Bousehold Choughts.

NOAH AND THE ARK.

AN INSTRUCTIVE LESSON TO PARENTS.

"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house."-Heb. xi. 7.

As one

PARENTS! suffer the word of exhortation from one who is not a stranger to your hopes and fears, your joys and anxieties. of yourselves, I would speak to myself as well as to you. and ponder what I say.

Listen,

The HISTORY of Noah may be read in the book of Genesis, chapters five to ten, and is full of instruction. On this history I need not dwell particularly at present. You may read it for yourselves and draw from it your own inferences.

The EXAMPLE of Noah, as here presented by the apostle, Heb. xi. 7, is worthy of our serious regard. From this example several important lessons may be drawn; but my design is to view it chiefly in its bearing upon the duty and privilege of parents. Noah was a father; he had children; and the record here made by the apostle conveys instruction to PARENTS:-By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house.

1. The first thing we notice in this record is the FAITH of Noah. He had faith. He lived in an age of unbelief, but he believed; he lived in an age of corruption, but he was righteous. It is as a notable example of faith, that his name is here recorded by the pen of inspiration, for the instruction of all succeeding ages; and especially for the instruction and admonition of parents.

2. The next thing we notice is the BASIS of his faith-that upon which Noah's faith rested-its foundation-a revelation from God. He could not see into the future; he could not tell by his own observation what was coming; he could see no signs of an approaching deluge; every thing moved on as it had done; but he just took God at his word: he believed what God said, and acted accordingly. God in some way made known to him what was coming; told him that he would destroy the earth by a flood; and Noah's faith rested upon this revelation of the divine will and purpose, upon the word of God; for this is the record, Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark, &c.

3. Hence, we next notice the WORKINGS of Noah's faith. It was

not a dead faith; it was not inactive; it produced fruits; and these fruits are seen in both the heart. and the life of Noah:

Noah's faith affected his heart, his mind, his whole soul; he was moved with fear. He had that fear of God which is the companion of love; he believed what God said, and he trembled at his word. Isa. lxvi. 2. As the Psalmist says, My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments; Psa. cxix. 120; so Noah was moved with fear when warned of God of things not seen as yet. Though he could not see, he could believe and stand in awe.

Nor was this all, for Noah's faith affected his life, his conduct, his whole course of action. It made him active; it set him at work; he prepared an ark. This was the GREAT WORK which his faith led him to do. He did other works; he preached righteousness, he lived a life of piety, he walked with God; but his great work was the building of the ark. And in the preparation of this, he had a regard to the safety of his family; he prepared an ark to the saving of his house, his children, his family.

4. So here we have the RESULT of his work of faith-the salvation of his household. He, his wife, and his children, were saved from destruction. His house was saved.

Other results are mentioned by the apostle-he condemned the world, both by his faith and his conduct; and he became heir of the righteousness which is by faith, of a true justifying righteousness; by faith he embraced the promised Messiah, of whom the ark was a type, and so he was accounted righteous before God.

But on these latter results I design not to dwell. In holding up Noah as an example to parents, I shall confine my attention to the first part of the verse, Heb. xi. 7, By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; and what I have to say may be arranged under these three heads:

I. Noah's work of faith-he prepared an ARK;

II. Its results—the saving of his HOUSE; and,

III. The application-an instructive lesson to PARENTS.

I. Noah's work of faith--he prepared an ARK.

1. The preparation of an ark. This was entirely a work of faith. What evidence had Noah that the ark would ever be of any use? How did he know there was a flood coming? He had never seen any thing of the kind; nothing like it had ever been heard of before; and how did he know it was coming now? He had just the word of God for it, that was all, and that was enough. He believed and went forward-a work of faith; so it is here written, By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark by faith-faith-a work of FAITH!

2. Now this was a great work. The ark was large, perhaps "the largest vessel that ever floated on water." Some say it was four hundred and fifty feet long, forty-five broad, and seventy-five feet high; it had three stories; and it must have taken a vast amount of timber and other materials to build it. And all these materials

had to be got ready, and brought to the place of building, and put together; and all this would require a great deal of labour. It could not be done in a day. It took a long time to complete it; it was a great work. The ark, it has been computed, "would carry thirty-two thousand tons; or more than eighteen thousand men, with provisions for eighteen months. It was as large as seventeen first rate ships of war;" and, of course, was amply sufficient to carry the various kinds of animals and birds, together with what was needful for them, besides Noah and his family; and to build it was a very great work.

3. And it was an expensive work. It could not be built without cost. Noah could not do all the work himself; and he had but three sons: it could not be all done in his own family. He must have "carpenters;" and his wicked neighbours did not believe there was any need of such a building. Hence, they would not be likely to help him without pay; and who would pay them but Noah? He must not only give his time, but his money; and when we consider the greatness of the work, we must conclude that it involved no little expense. Some estimate the cost of the ark at one million dollars at the least, according to the present standard; it may have been much more. At all events, it was a very expensive work.

4. And it was a work which required great sacrifices on the part of Noah. He must give his time and attention to it, as well as his money; and while all his friends and neighbours could be seeking their own interests and increasing their wealth, he must just give himself up to the building of the ark. While every body else was growing rich, he must spend all that he had, and make himself poor, in preparing the ark. Here was a sacrifice of worldly interest unparalleled, and of comfort too; the ark was a work of great sacrifice. 5. It was also a work which exposed its builder to scorn and ridicule. There were no signs of a deluge; the scoffing multitude would not believe that Noah had been favoured with a special divine communication on this subject; and as they passed by they would be saying to each other, "I wonder what Noah is going to do with that great thing he is building!" And when Noah warned them of their danger, told them of the coming flood, and pointed to the ark he was building for the saving of his house, they would laugh at him, and say, "Won't you give us a sail when you get it done?" They would also charge him with folly in spending his time and money so uselessly; and wherever they met, NOAH AND HIS ARK, would be the subject of their merriment and ridicule! But Noah bore patiently their reproaches; he feared God, and not man; and in the midst of contempt, reproach, and ridicule, he went on with his work of faith. until it was done.

6. For it was a successful work. In due time it was completed. It was not left half done; it was finished-a successful work.

7. And it was also a profitable work. It proved, as we shall see, a good investment. Though there was much spent upon it, there was nothing lost by it.

Let us then consider.

II. Its results—the saving of his HOUSE.

The ark is built; the last nail is driven; it is all covered with pitch to keep out the water; the windows are fastened in the top; the scaffolding is taken away; and there it stands-THE ARK-the labour of many years! The whole of Noah's fortune is invested in it; his money is all spent and his flocks and herds all gone; he has only just enough left to provision the ark and to keep alive the different kinds of domestic animals; and there stand Noah and his family, poor men and women, without property; all they have is invested in the ark. And the ark is ready, and the time has come for its use. And see what a sight is there. Behold, and wonder. The sun has risen in his glory, and not a cloud is seen. Noah and his family enter the ark, and the animals and the birds begin to come; the heavens are clear, but the beasts and the birds are seeking shelter from a coming storm. The multitudes laugh when they see Noah enter the ark; but when they see the animals come, all sorts of wild beasts, one after another, a long, long train; and then the birds, flock after flock, and all go into the ark along with Noah, they are silent, they are astonished, and as they see the last of the beasts and birds enter, they are pale with fear, and each one asks, "What meaneth this?" But none answers! And now the ark is shut: its doors fast closed; the smallest drop of water can find no entrance. And lo, the heavens gather blackness; the lightnings run upon the ground; and crashing thunder strikes terror to every heart! Floods of rain descend; the fountains of the great deep are broken up; the living multitudes are swept away; while the ark, with its precious burden, rises safely on the swelling billows! Who taught those animals to enter the ark? And who brought the birds into it? The God who ordered its construction. Who watched over the ark in all the flood and brought it safely to the top of Ararat? The God who warned Noah of the coming flood. He prospered the work of his hands. And here are the results:

(1.) Noah and his family are saved. Here was success as to its design: He prepared an ark to the saving of his house, and his house was SAVED. Well was it for his sons that they had such a father; well for his daughters-in-law that they had such husbands. Henry says, "it was well for those women that they married into Noah's family. We sometimes say it is good to be akin to an estate; but I can tell you what is better,-it is better to be akin to the covenant!" God made a covenant with Noah, and therefore his house was saved; so he makes now a covenant with his people, and happy they who despise not their birth-right; happy they who are akin to the covenant! The FAITH of parents blesses their children, because faith produces WORKS; it brings forth fruits which are reaped in successive generations. The whole world, from the flood down, have reaped the fruits of Noah's faith; saving his house, he saved the world! He repeopled it. We are reaping the fruits of Noah's work of faith. How glorious then its results! Saving his house, he peopled

a world!

(2.) And look at the results in another point of view. Noah invested all he had in the ark. It is not likely he had much left when that was done. Now, was all this property lost? Were all his time and labour thrown away? On the contrary, was it not a most profitable investment? And in this respect are not the results all that could be desired? Why, if he had any property left after building the ark, it was all carried away by the flood; so that all he saved was just what he used in building and provisioning the ark; all he saved was what he spent in this work; all he saved was what he used; the rest, if he had any, was all lost! In this view it was profitably invested. But look a little farther, and you will begin to have a sight of the splendid results of this investment of time and money,the ark just carried Noah over the flood from the old world to the new, and when he reached that world, he was lord of the whole of it! He had it all; there was none to dispute his right; he might just divide it among his sons, and make them all as rich as they need desire to be! So that Noah not only saved his house, but enriched his house. What he spent on the ark saved their lives, and made them rich. Such were some of the results of Noah's work of faith. W. J. M.

[To be continued.]

Bistorical and Biographical.

HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

ITS FOUNDERS, ITS PRINCIPLES, AND ITS ACTS.

No. IX.

IV. THE fourth measure of the Reform Assembly was the dissolution of the four Synods. As soon as it was ascertained that the New School party wished to postpone to another year the question of a peaceable division of the Church, the Assembly dismissed the consideration of the subject. The time for decisive action had come. DR. PLUMER* arose, and offered a resolution, which was passed, declaring that by the abrogation of the Plan of Union, the Synod of Western Reserve was no longer a part of the Presbyterian Church. A few days afterwards, a similar resolution was passed in reference to the Synods of Utica, Geneva, and Genessee. These acts are commonly known by the name of "Excision Acts," especially in the nomenclature

* By an oversight, the name of DR. PLUMER was omitted in an enumeration of the principal champions of the Old School, given in a preceding number. Dr. Plumer rendered great service to the cause of truth in the Assembly of 1837; and next to DR. BRECKINRIDGE, no man wielded a greater influence in debate.