The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 212

1dngdom nnd g-lory. Here, like Noah's, the saint's powers ofservice are limited nnd confined ; there they shall attain to greater freedom and fuller scope (1 Cor. xiii. 9 --12; Rev. iY. 8). II. THE SAINT'S RESPONSE TO THE SAVIOUR (ver. 18). The command to leave the nrk which G?d addre_sscd to Noah wa~ obeyed-1. lininediately. We can imng-ine that everything was in n state of readiness for departure when the mnrching orders came, so thnt there was no need to interpose delay. So was it with tho Hebrews when the Lord led them forth from Egypt (Exod. xii. 11); so should Christians be always ready for their Master's summons, whether to pass from affliction (Isa. Iii, 11) or into it (eh. xxii. 1; Acts xxi. 13), to enter upon a new 8phere of work (Isa. vi. 8) or re_tire _from an old ~me into silence (1 Kings xvi\, 3) ; to go down into the grave (2 Tim. ff. 6) and wait for the apocalypse of the samts (Job xiv. 14) or to go up into glory and partake of the inheritance of the saints in light (Matt. ~iv. 44). 2. Universally. Not the patriarch alone, but all his family and all the creatures came forth; so did all God's people come forth from the house of bondage (Exod. x. 26); and so will nil Christ's redeemed ones who have entered into the salvation ark of ~is Church emerge at last into tI1e light and felicity of he~ven (Isa. Ii. 11 ; Luke xn. 32; 1 Cor. xv. 22; 1 Thess. 1v. 14). 3. Joyfully. This we may infer. After the twelve months' isolation, and confinement, and comparatfre peril we need not doubt that Noah and his family exulted with delight, and that even the lower creatures were not strangers to agreeable sensations. It was a picture of the happi- ness which even here the saints enjoy in the Divine interpositions on their behalf • but especially of the universal thrill of gladness which God's redeemed family, and even "the creature itself," shall experience in the J>alingenesia of the heavens and the earth (Isa. mv. 10; Rom. viii. 19-23). 4. Finally. They were never more to return to the ark, because never again should there be a flood. It was a delightful symbol of the completeness and finality of God's salvation when the saints shall have been landed on the heights of bliss (Rev. x.xi. 4 ; xx:.ii. 3-5). III. THE SAUIT'S WORSHIP OF THE SAVIOUR (ver. 20), As Noah's first act on step- ping forth from the ark was to build an altar unto the Lord, so the saint's first work on reaching heaven will be to worship; and this worship will be-1. Believing. This was implied in the very thought of offering up a sacrifice to Jehovah, but specially so in the circurustances in which the patriarch was then placed. The visible symbol of the Di,•ine presence had retired to its original dwelling-place in the heavens, and yet Noah had as little doubt as ever he had that there was a God to worship. The building of an altar, therefore, just then and there was an explicit declaration of his faith. Without faith there can be no worship of God either here or there, on earth or in heaven (Heh. xi. 6). 2. Thanliful. The offering of Noah was designed as an expression of his gratitude for the Lord's mercy, and so should the worship of the saints on earth be characterised by the same spirit (Phil. iv. 6), as we know the adorations of the saints before the throne are (Rev. vii. 12). 3. GenerOUJJ. Noah took of every clean beast and every clean fowl, i. e. one of seven or one of fourteen (vide Expos.), in either case a munificent tribute to the God of his salvation. How seldom is the like liberality exhibited by Christ's worshippers on earth I What a blessed thought it is that among the saints above there will be no temptation to such meanneRB as is often practised by the saints below I 4. Sincere. It was no merely formal service that the patriarch presented. The burnt offering was e. symbolic declaration of his self-consecration-body, soul, and spirit--to the God who had redeemed him. Of this sort is the service which Christ expects and be- lievers should render on the earth (Matt. xvi. 24; Luke xiv. 26; Rom. xii. 1 ; 1 Cor. vi. 20). Of such kind will be the worship of the saints in heaven (Rev. x:x:ii. 3). IV. THE SAVIOUR'S BESPONSE TO THE SAINT (vers. 21, 22). As the sacrifice of Noah was well-pleasing unto God, so will the y;orship of the s~ints fi_nd acceptance_in his sight. And this accep_tance of the sacnfices of the glonfied, hke the reception of Noah's offering-I. Will consist in the cherishing, by God of a feeling of sweet complacency towards the worshippers. As from the burning victims upon Noah's altar there came up into the Divine nostrils a 6avour of rest, so from the spiritual aacri.ficee of Christians even here there ascends an odour of e. sweet smell unto God (Phil. iv. 18), while in the npper fanctuary the services of the redeemed go up con•  THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 137