IN a former discourse, your attention was called to the execution of divine vengeance upon the sinful race of man, by the tremendous visitation of a universal deluge; I would now direct your contemplation to another point of view; to a fulfilment of the gracious promises of God made to a distinguished believer and a faithful servant; to his preservation from the general ruin; to the covenants of mercy established with him; to the blessings and deliverances thus proclaimed and typified to the Church of God in all ages. Noah, be it first observed, was possessed of that principle, which is the sure and only foundation of true righteousness; and to which the Almighty has, in every age, manifested His especial favour—the principle of _faith_; of a settled, vital, influential belief in the sovereignty, the providence, and the word of God: he doubted not the truth either of a threatening or a promise, and withheld not the obedience, which his belief implied or required. Of this St. Paul assures us; “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith;” {57} he condemned the world, inasmuch as his example, his preaching, and his deliverance furnished matter of accusation against them; he pointed out and led the way to a place of safety; he escaped destruction, and the rest of the people might have escaped also; and thus he proved, that they justly perished in the unbelief and obstinacy of their hearts. Hence he became the heir of those promises and that happiness, to which the righteous believer, by God’s mercy, is entitled; he was blessed, not merely with that temporal preservation, which the ark afforded him in the flood; but also with that spiritual and heavenly salvation, of which the ark was an emblem and a sign.