ity as the Deluge? Nothing at all. All things continued as they were from the beginning of creation. History furnished no analogy whatever. Not only had there never been any previous flood, but even rain was then unknown. What then could induce Noah to act in the way he did? Nothing but the testimony of God. Here then is an exemplification and demonstration of the nature of faith. Faith is the eye of the spirit. It is that which visualizes the unseen; it is that which gives tangibility to the invisible; it is that which makes substantial the things hoped for.

In the third place we learn here of the character of Noah's faith-it was "moved with fear." Faith not only relies upon the precious promises of God, but it also believes His solemn threatenings. As the beloved Spurgeon said, "He who does not believe that God will punish sin, will not believe that He will pardon it through the atoning blood. He who does not believe that God will cast unbelievers into hell, will not be sure that He will take believers to heaven. If we doubt God's Word about one thing, we shall have small confidence in it upon another thing. Since faith in God must treat all God's Word alike; for the faith which accepts one word of God, and rejects another, is evidently not faith in God, but faith in our own judgment, faith in our own taste." Noah had received from God a gracious promise, but he had also been warned of a coming judgment which should destroy all living things with a flood, and his faith believed both the promise and the warning. Again, we need the admonition of Mr. Spurgeon-"I charge you who profess to be the Lord's, not to be unbelieving with regard to the terrible threatenings of God to the ungodly. Believe the threat, even though it should chill your blood; believe, though nature shrinks from the overwhelming doom, for, if you do not believe, the act of disbelieving God about one point will drive you to disbelieve Him upon the other parts of revealed truth, and you will never come to that true, childlike faith which God will accept and honor."

Fourth, we see the evidence of Noah's faith-he "prepared an ark." "Faith, if it hath not works is dead, being by itself" (Jas. 2:17), which means, it is a lifeless faith, a merely nominal faith, and not the "faith of God's elect" (Titus 1:1). To the same effect: "What doth it profit,

my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works" (Jas. 2:14). The Apostle Paul writes of the justification of believing sinners; James writes of the justification of faith itself, or rather, the claim to be in possession of faith. I profess to be a believer, how shall I justify my claim? By my works, my walk, my witness for God. Read through Hebrews 11 and it will be seen that in every case recorded there, faith was evidenced by works. Abel had faith. How did he display it? By presenting to God the Divinely preserved sacrifice. Enoch had faith. How did he manifest it! By walking with God. Noah had faith. How did he evidence it? By preparing the ark. And mark this also faith expresses itself in that which costs its possessor something! The preparing of the ark was no small undertaking. It was not only a very laborious and protracted task, but it must have been a very expensive one, too. It has ever been thus; Abraham was the father of the faithful, and his faith found expression and resulted in that which meant personal sacrifice. To Abraham it meant leaving home, kindred and country, and subsequently the offering up of his well beloved son on the altar of sacrifice. What is it costing you to express your faith? A faith that does not issue in that which is costly is not worth much.

Fifth, we see the issue of Noah's faith-Noah "prepared an ark to the saving of his house." God always honors real faith in Him. The particular issue of Noah's faith deserves prayerful consideration. While it is true that there is no such thing as salvation by proxy, that no parent can believe to the saving of his child's soul, yet, Scripture furnishes many examples of God's blessings coming upon those who exercised no faith themselves on account of the faith of others. Because Abraham exercised faith, God gave to his seed the land of Palestine. Because Rahab believed the report of the spies, her whole household was preserved from destruction. Coming to the New Testament, we remember such cases as the man sick of the palsy, who was brought to the Lord Jesus by others "And Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy: Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee" (Matt. 8:2). Because of the nobleman's faith, his servant was healed. Because of the Canaanitish woman's faith, her daughter was made whole. Noah's faith then issued in the temporal salvation of "his house." Is not this written for our learning? Is there no

word of encouragement here for believing parents today who have unsaved children? Do we remember the word spoken to the Philippian jailor-"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house"-do we appropriate it and plead it before God?

Sixth, we learn of the witness of Noah's faith-"by which he condemned the world." In considering this clause we would first inquire into the nature of faith. What is faith? In Rom. 14:23, we read, "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Faith is the opposite of sin. What then is sin? The divinely inspired answer is found in 1 John 3:4-"Sin is lawlessness" (R. V.). Sin is more than an act, it is an attitude. Sin is rebellion against God's government, a defiance of His authority. Sin is spiritual anarchy. Sin is the exercise of self-will, self-assertion, self-independency. God says, "Thou shalt," and I don't; what is that but me saying "I won't!" God says "Thou shalt not," and I do; what is that but me saying, "I will!" But faith is in every respect the antithesis of sin. Faith is also more than an act, it is an attitude. Faith is submission to God's government, a yielding to His authority, a compliance with His revealed will. Faith in God is a coming to the end of myself. Faith is the spirit of entire dependency on God. There is a great gulf then separating between those who are members of the household of faith and those who are the children of the wicked one. We walk by faith, they by sight; we live for God's glory, they for self-gratification; we live for eternity, they for time. And every Christian who is walking by faith, necessarily condemns the world. His conduct is a silent rebuke upon the course followed by the ungodly. His life is a witness against their sin.

Finally, we learn here the reward of Noah's faith-he "became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.’ Faith brings a present blessing: it wins God's smile of approval, fills the heart with peace, oils the machinery of life, and makes "all things" possible. But the grand reward of faith is not received in this life. The inheritance into which faith conducts us is not possessed here and now. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob never did anything more than "sojourn in the land of promise." The children of God are "heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ," but the entering into their inheritance is yet future-we do not say the enjoy

ment of it, for faith appropriates it and revels in it even now. The Son Himself has been "appointed heir of all things" (Heb. 1:2), and it is not until He enters into His possessions that we shall share them with Him. Meanwhile, we are, with Noah, "heirs of the righteousness which is by faith."

11. THE FLOOD

GENESIS 6

In our article on "Enoch" it was pointed out that the name of his child intimated that God had given warning to him of the coming of the Deluge-"And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah" (Gen. 5:21). The signification of Methuselah is, "When he is dead it shall be sent," i. e., the Deluge (Newberry). A divine revelation then was memorialized in this name. The world was to last only as long as this son of Enoch lived. If 1 Peter 3:20 be linked to Genesis 5:21 an interesting and precious thought is brought before us: "Which (the antediluvians now in 'prison') some time were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah. To what does this "long-suffering" refer which "waited" while the ark was a preparing? How long had God's patience been exercised? Nine hundred and sixty-nine years seems to be the answer-the span of Methuselah's life. As long as Enoch's son lived the world was safe; but when he died, then should it (the Deluge) be sent. Is it not a most impressive demonstration of God's "long-suffering" that the man whose life was to measure the breath of a world's probation, was permitted to live longer than any one else ever did live! Nine hundred and sixty-nine years-what an exhibition of God's mercy! How wondrous are the ways of Jehovah! As that child was to live until the time came for mankind to be swept away by the flood; and, as during this interval God's servants were to warn men from the coming wrath, shall not the mercy of God prolong that day? Shall not this man live longer than any other man ever did live? Shall not his age be unique, standing out from the ages of all others?-because that from the hour of his birth the Divine decree had gone forth, "When the breath leaves his body the throes of dissolution shall commence; when he departs the thunder clouds of God's anger shall burst, the windows of heaven shall be opened, the foundations of the great deeps shall give way, and every living thing shall be swept from this earth by the besom of Divine destruction." And so it was. Methuselah out