Intercession for others _before_ the Lord. He was enabled to plead for

those who were mixed up in Sodom's defilement, and in danger of being

involved in Sodom's judgment. This was a happy and a holy use to make

of his place of nearness to God. Thus it is ever. The soul that can

"draw near to God," in the assurance of faith, having the heart and

conscience perfectly at rest, being able to repose in God as to the

past, the present, and the future,--that soul will be able and willing

to intercede for others. The man who has on "the whole armor of God,"

will be able to pray for all "saints." And, oh! what a view this gives

us of the intercession of our Great High-priest, who has passed into

the heavens! "What infinite repose he enjoys in all the divine

counsels!" With what conscious acceptance he sits enthroned amid the

brightness of the Majesty in the heavens! And with what efficacy he

pleads before that Majesty for those who are toiling along amid the

defilement of this present scene! Happy, ineffably happy, they who are

the subjects of such all-prevailing intercession! At once happy and

secure. Would that we had hearts to enter into all this,--hearts

enlarged by personal communion with God, to take in more of the

infinite fulness of his grace, and the suitability of his provision,

for all our need.

We see in this scripture that how blessed soever Abraham's intercession

might be, yet it was limited, because the intercessor was _but a man_.

It did not reach the need. He said, "I will speak _yet but this once_,"

and there he stopped short, as if afraid of having presented too large

a draft at the treasury of infinite grace, or forgetting that faith's

check was never yet dishonored at God's bank. It was not that he was

straitened in God. By no means. There was abundance of grace and

patience in him to have hearkened to his dear servant, had he proceeded

even to three or one. But the servant was limited. He was afraid of

overdrawing his account. He ceased to ask, and God ceased to give. Not

so our blessed Intercessor. Of him it can be said, "He is able to save

_to the uttermost_, ... seeing he _ever_ liveth to make intercession."

May our hearts cling to him in all our need, our weakness, and our

conflict.

Before closing this section, I would offer a remark, which, whether it

may be regarded as properly flowing out of the truth contained therein,

or not, is nevertheless worthy of consideration. It is of the utmost

importance in the study of scripture to distinguish between God's moral

government of the world, and the specific hope of the Church. The

entire body of Old Testament prophecy, and much of the New, treats of

the former, and, in so doing, presents, I need hardly say, a subject of

commanding interest to every Christian. It is interesting to know what

God is doing, and will do, with all the nations of the

earth,--interesting to read God's thoughts about Tyre, Babylon,

Nineveh, and Jerusalem,--about Egypt, Assyria, and the land of Israel.

In short, the entire range of Old Testament prophecy demands the

prayerful attention of every true believer. But let it be remembered,

we do not find therein contained the proper hope of the Church. How

could we? If we have not therein the Church's existence directly

revealed, how could we have the Church's hope? Impossible. It is not

that the Church cannot find there a rich harvest of divine moral

principles, which she may most happily and profitably use. She

undoubtedly can; but this is quite another thing from finding there her

proper existence and specific hope. And yet, a large portion of the

Old-Testament prophecies has been applied to the Church; and this

application has involved the whole subject in such mist and confusion

that simple minds are scared away from the study; and, in neglecting

the study of prophecy, they have also neglected that which is quite

distinct from prophecy, properly so called, even the hope of the

Church; which hope, be it well remembered, is not any thing which God

is going to do with the nations of the earth, but to meet the Lord

Jesus in the clouds of heaven, to be forever with him, and forever like

him.

Many may say, I have no _head_ for prophecy. Perhaps not, but you have

a _heart_ for Christ? Surely if you love Christ, you will love his

appearing, though you may have no capacity for prophetic

investigation. An affectionate wife may not have a head to enter into

her husband's affairs; but she has a heart for her husband's return.

She might not be able to understand his ledger and day-book; but she

knows his footstep and recognizes his voice. The most unlettered saint,

if only he has affection for the person of the Lord Jesus, can

entertain the most intense desire to see him; and this is the Church's

hope. The apostle could say to the Thessalonians, "Ye turned to God

from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to _wait for his Son

from heaven_." (1 Thess. i. 9, 10.) Now, evidently, those Thessalonian

saints could, at the moment of their conversion, have known little, if

any thing, of prophecy, or the special subject thereof; and yet they

were, at that very moment, put into the full possession and power of

the specific hope of the Church,--even the coming of the Son. Thus is

it throughout the entire New Testament. There, no doubt, we have

prophecy,--there, too, we have God's moral government; but, at the same

time, numberless passages might be adduced in proof of the fact that

the common hope of Christians in apostolic times--the simple,

unimpeded, and unencumbered hope--was, THE RETURN OF THE BRIDEGROOM.

May the Holy Ghost revive "that blessed hope" in the Church,--may he

gather in the number of the elect, and "make ready a people prepared

for the Lord!"

CHAPTER XIX.

There are two methods which the Lord graciously adopts, in order to

draw the heart away from this present world. The first is, by setting

before it the attractiveness and stability of "things above." The

second is, by faithfully declaring the evanescent and shakeable nature

of "things on the earth." The close of Hebrews xii. furnishes a

beautiful example of each of these methods. After stating the truth,

that we are come unto mount Zion, with all its attendant joys and

privileges, the apostle goes on to say, "See that ye refuse not him

that speaketh: for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on

earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that

speaketh from heaven; whose voice then shook the earth, but now he hath

promised, saying, Yet once I shake, not only the earth, but also

heaven. Now this word Once signifieth the removal of the shakeable

things, as of things that are made, that the unshakeable things may

remain." Now it is much better to be _drawn_ by the joys of heaven,

than _driven_ by the sorrows of earth. The believer should not wait to

be shaken out of present things. He should not wait for the world to

give him up before he gives up the world. He should give it up in the

power of communion with heavenly things. There is no difficulty in

giving up the world when we have, by faith, laid hold of Christ: the

difficulty would then be to hold it. If a scavenger were left an estate

of ten thousand a year, he would not long continue to sweep the

streets. Thus, if we are realizing our portion amid the unshakeable

realities of heaven, we shall find little difficulty in resigning the

delusive joys of earth. Let us now look at the solemn section of

inspired history here set before us.

In it we find Lot "sitting in the gate of Sodom," the place of

authority. He has evidently made progress. He has "got on in the

world." Looked at from a worldly point of view, his course has been a

successful one. He at first "pitched his tent _toward_ Sodom." Then, no

doubt, he found his way into it; and now we find him sitting in the

gate,--a prominent, influential post. How different is all this from

the scene with which the preceding chapter opens! But, ah! my reader,

the reason is obvious. "_By faith_ Abraham sojourned in the land of

promise, as in a _strange country_, dwelling in tabernacles." We have

no such statement in reference to Lot.[16] It could not be said, "By

faith Lot sat in the gate of Sodom." Alas! no: he gets no place among

the noble army of confessors,--the great cloud of witnesses to the

power of faith. The world was his snare, present things his bane. He

did not "endure as seeing him who is invisible." He looked at "the

things which are seen, and temporal:" whereas Abraham looked at "the

things which are unseen and eternal." There was a most material

difference between those two men, who, though they started together on

their course, reached a very different goal, so far as their public

testimony was concerned. No doubt Lot was saved, yet it was "so as by

fire," for, truly, "his work was burned up." On the other hand, Abraham

had "an abundant entrance ministered unto him into the everlasting

kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

Further, we do not find that Lot is permitted to enjoy any of the high

distinctions and privileges with which Abraham was favored. Instead of

refreshing the Lord, Lot gets his righteous soul vexed; instead of

enjoying communion _with_ the Lord, he is at a lamentable distance

_from_ the Lord; and lastly, instead of interceding for others, he

finds enough to do to intercede for himself. The Lord remained to

commune with Abraham, and merely sent his angels to Sodom; and these

angels could, with difficulty be induced to enter into Lot's house, or

partake of his hospitality: "they said, Nay, but _we will abide in the

street all night_." What a rebuke! How different from the willing

acceptance of Abraham's invitation, as expressed in the words, "So do

as thou hast said."

There is a great deal involved in the act of partaking of any one's

hospitality. It expresses, when intelligently looked at, full

fellowship with him. "I will come in unto him, and sup _with him_, and

_he with me_." "If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come

into my house and abide." If they had not so judged her, they would not

have accepted her invitation.

Hence, the angels' word to Lot contains a most unqualified condemnation

of his position in Sodom. They would rather abide in the street all

night, than enter under the roof of one in a wrong position. Indeed,

their only object in coming to Sodom seems to have been to deliver

Lot, and that, too, because of Abraham; as we read: "And it came to

pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that _God remembered

Abraham_, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he

overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt." This is strongly marked. It

was simply for Abraham's sake that Lot was suffered to escape: the Lord

has no sympathy with a worldly mind; and such a mind it was that had

led Lot to settle down amid the defilement of that guilty city. Faith

never put him there; a spiritual mind never put him there; "his

righteous soul" never put him there. It was simple love for this

present evil world that led him first to "_choose_," then to "pitch his

tent toward," and finally, to "sit in the gate of Sodom." And, oh! what

a portion he chose. Truly it was a broken cistern which could hold no

water,--a broken reed which pierced his hand. It is a bitter thing to

seek, in any wise, to manage for ourselves; we are sure to make the

most grievous mistakes. It is infinitely better to allow God to order

all our ways for us, to commit them all, in the spirit of a little

child, to him who is so willing and so able to manage for us,--to put

the pen, as it were, into his blessed hand, and allow him to sketch out

our entire course according to his own unerring wisdom and infinite

love.

No doubt Lot thought he was doing well for himself and his family when

he moved to Sodom; but the sequel shows how entirely he erred; and it

also sounds in our ears a voice of deepest solemnity,--a voice telling

us to beware how we yield to the incipient workings of a worldly

spirit. "Be content with such things as ye have." Why? Is it because

you are so well off in the world? Because you have all that your poor

rambling hearts would seek after? Because there is not so much as a

single chink in your circumstances, through which a vain desire might

make its escape? Is this to be the ground of our contentment? By no

means. What then? "For he hath said, I will never leave thee nor

forsake thee." Blessed portion! Had Lot been content therewith, he

never would have sought the well-watered plains of Sodom.

And then, if we need any further ground of inducement to the exercise

of a contented spirit, truly we have it in this chapter. What did Lot

gain in the way of happiness and contentment? Little indeed. The people

of Sodom surround his house, and threaten to break into it; he seeks to

appease them by a most humiliating proposition, but all in vain. If a

man will mingle with the world for the purpose of self-aggrandizement,

he must make up his mind to endure the sad consequences. We cannot

profit by the world, and at the same time bear effectual testimony

against its wickedness. "This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he

will needs be a judge." This will never do. The true way to judge is to

stand apart, in the moral power of grace, not in the supercilious

spirit of Pharisaism. To attempt to reprove the world's ways while we

profit by association with it, is vanity; the world will attach very

little weight to such reproof and such testimony. Thus it was, too,

with Lot's testimony to his sons-in-law; "he seemed as one that

mocked." It is vain to speak of approaching judgment, while finding our

place, our portion, and our enjoyment, in the very scene which is to be

judged.

Abraham was in a far better position to speak of judgment, inasmuch as

he was entirely outside of the sphere thereof. The tent of the stranger

at Mamre was in no danger, though Sodom were in flames. Oh, that our

hearts longed more after the precious fruits of a realized

strangership, so that instead of having, like poor Lot, to be dragged

by main force out of the world, and casting a lingering look behind, we

might, with holy alacrity bound forward like a racer towards the goal!

Lot evidently longed after the scene which he was forced by angelic

power to abandon; for not only had the angels to lay hold of him and

hasten him away from the impending judgment, but even when exhorted to

escape for _his life_ (which was all he could save from the wreck) and

flee to the mountain, he replies, "Oh! not so, my Lord: behold, now,

thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy

mercy which thou hast showed unto me in saving _my life_; and I cannot

escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me and I die: behold, now,

_this city_ is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: oh, let me

escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live." What

a picture! He seems like a drowning man, ready to catch even at a

floating feather. Though commanded by the angel to flee to the

mountain, he refuses, and still fondly clings to the idea of "a little

city,"--some little shred of the world. He feared death in the place to

which God was mercifully directing him,--yea, he feared all manner of

evil, and could only hope for safety in some little city, some spot of

his own devising. "Oh, let me escape _thither, and my soul shall

live_." How sad! There is no casting himself wholly upon God. Alas! he

had too long walked at a distance from him; too long breathed the dense

atmosphere of a "city," to be able to appreciate the pure air of the

divine presence, or lean on the arm of the Almighty. His soul seemed

completely unhinged; his worldly nest had been abruptly broken up, and

he was not quite able to nestle himself, by faith, in the bosom of God.

He had not been cultivating communion with the invisible world; and,

now, the visible was passing away from beneath his feet with tremendous

rapidity. The "fire and brimstone from heaven" were about to fall upon

that in which all his hopes and all his affections were centred. The

thief had broken in upon him, and he seems entirely divested of

spiritual nerve and self-possession. He is at his wits' end; but the

worldly element, being strong in his heart, prevails, and he seeks his

only refuge in "a little city." Yet he is not at ease even there, for

he leaves it and gets up to the mountain. He does through fear what he

would not do at the command of God's messenger.

And then, see his end! His own children make him drunk, and in his

drunkenness he becomes the instrument of bringing into existence the

Ammonites and the Moabites,--the determined enemies of the people of

God. What a volume of solemn instruction is here! Oh, my reader, see

here what the world is! see what a fatal thing it is to allow the heart

to go out after it! What a commentary is Lot's history upon that brief

but comprehensive admonition, "Love not the world!" This world's Sodoms

and its Zoars are all alike. There is no security, no peace, no rest,

no solid satisfaction for the heart therein. The judgment of God hangs

over the whole scene; and he only holds back the sword, in

long-suffering mercy, not willing that any should perish, but that all

should come to repentance.

Let us, then, seek to pursue a path of holy separation from the world.

Let us, while standing outside its entire range, be found cherishing

the hope of the Master's return. May its well-watered plains have no

charms for our hearts. May its honors, its distinctions, and its

riches, be all surveyed by us in the light of the coming glory of

Christ. May we be enabled, like the holy patriarch Abraham, to get up

into the presence of the Lord, and, from that elevated ground, look

forth upon the scene of wide-spread ruin and desolation,--to see it

all, by faith's anticipative glance, a smoking ruin. _Such it will be._

"The earth also, and the things that are therein, shall be burned up."

All that about which the children of this world are so intensely

anxious--after which they are so eagerly grasping--for which they are

so fiercely contending--all--all will be burned up. And who can tell

how soon? "Where is Sodom? Where is Gomorrah? Where are the cities of

the plain,--those cities which were once all life, and stir, and

bustle? Where are they now? All gone! swept away by the judgment of

God! Consumed by his fire and brimstone!" Well, his judgments now hang

over this guilty world. The day is at hand; and, while judgments

impend, the sweet story of grace is being told out to many an ear.

Happy they who hear and believe that story! Happy they who flee to the

strong mountain of God's salvation! who take refuge behind the cross of

the Son of God, and therein find pardon and peace!

God grant that the reader of these lines may know what it is, with a

conscience purged from sin, and his heart's affections purged from the

defiling influence of the world, to wait for the Son from heaven.

FOOTNOTES:

[16] It would furnish a very searching question for the heart, in

reference to every undertaking, were we to ask, "Am I doing this by

faith?" "Whatever is not of faith is sin;" and, "Without faith it is

impossible to please God."

CHAPTER XX.

We have two distinct points in this chapter: first, the moral

degradation to which the child of God sometimes subjects himself in the

view of the world; and, secondly, the moral dignity which always

belongs to him in the view of God. Abraham again exhibits the dread of

circumstances which the heart can so easily understand. He sojourns in

Gerar, and fears the men of that place. Judging that God was not there,

he forgets that he is always with him. He seems to be more occupied

with the men of Gerar than with the One who was stronger than they.

Forgetting God's ability to protect his wife, he has recourse to the

same stratagem which, years before, he had adopted in Egypt. This is

very admonitory. The father of the faithful was carried away, by taking

his eye off God. He lost for a little his centre in God, and,

therefore, gave way. How true it is that we are only strong as we cling

to God in the sense of our perfect weakness. So long as we are in the

path of his appointment, nothing can harm us. Had Abraham simply leaned

on God, the men of Gerar would not have meddled with him; and it was

his privilege to have vindicated God's faithfulness in the midst of the

most appalling difficulties. Thus, too, he would have maintained his

own dignity as a man of faith.

It is often a source of sorrow to the heart to mark how the children of

God dishonor him, and, as a consequence, lower themselves before the

world by losing the sense of his sufficiency for every emergency. So

long as we live in the realization of the truth that _all_ our springs

are in God, so long shall we be above the world, in every shape and

form. There is nothing so elevating to the whole moral being as faith:

it carries one entirely beyond the reach of this world's thoughts; for

how can the men of the world, or even worldly-minded Christians,

understand the life of faith? Impossible: the springs on which it draws

lie far away beyond their comprehension. They live on the surface of

present things. So long as they can _see_ what they deem a proper

foundation for hope and confidence, so long they are hopeful and

confident; but the idea of resting solely on the promise of an unseen

God, they understand not. But the man of faith is calm in the midst of

scenes in which nature can _see_ nothing. Hence it is that faith ever

seems, in the judgment of nature, such a reckless, improvident,

visionary thing. None but those who know God, can ever approve the

actings of faith, for none but they really understand the solid and

truly reasonable ground of such actings.

In this chapter we find the man of God actually exposing himself to the

rebuke and reproach of the men of the world, by reason of his actings

when under the power of unbelief. Thus it must ever be. Nothing but

faith can impart true elevation to a man's course and character. We

may, it is true, see some who are naturally upright and honorable in

their ways, yet nature's uprightness and honor cannot be trusted: they

rest on a bad foundation, and are liable to give way at any moment. It

is only faith which can impart a truly elevated moral tone, because it

connects the soul in living power with God, the only Source of true

morality. And it is a remarkable fact that, in the case of all those

whom God has graciously taken up, we see that, when off the path of

faith, they sank even lower than other men. This will account for

Abraham's conduct in this part of his history.

But there is another point of much interest and value brought out here.

We find that Abraham had harbored an evil thing for a number of years:

he had, it seems, started upon his course with a certain reserve in his

soul, which reserve was the result of his want of full, unqualified

confidence in God. Had he been able fully to trust God in reference to

Sarah, there would have been no need of any reserve or subterfuge

whatever. God would have fenced her round about from every ill; and who

can harm those who are the happy subjects of his unslumbering

guardianship? However, through mercy, Abraham is enabled to bring out

the root of the whole matter,--to confess and judge it thoroughly, and

get rid of it. This is the true way to act. There can be no real

blessing and power till every particle of leaven is brought forth into

the light and there trampled under foot. God's patience is exhaustless.

He can wait. He can bear with us; but he never will conduct a soul to

the culminating point of blessing and power while leaven remains known

and unjudged. Thus much as to Abimelech and Abraham. Let us now look at

the moral dignity of the latter, in the view of God.

In the history of God's people, whether we look at them as a whole, or

as individuals, we are often struck with the amazing difference between

what they are in God's view, and what they are in the view of the

world. God sees his people in Christ. He looks at them through Christ;

and hence he sees them "without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing."

They are as Christ is before God. They are perfected forever, as to

their standing in Christ. "They are not in the flesh but in the

Spirit."

But, in themselves, they are poor, feeble, imperfect, stumbling,

inconsistent creatures; and, inasmuch as it is what they are in

themselves, and that alone, that the world takes knowledge of,

therefore it is that the difference seems so great between the divine

and the human estimate.

Yet it is God's prerogative to set forth the beauty, the dignity, and

the perfection of his people. It is his exclusive prerogative, inasmuch

as it is he himself who has bestowed those things. They are only comely

through the comeliness which he has put upon them; and it is therefore

due to him to declare what that comeliness is; and truly he does it in

a manner worthy of himself, and never more blessedly than when the

enemy comes forth to injure, to curse, or accuse. Thus, when Balak

seeks to curse the seed of Abraham, Jehovah's word is: "I have not

beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither have I seen perverseness in Israel."

"How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel."

Again, when Satan stands forth to resist Joshua, the word is, "The Lord

rebuke thee, O Satan, ... is not this a brand plucked out of the

fire?" Thus he ever puts himself between his people and every tongue

that would accuse them. He does not answer the accusation by a

reference to what his people are in themselves, or to what they are in

the view of the men of this world, but to what he himself has made

them, and where he set them.

Thus, in Abraham's case, he might lower himself in the view of

Abimelech, king of Gerar; and Abimelech might have to rebuke him, yet,

when God comes to deal with the case, he says to Abimelech, "Behold,

thou art but a dead man;" and of Abraham he says, "He is a prophet, and

he shall pray for thee." Yes, with all "the integrity of his heart, and

the innocency of his hands," the king of Gerar was "but a dead man;"

and, moreover, he must be a debtor to the prayers of the erring and

inconsistent stranger for the restoration of the health of his

household. Such is the manner of God: he may have many a secret

controversy with his child on the ground of his practical ways; but

directly the enemy enters a suit against him, Jehovah ever pleads his

servant's cause. "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm."

"He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine eye." "It is God that

justifieth, who is he that condemneth?" No dart of the enemy can

penetrate the shield, behind which the Lord has hidden the very

feeblest lamb of his blood-bought flock. He hides his people in his

pavilion, sets their feet upon the Rock of ages, lifts their head above

their enemies round about, and fills their hearts with the everlasting

joy of his salvation.

His name be praised for evermore!

CHAPTER XXI.

"And the Lord visited Sarah, as he had said, and the Lord did unto

Sarah as he had spoken." Here we have accomplished promise,--the

blessed fruit of patient waiting upon God. None ever waited in vain.

The soul that takes hold of God's promise by faith has gotten a stable

reality which will never fail him. Thus was it with Abraham; thus was

it with all the faithful from age to age; and thus will it be with all

those who are enabled, in any measure, to trust in the living God. Oh,

it is a wonderful blessing to have God himself as our portion and

resting-place, amid the unsatisfying shadows of this scene through

which we are passing; to have our anchor cast within the veil; to have

the word and oath of God, the two immutable things, to lean upon, for

the comfort and tranquillity of our souls.

When God's promise stood before the soul of Abraham, as an accomplished

fact, he might well have learnt the futility of his own effort to reach

that accomplishment. Ishmael was of no use whatever, so far as God's

promise was concerned. He might, and did, afford something for nature's

affections to entwine themselves around, thus furnishing a more

difficult task for Abraham to perform afterwards; but he was in no wise

conducive to the development of the purpose of God, or to the

establishment of Abraham's faith,--quite the reverse. Nature can never

do aught for God. The Lord must "visit," and the Lord must "do," and

faith must wait, and nature must be still; yea, must be entirely set

aside as a dead, worthless thing, and then the divine glory can shine

out, and faith find in that outshining all its rich and sweet reward.

"Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age, _at the set

time_ of which God had spoken to him." There is such a thing as God's

"set time," his "due season," and for this the faithful must be content

to wait. The time may seem long, and hope deferred may make the heart

sick; but the spiritual mind will ever find its relief in the assurance

that all is for the ultimate display of God's glory. "For the vision is

for an appointed time, but _at the end_ it shall speak, and not lie;

though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not

tarry ... but the just shall live by his faith." (Hab. ii. 3, 4.) This

wondrous faith! It brings into our present all the power of God's

future, and feeds upon God's promise as a present reality. By its power

the soul is kept hanging upon God, when every outward thing seems to be

against it; and, "at the set time," the mouth is filled with laughter.

"Abraham was an hundred years old when his son Isaac was born unto

him." Thus nature had nothing to glory in. "Man's extremity was God's

opportunity;" and Sarah said, "_God_ hath made me to laugh." All is

triumph when God is allowed to show himself.

Now, while the birth of Isaac filled Sarah's mouth with laughter, it

introduced an entirely new element into Abraham's house. The son of the

free-woman very speedily developed the true character of the son of the

bond-woman. Indeed, Isaac proved in principle to be to the household of

Abraham what the implantation of the new nature is in the soul of a

sinner. It was not _Ishmael changed_, but it was _Isaac born_. The son

of the bond-woman could never be any thing else but that. He might

become a great nation; he might dwell in the wilderness and become an

archer; he might become the father of twelve princes;--but he was the

son of the bond-woman all the while. On the contrary, no matter how

weak and despised Isaac might be, he was the son of the free-woman. His

position and character, his standing and prospects, were all from the

Lord. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born

of the Spirit is spirit."

Regeneration is not a change of the old nature, but the introduction of

a new: it is the implantation of the nature or life of the second Adam,

by the operation of the Holy Ghost, founded upon the accomplished

redemption of Christ, and in full keeping with the sovereign will or

counsel of God. The moment a sinner believes in his heart and confesses

with his mouth the Lord Jesus, he becomes the possessor of a new life,

and that life is Christ. He is born of God, is a child of God, is a son

of the free-woman. (See Rom. x. 9; Col. iii. 4; 1 John iii. 1, 2; Gal.

iii. 26; iv. 31.)

Nor does the introduction of this new nature alter, in the slightest

degree, the true, essential character of the old. This latter continues

what it was, and is made in no respect better; yea, rather, there is

the full display of its evil character in opposition to the new

element. "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against

the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other." There they are

in all their distinctness, and the one is only thrown into relief by

the other.

I believe this doctrine of the two natures in the believer is not

generally understood; and yet, so long as there is ignorance of it, the

mind must be utterly at sea, in reference to the true standing and

privileges of the child of God. Some there are, who think that

regeneration is a certain change which the old nature undergoes; and,

moreover, that this change is gradual in its operation, until at length

the whole man becomes transformed. That this idea is unsound can be

proved by various quotations from the New Testament. For example, "the

carnal mind is enmity against God." How can that which is thus spoken

of ever undergo any improvement? The apostle goes on to say, "it is not

subject to the law of God, _neither indeed can be_." If it _cannot be_

subject to the law of God, how can it be improved? How can it undergo

any change? Again, "that which is born of the flesh is flesh." Do what

you will with flesh, and it is flesh all the while. As Solomon says,

"Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar, among wheat with a

pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him." (Prov. xxvii.

22.) There is no use in seeking to make foolishness wise: you must

introduce heavenly wisdom into the heart that has been heretofore only

governed by folly. Again, "ye have put off the old man." (Col. iii. 9.)

He does not say, Ye have improved or are seeking to improve "the old

man;" but, Ye have put it off. This gives us a totally different idea.

There is a very great difference between seeking to mend an old

garment, and casting it aside altogether, and putting on a new one.

This is the idea of the last-quoted passage. It is a putting off the

old and a putting on of the new. Nothing can be more distinct or

simple.

Passages might easily be multiplied to prove the unsoundness of the

theory, with respect to the gradual improvement of the old nature,--to

prove that the old nature is dead in sins, and utterly unrenewable and

unimproveable; and, moreover, that the only thing we can do with it is,

to keep it under our feet in the power of that new life which we have

in union with our risen Head in the heavens.

The birth of Isaac did not improve Ishmael, but only brought out his

real opposition to the child of promise. He might have gone on very

quietly and orderly till Isaac made his appearance; but then he showed

what he was by persecuting and mocking at the child of resurrection.

What, then, was the remedy? To make Ishmael better? By no means; but,

"cast out this bond-woman and her son; for the son of this bond-woman

shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac." (8-10.) Here was the

only remedy. "That which is crooked cannot be made straight;" therefore

you have only to get rid of the crooked thing altogether, and occupy

yourself with that which is divinely straight. It is labor lost to seek

to make a crooked thing straight. Hence all efforts after the

improvement of nature are utterly futile, so far as God is concerned.

It may be all very well for men to cultivate and improve that which is

of use to themselves; but God has given his children something

infinitely better to do, even to cultivate that which is his own

creation, the fruits of which, while they in no wise serve to exalt

nature, are entirely to his praise and glory.

Now, the error into which the Galatian churches fell, was the

introduction of that which addressed itself to nature. "Except ye be

circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved." Here

salvation was made to depend upon something that man could be, or man

could do, or man could keep. This was upsetting the whole glorious

fabric of redemption, which, as the believer knows, rests exclusively

upon what Christ is, and what he has done. To make salvation dependent

in the most remote manner upon any thing in, or done by, man, is to set

it entirely aside. In other words, Ishmael must be entirely cast out,

and all Abraham's hopes be made to depend upon what God had done and

given in the person of Isaac. This, it is needless to say, leaves man

nothing to glory in. If present or future blessedness were made to

depend upon even a divine change wrought in nature, flesh might glory.

Though my nature were improved, it would be something of _me_, and thus

God would not have _all_ the glory. But when I am introduced into a new

creation, I find it is all of God, designed, matured, developed by

himself alone. God is the actor, and I am a worshipper; he is the

blesser, and I am the blessed; he is "the better," and I am "the less;"

(Heb. vii. 7;) he is the giver, and I am the receiver. This is what

makes Christianity what it is; and, moreover, distinguishes it from

every system of human religion under the sun, whether it be Romanism,

Puseyism, or any other _ism_ whatsoever. Human religion gives the

creature a place more or less; it keeps the bond-woman and her son in

the house; it gives man something to glory in. On the contrary,

Christianity excludes the creature from all interference in the work of

salvation; casts out the bond-woman and her son, and gives _all_ the

glory to him to whom alone it is due.

But let us inquire who this bond-woman and her son really are, and what

they shadow forth. Galatians iv. furnishes ample teaching as to these

two points. In a word then the bond-woman represents the covenant of

the law; and her son represents all who are "of works of law," or on

that principle ([Greek: ex ergon nomou]). This is very plain. The

bond-woman only genders to bondage, and can never bring forth a free

man. How can she? The law never could give liberty, for so long as a

man was alive it ruled him. (Rom. vii. 1.) I can never be free so long

as I am under the dominion of any one. But while I live, the law rules

me; and nothing but death can give me deliverance from its dominion.

This is the blessed doctrine of Romans vii. "Wherefore, my brethren, ye

also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should

be married to another, even to him that is raised from the dead, that

we should bring forth fruit unto God." This is freedom; for, "If the

Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John viii. 36.)

"So, then, brethren, we are not children of the bond-woman, but of the

free." (Gal. iv. 31.)

Now, it is in the power of this freedom that we are enabled to obey the

command, "Cast out this bond-woman and her son." If I am not

consciously free, I shall be seeking to attain liberty in the strangest

way possible, even by keeping the bond-woman in the house; in other

words, I shall be seeking to get life by keeping the law; I shall be

establishing any own righteousness. No doubt, it will involve a

struggle to cast out this element of bondage, for legalism is natural

to our hearts. "The thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight, because

of his son." Still, however grievous it may be, it is according to the

divine mind that we should abidingly "stand fast in the liberty

wherewith Christ hath made us free, and not be entangled again with the

yoke of bondage." (Gal. v. 1.) May we, beloved reader, so fully and

experimentally enter into the blessedness of God's provision for us in

Christ that we may be done with all thoughts about the flesh, and all

that it can be, do, or produce. There is a fulness in Christ which

renders all appeal to nature utterly superfluous and vain.

CHAPTER XXII.

Abraham is now in a fit moral position to have his heart put to a most

severe test. The long-cherished reserve being put forth from his heart,

in Chap. xx.--the bond-woman and her son being put forth from his

house, as in Chap. xxi., he now stands forth in the most honored

position in which any soul can be placed, and that is a position of

trial from the hand of God himself. There are various kinds of trial:

trial from the hand of Satan; trial from surrounding circumstances; but

the highest character of trial is that which comes directly from the

hand of God, when he puts his dear child into the furnace for the

purpose of testing the reality of his faith. God will do this: he must

have reality. It will not do to say, "Lord, Lord," or, "I go, sir." The

heart must be probed to the very bottom, in order that no element of

hypocrisy or false profession may be allowed to lodge there. "My son,

give me _thine heart_." He does not say, "Give me thine head, or thine

intellect, or thy talents, or thy tongue, or thy money;" but "Give me

thine heart:" and in order to prove the sincerity of our response to

this gracious command, he will lay his hand upon something very near

our hearts. Thus he says to Abraham, "Take now thy son, thine only son

Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and

offer him there for a burnt-offering, upon one of the mountains which I

will tell thee of." This was coming very close to Abraham's heart. It

was passing him through a searching crucible indeed. God "requires

truth in the inward parts." There may be much truth on the lips, and

much in the intellect, but God looks for it in the heart. It is no

ordinary proof that will satisfy God, as to the love of our hearts. He

himself did not rest satisfied with giving an ordinary proof. He gave

his Son, and we should aim at giving very striking proofs of our love

to him who so loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins.

However, it is well to see that God confers a signal honor upon us when

he thus tests our hearts. We never read that "the Lord did tempt Lot."

No; Sodom tempted Lot. He never reached a sufficiently high elevation

to warrant his being tried by the hand of Jehovah. It was too plainly

manifest that there was plenty between his heart and the Lord, and it

did not, therefore, require the furnace to bring that out. Sodom would

have held out no temptation whatever to Abraham. This was made manifest

in his interview with Sodom's king, in Chapter xiv. God knew well that

Abraham loved him far better than Sodom; but he would make it manifest

that he loved him better than any one or any thing, by laying his hand

upon the nearest and dearest object. "Take now thy son, thine only son,

Isaac." Yes, Isaac, the child of promise; Isaac, the object of

long-deferred hope, the object of parental love, and the one in whom

all the kindreds of the earth were to be blessed. This Isaac must be

offered as a burnt-offering. This, surely, was putting faith to the

test, in order that, being more precious than gold that perisheth,

though it be tried with fire, it might be found unto praise, and honor,

and glory. Had Abraham's whole soul not been stayed simply on the Lord,

he never could have yielded unhesitating obedience to such a searching

command. But God himself was the living and abiding support of his

heart, and therefore he was prepared to give up all for him.

The soul that has found _all_ its springs in God, can, without any

demur, retire from _all_ creature streams. We can give up the creature,

just in proportion as we have found out, or become experimentally

acquainted with the Creator, and no further. To attempt to give up the

visible things in any other way, save in the energy of that faith which

lays hold of the invisible, is the most fruitless labor possible. It

cannot be done. I will hold fast my Isaac until I have found my all in

God. It is when we are enabled by faith, to say "God is our refuge and

strength, a very present help in trouble," that we can also add,

"therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and though

the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." (Ps. xlvi. 1, 2.)

"And Abraham rose up early in the morning." There is ready obedience.

"I made haste and delayed not to keep thy commandments." Faith never

stops to look at circumstances, or ponder results; it only looks at

God; it expresses itself thus: "But when it pleased God, who separated

me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son

in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles; immediately I

conferred not with flesh and blood." (Gal. i. 15, 16.) The moment we

confer with flesh and blood, our testimony and service are marred, for

flesh and blood can never obey. We must rise early, and carry out,

through grace, the divine command. Thus we are blessed, and God is

glorified. Having God's own word as the basis of our acting will ever

impart strength and stability to our acting. If we merely act from

impulse, when the impulse subsides, the acting will subside also.

There are two things needful to a course of steady and consistent

action, viz., the Holy Ghost, as the power of action, and the word to

give proper direction. To use a familiar illustration: on a railway, we

should find steam of little use without the iron rails firmly laid

down; the former is the power by which we move; and the latter, the

direction. It is needless to add that the rails would be of little use

without the steam. Now, Abraham was blessed with both. He had the power

of action conferred by God; and the command to act given by God also.

His devotedness was of a most definite character; and this is deeply

important. We frequently find much that looks like devotedness, but

which, in reality, is but the desultory activity of a will not brought

under the powerful action of the word of God. All such apparent

devotedness is worthless, and the spirit from which it proceeds will

very speedily evaporate. We may lay down the following principle,

viz., whenever devotedness passes beyond divinely appointed bounds it

is suspicious. If it comes not up to these bounds it is defective; if

it flows without them it is erratic. I quite admit that there are

extraordinary operations and ways of the Spirit of God, in which he

asserts his own sovereignty, and rises above ordinary bounds; but, in

such cases, the evidence of divine activity will be sufficiently strong

to carry home conviction to every spiritual mind; nor will they, in the

slightest degree, interfere with the truth of the principle that true

devotedness will ever be founded upon and governed by divine principle.

To sacrifice a son might seem to be an act of most extraordinary

devotedness; but, be it remembered, that what gave that act all its

value, in God's sight, was the simple fact of its being based upon

God's command.

Then, we have another thing connected with true devotedness, and that

is a spirit of worship. "I and the lad will go yonder and _worship_."

The really devoted servant will keep his eye, not on his service, be it

ever so great, but on the Master, and this will produce a spirit of

worship. If I love my master, according to the flesh, I shall not mind

whether I am cleaning his shoes or driving his carriage; but if I am

thinking more of myself than of him, I shall rather be a coachman than

a shoeblack. So it is precisely in the service of the heavenly Master:

if I am thinking only of him, planting churches and making tents will

be both alike to me. We may see the same thine in angelic ministry. It

matters not to an angel whether he be sent to destroy an army, or to

protect the person of some heir of salvation. It is the Master who

entirely fills his vision. As some one has remarked, "if two angels

were sent from heaven, one to rule an empire, and the other to sweep

the streets, they would not dispute about their respective work." This

is most true, and so should it be with us. The servant should ever be

combined with the worshipper, and the works of our hands perfumed with

the ardent breathings of our spirits. In other words we should go forth

to our work in the spirit of those memorable words, "I and the lad will

go yonder and worship." This would effectually preserve us from that

merely mechanical service into which we are so prone to drop,--doing

things for doing's sake, and being more occupied with our work than

with our Master. All must flow from simple faith in God, and obedience

to his word.

"By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and he that had

received the promises, offered up his only-begotten." (Heb. xi. 17.) It

is only as we are walking by faith that we can begin, continue, and end

our works in God. Abraham not merely set out to offer his son, but he

went on, and reached the spot which God had appointed. "And Abraham

took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son;

and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife: and they went both of

them together." And further on we read, "And Abraham built an altar

there; and laid the wood in order; and bound Isaac his son, and laid

him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand,

and took the knife to slay his son." This was real work, "a work of

faith and labor of love," in the highest sense. It was no mere

mockery--no drawing near with the lips, while the heart was far off--no

saying, "I go, sir, and went not." It was all deep reality, just such

as faith ever delights to produce, and which God delights to accept. It

is easy to make a show of devotedness when there is no demand for it.

It is easy to say, "though all shall be offended because of thee, yet

will I never be offended ... though I should die with thee, yet will I

not deny thee;" but the point is to stand the trial. When Peter was put

to the test, he entirely broke down. Faith never talks of what it will

do, but does what it can in the strength of the Lord. Nothing can be

more thoroughly worthless than a spirit of empty pretension. It is just

as worthless as the basis on which it rests. But faith acts "when it is

tried;" and till then it is content to be unseen and silent.

Now, it needs hardly to be remarked that God is glorified in those holy

activities of faith. He is the immediate object of them, as he is the

spring from whence they emanate. There was not a scene in Abraham's

entire history in which God was so much glorified as the scene on Mount

Moriah. There it was that he was enabled to bear testimony to the fact

that he had found all his fresh springs in God,--found them not merely

previous to, but after, Isaac's birth. This is a most touching point.

It is one thing to rest in God's blessings, and another thing to rest

in himself. It is one thing to trust God when I have before my eyes the

channel through which the blessing is to flow; and quite another thing

to trust him when that channel is entirely stopped up. This was what

proved the excellency of Abraham's faith. He showed that he could not

merely trust God for an innumerable seed while Isaac stood before him

in health and vigor; but just as fully if he were a smoking victim on

the altar. This was a high order of confidence in God; it was unalloyed

confidence; it was not a confidence propped up in part by the Creator

and in part by the creature. No; it rested on one solid pedestal, viz.,

God himself. "He accounted that God was able." He never accounted that

Isaac was able. Isaac without God was nothing; God without Isaac was

every thing. This is a principle of the very last importance, and one

eminently calculated to test the heart most keenly. Does it make any

difference to me to see the apparent channel of all my blessings dried

up? Am I dwelling sufficiently near the fountain-head to be able, with

a worshipping spirit, to behold all the creature streams dried up? This

I do feel to be a searching question. Have I such a simple view of

God's sufficiency as to be able as it were to "stretch forth my hand

and take the knife to slay my son." Abraham was enabled to do this,

because his eye rested on the God of resurrection. "He accounted that

God was able to raise him up even from the dead."

In a word, it was with God he had to do, and that was quite enough. He

was not suffered to strike the blow. He had gone to the very utmost

bounds; he had come up to the line beyond which God could not suffer

him to go. The Blessed One spared the father's heart the pang which he

did not spare his own heart, even that of smiting his Son. He, blessed

be his name, passed beyond the utmost bounds, for "he spared not his

own Son, but delivered him up for us all." "It pleased the Lord to

bruise him; he hath put him to grief." There was no voice from heaven

when, on Calvary, the Father offered up his only-begotten Son. No, it

was a perfectly accomplished sacrifice; and in its accomplishment our

everlasting peace is sealed.

However, Abraham's devotedness was fully proved and fully accepted.

"For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld

thy son, thine only son, from me." Mark, it is "_now_ I know." It had

never been proved before. It was there, no doubt; and, if there, God

knew it; but the valuable point here is, that God founds his knowledge

of it upon the palpable evidence afforded at the altar upon Mount

Moriah. Faith is always proved by action, and the fear of God by the

fruits which flow from it. "Was not Abraham our father justified by

works when he had offered Isaac his son on the altar?" (James ii. 21.)

Who could think of calling his faith in question? Take away faith, and

Abraham appears on Moriah as a murderer and a madman. Take faith into

account, and he appears as a devoted worshipper,--a God-fearing,

justified man. But faith must be proved. "What doth it profit, my

brethren, though a man _say_ he hath faith, and have not works?" (James

ii. 14.) Will either God or man be satisfied with a powerless and

profitless profession? Surely not. God looks for reality, and honors it

where he sees it; and as for man, he can understand naught save the

living and intelligible utterance of a faith that shows itself in acts.

We are surrounded by the profession of religion; the phraseology of

faith is on every lip; but faith itself is as rare a gem as ever,--that

faith which will enable a man to push out from the shore of present

circumstances, and meet the waves and the winds, and not only meet

them, but endure them, even though the Master should seem to be asleep

on the pillow.

And here I would remark the beautiful harmony between St. James and St.

Paul on the subject of justification. The intelligent and spiritual

reader, who bows to the important truth of the plenary inspiration of

holy scripture, knows full well that on this question it is not with

Paul or James we have to do, but with the Holy Ghost, who graciously

used each of those honored men as the pen to write his thoughts, just

as I might take up a quill-pen or a steel-pen to write my thoughts, in

which case it would be quite preposterous to speak of a discrepancy

between the two pens, inasmuch as the writer is one. Hence it is just

as impossible that two divinely-inspired penmen could clash, as that

two heavenly bodies, while moving in their divinely-appointed orbits,

could come into collision.

But, in reality, as might be expected, there is the fullest and most

perfect harmony between those two apostles; indeed, on the subject of

justification, the one is the counterpart or exponent of the other. St

Paul gives us the inward principle, St. James the outward development

of that principle; the former presents the hidden life, the latter the

manifested life; the former looks at man in relation to God, the latter

looks at him in his relation to man. Now we want both: the inward would

not do without the outward; and the outward would be valueless and

powerless without the inward. "Abraham was justified" when "he believed

God;" and "Abraham was justified" when "he offered Isaac his son." In

the former case we have his secret standing; in the latter, his public

acknowledgment by heaven and earth. It is well to understand this

distinction. There was no voice from heaven when "Abraham believed

God," though in God's view he was there, then, and thus "counted

righteous;" but "when he had offered his son upon the altar," God could

say, "now I know;" and all the world had a powerful and unanswerable

proof of the fact that Abraham was a justified man. Thus will it ever

be. Where there is the inward principle, there will be the outward

acting; but all the value of the latter springs from its connection

with the former. Disconnect, for one moment, Abraham's acting, as set

forth by St. James, from Abraham's faith, as set forth by St. Paul, and

what justifying virtue did it possess? None whatever. All its value,

all its efficacy, all its virtue, springs from the fact that it was the

outward manifestation of that faith, by virtue of which he had been

already counted righteous before God. Thus much as to the admirable

harmony between St. Paul and St. James: or rather as to the unity of

the voice of the Holy Ghost, whether that voice be uttered by St. Paul

or St. James.

We now return to our chapter. It is deeply interesting to mark here how

Abraham's soul is led into a fresh discovery of God's character by the

trial of his faith. When we are enabled to bear the testings of God's

own hand, it is sure to lead us into some new experience with respect

to his character, which makes us to know how valuable the testing is.

If Abraham had not stretched out his hand to slay his son, he never

would have known the rich and exquisite depths of that title which he

here bestows upon God, viz., "Jehovah Jireh." It is only when we are

really put to the test that we discover what God is. Without trial we

can be but theorists, and God would not have us such: he would have us

entering into the living depths that are in himself,--the divine

realities of personal communion with him. With what different feelings

and convictions must Abraham have retraced his steps from Moriah to

Beersheba! from the mount of the Lord to the well of the oath! What

very different thoughts of God! What different thoughts of Isaac! What

different thoughts of every thing! Truly we may say, "Happy is the man

that endureth trial." It is an honor put upon one by the Lord himself,

and the deep blessedness of the experience to which it leads cannot

easily be estimated. It is when men are brought, to use the language of

the 107th Psalm, "to their wits' end," that they discover what God is.

Oh, for grace to endure trial, that God's workmanship may appear, and

his name be glorified in us!

There is one point, which, before closing my remarks on this chapter, I

shall notice, and that is, the gracious way in which God gives Abraham

credit for having done the act which he had showed himself so fully

prepared to do. "By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord; for because

_thou hast done this thing_, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only

son, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will

multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon

the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of _his enemies_;

and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed: because

thou hast obeyed my voice." This beautifully corresponds with the

Spirit's notice of Abraham's acting, as put before us in Heb. xi. and

also in James ii., in both of which scriptures he is looked upon as

having offered Isaac his son upon the altar. The grand principle

conveyed in the whole matter is this: Abraham proved that he was

prepared to have the scene entirely cleared of _all_ but God; and,

moreover, it was this same principle which both _constituted_ and

_proved_ him a justified man. Faith can do without every one and every

thing but God. It has the full sense of his sufficiency, and can,

therefore, let go all beside. Hence Abraham could rightly estimate the

words, "_by myself_ have I sworn." Yes, this wondrous word, "myself,"

was every thing to the man of faith. "For when God made promise to

Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself....

For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is to

them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show

unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it

by an oath." The word and oath of the living God should put an end to

all the strivings and workings of the human will, and form the

immovable anchor of the soul amid all the tossing and tumult of this

stormy world.

Now, we must condemn ourselves constantly, because of the little power

which the promise of God has in our hearts. There it is, and we profess

to believe it; but ah! it is not that deep, abiding, influential

reality which it ought ever to be; we do not draw from it that "strong

consolation" which it is calculated to afford. How little prepared are

we, in the power of faith, in the promise of God, to slay our Isaac! We

need to cry to God that he would be graciously pleased to endow us

with a deeper insight into the blessed reality of a life of faith in

himself, that so we may understand better the import of that word of

St. John: "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even your

faith." We can only overcome the world by faith. Unbelief puts us under

the power of present things; in other words, it gives the world the

victory over us. A soul that has entered by the teaching of the Holy

Ghost into the sense of God's sufficiency, is entirely independent of

things here. Beloved reader, may we know this, for our peace and joy in

God and his glory in us.

CHAPTER XXIII.

This little section of inspiration furnishes much sweet and profitable

instruction to the soul. In it the Holy Spirit sets before us a

beautiful exhibition of the mode in which the man of faith should carry

himself toward those that are without. While it is true, divinely true,

that faith makes a man independent of the men of the world, it is no

less true that faith will ever teach him to walk honestly toward them.

We are told to "walk honestly toward them that are without;" (1 Thess.

iv. 12:) "to provide things honest in the sight of all;" (2 Cor. viii.

21:) "to owe no man any thing;" (Rom. xiii. 8.) These are weighty

precepts,--precepts which, even before their distinct enunciation, were

duly observed in all ages by the faithful servants of Christ, but which

in modern times alas! have not been sufficiently attended to.

The 23d of Genesis therefore is worthy of special notice. It opens with

the death of Sarah, and introduces Abraham in a new character, viz.,

that of a mourner. "Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for

her." The child of God must meet such things; but he must not meet them

as others. The great fact of resurrection comes in to his relief, and

imparts a character to his sorrow quite peculiar. (1 Thess. iv. 13,

14.) The man of faith can stand at the grave of a brother or sister, in

the happy consciousness that it shall not long hold its captive, "For

if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which

sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." The redemption of the soul

secures the redemption of the body; the former we have, the latter we

wait for. (Rom. viii. 23.)

Now, I believe that in purchasing Machpelah for a burying-place,

Abraham gave expression to his faith in resurrection. "_He stood up

from_ before his dead." Faith cannot long keep death in view; it has a

higher object, blessed be the "living God" who has given it.

Resurrection is that which ever fills the vision of faith; and, in the

power thereof, it can rise up from before the dead. There is much

conveyed in this action of Abraham. We want to understand its meaning

much more fully, because we are much too prone to be occupied with

death and its consequences. Death is the boundary of Satan's power; but

where Satan ends, God begins. Abraham understood this when he rose up

and purchased the cave of Machpelah as a sleeping-place for Sarah. This

was the expression of Abraham's thought in reference to the future. He

knew that in the ages to come, God's promise about the land of Canaan

would be fulfilled, and he was able to lay the body of Sarah in the

tomb, "in sure and certain hope of a glorious resurrection."

The sons of Heth knew nothing about this. The thoughts which were

filling the patriarch's soul were entirely foreign to the uncircumcised

children of Heth. To them it seemed a small matter where he buried his

dead; but it was by no means a small matter to him. "I am a stranger

and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burying-place with

you that I may bury my dead out of my sight." It might, and manifestly

did, appear strange to them to make so much ado about a grave; but,

"beloved, the world knoweth us not, even as it knew him not." The

finest traits and characteristics of faith are those which are most

incomprehensible to the natural man. The Canaanites had no idea of the

expectations which were giving character to Abraham's actings on this

occasion. They had no idea that he was looking forward to the

possession of the land, while he was merely looking for a spot in

which, as a dead man, he might wait for God's time, and God's manner,

viz., the MORNING OF RESURRECTION. He felt _he_ had no controversy with

the children of Heth, and hence he was quite prepared to lay his head

in the grave, and allow God to act for him, and with him, and by him.

"These all died in (or according to) faith, ([Greek: kata pistin]) not

having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were

persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were

strangers and pilgrims on the earth." (Heb. xi. 13.) This is a truly

exquisite feature in the divine life. Those "witnesses," of whom the

apostle is speaking in Heb. xi. not merely lived by faith, but even

when they arrived at the close of their career, they proved that the

promises of God were as real and satisfying to their souls as when they

first started. Now, I believe this purchase of a burying-place in the

land was an exhibition of the power of faith, not only to live, but to

die. Why was Abraham so particular about this purchase? Why was he so

anxious to make good his claim to the field and cave of Ephron on

righteous principles? Why so determined to weigh out the full price

"current with the merchant?" FAITH is the answer. He did it all by

faith. He knew the land was his in prospect, and that in

resurrection-glory his seed should yet possess it, and until then he

would be no debtor to those who were yet to be dispossessed.

Thus we may view this beautiful chapter in a twofold light; first, as

setting before us a plain, practical principle, as to our dealings with

the men of this world; and secondly, as presenting the blessed hope

which should ever animate the man of faith. Putting both these points

together, we have an example of what the child of God should ever be.

The hope set before us in the gospel is a glorious immortality; and

this, while it lifts the heart above every influence of nature and the

world, furnishes a high and holy principle with which to govern all our

intercourse with those who are without. "We know that when he shall

appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." This is

our hope. What is the moral effect of this? "Every man that hath this

hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." (1 John iii. 2, 3.)

If I am to be like Christ by-and-by, I shall seek to be as like him now

as I can. Hence, the Christian should ever seek to walk in purity,

integrity, and moral grace, in the view of all around.

Thus it was with Abraham, in reference to the sons of Heth. His whole

deportment and conduct, as set forth in our chapter, would seem to have

been marked with very pure elevation and disinterestedness. He was "a

mighty prince among them," and they would fain have done him a favor;

but Abraham had learnt to take his favors only from the God of

resurrection, and while he would pay _them_ for Machpelah, he would

look to _him_ for Canaan. The sons of Heth knew well the value of

"current money with the merchant," and Abraham knew the value of the

cave of Machpelah. It was worth much more to him than it was to them.

"The land was worth" to them "four hundred shekels of silver," but to

him it was priceless, as the earnest of an everlasting inheritance,

which, because it was an everlasting inheritance, could only be

possessed in the power of resurrection. Faith conducts the soul onward

into God's future; it looks at things as he looks at them, and

estimates them according to the judgment of the sanctuary. Therefore,

in the intelligence of faith, Abraham stood up from before his dead,

and purchased a burying-place, which significantly set forth his hope

of resurrection, and of an inheritance founded thereon.

CHAPTER XXIV.

The connection of this chapter with the two which precede it is worthy

of notice. In Chapter xxii. the son is offered up; in Chap. xxiii.

Sarah is laid aside; and in Chapter xxiv. the servant is sent forth to

procure a bride for him who had been, as it were, received from the

dead in a figure. This connection, in a very striking manner, coincides

with the order of events connected with the calling out of the Church.

Whether this coincidence is to be regarded as of divine origin will, it

may be, raise a question in the minds of some; but it must at least be

regarded as not a little remarkable.

When we turn to the New Testament, the grand events which meet our view

are, first, the rejection and death of Christ; secondly, the setting

aside of Israel after the flesh; and, lastly, the calling out of the

Church to occupy the high position of the bride of the Lamb.

Now all this exactly corresponds with the contents of this and the two

preceding chapters. The death of Christ needed to be an accomplished

fact ere the Church, properly so called, could be called out. "The

middle wall of partition" needed to be broken down, ere the "_one new

man_" could be developed. It is well to understand this in order that

we may know the place which the Church occupies in the ways of God. So

long as the Jewish economy subsisted there was the most strict

separation maintained between Jew and Gentile, and hence the idea of

both being united in one new man was far removed from the mind of a

Jew. He was led to view himself in a position of entire superiority to

that of a Gentile, and to view the latter as utterly unclean, to whom

it was unlawful to come in. (Acts x. 28.)

If Israel had walked with God according to the truth of the

relationship into which he had graciously brought them, they would have

continued in their peculiar place of separation and superiority; but

this they did not do; and, therefore, when they had filled up the

measure of their iniquity, by crucifying the Lord of life and glory,

and rejecting the testimony of the Holy Ghost, we find St. Paul is

raised up to be the minister of a new thing, which was held back in the

counsels of God, while the testimony to Israel was going on. "For this

cause I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye

have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given me

to you-ward: how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery

... which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, _as it

is now_ revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets (i. e.,

New-Testament prophets, [Greek: tois hagiois apostolois autou kai

prophetais]) by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs,

and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the

gospel." (Eph. iii. 1-6.) This is conclusive. The mystery of the

Church, composed of Jew and Gentile, baptized by one Spirit into one

body, united to the glorious Head in the heavens, had never been

revealed until Paul's day. Of this mystery the apostle goes on to say,

"_I_ was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God,

given unto me, by the effectual working of his power." (Ver. 7.) The

apostles and prophets of the New Testament formed, as it were, the

first layer of this glorious building. (See Eph. ii. 20.) This being

so, it follows as a consequence that the building could not have been

begun before. If the building had been going on from the days of Abel

downwards, the apostle would then have said, "the foundation of the

Old-Testament saints." But he has not said so, and therefore we

conclude that, whatever be the position assigned to the Old-Testament

saints, they cannot possibly belong to a body which had no existence,

save in the purpose of God, until the death and resurrection of Christ,

and the consequent descent of the Holy Ghost. Saved they were, blessed

be God: saved by the blood of Christ, and destined to enjoy heavenly

glory with the Church; but they could not have formed a part of that

which did not exist for hundreds of years after their time.

It were easy to enter upon a more elaborate demonstration of this most

important truth, were this the place for so doing; but I shall now go

on with our chapter, having merely touched upon a question of

commanding interest, because of its being suggested by the position of

the 24th of Genesis.

There may be a question in some minds as to whether we are to view this

deeply-interesting portion of scripture as _a type_ of the calling out

of the Church by the Holy Ghost. For myself, I feel happier in merely

handling it as _an illustration_ of that glorious work. We cannot

suppose that the Spirit of God would occupy an unusually long chapter

with the mere detail of a family compact, were that compact not

typical or illustrative of some great truth. "Whatsoever things were

written aforetime, were written for our learning." This is emphatic.

What, therefore, are we to learn from the chapter before us? I believe

it furnishes us with a beautiful illustration or foreshadowing of the

great mystery of the Church. It is important to see that, while there

is no direct revelation of this mystery in the Old Testament, there

are, nevertheless, scenes and circumstances which, in a very remarkable

manner, shadow it forth; as, for example, the chapter before us. As has

been remarked, the son being, in a figure, offered up, and received

again from the dead; the original parent stem, as it were, being laid

aside, the messenger is sent forth by the father to procure a bride for

the son.

Now, in order to the clear and full understanding of the contents of

the entire chapter, we may consider the following points, viz., 1, _the

oath_; 2, _the testimony_; 3, _the result_. It is beautiful to observe

that the call and exaltation of Rebekah were founded upon the oath

between Abraham and his servant. She knew nothing of this, though she

was, in the purpose of God, so entirely the subject of it all. So it is

exactly with the Church of God as a whole and each constituent part.

"In thy book were all my members written, which in continuance were

fashioned, when as yet there were none of them." (Ps. cxxxix. 16.)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath

blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ;

according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the

world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love."

(Eph. i. 3, 4.) "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to

be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born

among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also

called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he

justified, them he also glorified." (Rom. viii. 29, 30.) These

scriptures are all in beautiful harmony with the point immediately

before us. The call, the justification, and the glory of the Church,

are all founded on the eternal purpose of God,--his word and oath,

ratified by the death, resurrection, and exaltation of the Son. Far

back, beyond the bounds of time, in the deep recesses of God's eternal

mind, lay this wondrous purpose respecting the Church, which cannot, by

any means, be separated from the divine thought respecting the glory of

the Son. The oath between Abraham and the servant had for its object

the provision of a partner for the son. It was the father's desire with

respect to the son that all led to Rebekah's after-dignity. It is happy

to see this. Happy to see how the Church's security and blessing stand

inseparably connected with Christ and his glory. "For the man is not of

the woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for

the woman; but the woman for the man." (1 Cor. xi. 8, 9.) So it is in

the beautiful parable of the marriage-supper; "the kingdom of heaven is

like unto a certain king which made a marriage for his son." (Matt.

xxii. 2.) THE SON is the grand object of all the thoughts and counsels

of God: and if any are brought into blessing, or glory, or dignity, it

can only be in connection with him. All title to these things, and even

to life itself, was forfeited by sin; but Christ met all the penalty

due to sin; he made himself responsible for every thing on behalf of

his body the Church; he was nailed to the cross as her representative;

he bore her sins in his own body on the tree, and went down into the

grave under the full weight of them. Hence, nothing can be more

complete than the Church's deliverance from all that was against her.

She is quickened out of the grave of Christ, where all her trespasses

were laid. The life which she has is a life taken up at the other side

of death, after every possible demand had been met. Hence, this life is

connected with, and founded upon, divine righteousness, inasmuch as

Christ's title to life is founded upon his having entirely exhausted

the power of death; and he is the Church's life. Thus the Church enjoys

divine life; she stands in divine righteousness; and the hope that

animates her is the hope of righteousness. (See, amongst many other

scriptures, John iii. 16, 36; v. 39, 40; vi. 27, 40, 47, 68; xi. 25;

xvii. 2; Rom. v. 21; vi. 23; 1 Tim. i. 16; 1 John ii. 25; v. 20; Jude

21; Eph. ii. 1-6, 14, 15; Col. i. 12-22; ii. 10-15; Rom. i. 17; iii.

21-26; iv. 5, 23-25; 2 Cor. v. 21; Gal. v. 5.)

These scriptures most fully establish the three points, viz., the life,

the righteousness, and the hope of the Church, all of which flow from

her being one with him who was raised from the dead. Now, nothing can

be so calculated to assure the heart as the conviction that the

Church's existence is essential to the glory of Christ. "The woman is

the glory of the man." (1 Cor. xi. 7.) And again, the Church is called

"the fulness of him that filleth all in all." (Eph. i. 23.) This last

is a remarkable expression. The word translated "fulness" means the

complement, that which, being added to something else, makes up a

whole. Thus it is that Christ the Head, and the Church the body, make

up the "one new man." (Eph. ii. 15.) Looking at the matter in this

point of view, it is no marvel that the Church should have been the

object of God's eternal counsels. When we view her as the body, the

bride, the companion, the counterpart, of his only-begotten Son, we

feel that there was, through grace, wondrous reason for her being so

thought of before the foundation of the world. Rebekah was necessary to

Isaac, and therefore she was the subject of secret counsel while yet in

profound ignorance about her high destiny. All Abraham's thought was

about Isaac. "I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven,

and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take _a wife unto my son_

of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell." Here we see

that the all-important point was, "a wife unto my son." "It is not good

that the man should be alone." This opens up a very deep and blessed

view of the Church. In the counsels of God she is necessary to Christ;

and in the accomplished work of Christ, divine provision has been made

for her being called into existence.

While occupied with such a character of truth as this, it is no longer

a question as to whether God can save poor sinners; he actually wants

to "make a marriage for his Son," and the Church is the destined

bride,--she is the object of the Father's purpose, the object of the

Son's love, and of the testimony of the Holy Ghost. She is to be the

sharer of all the Son's dignity and glory, as she is the sharer of all

that love of which he has been the everlasting object. Hear his own

words: "And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them; that

they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that

they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou

hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me." (John xvii.

22, 23.) This settles the whole question. The words just quoted give us

the thoughts of Christ's heart in reference to the Church. She is to be

as he is, and not only so, but she is so even now, as St. John tells

us, "Herein is love perfected with us, that we may have boldness in the

day of judgment: because as he is, _so are we_ in this world." (1 John

iv. 17.) This gives full confidence to the soul. "We are in him that,

is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal

life." (1 John v. 20.) There is here no ground for uncertainty. Every

thing is secured for the bride in the bridegroom. All that belonged to

Isaac became Rebekah's because Isaac was hers; and so all that belongs

to Christ is made available to the Church. "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." (1 Cor. iii. 21-23.) Christ is "head

over all things to the Church." (Eph. i. 22.) It will be his joy

throughout eternity to exhibit the Church in all the glory and beauty

with which he has endowed her, for her glory and beauty will be but the

reflection of his. Angels and principalities shall behold in the Church

the marvellous display of the wisdom, power, and grace of God in

Christ.

But we shall now look at the second point for consideration, viz.,

_the testimony_. Abraham's servant carried with him a very distinct

testimony. "And he said, I am Abraham's servant. And the Lord hath

blessed my master greatly, and he is become great; and he hath given

him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and men servants, and maid

servants, and camels, and asses. And Sarah, my master's wife, bare a

son to my master when she was old; and unto him hath he given all that

he hath." (Ver. 34-36.) He reveals the father and the son. Such was his

testimony. He speaks of the vast resources of the father, and of the

son's being endowed with all these in virtue of his being "the

only-begotten," and the object of the father's love. With this

testimony he seeks to obtain a bride for the son.

All this, I need hardly remark, is strikingly illustrative of the

testimony with which the Holy Ghost was sent from heaven upon the day

of Pentecost. "When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you

from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the

Father, he shall testify of me." (John xv. 26.) Again, "Howbeit when he

the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he

shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he

speak; and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he

shall receive of mine and show it unto you. _All things that the

Father hath are mine_: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine and

shall show it unto you." (John xvi. 13-15.) The coincidence of these

words with the testimony of Abraham's servant is instructive and

interesting. It was by telling of Isaac that he sought to attract the

heart of Rebekah; and it is, as we know, by telling of Jesus, that the

Holy Ghost seeks to draw poor sinners away from a world of sin and

folly into the blessed and holy unity of the body of Christ. "He shall

take of mine and show it unto you." The Spirit of God will never lead

any one to look at himself or his work; but only and always at Christ.

Hence, the more really spiritual any one is, the more entirely will he

be occupied with Christ.

Some there are who regard it as a great mark of spirituality to be ever

looking in at their own hearts, and dwelling upon what they find there,

even though that be the work of the Spirit. This is a great mistake. So

far from its being a proof of spirituality, it is a proof of the very

reverse, for it is expressly declared of the Holy Ghost that "he shall

not speak of himself;" but that, on the contrary, "he shall take of

mine and show it unto you." Therefore, whenever one is looking inward,

and building on the evidences of the Spirit's work there, he may be

assured he is not led by the Spirit of God in so doing. It is by

holding up Christ that the Spirit draws souls to God. This is very

important. The knowledge of Christ is life eternal; and it is the

Father's revelation of Christ by the Holy Ghost that constitutes the

basis of the Church. When Peter confessed Christ to be the Son of the

living God, Christ's answer was, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jonah;

for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which

is in heaven. And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter; and upon this

rock _I will build_ my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail

against it." (Matt. xvi. 17, 18.) What rock? Peter? God forbid. "This

rock" [Greek: taute te petra] simply means the Father's revelation of

Christ as the Son of the living God, which is the only means by which

any one is introduced into the assembly of Christ. Now this opens to us

very much the true character of the gospel. It is pre-eminently and

emphatically a revelation,--a revelation not merely of a doctrine, but

of a Person,--the Person of the Son. This revelation being received by

faith, draws the heart to Christ, and becomes the spring of life and

power,--the ground of membership,--the power of fellowship. "When it

pleased God ... to _reveal his Son_ in me," &c. Here we have the true

principle of "the rock," viz., God revealing his Son. It is thus the

superstructure is reared up; and on this solid foundation it reposes,

according to God's eternal purpose.

It is therefore peculiarly instructive to find in this 24th of Genesis

such a marked and beautiful illustration of the mission and special

testimony of the Holy Ghost. Abraham's servant, in seeking to procure a

bride for Isaac, sets forth all the dignity and wealth with which he

had been endowed by the father; the love of which he was the object;

and, in short, all that was calculated to affect the heart and draw it

off from present things. He showed Rebekah an object in the distance,

and set before her the blessedness and reality of being made one with

that beloved and highly-favored object. All that belonged to Isaac

would belong to Rebekah too, when she became part of him. Such was his

testimony. Such also is the testimony of the Holy Ghost He speaks of

Christ, the glory of Christ, "the beauty of Christ, the fulness of

Christ, the grace of Christ, the unsearchable riches of Christ," the

dignity of his Person and the perfectness of his work.

Moreover, he sets forth the amazing blessedness of being one with such

a Christ, "members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones." Such

is the Spirit's testimony always; and herein we have an excellent

touchstone by which to try all sorts of teaching and preaching. The

most spiritual teaching will ever be characterized by a full and

constant presentation of Christ. He will ever form the burden of such

teaching. The Spirit cannot dwell on aught but Jesus. Of him he

delights to speak. He delights in setting forth his attractions and

excellencies. Hence, when a man is ministering by the power of the

Spirit of God, there will always be more of Christ than any thing else

in his ministry. There will be little room in such ministry for human

logic and reasoning. Such things may do very well where a man desires

to set forth himself; but the Spirit's sole object,--be it well

remembered by all who minister,--will ever be to set forth Christ.

Let us now look, in the last place, at _the result_ of all this. Truth,

and the practical application of truth, are two very different things.

It is one thing to speak of the peculiar glories of the Church, and

quite another thing to be practically influenced by those glories. In

Rebekah's case, the effect was most marked and decisive. The testimony

of Abraham's servant sank down into her ears, and into her heart, and

entirely detached her heart's affections from the scene of things

around her. She was ready to leave all and follow after, in order that

she might apprehend that for which she had been apprehended. It was

morally impossible that she could believe herself to be the subject of

such high destinies, and yet continue amid the circumstances of nature.

If the report concerning the future were true, attachment to the

present was the worst of folly. If the hope of being Isaac's bride,

joint-heir with him of all his dignity and glory,--if this were a

reality, then to continue to tend Laban's sheep would be practically to

despise all that God had in grace set before her.

But, no: the prospect was far too bright to be thus lightly given up.

True, she had not yet seen Isaac, nor yet the inheritance; but she had

believed the report, the testimony of _him_, and had received, as it

were, the earnest of _it_, and these were enough for her heart; and

hence she unhesitatingly arises and expresses her readiness to depart

in the memorable words, "_I will go_." She was fully prepared to enter

upon an unknown path in companionship with one who had told her of an

object far away, and of a glory connected with him, to which she was

about to be raised. "I will go," said she, and "forgetting the things

which were behind, and reaching forth toward the things which were

before, she pressed toward the mark for the prize of her high calling."

Most touching and beautiful illustration this of the Church, under the

conduct of the Holy Ghost, going onward to meet her heavenly

Bridegroom. This is what the Church should be; but, alas! there is sad

failure here. There is little of that holy alacrity in laying aside

every weight and every entanglement, in the power of communion with the

Holy Guide and Companion of our way, whose office and delight it is to

take of the things of Jesus, and show them unto us; just as Abraham's

servant took of the things of Isaac, and showed them to Rebekah; and

no doubt, too, he found his joy in pouring fresh testimonies concerning

the son into her ear, as they moved onward toward the consummation of

all her joy and glory. Thus it is, at least with our heavenly guide and

companion. He delights to tell of Jesus, "He shall take of mine and

show it unto you;" and again, "he shall show you things to come." Now,

this is what we really want,--this ministry of the Spirit of God,

unfolding Christ to our souls, producing earnest longing to see him as

he is, and be made like him forever. Naught but this will ever detach

our hearts from earth and nature. What, save the hope of being

associated with Isaac, would ever have led Rebekah to say, "I will go,"

when her "brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a

few days, at least ten." And so with us: nothing but the hope of seeing

Jesus as he is, and being like him, will ever enable or lead us to

purify ourselves, even as he is pure.

CHAPTER XXV.

In the opening of this chapter, Abraham's second marriage is set before

us,--an event not without its interest to the spiritual mind, when

viewed in connection with what we have been considering in the

preceding chapter. With the light furnished by the prophetic scriptures

of the New Testament, we understand that after the completion and

taking-up of the elect bride of Christ, the seed of Abraham will again

come into notice. Thus, after the marriage of Isaac, the Holy Ghost

takes up the history of Abraham's seed by a new marriage, together

with other points in his history, and that of his seed according to the

flesh. I do not press any special interpretation of all this: I merely

say that it is not without its interest.

We have already referred to the remark of some one on the book of

Genesis, namely, that it is "full of the seeds of things;" and as we

pass along its comprehensive pages, we shall find them teeming with all

the fundamental principles of truth, which are more elaborately wrought

out in the New Testament. True, in Genesis these principles are set

forth illustratively, and in the New Testament didactically; still, the

illustration is deeply interesting, and eminently calculated to bring

home the truth with power to the soul.

At the close of this chapter we are presented with some principles of a

very solemn and practical nature. Jacob's character and actings will

hereafter, if the Lord will, come more fully before us; but I would

just notice, ere passing on, the conduct of Esau in reference to the

birthright, and all which it involved. The natural heart places no

value on the things of God. To it God's promise is a vague, valueless,

powerless thing, simply because God is not known. Hence it is that

present things carry such weight and influence in man's estimation. Any

thing that man can _see_ he values, because he is governed by sight,

and not by faith. To him the present is every thing: the future is a

mere uninfluential thing,--a matter of the merest uncertainty. Thus it

was with Esau. Hear his fallacious reasoning: "Behold, I am at the

point to die; and what profit shall this birthright do to me?" What

strange reasoning! _The present_ is slipping from beneath my feet: I

will therefore despise and entirely let go the _future_! Time is

fading from my view, I will therefore abandon all interest in eternity!

"Thus Esau despised his birthright." Thus Israel despised the pleasant

land; (Ps. cvi. 24); thus they despised Christ. (Zech. xi. 13.) Thus

those who were bidden to the marriage despised the invitation. (Matt.

xxii. 5.) Man has no heart for the things of God. The present is every

thing to him. A mess of pottage is better than a title to Canaan.

Hence, the very reason why Esau made light of the birthright was the

reason why he ought to have grasped it with the greater intensity. The

more clearly I see the vanity of man's present, the more I shall cleave

to God's future. Thus it is in the judgment of faith. "Seeing then that

_all these things shall be dissolved_, what manner of persons ought ye

to be in all holy conversation and godliness; looking for and hasting

unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire

shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

Nevertheless we, _according to his promise_, look for new heavens and a

new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." (2 Pet. iii. 11-13.) These

are the thoughts of God, and therefore the thoughts of faith. The

things that are seen shall be dissolved. What, then, are we to despise

the unseen? By no means. The present is rapidly passing away. What is

our resource? "Looking for, and hasting unto, the coming of the day of

God." This is the judgment of the renewed mind; and any other judgment

is only that of "a profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat

sold his birthright." (Heb. xii. 16.) The Lord keep us judging of

things as he judges. This can only be done by faith.

CHAPTER XXVI.

The opening verse of this chapter connects itself with Chap. xii.

"There was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in

the days of Abraham." The trials which meet God's people in their

course are very much alike; and they ever tend to make manifest how far

the heart has found its _all_ in God. It is a difficult matter--a rare

attainment--so to walk in sweet communion with God as to be rendered

thereby entirely independent of things and people here. The Egypts and

the Gerars which lie on our right hand and on our left present great

temptations, either to turn aside out of the right way, or to stop

short of our true position as servants of the true and living God.

"And Isaac went unto Abimelech, King of the Philistines, unto Gerar."

There is a manifest difference between Egypt and Gerar. Egypt is the

expression of the world in its natural resources, and its independence

of God. "My river is mine own," is the language of an Egyptian who knew

not Jehovah, and thought not of looking to him for aught. Egypt was,

locally, farther removed from Canaan than Gerar; and, morally, it

expresses a condition of soul farther from God. Gerar is thus referred

to in Chap. x.: "And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as

thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza: as thou goest unto Sodom, and

Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha." (Ver. 19.) We are

informed that "from Gerar to Jerusalem was three days' journey." It

was, therefore, as compared with Egypt, an advanced position; but still

it lay within the range of very dangerous influences. Abraham got into

trouble there, and so does Isaac, in this chapter, and that, too, in

the very same way. Abraham denied his wife, and so does Isaac. This is

peculiarly solemn. To see both the father and the son fall into the

same evil, in the same place, tells us plainly that the influence of

that place was not good.

Had Isaac not gone to Abimelech, King of Gerar, he would have no

necessity for denying his wife; but the slightest divergence from the

true line of conduct superinduces spiritual weakness. It was when Peter

stood and warmed himself at the high-priest's fire that he denied his

Master. Now, it is manifest that Isaac was not really happy in Gerar.

True, the Lord says unto him, "sojourn in this land;" but how often

does the Lord give directions to his people morally suitable to the

condition he knows them to be in, and calculated also to arouse them to

a true sense of that condition? He directed Moses, in Num. xiii. to

send men to search the land of Canaan; but had they not been in a low

moral condition such a step would not have been necessary. We know well

that faith does not need "_to spy out_" when God's promise lies before

us. Again, he directed Moses to choose out seventy elders to help him

in the work; but had Moses fully entered into the dignity and

blessedness of his position, he would not have needed such a direction.

So, in reference to the setting up of a king, in 1 Sam. viii. They

ought not to have needed a king. Hence, we must always take into

consideration the condition of an individual or a people to whom a

direction is given before we can form any correct judgment as to the

direction.

But again it may be said, if Isaac's position in Gerar was wrong, how

do we read, "Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received the same year

an hundred-fold: and the Lord blessed him." (Ver. 12.) I reply, we can

never judge that a person's condition is right because of prosperous

circumstances. We have had already to remark that there is a great

difference between the Lord's presence and his blessing. Many have the

latter without the former; and, moreover, the heart is prone to mistake

the one for the other,--prone to put the blessing for the presence; or

at least to argue that the one must ever accompany the other. This is a

great mistake. How many do we see surrounded by God's blessings, who

neither have, nor wish for, God's presence? It is important to see

this. A man may "wax great, and go forward, and grow until he becomes

very great, and have possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and

great store of servants," and all the while not have the full,

unhindered joy of the Lord's presence with him. Flocks and herds are

not the Lord. They are things on account of which the Philistines might

envy Isaac, whereas they never would have envied him on account of the

Lord's presence. He might have been enjoying the sweetest and richest

communion with God, and the Philistines have thought nothing whatever

about it, simply because they had no heart to understand or appreciate

such a reality. Flocks, herds, servants, and wells of water they could

appreciate; but the divine presence they could not appreciate.

However, Isaac at length makes his way from amongst the Philistines,

and gets up to Beersheba. "And _the Lord appeared unto him_ the same

night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father; fear not, for _I

am with thee_, and will bless thee" (Ver. 24.) Mark, it was not the

Lord's blessing merely, but the Lord himself. And why? because Isaac

had left the Philistines, with all their envy, and strife, and

contention behind, and gone up to Beersheba. Here the Lord could show

himself to his servant. The blessings of his liberal hand might follow

him during his sojourn in Gerar; but his presence could not there be

enjoyed. To enjoy God's presence we must be where he is, and he

certainly is not to be found amid the strife and contention of an

ungodly world; and hence, the sooner the child of God gets away from

all such, the better. So Isaac found it. He had no rest in his own

spirit; and he assuredly did not in any wise serve the Philistines by

his sojourn amongst them. It is a very common error to imagine that we

serve the men of this world by mixing ourselves up with them in their

associations and ways. The true way to serve them is to stand apart

from them in the power of communion with God, and thus show them the

pattern of a more excellent way.

Mark the progress in Isaac's soul, and the moral effect of his course.

"He went up from thence," "the Lord appeared unto him," "he builded an

altar," "he called upon the name of the Lord," "he pitched his tent,"

"his servants digged a well." Here we have most blessed progress. The

moment he took a step in the right direction, he went from strength to

strength. He entered into the joy of God's presence,--tasted the sweets

of true worship, and exhibited the character of a stranger and

pilgrim, and found peaceful refreshment, an undisputed well, which the

Philistines could not stop because they were not there.

These were blessed results in reference to Isaac himself; and now

observe the effect produced upon others. "Then Abimelech went to him

from Gerar, and Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phicol the chief

captain of his army. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me,

seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We

saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there now

be an oath betwixt us," &c. The true way to act on the hearts and

consciences of the men of the world is to stand in decided separation

from them, while dealing in perfect grace toward them. So long as Isaac

continued in Gerar, there was nothing but strife and contention. He was

reaping sorrow for himself, and producing no effect whatever upon those

around him. On the contrary, the moment he went away from them, their

hearts were touched, and they followed him, and desired a covenant.

This is very instructive. The principle unfolded here may be seen

constantly exemplified in the history of the children of God. The first

point with the heart should ever be to see that in our position we are

_right with God_, and not only right in position, but in the moral

condition of the soul. When we are right with God, we may expect to act

salutarily upon men. The moment Isaac got up to Beersheba, and took his

place as a worshipper, his own soul was refreshed, and he was used of

God to act upon others. So long as we continue in a low position, we

are robbing ourselves of blessing, and failing totally in our testimony

and service.

Nor should we, when in a wrong position, stop to inquire, as we so

often do, "Where can I find any thing better?" God's order is, "Cease

to do evil;" and when we have acted upon that holy precept, we are

furnished with another, namely, "Learn to do well." If we expect to

"learn" how "to do well," before we "cease to do evil," we are entirely

mistaken. "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from among the dead."

([Greek: ek ton nekron].) And what then? "Christ shall give thee

light." (Eph. v. 14.)

My beloved reader, if you are doing what you know to be wrong, or if

you are identified in any way with what you own to be contrary to

scripture, hearken to the word of the Lord, "Cease to do evil." And be

assured, when you have yielded obedience to this word, you will not

long be left in ignorance as to your path. It is sheer unbelief that

leads us to say, "I cannot cease to do evil until I find something

better." The Lord grant us a single eye and a docile spirit.

CHAPTERS XXVII.-XXXV.

These chapters present to us the history of Jacob,--at least the

principal scenes in that history. The Spirit of God here sets before us

the deepest instruction, first, as to God's purpose of infinite grace;

and, secondly, as to the utter worthlessness and depravity of human

nature.