The Rainbow

The Rainbow

When I bring a cloud over the earth,

that the bow shall be seen in the cloud

(Genesis 9:14).

The Rainbow ~

Felicia Dorothea Hemans (1793 - 1835)

I do set my bow in the cloud...a token of a covenant between me and the earth (Genesis 9:13)

Soft falls the mild, reviving shower from April's changeful skies,
And rain-drops bend each trembling flower they tinge with richer dyes.

Soon shall their genial influence call a thousand buds to day,
Which, waiting but their balmy fall, in hidden beauty lay.

E'en now full many a blossom's bell with fragrance fills the shade;
And verdure clothes each grassy dell, in brighter tints arrayed.

But mark! what arch of varied hue from heaven to earth is bowed?
Haste, ere it vanish, haste to view the Rainbow in the cloud.

How bright its glory! there behold the emerald's verdant rays,
The topaz blends its hue of gold with the deep ruby's blaze.

Yet not alone to charm thy sight was given the vision fair;–
Gaze on that arch of colored light, and read God's mercy there.

It tells us that the mighty deep, fast by th' Eternal chained,
No more o'er earth's domains shall sweep, awful and unrestrained.

It tells that seasons, heat and cold, fixed by his sovereign will,
Shall, in their course, bid man behold seed-time and harvest still;

That still the flower shall deck the field, when vernal zephyrs blow;
That still the vine its fruit will yield, when autumn sun-beams glow.

Then, child of that fair earth! which yet smiles with each charm endowed,
Bless thou His name, whose mercy set the Rainbow in the cloud!

First Publication:Hymns on the Works of Nature, for the Use of Children.

Boston: Hilliard, Gray, Little and Wilkins, 1827. pp. 7-9.

A Distinction of the Throne of Grace ~ John Bunyan

First, then, there is “a rainbow about the throne of grace in sight like unto an emerald” (Rev. 4:3). This was the first sight that John saw after he had received his epistles for the seven churches. Before he received them, he had the great vision of his Lord, and heard him say to him, “I am he [that was dead and am alive, or] that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore, amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” (Rev. 1:18). And a good preparation it was for a work of that nature that now he was called unto; to wit, that he might the more warmly, and affectionately, and confidently attest the truth which his Lord had now for him to testify to them. So here, before he entereth upon his prophecy of things to come, he hears a first voice, and sees a first sight. The first voice that he heard was, “Come up hither,” and the first sight that he saw was a throne with a rainbow round about it. “And immediately,” saith he, “I was in the Spirit; and behold a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper, and a sardine stone, and there was a rainbow round about the throne” (Rev. 4:1-3).

The first time that we find in God's Word mention made of a rainbow, we read also of its spiritual signification, to wit, that it was a token of the firmness of the covenant that God made with Noah, as touching his not drowning the earth any more with the waters of a flood. “I do set,” saith He, “my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud. And I will remember my covenant which is between me and you, and every living creature of all flesh: and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh” (Gen. 9:13-15). The first use, therefore, of the rainbow, it was to be a token of a covenant of mercy and kindness to the world; but that was not the utmost end thereof. For that covenant was but a shadow of the covenant of grace which God hath made with his elect in Christ, and that bow but a shadow of the token of the permanency and lastingness of that covenant. Wherefore the next time we read of the rainbow is in the first of Ezekiel, and there we read of it only with reference to the excellencies of its colour; for that it is there said to be exactly like the colour of the glory of the man that the prophet there saw as sitting upon a throne (v. 28). The glory, that is, the priestly robes; for he is a priest upon the throne, and his robes become his glory and beauty (Zech. 6:13). His robes–what are they but his blessed righteousness, with the skirts of which he covereth the sinful nakedness of his people, and with the perfection of which He decketh and adorneth them, “as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels” (Exo. 28:2; Eze. 16:8; Isa.61:10).

Now here again, in the third place, we find a rainbow, a rainbow round about the throne; round about the throne of grace. A rainbow–that is, a token of the covenant, a token of the covenant of grace in its lastingness; and that token is the appearance of the man Christ. The appearance–that is, his robes, his righteousness, “from the appearance of his loins even upward,” and “from the appearance of his loins even downward” (Eze. 1:27); even down to the foot, as you have it in the book of the Revelation (1:13). “As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord” (Eze. 1:28). The sum then is, that by the rainbow round about the throne of grace upon which God sitteth to hear and answer the petitions of His people, we are to understand the obedential righteousness of Jesus Christ, which in the days of his flesh he wrought out and accomplished for His people; by which God's justice is satisfied, and their person justified, and they so made acceptable to him. This righteousness, that shines in God's eyes more glorious than the rainbow in the cloud doth in ours, saith John, is round about the throne. But for what purpose? Why, to be looked upon. But who must look upon it? Why, God and His people; the people when they come to pray, and God when he is about to hear and give. “And the bow shall be in the cloud;” says God, “and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth” (Gen. 9:16). And, I say, as the bow is for God to look on, so it is also for our sight to behold. A rainbow round about the throne, in sight; in whose sight? in John's and his companions, like unto an emerald.

We read of Solomon's great throne of ivory, that though there was not its like in any kingdom, yet he was not willing that the bow of it should stand before him. It was round behind (1 Kings 10:18-20).O! but God's throne has the bow before, even round about to view, to look upon in sight. Solomon's was but a shadow, and therefore fit to be put behind; but this is the sum and substance, and therefore fit to be before, in view, in sight, for God and his people to behold. Thus you see that a rainbow is round about the throne of grace, and what this rainbow is. Look then, when thou goest to prayer, for the throne; and that thou mayest not be deceived with a fancy, look for the rainbow too. The rainbow, that is, as I have said, the personal performances of Christ thy Saviour for thee. Look, I say, for that, it is his righteousness; the token of the everlastingness of the covenant of grace; the object of God's delight, and must be the matter of the justification of thy person and performances before God. God looks at it, look thou at it, and at it only (Psa. 71:16). For in heaven or earth, if that be cast away, there is nothing to be found that can please God, or justify thee. If it be said faith pleases God; I answer, faith is a relative grace; take then the relative away, which, as to justification, is this spangling robe, this rainbow, this righteousness of Christ, and faith dies, and becomes, as to what we now treat of, extinct and quenched as tow.

And a very fit emblem the rainbow is of the righteousness of Christ; and that in these particulars.

1. The rainbow is an effect of the sun that shines in the firmament; and the righteousness by which this throne of grace is encompassed, is the work of the Son of God.

2. The rainbow was a token that the wrath of God in sending the flood was appeased; this righteousness of Christ is that for the sake of which God forgiveth us all trespasses.

3. The rainbow was set in the cloud, that the sinful man might look thereon, and wax confident in common mercy; this righteousness is showed us in the word, that we may by it believe unto special mercy.

4. The bow is seen but now and then in the cloud; Christ's righteousness is but here and there revealed in the Word.

5. The bow is seen commonly upon, or after rain; Christ's righteousness is apprehended by faith upon, or soon after the apprehensions of wrath.

6. The bow is seen sometimes more, sometimes less; and so is this righteousness, even according to the degree or clearness of the sight of faith.

7. The bow is of that nature, as to make whatever you shall look upon through it, to be of the same colour of itself, whether that thing be bush, or man, or beast; and the righteousness of Christ is that that makes sinners, when God looks upon them through it, to look beautiful, and acceptable in his sight, for we are made comely through his comeliness, and made accepted in the Beloved (Eze. 16:14; Eph 1:6).

One word more of the rainbow, and then to some other things. As here you read that the rainbow is round about the throne; so if you read on even in the same place, you shall find the glorious effects thereof to be far more than all that I have said. But,

Second. As the throne of grace is known by the rainbow that is round about it; so also thou shalt know it by this, the high priest is continually ministering before it; the high priest, or Christ as priest, is there before God in his high priest's robes, making continual intercession for thy acceptance there. Now, as I said before, Christ is priest and throne and all; throne in one sense, priest in another; even as he was priest, and sacrifice, and altar too, when he became our reconciler to God.

But why does He wear the rainbow upon His head, but to show that the sign, that the everlasting covenant is only found in Him. He wears is as a mitre or frontlet of gold, and can always plead it with acceptance to God, and for the subduing of the world and the good of His people.

From his book: Prayer

The rainbow, a promise made and its seal of approval, was given by God to all people on earth. Just as the sun shines and the rain and snow fall upon the just and the unjust, the good and the evil, so does the rainbow arc in the sky for all to see. It is one of the most spectacular sights no matter how many times it’s viewed. To many observers it is something nice to view, others don’t foster even a glance as they speedily go but to children of God, it’s a beautiful sight with a message accompanying its presence in the sky. It is a symbol of the covenant God established between Himself and Noah and every living creature of all flesh. God spoke, “I do set my bow in the cloud...” “the bow shall be seen in the cloud...” “and I will remember my covenant” (Gen. 9), and reflects much more than what was said. Does God forget? Does He need reminded of anything? OF COURSE NOT! It does seem that he is relaying a message to us while He speaks of Himself in the first person. Could it be that we are to remember every time we see a rainbow in the sky that God not only spoke to us but also covenanted with us concerning His bow? Should not that excite you, knowing that right here you are actually viewing evidence of the spoken word of God? It’s like He has spoken again in our behalf. Have you noticed the rainbow seems to glow against the darker clouds about it, but within the bow it is much lighter? It’s like God is saying that the darkness of the world may surround you, but His radiating-protective love outshines any fear within.

This perfectly beautiful arc is a mystery to us all as we view the beauty of it. God’s creation is spherical as seen from the shape of the earth, the moon, the sun, the stars and even galaxies which may take on the shape of a spiral though coming from a spherical center. [This alone should disprove any big bang theory.] The arc has no sense of beginning or end making it impossible from our perspective to determine where it begins and ends? Have you ever seen a rainbow come into view by degrees, or bits and parts, you may say? Having no beginning nor ending reminds us of our heavenly Creator, God’s only begotten Son. “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God…Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God” (Heb. 7:1-3). The beauty of the arc also reminds us of the description of that heavenly home as viewed by the Apostle John. “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven …and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald” (Rev. 4:1-3).

When something as beautiful as the rainbow catches your eye, is not your first reaction to be awe-struck? Wouldn’t you like to touch it or at least take a picture to remember it? They usually seem far away, yet sometimes close enough to go to. Just as you try to get closer, it moves away or even disappears from sight altogether. Again, are you reminded of your relationship to God? God may reveal Himself to you “at sundry times and in divers manners,” seemingly close at hand but then at other times, He may seem afar off. When you seek Him in the right spirit, He seems close at hand and you feel comfortable, peaceful and serene, as when viewing the rainbow. But, when you approach God in a less-than-spiritual manner, say carnally, He seem remote as if He has vanished. Just as the rainbow mysteriously appears unexpectedly, in like manner it also disappears. So mysterious is this rainbow it is never expected nor forecasted. There are some weather proverbs and paradoxes recorded by Humphrey, that are associated with rainbows. Such as:

Rainbow at night, shepherds delight; rainbow in morning, shepherds take warning.

If there is a rainbow in the eve, it will neither lend nor borrow.

Rainbow to the windward, foul fall the day; Rainbow to the leeward, damp runs away.

These proverbs are associated with northern temperate zones that have prevailing winds. So we see again where the handiwork of God not only leaves us a message but is also a guiding light to the workings of nature, which God also put in motion and order.

Sir Isaac Newton, an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and a theologian, gave us the order of the continuous spectrum of colors in the rainbow, its seven discrete color bands. They are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. [As a sideline something that many people do not know about Newton is that he was highly religious and wrote more about biblical interpretations than any of his other works.] Now we can go back to the rainbow in which he named the colors in their specific order. God warned Noah of the impending flood seven days in advance. Does this not bring to mind that on the seventh day God ended His work and rested? Now He is warning of the impending destruction of His work. Likewise we read that the Ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day. God required the nation Israel to eat unleavened bread for seven days. God set the seventh day as a day of rest in which no manner work was to be done by the Israelites. In the seventh year the Hebrew slave was to go free for nothing. On the seventh day upon Mt. Sinai, God called unto Moses out of the mist of the cloud. Joshua was told to encompass the city Jericho for six days and on the seventh the walls would come down. Like the rainbow comes and goes, so does the history of mankind, according to the laws of God. As the beauty of the rainbow is but a fleeting moment, so is the withering blossom of man’s life here below.

The rainbow of God is seen as a vision or symbol of hope, sometimes something to wish upon or to find peace and harmony within its borders. It is for certain a gift from God. I close with a poem which gives us a spiritual response to the rainbow:

The Rainbow ~ William Wordsworth

My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky;

So was it when my life began; so is it now I am a man;

So be it when I shall grow old; or let me die!...........

The Child is father of the Man;

I could wish my days to be, bound each to each by natural piety.

AMEN & AMEN

Have you ever encountered a rainstorm? Storms are a part of life; God made it that way. Dear friends, you and I will experience storms until we are called to heaven, and then all storms will cease. Expect the storms and don't be afraid of them, because God is always faithful. I've learned a secret that's helped me all these years, and it's still helping me: Always look for the rainbow. The world looks for the silver lining even maybe a “pot-o-gold” and sings “Somewhere over the rainbow,” but we Christians have something far better than that: Jesus Christ, the faithful Savior. Jesus is like the rainbow to me: When God sees us and our sins, He sees us through Jesus, who said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). Our sins are removed from the eyes of our God, Who sees the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelations 1:5b).

God’s sign of remembrance is the rainbow. Have you seen a rainbow lately? Did you ever wonder what composes a rainbow? It is made of light. In fact, it is made of seven colors of light. It usually occurs when it rains. The marvelous light of the sun shines through the droplets of rain causing them to refract the light. They are small prisms that split the white light into the glorious colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. God’s arrangement of the colors in wave-length frequency is from low to high and always stays in the same order. The arrangement forms a circle of which we see only an arc the rest of the circle being masked by the horizon. Only God could make something this beautiful, orderly and dependable.

Did you ever read of the three men in the Bible who saw rainbows?

· Noah saw the rainbow after the storm (Genesis 9).

· Ezekiel saw the rainbow in the midst of the storm (Ezekiel 1).

· John saw the rainbow before the storm (Revelation 4:1-3).

Just remember God's message to us today. Always look for the rainbow, a symbol of the faithful promises of God. Depend on the faithfulness of God. Sometimes He'll show you the rainbow after the storm, sometimes during the storm and sometimes before the storm, but He will never fail you.

Upon seeing the truth of how "God works in mysterious ways”, imaginations are cleansed and spiritual satisfaction is nourished and encouraged within. Many people even some Christians, suffer from vain imaginations. “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Rom. 1:21). The main evidence for this is the great gulf that exists between what the Word of God teaches and how people live their daily lives. What we fail to practice and vain imaginations go together. We all need to be looking always for the rainbow—“Looking unto Jesus” (Heb. 12:2).

Dear Brothers and Sisters, we should be touched—even moved—when a sermon makes a relevant connection to our everyday lives. With God’s help, this connection can be achieved only when a preacher always conforms to the truth of the Word, the laws of the Lord, that have been put into the mind and written in the heart of His people. After all, what was His covenant to His people?

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people” (Heb. 8:10).

A sermon cannot move people any more than the bones of the body can move them without the meat. Bones determines the position of the body but provide no movement without ligaments, tendons, nerves and muscles. In a similar way, a sermon is only good if anchored in deep, meaty words of truth. Without Scriptual truth, a sermon will simply collapse into a bony pile of worldliness. Most importantly, remember that we gather—or should gather—as congregations to hear the word of God’s truth proclaimed. My friend, let's pray that the preacher does not deliver a pile of bones from the pulpit.

Back to remembering, let us all remember that:

GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD…Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations…and Noah walked with God (Gen. 6:5-9).

The account of Noah's ark shows us that God did things on purpose to save mankind from the corruotion ongoing in the world. Just as God saved Noah and his family in the ark from the flood waters, He sent Jesus to save us from our sins. God purposed to save Noah by having him build an ark. God knew how to build it and what to use to build it. He gave Noah very detailed plans about how to build it. God always knows what to do and will tell us how to accomplish it. So we should pray to know God’s will and ways. Thus praying, we won’t make the mistakes and errors that come about by ignoring. God’s ways and following after our own.

God told Noah to prepare a place in the ark for his family and all the animals. How many animals of each kind did Noah bring? Yes, two of every kind, both male and female.God purposed to have them for the new world that would come after the flood. He had Noah bring plenty of food for them also. Our God always provides for us. Even now He has prepared a place for all His people for whom Jesus died and will come to get us one day. Wow! What a day that will be!

The covenant-keeping God promised never to destroy the earth again with water. He set the rainbow in the clouds as a reminder of His promise.

Just as God keeps His promises we should keep our promises. Have you ever made a promise? Did you keep it? As sinners, we may forget or break our promise. If we tell someone we are going to do something, we need to keep our word. A Christian should be able, with God’s help, to keep his word of honor.

Some people consider the story of the flood is a myth—something made up by man. How do we know it is true? The Bible speaks many times about the flood, and we know God’s word is true. Even our Lord Jesus spoke plainly about the flood when He spoke of His return to earth.

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Mt. 24:34-39).

Let’s always be looking for the Rainbow—“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). The marvelous rainbow is round about the throne. “…behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald” (Rev. 4:2-3).

I am reminded of one of my favorite hymns to a tune written by Elder J. Harvey Daily.

Answer: God is a spirit (John 4:24), and so His appearance is not like anything we can describe. Exodus 33:20 tells us, “But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” As sinful human beings, we are incapable of even seeing God in all His glory and living. His appearance is utterly unimaginable and too glorious to be safely perceived by sinful man.

The Bible describes God appearing to people on various occasions. These should not be understood as describing exactly what God looks like, but rather as God revealing Himself to us in a way that we can understand. Two passages that powerfully describe God’s appearance are Ezekiel 1:26-28 and Revelation 1:14-16.

“And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD” (Ezekiel 1:26-28 KJV).

“His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength” (Revelation 1:14-16 KJV).

These passages represent Ezekiel’s and John’s best attempts at describing the glory of God [Jesus Christ] that they witnessed. They had to use symbolic language and similes to describe that for which human language has no words, i.e., “what appeared like,” “like the appearance,” “he looked like,” etc. We do know that when we are in heaven, “we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:3). Sin will be no more, and we will be able to perceive God in all His glory. [“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6)].