to bring his principles and ways to maturity. The leaven had worked and filled the ma.s.s. The evil had reached its climax. "All flesh" had become so bad that it could not be worse; wherefore nothing remained but for G.o.d to destroy _it_ totally; and, at the same time, to save all those who should be found, according to his eternal counsels, linked with "the eighth person,"--the only righteous man then existing. This brings out the doctrine of the cross in a very vivid manner. There we find at once G.o.d's judgment of nature with all its evil; and, at the same time, the revelation of his saving grace, in all its fulness, and in all its perfect adaptation to those who have really reached the lowest point of their moral condition, as judged by himself. "The Day-spring from on high hath visited us." (Luke i. 78.) Where? Just _where we are_, as sinners. G.o.d has come down to the very deepest depths of our ruin.

There is not a point in all the sinner's state to which the light of that blessed Day-spring has not penetrated; but, if it has thus penetrated, it must, by virtue of what it is, reveal our true character. The light must judge every thing contrary to itself; but, while it does so, it also "gives the knowledge of salvation through the remission of sins." The cross, while it reveals G.o.d's judgment upon "all flesh," reveals his salvation for the lost and guilty sinner. Sin is perfectly judged,--the sinner perfectly saved,--G.o.d perfectly revealed, and perfectly glorified, in the cross.

If my reader will turn for a moment to the First Epistle of Peter, he will find much light thrown upon this entire subject. At the third chapter, verse 18, we read, "for Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to G.o.d, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which (Spirit) he went and preached (through Noah) to the spirits (now) in prison; which once were disobedient, when the long-suffering of G.o.d waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water ([Greek: di' hydatos]); to which the ant.i.type ([Greek: ant.i.typon]) baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, (as by water,)[12] but the answer of a good conscience towards G.o.d, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who, having gone into heaven, is at the right hand of G.o.d, angels, and authorities, and powers, being made subject to him."

This is a most important pa.s.sage. It sets the doctrine of the ark and its connection with the death of Christ very distinctly before us. As in the Deluge, so in the death of Christ, all the billows and waves of divine judgment pa.s.sed over that which, in itself, was without sin. The creation was buried beneath the flood Of Jehovah's righteous wrath; and the Spirit of Christ exclaims, "All thy billows and thy waves have gone over me." (Ps. xlii. 7.) Here is a profound truth for the heart and conscience of a believer. "_All_ G.o.d's billows and waves" pa.s.sed over the spotless person of the Lord Jesus, when he hung upon the cross; and, as a most blessed consequence, not one of them remains to pa.s.s over the person of the believer. At Calvary we see, in good truth, "the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven opened." "Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts."