It does turn to God's Word and
in particular to that last verse that we read in our scripture
reading in the book of Genesis. Genesis chapter 8 and verse 22. Genesis chapter 8 and verse 22. While the earth remaineth sea
time and harvest and cold and heat and summer and winter and
day and night shall not cease. As we turn to this particular verse which I suppose
is not unfamiliar to all of us, I want us to divide the subject
matter into two parts. First of all to look at the verse
in what we might say is a doctrinal way and then, secondly, to examine
it more particularly in an experimental fashion. First of all, then,
to look at the doctrine that is contained in this verse. It is good, of course, as we
come to Scripture, to examine biblical doctrine. the truths
that lie behind the various statements that we find here in the book
of God. And the particular doctrine that
we have here is that of the sovereign providence of God. The God who
is speaking these words to Noah is of course one who is above
and beyond our comprehension. there is a sense in which we
have to recognize that God is unknowable. We have those questions
that are put in Job chapter 11. I think it's Eliphaz who is speaking
in that chapter, and he says to Job, Canst thou by searching
find out God? Can so find out the Almighty
unto perfection? It is higher than heaven. What
can so know? Deeper than hell, what can so
do? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than
the sea. How true it is! that we cannot
by our own searchings come to any right or proper understanding
of God. We can only know God if he is
pleased to reveal himself. and the glorious truth of course
is that in that sense God is knowable because he has condescended
to make himself known. He is pleased to reveal himself
to the sinful sons of men and primarily we have that revelation
before us on the page of Holy Scripture. This is why the doctrine
of scripture is so important this is the revelation that God
has given to us a special revelation in which he declares something
of his own character and reveals to us all his holy attributes
but we don't only have this special revelation there is also a revelation
of God that is more general not all of course through the centuries
have had access to the written word of God but there is a revelation
that all men in every generation have seen the invisible things
of him from the creation of the earth are clearly seen being
understood by the things that are male even his eternal power
and God says Paul therefore they are without excuse. It is a revelation of God in
his work of creation and in that work we see the great power of
God, the manner in which God has brought the vast universe
into being. He spake and it was done. He commanded it and it stood
fast. And so the psalmist says the
heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth
his handiwork. But he goes on to say day unto
day uttereth voice. and night unto night show us
knowledge and his line is gone out into all the world. He doesn't only speak then there
at the beginning of Psalm 19 of how God has declared himself,
revealed himself in creation, that the heavens speak of his
power and his glory, but he also refers there to God's providence,
day unto day. uttereth voice, night unto night
showeth knowledge." And in providence, what is it that God reveals concerning
Himself? Does He not make known something
of His faithfulness? And that's what we see. This
is what God is declaring concerning Himself here in the words of
our text. This is the doctrine that lies
behind these words, the sovereign providence of God. while the
earth remaineth, sea-time, and harvest, and cold, and heat,
and summer, and winter, and day, and night, shall not cease."
What do we see concerning any particular attribute in God?
Here we are reminded of His faithfulness. He is a faithful God. Having
created all things, He is the One who sustains all things. He upholds every part of His
creation. He maketh His Son to rise on
the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and
on the unjust. how God is faithful to his creatures. And we are reminded of this,
are we not, at such a time of the year as this, as we have
come through the summer, as we come into the autumn, and of
course it is that time associated with harvest. How God has clothed
the earth in order to provide that food that is necessary to
men. Look at the language that we
have then, there in the book of Psalms, in Psalm 65. Psalm 65 at verse 8 following. It says there, verse 9 rather, following,
Thou visitest the earth and waterest it, Thou greatly enrichest it
with the river of God, which is full of water. Thou preparest
them corn when thou hast so provided for it. Thou waterest the ridges
thereof abundantly. Thou settlest the furrows thereof.
Thou makest it soft with showers. Thou blessest the springing thereof.
Thou crownest the year with thy goodness, and thy paths drop
blackness. They drop upon the pastures of
the wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side.
The pastures are clothed with flocks, the valleys also are
covered over with corn, they shout for joy, they also sing."
Paul, God is good, is he not? And God is good to his creation. He makes every provision that
life might yet be sustained. The context here, of course,
is one in which God had just sent a terrible judgment upon
the earth and had destroyed all living things. But here we see
his determination that this shall not be the case again. He will
make provision. He giveth to the beast his food,
says the psalmist, and to the young ravens which cry. And we are to take account of
these things, we are to observe these things, the Lord Jesus
in the course of his own preaching. Remember what He says there in
the Sermon on the Mount, Behold the fowls of the air, for they
sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your
Heavenly Father feedeth them. O are ye not so much more than
the fowl, he says. How God feeds the birds, watches
over them, will he not therefore watch over man who stands the
noblest of all his creatures? Again the words of the Lord Jesus,
he says, are not two sparrows sold for a farthing, and one
of them shall not fall on the grounds without your Heavenly
Father." And the word that's used there with regards to the
falling on the ground isn't a reference to the bird eventually dying
and ceasing to fly. The reference more particularly
is to the occasions when that bird falls to the ground to find
its food. Now God, you see, is in these
things. He makes provision for the birds, He feeds all of His
creatures, and we are to observe these things. Behold, says the
Lord Jesus, the fowls of the air. Look on these things, consider
these things. Whoso is wise and will observe
these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness
of the Lord, the faithfulness of God. says the Psalms. What we see then here is a God
who is faithful. While the earth remaineth, seedtime
and harvest, cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and
night shall not cease. Why is God faithful? Well, because
He is a sovereign God. He can be faithful. He has that
ability to be faithful. He is the one who is in control
of every part of His creation. There were those in the 18th
century called deists who denied the providence of God. They didn't
believe that there was such a thing as a God who was watching over
His creatures and ordering all things by His decree. What foolish
men they were to deny a sovereign providence. God is faithful because
He is. Who He is? He's God. And He is
that One who is in control. Our God is in the heavens, says
the psalmist, He hath done whatsoever He pleaseth. All things are subject
to his sovereign goodwill and pleasure and nothing can fall
outside of that sovereign providence of God. And now in Daniel chapter
4 we see that that great emperor Nebuchadnezzar one of
the mightiest emperors, I suppose, that's ever lived on the face
of the earth, over the great empire of Babylon. And yet, how
his heart was so lifted up with pride. Is he not the one who
is spoken of in Isaiah, I think it's Isaiah 14, as Lucifer, who
would be as God, you see. And Babylon was where he lived
and where he write and there is Daniel the captive in Babylon
and he writes of the man there in the fourth chapter and how
God humbled that mighty man and his reason failed him and he
became as one of the beasts of the earth and he had to be brought
to this to acknowledge the sovereignty of God, and he does so. There
in verse 35 of Daniel 4, all the inhabitants of the earth,
he says, are reputed as nothing. and He doeth according to His
will among the armies of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth.
And none can stay His hand or say to Him, What doest thou? Oh, He is brought to acknowledge
that God is the One. The heavens do truly reign. God is that One who is sovereign. While the earth remaineth sea
time and harvest and cold and heat and summer and winter and
day and night, shall not cease. Now this is also true spiritually
as well as it is true in the natural realm. And so in the
second place I want us to consider the text more particularly in
relation to the experiences of the people of God. And I want
to think in terms of believers and those different seasons that
they will experience in their own souls. Taking this figure,
as it were, from nature and seeking with God's help to apply it in
an experimental sense. Now there is, of course, an order
in nature, we're aware of that. We have the winter season and
it's necessary of course to have the various seasons, the nipping
frost, the cold, the wind, all that weather that we associated
with the season of winter and then we look for the coming of
the spring and spring ushers in the lovely season of the summer,
and then after that we come to the time of harvest, the autumn
time of the year, the various seasons that we are favoured
with. And it's that that is being spoken
of, of course, as I've sought to say here in the text, it's
God in His sovereignty, it's God in His faithfulness. But
when we think of God's dealings with His people, there is an
order. There's an order in nature, there is also an order that God
observes with regards to His gracious dealings with His children. And I think in particular here,
and I'm sure many of you are familiar with it, of that remarkable
sermon that was preached by Mr. Philpott that bears the title,
Winter for Harvest, and it's The sermon that he preaches from
rather an obscure text, and in some ways people might say that
his exegesis of the passage isn't altogether correct. And I have some sympathy with
that observation and that criticism. But the subject matter, what
he actually says in the sermon, is very good and very sound. used to be said many times of
Mr Spurgeon, that he made a text a pretext, because he wanted
to say a certain thing, that he'd find a text to hang what
he wanted to say on, and I suppose the same criticism is what some
would make of Mr Philpott concerning his sermon, Winter of Four Harvests,
and the text he preaches from is found in Isaiah 18 and verses
5 and 6, for before the harvest when the body is perfect, and
the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut
off the sprigs with pruning hooks, take away and cut down the branches,
they shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains and
to the beasts of the earth, and the fowls shall summer upon them,
and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them." That's
the text. And the sermon, and I do commend
it to a careful consideration, a careful reading, the sermon
is entitled Winter for Harvest. And one of the observations he
makes there is how, in grace, the order of the seasons is somewhat
different. Oh yes, there's spring and summer,
but before the time of harvest, He says there is often another
short time of winter. There's winter that comes in
before the harvest in the matter of God's dealings with the soul. Now some, some people do experience
that. They experience a long winter. They know something of real conviction
of sin. They feel awful leanness. in their own souls and in one
of his hymns Joseph Hart speaks of knowing such an experience
in his own case he says but I from month to month complain I feel
no warmth no fruits I see I look for life but dead remain tis
winter all the year with me how he was made to feel it. And there are those, you see,
who do know such an experience, a real, a deep, a trying, a testing
conviction of sin, an awful sense of leanness. They want to be
fruitful and yet they feel so barren in their own souls. Now, when the Lord comes, Why
that's summer in the soul, is it not? It's summer when the
presence of the Lord is felt and enjoyed. And we have that
promise, do we not? In the book of Malachi, unto
you that fear my name shall the son of righteousness arise with
healing in his wings. healing in His beams, O when
the sun of righteousness arises, as we read in the song of Solomon,
the winter is past, and the time of the singing of birds is come. And there are different seasons
in the life, in the experience of the children of God, as long
as the earth remaineth, while the earth remaineth, sea time,
and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall
not cease." It's not only true with regards to what we witness
in nature, in God's creation all around us, but are not these
things written for our learning also? Can there not be a personal
application? Doesn't God deal with us in our
souls in such strange ways? There are those seasons of winter
as well as those favoured seasons when we really feel something
of the Lord's gracious presence and He's very real to us and
He's very kind to us and He favours us and He smiles upon us. Now
the psalmist so often desires those seasons when the Lord will
look upon him. There'll be many who say, who
will show us any good, he says. Lord, lift thou up the light
of thy countenance upon us. All He wants to know, you see,
that shining, the sun of righteousness arising with healing in His beings. But that reminds us, does it
not, that there's not only the season of winter and the season
of summer for the soul, there is also mentioned here of day
and of night. day and night shall not cease
its days." The psalmist again speaks, what
does the psalmist say, Psalm 104, They make us darkness and
it is light, Wherein all the beasts of the forest creep. God makes the darkness as well
as making the light. And there are sometimes those
seasons in the believer's experience when he feels it's neither day
or night. It's almost like a season of
half-light to him. And again it's spoken of there
in scripture, in Zachariah, that book that is full of strange
visions, a remarkable book, the prophecy of Zechariah in chapter
14. We have these words at verse
6, It shall come to pass in that day, and the expression that
day so often is referring to the day of grace, the last days,
the gospel dispensation, It shall come to pass in that day that
the light shall not be clear nor dark, but it shall be one
day, which shall be known to the Lord, not day nor night,
but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light."
Oh, how strange, you see, are the Lord's dealings, His sovereign
dealings. There's that time when we're
not quite in the light, but we're not really in the dark. We can't
always fathom, we can't always understand the ways of God and
the dealings of God with our souls. And yet this is the way
in which the Lord teaches His people, is it not? And He shows us our complete,
our utter dependence upon Him, how we have to cry to Him, and
call upon Him, and seek light from Him, and that He would instruct
us and show us what is the right way. But there we have that great
promise, at evening time it says, it shall be light. All those
promises of God in the Lord Jesus are all Yah, and they're all
Amen. The shalls, the will, the wills
of God's Word. And we have to observe these
things. And again, thinking of that 107th psalm, which is a
psalm that clearly is celebrating God's providences, the way in
which God watches over men in various circumstances and situations
of life. And there, in the course of the
psalm, he speaks of the mariner, those who do business in deep
waters. He's speaking there clearly of
seafarers, And our God watches over the sailors, you see, and
preserves them in the midst of great storms. But look at the
language that we have there in that 107th Psalm, and surely
there's a spiritual application. We're not just to think of the
words of the psalmist here in Psalm 107 in terms of providence. There's
a spiritual application. when God deals with His people
in that fashion, that they're doing business spiritually in
deep waters. He says, verse 23, They that
go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters,
these see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep.
For He commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth
up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven,
They go down again to the depths. Their soul is melted because
of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger
like a drunken man and are at their wit's end. Then they cry
unto the Lord in their trouble and He bringeth them out of their
distresses. He maketh the storm a calm so
that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they
be quiet, so He bringeth them unto their desired haven. All that men would praise the
Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children
of men. All doing business in deep waters,
you see. Oftentimes, is it not the way
in which God is dealing with us in our souls? The way in which
God is teaching us? The circumstances we find ourselves
in, those situations that are such a mystery to us. We cannot
see our way, and yet God is there, and God brings His children ultimately
into that desired haven. Whoso is wise and will observe
these things, it says at the end of the psalm. Whoso is wise
and will observe these things, even they shall understand the
lovingkindness of the Lord." And here is the key to the psalm
really. It's in this word lovingkindness right at the end. There's more
than natural things to behold in this psalm. Lovingkindness
is associated with the idea of God's covenants, His covenant
faithfulness, His spiritual dealings, His gracious dealings. That's
what we seek to observe. That's what we desire to understand. The Lord's ways and the mystery
of those ways. As we sang just now in that beautiful
hymn of William Cooper's, God moves in a mysterious way. His wonders to perform. He plants
his footsteps in the surge and rides upon the storm. All there are then those times,
those seasons in the soul. Sometimes it's winter, and it
might be a long winter, but then the Son of Righteousness arising
with healing in His wings. There is the night season as
well as the light that comes with the dawning of the dawn.
And this is ordered, you see, as long as the earth remains.
This is going to be the experience of God's children whilst they're
in this world. The godly then have to observe
the order of God's grace and God's gracious dealings. But
also it reminds us of this, does it not, that the godly will know
changes and experience changes. They'll know cold as well as
heat. As I said, they'll know winter
as well as summer, and night as well as day. They'll be changing.
Now, we read in Psalm 55 concerning the ungodly man, and
there the psalmist says, verse 19, concerning such men, because
they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. The great mark really, surely,
of the believer is that this is a life of change. And it's not only a life of change,
it's a life of changes. It's so as long as the earth
remaineth, as long as he finds himself in this world. Now first
of all, of course, there is the great change that must come into
the soul of any man if he's going to know anything of God and the
ways of God. There must be that great change
which we call conversion. If any man be in Christ, He is
a new creature, Paul says. All things are passed away and
all things are become new. What is that great change? It's
the new birth. It's the new birth. It's that
great work of regeneration. We come into this world and it
matters not about our parentage. You might be the child of the
most gracious parents, godly parents. but you cannot inherit
grace from your parents. Grace does not run in the blood.
The grace that we believe in, the grace that is revealed to
us in Holy Scripture is sovereign grace. What do we read? There in John 1.13, which were
born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God. Here is the great change. As
we are born dead in trespasses and sins, we must know the new
birth. Verily, verily says Christ, except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven. Or the necessity of the new birth.
That is the great change. That is the fundamental change
to be born again, or as the margin says, to be born from above. The sovereign work of God, the
work of God the Holy Ghost, because it is the prerogative of God
the Holy Ghost to bring new life into those who are dead in trespasses
and sins. In the great unfolding of salvation
in Scripture we see the Father's prerogative is that He makes
the choice of a people in eternity. The great doctrine of eternal
election. God chooses a people and He commits
that people, of course, into the hands of God the Son. And in the fullness of the time
God sends forth His Son made of a woman, made under the law
to redeem them that were under the law. It is God the Son who is incarnate,
who accomplishes the great salvation. It is prerogative to be the Savior
in that sense. But when it comes to the application
of the salvation, Bringing that salvation into the soul of the
sinner is the work of the Blessed Spirit, is it not? The man is
born of the Spirit. That that he's born of the flesh
is flesh, says Christ. That that he's born of the Spirit
is Spirit. He must be born again, the great
change. But the life of the believer
is not just one change, it's a life of changes. And we see that in the conflicts
that the children of God experience. Oh, what awful conflict when
he's born again, born from above. Why now he's in possession of
a new nature? And there is that conflict in
his own soul, is there not? the flesh lusting against the
spirit and the spirit lusting against the flesh and these two
contrary one to the other says Paul and ye cannot do the thing
that ye would and how Paul feels it, how Paul writes of it so
fully there in Romans chapter 7 read Romans chapter 7 and see
Paul and his awful conflict with himself The good that I would,
I do not. The evil that I would not, He
says, that I do. O wretched man that I am! Who
shall deliver me from the body of this death? The change, the changes, the
conflicts. Job cries out in chapter 10,
changes and war are against me. Changes and war, and the word
that he uses for war literally means men of war, an army, a
host. Changes and an army are against
me, he says. He cries out again in chapter
19, his troops come together and rise up their way against
me and then camp round about my tabernacle, round about his
body, he feels it. We're familiar with the book
of Job and all that Job is experiencing, you see. changes, what seasons,
what different seasons came into the soul of that man of God.
How we experience these things. To one of his correspondents,
James Bourne, in his letter says, I can truly enter into your feelings
of continual changes. This I say is the lot of the
people of God. It's not plain sailing, is it?
it's not plain sailing to him that's the experience of those
who know not God because they have no changes therefore they
fear not God while the earth remaineth seed time and harvest
and cold and heat and summer and winter and day and night
shall not cease with regards to the god-man. And these words,
of course, are addressed to Noah. This is that little remnant that
God preserved when he sent his terrible judgment. This is God's
words to his servant Noah, is it not? All to me are professors
of religion and there are such. Some who imagine that they are
Christians and they know not the secret they are not those
who have experienced the real grace of God in that mighty work
of regeneration in their souls are at ease and what does God
say to such the language of Amos Amos chapter 6 and verse 1 world
to them that are at ease in Zion those who find it so easy some
think it's so easy to be a Christian We know that, do we not? And
those who preach such a message, they speak of easy believism.
Easy to believe. Or you just accept it, you're
just a sentiment. You just make a decision, and
you're a Christian. It wasn't John Newton's experience.
He says, oh could I but believe. Then all would easily believe.
I would, but can not. Lord, relieve my help must come
from you." He couldn't. If he could, it would be so easy.
But he couldn't. He recognized that God must do
it. And you see what we have here
in the text, in all these different seasons that the soul experiences
and the Christian is passing through, while the earth remaineth,
seed time, and harvest, and cold, and heat, and summer, and winter,
and day, and night, in all these seasons, in all these changes
that the godly know in this world, in all this awful conflict, this
conflict with with themselves, this conflict that they feel
with their fallen nature, this conflict with indwelling sin,
this conflict with Satan who so often attacks them, this conflict
with this world that is all around them, and so alluring and so
attractive to the old nature. In all these changes, in all
these conflicts, there's life. That's the amazing thing. There's
life in the soul of the child of God. That godly king, Hezekiah,
does he not say as much? Oh Lord, he says, by these things
men live. And in all these things is the
life of my spirit. Strange words really, when everything
seems to be against him. When there at the gates of Jerusalem
are the armies of the Assyrians, and all the walled cities throughout
his kingdom have fallen and now the capital is under siege and
now he's struck down and he's going to die he's not going to
live and he turns his face to the wall and he cries and he
calls and he seeks God and he comes to that there in Isaiah
38 his great song as God delivers him O Lord by these things men
live in all these things he says is the life of my spirit, or
God grant that we might know that real life in our souls,
experience that blessed change, that great change, know something
of this conflict, something of the strange order of the seasons
that God appoints with regards to the souls of his people, and
that we might In all these things be brought only to look to Him
and feel increasingly our utter dependence upon Him. Now the
Lord bless to us His Word. Amen.