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Shut Him In

CHRIST When Noah left the ark, God gave him a promise not to destroy the race again with a flood. As a "token" of this covenant, He "set His bow in the cloud." Gen. ix. 13. Every time Noah saw the beautiful bow spanning the heavens he knew that God was keeping the promise, and he felt happy and secure. The bow was silent, and yet it seemed to say, "God is faithful to His promise."

Let us turn our attention to some features of the rainbow. And, first, the rainbow is always associated with a storm. We do not see it when the noon-day sun is shining, but we must wait till the clouds gather and the rain-drops fall. Then the bow appears and delights our eyes. So in the storms of life, we see the beauty of God's promise shining through the gloom. The bow of His promise spans many a dark cloud of sorrow. Again, the rainbow appears very often.

We suppose Noah saw it a great many times. Even some of our younger children have seen it quite often. God is never at a loss for a rainbow. He can make one at any time, and it BLACKBOARD ILLUSTRATIONS, &c. 275 would seem as though He had already made a great many. So many rainbows are so many renewals of His promise. And He has many promises for us all in the Bible. Some one has it that there are more than thirty thousand distinct promises in the Word of God. Think of it-thirty thousand bows of promise in the Bible. Take this one, children, as your own : "Those that seek me early shall find me." Prov. viii. 17.

The rainbow has all its original beauty unimpaired. It is just as brilliant to-day as when it first spanned the heavens. It has not changed its form, nor lost any of its bright colors. It is still God's token, unchanged and unchangeable. Some one has termed it "an old thing, invested with a new meaning." So His promises are firm and true. "All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen." 2 Cor. i. 20. "An old man once told me that he had marked at all the promises of God the letters 'P. T.' - which stood for 'Proved and Tried.' None of the promises of God ever will or can fail." - Moody. Well may it be said, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise." 2 Pet. iii. 9. What promise is written upon the bow in the picture? Will you try to obtain that rest?