Evening, March 13
Go To Morning Reading
“Then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him
into the ark.”
Genesis 8:9
Wearied out with her wanderings, the dove returns at length to the
ark as her only resting place. How heavily she flies—she will drop—she will never reach the ark! But she struggles on. Noah has been
looking out for his dove all day long, and is ready to receive her.
She has just strength to reach the edge of the ark, she can hardly
alight upon it, and is ready to drop, when Noah puts forth his hand
and pulls her in unto him. Mark that: “ pulled her in unto him .” She did not fly right in herself, but was too fearful, or too weary
to do so. She flew as far as she could, and then he put forth his
hand and pulled her in unto him. This act of mercy was shown to the
wandering dove, and she was not chidden for her wanderings. Just as
she was she was pulled into the ark. So you, seeking sinner, with
all your sin, will be received. “Only return”—those are God’s two gracious words—“only return.” What! nothing else? No, “only return.” She had no olive branch in her mouth this time, nothing at all but
just herself and her wanderings; but it is “only return,” and she does return, and Noah pulls her in. Fly, thou wanderer; fly
thou fainting one, dove as thou art, though thou thinkest thyself
to be black as the raven with the mire of sin, back, back to the Saviour.
Every moment thou waitest does but increase thy misery; thine attempts
to plume thyself and make thyself fit for Jesus are all vanity. Come
thou to him just as thou art. “Return, thou backsliding Israel.” He does not say, “Return, thou repenting Israel” (there is such an invitation doubtless), but “thou backsliding one,” as a backslider with all thy backslidings about thee, Return, return,
return! Jesus is waiting for thee! He will stretch forth his hand
and “pull thee in”—in to himself, thy heart’s true home.