Never was there a more glorious act of obedience than that which Abraham performed in offering up his son, his only son, Isaac. But it will be asked, Is any thing like that required of us? I answer, 1. A full equivalent to this is required of us [True, indeed, we are not called to that very act of offering up our own son: but we are expressly commanded to "hate father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and our own life also, in comparison of Christ" and our blessed Lord declares, that "whosoever cometh not after him, and forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be his disciple." This may be deemed a hard saying; but so it is; and the declaration is irreversible: and further still, our blessed Lord has decreed, that "he who saveth his life shall lose it; and he only who loseth his life for his sake, shall find it unto life eternali." There is no difference between either persons or times: the same is true respecting all his followers, in every age and place. On no lower terms will any human being be acknowledged as a friend of Christ; nor will any child of man that is unwilling to comply with them, find acceptance with him in the day of judgment.] 2. Without a compliance with this, we in vain pretend to have the fear of God ["The fear of God" is the lowest of all graces: yet must that, no less than the highest, be tried by this test. The truth is, that the new creature, even in its lowest state, is complete in all its parts. A little infant has all the parts of an adult: there is nothing added to him even to his dying hour: the only difference between him in the different periods of his life is, that his parts are more matured by age, and capable of greater exertion when he arrives at manhood than they were in the earlier stages of his existence. The different rays of light may be separated by a prism, and so be brought under distinct and separate consideration: but it is the assemblage of all the rays that constitutes light. In like manner, we may separate in idea the graces of a Christian: but where there is one truly operative, there is, and must be, all. One particular grace may shine more bright in one person, and another in another; but when "Christ is formed in us," not one of his graces can be absent. Hence then I say, that the fear of God, no less than the love of him, must be tried by this test: and by this alone will "God know that you fear him, if you withhold not your son, your only son, from him."] g Luke xiv. 26. i Matt. xvi. 25. h Luke xiv. 33. Now, let me ASK, What testimony must God bear respecting you? [He knows every one amongst you, and every secret of your hearts: yet will he not proceed in judgment without adducing the proofs which you had given of your true character. If he say to you, "Come, ye blessed," or, "Go, ye cursed," he will assign his reasons for it, and thereby approve the equity of his sentence before the whole universe!. Let me ask, then, What sacrifices have you made for him? and what duties have you performed? Have you "plucked out the right eye, and cut off the right hand, that has offended you?" If not, you know the sad alternative, that "your whole body and soul will be cast into hell firem." Examine yourselves, then, and inquire, whether God can bear this testimony respecting you? Must he not rather, with respect to the greater part of you, say, 'I know you, that" you have not the fear of God before your eyes!" You have made no sacrifice for me; nor have you paid any attention to my commands. Abraham consulted not even his own wife, lest she should prove a snare to him: but you have been ready to follow any adviser that would counsel you to disregard me.' Well, know of a surety that the time is shortly coming, when God will call every one of you into judgment, and when he will put an awful difference between his friends and his enemies; between those who feared his name, and those who feared him not°.] 1 Matt. xxv. 34-43. m Mark ix. 43-48. n Rom. iii. 18. o Mal. iii. 18. XXXVL JEHOVAH-JIREH, THE LORD WILL PROVIDE. Gen. xxii. 14. And Abraham called the name of that place, Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. THE Saints of old took special care to remember the mercies of their God. Hence they scarcely ever received any remarkable deliverance from evil, or communication of good from him, but they erected some memorial of it, and gave either to the place or to the memorial itself, some name, that should transmit to posterity a remembrance of the blessing vouchsafed unto them. Such was "Beth-el," where Jacob was favoured with a special vision; and " Peniel," where he wrestled with the angel"; and " Eben-ezer," the stone erected by Samuel in remembrance of Israel's victory over the Philistines. Frequently the name of Jehovah himself was annexed to some word expressive of the event commemorated; as, "Jehovahnissi, meaning, The Lord my banner;" a name given to an altar raised by Moses, to commemorate the total discomfiture of the Amalekites; and "Jehovahshalom, The Lord send peace;" being the name given to another altar, which Gideon erected in remembrance of a special visit which he had received from the Lord in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. The Father of the Faithful set an example in this respect. He had been ordered by God to sacrifice his son Isaac; but in the very act of offering him up, God had arrested his uplifted arm, and directed him to offer in the stead of his son a ram caught in the thicket which was close at hand. This was in fact an accomplishment of what Abraham himself had a little before unwittingly predicted. For, in answer to Isaac's question, "My father, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" he replied, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering." By this answer he merely intended to satisfy his son's mind for the present, till the time should arrive for making known to him the command which he had received from God; in which command that provision was actually made but through the miraculous intervention of Divine Providence and the substitution of the ram in Isaac's place, it had now been literally verified in a way which he himself had never contemplated. And it was in reference to this expression which he had used, that he called the name of the place, "Jehovah-jireh," which means, "The Lord will provide." This circumstance, occurring on Mount Moriah at the very instant when Abraham's hand was lifted up to slay his son, passed immediately into a proverb, a Gen. xxviii. 19. d Exod. xvii. 15. b Gen. xxxii. 30. e Judg. vi. 24. c 1 Sam. vii. 12. and has been handed down as a proverb through all successive generations even to this very day: the proverb is, " In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen;" or, as it should rather be translated, "In the mount the Lord shall be seen." To enter fully into this most instructive proverb, it will be proper to shew, I. What it supposes― Much important truth lies concealed in it. It supposes, 1. That God is the same in all ages [It may be thought that this is a truth which no one will controvert. I grant that no one will controvert it in theory: but practically it is denied every day. The God who is revealed in the Scriptures is evidently a God of infinite condescension and grace; as appears in all his mercies to the children of men. He is also a God of inflexible justice and holiness; as appears by the awful judgments he has executed on account of sin. But, if we now hold him forth in either of these points of view, and inculcate the necessity of our regarding him with hopes and fears suited to these perfections, we are considered as either derogating from his Majesty on the one hand, or from his goodness on the other hand. The notion, that "the Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil," though not openly avowed, is yet the secret persuasion of almost every heart. But if there were any foundation for this Epicurean sentiment, what room could there be for this proverb? But know assuredly, that "He changeth not;" "with Him is no variableness neither shadow of turning:" "He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever."] 2. That the privileges of his people in all ages are the same [To imagine this, is thought by many to be the height of presumption. But what privilege had Enoch, or Noah, or Abraham, or Moses, or any other of the children of men, which we have not? No one of them enjoyed any thing which was not contained in the covenant of grace. And what was the great promise in that covenant? Was it not, "I will be their God, and they shall be my people?" Was there any thing that was not comprehended in that? or could any thing whatever be added to it? Yet behold, that covenant is as much in force at this day as it was at any period of the world: and those who lay hold on that covenant are as much entitled to its blessings, as any ever were from the foundation of the world. Were this not so, we should have been injured, rather than benefited, by the coming of Christ. But our interest in it is not only as great as theirs was in the days of old, but, I had almost said, greater: for in the mention of this part of the covenant in the New Testament there is this remarkable difference: in the Old Testament God says, "I will be their God;" but in the New Testament he says, "I will be a God unto them." This seems to convey a stronger and more determinate idea to the mind. We all know what it is to be a friend or a father to any person but oh! what is it to be a God unto him? This none but God can tell: but the least it means is this; that, whatever situation a believer may be in, all that infinite wisdom, unbounded love, and almighty power can effect, shall be effected for him. Of the believer therefore now, no less than in former days, it may be said, " All things are yours: whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's."] 3. That whatsoever God at any time has done for the most favoured of his saints, may be expected by us now, as far as our necessities call for it— [Of all the circumstances related in the Old Testament, scarcely any one was so particular and so exclusive as this which we are considering. Who besides him was ever called to sacrifice his own son? Who besides him was ever stopped by a voice from heaven in the execution of such a command, and directed to another offering which God himself had provided? Yet behold, this very event was made the foundation of the proverb before us; and from this, particular and exclusive as it was, all believers are taught to expect, that God will interpose for them in like manner, in the hour of necessity! If then we may expect such an interposition as this, what may we not expect? But let us take some other events, to which nothing parallel exists. The passage of Israel through the Red Sea; the striking of the rock, in order to supply them with water in the wilderness; and the feeding of them with daily supplies of manna for forty years: can we expect any interpositions like these? Yes and an express reference is made to these in the Holy Scriptures in order to raise our expectations to the highest, and to assure us that we shall receive from God every thing that our necessities may require. Were "the depths of the sea made a way for the ransomed to pass over?" With similar triumph may all the "redeemed of the Lord hope to return and come to Zion"." What was done "in the ancient f Heb. viii. 10. g 1 Cor. iii. 21-23. h Isai. li. 9-11. Cite the whole. |