February 24

Psalm xciii. — 1. The Lord reigneth; he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is established, that it cannot be moved.

2. Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting. 3. The floods have lifted up, O Lord! the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. 4. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters; yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. 5. Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thy house, O Lord! forever.

Genesis vii. — 1. And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

7. And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. 8. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not

clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, 9. There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. 10. And it came to pass, after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. 11. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 23. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth; and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. 24. And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.

We have seen (p. 54) that the terms "earth," "every," &c., may be fairly understood to mean nothing more than the physical creation as then peopled by man, or known to man, — a portion of Western Asia. Had the entire globe been covered with salt water, all fresh-water fish would have perished; and, since none of these were taken into the ark, their species would have become extinct. Many species of land animals also, which could not have been contained in the ark, would have been destroyed. But the flood was not followed by a new creation. The flood covered all the mountains within the range of men's vision, and devastated the whole region where man had lived. Hence it is fully said that "all flesh died that moved upon the earth."

How wondrous the tribute here rendered to faith and righteousness! Noah was the solitary exception to the universal and abominable wickedness of his times; and, but for him, the entire race of man would have been destroyed from the earth, perhaps never to have been renewed. How easily

might the Lord have translated Noah as Enoch was translated, and have closed the sad record of humanity with the flood! But, in the midst of judgments, he had purposes of mercy; and he put salvation in contrast with destruction by providing for the safety of his servant and his family, and continuing, through him, at once the line of descent from Adam and the line of promise unto the Saviour. How tender and thoughtful was the care that God took of his servant in all the preparations for his comfort during the time of the flood! And how strong were the faith of Noah and his spirit of obedience, that led him, without hesitation, to undertake so vast a work as building and storing the ark upon the bare command of Jehovah! But, as he rode above that mighty sea, that faith was justified, that righteousness was honored, and his ark became the symbol of refuge and hope to the people of God in all after-ages. Oh! let us all, like faithful Noah, commit to God the keeping of our souls in well-doing.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 77, 178, 185.

We lift up our eyes unto the hills, whence cometh our help: our help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Thine angels, O Lord! have encamped round about us in the night-season, and thou hast given them charge concerning us to defend us from all evil. We open our eyes to the remembrance of thy mercy, to the consciousness of thy presence, to the sense of our dependence. Only our sins separate us from thee, our loving Father; and we beseech thee to blot these out for thy name's sake, and to receive us in Christ as thy redeemed and reconciled children.

Help us, O Lord! this day, to walk worthy of thy love, and, as obedient children, to do thy will. [May the children of this family remember thee in the days of their youth! May every one of us daily

acknowledge and serve thee!] Keep us, O Lord! we pray thee, from all evil and sin this day. In our intercourse with others may we be true and just, loving and patient, gentle and kind, and so may we commend unto all the gospel of thy grace.

May thy favor be upon the community in which we dwell, upon thy Church, upon our land! Give peace in our time, O Lord! and incline the hearts of our rulers to that which is just and lawful in thy sight. Have mercy upon the poor, the afflicted, the solitary, the bereaved; and cause that the grace of thy gospel shall go forth everywhere to heal the sins and sorrows of all mankind. Finally bring us unto thine everlasting kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.