Part 29 (1/2)

V. 12. _And G.o.d saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth._

222. Inasmuch as the wrath of G.o.d is appalling and destruction is imminent for all flesh except eight souls, Moses is somewhat redundant in this pa.s.sage, and uses repet.i.tions, which are not superfluous but express an emphasis of their own. Above he said the earth was corrupt; now he says that G.o.d, as if following the customary judicial method, saw this and meditated punishment. In this manner he pictures, as it were, the order in which G.o.d proceeds.

223. The judgment of spiritual people concerning the pope at the present day is that he is the Antichrist, raging against the Word and the kingdom of Christ. But they who censure it are unable to correct this wickedness. Wickedness is growing daily and contempt for G.o.dliness is becoming greater every day. Now comes the thought: What is G.o.d doing? Why does he not punish his enemy? Does he sleep and care no longer for human affairs? The delay of judgment causes the righteous anguish. They themselves cannot come to the succor of a stricken religion and they see G.o.d who could help, connive at the fury of the popes, who securely sin against the first and the second tables of the Law.

224. Just so Noah sees the earth filled with wrongs. Therefore, he groans and sighs to heaven in order to arouse G.o.d from the highest heaven to judgment. Such voices occur here and there in the Psalms (10, 1): ”Why standest thou afar off?”; (13, 1): ”How long, O Jehovah?”; (9, 13): ”Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah; consider my trouble”; (7, 6-9): ”Arise, judge my cause, etc.”

225. What Moses here describes comes at length to pa.s.s, that G.o.d also sees these things and hears the cry of the righteous who are able to judge the world; for they who are spiritual judge all things (1 Cor 2, 15), though they cannot alter anything. Wickedness is incorrigible when adorned with a show of piety, and so is oppression when it a.s.sumes the disguise of justice and foresight. It is nothing new that they who seize the wives, daughters, houses, lands and goods of others desire to be just and holy, as we showed above in respect of the papacy.

226. This is the second stage then: When the saints have seen and judged the wickedness of the world, G.o.d also sees it. He says of the Sodomites: ”The cry of them is waxed great before Jehovah” (Gen 19, 13); and above (ch 4, 10): ”The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me.” But always before the Lord takes note, the sobs and groans of the righteous precede, arousing, as it were, the Lord from slumber.

What Moses desires to show in this pa.s.sage through the word, ”saw” is that G.o.d finally perceived the afflictions and heard the cries of the righteous, filling at last all heaven. He who hitherto had winked at everything and seemed to favor the success of the wicked, was awakened as from slumber. The fact is he saw everything much sooner than Noah; for he is the searcher of hearts and cannot be deceived by simulated piety as we can. But not until now, when he meditates punishment, does Noah perceive that he sees.

227. Thus we are afflicted today by extreme and unheard of wickedness, for our adversaries condemn from sheer caprice the truth they know and profess. They try to get at our throats and shed the blood of the righteous with a satanic fury. Such blasphemous, sacrilegious and parricidal doings against the kingdom and name of G.o.d, manifest as such beyond possibility of denial, they defend as the acme of justice.

While contending for the maintenance of their tyrannical position they go so far as to arrogate to themselves the name of the Church. What else can we do here but cry to Jehovah to make his name sacred and not to permit the overthrow of his kingdom nor resistance to his paternal will?

228. But so far the Lord sleeps. He apparently does not observe such wickedness, because he gives no sign as yet of observing it. Rather he permits us to be tormented by such woeful sights. We are, therefore, thus far in the first stage and this verse, stating that the whole earth is corrupt, applies to our age. But at the proper time the second stage will be reached, when we can declare in certainty of faith that not only we but G.o.d also sees and hates such wickedness.

Though G.o.d, in his long-suffering, has continued to wink at many things, he shall retain the name of One who in righteousness shall judge the earth.

229. How bitter and hard such delay is for the righteous, the lamentations of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 12, 1ff., and 20, 7ff, show.

There the holy man almost verges on blasphemy until he is told that the Babylonian king should come and inflict punishment upon the unbelieving scoffers. Thereupon Jeremiah recognizes that G.o.d looks down on the earth and is Judge upon the earth.

230. The universal judgment which follows is terrible in the extreme, namely that all flesh upon the earth had corrupted its way and that G.o.d, when he had begun to examine the sons of men, did not, from the oldest to the youngest of the fathers, find any he could save from destruction.

This strikes our ears as still more awful when we take into consideration the condition of the primitive world, not judging by the miserable fragments we have today. As the physical condition of the world at that time was infinitely ahead of this age, so we may conclude that the majesty and pomp of our rulers and the show of sanct.i.ty and wisdom on the part of the popes are not to be compared to the show of religion, righteousness and wisdom found among those renowned men of the primitive world.

And yet the text says that all flesh had corrupted its way, save Noah and his offspring. That means all men were wicked, lived in idolatry and false religion and hated the true wors.h.i.+p of G.o.d. They despised the promise of the seed, and persecuted Noah, who proclaimed forgiveness through the seed and threatened to those, who should fail to believe his forgiveness, eternal doom.

VI. G.o.d DECIDES TO PUNISH THE FIRST WORLD; COMMANDS NOAH TO BUILD AN ARK; THE COVENANT.

A. HOW G.o.d DECREED TO PUNISH THE OLD WORLD IN HIS WRATH.

1. How punishment finally comes when G.o.d has suffered sin long enough 231.

* Luther's hope that G.o.d's judgment may soon break upon the last world 231.

2. Whether reason can grasp the wrath and punishment of G.o.d 232.

3. How G.o.d's promises stand in the midst of his wrath and punishment 232.

4. The first world thought itself secure against G.o.d's wrath 233.

* The Papal security and boldness against the Evangelicals 234.

5. By what means G.o.d punished the first world 235.

* The Holy Spirit must reveal that G.o.d's wrath and punishment do not violate his promises 236.