Genesis 6:8-10 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.… The perfection here ascribed to Noah, and elsewhere to other servants of God, is to be understood as being a perfection, not of degree, but of extent — not of height, but of breadth. He is perfect — not as having reached on earth the full maturity of holiness which he is to attain in heaven, nor as being immaculate and exempt from liability to sin — but as having the entire new man formed in him, and no affection of the old man willingly allowed. For it is this completeness and consistency of character that is to be understood by perfection. It is opposed to a partial and insincere devotion of the heart and life to God — to everything like compromise, or evasion, or reservation in the obedience that is rendered to Him — to the idea of doing many things to please Him, but yet something to please self or the world. It implies the dedication of the whole man, soul, and body, and spirit, absolutely and unequivocally to God — and the keeping of the whole law, without offending in any one point or breaking one of the least of its commandments. In short, it is the wisdom which cometh down from above — whose distinguishing characteristic is, that it is perfect — complete and compact in all its parts — being "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." To this wisdom is opposed that which "descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish" (James 3:15-17). The bitter fruits and characteristics of that wisdom are envying and strife, confusion, tumult, unquietness, and every evil work in one word, "violence" — such as then filled the earth. Now, the perfection which has been described naturally attends upon a heart right with God — a mind calmly fixed in a righteous peace with heaven. To have got settled, upon just terms, the dread controversy which sin has caused, the angry strife of conscience, the impatient struggle against judgment — to have this warfare ended, in that blessed tranquillity which a sense of saving mercy and justifying righteousness inspires, through "the love of God being shed abroad in the heart, by the Holy Ghost, which is given" to the believer (Romans 5:5) — to have the heart thus established with grace (Hebrews 13:9) — this, this alone, and this effectually, disposes to universal holiness and love. (R. S. Candlish, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. |
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