Surviving the flood through Hashem's chesed and emunah

במד' תאבד אנשי דמים ומרמה יתעב ה' ואני ברוב חסדך כו' דורש על נח ודוד ע"ש

In the Midrash on "You destroy men of blood and deceit; Hashem abhors… but I, through Your abundant chesed…" — it expounds this regarding Noach and Dovid (see there).

The Midrash applies the pasuk from Tehillim to Noach and Dovid, both of whom entered before Hashem "through Your abundant chesed" rather than purely by their own merit.

שגם נח לא הי' כדאי רק ברוב חסדך אבוא ביתך ונכנס להתיבה בחסד עליון כו'.

That even Noach was not deserving on his own, but "through Your abundant chesed I will come into Your house," and he entered the teivah (ark) through supernal chesed.

Noach's survival and entry into the ark were not earned strictly by his own merit; he too was carried in by Hashem's overflowing kindness.

וח"ו לא באו חז"ל למעט בכבוד הצדיק.

And, chas v'shalom, Chazal did not come to diminish the honor of the tzaddik.

The Sefas Emes cautions that this drasha is not meant to belittle Noach's righteousness.

רק להודיע כי באמת הי' קשה לדור להתקיים בלי תורה וכמו שדרשו חז"ל שכ"ו דורות התנהגו בחסד ה' בלבד שע"ז יסדו כ"ו כל"ח ע"ש.

Rather, it comes to teach that it was truly difficult for that generation to endure without Torah, as Chazal expounded that twenty-six generations were sustained by Hashem's chesed alone — upon which they based "twenty-six [times] 'ki l'olam chasdo' (for His chesed is eternal)" (see there).

Before the Torah was given, the world had no Torah-merit to stand on, so the twenty-six generations from Adam to Matan Torah were carried entirely by Hashem's chesed — hinted in the twenty-six repetitions of "ki l'olam chasdo" in Hallel.

ולכן הי' נח צריך סעד לתמכו.

Therefore Noach needed support to uphold him.

Living in that pre-Torah era, even a tzaddik like Noach required the prop of Divine chesed to sustain him.

ואך הרשעים שהי' דבריהם כזב לא זכו לחסד ה'.

But the resha'im, whose words were falsehood, did not merit Hashem's chesed.

The wicked of the generation, steeped in deceit, cut themselves off from this saving chesed — which is why the same pasuk speaks of "men of blood and deceit" being destroyed.

ועל נח נאמר צדיק באמונתו יחי' שגם בעת ההסתר יש לקוות לחסד ה'.

And of Noach it is said, "A tzaddik shall live by his emunah" — that even in a time of hester (concealment) one may hope for Hashem's chesed.

Noach's defining trait was emunah: even amid the darkness and concealment of his generation, he held fast to the hope of Divine kindness.

וכך יש בכל פרטי זמנים שצריכין רק להיות נעזר ע"י חסד ה'.

And so it is in all particular times, when one needs simply to be helped through Hashem's chesed.

Every person passes through periods of concealment in which, like Noach, one cannot rely on merit alone but must lean on Hashem's chesed.

וכמו כן יש אנשים שמוכנים להיות נעזר בחסד ה' כמו נח ודוד דלית לי' מגרמי' כלום והוא גברא דמארי' סייעי'.

And likewise there are certain people who are suited to be helped through Hashem's chesed — like Noach and Dovid — "who have nothing of their own," and who are a person whose Master assists him.

Some tzaddikim, exemplified by Noach and Dovid, embody total bittul: they claim nothing as their own and stand entirely as ones whom Hashem upholds and helps.

ומדריגת אברהם אע"ה הי' באופן אחר כמ"ש לך לך שהי' צריך להיות מתחזק מעצמו:

But the level of Avraham Avinu was in a different manner, as it says "Lech Lecha" — that he had to strengthen himself from his own self.

Avraham's path was the opposite mode of avodah: "Go for yourself" — he was called to act through his own initiative and self-strengthening, achieving his madreigah by his own striving rather than only being carried by chesed.

Summary: Noach, like Dovid, entered before Hashem "through abundant chesed" — not to diminish his righteousness, but because the twenty-six pre-Torah generations were sustained by chesed alone, with no Torah-merit to stand on. Such tzaddikim live "by their emunah," leaning entirely on Hashem in times of concealment. Avraham, by contrast ("Lech Lecha"), represents the path of self-strengthening and personal initiative.