Noah's Family Offering a Sacrifice Beneath the Rainbowby Ironbark
9:13Genesis 9:13
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
God set His bow in the cloud as the lasting token of His covenant with the earth and every living creature for perpetual generations, to reassure Noah and all after him that gathering clouds and rain need never bring terror of another flood. The promise is that the waters shall never again become a flood to cut off all flesh, and when the bow is seen God Himself looks upon it to remember the everlasting covenant, speaking in human language in condescension to confirm confidence, not because He could forget. That same bow of promise arches over His throne in heaven as a living testimony that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, binding Himself through Christ to save all who believe (John 3:16). Formed by the union of sunlight and shower, it represents the union of mercy with justice and judgment in salvation, for justice alone would show only penalty while mercy without penalty would leave government with no stability. It therefore stands as sure assurance that God will never forget His people in trial, affliction and the time of trouble, encircling them and the praying companies with hope, victory and coming deliverance.
Covenant Words and Context
God set His bow in the cloud as the token of His covenant between Himself and the earth, with Noah and every living creature for perpetual generations, that the waters would never again become a flood to cut off all flesh and destroy the earth. It is evidence of the stability of that covenant, an everlasting covenant whose promise is that seedtime and harvest continue and the earth will not again be destroyed by water. God Himself declares that when He brings a cloud over the earth the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and He will look upon the bow to remember the everlasting covenant between Himself and every living creature of all flesh upon the earth.
The sign was given after the Flood to reassure Noah and his family and later generations, so that gathering clouds and falling rain would not fill them with constant terror and continual dread of another deluge. It was meant to encourage them with promise and to stand as a lasting token of mercy and goodness still encompassing the earth. It was His purpose that from generation to generation the glorious arch spanning the heavens would teach history: when children of later ages asked its meaning, parents would repeat the story of the Flood and tell that the Most High had bent the bow and placed it in the clouds as assurance that the waters would never again overflow the earth. So seen, the bow would testify of divine love to man and strengthen confidence in God.
At the same time the bow recalls that the old world was destroyed because of its wickedness, while showing that mercy and goodness still encompass the earth. The dwellers on the plain of Shinar disbelieved that covenant promise that He would not again bring a flood upon the earth. Many among them denied the existence of God and attributed the Flood to natural causes, while others acknowledged that a supreme being had destroyed the antediluvian world yet rose in rebellion against Him like Cain. In that disbelief one object in erecting the tower was to secure safety in case of another deluge by carrying the structure higher than the floodwaters had reached, and to ascend to the region of the clouds to ascertain the cause of the Flood, an undertaking designed to exalt the pride of its projectors and to turn future generations away from God into idolatry.
The gracious covenant after the Flood is an act of mercy to be gratefully remembered as proof of goodness, not murmured against as arbitrary and severe. The record is divinely inspired Scripture affirmed by Christ as words of inspiration, inseparable from the New Testament. Its account of Noah as a literal person who lived and of the Flood as a fact in history is true, and Noah's day prefigures the present age. The character of that generation specifies the character of this age just before Christ appears in the clouds of heaven, because human nature uninfluenced by the Spirit of God is the same now as in Noah's day.
Promise Against Another Flood
The covenant promise is that the waters shall never again become a flood to cut off all flesh and destroy the earth. The bow is set in the cloud as the sign of that covenant between God and the earth, a lasting token of mercy and goodness meant to reassure Noah and his family and later generations when clouds gather and rain falls. It was also meant to remind them that the old world had been destroyed because of its wickedness, while confirming confidence in God from generation to generation.
When God brings a cloud over the earth the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and God Himself looks upon the bow to remember the everlasting covenant. That covenant is with Noah and every living creature with him for perpetual generations, an everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh upon the earth. The rainbow-signed covenant assures that seedtime and harvest will continue and that the world will never again be destroyed by a flood.
The covenant made with Noah still holds back destruction now. Though sin has kept increasing since the transgression that closed Paradise, and though the law lies prostrate and the Sabbath is trampled under foot by a rebellious race, divine benevolence has not been cut off and love and care still flow earthward. God could come forth to punish the inhabitants of the world for their iniquity and sweep them away by a flood as in Noah's day, but He does not do it because of that covenant, showing Him full of compassion, mercy, and love.
God will no more cleanse the earth by bringing a flood upon it, but He will still purify this earth by fire. That purification will unite fires concealed in the bowels of the earth with fires from heaven. Before those fires of the last day He is gathering out those who love and serve Him as good wheat, while the wicked are being bound in bundles ready to burn, and it depends wholly upon each person which bundle he will be in.
God Remembering the Covenant
When God says that He will look upon the bow in the cloud and remember His covenant with the earth, He is speaking in human language so that men can better understand His assurance. The words are put in human terms to make His promise plain to Noah's family and to later generations who might fear when clouds gather and rain falls.
That remembering does not mean that God could forget. It is condescension and compassion toward erring creatures, given to confirm their confidence in His unfailing promise never again to destroy the earth by a flood.
Throne, Christ, and Salvation
The same bow set in the cloud arches over God's throne in heaven, where John saw it, as an everlasting testimony and living promise seen above the mercy seat. There above the throne it testifies to the whole world and to the universe that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. It stands there as a pledge of mercy to every repentant, believing soul and as assurance that God will never forget His people in their struggle with evil. Every soul who believes in Christ as a personal Saviour shall have everlasting life.
That rainbow above the throne is a token that God through Christ binds Himself to save all who believe, pointing to the compact entered into by the Father and the Son to save the world by Christ giving Himself. That covenant no human power and no angelic power could make, and it is as sure as the throne itself, whose ruling principles are justice and mercy. It rebukes unbelief and distrust. The bow is the symbol of God's unalterable covenant and everlasting covenant of mercy and forbearance and love for all who believe in Him and trust in Jesus Christ as personal Saviour.
Whoever avails himself of the provisions of mercy and appropriates the merits of the life and death of Christ has in the rainbow blessed assurance of acceptance with the Father as long as the throne of God endures. God's grace comes through that covenant to every soul who sincerely desires it, because man cannot sanctify and purify and bless himself but God alone is helper, making sinners righteous not by dead works but through the merits of the grace of Christ when selfishness is put away. Those filled with sorrow are to turn from trying to adjust all difficulties and fasten the eyes on that light with unwavering faith, fighting the good fight of faith and laying hold on eternal life with the hand put in the hand of Christ, for the promises of God are yea and amen in Christ Jesus.
Christ as humanity's intercessor points to the rainbow when pleading for people whose wickedness has provoked wrath. The rainbow around the heavenly throne and above His head represents God's glory and mercy resting there for the benefit of repentant, believing people. Sinners are invited to come before the Father in Christ's name with petitions assured of answer, since the bow set as token of covenant encircles the throne where Christ stands as advocate.
Whenever the law is presented, the throne arched with the rainbow of promise, the righteousness of Christ, is to be pointed out. The glory of the law is Christ, who came to magnify the law and make it honorable. In Him mercy and truth have met together and righteousness and peace have embraced each other. By looking to His throne with penitence and praise and thanksgiving Christian character is perfected and peace is given.
Dark clouds gathered with tempest picture wrath, and picture Israel's gloomy, terrible, degraded condition as a desolate waste, while the rainbow arching over them pictures the promised glory of the Messiah's reign shining above that degradation. The rainbow covenant is an illustration of Christ's love and a reminder that God has supplied His people with truth and grace throughout history, with assurance that the earth will not again be destroyed by a flood and that seedtime and harvest will continue. Binding people to God by the throne encircled with the rainbow of promise means recovering them from the snare of Satan and fastening the chain of dependence through Jesus Christ to that throne as the highest service.
Mercy and Justice United
The bow in the cloud is formed by the union of sunlight and shower, and the rainbow encircling the throne represents the combined power of mercy and justice and the union of mercy with judgment in salvation. Its colors reflect sunlight and rain together, just as salvation joins mercy with judgment and upholds God's unchanging law. The rainbow of promise above the throne is that same union pictured in heaven, the mingling of judgment and mercy.
Justice alone would eclipse the glory of the rainbow of promise and show only the penalty of the law, leaving man seeing only condemnation. Mercy without justice and penalty, with no justice and no penalty, would leave the government of God with no stability and undermine its order. It is the mingling of judgment and mercy that makes salvation full and complete. That blending reveals the gospel as a perfect and complete system and reveals the immutability of the law of God, inspiring hope and love for God. Those who view the world's Redeemer and the law of Jehovah together are led to praise His gentleness for making them great, exclaiming over the gentleness that makes them great.
Mercy invites entrance through the gates into the city of God and opens those gates to the obedient. Justice is satisfied to grant every obedient, holy, and pure soul full privileges as a member of the royal family. Yet justice stands at the entrance demanding holiness and purity in all who would see God. The rainbow of promise overshadowing the throne shows mercy and truth knit together and mercy and justice blended in God's dealing with His heritage, testifying that every soul who believes shall have everlasting life and drawing praise to the Lord from the beholder.
Deliverance in Last Days
At the deliverance of God's people the bow of promise appears across the heavens, spanning them with glory coming from the throne and encircling the praying companies. It appears over the earth at that deliverance as the sign of the covenant, giving assurance amid danger. Its overpowering brightness halts the attackers, fills them with fear, and makes them long for the protection they have rejected.
As God's people await deliverance they look up to see God's glory and the Son of man, and the bow is set before them as a sign of hope and victory and of their coming deliverance. For them in that final danger it is the bow of promise, marking that their release is at hand.
In the time of trouble believers may by faith see this same bow of promise surrounding and encircling them. It stands as assurance and comfort and as a pledge that God will help and preserve His people through the crisis.
Assurance for Daily Life
The bow set above the throne testifies to the whole world and to the universe that God will never forget nor forsake His people in their struggle with evil. It is an everlasting pledge of love encircling His throne on high, assuring strength and protection as long as the throne itself endures. Knowing it is there keeps believers from failing, being discouraged, or losing heart in this probationary life when temptations come, iniquity abounds, and terrible unexpected dark chapters open to weigh down the soul. In heavy trials, opposition, loss, bereavement, and affliction it gives patience, faith, hope, and confidence while character is formed for everlasting life.
The bow of promise arching over the throne is an emblem of God as a covenant-keeping God who holds the reins of guidance. Every Christian worker is to keep this emblem ever before him, remembering that God is to bear rule and does guide and rule over every home, church, school, printing office, and sanitarium. The covenant token now arches the throne in heaven where petitions are laid before the mercy seat above it. It assures that God hears prayers offered in simplicity and faith, for it is His glory to answer the supplications of His people when they unite with one heart and mind in firm Christian fellowship to prepare for the conflict. Seeing the bow when approaching the mercy seat leads those entrusted with great truth to become living channels of light under the Holy Spirit's power, to kneel with contrite hearts and seek the kingdom with earnest spiritual force that takes it as Jacob did, brings its own reward, and is not denied.
Seen by faith while standing in the shadow of the cross, the rainbow as God's sure promise gives certainty that His promise stands firm. It seals a mutual belonging in which the Lord belongs to His people and they belong to Him, removing anxiety, restlessness, and dissatisfaction. He draws near in answer to prayer for grace and restoration to health in nights of pain and sleeplessness, sustaining the longing to recover in order to proclaim the truth. Keeping looking up to the bow encircling His throne while suffering keeps faith from being hidden under a cloud of unbelief and from murmuring against the One who has done everything, holds firm determination not to distrust God, gives triumph in God, and daily refreshes the soul by contemplating the great love of the heavenly Father. The bow seen in the clouds is likewise a sign of promise giving rest and confidence in His protecting arms in the midst of danger, even when wind blows a gale and white-capped waves toss mountain high and splash over a ship at sea, because the same Christ who stilled the tempest with Peace, be still still watches and keeps and assures safety.
The bow of promise given to Noah is a token of love given for encouragement, a glory lighting the sky and gleam of light flowing from the throne that enables grasp of unfailing care. It gives a forward look to the haven of rest awaiting the faithful worker and to the mansions of the heavenly home, calling workers to live not for earth alone but to look up and behold by faith. The bow encircling the throne is constant assurance that Jesus lives, and because He lives His people shall live also. Seen by faith above and beyond the clouds in the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, it keeps believers from being downcast in a world of deceiving appearances, double-dealing, and duplicity. It proves there is light beyond the black clouds now rolling over the world, so that even when ignorance, superstition, darkness, and strong masterful unbelief meet every step of advance, faith must soar above all to see the bow and then reflect its light with pen and voice, praising God before the world.
God set His bow in the cloud as the lasting token of His covenant with the earth and every living creature for perpetual generations, to reassure Noah and all after him that gathering clouds and rain need never bring terror of another flood. The promise is that the waters shall never again become a flood to cut off all flesh, and when the bow is seen God Himself looks upon it to remember the everlasting covenant, speaking in human language in condescension to confirm confidence, not because He could forget. That same bow of promise arches over His throne in heaven as a living testimony that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, binding Himself through Christ to save all who believe (John 3:16). Formed by the union of sunlight and shower, it represents the union of mercy with justice and judgment in salvation, for justice alone would show only penalty while mercy without penalty would leave government with no stability. It therefore stands as sure assurance that God will never forget His people in trial, affliction and the time of trouble, encircling them and the praying companies with hope, victory and coming deliverance.
Covenant Words and Context
God set His bow in the cloud as the token of His covenant between Himself and the earth, with Noah and every living creature for perpetual generations, that the waters would never again become a flood to cut off all flesh and destroy the earth. It is evidence of the stability of that covenant, an everlasting covenant whose promise is that seedtime and harvest continue and the earth will not again be destroyed by water. God Himself declares that when He brings a cloud over the earth the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and He will look upon the bow to remember the everlasting covenant between Himself and every living creature of all flesh upon the earth.
The sign was given after the Flood to reassure Noah and his family and later generations, so that gathering clouds and falling rain would not fill them with constant terror and continual dread of another deluge. It was meant to encourage them with promise and to stand as a lasting token of mercy and goodness still encompassing the earth. It was His purpose that from generation to generation the glorious arch spanning the heavens would teach history: when children of later ages asked its meaning, parents would repeat the story of the Flood and tell that the Most High had bent the bow and placed it in the clouds as assurance that the waters would never again overflow the earth. So seen, the bow would testify of divine love to man and strengthen confidence in God.
At the same time the bow recalls that the old world was destroyed because of its wickedness, while showing that mercy and goodness still encompass the earth. The dwellers on the plain of Shinar disbelieved that covenant promise that He would not again bring a flood upon the earth. Many among them denied the existence of God and attributed the Flood to natural causes, while others acknowledged that a supreme being had destroyed the antediluvian world yet rose in rebellion against Him like Cain. In that disbelief one object in erecting the tower was to secure safety in case of another deluge by carrying the structure higher than the floodwaters had reached, and to ascend to the region of the clouds to ascertain the cause of the Flood, an undertaking designed to exalt the pride of its projectors and to turn future generations away from God into idolatry.
The gracious covenant after the Flood is an act of mercy to be gratefully remembered as proof of goodness, not murmured against as arbitrary and severe. The record is divinely inspired Scripture affirmed by Christ as words of inspiration, inseparable from the New Testament. Its account of Noah as a literal person who lived and of the Flood as a fact in history is true, and Noah's day prefigures the present age. The character of that generation specifies the character of this age just before Christ appears in the clouds of heaven, because human nature uninfluenced by the Spirit of God is the same now as in Noah's day.
Promise Against Another Flood
The covenant promise is that the waters shall never again become a flood to cut off all flesh and destroy the earth. The bow is set in the cloud as the sign of that covenant between God and the earth, a lasting token of mercy and goodness meant to reassure Noah and his family and later generations when clouds gather and rain falls. It was also meant to remind them that the old world had been destroyed because of its wickedness, while confirming confidence in God from generation to generation.
When God brings a cloud over the earth the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and God Himself looks upon the bow to remember the everlasting covenant. That covenant is with Noah and every living creature with him for perpetual generations, an everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh upon the earth. The rainbow-signed covenant assures that seedtime and harvest will continue and that the world will never again be destroyed by a flood.
The covenant made with Noah still holds back destruction now. Though sin has kept increasing since the transgression that closed Paradise, and though the law lies prostrate and the Sabbath is trampled under foot by a rebellious race, divine benevolence has not been cut off and love and care still flow earthward. God could come forth to punish the inhabitants of the world for their iniquity and sweep them away by a flood as in Noah's day, but He does not do it because of that covenant, showing Him full of compassion, mercy, and love.
God will no more cleanse the earth by bringing a flood upon it, but He will still purify this earth by fire. That purification will unite fires concealed in the bowels of the earth with fires from heaven. Before those fires of the last day He is gathering out those who love and serve Him as good wheat, while the wicked are being bound in bundles ready to burn, and it depends wholly upon each person which bundle he will be in.
God Remembering the Covenant
When God says that He will look upon the bow in the cloud and remember His covenant with the earth, He is speaking in human language so that men can better understand His assurance. The words are put in human terms to make His promise plain to Noah's family and to later generations who might fear when clouds gather and rain falls.
That remembering does not mean that God could forget. It is condescension and compassion toward erring creatures, given to confirm their confidence in His unfailing promise never again to destroy the earth by a flood.
Throne, Christ, and Salvation
The same bow set in the cloud arches over God's throne in heaven, where John saw it, as an everlasting testimony and living promise seen above the mercy seat. There above the throne it testifies to the whole world and to the universe that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. It stands there as a pledge of mercy to every repentant, believing soul and as assurance that God will never forget His people in their struggle with evil. Every soul who believes in Christ as a personal Saviour shall have everlasting life.
That rainbow above the throne is a token that God through Christ binds Himself to save all who believe, pointing to the compact entered into by the Father and the Son to save the world by Christ giving Himself. That covenant no human power and no angelic power could make, and it is as sure as the throne itself, whose ruling principles are justice and mercy. It rebukes unbelief and distrust. The bow is the symbol of God's unalterable covenant and everlasting covenant of mercy and forbearance and love for all who believe in Him and trust in Jesus Christ as personal Saviour.
Whoever avails himself of the provisions of mercy and appropriates the merits of the life and death of Christ has in the rainbow blessed assurance of acceptance with the Father as long as the throne of God endures. God's grace comes through that covenant to every soul who sincerely desires it, because man cannot sanctify and purify and bless himself but God alone is helper, making sinners righteous not by dead works but through the merits of the grace of Christ when selfishness is put away. Those filled with sorrow are to turn from trying to adjust all difficulties and fasten the eyes on that light with unwavering faith, fighting the good fight of faith and laying hold on eternal life with the hand put in the hand of Christ, for the promises of God are yea and amen in Christ Jesus.
Christ as humanity's intercessor points to the rainbow when pleading for people whose wickedness has provoked wrath. The rainbow around the heavenly throne and above His head represents God's glory and mercy resting there for the benefit of repentant, believing people. Sinners are invited to come before the Father in Christ's name with petitions assured of answer, since the bow set as token of covenant encircles the throne where Christ stands as advocate.
Whenever the law is presented, the throne arched with the rainbow of promise, the righteousness of Christ, is to be pointed out. The glory of the law is Christ, who came to magnify the law and make it honorable. In Him mercy and truth have met together and righteousness and peace have embraced each other. By looking to His throne with penitence and praise and thanksgiving Christian character is perfected and peace is given.
Dark clouds gathered with tempest picture wrath, and picture Israel's gloomy, terrible, degraded condition as a desolate waste, while the rainbow arching over them pictures the promised glory of the Messiah's reign shining above that degradation. The rainbow covenant is an illustration of Christ's love and a reminder that God has supplied His people with truth and grace throughout history, with assurance that the earth will not again be destroyed by a flood and that seedtime and harvest will continue. Binding people to God by the throne encircled with the rainbow of promise means recovering them from the snare of Satan and fastening the chain of dependence through Jesus Christ to that throne as the highest service.
Mercy and Justice United
The bow in the cloud is formed by the union of sunlight and shower, and the rainbow encircling the throne represents the combined power of mercy and justice and the union of mercy with judgment in salvation. Its colors reflect sunlight and rain together, just as salvation joins mercy with judgment and upholds God's unchanging law. The rainbow of promise above the throne is that same union pictured in heaven, the mingling of judgment and mercy.
Justice alone would eclipse the glory of the rainbow of promise and show only the penalty of the law, leaving man seeing only condemnation. Mercy without justice and penalty, with no justice and no penalty, would leave the government of God with no stability and undermine its order. It is the mingling of judgment and mercy that makes salvation full and complete. That blending reveals the gospel as a perfect and complete system and reveals the immutability of the law of God, inspiring hope and love for God. Those who view the world's Redeemer and the law of Jehovah together are led to praise His gentleness for making them great, exclaiming over the gentleness that makes them great.
Mercy invites entrance through the gates into the city of God and opens those gates to the obedient. Justice is satisfied to grant every obedient, holy, and pure soul full privileges as a member of the royal family. Yet justice stands at the entrance demanding holiness and purity in all who would see God. The rainbow of promise overshadowing the throne shows mercy and truth knit together and mercy and justice blended in God's dealing with His heritage, testifying that every soul who believes shall have everlasting life and drawing praise to the Lord from the beholder.
Deliverance in Last Days
At the deliverance of God's people the bow of promise appears across the heavens, spanning them with glory coming from the throne and encircling the praying companies. It appears over the earth at that deliverance as the sign of the covenant, giving assurance amid danger. Its overpowering brightness halts the attackers, fills them with fear, and makes them long for the protection they have rejected.
As God's people await deliverance they look up to see God's glory and the Son of man, and the bow is set before them as a sign of hope and victory and of their coming deliverance. For them in that final danger it is the bow of promise, marking that their release is at hand.
In the time of trouble believers may by faith see this same bow of promise surrounding and encircling them. It stands as assurance and comfort and as a pledge that God will help and preserve His people through the crisis.
Assurance for Daily Life
The bow set above the throne testifies to the whole world and to the universe that God will never forget nor forsake His people in their struggle with evil. It is an everlasting pledge of love encircling His throne on high, assuring strength and protection as long as the throne itself endures. Knowing it is there keeps believers from failing, being discouraged, or losing heart in this probationary life when temptations come, iniquity abounds, and terrible unexpected dark chapters open to weigh down the soul. In heavy trials, opposition, loss, bereavement, and affliction it gives patience, faith, hope, and confidence while character is formed for everlasting life.
The bow of promise arching over the throne is an emblem of God as a covenant-keeping God who holds the reins of guidance. Every Christian worker is to keep this emblem ever before him, remembering that God is to bear rule and does guide and rule over every home, church, school, printing office, and sanitarium. The covenant token now arches the throne in heaven where petitions are laid before the mercy seat above it. It assures that God hears prayers offered in simplicity and faith, for it is His glory to answer the supplications of His people when they unite with one heart and mind in firm Christian fellowship to prepare for the conflict. Seeing the bow when approaching the mercy seat leads those entrusted with great truth to become living channels of light under the Holy Spirit's power, to kneel with contrite hearts and seek the kingdom with earnest spiritual force that takes it as Jacob did, brings its own reward, and is not denied.
Seen by faith while standing in the shadow of the cross, the rainbow as God's sure promise gives certainty that His promise stands firm. It seals a mutual belonging in which the Lord belongs to His people and they belong to Him, removing anxiety, restlessness, and dissatisfaction. He draws near in answer to prayer for grace and restoration to health in nights of pain and sleeplessness, sustaining the longing to recover in order to proclaim the truth. Keeping looking up to the bow encircling His throne while suffering keeps faith from being hidden under a cloud of unbelief and from murmuring against the One who has done everything, holds firm determination not to distrust God, gives triumph in God, and daily refreshes the soul by contemplating the great love of the heavenly Father. The bow seen in the clouds is likewise a sign of promise giving rest and confidence in His protecting arms in the midst of danger, even when wind blows a gale and white-capped waves toss mountain high and splash over a ship at sea, because the same Christ who stilled the tempest with Peace, be still still watches and keeps and assures safety.
The bow of promise given to Noah is a token of love given for encouragement, a glory lighting the sky and gleam of light flowing from the throne that enables grasp of unfailing care. It gives a forward look to the haven of rest awaiting the faithful worker and to the mansions of the heavenly home, calling workers to live not for earth alone but to look up and behold by faith. The bow encircling the throne is constant assurance that Jesus lives, and because He lives His people shall live also. Seen by faith above and beyond the clouds in the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, it keeps believers from being downcast in a world of deceiving appearances, double-dealing, and duplicity. It proves there is light beyond the black clouds now rolling over the world, so that even when ignorance, superstition, darkness, and strong masterful unbelief meet every step of advance, faith must soar above all to see the bow and then reflect its light with pen and voice, praising God before the world.