In all our deliverances and escapes, in all the benefits and blessings we receive at the merciful hands of God, let us never fail to imitate this bright example of righteousness: be it our first, our immediate act, to waft unto the skies the incense of adoration and praise. The faithful and observant Christian does indeed perpetually notice the interposition of divine Providence in his behalf; and he never fails to render the tribute of his heart at least, if not of his lips, to the great Deliverer: but besides this, there are few of us, who have not, in some striking instances, been wonderfully rescued from imminent danger and destruction; preserved in frightful accident, or raised from a sickness which was seemingly unto death. Has the favour been duty remembered with gratitude? Did it bring us on our knees before the throne of mercy? Did we present our offering with that humble sense of our own unworthiness, and that devout acknowledgment of God’s love, which gave us just reason to believe that the offering was accepted, through Jesus Christ our Lord? And ever since, has an altar been raised in our hearts; have our affections been dedicated to God, as a memorial of the past deliverance, and a fulfilment of the purpose for which we were mercifully spared? And there is a deliverance greater and mightier than all, of which every faithful servant in the gospel is enjoying, at once, both the hope and the benefit; a deliverance, of which Noah’s was a type, from the bondage and penalty of sin; from eternal misery, and ruin. Are we penetrated with a sense of this marvellous mercy? Do we worship our great Redeemer in spirit and in truth? Do we love Him with all our heart and soul? Do we proclaim abroad our gratitude and love, in the presence of a contemptuous world? Noah was immediately and powerfully reminded of the divine goodness accorded to himself, by beholding the face of nature all desolate and void: and thus, when we behold around us the dismal ravages of sin, and contemplate, with the eye of faith, the ruin which they will finally bring, are there not afforded to _us_, exulting as we are in the hope of our own redemption, abundant memorials of the favour of God to ourselves? “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who redeemeth thy life from destruction, and crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies.” {71}