February 23

Genesis vi.—13. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them: and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

14. Make thee an ark of gopher-wood: rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

15. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

16. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof: with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

17. And behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.

18. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.

19. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee: they shall be male and female.

20. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

21. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee and for them.

22. Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

Ezekiel xiv.—12. The word of the Lord came again to me, saying,

13. Son of man, when the land sinnerth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:

14. Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God.

19. If I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast;

20. Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter: they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.

According to the usual estimate of the cubit, the ark was, in round numbers, 525 feet long, 87 feet broad, and 52 feet high. The largest vessel of modern times, "The Great Eastern," is 680 feet long, 83 feet broad, and 58 feet high. But the form of the ark gave it a greater capacity for stowage; and, since it was intended to float rather than to sail, stowage was the first consideration. It was arranged in three tiers; and the ability to construct so vast a building shows that the mechanic arts were well advanced before the flood. The construction of the window is a mystery, — one of the last arts. But how much did the ark contain? Such universal terms as "all the earth," "every living thing," and the like, are not always to be taken with literal exactness. They may

denote simply the earth as known to man. There is no mention of fish or insects among the creatures taken into the ark. It would have been impossible to have made room within its area for pairs of all the species in existence at that time, together with the food necessary to keep them alive. Life in the ark was not sustained by miracle. Moreover, the carnivorous animals could not have been trusted among the tamer sorts; and numbers of the latter must have been provided for their food. If the flood spread only over the region then inhabited by man, a supply of the animals related to man's uses and wants would cover the statement of the text. Noah entered the ark at the head of the whole creation.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 32, 57, 166.

O God! thou art great, and greatly to be feared. Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory. We have sinned against heaven and in thy sight: we are no more worthy to be called thy children. But do thou for Jesus' sake, thine own dear Son, have mercy upon us miserable offenders.

Behold, O God our shield! look upon the face of thine Anointed. When troubles come, when billows of sorrow roll over us, when thy judgments are abroad in the earth, may we find refuge in the ark of his salvation! May we look forward to our rest! May our citizenship be in heaven, and we of the company of thy saints who declare plainly that they seek a better country! May we be like Christ now, remembering that we are soon to be with him, and that forever! May we glorify him in the midst of an evil and gainsaying world!

and, whatever the sphere in which thy providence has placed us, may we use our time and talents and opportunities for thee!

We look to thee, O Lord! this day, for daily bread. All thy creatures wait upon thee. That thou givest them they gather. Thou openest thine hands; they are filled with good. Oh! fill us this day with good things. [Bless every member of this family, parents and children, brothers and sisters, and all our kindred: may each, in the several relations of life, fulfil all the offices of love, doing good to one another as thou givest opportunity!] Prosper the labors of industry; bless the earth with abundant harvests; bless our land with health, peace, plenty, righteousness; and save the world which thy mercy has spared, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.