Genesis 9:1-17. As the human race started afresh on its career, God blessed it, as at the first. God always stands with us in a new start. The prohibition against the use of blood in food is often repeated. See Ley. 17:11; Acts 15:29. In a very deep sense, the blood is the life. When we speak of being redeemed by the blood of Jesus, we mean that we have been saved by his sacrificed life. The blood maketh atonement for the soul. But whilst animal life might be used for food or sacrifice, human life was surrounded by the most solemn ~ sanctions. A covenant is a promise or undertaking resting on certain conditions, with a sign or token attached to it. The bow in the cloud, the Lord’s Supper, the wedding ring are signs and seals of their respective covenants. Never witness a rainbow without remembering

that as God hath sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so he will not withdraw his kindness. See Iso. 54:9.