Noah's Flood
A Sermon
(No. 823)
Delivered on thursday evening, march 5, 1868, by
C. H. SPURGEON,
at the [33]Metropolitan Ttabernacle, Newington.
"The flood came and took them all away." Matthew 24:39.
WE commonly say that "there is no rule without an exception," and
certainly the rule that there is no rule without an exception has an
exception to itself, for the rules of God are without exception. The
rule that God will punish the ungodly is without an exception. The rule
that all who are out of Christ shall perish is a rule without an
exception. And the rule that all who are in Christ shall be saved is
also without an exception.
I. I shall have to call your attention, tonight, to three rules that
are without exception, and the first is the one before us–"THE FLOOD
CAME AND TOOK THEM ALL AWAY." The destruction caused by the deluge was
universal. It did not merely sweep away some who were out of the ark,
but it swept them all away. There were, doubtless, distinctions in
those days, as there are now, for never has there been one dead level
of equality among the sons of Adam since men multiplied on the face of
the earth.
Many in that time were wealthy. They had accumulated stores of gold and
silver. They were rich in merchandise, invention, or plunder. They were
rich in the produce of the field. They owned broad acres of land. They
had multiplied to themselves the conveniences and the luxuries of life,
but the Flood came and swept them all away. Not one rich man could
escape with all his hoards, neither could he purchase life if he had
given all his wealth, for the Flood came and swept them all away. There
were no rafts of costly cedar, or towers of expensive masonry which
could stand above the devouring deluge–death laughed at miser and
merchant, millionaire and monarch–all, all were swallowed up in the
angry Flood.
There were some in those days who were extremely poor. They worked hard
to gain enough to keep body and soul together, and they were scarcely
able to do that. They had to suffer every day–
"The oppressor's wrongs, the proud man's contumely," but I do not find
that as a reward for their sufferings they were spared. No, when the
Flood came it swept them all away. The pauper out of the ark perished
as well as the prince. The poor and miserable peasant died, washed away
from the filth of his mud hovel, as monarchs were from their palaces.
The beggar without shoes for his feet died–the Flood had no pity on
his rags. He who swept the street-crossing and stood waiting for a
casual alms was taken away with the aristocrats who had pitied him.
The Flood came and swept them all away. The unrelenting billows meted
out an equal fate to all who were outside the one ark of safety. And so
will it be at the last. As the great man will not purchase an escape by
all that which he has stored up, so neither will a man be delivered
because of his poverty. There was a rich man in Hell, we read–poor men
have been there, and are there now. As riches cannot save from Hell, so
neither can poverty raise to Heaven. The Grace and Justice of God are
independent of society, and rank, and state, and condition. What
matters it to the Lord how much or how little of yellow metal you have
about you? He measures no man by his purse, but by his soul–and he
whose soul is unpardoned, is lost, be he rolling in plenty or pining in
need. You must be born-again. You must believe in Jesus. You must, in
one word, get into the Ark, or when the flood comes it will sweep you
all away, be you rich as Dives, or poor as Lazarus.
There were, in those days, learned men in the world–men who searched
the stars at night. There were men who had deciphered the
constellations, who had pried into the secrets of matter. There were
men who had ransacked science, and, so far as men had gone (and we do
not know but what they went a very long way), had pierced into the
innermost recesses of knowledge. But when the Flood came it swept them
all away. There goes the philosopher–you can hear his dying gurgle.
There, floating on the stream, is the head of an antediluvian Solomon.
The Flood has swept away masters of arts, doctors of law, and rabbis in
divinity. No man was able to escape the deluge by all that he had ever
learned. Knowledge is no life-buoy. Logic is no swimming-belt. Rhetoric
no life-boat. Down, down they go, and all their science with them,
beneath the shoreless waves.
And as for the illiterate who were, no doubt, numerous then as now–who
could only count as many as the number of their fingers, who knew none
of the niceties of learning or of eloquence–when the Flood came it
swept them all away. So that knowledge, except it be of one particular
kind, namely, the heart-knowledge of Christ Jesus, will not deliver us
from final destruction. And, on the other hand, although ignorance, if
it is not willful, is some palliation for sin, yet it is never such an
excuse as to suffer sin to go unpunished. There is a Hell for those who
knew their Master's will and did it not–and there is also a Hell for
those who would not know, but who lived and died willfully ignorant of
the things of God.
The Flood came and swept them all away. You men who are orthodox in
doctrine. You who can talk about theology and claim to be masters in
Israel–if you do not belong to Christ, the Flood shall sweep you all
away. And you who say, "What does it matter? Creeds, what are they but
handles of old rubbish? We do not study our Bibles, and do not want to
know the doctrines taught therein." I tell you, Sirs, except you know
Christ and are found in Him, your ignorance shall be no sufficient
excuse for you–when the flood of fire shall come it shall sweep you
all away.
I doubt not that among those who perished in Noah's Flood, there were
many who were very zealous in the cause of religion–perhaps some who
had officiated as priests in the midst of their families–and possibly
even at God's altar. They were not a godless race in those days, so far
as the form and profession went. They had a religion–even those sons
of Cain had a religion. And indeed, generally when men are worst at
heart, they prate most about outward religion. We may suppose it was so
in Noah's day. But when the Flood came, these men being out of the ark,
whether priests or not, did not escape–it swept them all away. And
there were others, no doubt, who were profane, who lived in disregard
of God, or who blustered out infidel expressions concerning Him. But
the Flood made no distinction between the hypocritical priest and the
direct blasphemer. When it came it swept them all away.
O you sons of Levi, you who wear the robes of priesthood and profess to
be sent of God to teach others! With all your boasted magical powers,
if you do not believe in Jesus as poor guilty sinners, and look up to
the Cross alone for your salvation, when the flood of fire comes it
will sweep you all away! You will drown, Sir Priest, despite your
baptismal regeneration and your sacramental efficacy! You will sink
with a lying absolution on your lips down to the nethermost Hell!
And, O you who rail against religion and boast that you are no
hypocrites, you doubtless think yourselves honest, but do not imagine
that your impudent "honesty," as you choose to call it, will exonerate
you at the last tremendous day, for in that day of wrath the fiery
deluge shall sweep you, also, all away! Short work will God make with
doubters, then. They shall behold Him and wonder, and perish, for a
short and sharp work will He make in the earth. Quick work will He make
with the hypocrites in that day–for though they call, He will not
answer them–and when they begin to cry to Him, He will mock at their
calamity and laugh when their fear comes. The fiery flood shall sweep
all at last–whether religious or profane–away, for they have not fled
to the ark of Christ and so have rejected the one only shelter.
Let me solemnly remind you in this congregation tonight, that in that
day of destruction some of the oldest men that have lived
perished–older men than you, though your head is gray or bald. Older
women than you, though you have nourished and brought up children and
dandled your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren upon your
knees– they went down the stream with others, perishing as though they
had never seen the light. And the young died, too. That one dreadful
destruction took away the little child in his beauty and the young man
in his strength, and the maiden in her bloom. The Flood took them all
away!
And so with all of us who have attained to adult years, and have
arrived at knowledge so as to judge between good and evil–if we are
not found in Christ, the flood of fire shall take us all away. We know
not at how young an age we may be responsible. Let the child never
presume upon its youth. We have heard of fools of 20 pleading "infancy"
in our courts of law, and of all pieces of roguery sanctioned by the
law, I have thought that the plea of "infancy" from young men of 19 and
20 years of age, who have stolen jewelry–and I know not what, to spend
upon their lusts–of all pieces of villainy, I say, that seems to me to
be the most intolerable!
But there shall be no such plea of infancy for you boys and girls, and
young people, at the Last Great Day. If you know right from wrong, and
if you can understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ, at your peril do you
reject it! At your peril do you neglect it! No, neither shall the young
nor the old escape except by coming to Christ. "You must be
born-again," is of universal application to you who are young, and to
you who are gray-headed. No youth can excuse, no experience can exempt,
but alike will the flood of Divine wrath overwhelm every human soul
unless we find refuge in the ark of the Covenant of Grace, even the
work and Person of Jesus, the bleeding Lamb of God.
This universality I shall have to illustrate in yet another way. I can
suppose that when Noah built the ark–a most absurd thing to do upon
all the principles of common reason apart from his faith in God–there
were a great many persons who heard of this and wondered. It was a very
huge ship–the greatest that had ever been built–a conception in
navigation which altogether staggered the minds of men in his day. When
Noah built this vessel–and built it on the dry land far removed from
any river or sea–it must have been a very great wonder and have caused
abundance of talk through all the neighboring nations.
I should not wonder but what the tidings spread far and wide, and there
were some who, as soon as they heard of it, said, "A madman! I wonder
his friends do not confine him. What a lunatic he must be!" Having made
that remark, they cracked a joke or two about it and fell into the
habit of sneering at a thing so very absurd that it passed into a
proverb– and when a man did a silly thing, they said–"Why, he is as
foolish as old Noah!" Ribald jests were all that Noah could get from
them. They despised, ridiculed and contemned him utterly. But the Flood
came and took them all away, and there was an end to their jests, their
sarcasms, their jeers. The Flood silenced them most effectively.
So will it be with any of you who have ridiculed the Gospel of Christ.
You will find in the great and terrible day of the Lord that your
laughter shall have no power over death. You will find it will win you
no reprieve from the agonies of Hell. There will be no room for
infidelity in that tremendous day! God will be all too real to you when
He tears you in pieces and there is none to deliver you. And the
judgment will be all too real when the thunder claps shall wake the
dead and the books shall be opened and read by the blaze of
lightning–and the sentence shall be pronounced, "Depart, you cursed!"
Beware, you despisers, and wonder–and perish! Beware, now, while yet
there is a day of Divine Grace to light you to Heaven! For remember it
will not last forever. May eternal love save any of us from perishing
in devouring fire as Noah's despisers did in the devouring Flood.
There were other people, no doubt, who, when they heard about Noah,
criticized his building. I can imagine some of the shipbuilders of the
time looking on and telling him that the keel was not arranged quite
right. And that ingenious plan of pitching the great ship within and
without would be sure to be very closely criticized, for it seems to
have been a great novelty, not an invention of man, but a revelation
from God. Then there was the making of only one window– why, we who
read about it now do not know what it means, and all the plans that
have ever been drawn of Noah's ark do not seem to fit the description
given of it.
Why, said the wise shipwright, "that thing will never float on the top
of the flood, if it should chance to come. And besides, it has been so
long in building that it will be sure to get the dry rot." What wise
things were said about it! If they had been able to print them in those
days, how many critical treatises would have been published against
"that old wooden box of Noah's," as they very likely would have called
it! All these critics could have built it a great deal better, I have
no doubt, but they did not build at all. And though they found fault,
and could do it so much better than Noah did, yet, somehow or other,
they were drowned and he was saved.
So in this world, now, we constantly find men who eat up the sins of
God's people as they eat bread. " Oh yes," they can say, "there is
something in religion, no doubt–but then look at your imperfections
and your faults!" And, Brothers and Sisters, they need not look far to
find them. They can soon find 10,000 points in which we might be a
little improved, and sometimes I have no doubt that our critics are in
some respects better than we are. Many a worldly man has a better
temper than a genuine Christian.
I am sorry to say it, but I have known unconverted people much more
generous than some who are converted. They do excel in some qualities,
but still, still, still, there is the solemn truth that the sharpest
and most philosophical critic of other people, if he is out of Christ,
will be swept away, while the men whom he criticized and condemned, if
they are found humbly believing in Jesus, shall be saved through faith
in Him. It all hinges on this one matter, inside or outside the
ark–inside the ark a thousand imperfections, but all saved–outside
the ark a thousand excellencies, but all drowned without a single
exception!
Now there may have been, on the other hand, among those who came to see
father Noah and his big ship, some who took his side. I never knew a
man so big a fool but what some sided with him. So, perhaps, there were
some who said, "Well, after all, do not be too hard upon him, he is a
respectable Patriarch. He is a man who follows his convictions–his
convictions are very absurd, no doubt–but still it is a fine thing in
these days to see a man really sincere. We do not like to see the man
so infatuated, but though we cannot help wishing that he were a sane
man, yet, still, it is almost better to see a man insane and carry out
his convictions, than to see him trifling as so many are childishly
trifling with their principles."
Many a gentleman who looked at the ark, after he said that, went home
with a wonderful ease of conscience, and thought, "Now I have said a
very good thing. I have put a spoke in the wheel of some of those
cavilers. I have stood up for the good old man, for a very good old
man, I have no doubt he is, though very much deceived." Ah, but when
the Flood came it swept all these people away as well! They were very
kind in their remarks and very patronizing in their air, but the Flood
swept them all away.
And do you not know such people now? Why, there are some of them here
tonight! Listen to their gentlemanly talk! How generously they speak!
"Well, yes, I like to see these Christian people so earnest. I dare say
they do a great deal of good. You know, I like to hear a preacher
speaking out so plainly. I like to see these people very zealous–in
these days it is very refreshing to see people zealous about anything,
for there is so much latitudinarianism, and policy, and so on, that we
like to find people decided, even though we should think them a little
too dogmatic and bigoted."
O Sirs, we thank you for your good opinion of us–but unless you repent
you shall likewise perish! Your excellent remarks will not save you and
your very lenient, and gentlemanly and broad-Church views of religion
will not assist you! You may hold all those views which are so tolerant
and so excellent and we are glad you hold them, and yet you may have no
share in Christ's salvation! You are a sensible man for holding such
charitable views, but, sensible as you are, unless you come to Christ
you will have to perish even as the most bigoted persecutors!
Besides these, there were some other people who liked Noah better,
still. They not only excused and defended him, but they sometimes grew
very warm about it. They said, "Father Noah is right. We see his life,
we mark his manners and conversation–and he is a better man than they
are who ridicule and despise him. We are convinced by his preaching
that his testimony is true, and we will help him and stand up for him.
We do not like to hear the jeers and uncivil remarks that are made
about him–they cut us to the quick."
Then I suppose you are going into the ark, are you not? "Well, we do
not know ourselves about that. Perhaps we may, by-and-by. We are
thinking of it. We have taken the matter into very serious
consideration, and we think it to be a very proper thing to do, a very
right thing to do–but at the same time it is hardly convenient right
now. We will wait a little longer." "Why," says one, "I am not married
yet." And another says, "There is a banquet to be held on such-and-such
a day. I must go to that. You know men must eat and drink, and
therefore I am not going into the ark just yet."
Well, now, these good-meaning, procrastinating people who were
postponing and putting off, what became of them? Did one of them
escape? Alas, no–when the Flood came it took them all away. What, not
save one of them, those who would be right if they had a little longer
time? Not spare those who have good resolutions in their throats–who
are almost persuaded to be Christians? No, not one of them! They all
went down in the common wreck–and perished in the universal
destruction–for good resolutions save no man unless they are put into
practice.
Almost persuaded to be a Christian is like the man who was almost
pardoned, but he was hanged anyway. Almost persuaded to be a Christian
is like the man who was almost rescued, but he was burnt up in the
house. As old Henry Smith says, "A door that is almost shut is open. A
man that is almost honest is a thief. A man that is almost saved is
damned." O take heed of that, you halters between two opinions! You
awakened but not decided! You aroused but not converted! Noah's friends
perished–his very dearest friends who were not in the ark! When the
flood came it swept them all away. And so must you, our sons and
daughters, if you give not your hearts to the Lord.
So, to close this recapitulation, you have often been told that the
very workmen who worked for Noah, and who were, no doubt, paid their
wages, or they would not have worked, perished, also. They helped to
saw the wood, to lay the keel, to drive the bolts, to put in the oakum,
to use the pitch, to strengthen the timbers–but after all that they
had done not one of them escaped. And so the Chapel-keeper, the
pew-opener, the elder, the deacon, the minister, the bishop, the
archbishop–all those who have had a function in the Church, who have
had something to do with the good staunch vessel of Christ's
Gospel–unless they, themselves, are in Christ by a living faith, they
must perish as much as the despisers and the outcasts.
Here, then, is the solemn Truth of God–all out of Christ lost–all in
Christ saved! All unbelievers perishing–all Believers preserved in
Him. Here is a rule without an exception. Very briefly we shall now
have to speak upon a second subject.
II. It appears that when the flood came it found them all eating and
drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, and according to the text,
THIS, ALSO, WAS A RULE WITHOUT EXCEPTION. Is it not a very solemn thing
that it is so now, that without any exception the mass of mankind are
still neglectful of their souls, still busy about their fleeting
interests, and negligent of eternal realities? There are no exceptions
to this rule among natural men. Gracious men care for these things, but
all natural men are like these men in the days of Noah.
While I was musing, this afternoon, I felt surprised at it. I said to
myself, What? Not one man in Noah's day that was anxious to be saved in
the ark–not one? Why, the population of the globe is supposed, by
some, to have been greater at that time than it is now! Owing to the
extreme length of years to which men then lived, the deaths were fewer,
and the population increased more rapidly–and yet out of them all was
there not one that sought after God naturally–not one?
It was an extraordinary thing that there was not one who would believe
in the reiterated prophecies of Noah and find shelter in the ark. But
is it not more strange still, only it is strangely true, that out of
all the unregenerate, until they are quickened by Divine Grace, there
is not one who cares to flee to Christ? "You will not come unto Me that
you might have life," is a rule of universal application. Men will not
come to Christ, but had rather perish in their sins than come and put
their trust in Him.
I suppose the reason lies in three things. First, there is men's
universal indifference about their souls–a wanton carelessness about
their noblest part, their truest selves. But that is a strange thing! A
man is always earnest about his life–"Skin for skin, yes, all that a
man has will he give for his life." If a man thinks he is likely to
perish by burning, what cries he will raise! What exertions he will
make to get out of the room! If he is near to drowning, how he kicks
and struggles! If he is sick, how quickly he sends for the doctor, and
how anxious he is to get the best advice within his reach so that his
life may be preserved!
And yet the preservation of his highest life seems to be to him a
matter of no consequence at all! Every thinking man must feel that his
true self is his spirit, his soul–that his body is not he, himself,
but simply a sort of garment that he, himself, wears–a house in which
he, himself, lives. And yet men spend their time from morning till
night in finding clothes and food for this outside house! But the
tenant that dwells within is, poor creature, quite forgotten! That is
odd, is it not? Does it not seem to prove that man is degraded into
something less than a reasonable creature by his sin so that he acts
like a beast?
When a man has to live but a little time in this world, he wishes to be
happy in it. If a man only stops for an hour in an inn, what a noise he
makes if the chimney smokes, if the tablecloth is not clean, if chops
are not done to a turn–and while he knows that his better self must
live forever in another world–he does not concern himself about that
world, or whether he shall be happy in it or not! Strange! " 'Tis
strange, 'tis passing strange, 'tis wonderful." It is a miracle of
madness that men should be so indifferent to the interest of their
souls, their immortal souls, that they should go to sleep not knowing
whether they will wake up with the never-dying worm, or arise to enjoy,
with Jesus, the surpassing splendors of eternity! Yet this indifference
is universal! O Brothers and Sisters, you and I have need to pray that
God would stir this dead sea! That He would speak with His quickening
voice and make men alive to these spiritual things, or else in the
graves of their indifference they will rot forever!
The second reason for this indifference lay, no doubt, in universal
unbelief. Is it not a strange thing that they did not, one of them,
believe Noah? Noah was an honest man. Some of them had known him for
many years, yes, for hundreds of years they had known him, for they
lived so long then! He spoke like an honest man. He preached with
vehemence and power, but not one believed him–not one soul believed
him so as to escape from the wrath to come–not one! Now that is odd,
for as I have said before, no lie that was ever told was so incredible
but what somebody or other was found to believe it–much more should
some be found to receive the truth.
Yet here was a truth that looked so probable, on account of the sin of
man, and yet nobody was found to believe it– they universally rejected
it! Even so it is with the Gospel of Christ. We come and tell our
fellow men that the Son of God was made flesh to redeem men. That
whoever trusts in Him shall be saved. But they will not believe it,
though we have proved it, hundreds of us, thousands of us–and we tell
them as solemnly and as earnestly as we can that we have tasted and
handled of these things. We tell them that they are not cunningly
devised fables, but are in very truth, most precious and proven
realities!
And yet, without the Grace of God, there is not a single one, high or
low, rich or poor–that will so believe as to try for himself! They
shake their heads and go on their way and universally live and die in
unbelief–unless Sovereign Grace steps in. A strange thing, a marvelous
thing! "Jesus marveled because of their unbelief," and well may we
marvel because of the universality of this sin. Then a third cause for
this general indifference was that they were always and altogether
given to worldliness. The text seems to hint that they did not think of
preparing for the coming flood because they were so busy in the base
enjoyment of mere eating.
Some of them were gluttons, and others who did not eat so munch, yet
ate right well when they did eat, and daintily. They were worshipping
that god that Paul speaks of–the belly. Alas, good feeding ruins many,
and men dig their way to Hell with their teeth. Like brutes they care
only to be filled. Others were drunks. Ah, how merry were they in their
cups! How they judged a glass of wine, and told its age to a year! They
were bent upon swallowing hogsheads of dainty liquor. They were
drowned, like Duke Clarence, in their vats of wine. No doubt they had,
in their way, their Lord Mayors' feasts and their Aldermen and
Companies' dinners, and I know not what besides!
And they were all so occupied with these things–these crying
necessities of the life of swine–that they did not and could not think
of anything superior to that. They were married and given in marriage.
This was a serious business, and must be attended to–how could they
forsake their wedding feasts and their newly-married brides? These
things engrossed all their thoughts. And yet, Friends, and yet, what
was the use of eating and drinking when they were to be drowned the
next day? And what was the use of being married, when they were to be
drowned in the morning? If they had looked at these things in the light
offaith, they would have despised them! But they only used the bleary
eyes of sense, and thus they set great store upon these present things
of mirth.
Yes, and so it is with the wicked man nowadays. He gets rich, but what
is the use of being wealthy if you must be damned? Fool that he is, if
he buys a gold coffin, how would that help him? Suppose he is laid out
with a bag of gold in each hand, and a pile of it between his legs–how
will that help him? Others seek to get learning, but what is the good
of learning if you sink to perdition with it? Take up the learned man's
skull and what is the difference between that and the skull of the
poorest pauper that scarcely knew his letters? Brown impalpable
powder–they both crumble down into the same elements. To die in a
respectable position, what is the use of it? What are a few more plumes
on the hearse, or a longer line of mourning coaches? Will these ease
the miseries of Hell?
Ah, Friends, you have to die! Why not make ready for the inevitable?
Oh, if men were wise, they would see that all earth's joys are just
like the bubbles which our children blow with soap–they glitter and
they shine, and then they are gone–and there is not even a wreck left
behind. O that they were wise to enter the Ark, to look to Christ so
that when the floods rise they might be found safe in Him! Here, then,
comes this general rule, never to be too much lamented, and which ought
to make every Christian's heart break with heaviness–that universally
and everywhere, in the very presence of the coming judgment and between
the very jaws of death and Hell, the whole human race remains
indifferent, unbelieving, worldly, and still will so remain until the
flood of fire comes and sweeps them all away! Thus will they all sport
until they perish, unless eternal love prevents it.
III. The last consideration shall be but very briefly handled, but it
is a very comforting one, namely, that ALL WHO WERE IN THE ARK WERE
SAFE. Nobody fell out of that Divinely-appointed refuge. Nobody was
dragged out. Nobody died in it. Nobody was left to perish in it. All
who went in came out unharmed. They were all preserved in it. They were
all safely brought through the dread catastrophe. The ark preserved
them all, and so will Jesus Christ preserve all in Him. Whoever may
come to Him shall be secure. None of them shall perish, neither shall
any pluck them out of His hand.
Think what strange creatures they were that were preserved! Why, there
went into that ark unclean animals two and two. May God bring some of
you who have been like unclean animals unto Christ! Great swine of sin,
you have wandered farthest in iniquity and defiled yourselves–yet when
the swine were in the ark they were safe–and so shall you be. You
ravens, you black ravens of sin, if you fly to Christ He will not cast
you out, but you shall be secure! If electing love shall pick you out,
and effectual Grace shall draw you to the door of that Ark, it shall be
shut upon you and you shall be saved!
Within that ark there was the timid hare, but its timidity did not
destroy it. There was the weak coney, but despite its weakness, in the
ark it was all safe. There were to be found such slow-moving creatures
as the snail. Some darkness-loving creatures like the bat–but they
were all safe. The mouse was as safe as the ox, and the snail was as
safe as the greyhound. The squirrel was as secure as the elephant, and
the timid hare was as safe as the courageous lion–not safe because of
what they were, but safe because of where they were, namely, in the
Ark.
Oh, what a medley the Lord's people are! What strange beings! Some few
of them fathers, but not many. The great mass of them little children,
who, though they should have grown, are still very carnal, and only
babes in Christ instead of full grown men. Yet all safe! All alike in
security, however much they may differ–varying temperament, but
unvarying security–differing in experience, but the same in oneness to
Christ, and all in Him. "Why, being justified by faith, we have peace
with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." And so we have, whether we
are great or small–
"To us the Covenant stands secure,
Tho' earth's old columns bow.
The strong, the feeble, and the weak,
Are one in Jesus now."
When the storm beat upon the ark it might have destroyed the lion quite
as soon as the mouse, but it destroyed neither, because the sides of
the ark could bear the tempest. And when the floods came the vessel
mounted higher, and higher and nearer towards Heaven, the deeper the
waters were.
So with us–let storms and furious tempests come and our sins assail
us, and our sorrows, too–yet we who are weakest are quite as secure as
the strongest because we are in Christ–and Christ shall outlive the
storm and bear us upwards, nearer and nearer to the Heaven of God. May
God grant us Divine Grace to be found of Him in peace in the day of the
Lord's appearing–when the elements shall melt and the skies are rolled
up like a scroll. As I have already said, it all hangs upon that
question, "Do you believe in Christ?" If your heart trusts Christ you
are safe, come what may. But if you rest not in Him, you are lost, come
what will. God save you, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
"Come to the Ark, come to the Ark;
To Jesus come today!
The pestilence walks forth by night,
The arrow flies by day.
Come to the Ark: the waters rise,
The seas their billows rear
While darkness gathers o'er the skies,
Behold a refuge near.
Come to the Ark, all, all that weep
Beneath the sense of sin!
Without, deep calls unto deep
But all is peace within.
Come to the Ark, before yet the flood
Your lingering steps oppose!
Come, for the door which open stood
Is now about to close."
__________________________________________________________________
The Heavan of Heavan
A Sermon