February 27

Genesis ix.—8. And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

9. And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;

10. And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you, from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.

11. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood, neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.

12. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

13. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

14. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud;

15. And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you, and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

The early biblical history records a series of moral experiments with the human race, in which the grace of God was contrasted with the wickedness of men. Adam was placed under the most favorable conditions, but fell before the first temptation. Cain transformed the earth from a paradise into a hell. The grace of God revived spiritual life in Seth and Enos, and "men began to call upon the name of the Lord:" but, as we have already seen (p. 53), the descendants of Seth, "the sons of God," intermarried with the posterity of Cain, the beautiful but impious "daughters of men;" and by this means wickedness became so great, that God determined to sweep over with a flood the regions peopled by man. Yet a remnant of righteousness, in Noah and his family, was

16. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

17. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

Ezekiel i.—26. And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

27. And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

28. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

preserved in the ark; and, now that the flood had subsided, the Lord appropriated the most beautiful object in Nature, the bow in the cloud, as the symbol of his grace, to remind men, that, however their sins may provoke his judgments, he delighteth in mercy. The prophet Ezekiel, and the apostle John in the Revelation, picture the Son of man in heaven as surrounded with this beautiful emblem of love and peace. The ark itself is another such symbol, — the place of refuge made ready for us, the provision of mercy freely offered, the gospel of salvation inviting us to escape the judgment to come, the Church of God upheld by his covenant grace amid all the commotions of the world. Oh, may our souls find refuge and rest in the ark, and abide beneath the bow of promise!

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 8, 41, 42.

O God, whose mercy is from everlasting to everlasting! we bless thee for thy loving-kindness to us in the abounding gifts of thy providence and grace; but, above all, for the gift of thy Son, our Mediator, who standeth between us and thy judgments as the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain. May he be our righteousness and our peace! and may we be found in him in the great day of his appearing! We bless thee for all the tokens of promise given us in thy past mercies; for the hope of immortality, the joy unspeakable and full of glory brought to us in thy gospel and in the worship of thy house this day.

And now, at the end of the Lord's day, we would thank thee for its hours of rest, and for its means of grace. Hasten that blessed time when thy kingdom shall have come, and all shall know thee, from the least even to the

greatest; when the knowledge of thy glory shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. And, to that end, prosper thou the missionary work of thy Church. Turn towards thyself the hearts of the heathen and the unbelieving. Pour out more and more upon thy people the spirit of grace and supplication; the spirit of zeal and self-devotion; the spirit of holy fear and Christian love.

To thee, heavenly Father, we commend ourselves this night. O thou Good Shepherd! watch over us, the sheep of thy pasture. O Holy Ghost, the Comforter! guide and hallow our thoughts.

Thou in whom all families are blessed, bless thou our kindred and friends. May all who are united to us be with us united to thee; be with us presented by thee in the presence of thy Father with exceeding joy! And to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be glory everlasting. Amen.