The Days of Noah: The Ark and the Heart of God

Genesis 6:3,5-7,13-22

Noah and the flood were both historic, Noah was a real person, a man of faith, a preacher of righteousness, a family man.  His world was a real world, a sinful world that was characterized by certain things: an evil mind-set, the thoughts and imaginations were only evil continually.  It was a foul society, a violent society.  It was also characterized by perverted religion that had corrupted the true religion.  This society was characterized by materialism and pleasure.  Those are the conditions for calamity.  That is the type of lifestyle that brought the flood.  In the light of those things, it all led to something.

What did it lead to?
Gen 6:6 "And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart."    grieved means to suffer pain in one's own heart.  It grieved God at his heart, that is what it led to, grief.  God is not sitting up there in heaven uncaring about the people he created, he is grieved at their behaviour and their lifestyle like you are when your little children grow up and they scorn and mock and throw off the standards that you have tried to teach them..  Don't think less of God, it grieved him at his heart.  It also led to judgment pronounced and carried out.  Gen 6:7,13 "And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.  And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth."  There are consequences for sin and rebellion and the consequences taught in this passage teach a very important lesson, a lesson that is largely forgotten today even in churches where they have a view of a God that has just one attribute and that is love.  That is a heresy.  Sin leads to consequences.  This passage teaches us the consequences.  God is warning mankind of the limitation of his mercy and grace.  

This passage teaches that human beings through their willful sin and willful neglect of salvation can put themselves beyond grace.  Beyond God's mercy.  By gross willful rebellion you can put yourself in the place where God says, "it is now over for you, there is no possibility of recall.  Beyond grace, mercy and redemption forever.  Where the only thing is judgment.  Noah's world was in precisely that position.  120 years and that is it, God says "enough"  There is a limit to God's mercy and grace.  And how much grace has been poured on you week by week, unbeliever.  How many times has God spoken to you in grace and mercy.  But you have scorned his love, rejected his forgiveness.  The lesson this passage is teaching is very simple, you need to be aware that the grace of God is not everlasting.  If God's grace was everlasting the flood would not have come.  If you are not a Christian, one day, if you continue rejecting the gospel, one day you will be one day too late.

The Days of Noah Part 4: The Flood

This is the 4th in a series of the series called The days of Noah, this being The Flood.  This is one of the most powerful sermons I have ever heard, and it moved me to tears.  I know that it will be a blessing to you, and I beseech you to either read the whole of the notes (which are long) or take the time to listen to the sermon at Sermon Audio which is linked below. 

As a background, prior to Noah building the ark, God spoke to Noah, who "found grace in the eyes of the LORD" (Gen 6:8) and instructed Noah to build the ark to the LORD's specifications (Gen 6:13-16) and told Noah that he, the LORD would bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, and every living thing that is in the earth would die, but with Noah he would establish his covenant. In Gen 6:3 the LORD said "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years."  Noah with his wife, his sons, and his son's wives, would be safe on the ark.  This is the background, and following are the notes from the sermon:

The Days of Noah - the Flood

Genesis 7:1-24

Between the end of Gen 6 and Gen 7:1 almost 120 years had passed during which Noah continued working and building the ark.  And when the ark was finished, God speaks to Noah Gen 7:1-4 "And the LORD said unto Noah, come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.  Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.  Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.  For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth."    God speaks after 120 years and tells Noah to bring his family and the animals and the birds into the ark for the time of judgment had come.  120 years had passed since the first warning, since the preacher of righteousness was instructed by God to begin building the ark.  Now God says there are seven days left, the time has come.

Seven more days of grace V4. The door of grace, of salvation on the side of the ark would be open for another seven days.   Didn't God give the people in the world of Noah's day every opportunity.  He gave them the preacher, he gave them 120 years, and now a further 7 days of grace.  The bible tells us that Noah gathers his family into the ark.  His wife, his sons and his son's wives.  But note that Noah's sons had not been born when God had last spoken to Noah.  When God told Noah that the flood was coming 120 years ago, Noah's sons were not born, because it tells us that Noah's sons were born when Noah was 500 years old (Gen 5:32) and the flood came when Noah was 600 (Gen 7:6) but God had told Noah 120 years previous that the flood would come, 20 years before Noah's sons were born.  So Noah's sons had grown up when their father was building the ark and preaching righteousness.  God had not directly spoken since, Noah's sons had never heard the message direct from God, just from their father the preacher.  But when they were 100 years old, they and their wives went into the ark.  They believed the preacher, they believed the flood was coming, but the ungodly did not and yet both groups had heard the same message from the same preacher.  It saved some and condemned others.  Because some people, when they hear the gospel, the gospel saves them.  But some people, the gospel hardens.

The Days of Noah Part 2: Noah the Person

This is the second in a 7 part series on Noah and the Flood from Genesis 6.

The Days of Noah:  Part 2, Noah the Person

Noah lived 4,600 years ago.  He was a real, historical person and has a very detailed family tree.  The flood is also a real, historical event.  Genesis and the Lord Jesus say so, there are many references to Noah and the flood in the bible.  In almost every continent, there are flood stories. 

What type of a man was Noah?  he has a reputation as the man who built the ark, and sinned after the flood was over in drunkenness.  But let us truly look at Noah as the person he was.

Noah was descended from Seth.  Why is this important?  Noah was brought up in a godly home.  Who is Seth?  Adam's third son.  First Cain, then Abel but Cain murdered Abel and was sent away.  From Cain came the godless line.  After this another son was born to Adam called Seth and the godly line continued through that line. Genesis 4:25-26 "And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth.  For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.  And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD."  Noah was from this line.  Noah's great-grandfather was so much a man of God that he was taken straight from  earth to heaven, that being Enoch. Genesis 5:24 "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him".

Noah's father, Lamech, called his son Noah because Noah means "rest" or "comfort".  Lamech knew that toil and hardship was in this world and it was a result of human sin and God's curse..  Gen 5:28-29  "And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son: and he called his name Noah saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed." So Lamech named his son Noah because he knew that the reason why things were hard and life was troubled was because of human sin.  Lamech knew far more than most modern people.  Lamech knew far more than many Christians in the western world today.  People wonder why bad things happen to Christians.  Lamech knew why bad things happen to good people and this was 4,600 years ago.  Today Christians ask "why did this happen to me?"  Because we live in a cursed, fallen world and these bad thing happen because of human sin.  Lamech lived in a world in which he needed comfort and rest, so he named his son Noah.  God's name would have been mentioned in Noah's home and this influenced the boy Noah.

The Days of Noah Part 1: Noah was a real, historic person

Are you one that doubts the reality of the man called Noah, and the flood that God brought upon the earth?  This is the first in a 7 part series of in-depth articles on Genesis 6 to 9 based on the King James bible.

The Days of Noah Part 1

The Proofs that Noah was a living, historic person and the flood was an actual, historic fact.

Genesis 6:1-14 "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.  And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.  There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.  And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.  And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.  But Noah found grace  in the eyes of the LORD.  These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.  The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.  And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.  And God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.  Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch."
 
About 5,000 years ago, around 3,000 BC there lived a man called Noah.  Noah was a man who was very different from the generation in which he lived.  We read about Noah mostly in the book of Genesis.  The book of Genesis is the book of beginnings and it is a history book.  Genesis contains real, actual, literal history.  Genesis is the foundation of the whole bible and all the major doctrines of scripture can be traced in their foundation to the book of Genesis.  The author is God, the writer is Moses.  The first 5 books of the bible are called the books of Moses, the Lord Jesus says so in John 5:46 "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me."  2 Chron 35:12 "......as it is written in the book of Moses" 2 Corin 3:15 "But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart." Romans 10:5 "For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law..." 1 Corin 9:9  "For it is written in the law of Moses..."   To disagree on this is to disagree with the bible.  Noah and the events recorded about his day are real history.  These things happened and these things are recorded for us that we may learn from them.  1 Corin 10:11 "Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come."  There is a stark lesson for the new testament church to be found in Noah and his day as recorded in the book of Genesis 6.

Ephesians: All of Grace

Ephesians 1:3-10 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.  In whom we have redemption though his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him."

The blessings of God towards his people are amazing, they are spiritual blessings, and believers receive these spiritual blessings in that they are chosen in Christ from before the created order and they are chosen in Christ to be holy and without blame.  They are chosen in Christ to be sanctified, separation from sin to God, chosen to be made positionally holy and blameless.  God chose you for that before you existed.  We are adopted as his own children, he determined beforehand, he decreed from eternity that we would be adopted as his children, that we would be brought into the household of God and receive an eternal inheritance in Christ Jesus. 

By pure grace, which we have no right to, he has made us accepted in the very holy presence of God.  What blessings.  Anyone that would say "so what" or take these blessings for granted has never understood sin or God's holiness because that God would do those things for sinful wretches is absolutely astonishing.  Not to be amazed at these things that the bible says that God has done is to be an easy believer who sees salvation as a human right.  But the true Christian is saved by grace, undeserved mercy.  By grace, no one is saved as a human right.  The church needs to get away from the idea that humans have any right before God.  No one has rights to those things because salvation is of grace through faith.  Only grace.  It is only after we are adopted into his family that we become his children and the inheritors of eternal blessings from God and even then it is by Jesus Christ.  

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace.  

Who are Abraham's Descendants? What are the Covenants of Scripture?

Genesis 12:1-3

Genesis 15:1-21

Abram obeyed God, he left his father's house and his father's land when he was 75.  In Genesis 12 God is voicing a covenant with Abram;  an agreement, a promise between two parties.  There are certain things that Abram has to do, and in light of this there are certain promises that God makes to Abram.  I will give you the land, I will make of you a great nation, I will make you a blessing to all nations, in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.  People have called this covenant that God made with Abram the Covenant of Promise.  In Genesis 15 we see the covenant ratified or made legal in a powerful way.

An explanation of the covenants of scripture.  God always deals with people by way of covenant in the bible.  The Adamic covenant made with Adam: The covenant of works, certain duties imposed by God and then a warning..  "do not eat of the fruit....."  there were consequences for breaking covenants.  This was a contract of relationship between two parties, God and man.  Adam and Eve disobeyed God and broke the covenant and now man is under the sentence of death.  Humans cannot approach God by our works.  It was finished at the fall.

Then the Noahic covenant, the covenant of preservation.  The rainbow is the sign of that covenant.  God promised to do certain things, not to flood the world with water again.  Then there is the Mosaic covenant, the covenant of law and sacrifices.  The law was never meant to save.  If the law was meant to save why did they have a sacrificial system? The law was to show sin, failure to keep the law.  All these covenants can be summed up under three broad sections:

Lament and Hope

 

Lament and hope, that is the title in my bible above Chapter 3 of the book of Lamentations.  Last Saturday my husband went for a second CT scan to see if the pulmonary nodule they noticed on the first scan is cancer.  Yesterday we drove to Victoria over the Malahat highway, with its gloriously beautiful views of the inlet far below and the Olympic mountains in the distance.  There were RVs pulled over at the viewpoints, admiring the beauty, but I was on the verge of tears the whole time thinking what it will mean if this little nodule is cancer.  Lamenting, that is the word.  Sorrowful and miserable.  Now what kind of an attitude is that for a Christian?  Selfish, that is what it is..  how can I on one hand, pray that the lump is benign and say “thy will be done” and then worry about it?  very hypocritical I would say.

My husband asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital, but I declined saying that I would rather go into the doctor’s office on Sept. 23 to find out the results of the scan.  The hospital is not far away, easy and free parking.  That is the bonus in living in a smaller town.  He had the first scan almost two weeks ago so he knew what to expect and as tests go, it is an easy test.

Now I am feeling much better than I was, and so this is my hope.  I hope that the nodule is benign, but if it is malignant, I pray the Lord will give both of us grace and strength to deal with it and I have no doubt that he will..  because Lamentations 3:21-26 are what I cling to:

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.  It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.  The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.  The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

The photo above is of a beautiful, peaceful sunset a week or so ago looking to the west from our deck, with  the Garry Oak down the street and the distant hills in the background.  It wasn’t as colorful as some of our sunsets can be, but the colors were just so peaceful.. it reminds me that with a stressful day, there is beauty in the sunset, and hope for tomorrow.

Daily Living: Lessons From the Lake

Lessons From the Lake -  written by me in July, 2009

Today I spent a good deal of time sitting on the deck outside our motel room watching the little events taking place around me.

This morning there were some boys fishing off the floating dock. Their dog, a Labrador retriever, had jumped off the dock and was swimming around having fun, but then it became clear that he was trying to find a way back onto the dock without any success. The owner was calling him, and finally he swam towards one of the boys who grabbed his collar and pulled him to safety on the dock.

That reminded me of the unbeliever in the world, having a good time, and then they come to the end of themselves. The owner on the dock was someone preaching the gospel, repent! Come to the Lord Jesus. Finally the unbeliever believes, and by grace through faith he is saved..

Watching the sky was interesting also. In the Cariboo they say if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes and it will change. Well, that was true today. Cloudy, then sunny, then very dark clouds, then sunny again. It was like that all day long. This reminds me of the Christian walk. Sometimes everything is going very smoothly, then trials come, and all a believer can do is give their trial to the Lord and trust in Him. Soon in one way or another, the trial will be over, and things will be "sunny" again.

Early this morning I went down to the lake to watch the little fish in the clarity of the water near the shore. But something happened during the day. Little by little I could see tiny flecks of green on the surface and below the surface. First here and there, and by the end of the day, it was a murky mess. The green going down to the depths, and the surface with so much green it looked like an oil spill. But it is not. There are reeds across the lake, and it seems that they are shedding. It didn't take long to change the whole look of the lake close-up.

All day I have been watching people having fun, playing games, fishing, without a clue that we are in the end times, and that things are going to get very bad. The green was a picture to me of the dark times coming in, until the whole world will know the judgment of God.

And finally, something for me.. I am allergic to bees and wasps, and thankfully have not seen but one wasp since we have been here. There have been bees, but gathering pollen on the flowers. This afternoon, as I sat on my deck chair, a bee landed right on my upper arm, hesitated, and then flew away.. This reminded me of the devil going about, seeking whom he may devour. But the Lord is in control, and He protected me from being stung.

The piece above was written in July 2009 when we were vacationing at McLeese Lake in B.C.'s Cariboo..   so much has changed since that time, but I am thankful that the Lord is in control.

Below is my photo of the storm lighting and the little dock.

A Good Lesson - The Kite

The Kite and Its String

Once on a time a paper kite

Was mounted to a wondrous height,

Where, giddy with its elevation,

It thus expressed self-admiration:

"See how the crowds of gazing people

Admire my flight above the steeple;

How would they wonder if they knew

All that a kite like me can do!

Were I but free, I'd take a flight,

And pierce the clouds beyond their sight;

But, ah! like a poor prisoner bound,

My string confines me near the ground.

I'd brave the eagle's towering wing,

Might I but fly without a string"

It tugged and pulled, while thus it spoke,

To break the string - at last it broke.

Deprived at once of all its stay,

In vain it tried to soar away:

Unable its own weight to bear,

It fluttered downward through the air.

Unable its own course to guide,

The wind soon plunged it to the tide.

Ah, foolish kite, you had no wing:

How could you fly without a string?

My heart replied, "O Lord, I see

How much this kite resembles me

Forgetful that by Thee I stand,

Impatient of Thy ruling hand;

How oft I've wished to break the lines

Thy wisdom for my lot assigns?

How oft indulged a vain desire

For something more, or something higher,

And, but for grace and love divine,

A fall thus dreadful had been mine.

John Newton

Bible Men - John 9: The Man Born Blind

The Man Born Blind – John 9

The man born blind has an important distinction in the bible.  Unlike Bartimaeus or Nicodemus, or others that we read of, he did not come to the Lord Jesus or cry out for him, but the Lord Jesus came to him, and the man born blind was used by the Lord Jesus in a mighty way.  This healing is only in the book of John, which is the gospel that proclaims the deity of the Lord Jesus.

One day, as Jesus passed by with his disciples, he saw a man blind from his birth, and the question arose from his disciples regarding who caused his blindness? V2 “And his disciples asked him saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?”  An interesting question, for how could one sin in the womb so that he would be born blind?  But Jesus answered them V3-5 "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.  I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

The bible says in Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" and all are in darkness, but the Lord Jesus is the light of the world - and we are to come out of darkness and into the light by believing the gospel, and receiving the Lord Jesus as our Saviour. Jesus chose to manifest his power over this man's blindness on the sabbath day, the Jews holy day, showing that he was Lord over the sabbath.

And thus speaking, Jesus V6-7 "…….spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay”  Bartimaeus called out to the Lord Jesus to heal him, and Jesus only spoke the word and Bartimaeus could see.  But in this case the blind man's eyes were covered with clay made by the Lord Jesus and lovingly placed on his eyes.  This was to require an act of obedience from the man.  He was told to "go, wash in the pool of Siloam"  he was to go to a particular place for a particular action. The man born blind went, and washed, and "came seeing".  After this, the man born blind becomes a witness for Jesus.

Why are Christians Still on this Earth?

Believer, do you ever wonder why you are still in this world of woe?  Do you have a strong desire to be "absent from the body and present with the Lord"?   Here is the answer from Spurgeon.
 

We live unto the Lord.

Romans 14:8 "For whether we live, we live unto the Lord: and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

If God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at the moment of conversion. It was not absolutely necessary for our preparation for immortality that we should tarry here. It is possible for a man to be taken to heaven, and to be found meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light, though he has but just believed in Jesus. It is true that our sanctification is a long and continued process, and we shall not be perfected till we lay aside our bodies and enter within the veil; but nevertheless, had the Lord so willed it, He might have changed us from imperfection to perfection, and have taken us to heaven at once. Why then are we here? Would God keep His children out of paradise a single moment longer than was necessary? Why is the army of the living God still on the battle-field when one charge might give them the victory? Why are His children still wandering hither and thither through a maze, when a solitary word from His lips would bring them into the centre of their hopes in heaven? The answer is-they are here that they may "live unto the Lord," and may bring others to know His love. We remain on earth as sowers to scatter good seed; as ploughmen to break up the fallow ground; as heralds publishing salvation. We are here as the "salt of the earth," to be a blessing to the world. We are here to glorify Christ in our daily life. We are here as workers for Him, and as "workers together with Him." Let us see that our life answereth its end. Let us live earnest, useful, holy lives, to "the praise of the glory of His grace

What is the Gospel?

Yesterday came another reminder of the brevity of life, I heard of two deaths.  Therefore I am compelled to post this very important topic called What is the Gospel? and I pray that you will read it in its entirety

What is the Gospel - 15 points

Romans 1:14-18 “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise.  So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;”

All your knowledge is divided into 3 categories:  1, things that are not important, 2 things that are important, 3 things that are absolutely essential.  You can live a happy life without knowing certain things.  Some things are interesting, some are useful, but they are not important that they are something  you must know.  Other things are very important that we may understanding, example: how to drive a car according to the rules of the road, how to use a chain saw's safety rules, electrical safety.. if you live a life without knowing important things, you might live a short life.

The gospel is absolutely essential not only for well being, but essential for your everlasting welfare.  If you are ignorant of the gospel for your whole life, you will be suffering the consequences one million years from now.  But if you understand the gospel but accept it and receive it and believe it, you will be receiving the benefits of the knowledge of the gospel in a million years time.

The gospel is the most important subject.  This is the knowledge that we most need..  this knowledge of the gospel is very lacking.  Not all of the gospel is preached, just the part about believing and you are forgiven.  What is the real gospel?  the biblical gospel.  You must know this because if we do not know the real gospel, how are we going to witness it to others?

Stand Still and See

This is a beautiful poem.  I've carried it around with me for at least 15 years, having read the biography of John and Betty Stam, a couple of great faith and courage.  I hope that it is not a copyright infringement to post it on this blog, if it is let me know and I will remove it.

STAND STILL AND SEE

a Poem by Betty Stam, martyred with her husband in China, December 8, 1934.

    I'm standing, Lord

There is a mist that blinds my sight.

Sharp jagged rocks, front, left, and right.

Hover, dim, gigantic in the night.

   Where is the way?

   I'm standing, Lord.

The black rock hems me in behind

Above my head a moaning wind

Chills and oppresses heart and mind.

   I am afraid!

   I'm standing, Lord.

The rock is hard beneath my feet.

I nearly slipped Lord on the sleet.

So weary, Lord and where a seat?

   Still must I stand?

He answered me, and on His face

A look ineffable of grace,

Of perfect, understanding love,

Which all my murmuring did remove.

   I'm standing, Lord.

Since Thou hast spoken, Lord I see

Thou hast beset; these rocks are Thee;

And since Thy love encloses me,

I stand and sing.