The Rainbow

I always remember how, when at school, my schoolmaster taught us to learn in their correct order, the colors of the rainbow. He reminded us that the initial letters of the names of these colors spelt V.I.B.G.Y.O.R., and ever since I have remembered that the colors are Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red.

These colors are in a ray of sunshine. You may discover this yourselves. Let a ray of sunlight pass through a narrow slit parallel to the edge of a glass prism, and you will find that the ray emerges from the farther side of the prism, as a broad rectangular strip of "rainbow" tints, the colors gradually passing from violet at one end, through indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, to red at the other extremity. In the case of a rainbow, the sun shines on falling rain, and by the combined efforts of refraction and interference of the sun's rays as they pass through the falling raindrops, an arc of prismatic colors will be seen on the rain. The colors are the same, and in the identical order, as those seen passing through the prism. We only, generally, see part of the bow, but on an elevated mountain, or in an aeroplane or airship, when the sun is near the horizon, completely circular rainbows are observed.

In the ninth chapter of Genesis we read that "the bow shall be seen in the cloud." God sent this after the "deluge" as a token of His promise that the world should no more be destroyed by a flood. This bow was to be seen in the cloud. To the people of those early days, in whose mind the "flood" was a real fact, the appearance of a cloud upon the sky would portend evil. God knew their thoughts, and therefore said, "The bow shall be seen in the cloud," "the light of My promise shall be seen in the thing that you most dread." The cloud that we should most dread is that of sin, the darkest of all clouds, and in this very cloud God has set His bow. Let us look at this bow. I think in it we shall see all the seven prismatic colors. We will reverse the order of these and start with red.

RED: "Though they (your sins) be RED like crimson they shall be as white as snow."

ORANGE: "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

YELLOW: "The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin."

GREEN: "He was made to be sin for us, who knew no sin."

BLUE: "Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."

INDIGO: "I have blooted....as a cloud their sins."

VIOLET: "Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."