he hath subdued all things unto himself, then shall he give up the kingdom to the Father, and God shall be all and in all." O, the grand extensive plan of human redemption, which Christ in his own time will accomplish-too vast for our finite minds to comprehend, because it extendeth to infinity-for he saves to the uttermost all that come unto God by him," whose number is as the dust of the earth for multitude. 66 And let us view Abraham in whatever stage of his history we will, we shall perceive that he was constantly dwelling upon the promise, and anxiously expecting the fulfilment of the same; but he had to wait long for his son Isaac. And so is it the case generally, that when we are stirred up by a lively faith to expect some great spiritual or temporal deliverance, God will for a season try our patience, and so make us to see and understand what it is to wait upon him; for, if our patience was not exercised, we should not know what impatient creatures we are, neither should we prize the blessing so much when it comes, but perhaps set light by it. Thus we generally see that the greatest profligates and spendthrifts are those who are born to good fortunes; and such scarcely ever feel grateful to their Maker for his bountiful providence. But God does not give his special blessings so lightly he will be inquired of for them, and make us feel the value of them before we receive them. And thus he tried Abram, by making him wait twenty-five years before he received his beloved Isaac, which Sarah bare to him when he was an hundred years old; but while he was waiting for his son God renewed his promise to him eight times. Thus, those who wait upon the Lord, do" renew their spiritual strength." If the people of God did but listen more attentively in the way of duty to the small still voice of the Spirit, they would not be the subjects of such perplexing care as they are, but would have a filial confidence in him; being fully persuaded that all necessary blessings will come at the right time, which he has appointed, and, that if they are delayed, it is according to his secret purpose of love to us, knowing that he hath promised that "all things shall work together for good to them that fear him, and are the called according to his purpose." And so have the purposes of God been working, though mysteriously, in all ages, to answer the one grand scheme of human redemption; and, if the limits of this work would permit, I might, with great profit and edification to myself and readers, multiply useful and practical inferences from all the most prominent characters of the lineage of Abraham; but as I do not intend to make an expensive and bulky volume, I can but very briefly notice them. I have stated before, that the whole history of the church, from Adam to the time present, is one connected and grand scheme to make known to the world the alphabet of God's providence, and to reveal to all ages the glorious name of God: and perhaps no part of the sacred history does more exemplify it, than the history of the Jews; to which I particularly wish to draw my readers' attention, and, having noticed the birth of Isaac, I now hasten to offer a few remarks upon Abraham's attempt, according to the command of God, to offer him for a sacri fice. Gen. xxii. 1. "And it came to pass, after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham. And he said, behold, here I am. And he said, 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," &c.-which, according to the rest of the chapter, Abraham actually attempted to do; for in the tenth verse it states, "And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son."-But it may be asked, Had not God cursed Cain for murdering his brother, and expressly forbidden the crime, and declared that Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed"-and if so, how do you justify God in tempting Abraham to break his express command? To which I answer, Abraham was well persuaded in his mind, that he who made him a father of a son in the hundredth year of his age, and his wife Sarah a mother in the ninety-first year of her age, could, although he should offer up his son as a sacrifice, raise him up and restore him to him immediately again. And such appears actually to have been the impression of his mind, from the charge he gave to his servants. Verse 5. And Abraham said unto his young men, abide you here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.' So that, although, by the command of God he was going to sacrifice his son, he was fully persuaded in his mind that he would return with him again; for his son Isaac was he in whom God declared his seed should be called, 12 ver. 21 chap. ; and in the 19 ver. 17 ch., that he would establish his covenant with him for 66 an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him the sign of which covenant was the ordinance of circumcision, according to the tenth verse in the same chapter. Consequently Abraham was fully persuaded in his mind that God, who had given him his beloved Isaac, and had made such glorious promises concerning him, would, to a certainty, fulfil all that he had promised him" He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God." Rom. iv. 20. Or, he might probably have expected that God would provide a lamb for the offering, according to Gen. xxii. 8, And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering❞—which in the sequel was the case; for, verse 10, “ Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son and the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, here am I. And he said, lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son. : God had expressly forbidden man to slay his fellow, therefore, although he chose to tempt Abraham, to try his fidelity to him, (not that God required such a test to convince himself of Abraham's sincerity, but for an example of faith to all future generations,) yet he did not permit him to break his absolute law against murder; therefore 66 by this one instance, we discern between the commands of God and the delusions of Satan; for, as it is written, John x. 35, The scripture cannot be broken," and the commandment saith, "Thou shalt do no murder," God will not permit any man, who is in heart like Abraham, to break his positive commandment, although he think proper to tempt him. But Satan hath, and doth still prompt men to offer human sacrifices; and most awfully did he triumph in his infernal craft, when he prompted the Jews to offer their children to Moloch, Jer. vii. 31, "And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart." Therefore we may conclude, from the fact of God's preventing Abraham from slaying his son, that whenever a man is left to do an act conscientiously, which the word of God expressly forbids, such an one, like the Jews who offered their children to Moloch, is to a certainty deluded by Satan. Therefore, although God thought fit to try Abraham, for an example of faith to all future generations, to put their whole trust in God, by giving up all for Christ, yet he would not permit him to violate his express and absolute command. Thus much concerning that subject, and the lesson it teaches; which I now conclude, to hasten to the history of Jacob and Esau, two prominent characters, whose history forms a striking allegory to show to the world at large that God is no respecter of persons, but chooseth whom he will to be vessels of honour, to make known his re |