With the Lord's help I'd like
to bring before you the opening clause of the first verse of
chapter 8. Genesis chapter 8, the opening
clause of verse 1. God remembered Noah and God remembered
Noah we all know of course the story of Noah I remember back
to days of childhood and we had books about Noah written for
children and I remember even in a Rupert annual Noah appeared
as a child I don't know whether he would appear in a Rupert annual
these days but of course the story of Noah is regarded as
a fable of course we stand here because we believe the word of
God we stand here to say that the account of Noah is not a
fable it is not a myth it is an actual historical event and
it is an event that tells us an awful lot about the state
of man it tells us that man is sinful and that man is wicked
and that God brought his judgement upon of course we've read how
God promised that he would never again destroy the earth neither shall all flesh be cut
off any more by the waters of a flood neither shall there any
more be a flood to destroy the earth when this earth is destroyed
and again we are reminded that in verse 22 of the last chapter
of the last verse of chapter 8 that the earth is a temporary
thing it is something that is passing away while the earth
remaineth and you notice that word while it implies that there
is a time when this world will cease to exist when this world
will come to an end and when the elements as Peter says will
melt with fervent heat and the world will be rolled away will
be taken up and destroyed Paul writes in the Hebrews about this
world passing away that this world will pass away but thou
remainest that God alone is the one that stands, and Malachi
tells us concerning the Lord, I am the Lord, I change not,
therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed, and likewise Paul
in the Hebrews tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ remains,
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. there was a religious group in
the time of the Apostle Paul we meet with them in chapter
17 of Acts who believed that God created this world and then
left the world to fend for itself we read in verse 18 of chapter
17 of the book of Acts then certain philosophers of the Epicureans
and of the Stoics encountered him that he had encountered the
apostle Paul. Well, the Epicureans were those
who just lived for pleasure, but the Stoics were those who
said that God was far removed, so far removed that he couldn't
really be concerned with what was happening upon this earth,
and so man was left to himself and that he was to fend for himself
and work out things for the best that he can but of course this
phrase in Genesis 8 verse 1 puts the light of that God remembered
Noah and if we put it another way God didn't forget Noah the
Lord called Noah and the animals to enter into the ark Noah was
instructed to build an ark making an ark of gopher wood and he
made this ark and then when the ark was ready and at the right
time it's a wonder, isn't it, of the handiwork of God of the
finger of God that throughout all the world those animals came
not driven not that a shepherd drives his sheep but they came
at the will and the instruction of Almighty God they came to
Noah there somewhere in the east and they came and again it was
before the Lord Moses was given but it says of every clean beast
thou shalt take to thee by sevens the male and the female and of
beasts that are not clean by two male and female Noah obviously
had been taught by Almighty God which were the clean animals
and which were the unclean animals those they had been taught in
his heart excuse me and he knew to take
14 clean animals into the ark, 7 male and 7 female and then
2 of the unclean animals and of course how the ark continued
for nearly I would think about 9 months of a year they were
tossed about on the seas is the wisdom of Almighty God some Christian
scientists I'm not talking about the denomination I'm talking
about Christians who are scientists they've looked into the question
of the Ark and what happened and they are of the opinion that
animals went into the Ark and a deep sleep came upon them and
they hibernated. So obviously beforehand, before
the flood, the animals had been instructed by Almighty God to
build up reserves of fat upon which they could live for nine
months or so in the ark without having to be fed day by day. Of course, the unbelieving world
rejects all this. it is by faith, you remember
how Paul writes in the epistle to the Hebrews about faith he
says, through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by
the word of God so that things which are seen were not made
of things which do appear or if we can paraphrase that by
saying so that things which we can see were made by things that
we can't see that is the Almighty God the world was created by
Almighty God and he sustains this world not as the Stoics
say but he sustains this world he is the one that put this world
into orbit around the Sun he is the one that ordained that
the Earth should spin around 365 days and a quarter before it completed its orbit
and so on all these things are in the hand of God and we speak
the truth of God that here is what the word of God says search
the scriptures, said the Lord for they testify of me and it's
Kent, isn't it, that says go search the scriptures, saith
our Lord they testify of me it's truth's eternal great record
from every error free. So it says God remembered Noah. As I was coming along in the
train this morning I was reading the passage that I chose to read
and as I read verse 16 of chapter 7 The phrase, and the Lord shut
him in, opened up so wonderfully to me that I jotted one or two
things down in the margin of my Bible, and I'd just like to,
before we actually consider how that God remembered, I'd just
like to pass on one or two thoughts from this phrase, and the Lord
shut him in. he shut him in from the flood
he shut him in from destruction he shut him in from the destroying
of the world he was saved to repopulate the earth after the
flood had gone away so first of all God shut him in we are
the people of God and if we are among the people of God we are
among those who have been shut in Zion's a garden walled around
called and made peculiar ground, a little spot enclosed by grace,
facing the world's wide wilderness. It says, I think it's Isaac Watson
who penned those words, paraphrasing a verse in the Song of Solomon. We're closed in. We're shut in
by the Lord. And how are we shut in? Well,
first of all, we're shut in by God's decree. God's decree. like the Stoics they say God
lets the world carry on by itself the Arminians tell us that the
world continues by itself and our coming to God our coming
to the Lord Jesus Christ depends upon our free will upon our own
ability but not so, it is not so it is God's decree He who
formed the earth takes my first and second birth He it is who
has decreed that he will have a people to show forth his praise. Paul says that known unto God
are all his works from the beginning. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure, the Lord knoweth them that are his. uh... and and uh... again pulled into
the fusions that tells us that god work of all things after
the council office on what we've heard already about this in malachi
and the lord i'd change not because i was a therefore you sons of
jacob are not consumed the lord doesn't change what a mercy it
is the almighty god uh... doesn't change you and i uh...
change through the passage of years uh... we change i look
back 50, 60 years, well not 60, maybe 55
years and I think to myself what an immature boy I was and what
an immature young man I was but I trust with the wisdom of years
I have grown and changed and I trust that we have all been
like that we do change with the passage of years things that
once amused us as children are no longer when I became a man
says the Apostle Paul I put away childish things we all change
but God doesn't change what a mercy it is that our God is the same
yesterday, today and forever and because he is the same we
can trust him or if we are brought by the Spirit of God to look
upon the Lord Jesus Christ if we are brought by the Spirit
of God to realise that God exists and he that cometh unto God must
believe that he is and is a rewarder of them that diligently seek
him if we are brought to see these things by the Spirit of
God what a mercy it is that we have a rock that we can anchor
in that we can safely anchor in it's no use casting a rock
on a bed of sand because the mariner knows that if he casts
his anchor onto a beach when the waves come and when the wind
comes the anchor will slide it will cut its way through the
sand and the boat will be adrift now we have to anchor in a rock
what a mercy it is that there is that rock that we are shut
in by God's decree and that decree is that the Lord Jesus Christ
will be the saviour of a multitude that no man can number, that
he is the saviour of his people. that was what Joseph was told
in a dream thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save
his people from their sins so we are shut in as I say by God's
decree and then we are shut in by God's election God's choice
he has set his love upon a multitude that no man can number he has
set his love upon a certain number of people the
Lord Jesus refers to this in that prayer that is recorded
for us in the 17th chapter Holy Father, keep through thine own
name those whom thou hast given me that they may be one as we
are And he says, Thine they were and Thou gavest them me. Given
to Christ in eternity. It's never we that chose to come
to God. If we were left to our own will,
if we were left to our own desires, we would never be here. We would
never seek the Lord Jesus Christ. We would never seek the things
of God. Indeed, Paul tells us in the
Corinthians that the natural man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God. We don't initiate the work of
our salvation. It is God himself who works in
our hearts. Oh yes, Paul says, work out your
own salvation with fear and with trembling. And so they work among
us, they tell us we've got to do this, we've got to do that,
we have to keep the law, we have to make ourselves acceptable
to Almighty God. But what does Paul say? Work
out your own salvation with fear and with trembling, for it is
God, it is God that worketh in you. to do his good pleasure
it is God that works in you it is God that works in your heart
it is the spirit of God that comes from the glories of heaven
and it is the spirit of God who comes into your heart it is the
spirit of God who makes us alive and just as the Lord Jesus stood
in the graveyard and told the people to roll the stone away
from the grave of Lazarus and said Lazarus come forth so it
is the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God that works
in our hearts and makes us come forth out of the tomb of our
natural sinfulness out of our spiritual death and we are quickened
and made alive Lazarus he says come forth and he that was dead
came forth out of the grave likewise the sinner comes out of the death
of the natural life when he is quickened by the Spirit of God
and then he has eyes to see he never had eyes to see he couldn't
see the beauty in the Lord Jesus Christ there is no beauty in
him that we should desire him says the prophet Isaiah when
we in our natural state look upon the Lord Jesus Christ we
think, yes he was a good man yes he had something worthy to
be said but is he my saviour? I don't know that I need a saviour
but when the Spirit of God comes to his elect souls when they
are given in covenant bond to the Lord Jesus Christ they look
upon the Lord Jesus Christ and they say he is altogether lovely
they see him hanging upon the cross shedding his precious blood
for rebels and for sinners guilty sinners that we might go free
oh do you know something of this in your hearts? do you know something
of the choice of God of the electing mercy of Almighty God chosen
in Christ from the foundation of the world If the question
of God's election troubles you, take your Bible when you get
home and read the first chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews
and Paul quite clearly sets forth both the decree of Almighty God
and God's electing choice that it is in the Lord Jesus Christ. But what's the purpose of that?
that we might show forth the praise of him who died that we
might walk in his ways that we might be brought to live a life
of consistency later on in that same epistle to the Ephesians
Paul explains how that election manifests itself in our lives
walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye
are called with all lowliness. Broken hearts and humble walkers,
these are dear in Jesus' eyes. Tinkling sounds of disputation,
naked knowledge, all are vain. Every soul that gains salvation
must and shall be born again. Oh, I ask you this morning, have
you been born of God's Spirit? Do you know something of the
work of the Spirit in your heart? So we're fenced in by God's decree,
we're fenced in by God's election, we're fenced in by God's love. Oh, we know that verse, do we
not? John 3, 16, for God's soul of
the world, it all stems from the love of God, for God's soul
of the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. and
Jeremiah gives us his experience the Lord hath appeared of old
unto me saying yea I have loved thee with an everlasting love
therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee I have loved
thee with an everlasting love when something is everlasting
it means it has no beginning it has no ending We see that
love manifested. We see that love manifested in
God's decree. We see that love manifested in
God's election of his people. And we see that love manifested
in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, the love that
drew salvation's plan. Oh, the love that brought it
down to man. Oh, the mighty gulf that God disbanded Calvary. mercy
there was great and gracious for you pardon there was multiplied
to me can you sing that? pardon there was multiplied to
me oh what a mercy it is if we are brought to experience that
everlasting love and then we're fenced in not only by the love
of God manifested in the Lord Jesus Christ but Jeremiah goes
on to say therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee we're
fenced in by the call of God we're called out of nature's
night we're called out of the ways of this world to walk a
separate path you see the Lord Jesus Christ he spoke of there
being two ways broad is the way that leads to destruction and
it's a downward path I don't know if you've ever seen that
a series of prints that was or sketches that was done by Hogarth
an artist of a former generation it's called the Rake's Progress
and it shows you a bright young man to start with upright clean
fashionably dressed he looks as if he's going to be the pillar
of society and you go through the prints and you see a downward
path and you see the last of all a drunkard in the gutter
a raked progress downwards that was the path that the prodigal
took he left his home he left his family and he had a treasure
chest of valuables and he went into a far country that was the
first mistake he made he took his journey he wasn't
content to be at home with his father and then the second mistake
was that he took all his inheritance with him the third mistake was
that he spent it all in righteous living and the last thing the
penultimate thing that happens to him is that he is starving
he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the
swine ate and that's what the world is doing today they fill
their belly with the husks that the swine would eat and they
find absolutely no satisfaction in those things so they have
to keep going back, keep going back, keep going back to the
things of this world I tried the broken cisterns, Lord, but
all the waters failed. E'en as I stooped to drink, they
fled and mocked me as I wailed. But the hymn writer goes on to
say that now none but Christ can satisfy another name for
me. There is love and life and lasting
joy, Lord Jesus, found in thee. Have we been brought by the Spirit
of God to to see that love and life and lasting joy that is
in the Lord Jesus Christ. We will never stir up a desire
for those things. It is the call of God. Have we
been called out of nature's night into the glorious light? How
do I know that I've been called of God? well there is first of
all a stirring in the heart that we desire these things we desire
the things of God that we desire to be brought to the Lord Jesus
Christ do we have that desire? or is it just a matter of habit
that we are here it is our normal place to be on the Lord's day
our God grant that we might each know something more than a natural
desire to do what we always do but that we have a desire to
meet with the Lord Jesus Christ and then we find an emptiness
in the world nothing can satisfy us, the world can never satisfy
us and then in the third place we feel our sinfulness we see
a holy God we see in our innermost being that God is there upon
the throne of his majesty and that God is of purer eyes than
to behold iniquity and the iniquity of my heart and we come before
him in repentance these are the signs of the work of grace the
work of the Spirit in our hearts And so we are fenced in by redemption
that is provided for us. Father forgive them, prays the
Lord Jesus. Father forgive who? Why his church? Not the multitude that is round
about. as he is being nailed to the cross not the Roman soldiers,
I'm not excluding the possibility that there may have been those
in the multitude that the Lord Jesus prayed for but not indiscriminately
he prayed for his church Father I will, he says in that prayer
that they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that
they be with me in glory fenced in by that redemption by that
redemption remember how the Apostle Peter writes in his first epistle
for as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible
things of silver and gold from your vain conversation received
by tradition from your father's blood with the precious blood
of Christ as a lamb without blemish and without spot who verily was
foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest
in these last times for you who by him do believe in God that
raised him up from the dead and gave him glory that your faith
and hope might be in God, fenced in by that redemption. And the
redemption price has been fully paid." And Ota quotes the words
of the immortal top lady. Payment God cannot twice demand.
First that my bleeding should his hand and then again at mine. The payment has been made. The
handwriting of ordinances has been blotted out and it was nailed
to the cross. The payment has been fully paid
and no further payment is required. The sinner goes free, the believing
sinner. the called sinner. So we're fenced
in by conversion, or should I say we're fenced in by experience. I don't need to speak any further
on the experience. I've been speaking about the
experience of the child of God as we've been progressing with
these few thoughts on this phrase, the Lord shut him in. The Lord
shut Noreen. What a mercy it is that if we're
a child of God that we have been shut in. that we're shut in with
Christ, that we're shut in with Him, we're shut in in the everlasting
covenant of grace. Thy people, says the psalmist,
shall be willing in the day of His power. This is the day of
God's power, this is the day of the power of the Holy Ghost. There is much spurious talk about
the day of God's power and the day of the Holy Ghost in this
day and generation, by their fruits ye shall know them but
there is that powerful work of the Spirit of God and it is an
irresistible power they shall be fenced in, says the hymn writer,
fenced in by Jehovah's shalls and wills firm as the everlasting
hills. And so, God shut Noah in and
everyone, all the people of God are shut in to the covenant of
God's grace. And this chapter speaks about
the covenant. Of course, it's the covenant,
these passages, as I read I should say, these passages in the 7th,
8th and 9th chapter of Genesis, I speak about the covenants,
verse 22 of chapter 8, while the earth remaineth, sea time
and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and dead
night shall not cease. Verse 11 and 12 of chapter 9,
and I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh
be cut off any more by the waters of the flood. neither shall there
anymore be a flood to destroy the earth and God said this is
the token of the covenant and so he goes on to speak about
the boy in the cloud of course that's the covenant with the
earth that is the covenant that God has made with the earth and
all these years since the time of Noah God has fulfilled that
promise that seek time and harvest shall not fail and in this country
as I look round the fields as I've been travelling from time
to time you can see and I've seen the abundance of the harvest
God has maintained his promise oh there are floods in the earth
we've seen the floods over the past few weeks we've seen pictures
no doubt of them or heard news reports of the floods in America
and other places and the hurricanes and the tropical storms and so
on but the earth is not destroyed by those things they come and
they go and the earth continues until that time until that time
when the earth shall melt with fervent heat until the time when
our Lord Jesus Christ comes God remembered Noah He remembered
Noah in the covenant He remembers his people in his covenants that
covenant of God's everlasting grace I frequently quoted those
words those last words of David although my house be not so with
God, he says and he's there lying on his deathbed he's lying there
expecting his breath to cease and for his being taken into
paradise into heaven itself and he says although my house be
not so with God yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant
ordered in all things and sure our salvation the salvation that
we have been brought to experience that salvation that has been
applied to us by the Holy Ghost it is ordered in all things and
it is sure it is certain the wise man says the Lord Jesus
Christ built his house upon the rock it is sure It is certain,
it is permanent, it has a good foundation. Indeed the church
says the apostle Paul is built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets. Jesus Christ himself is the chief
cornerstone. That cornerstone that was rejected
of men. When the temple was built there was no hammering there
was no chiseling in the temple all the stones were framed and
shaped in the quarry and they were brought to the building
site and the stones were slipped into position but when the chief
foundation stone came for Solomon's temple it was found to be the
wrong size but it was still made the head of the corner all the
rest of the temple had to be fitted around at that corner
this says the apostle this is the stone which he built as rejected
and he is the one upon whom we build we build not upon Peter
upon this rock said the Lord Jesus Christ I will build my
church not the pebble of Peter for that's what the word Petros
means a pebble or a little stone you can go down to the beach
at South Sea and you can find plenty of pebbles you'd never
build a house on those pebbles you want to show a foundation
are we building upon Christ? have we been brought by the Spirit
to build upon the Lord Jesus Christ? so God grant that we
might each be brought by God's Spirit to build upon Him well,
I've wandered really away from the text that I had chosen but
I trust it has been profitable to us this morning to look at
these words and the Lord shut him in and God remembered, no,
there are four ways and I'm just going to mention them because
our time has gone firstly, God remembers us in our sinful state
He didn't leave us He didn't leave us to perish but He brought
the plan of salvation the Trinity working in concert, working in
unison to work out our salvation he remembered us in our sinful
state then he remembers us in our lowest state he remembers
that we are as dust he remembers that we are brought low and that
we go through There is a lovely hymn by John Newton, very rarely
sung, it's 283 in Gadsby's selection. There's a point I long to know
oft, it causes anxious thought. Do I love the Lord or no? Am
I his or am I not? Do we love the Lord? That's the question that is posed. Is that a question that is posed
in your heart? do I love the Lord? do I look
at my sinful self? do I look at the way I walk?
I look at what I profess and I see my walk is contrary very
often to the way in which I profess do I love the Lord? or no? well
Daniel Herbert he wrote some words in reply and he says these
words what is this point you long to know? methinks I hear
you say it is this I want to know I'm born of God, an heir
of everlasting bliss. Is this the point you long to
know? The point is settled in my view. For if you want to love
your God, it proves He first has loved you. How small thy
grace appears, there's plenty in thy living head. Those once
you feel my Christian friend were never found. among the dead
oh there is life if you are in your hearts if you seek the Lord
if you have been brought by the Spirit to seek after the Lord
Jesus Christ God remembered Noah God remembers us in our sinful
state God remembers us in our situations when we are brought
very low when we have our doubts and our fears God remembers us
as placed in the covenant and then God remembers us as individuals. What a mercy it is that he deals
with us individually. There's no mass conversion as
the Roman church practiced in the Middle Ages in Mexico and
the Spanish Empire. They gathered whole villages
together and the priests would just sprinkle holy water on them
and they would be converted. Mass conversion doesn't work.
No, the Lord deals with us individually. He brings us individually, one
by one, here a little, there a little, precept upon precept,
line upon line. He brings his people to himself. God grant that we might each
be brought to the Lord Jesus and that we might have seen him
the only Saviour of a sinful man, and that we might be amongst
those that are saved by His grace. The Lord have His blessing, for
His name's sake.