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[0:00] In the name of God and by the Holy Spirit, let us read our text in the ninth chapter of Genesis, verses 13 and 14.

[0:17] Genesis, the ninth chapter, verses 13 and 14. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

[0:37] And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud.

[0:52] Our beloved friend has correctly anticipated the divine subject for our meditation this day.

[1:07] And I just want to say, initially, that you have already had before you in the melody of music and praise, a far better sermon on this sacred subject than I can preach.

[1:32] Although the power of the Spirit is not limited, and he is able to assist one who feels unskilled and unworthy.

[1:50] And I want also to say, initially, that what directed my spirit to the subject, you will find in the second verse that we have read.

[2:12] And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, because so frequently, a cloud is brought over the earth for God's people, in their souls, and in their circumstances, and in the churches of God, we often come under a cloud.

[2:43] We shall seek to work this out in our meditation today. But, it seemed to come softly to my spirit last evening.

[2:57] The Lord saying, when I shall bring a cloud over the earth, the cloud will not remain, just as it is, that is, the only object visible, to obscure the sun from our eyes, and to cause us, gloomy forebodings, and great anxiety, and fear, and distress.

[3:32] No, there will always be this sign, and token, of exquisite beauty, of his cabinet, I do set my bow in the cloud, that the bow shall be seen in that cloud.

[4:03] And I am quite sure, that I may say to you now at once, that we go along together, in praise and worship, you may be ready now, to give your testimony to the Lord, that in recent experiences, probably, and over the term of years, whenever you have come under the cloud, God has set his bow in that cloud.

[4:38] and so, a note of praise, and worship, and adoration, rises to him, from this, body of, believers, for his goodness, and faithfulness, to his children, both in this age, and in all ages, and in the ages yet to come, all who fear God, will see when that cloud, comes over them, that he sets his bow, in the cloud.

[5:19] very well, I feel, that we must endeavor, to deal, immediately, with some basic matters, narrated by, Moses in this, wonderful book of Genesis, very solemn, and exceedingly, blessed, I want to build up, to the subject, and its, presentation, Moses then, inspired by the, Holy Spirit, and knowing, from God, and this is an amazing, consideration, knowing from Jehovah, one of his secrets, and a very, very solemn secret, indeed it is, it would have been, impossible, for Moses, to offend this, apart from the discovery, to his spirit, of this secret, in the heart, of God, and of course, we have very much, now, with us, in these, exceedingly, dark, and somber, letter days, the parallel, to this, that is why, the subject, is of such, tremendous, importance, to us, now, let me, immediately, postulate then, this, very, solemn secret, discovered, by Jehovah, to his, servant, and prince,

[7:18] Moses, namely, God, looked down, upon, the, sons of men, that were then, populating, this planet, obviously, a very small, number, compared, to the present, tremendous, world population, but he looked down, on them, and he saw, that the wickedness, of man, was very great, in the earth, and that, the, every imagination, of the thoughts, of his heart, was only evil, continually, and this is, something, that is unfathomed, by us, we have this, divine, record, that God, repented, what he had made man, and it repented, the Lord, that he had made man, on the earth, and it grieved him, at his heart, do not ask me, to expound that, no human being, can,

[8:43] I can well, understand this, from the viewpoint, of, my sinnership, and the gross, wickedness, that abounds, in the earth, but how amazing, is this, revelation, it repented, the Lord, that he had made man, on the earth, it grieved him, at his heart, and then, of course, our good teacher, comes in, as in the hymn, sung, God, then, determined, to exercise, his justice, in vengeance, and so, emerging, from God's throne, was his vengeance, in a catastrophic, experience, destruction, of the earth, that is, all upon it, apart from, that small, company, by the element, water, that is so useful, you drink water, water, water, it leaves your body, water, is a wonderful, and amazing, element, water, is so, tranquil, and peaceful, sometimes, and yet, when you see it, whipped up, into a storm, and fury, and vengeance, how terrifying, that God, used this element, of water, the windows, of heaven, were opened, and the, fountains, of the great deep, were broken up, and, and, the world, was inundated, and so, here we see, divine vengeance, do you not often feel, these days, an awesomeness, in your spirit, as to what, manifestation, of divine vengeance, may be near, do you not, almost feel, in your bones, that any time,

[11:10] God might, send forth, his vengeance, again, as he will, not by water, but by another element, fire, so, the world, has the expectation, of, a visitation, by God, in his vengeance, by the element, fire, and, it is fairly, obvious, even to, highly, intelligent, people, if they, follow the, train of events, as to, how very, quickly, vengeance, may be, exercised, on this earth, by this, element, of, fire, but of course,

[12:14] I do not venture, now, into that field, some of you, in your studies, and so on, will have, already, come to that, subject, of fire, well, surely, just to, pause here, and we shall, pause, and we must, pause, we are all, members of this, great, body, the human race, and we know, that soon, we don't know, when, there will be, this global, destruction, by fire, so, you're coming, back to me, I'm sure, and saying, what then, is the, purport, of this, discourse, well, surely, it should be, to warn, I need, this warning, you need it, and, what is the second, part, of their objective, it is this, are you safe, have you a refuge, a sure refuge, do you know, what it is to feel, by divine grace, safety, and security, in, him, our blessed,

[13:42] Lord, well now, let us take, the further step, the Lord, looked down, then upon, men, when they were, so wicked, and, determined, to destroy them, by water, but, just a little, remnant, found, favour, and grace, in his eyes, he had eternally loved, Noah, and his household, and so, we have the second, type, as I judge, the second, type of Christ, named, in this first book, of Moses, that is, as tabulated, by, our own apostle, writing to the Hebrews, the first type, surely was,

[14:43] I know that he commences, with the seed of woman, but speaking of, typology, we have that of, Abel, bringing the firstlings, of his flock, and of the fat thereof, a sacrifice, an offering, and he did it, by faith, and now, we have, the second, that, the apostle Paul names, that is, by faith, Noah, moved with fear, being warned of God, he moved with fear, and prepared an ark, an ark, ark, what for, for the saving, of his house, by which he condemned, the world, and became heir, of the righteousness, which is by faith, type of Christ, ark,

[15:43] God, oh, can you, oh, can you, measurably, contemplate, in your spirit, how God's servant, felt, when he was building, this great vessel, it was by faith, they must have scoffed, sometimes, undoubtedly, the infidelity, of his own nature, rose in him, but by faith, he built the ark, and as he was building, this ark, we know by that prefix, by faith, as he was building, that ark, he saw Christ, he saw a covenant, not of works, but of grace, he saw a place, of perfect, and complete safety, and deliverance, by faith, he built the ark, how wonderful, do you want something, do you need something, to do your good, to cheer your spirit, to give you renewed hope, to confirm your hope, do you want to know, this morning, in this sanctuary, that it is well with your soul today, and that it will be well, that you're in Christ, by faith, that whatever comes, you're safe, so by faith, being warned of God, of things not seen as yet, he moved with fear, prepared the ark, for saving his house, beautiful, isn't it, now there are just, a few things, that I want to name to you, in rotation,

[17:46] God willing, concerning this ark, of course, we're living, in post, nativity days, you go back now, nearly 2,000 years, to the advent, these saints, were looking, forward to the advent, to the birth, of the saviour, to the coming, of the son of God, incarnate, but, do you really, know him, can you say, that he is yours, and that you're, in him, by faith, now, there are just, three things, then, that I said, I wanted to name, to you, the first, is this, there was a door, in the ark, a door, and the door, of the ark, shalt thou, set in the side, thereof, there was a door, means, of access, address, how, can you, get in, without a door, a door,

[19:03] Christ, said, I am the door, by me, if any man, shall enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go, in and out, and find pasture, a door, in the ark, oh, this door, Christ is the door, so, by faith, you are favored, to enter, this door, into the covenant, of grace, into the heart, of God, into that place, of eternal safety, through this door, door, I could well, leave you, for your private, meditation now, on this, fundamental, truth, and holy doctrine, this is basic, have we entered, through this door, through Christ, into the covenant, into the heart, of God, into our refuge, a door, door, the, use of the symbolism, door, in the scriptures, is very blessed, and very solemn, you take the parable, of the virgins, those that were ready, they went in with him, to the marriage, and the door, was shut, and the implication, is this, some are shut in, and some are shut out, and they came, and the door, was shut, and they so desired, that it might be open, to them, but it was not open, to them, the foolish virgins, the door, was shut, and you see, we're going to prove, this sort of thing, presently, we shall prove it, absolutely, the door, will either be open, we shall either be ready, and the door will be open, and we shall go in, or the door will be shut, and we shall be left outside, but if by precious faith, you have believed, in the Lord Jesus, he has set before you, an open door, and you have entered in, and you'll know something, about that, you'll be able, to give your testimony, so there are those, inside, and those out, what if he should say,

[21:52] I never knew you, the door, have we entered, through this door, we often think too, as in the hymnal, of the door, being the door, of mercy, of a door, that you may knock, on, or knock at, you may think, of the door, of mercy, as standing open, all day, to the poor, and the needy, who knock by the way, you may think of, Mr Bunyan, who when he came, to the door, and knock, said, will he within, open, to sorry me, though an undeserving, rebel, I have been, then, I'll not fail, to sing, his lusting, praise on high, this will break, your hearts, in it, poor, needy soul, if you've knocked, on that door, and he's opened, open the door, to you, and said, come in thou, blessed of the Lord, wherefore, standest thou, without, you'll not fail, to sing, his lasting, praise on high, you're inside, so there was, a door, in the ark,

[23:23] I've come, I've come, to tell you, that there is a door, Christ is the door, I have come, to publish, to you, that, there is a door, of mercy, synonymous, this is, I am the door, with that, and I have come, to tell you, that however, black you are, or vile, or unworthy, if you feel, your need of him, you may knock, on that door, and you will, I think you've, been knocking, this morning, you were knocking, in the prayer meeting, after all, what is a prayer meeting, but knocking, on the door, of mercy, and then, when the Lord, comes and opens it, you have access, and liberty, and peace, and joy, and warmth, and love divine, and you're inside, you're not shut out, you're shut in, well, that is the first, truth I wanted to name, to you, the door, of the ark, before I pass, to the next,

[24:40] I would like, to say this, because you have, a Sunday school, and you have, your little ones, and the children, and you have, young people, and teenagers, and so on, I want to say this, the Lord is able, to give grace, to a child, and a child, may knock, on that door, and if you're, a teenager, you may knock, on that door, if you feel, your need, of the Lord's, health, and mercy, and all through, your life, and in old age, and in affliction, and in the, swellings of Jordan, you may knock, on the door, of mercy, and it's a wonderful, thing, to realize, that he opens, the door, and that you're, shut in, the Lord, the Lord, was glad, to receive, the praises, of the children, that cried, Hosanna, to him, in the temple, and the Pharisees, and the scribes, were angry, but he said, have you never, read in the scriptures, that out of the mouth, of babes, and sucklings, thou hast, perfected praise, the child, may knock, on that door, any of you, who feel, your need, of the Lord, mothers, fathers, single people, people in trouble, people in distress, in pain, in affliction, under the burden, of sin, under condemnation, feelingly, whatever your condition, there's a door, for a sinner, to knock on, if you feel, your need, of the Lord, so that is number one, the heart of the door, although, we have gone back, in our subject, many thousands, of years, in history, how relevant, these things are, today, we now, living as we are, in this sanctuary, how wonderful, to know, there's a door, in mercy, for poor sinners, now, number two, when, the, the, was, completed, and when the Lord, was about, to, exercise, vengeance, he, he spoke, to Noah, in a very, significant, way, and I don't know, whether you have, ever observed, how amazing, this address, this command, to Noah, was, he said, to him, and the Lord, said unto Noah, come thou, and all thy house, into the ark, ark, now, why is this, so significant, is it obvious, to you already, one word, makes it, unique, and beautiful, and it is this, the use of the word, come, he did not say, to Noah, go into the ark, he said, come, he might have said, go into the ark, but he didn't, he couldn't say, go, now then, let me be explicit, why did he say, come, because he was there himself, that's why he said, come, he was in the ark, the Lord was in the ark, the presence of the Lord, was there, the Lord was there, and so he said, come, if he had said, go, this would have put the ark, into the abstract, that he was there, and so he said, come, wonderful, isn't it, come, the ark, that was a type of himself, he was there, he was in the ark, and so, he could say to them, now come, which was really, tantamount to say, come unto me, come to me,

[29:10] I'm here, come to me, I do not know, whether you have observed that before, but it is of very sweet, and beautiful, and great significance, come, you see, the Lord never says come, only unto himself, it's impossible, if you say come, it means, there's a person, come, come, come, thou and all thy house into the ark, come, let me just remind the friends, that the term come, is a term of the covenant of grace, of divine love, mercy, compassion, electing love, redeeming love, it is a term, that is messianic, it belongs to Christ, it belongs to the head of the church, it belongs to, love divine, come, come, very wonderful this is, come, has he said, come to you, really, this means, you see, come, welcome, welcome, welcome to Christ, welcome into this ark, but, the more you think about it, not go, but come, if the Lord had not been in the ark, what then?

[30:52] It would have been a dark place, surely, but the Lord was there, so it was light, come, there's something else, that strikes me, as being very remarkable, before we come to number three, and that is, with all those living creatures, that went in, according to the divine command, all went into that ark, there was no belligerency, say, now, if you go into the animal kingdom, as you know it today, and if you go right through the realm of the animal kingdom, or, all living creatures, you'll find that nearly all, prey on one another, and fight one another, it's like the survival of the fittest, and so on, and they eat one another, and all this type of thing, now, as they were created, they were not belligerent, when God created the animals, and so on, they didn't fight each other, this was something that, came after the fall, undoubtedly, now you see, all these animals in an ark, and they're all at peace, now,

[32:19] I mention that, just as an aside observation, but it has often intrigued me, and interested me, and pleased me exceedingly, now they were in the ark, they didn't fight each other, you think of God's perfect kingdom, you think of what takes place, and what is the fruit of grace, and, of his perfect and everlasting kingdom, now, I move on, because of course, what we have said, or referred to, in the animal kingdom, look at man, fighting, malice, hatred, wounds, murder, and, he doesn't stop at the profligate world, does it?

[33:12] look at, look at even the people of God, look at Christians, left to their flesh, look at all the quarrelling, and the bitterness, and the wounds, and so on, wonderful thing, when the spirit of Christ, is given, wonderful thing, when we follow our master, and we're like our master, pray that we may be more and more conformed, to his image, now, number three, the Lord had, there was the door in the ark, and then the Lord said, come, and now this, and the Lord, shut, him, in, that, spells out, your safety, and, security, in Christ, in the covenant, of his grace, and the Lord, shut him, before you were born, and when the Lord, made you a believer, when he gave you, divine life, you come into, the realization of it, the more you think, of the sequence, for instance, and the Lord, shut him in, the chosen, those, foreknown, by the Lord, his prescience, concerning all his people, they must have a being, they have to be born, they must, come into the world, because it is, in the world, it is on the stage, of time, that the Lord, enacts all his purposes, of grace, to his seed, a purpose, of grace, can only be, accomplished, in a person, in a person, one that is, born, created, it's an amazing, consideration, isn't it, well, the Lord, shut him in,

[35:23] I hope, that, you will enjoy, a little feeling, of the comfort, and blessedness, of this, today, that the Lord, has shut you in, now, I think, that we should, because, obviously, this is made, an experience, that is why, it is all related, to experience, what we have, postulated, so, I want, now, to move on, to, the, possibly, the last point, this morning, vengeance, and I quote, of course, from that beautiful hymn, vengeance, retired, and, sweet mercy, came out, if you go back, to your own experience, you will remember, the time, when, when, vengeance, seemed to come out, always coming out, when you were under, condemnation, under the law, and you were afraid, that you would go to hell, but how wonderful, when, vengeance, why should, vengeance, retire, is it an, automatic thing, no, do you know, what it is, for vengeance, to retire, in your own case, grace, and mercy, came out, now, why should, vengeance, retire, well, because of this, that, when it retired, from you, your, savior, as your, surety, suffered it, that's why, and because, he suffered, that vengeance, that was due to you, vengeance, retired, that's why, you're not excused, not an attribute, is stained, no, vengeance, no, vengeance, no, vengeance, visited, the redeemer, and so, vengeance, retires, from you, mercy, comes out, wonderful, isn't it, do you remember, when mercy, came out, the first time, in your life, when, you had a song, put in your mouth, even praise, to our God, the first time, when you had a living hope, the enjoyment, and comfort, of a living hope, the first time, when you felt, you were going to heaven, the Lord loved you, mercy, came out, that is why, you have the, ordinance, of the ministry, of the everlasting gospel, there will be nothing, to preach, apart from this,

[38:27] I mean, after all, why should your pastor, come here, week by week, and in the week, why would I come today, there will be nothing, to say, apart from mercy, we should just be, hopeless, and lost, that no mercy, has come out, so, the waters are swaged, and, you come, to what is proverbial, another very beautiful, thing, the dove, when she came back, you know, there was an olive leaf, leaf plucked off, in her mouth, was an olive leaf, plucked off, and, because the olive tree, grows in the valors, it showed, that the waters, had abated, until even, an olive tree, was exposed, and so, the olive tree, has ever since then, according to the wisdom of God, being a symbol, of peace, an olive leaf, plucked off, how wonderful, then it is, that, mercy, has come out, and it has come out, to me, and it has come out, to you, and, when he went forth, the first thing he did, was to build, an altar, to the Lord, and, there was a sacrifice, and all this points, to, our great high priest, who, offered, the sum total, of his, holy humanity, upon the altar, of his deity, to atone, for our sins, a sacrifice, and, the Lord, smelled a sweet cider, amen.