Part 10
When the Lord said to Noah, "Come you," Noah came. The call
was effectual, and resistance was out of the question!
It is true the Lord had, in a measure, spoken to the rest of
mankind by Noah's ministry, but that form of the Lord's speaking
in common pleadings and invitations can be resisted to men's
destruction. They could close their ears against the common, or
general call, and they did, for it was true then, as it is now, "many
are called, but few are chosen." Myriads go to destruction with the
honest call of God ringing in their ears which they willfully reject–
"The worldlings willfully went on
Rebellious till their day was past.
They forced the lingering deluge down
And perished in their sins at last."
When that silent call comes, which we are accustomed to speak of
as "effectual calling," then, if there is resistance, it is sweetly
overcome. The will finds itself no longer headstrong and obstinate.
The judgment, darkened before, becomes light, and the soul, before
motionless, cries, "Draw me, I will run after You."
Happy are the men to whom such a call comes from God
Himself! I ask you, my dear Hearers now present, whether you
have ever had God dealing with you in this powerful, this inward,
this spiritual manner? If not, I am sure you have never come to
Christ. If you have received no call but such as I can give you, such
as my Brothers who aid me can give you, such as the most earnest
evangelist can give you, you have been called in vain and are yet in
your sins. If you are, indeed, the people of God, you must know
that a voice in your souls, mysteriously persuasive and
overpowering, has spoken to you and said, "Come to Jesus," and
you have yielded to it.
Happy are you, tonight, if you have been so called, for it is
written, "Whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He
justified, them He also glorified." Now, note that this call from God
was of such a tenor that Noah was bound, personally, to come. It
was a call to personal action. Noah must come. "Come you." It was
not a call of this kind–"Now, Noah, sit where you are and you will
be right. Wait, Noah. Patiently, quietly wait, and see what God will
do." But, no! It said to Noah, "Come you." Noah must come and he
must come to the ark, too. For him there was only one way of
salvation–no more than for anybody else!
He must come to the ark which God had bid him prepare as the
instrument of safety–and he must come into it. It was of no use his
coming near it, but he must come into it. Within its wooden walls
he must hide himself. Within its vast chambers he must find a
dwelling. And so, dear Soul, when God calls you, He will make
you feel that you must come to Jesus–not wait and delay, but come
by a distinct act of the soul to be immediately performed! And you
must come to Christ, too, for believing in anything else will
destroy, rather than save you! Your faith must come and place her
whole
You must come into Christ, too–so near to Him as to be in Him,
to make Him your hiding place and your refuge from the storm.
You must have an inward faith which takes you into the very
inwards of Christ, hides you in His wounds, conceals you within
Himself. When God calls Noah it is, "Come into the ark." And
when God calls any sinner to Himself it is, "Come to Christ; be
hidden in Christ that you may be preserved as the Lord's choice
treasure." Come, make the Lord Jesus your refuge, your
deliverance and your habitation!
Now, it would have been of no use for Noah to have gone on
making preparations for his dwelling in the ark. That he had done
long enough. He had gathered all sorts of food for all the creatures
that were to be lodged in that marvelous menagerie and now that he
is bid to enter the ark, he does not say, "I must gather more hay and
store up more corn and fruits." No, "Come you into the ark"
finished all his labors. He must have done with preparing and
actually enter the refuge. I know some of you have been thinking
about your souls and praying, and reading good books, and
attending meetings, and trying to get instruction.
Well, so far, so good. But that is not the way by which you will
find salvation. The call of God to your soul is, "Come into the ark,"
or, in other words, "Come now to Jesus and distinctly and finally
commit yourself to Him. Just as Noah put himself in the ark, to
sink in the ark or swim in the ark–to live in the ark or die in the ark.
He committed his whole future to the ark and that is what you have
to do–commit yourself and all that is about you entirely to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Considerations, resolutions and preparations must
come to an end and you must in very deed "come into the ark."–
"O Jesus, Savior of the lost,
Our ark and hiding place,
By storms of sin and sorrow tossed
We seek Your sheltering Grace.
Forgive our wandering and our sin,
We wish no more to roam;
Open the ark and take us in,
Our soul's eternal home."
Neither would it have done for Noah to go round the ark to
survey it again. No doubt he had examined, before, that ark of
wood and been pleased to think its timbers were so sound. No
insect could eat that bitter wood. It was a tree that would not rot.
No doubt he was pleased with the architecture of the vessel, for he
had built it with no surveyor there but his God and, it was,
therefore, well built. God was the great Master of Noah's naval
yard and had given him plans and specifications. It was quite right
that Noah should inspect the huge vessel up and down and see to
the caulking and make sure that it was well pitched inside and out,
and so on.
But now he must give up surveying and come to inhabiting. He
must come into the ark to remain in it. And so must I, like you, my
dear Hearers, to take an interest in the Person of Christ and in the
way of salvation! It is a very hopeful sign when you survey the Ark
of salvation and say, "How stoutly built, and how thoroughly well
caulked it is. Never were timbers better put together, there is no
fear of a leakage here! She will live out every storm that will ever
beat upon her. She is a true lifeboat upon a stupendous scale."
I like to hear a sinner say, "Christ is a great Savior! I perceive that
He is able to save to the uttermost and I wonder at the wisdom and
the goodness of God that He has devised such a way of salvation."
So far, so good, dear Friend, but all your admiration of Jesus will
not save you! You must come inside His ark! By a simple faith you
must, at once, give yourselves up to Jesus to be saved in Him. No
longer look at Christ externally, nor survey Him even with a
grateful eye for what He has done for others. But come, now, and
commit yourself to Him. There stands the door and you have to go
through it, and enter into the inner chambers, or you will find no
safety.
Neither would it have been of any use for Noah to go up to the
ark and stand against the door and say, "I do not say that I am not
going in and I do not even say that I am not in already. I have got
one foot in, but I am a moderate man and like to be friendly with
both sides. I am in and yet not in. If the door was shut I do not
know but that it would cut me in halves. But, anyway, I do not want
to be altogether out and I do not want to be quite in. I should like to
stand where I could hurry in as soon as I saw the water coming up,
but, still, while there is another opportunity of taking a walk on the
dry land, I may as well avail myself of it. There is no hurry about it,
is there?
"You see, if a man keeps his finger on the latch of the door, he
can pop in as soon as ever he sees the first drop of rain descending,
or the water coming up anywhere near him. But is there any reason
for being so decided all at once? Everybody likes his liberty, you
know, and does not want to be shut in before he needs to be, at any
rate." No, that would not do for Noah. God said to Him, "Come
into the ark," and he went in at once. Noah must not hesitate, or
linger, or halt, but in he must go–right in.
And, O dear Souls, you that linger, you that are of two opinions.
If you were wise and did but know the danger of being outside, and
the bliss of being inside, instead of hesitating you would want to
penetrate into the ark's inmost recesses and to take your place in
the very center just as I desire to go right to the heart of Christ, into
the very center of His inmost love, for there, only there, shall I be
perfectly at rest! Do not hesitate! Decide! Decide at once! May the
Spirit of God lead you to do so. I know you will not delay if the
effectual call is now being given–you will be obedient to the
heavenly vision at once.
Now, go a little further. It is God that calls and Noah must, in
very deed, personally and actually come. It is said, "Come into the
ark." Now, notice that word, for it teaches us that in entering the
ark, Noah would be coming close to His God. "Come you"–Why
did it not say, "Go you?" Why, because God was inside and meant
to be inside, in the ark, along with Noah and, therefore, He said,
"Come you." Oh that blessed, "come"! We had it the other night,
you know, when we preached from, "Come unto Me all you that
labor and are heavy laden." "Come"–that is the Grace word! But,
oh, it is the Glory word, too, for Christ will say at the last, "Come,
you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from before the foundation of the world."
"Come." "God is in Christ Jesus, reconciling the world unto
Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." And he that
comes to Christ comes to God! If you find rest in Christ you will
only do what the great God has done before you, for He rests in
Christ Jesus! He smells a sweet savor of rest in the Redeemer's
Sacrifice. If you delight in Christ you will only do what God has
always been doing, for He delights in His Son–"This is my
Beloved Son," He said, "in whom I am well pleased." There is no
coming to the Father but by Christ–and he that comes to Christ has
come to the Father–and he has seen and known the Father. Coming
to Christ is coming to God!
Now observe that what is meant here is this–dwellers in Christ
are dwellers with God. To live in the ark was to live with God.
Dwellers in Christ are under the protection of God, for to dwell in
the ark was to have God for a guardian. Noah did as much as say,
when he passed into the ark, "God is here and I have come to live
with Him. God is Master and Protector, here, and I am come to be
protected by Him." O Soul, when you can say, "I trust in Christ,"
then you may go on to say, "Lord, you have been our dwelling
place in all generations." You may "joy in God through Jesus
Christ, by whom, also, we have received the Atonement." Ah, how
near to God that man is who dwells in Christ! When Christ is All in
All to you, the Father Himself loves you and you may rejoice in a
consciousness of communion and fellowship with Him.
Now, notice that when Noah came to the ark, he must come there
to find his all in it. All the food he needs he must find in the ark.
Mistress Noah cannot go out to market any more. Her daughters
can no longer go to the shops and the stores. Noah's sons cannot
farm or trade, or hunt or dig for gold. Houses, lands, treasures will
soon lie deep at the bottom of the flood. All Noah has is in the ark.
It is his sole possession, his all, for which he has suffered the loss
of all things and rejoices to have done so. From the time of his
entrance he is to find all his pleasure in the ark. There are no
outdoor amusements for himself or his family.
He cannot even find pleasure in the scenery, for that is blotted out
by the deluges of rain. The valleys have vanished and even the hills
have disappeared as the deluge has increased. If he is to find any
pleasure, he must find it inside the ark. It was a melancholy
prospect, indeed, if he could look out the window–but his joy and
delight lay within the chambers of the ark, for there was he saved–
and there he dwelt with God! All his food, also, to supply his
necessities he must find inside the ark. He had no barn nor
warehouse to look to, and there was no port at which he could
touch to take in cargo. Whatever need might arise, it must be met
by the stores within the ark, for there was nothing outside but
death.
All his work was inside the ark, too. He had nothing to do, now,
except within that vessel, no fields to plow, no shops to keep,
nothing to do but what was inside the ark. Now, when a soul comes
to Christ, it commits itself to Him for everything. Christ must feed
it–you must eat no longer for your soul anything but the Bread of
Heaven. Jesus must become meat and drink to you, for, "His flesh
is meat, indeed, and His blood is drink, indeed." Now you are to
find your pleasure in Him–your choicest delights, your sweetest
joys–all in Christ Jesus who is our hope, our crown, our delight,
our Heaven.
And now, from now on, your service must be to Him only. "You
are not your own, you are bought with a price," and all that you
have to do in this world now lies within the circumference of
Christ's will. The most common duties of life are now to be
brought within the sacred circle. You have nothing to do outside in
the waters of sin and self and Satan. You need neither fish in the
waters of sin, nor go boating upon the waves of worldliness–you
are in danger if you do. You are inside the ark, shut in with God,
dead to the world and only alive in Christ Jesus, that you may be
floated in Him out of the old world into "the new heavens and the
new earth wherein dwells righteousness."
Thus, you see, Noah, in coming into the ark, left everything and
found everything–even as by us the world is forsaken and Jesus
becomes our All in All–
"Jesus, I my cross have taken,
All to leave, and follow You.
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
You, from now on, my All shall be.
Let the world despise and leave me,
They have left my Savior, too:
But my Lord will not deceive me,
And in Him my all I view."
Again, Noah must come into the ark never to go out again.
"Come you," says God, "into the ark." He is not to make a visit,
but he is to be shut in. As far as that world was concerned, Noah
was to be in the ark as long as it lasted. When the new world came,
then he walked out in joyful liberty. But you and I, dear Brothers
and Sisters, are in Christ, not to be there for a time, but to abide in
Him forever and ever!
If any man thinks to get any good by a transient profession of
Christ, that man is grossly mistaken! If you imagine that you can
take up religion and put it down again–that you can be Believers
today and unbelievers tomorrow, you know nothing of the Grace of
God, for the Grace of God begets a life and that life is incorruptible
and lives forever–nothing can destroy it or remove it. He that is
really in Christ is like Noah in the ark–he is shut in by God's own
hand. "None shall pluck them out of My hand," says Christ, and,
truly, none shall ever take a soul out of the grip of Jesus Christ who
is once within it.
You come to Christ to be married to Him! You take Him to have
Him and hold Him from this day forward, for better for worse, for
richer for poorer, in sickness and in health–and death, itself, shall
not part you. "Who shall separate us from the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord?" Noah, according to the Lord's
command, must come in at once. "And the Lord said unto Noah,
Come you into the ark"–come at once, "for yet seven days, and I
will cause it to rain upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights. And
every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the
face of the earth."
There was a door to the ark and that door was open. Indeed, we
are not told that it had ever been shut since it had been made. There
it stood, wide open. We never hear of anybody that ever went in
and was driven out. We never hear of a single beast or bird, or even
a creeping thing that there was but ever went in was cast out. So
long as the door was open whoever came was welcome, but long-
suffering was drawing to an end. The time was now come for Noah
to go in and the time was also near when the door must be shut.
And so, when the Spirit of God comes to persuade men sweetly in
effectual calling, it is always in the present tense.
The Lord never called any man by effectual Grace to believe in
Christ next week. He calls them to believe in Christ directly, and
one of the ways by which the effectual call may be judged is its
presentness and its pressing character. It is "now, now, NOW!" Oh,
may the Divine Spirit be pleading in some heart at this hour,
saying, "Come to Jesus now, before the next word has left the
speaker's mouth. Put your trust in Jesus before this service ends
and you shall go your way to your chamber and to your bed
justified and saved." The Spirit of God sweetly puts it, "Now is the
accepted time, now is the day of salvation." Even as He did with
Noah, who never dreamed of delays, but, when bid to come, came
then and there–
"Come to the ark, the waters rise
The seas their billows fear!
While darkness gathers over 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."
And now notice, once more–and that is a sweet part of it–that the
Lord said, "Come you and all your house into the ark." How good
it is of the Lord to think of our children! That He should save us,
oh, we must always bless Him for that! But that He should have a
word for our wife, a word for our son and a word for our daughter–
this is overflowing mercy! I have heard of a man who was unkind
enough to say that he married his wife, but he did not intend to
marry all her family. And it sometimes happens that your love to a
person is a good deal tried by that person's relatives and friends–
but when the Lord Jesus Christ takes to His heart the master or the
mistress of a house, He is willing to take all the household!
He came to the jailor's house at Philippi and He looked on him
with love, but He did not stay with Him only, He blessed all his
household–so blessed them that they were all brought to believe in
the Lord–and they were all baptized then and there! There have
been other households upon which the Lord has looked in the same
way. "Come you and your house," is it not? Am I reading
correctly? Look at the passage! Look at it! It is not merely, "Come
you and your house." We will read it again. "The Lord said to
Noah, come you and all your house into the ark." "ALL." Oh, that
blessed comprehensive word, "ALL!"
Then Ham was not left out! Japheth the elder, as he is called in
Genesis 10:21–I know not much for him or against him, but he had
faith enough to enter the ark and he was saved like the rest. Shem,
the second of the household, if I may judge from his descendants,
was always a religious young man, devout and attached to the
worship of the true God. He also entered the ark and was saved. As
for Ham, the scoundrel of the family, it might have been feared that
he would not come in–but notwithstanding all that the Scripture
tells us against him, he was assuredly saved in the ark.
And here was the mercy–that to Japheth, the elder, and to Shem
and to Ham, the promise extended! "Come you and all your house
into the ark." My dear Brother, when you are converted, yourself, it
is a blessing that you have so far a hold of the Gospel, but go on to
grasp more of it! "What must I do to be saved?" asked the jailor.
And Paul replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall
be saved, and your house." Many cannot get to the second part of
the promise. They seem satisfied if they, themselves, are saved. But
oh, for that faith which takes all that the Gospel is prepared to give
and pleads with God that not only I may be saved, but my house,
yes, and ALL my house, without exception!
II. Here is the call, then. The Lord called effectually Shem, Ham,
Japheth and their wives, so that they all came into the ark. Of that
we are going to speak for a few minutes on the second head, which
is THE OBEDIENCE. Noah came into the ark and his wife, and his
sons and their wives. Their obedience was unquestioning. We do
not find them asking anything at all about the reason for the
command–they came as they were bid. They passed through the
doorway and they were all in the ark.
Fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and their wives,
daughters and their husbands, and all of you, oh that the blessed
Spirit would put you, now, into such a frame of mind that you
should at once yield to the Divine precept which says, "Believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved!" Have you not asked
enough questions? You have had some of them answered, but every
answer has only helped you to invent another dozen! Oh, those
questions! Those quibbles! Those debates! Those doubts! They are
ruining thousands! Have you ever heard of the man who sat at the
table and could not eat till he knew the pedigree of the bullock
from which the joint was cut? And then he must know how it was
cooked and comprehend the influence which fire has over flesh to
make it eatable!
Next he must understand anatomy and know how the stomach
acts upon the food and what the gastric juice is made of, and how
food is assimilated. Unless he could get plain answers to every
enquiry, he would not eat. He said, "Plain answers, mind, plain
answers to all my questions, or I will never put a mouthful between
these lips again." Now, there was a poor countryman who came out
of the field and saw the meat and potatoes, and he ate them all up
while the man was asking the questions! And very wise he was,
too. I suppose it was his hunger that made him so sensible. May the
Lord give you a hunger after the Gospel! And when you have it,
may He grant you Grace to feed upon it and receive it into your
soul. May you take what is set before you by infinite love and leave
quibblers to their own folly.
I, myself, have a lot of questions, for the questions I have been
asked by skeptics I have put away along with a lot more of my own
which are far more difficult than theirs. I mean to bring them out
one day, but not until I get to Heaven and carry all I can with me!
We shall have light enough there to see! It is like reading in the
dark down here. We will leave these questions till we get into the
blaze of Glory and, perhaps, they will then answer themselves!
Noah and his wife and his sons and their wives did not worry
themselves about mysteries, but obeyed the plain command and
went into the ark and were saved. They went in at once, but I will
not dwell upon that. The whole eight of them passed in at once!
To get eight people to agree to go anywhere is a difficult thing.
But here they were, all agreed and all ready to start. And they all
went into the ark then and there. It is wondrous that Mistress Shem
did not say that she could not leave all her acquaintances and
forsake her father and all her relations at once. How could she tear
herself away? Good Mistress Japheth might have felt bonds which
hold her to her bosom friends. But so it was–the effectual call went
through all the family–men and women, and they took up their
separated position, coming out of the world at once when the
command came. O, blessed Spirit, give such a call as that to whole
families! All these eight people came away once and for all. They
could each say–
"Farewell, vain world, I must be gone!
You are no home, no rest for me.
From now on my heart must dwell alone,
And have no fellowship with thee.
Farewell, poor world, for you must die!
Even now the floods begin to rise.
I die to you without a sigh,
Save that I mourn your blinded eyes."
There was a closed door between the family of Noah and all the
rest of the world. They went in to be the minority and turned out,
before long, to be the majority! Oh, that men would be willing to
be the minority in a wicked world and to be counted fools! People
say, "If you join that Church, you just shut yourself out from all
society. Nobody will ever know you anymore. You might as well
be dead and buried." But, truly, when a soul gives itself to Christ, it
feels itself to be dead and buried to the world and says to it,
"Adieu, we are, from now on, strangers." The regenerate pass
straight away from communion with this world to hold all their
communion inside the ark–to have all their fellowship in
connection with the Lord Jesus Christ!
Now to Noah and to his wife and to all the family, this was the
most important event that ever happened to them. When all of them
passed out of the world together to find their refuge where God had
provided it–it was a great day with Noah's household! What a
glorious day it is with men and women when they come to Christ!
Their birthday is noteworthy, but this is better! They were only
born to sorrow and death at first–now are they born to Heaven and
eternal life! Their wedding day? This is better! They were but
joined to a mortal in bonds that death will sever, but now they are
married to Christ in everlasting wedlock!
Moreover, simple as the act of going into the ark may seem, it
was one of the most remarkable events in human history. When
Noah and his family entered into the ark, it was a more important
day than when empires rise or fall, for there would have been an
utter end of the human race if it had not been for their decided
action on that memorable day! So, when men give themselves to
Christ, they do not know what mighty things they are doing for
their posterity and for those immediately around them. Time and
eternity quiver with the force of their deed! These converts will be
a blessing to the town in which they live, a blessing to the society
in which they move! The salvation of that woman will be the
salvation of her grandchildren and of their children and so forth!
Who knows, when a man is born to God, but that there shall
spring from him in future years a godly seed that shall become
ministers of Christ and missionaries of the Cross? It is a grand
event when a family is saved! I heard some music in the street just
now and it seemed to me to be playing in good time to keep tune
with the joy we ought to feel when father, mother, sons and
daughters enter the ark of Christ and find salvation there! Oh, if
households enter into Christ, the very bells of Heaven may ring
again and again and again with a joy that has many joys within it!
Now let us go into details. The first fact is that Noah went in. This
was right! Noah was the leader. The husband is the head of the
household, or ought to be, and he should go to Christ first. Whether
his wife comes in, or Shem, or Ham comes in, whoever will come
in, or stay out, Noah goes in first, for he would obey the Lord.
Head of the house, are you in the ark? Are you in Christ? You are a
father. You have sons grown up around you, are you decided? You
wish your family to grow up in the fear of God–I hope you do! But
how can you expect it if you are not saved? If Noah had not gone
into the ark, I should not expect to read that Shem and Ham and
Japheth went in.
O you that are heads of households, your position is very
responsible! You will have to bear much blame if your children go
astray. Unless your example is decided for the Lord, they will be
able to say at the Last Great Day, "Our father was half-hearted and
how could we be expected to give our hearts to God?" Next, his
sons are mentioned. "Noah went in and his sons"–three fine
fellows. A happy father is he who has sons that will go with him in
the things of God. Sons are called in Hebrew, "builders," because
they build up a man's house. May the Holy Spirit build them into
the Church! I would to God there were more young men joining the
Church–that more sons were decided!
You cannot expect, can you, to see the sons' wives brought unless
the sons are on the Lord's side? But, I am sorry to say, they are
often opposers and, when the women are brought to Christ, there
are the husbands standing back and even acting as a hindrance to
the religion of their wives! God grant it may not be so in any case
here! O son of Noah, go into the ark with your father! O child of a
godly parent, follow your father to Christ, that you may follow him
to Heaven! Let Abraham's son be an Isaac and Isaac's son be a
Jacob, and Jacob's son be a Joseph–and so may it go on from
generation to generation!
The next person who is mentioned is the old lady–namely, Noah's
wife. I give her that name because she was, no doubt, somewhere
about 600 years old and she was assuredly an eminent woman. We
usually describe persons who have grown sons by that name in our
family circles. The wife of the father of three sons comes into the
ark. I think of her as of a queenly dame with her sons and their
wives. I see her coming boldly forward with a quiet grace and
firmness to go with her beloved husband–to sink or swim with him.
She is casting in her lot with him not only because he is her
husband, but because he had cast in his lot with God. Oh, beloved
woman, advancing into years, with a grown family about you–if
you have not come to Christ, I trust you may–that in your family
the saved ones may be as Noah and his sons and his wife.
Last came the son's wives and what a happy circumstance for
them! I was thinking, as I turned over the subject, how painful it
would have been if one of the boys had not come in. And then how
grievous it would have been if one of the wives had not come. If
Noah had been obliged to know that one of them should be left out
and he had to have the dreadful selection, whom do you suppose he
would have left out? I cannot imagine! I have heard of the Irishman
with his seven or eight children, and someone was willing to adopt
one. But the question was–which was it to be? One is to be taken
out of the family and they are not to see it again. It is to be brought
up and taken care of by a stranger–the father and mother could
never agree which it should be.
I hope, dear fathers and mothers, you will never agree to have one
of your children lost. Make it your daily and nightly prayer, your
incessant effort, your hourly desire that not only Shem and Ham
and Japheth may be brought, but their wives, too–till not one shall
be left behind–but the whole family shall be saved in Christ Jesus!
Now, all this was done by the sweet, effectual calling of the
Divine Spirit. And let us pray tonight, each one, that the same call
may be given to all our friends, kinsfolk and all assembled here–
that we may be all in Christ, both now and on the Last Great Day!
Amen.
Ge 7:15 • The Parable of the Ark
ERMON 3042
The Parable Of The Ark
"And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all
flesh, wherein is the breath of life."
Genesis 7:15
CHRIST always taught by parables. Hence the popularity and the
power of His teaching. The masses never were and perhaps, never
will be, able to receive instruction in any other way than by
parabolic illustrations. He who would be a successful minister must
open his mouth in parables. He who would win the hearts of the
multitude must closely imitate his Master and preach in parables
which all men can understand. I believe there are few living men
who are able to devise a parable. Those who do possess this rare
ability are very scarce, indeed. Nor do I profess to belong to the
honorable confraternity. I have sometimes endeavored to fashion a
parable and though I found it easy, at times, to manufacture a
figure, yet a parable I can by no means make. I am happy to say it
is not required of me to do so, for God's Word, if it is rightly used,
is suggestive of a thousand parables! And I have no reason to fear
that I shall be short of subjects for preaching when I am able to find
such parables as I do in God's Word.
I shall preach to you this evening a parable. It shall be the parable
of the ark. While I do so, you must understand that the ark was a
real thing–that it was really made to float upon the waters and carry
in it Noah and his family and "two and two of all flesh." This is a
fact, not a myth. But I shall take this real fact and use it as a
parable. Making the ark represent salvation, I shall preach to all
who are within sound of my voice the parable of the ark. The ark,
which saved from the floods of water, is a beautiful picture of Jesus
Christ as the means of salvation, by whom multitudes of all flesh
are preserved and saved from perishing in the floods of eternal
Perdition!
First, then, in working out this parable I shall remark that THERE
IS BUT ONE MEANS OF SALVATION.
The ark of gopher wood in the one case, and the Person of Christ
in the other case, sets forth the one only means that was ever
planned or provided by God. The whole world was drowned except
those happy ones who were found in the ark. The mightiest beast
and the tiniest insect, the stately elephant and the loathsome reptile,
the fleet horse and the creeping snail, the graceful antelope and the
ugly toad–every living substance that was upon the face of the
ground was involved in one common doom–save those only who
were preserved alive in the ark! The noblest animals, endowed with
the finest instincts, were all drowned, despite their powers of
swimming (if they were not fish), save those only who were
sheltered in the ark. The strongest-winged fowls that ever cut the
air were all wearied in their flight and fell into the water, save those
only that were housed in the ark. The proudest tenants of the
forests–those that ranged fearlessly in the broad light of day or
those that prowled stealthily under the cover of night. The
strongest, the mightiest–all were swallowed up in the vast abyss,
save those only that were commanded of God to hide themselves
within the shelter of the ark.
Even so, in the application of my parable, there is only one way
of salvation for all men living under Heaven. There is only one
name whereby they can be saved. Would you be saved, rich man?
There is no way but that whereby the povertystricken pauper is also
to be saved! Would you be delivered, man of intelligence? You
shall be saved in the same way as the most ignorant! "There is none
other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved," but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. There were not two
arks, but one ark–so there are not two Saviors, but one Savior.
There was no other means of salvation except the ark–so there is no
plan of deliverance except by Jesus Christ the Savior of sinners! In
vain you climb the lofty top of Sinai–fifteen cubits upwards shall
the waters prevail! In vain you climb to the highest pinnacles of
your self-conceit and your worldly merit–you shall be drowned–
drowned beyond the hope of salvation for, "other foundation can
no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." Would those in
my congregation be saved? They must all be saved by one way! Do
they object to Christ as the plan of salvation? Then they must be
damned, for there is no other hope for them! Do they think this too
hard? Do they think the revealed plan of salvation too humbling?
Then they must sink, even as the sons of Adam sank beneath the
mighty flood and all flesh was utterly consumed by the
overwhelming billows. There is but one way! Enter into the ark!
Take refuge in Christ, for only thus can you be saved! But, "how
shall you escape if you neglect so great a salvation?" By what
means shall you secure your souls, or your bodies? What plans can
you devise for your security? Your refuges shall prove to be refuges
of lies! The wind, the rain, the hail and the tempest shall destroy
them. There is one Savior, and there is only one.
II. Proceeding with my parable, I must direct your attention to
THE SIZE OF THIS ARK, for this may be comforting to you.
If you read the 15 th Chapter, you will find that the ark was of
immense size. "The length of the arkshall be three hundred cubits,
the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits." It is
an old objection of infidels that there was not room enough in it for
all kinds of creatures that lived on the face of the earth, but we
know, on Divine authority, that if there had not been room enough
in it for all the different kinds of creatures which were then alive,
they would have been drowned. Yet of every kind some were safely
housed so that room enough was found for them all. This is not
very logical, perhaps you will say, but it is conclusive enough for
us if we believe in Revelation. Yet there really is no reason for
anyone to make the objection and we have no room to entertain it,
since the most eminent calculators have proved to demonstration
that the vessel called the ark was of immense size and was able, not
merely to hold all the creatures, but all the provender they would
require for the year during which it floated on the water!
I use this idea, without stopping to expound it further, to trace its
analogy as a beautiful picture of the plan of salvation. Oh, what a
capacious plan! The ark was a great ark, which held all kinds of
creatures–and our Christ is a Great Refuge who saves all kinds of
sinners! The ark was an immense vessel–in it floated a multitude of
animals which were saved. Christ's salvation is an immense
salvation and in it there shall be delivered a multitude which no
man can number! The narrow-minded bigot limits salvation to his
own contracted notions and he still says, "There shall none be
saved except they walk arm-in-arm with me." Poor little miserable
soul! He cuts his coat according to his own fashion and declares
that if men do not all cut their coats in the same way, they cannot
be saved. But the Bible preaches a great salvation! It says there is a
multitude that no man can number who shall stand before the
Throne of God. Here is assembled a multitude of sinners, but if you
all feel your need of a Savior, there is room enough for you in
Heaven! Here is a multitude of hearers, but if every one of you
should come to Christ, with real penitence in your hearts and true
belief in Him, you would find that there was room enough for you
all! That saying is still true, "And yet there is room." There is not
room enough for a Pharisee, for a man who does not feel himself a
sinner, or for a hypocrite. No, nor for a formalist, but there is room
enough for every convicted sinner under God's Heaven! Our
Redeemer is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by
Him. He is able to save all of you! If the Father, who has sent Him,
draws you, and you come unto Him, doubt not that there is room
for you! Do not think, Beloved, because we preach election, that
we preach the election of a few! I find that this is a common
mistake. Someone will say to me, "I don't like your Calvinism, Sir,
because it says that there are a few elected and that nobody else
will be saved."
No, Sir, but it does not say any such thing! It says they are a
multitude that no man can number who have beenelected! And who
knows but what you are one of them? Calvinism gives you ten
thousand times more reason for hope than the Arminian preacher
who stands up and says, "There is room for everybody, but I do not
think there is any special Grace to make them come. If they won't
come, they won't come, and that is the end of it. It is their own
fault and God will not make them come." The Word of God says
they cannot come, yet the Arminian says they can. The poor sinner
feels that he cannot, yet the Arminian declares positively that he
could if he wanted to. And though the poor sinner feels sometimes
that he would if he could, and groans over his inability, this blind
guide tells him it is all nonsense! Whereas, it is, in truth, God's
own work. You must feel it and you may plead against yourself on
account of it, but you shall comefor all that. He will not plead
against you, but He will put strength in you. There is more hope for
you in the pure Gospel of the blessed God than there is in those
fancies and fictions of men which are nowadays preached
everywhere, except in a few places where God has reserved unto
Himself a people who have not bowed their knee to the Baal of the
age!
III. In the third place, note that THE ARK WAS A SAFE
REFUGE.
Noah was commanded to make an ark of gopher wood and, lest
there should be any leakage in it, he was commanded to "pitch it
within and without with pitch." The ark had no harbor to go to and
we never read that Noah called up Shem, Ham and Japheth to work
at the pumps, nor yet that they had any, for there was not a leak in
her. No doubt there were storms during that year, but we do not
hear that the ship was ever in danger of being wrecked. The rocks,
it is true, were too low down to touch her bottom, for, "fifteen
cubits upward did the waters prevail, and the mountains were
covered." Rising 27 feet above the loftiest mountains, she had no
quicksands to fear–they were too deep below her keel. But of
course she was exposed to the winds. Sometimes the hurricane
might have rattled against her and driven her along. Doubtless, at
another time, the hail beat on her top, and the lightning scarred the
brow of night, but the ark sailed on, not one was cast out from her,
nor were her sailors wearied with constant pumping to keep out the
water, or frequent repairs to keep her secure. Though the world was
inundated and ruined, that one ark sailed triumphantly above the
waters! The ark was safe and all who were in her were safe, too.
Now, Sinner, the Christ I preach to you is such a refuge as that.
His Gospel has no flaw in it. As the ark never sank, and the
elements never prevailed against it, so Christ never failed. He
cannot fail. All the principalities and powers are subject to Him.
Those who are in Christ are sheltered from every storm. They shall
never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of His hands.
Remember that God gave the pattern and Noah perfected the work
of the ark before a single fountain of the great deep was broken up,
or one drop of the desolating storm fell from the vengeful clouds.
And it is not less true that our glorious Lord was set up in the
counsels of eternity, a perfect Christ before the clouds of vindictive
wrath began to brew on account of man's iniquity! And His mighty
work of mediation was finished before your poor soul was invited
to take shelter in Him. Oh, I think as the angels looked out of the
windows of Heaven upon the swelling tide and saw how securely
the ark rode upon its surface, they never doubted that all who were
inside were as safe as the ark itself–and is there any reason to doubt
that those who are in Christ are as safe as Christ? "They that trust
in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion which cannot be removed, but
abides forever." They that trust in the Lord are blessed! They are
like trees planted by rivers of water–their leaf shall not wither and
whatever they do shall prosper. If you once come to Jesus and trust
in Him, there is no fear of your sinking! There will be storms,
tempests will beat around you–these you will be sure to have–but
you will be too high up ever to strike on the rocks. If you are once
on board the Good Ship of Salvation, you will be lifted up too high
above the floods to be swallowed in the quicksands. With cheerful
heart I can "commend you to God, and to the word of His Grace."
Christ will preserve you!
Believers, could you give up to anybody the Doctrine of your
Security in Christ? No, I know you could not. Touch one of my
Brothers or Sisters in the Lord who attends this Chapel on that
point and you will soon get your answer. I have sometimes heard
disputes outside the chapel door, when some who do not believe
that Truth of God, have been disputing it, and I have felt confident
that I might leave its defense in your hands. There are mighty men
of valor among you who are not ashamed to uphold the whole
counsel of God, even as I am constantly anxious to declare it!
IV. Now I go to another part of the parable. The creatures in the
ark, of course, needed light–but it is a singular thing that THERE
WAS ONLY ONE WINDOW IN THE ARK.
In the 16 th Chapter we read, "A window shall you make for the
ark." I have often wondered how allthe creatures could see through
one window, but I have not wondered what was meant by it, for I
think it is easy to point the moral. There is only one window
whereby Christians ever get their Light of God. All who come to
Christ and receive salvation by Him are illuminated in one way.
That one window of the ark may fitly represent to us the ministry
of theHoly Spirit. There is only one Light which lightens every
man who comes into the world, if he is lightened at all. Christ is the
Light and it is the Holy Spirit of truth by whom Christ is revealed.
Thus we discern sin, righteousness and judgment. No other
conviction is of any real value. As we are brought under the
teaching of the Spirit, we perceive our guilt and misery–and our
redemption and refuge in Christ! There is only one window to the
ark. "Why," says one, "there are some of us who see light through
one minister and some through another." True, my Friend, but still,
there is only one window. We ministers are only like panes of glass
and you can obtain no light through us but by the operations of the
same Spirit that works in us. And even then, the different panes of
glass give different shades of light. There you have your fine
polished preacher–he is a bit of stained glass, not very transparent,
made to keep the light out rather than to let it in! There is another
pane. He is a square-cut diamond. He seems an old-fashioned
preacher, but he is a bit of good glass, and lets the light through.
Another one is cut after a more refined style, but he is plain and
simple, and the light shines through him. But there is only one light
and only one window! He who reveals to us "the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" is the
Holy Spirit. We have only one Instructor if we preach the Truth of
God. One Brother may be preaching this night in the Church of
England, another may be holding forth the Word of God among the
Independents and others among the Baptists, but they have only
one Spirit if they are taught of God. There was only one window to
the ark and though there were first, second, and third stories to the
ark, all saw out of one window. And the little saint who is on the
first story, gets light through the one window of the Spirit. And the
saint who has been brought up to the second story, gets light
through the same window. And he who has been promoted to the
loftiest story has to get light through the same window, too! There
is no other means of our seeing except through the one window
made to the ark, the window of the Holy Spirit! Have we looked
through that? Have we seen the clear blue sky above us? Or have
we known that when our eye of faith was dim and we could see
nothing at all, still our Master was at the helm and would preserve
us through all our darkness and difficulties?
Now, if you will read the chapter (Gen 6) attentively, you will
find it said, "ROOMS shall you make in the ark" (Gen 6:14).
When I read that, I thought it would serve for a point in the
parable, seeing that it may teach my dear friends that they are not
all to be put together–in the ark, rooms were made. Those who
lived in one room did not stand or sit with those who lived in
another–but they were all in the same ark. So I have sometimes
thought–"There are our Wesleyan friends, some of them love the
Lord. I have no doubt they are in the ark, though they do not
occupy the same apartment as we do. There are our Baptist friends
who love the Lord–we welcome them in our room. Then there are
our Independent friends, those also love the Lord. They are in
another room and our Presbyterian and Episcopalian Brothers and
Sisters–in all these various sections are some who are called of God
and brought into the ark–though they are in different rooms." But,
Beloved, they are all in one ark. There are not two Gospels. As long
as I can find a man who holds the same Gospel, it does not matter
what order of church government he adopts if he is in Christ Jesus–
it is of little consequence what room he is in so long as he is in the
ark. If he belongs to those of whom it is written, "By Grace are you
saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of
God," I will call him Brother.
We cannot all expect to be in one room. The elephants did not
live with the tigers and the lions did not lie down with the sheep.
There were different rooms for different classes of creatures–and it
is a good thing there are different denominations, for I am sure
some of us would not get on very comfortably with certain
denominations. We would need more liberty than we could get in
the Church of England. We would want more freedom than we
could get with the Presbyterians. We would need more soundness
of Doctrine than we could get with the Wesleyans, and we would
want a little more brotherly love, perhaps, than we could get with
some of the Strict Baptists. We could not entirely agree with them
all. And happy is he who can sometimes put his head into one
room, and sometimes into another, and can say to all who love the
Lord Jesus Christ, "Grace be with you all, so long as you are but in
the Ark."
VI. But though there were many rooms in the ark, I want you to
notice that THERE WAS ONLY ONE DOOR.
It is said, "And the door of the ark shall you set in the side
thereof." And there is only one door into the ark of our salvation,
and that is Christ. There are not two Christs preached–one in one
chapel and another in another. "If any man preach any other Gospel
unto you than that which you have received, let him be accursed."
There is but one Gospel. We take in the righteous out of all
sections, but we do not take in all sections! We pick out the godly
from among them all, for we believe "there is a remnant according
to the election of Grace" in the vilest of them. But still, there is
only one door–and "he that enters not by the door, but climbs up
some other way, the same is a thief and a robber."
There was only one door to the ark. Some animals, like the
giraffe, whose heads are higher than those of other animals, might
have to bow their necks to go in by the same entrance as the
waddling ducks which naturally stoop, even as they enter a barn.
And so the lofty ones of this world must bend their stiff necks and
bow their proud heads if theywould enter into the Church by
Christ. The swift horse and the slow-paced snail must enter by one
door. So too the scribes and Pharisees must come in the same way
as the publicans and harlots or be forever excluded. All the beasts
God had chosen went in by the one door–and if any had stood
outside and said, "We shall not enter in that way," they would have
been standing outside till the flood overtook and destroyed them,
for there was only one door. There is only one way of salvation and
there is only one means of getting into it–"Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved." But "he that believes not,"
whoever he may be, must "be damned." There is no hope of any
other way of salvation! He that comes in by the door shall be
saved–and Jesus says, "I am the door."
VII. Proceeding in the parable, you will notice that THIS ARK
HAD SUNDRY STORIES IN IT. They were not all of one height–
there were lower, second and third stories.
This is, to me, a figure of the different kinds of Christians who
are carried to Heaven. There is my poor mourning Brother who
lives in the bottom story. He is always singing–
"Lord, what a wretched land is this!"
He lives just near the keel, on the bare ribs of the ark. He is never
very happy. At times a little light reaches him from the window, but
generally he is so far from the light that he walks in darkness and
sees very little, indeed. His state is that of constant groaning–he
loves to go and hear " the corruption preachers." He revels with
delight in the deep experience ofthe tried family of God. He likes to
hear it said, "We must, through much tribulation, enter into the
Kingdom of God." If you paint the Christian life as a very gloomy
one, he will like your picture, for his is gloomy, indeed. He is
always poring over texts such as this, "O, wretched man that I am!"
He is down in the lower story of the ark. But never mind–he is in
the ark, so we will not scold him, though he has little faith and very
much doubt. "With lower, second, and third stories shall you make
it." There is one of our Brothers who is up a little higher and he is
saying, "I cannot exactly say that I am safe, yet I have a hope that
my head will be kept above the billows, though it goes hard with
me at times. Now and then, too, the Lord bestows 'some drops of
Heaven' upon me. Sometimes, I am like the mountains of Zion,
where 'the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore.'"
He is in the second story, but he is no safer, though he is happier,
than the man on the ground floor! All are safe so long as they are in
the ark! Yet, for my part, I like the uppermost story best. I had
rather live up there where I can sing, "My heart is fixed, O God,
my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise." I love the place
where the saints are "teaching and admonishing one another in
Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs."
I confess that I am obliged to go down to the lower story
sometimes, but I like running up the ladder to the third deck, yet I
am no more safe when I am in the top story than I am when I am in
the bottom one. The same wave that would split the ship and drown
me, were I in the lowest story, would drown me if I were in the
highest. However high some of us and, however low others of us
may be, the same vessel bears us all, for we are one crew in one
boat–and there is no dividing us. Come, then, my poor desponding
Hearer, is that your place, somewhere down at the bottom of the
hold, along with the ballast? Are you always in trials and troubles?
Ah, well, fear not, so long as you are in the ark! Do not be afraid.
Christ is your strength and righteousness. The ark was, in each and
every department, a secure shelter to all who were shut in!
"Ah," says one, "but I am down there, Sir, always at the bottom,
and I am afraid the vessel will sink." Do not be so silly! Why
should your heart beget such fears? I knew a man who went up the
Monument and when he had got half way, he declared that it
vibrated and was about to fall, and he would come down. But the
Monument has not fallen. It is as safe as ever and if 50 like he, or
fifty thousand, went up, the Monument would be just as firm! But
some poor nervous Christians are afraid Christ will let them sink. A
wave comes against the side of the ship, but it does not hurt the
ship, it only drives the wedges in more tightly. The Master is at the
helm–will not that assure your heart? It has floated over so many
billows–will not that increase your confidence? It must, indeed, be
a strong billow that will sink it! No, there never shall be such an
one! And where, do you think, is the power that could destroy the
souls who are sheltered in the Ark of our salvation? Who can lay
anything to the charge of God's elect, since Christ has died and
God the Father has justified us? Happy assurance! We are all safe,
so surely as we are in the Ark of the Covenant. The ark floated
triumphantly on amidst all the dangers and when it finally rested on
Mount Ararat and God spoke to Noah, saying, "Go forth of the ark,
you, and your wife, and your sons, and your sons' wives with you.
Bring forth with you every living thing that is with you," the
inventory was complete and all were safely landed. So, too, will
Christ present the perfect number of all His people to the Father in
The Last Day–not one shall perish!
VIII. This brings me to notice, in the last place, THE
DIFFERENT KINDS OF ANIMALS THAT ENTERED INTO
THE ARK. Listen to the statement–"Of every clean beast you shall
take to you by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that
are not clean by two, the male and his female."
This great ark was meant to save both clean and unclean beasts!
In like manner, the great salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ is
intended for sinners of all kinds, the clean and the unclean. There
are some people in the world whom we may well reckon in the
former class. They are in every way respectable. Their conduct in
society is beyond reproach–exact in their commerce, they were
never known to erase a figure in their account books–they would
not defraud their neighbors, nor would they be so negligent of their
fair fame as to do a disorderly action. Their character is so amiable
that their mothers might regard them from childhood as almost
without a fault. They have grown up to mature years without the
hideous taint of immorality–their practice has been always akin to
piety. Their zeal for the Law of God has been truly commendable
so that Christ, Himself, might have looked on them and loved
them, although He would have tenderly and pitifully admonished
them as He said to the young man who came to Him, "One thing
you lack." Yes, but the desolations of the flood are so universal that
there is no escape except in the ark. The clean beasts must go into
the ark to be saved–and there is not a soul among you so good, nor
a character so clean–but you have need of Christ, whether you
know your need or not! You may be ever so good and excellent but
you will need a Savior. There is something about your character
that is not clean. Your lives require purification which you can
never find except in Christ.
But then the unclean beasts went in likewise. Here is the opposite
class. Are there not some of you, (we know there are), whose
education from early childhood has been vicious–certainly not
virtuous? From your earliest recollections you have gone into the
paths of open profanity. You have dived into the kennel and have
steeped yourselves up to the very lips in the gall of bitterness. You
have been drunks, swearers, Sabbath-breakers and injurious. You
have indulged in all kinds of iniquities. You are just the sort of
persons we should liken to unclean beasts. Yes–then the ark was
built on purpose for you, too! The most moral man will stand no
better when he comes before God than you will. He must be saved
just as you are. You must both be saved by the one common
salvation, or not at all. There is but one Savior for all who are
saved–there is but one Redemption for everyone of you who really
is redeemed. There is but one ark for the clean and the unclean!
"Ah," says someone, "I suppose, then, the unclean beasts come
from the courts, the alleys and the filthy slums of the metropolis."
Oh, no, not particularly so! We can find the unclean as plentifully
in St. James's as in St. Giles's. There are some in what you call
"the higher circles" who, from infancy, have reveled in vice. Soon
did you learn to break the rule of your parents' authority. You
laughed at your mother's tears, you sneered at your father's
counsels–you drank up iniquity in your schooldays, as the greedy
ox drinks up water. You made a boast of your wild riots. You tell of
your wickedness, now, with an air of impertinent triumph. You brag
of having sowed your wild oats. So infamous has been your career,
in spite of good example and education, that I suppose, "Newgate"
could hardly produce a class of unclean beasts more to be loathed
than you are!
Well, now, to each class of sinners I preach. If you feel and
deplore your uncleanness, there is mercy for you, unclean as you
are. I beseech you, come into the Ark and you will never be turned
out! If God shall compel you to come as He did those creatures, He
will never, never drive you away. The ark was for the unclean as
well as for the clean–for the swine as well as for the sheep–for the
poisonous asp as well as for the harmless dove–for the carnivorous
raven as well as for the turtle-dove. All creatures came in–some of
every sort. You swinish sinner, one of Satan's hogs, come in and
you shall be safe! And you lamb-like sinner, gentle and mild, come
in, for there is no other Ark for you, and you will be drowned
unless you come in by the same door into the great Ark of
salvation!
Let us divide these creatures once more. There were creeping
things and there were flying things. On the morningwhen the ark
door was opened, you might have seen, in the sky, a pair of eagles,
a pair of sparrows, a pair of vultures, a pair of ravens, a pair of
hummingbirds, pairs of all kinds of birds that ever cut the azure,
that ever floated on wing, or whispered their song to the evening
gales. In they came. But if you had watched down on the earth, you
would have seen come creeping along a pair of snails, a pair of
snakes and a pair of worms. There ran along a pair of mice. There
came a pair of lizards and in there flew a pair of locusts. There
were pairs of creeping creatures as well as pairs of flying creatures.
Do you see what I mean by that? There are some of you who can
fly so high in knowledge that I should never be able to scan your
great and extensive wisdom–and others of you so ignorant that you
can hardly read your Bibles. Never mind! The eagle must come
down to the door and the ant must go up to it. There is only one
entrance for you all–and as God saved the birds that flew, so He
saved the reptiles that crawled!
Are you a poor, ignorant, crawling creature that never was
noticed–without intellect, without repute, without fame, without
honor? Come along, crawling one! God will not exclude you! I
have often wondered how the poor snail crawled in, but I daresay
he started many a year before! And some of you have started for
years and still you keep crawling on. Ah, then, come along with
you, poor snail! If I could just pick you up and help you on a yard
or two, I would be glad to do it. It is strange how long you have
been near to the Ark, but not yet in–how long you have been near
the portals of the Church, but never joined it.
Remark again, they all got in. Do not fear if you are, in your own
esteem, a crawling reptile–you may have thelowest possible
opinion of yourself–still come! Nobody forbids you to come,