{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_37915/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_37915","id":"gutenberg_37915","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/37915","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Genesis -- Commentaries","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"Produced by Ron Stephens, Julio Reis and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This\nfile was produced from images generously made available\nby The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                          NOTES\n\n                           ON\n\n                    THE BOOK OF GENESIS.\n\n                   \"Things new and old.\"\n\n                  FIRST AMERICAN EDITION.\n\n                      PHILADELPHIA:\n                    HENRY LONGSTRETH,\n                  1336 CHESTNUT STREET.\n                          1863.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n                                                                  PAGE\n CHAPTER I.                                                         13\n\n CHAPTER II.                                                        29\n\n CHAPTER III.                                                       42\n\n CHAPTER IV., V.                                                    64\n\n CHAPTER VI.-IX.                                                    90\n\n CHAPTER X.                                                        115\n\n CHAPTER XI.                                                       118\n\n CHAPTER XII.                                                      123\n\n CHAPTER XIII.                                                     140\n\n CHAPTER XIV.                                                      151\n\n CHAPTER XV.                                                       158\n\n CHAPTER XVI.                                                      171\n\n CHAPTER XVII.                                                     181\n\n CHAPTER XVIII.                                                    189\n\n CHAPTER XIX.                                                      197\n\n CHAPTER XX.                                                       205\n\n CHAPTER XXI.                                                      210\n\n CHAPTER XXII.                                                     217\n\n CHAPTER XXIII.                                                    230\n\n CHAPTER XXIV.                                                     235\n\n CHAPTER XXV.                                                      248\n\n CHAPTER XXVI.                                                     251\n\n CHAPTER XXVII.-XXXV.                                              256\n\n CHAPTER XXXVI.                                                    300\n\n CHAPTER XXXVII.-L.                                                300\n\n CHAPTER XXXVIII.                                                  305\n\n CHAPTER XXXIX.-XLV.                                               306\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nTo all who love and relish the simple gospel of the grace of God, I\nwould earnestly recommend the following \"Notes on the Book of Genesis.\"\nThey are characterized by a deep-toned evangelical spirit. Having had\nthe privilege of reading them in MS., I can speak as one who has found\nprofit therefrom. Man's complete ruin in sin, and God's perfect remedy\nin Christ, are fully, clearly, and often strikingly, presented,\nespecially in the earlier chapters.\n\nTo Christ's servants in the gospel sound, forcible statements as to\nwhat _sin_ is and what _grace_ is, are deeply valuable in the present\ntime, when so much that is merely superficial is abroad.\n\nThe gospel of Christ, as perfectly meeting man's nature, condition, and\ncharacter, is comparatively little known, and less proclaimed. Hence,\nthe numerous doubts, fears, and unsettled questions which fill the\nhearts and perplex the consciences of many of God's dear children.\nUntil the soul is led to see that the entire question of sin and the\nclaims of divine holiness were _all and forever settled_ on the\ncross, sweet, quiet rest of conscience will be but little known.\n\nNothing can meet the urgent cry of a troubled conscience but the one\nperfect sacrifice of Christ; offered _to_ God _for us_, on the cross.\n\"For even Christ _our_ passover is sacrificed _for us_.\" There, and\nthere alone it will find a _perfect answer_ to its every claim; because\nthere it will find, through believing, all ground of doubt and fear\nremoved, the whole question of sin eternally settled, every divine\nrequirement fully met, and a solid foundation laid for present, settled\npeace, in the presence of divine holiness: Christ \"delivered for our\noffences, and raised again for our justification,\" settles every thing.\nThe moment we believe the gospel, we are saved, and ought to be\ndivinely happy. \"He that believeth on the Son _hath_ everlasting life.\"\n(Rom. iv. v.; John iii.)\n\nWe see the greatness of God's love to the sinner in his judgment of\nsin in the person of his own dear Son on the cross. There God, in\nperfect grace to us, dealt with sin according to his infinite holiness\nand justice. He went down to the depths of our ruin and all our sin,\nmeasured it, judged it, and put it forever away, _root_ and _branch_,\nby shedding the precious blood of the spotless Victim. \"He condemned\nsin in the flesh;\" that is, he there condemned the evil root of sin\nwhich is in our flesh,--our carnal nature. But he also \"made an end of\nsins,\"--of the actual sins of every believer. Thus, between God and\nChrist alone the entire question of sin was gone into, and finally\nsettled on the cross. \"Simon Peter said unto him, Lord whither goest\nthou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go _thou canst not follow me now_.\"\nJust as Abraham and Isaac were alone on the top of the mountain in the\nland of Moriah, so were God and Christ alone, amidst the solemnities\nand solitudes of Calvary. The only part we had in the cross was, that\nour _sins_ were there. Jesus _alone_ bore the full weight of their\njudgment. (Comp. Dan. ix. 24; Rom. viii. 3; 2 Cor. v. 21; Heb. ix. 26,\n28.)\n\nWhenever this blessed truth is learnt from God's own word, and\nmaintained in the soul by faith, through the power of the Holy Ghost,\nall is peace, joy, and victory. It takes the believer completely away\nfrom himself, from his doubts, fears, and questions. And his eye now\ngazes on ONE who, by his finished work, has laid the foundation of\ndivine and everlasting righteousness, and who is now at the right hand\nof the Majesty in the highest, as the perfect definition of every true\nbeliever. With him, with him alone, the believer's heart is now to be\noccupied.\n\nFaith is fully assured that when _God_ puts away sin, it must be put\naway entirely; that, when Jesus exclaimed, \"IT IS FINISHED,\" the work\nwas done,--God was glorified, the sinner saved, the whole power of\nSatan completely destroyed, and peace established on the most solid\nbasis. Hence, we find, \"The God of _peace_ brought again from the dead\nour Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of\nthe everlasting covenant.\" He was the God of _judgment_ at the cross.\nHe is the God of _peace_ at the opening grave. Every enemy has been\nvanquished, and eternal peace proclaimed, through the blood of his\ncross. \"He was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father.\" He\nrose \"in the power of an endless life,\" and associates every believer\nwith himself, in the power of that life in resurrection. Having been\ncleansed by his blood, they are accepted in his person. (See Eph. i. 6;\nCol. ii. 10; 1 John v. 20.)\n\nJesus, having thus fully accomplished the work that was given him to\ndo, and gone up on high, the Holy Ghost came down as a witness to us\nthat redemption was finished, the believer \"perfected forever\" and\nChrist glorified in heaven.\n\nThe apostles then began to publish the glad tidings of salvation to the\nchief of sinners. The subject of their preaching was, \"_Jesus and the\nresurrection_.\" And all who believed on him as risen and glorified were\nimmediately and eternally saved. \"And this is the record that God hath\ngiven to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son: he that hath the\nSon hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.\" (1\nJohn v. 11, 12.) There is no blessing outside of, or apart from, the\nPERSON OF CHRIST--THE HEAVENLY MAN; \"for in him dwelleth all the\nfulness of the Godhead bodily.\" Ever since that time, God has been\nplacing before the sinner, in connection with _his_ gospel, a risen\nliving Christ, as the ALONE object of faith, and \"the end of the law\nfor righteousness to EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVETH.\" (Rom. X.)\n\nWhen the eye is kept on this heavenly Christ, all is light, joy, and\npeace; but if it be turned in on self, and occupied with what it\n_finds_ there, and what it _feels_, or with any thing whatever that may\ncome between the heart and Christ, all will be darkness, uncertainty,\nand unhappiness in the soul. Oh, how blessedly simple is the gospel of\nthe grace of God!\n\nThe burden of its message to the _lost sinner_ is, \"Come, for all\nthings are now ready;\" the question of sin is not raised,--\"_Grace\nreigns_ through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our\nLord.\" Christ, having perfectly satisfied God about sin, the only\nquestion now between God and your heart is this: _Are you perfectly\nsatisfied with his Christ as the alone portion of your soul?_ This is\nthe one grand question of the gospel. Christ has settled every other to\nthe glory of God; and now the Father is going to \"make a marriage for\nhis Son,\"--to honor, exalt, and glorify him. Is your heart in full\nharmony with God's on this point? Work is not required at your hands;\nstrength is not needed; fruit is not demanded. God has provided every\nthing, and prepared every thing. It is all grace,--the pure grace of\nGod. \"Only believe;\" \"Come, for all things are now ready.\" The\nmarriage-supper; the wedding-garment, royal honors, the Father's\npresence, fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore--all are\nready,--ready now--\"ready to be revealed.\" Dear reader, are you ready?\nOh, solemn question! Are you ready? Have you believed the message? Have\nyou embraced the Son? Are you ready to \"Crown him Lord of all?\" The\ntable is spread, the house is filling fast: \"yet there is room.\"\nAlready you have heard the midnight cry, \"Behold the bridegroom\ncometh, go ye out to meet him,\" \"and they that were READY went in _with\nhim_ to the marriage, AND THE DOOR WAS SHUT.\" \"Be ye therefore ready\nalso: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.\" (Matt.\nxxii., xxv.; Luke xii., xiv.)\n\n      *       *       *       *       *\n\nBut I must now refer my reader to the \"Notes\" themselves, where he will\nfind this most blessed subject fully, frequently, and pointedly stated,\nand many other subjects of deep practical importance; such as the\ndistinctive position and perfect unity of the Church of God; real\nsaintship; practical discipleship; sonship; &c., &c.\n\nWith the exception of the four gospels, I suppose there is no book in\nthe Bible more deeply interesting than the Book of Genesis. It comes to\nus with all the freshness of God's first book to his people. The\ncontents are varied, highly instructive, and most precious to the\nstudent of God's entire book.\n\nThese \"Notes\" are again laid at the Master's feet in earnest prayer\nthat he would take them up and send them forth under the stamp of his\nown divine approval. Amen.\n                                                                    A.M.\n  _London._\n\n\n\n\nPREFATORY NOTE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.\n\n\nI cannot suffer this Fourth Edition to go forth without an expression\nof heartfelt thankfulness to the Lord for his goodness in making use of\nsuch a feeble instrumentality for the profit of souls and the spread of\nhis own simple truth.\n\nIt is an unspeakable privilege to be permitted in any small degree to\nminister to the souls of those who are so precious to Christ. \"Lovest\nthou me?... Feed my sheep.\" Such were the touching words of the\ndeparting Shepherd; and, assuredly, when they fall powerfully upon the\nheart, they must rouse all the energies of one's moral being to carry\nout, in every possible way, the gracious desire breathed therein. To\ngather and to feed the lambs and sheep of the flock of Christ are the\nmost exalted services in which any one can be engaged. Not a single\nhonest effort put forth for the achievement of such noble ends will be\nforgotten in that day \"when the Chief Shepherd shall appear.\"\n\nMay God the Holy Ghost fill the heart, anoint the lips, and consecrate\nthe pen of every servant of Christ, so that streams of pure and living\ntruth may flow in every direction for the refreshment of all those who\nare on their way to glory.\n                                                                  C.H.M.\n _Dublin, May, 1861._\n\n\n\n\n                           NOTES\n\n                            ON\n\n                    THE BOOK OF GENESIS.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n\nThere is something peculiarly striking in the manner in which the Holy\nGhost opens this sublime book. He introduces us, at once, to God, in\nthe essential fulness of his being, and the solitariness of his acting.\nAll prefatory matter is omitted. It is to God we are brought. We hear\nhim, as it were, breaking earth's silence, and shining in upon earth's\ndarkness, for the purpose of developing a sphere in which he might\ndisplay his eternal power and Godhead.\n\nThere is nothing here on which idle curiosity may feed,--nothing on\nwhich the poor human mind may speculate. There is the sublimity and\nreality of DIVINE TRUTH, in its moral power to act on the heart, and on\nthe understanding. It could never come within the range of the Spirit\nof God to gratify idle curiosity by the presentation of curious\ntheories. Geologists may explore the bowels of the earth, and draw\nforth from thence materials from which to add to, and, in some\ninstances, to contradict, the Divine record. They may speculate upon\nfossil remains; but the disciple hangs, with sacred delight, over the\npage of inspiration. He reads, believes, and worships. In this spirit\nmay we pursue our study of the profound book which now lies open before\nus. May we know what it is to \"inquire in the temple.\" May our\ninvestigations of the precious contents of holy scripture be ever\nprosecuted in the true spirit of worship.\n\n\"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.\" The first\nsentence in the divine canon sets us in the presence of him who is the\ninfinite source of all true blessedness. There is no elaborate argument\nin proof of the existence of God. The Holy Ghost could not enter upon\nany thing of the kind. God reveals himself. He makes himself known by\nhis works. \"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament\nshoweth his handy-work.\" \"All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord.\"\n\"Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty.\" None but an\ninfidel or an atheist would seek an argument in proof of the Being of\nOne who, by the word of his mouth, called worlds into existence, and\ndeclared himself the All-wise, the Almighty, and the everlasting God.\nWho but \"God\" could \"create\" any thing. \"Lift up your eyes on high, and\nbehold who hath _created_ these things, that bringeth out their host by\nnumber; he calleth them all by names, by the greatness of his might,\nfor that he is strong in power; not one faileth.\" (Is. xl. 26.) \"The\ngods of the heathen are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.\" In the\nBook of Job (chap. xxxviii.-xli.) we have an appeal of the very\ngrandest description, on the part of Jehovah himself, to the work of\ncreation, as an unanswerable argument in proof of his infinite\nsuperiority; and this appeal, while it sets before the understanding\nthe most vivid and convincing demonstration of God's omnipotence,\ntouches the heart, also, by its amazing condescension. The majesty and\nthe love, the power and the tenderness, are all divine.\n\n\"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the\nface of the deep.\" Here was, in good truth, a scene in which God alone\ncould act. Man, in the pride of his heart, has since proved himself but\ntoo ready to interfere with God in other and far higher spheres of\naction; but, in the scene before us, man had no place until, indeed, he\nbecame, like all the rest, the subject of creative power. God was alone\nin creation. He looked forth from his eternal dwelling-place of light\nupon the wild waste, and there beheld the sphere in which his wondrous\nplans and counsels were yet to be unfolded and brought out--where the\nSecond Person of the Eternal Trinity was yet to live, and labor, and\ntestify, and bleed, and die, in order to display, in the view of\nwondering worlds, the glorious perfections of the Godhead. All was\ndarkness and chaos; but God is the God of light and order. \"God is\nlight, and in him is no darkness at all.\" Darkness and confusion cannot\nlive in his presence, whether we look at it in a physical, moral,\nintellectual, or spiritual point of view.\n\n\"The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.\" He sat brooding\nover the scene of his future operations. A dark scene, truly; and one\nin which there was ample room for the God of light and life to act. He\nalone could enlighten the darkness, cause life to spring up, substitute\norder for chaos, open an expanse between the waters, where life might\ndisplay itself without fear of death. These were operations worthy of\nGod.\n\n\"God said, Let there be light: and there was light.\" How simple! And\nyet how Godlike! \"He spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood\nfast.\" Infidelity may ask, \"How? where? when?\" The answer is, \"By faith\nwe understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that\nthings which are seen were not made of things which do appear.\" (Heb.\nxi. 3.) This satisfies the teachable spirit. Philosophy may smile\ncontemptuously at this, and pronounce it rude ignorance, or blind\ncredulity, suitable enough for an age of semi-barbarism, but quite\nunworthy of men living in an enlightened age of the world's history,\nwhen the museum and the telescope have put us in possession of facts of\nwhich the inspired penman knew nothing. What wisdom! What learning!\nYea, rather, what folly! What nonsense! What total inability to grasp\nthe scope and design of sacred scripture! It, assuredly, is not God's\nobject to make us astronomers or geologists; or to occupy us with\ndetails which the microscope or the telescope lays before every\nschool-boy. His object is to lead us into his presence, as worshippers,\nwith hearts and understandings taught and duly governed by his Holy\nWord. But this would never do for the so-called philosopher, who,\ndespising what he terms the vulgar and narrow-minded prejudices of the\ndevout disciple of the Word, boldly seizes his telescope, and\ntherewith scans the distant heavens, or travels into the deep recesses\nof earth in search of strata, formations and fossils,--all of which,\naccording to his account, greatly improve, if they do not flatly\ncontradict, the inspired narrative.\n\nWith such \"oppositions of science falsely so called,\" we have nothing\nto do. We believe that all true discoveries, whether \"in the heavens\nabove, in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth,\" will\nharmonize with that which is written in the word of God; and if they do\nnot thus harmonize, they are perfectly contemptible in the judgment of\nevery true lover of scripture. This gives great rest to the heart in a\nday like the present, so productive of learned speculations and\nhigh-sounding theories, which, alas! in too many instances, savor of\nrationalism and positive infidelity. It is most needful to have the\nheart thoroughly established as to the fulness, the authority, the\ncompleteness, the majesty, the plenary inspiration of the sacred\nvolume. This will be found to be the only effectual safeguard against\nthe rationalism of Germany and the superstition of Rome. Accurate\nacquaintance with, and profound subjection to, the Word, are the great\n_desiderata_ of the present moment. May the Lord, in his great grace,\nabundantly increase in our midst both the one and the other.\n\n\"And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light\nfrom the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he\ncalled Night.\" Here we have the two great symbols so largely employed\nthroughout the Word. The presence of light makes the day; the absence\nthereof makes the night. Thus it is in the history of souls. There are\n\"the sons of light\" and \"the sons of darkness.\" This is a most marked\nand solemn distinction. All upon whom the light of Life has shone,--all\nwho have been effectually visited by the Day-spring from on high,--all\nwho have received the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the\nface of Jesus Christ,--all such, whoever and wherever they may be,\nbelong to the first class, are \"the sons of light, and the sons of the\nday.\"\n\nOn the other hand, all who are still in nature's darkness, nature's\nblindness, nature's unbelief,--all who have not yet received into their\nhearts, by faith, the cheering beams of the Sun of righteousness, all\nsuch are still wrapped in the shades of spiritual night, are \"the sons\nof darkness,\" \"the sons of the night.\"\n\nReader, pause and ask yourself, in the presence of the Searcher of\nhearts, to which of these two classes do you, at this moment, belong.\nThat you belong to either the one or the other is beyond all question.\nYou may be poor, despised, unlettered; but if, through grace, there is\na link connecting you with the Son of God, \"the Light of the world,\"\nthen you are, in very deed, a son of the day, and destined, ere long,\nto shine in that celestial sphere, that region of glory, of which \"the\nslain Lamb\" will be the central sun, forever. This is not your own\ndoing. It is the result of the counsel and operation of God himself,\nwho has given you light and life, joy and peace, in Jesus, and his\naccomplished sacrifice. But if you are a total stranger to the hallowed\naction and influence of divine light, if your eyes have not been opened\nto behold any beauty in the Son of God, then, though you had all the\nlearning of a Newton, though you were enriched with all the treasures\nof human philosophy, though you had drunk in with avidity all the\nstreams of human science, though your name were adorned with all the\nlearned titles which the schools and universities of this world could\nbestow, yet are you \"a son of the night,\" \"a son of darkness;\" and, if\nyou die in your present condition you will be involved in the blackness\nand horror of an eternal night. Do not, therefore, my friend, read\nanother page, until you have fully satisfied yourself as to whether you\nbelong to the \"day\" or the \"night.\"\n\nThe next point on which I would dwell is the creation of lights. \"And\nGod said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide\nthe day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and\nfor days and years. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the\nheaven, to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two\ngreat lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light\nto rule the night: he made the stars also.\"\n\nThe sun is the great centre of light, and the centre of our system.\nRound him the lesser orbs revolve. From him, too, they derive their\nlight. Hence, he may, very legitimately, be viewed as an apt symbol of\nHim, who is soon to arise with healing in His wings, to gladden the\nhearts of those that fear the Lord. The aptness and beauty of the\nsymbol would fully appear to one who, having spent the night in\nwatching, beholds the rising sun gilding, with his bright beams, the\neastern sky. The mists and shades of night are all dispersed, and the\nwhole creation seems to hail the returning orb of light. Thus will it\nbe, by and by, when the Sun of righteousness arises. The shadows of\nnight shall flee away, and the whole creation shall be gladdened by the\ndawning of \"a morning without clouds,\"--the opening of a bright and\nnever-ending day of glory.\n\nThe moon, being in herself opaque, derives all her light from the sun.\nShe always reflects the sun's light, save when earth and its influences\nintervene.[1] No sooner has the sun sunk beneath our horizon than the\nmoon presents herself to receive his beams and reflect them back upon a\ndark world; or should she be visible during the day, she always\nexhibits a pale light, the necessary result of appearing in the\npresence of superior brightness. True it is, as has been remarked, the\nworld sometimes intervenes; dark clouds, thick mists, and chilling\nvapors, too, arise from earth's surface, and hide from our view her\nsilvery light.\n\nNow, as the sun is a beautiful and an appropriate symbol of Christ, so\nthe moon strikingly reminds us of the Church. The fountain of her light\nis hidden from view. The world seeth him not, but she sees him; and she\nis responsible to reflect his beams upon a benighted world. The world\nhas no other way in which to learn any thing of Christ but by the\nChurch. \"Ye,\" says the inspired apostle, \"are our epistle, ... known\nand read of all men.\" And again, \"Forasmuch as ye are manifestly\ndeclared to be the epistle of Christ.\" (2 Cor. iii. 2, 3.)\n\n What a responsible place! How earnestly should she watch against every\n thing that would hinder the reflection of the heavenly light of Christ,\n in all her ways! But how is she to reflect this light? By allowing it\n to shine upon her, in its undimmed brightness. If the Church only\n walked in the light of Christ, she would, assuredly, reflect his light;\n and this would ever keep her in her proper position. The light of the\n moon is not her own. So it is with the Church. She is not called to set\n herself before the world. She is a simple debtor to reflect the light\n which she herself receives. She is bound to study, with holy diligence,\n the path which he trod, while down here; and by the energy of the Holy\n Ghost, who dwells in her, to follow in that path. But, alas! earth with\n its mists, its clouds, and its vapors, intervenes, and hides the light\n and blots the epistle. The world can see but little of the traits of\n Christ's character in those who call themselves by his name; yea, in\n many instances they exhibit an humbling contrast, rather than a\n resemblance. May we study Christ more prayerfully, that so we may copy\n him more faithfully.\n\nThe stars are distant lights. They shine in other spheres, and have\nlittle connection with this system, save that their twinkling can be\nseen. \"One star differeth from another star in glory.\" Thus will it be\nin the coming kingdom of the Son. He will shine forth in living and\neverlasting lustre. His body, the Church, will faithfully reflect his\nbeams on all around; while the saints individually shall shine in those\nspheres which a righteous Judge shall allot to them, as a reward of\nfaithful service during the dark night of his absence. This thought\nshould animate us to a more ardent and vigorous pursuit after\nconformity to our absent Lord. (See Luke xix. 12-19.)\n\nThe lower orders of creation are next introduced. The sea and the earth\nare made to teem with life. Some may feel warranted in regarding the\noperations of each successive day, as foreshadowing the various\ndispensations, and their great characteristic principles of action. I\nwould only remark, as to this, that there is great need, when handling\nthe word in this way, to watch, with holy jealousy, the working of\nimagination; and also to pay strict attention to the general analogy of\nscripture, else we may make sad mistakes. I do not feel at liberty to\nenter upon such a line of interpretation; I shall therefore confine\nmyself to what I believe to be the plain sense of the sacred text.\n\nWe shall now consider man's place, as set over the works of God's\nhands. All having been set in order, one was needed to take the\nheadship. \"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our\nlikeness; and let _them_ have dominion over the fish of the sea, and\nover the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth,\nand over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God\ncreated man in his own image, in the image of God created he _him_:\nmale and female created he _them_. And God blessed them, and God said\nunto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and\nsubdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the\nfowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the\nearth.\" My reader will observe the change from \"him\" to \"them.\" We are\nnot presented with the actual fact of the formation of the woman, until\nthe next chapter; though here we find God blessing \"them,\" and giving\n\"them\" jointly the place of universal government. All the inferior\norders of creation were set under their joint dominion. Eve received\nall her blessings in Adam. In him, too, she got her dignity. Though not\nyet called into actual existence, she was, in the purpose of God,\nlooked at as part of the man. \"In thy book were all my members written,\nwhich, in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of\nthem.\"\n\nThus it is with the Church,--the bride of the Second Man. She was\nviewed from all eternity in Christ, her Head and Lord; as we read in\nthe first chapter of Ephesians, \"According as he hath chosen us in him,\n_before the foundation of the world_, that we should be holy and\nwithout blame before him in love.\" Before a single member of the Church\nhad yet breathed the breath of life, all were, in God's eternal mind,\npredestinated to be conformed to the \"image of his Son.\" The counsels of\nGod render the Church necessary to complete the mystic man. Hence the\nChurch is called \"the fulness ([Greek: pleroma]) of him that filleth\nall in all.\" This is an amazing title, and it develops much of the\ndignity, importance, and glory of the Church.\n\nIt is too common to view redemption as bearing merely upon the\nblessedness and security of individual souls. This is entirely too low\na view to take of the matter. That all which pertains, in any way, to\nthe individual is, in the fullest manner, secured, is, blessed be God,\nmost true. This is the least part of redemption. But that Christ's\nglory is involved in, and connected with, the Church's existence, is a\ntruth of far more dignity, depth, and power. If I am entitled, on the\nauthority of Holy Scripture, to regard myself as a constituent part of\nthat which is actually needful to Christ, I can no longer entertain a\ndoubt as to whether there is the fullest provision for all my personal\nnecessities. And is not the Church thus needful to Christ? Yes, truly.\n\"It is not good that _the_ man should be alone; I will make him an help\nmeet for him.\" And, again, \"For the man is not of the woman; but the\nwoman of the man; neither was the man created for the woman; but the\nwoman for the man.... Nevertheless, neither is the man without the\nwoman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord. For as the woman\nis of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of\nGod.\" (1 Cor. xi. 8-12.) Hence, it is no longer the mere question\nwhether God can save a poor, helpless sinner,--whether he can blot out\nhis sins, and receive him in the power of divine righteousness. God has\nsaid, \"it is not good that the man should be alone.\" He left not \"the\nfirst man\" without \"an help meet;\" neither would he leave the \"Second.\"\nAs, in the case of the former, there would have been a blank in the\ncreation without Eve, so--stupendous thought!--in the case of the\nlatter, there would be a blank in the new creation without the bride,\nthe Church.\n\nLet us, now, look at the manner in which Eve was brought into being,\nthough, in so doing, we shall have to anticipate part of the contents\nof the next chapter. Throughout all the orders of creation there was\nnot found an help meet for Adam. \"A deep sleep\" must fall on him, and a\npartner be formed, out of himself, to share his dominion and his\nblessedness. \"And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam,\nand he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh\ninstead thereof.\" And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man,\nbuilded[2] he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said,\nThis is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be\ncalled Woman, because she was taken out of man. (Chap. ii. 21-23.)\n\nLooking at Adam and Eve as a type of Christ and the Church, as\nscripture fully warrants us to do, we see how that the death of Christ\nneeded to be an accomplished fact, ere the Church could be set up;\nthough, in the purpose of God, she was looked at, and chosen in Christ,\nbefore the foundation of the world. There is, however, a vast\ndifference between the secret purpose of God and the revelation and\naccomplishment thereof. Before the divine purpose could be actualized\nin reference to the constituent parts of the Church, it was necessary\nthat the Son should be rejected and crucified,--that he should take his\nseat on high,--that he should send down the Holy Ghost to baptize\nbelievers into one body. It is not that souls were not quickened and\nsaved, previous to the death of Christ. They assuredly were. Adam was\nsaved, and thousands of others, from age to age, in virtue of the\nsacrifice of Christ, though that sacrifice was not yet accomplished.\nBut the salvation of individual souls is one thing; and the formation\nof the Church, as a distinctive thing, by the Holy Ghost, is quite\nanother.\n\nThis distinction is not sufficiently attended to; and even where it is\nin theory maintained, it is accompanied with but little of those\npractical results which might naturally be expected to flow from a\ntruth so stupendous. The Church's unique place,--her special\nrelationship to \"the Second Man, the Lord from heaven,\"--her\ndistinctive privileges and dignities,--all these things would, if\nentered into by the power of the Holy Ghost, produce the richest, the\nrarest, and the most fragrant fruits. (See Eph. v. 23-32.)\n\nWhen we look at the type before us, we may form some idea of the\nresults which ought to follow from the understanding of the Church's\nposition and relationship. What affection did not Eve owe to Adam! What\nnearness she enjoyed! What intimacy of communion! What full\nparticipation in all his thoughts! In all his dignity, and in all his\nglory, she was entirely one. He did not rule _over_, but _with_ her. He\nwas Lord of the whole creation, and she was one with him. Yea, as has\nalready been remarked, she was looked at, and blessed _in_ him. \"The\nman\" was the object; and as to \"the woman,\" she was needful to him, and\ntherefore she was brought into being. Nothing can be more profoundly\ninteresting as a type. Man first set up, and the woman viewed in, and\nthen formed out of him,--all this forms a type of the most striking and\ninstructive character. Not that a doctrine can ever be founded upon a\ntype; but when we find the doctrine fully and clearly laid down in\nother parts of the Word, we are then prepared to understand,\nappreciate, and admire the type.\n\nThe 8th Psalm furnishes a fine view of man set over the work of God's\nhands: \"when I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers; the moon\nand the stars which thou hast ordained: what is man that thou art\nmindful of him? and the son of man that thou visitest him? For thou\nhast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with\nglory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy\nhands; thou hast put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen,\nyea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of\nthe sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea.\" Here man\nis looked at, without any distinctive mention of the woman; and this is\nquite in character, for the woman is looked at _in_ the man.\n\nThere is no direct revelation of the mystery of the Church, in any part\nof the Old Testament. The apostle expressly says, \"in other ages it was\nnot made known to the sons of men as it is _now_ revealed unto his holy\napostles and prophets (of the New Testament) by the Spirit.\" (Eph. iii.\n1-11.) Hence, in the Psalm just quoted, we have only \"the man\"\npresented to us; but we know that the man and the woman are looked at\nunder one head. All this will find its full antitype in the ages to\ncome. Then shall the True Man, the Lord from heaven, take his seat on\nthe throne, and, in companionship with his bride, the Church, rule over\na restored creation. This Church is quickened out of the grave of\nChrist, is part \"of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.\" He the\nHead and she the body, making one Man, as we read in the fourth chapter\nof Ephesians, \"Till we all come, in the unity of the faith, and of the\nknowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of\nthe stature of the fulness of Christ.\" The Church, being thus part of\nChrist, will occupy a place, in the glory, quite unique. There was no\nother creature so near to Adam as Eve, because no other creature was\npart of himself. So, in reference to the Church, she will hold the very\nnearest place to Christ, in his coming glory.\n\nNor is it merely what the church _will be_ that commands our\nadmiration; but what the Church _is_. She is now the body of which\nChrist is the Head; she is now the temple of which God is the\nInhabitant. Oh, what manner of people ought we to be! If such is the\npresent, such the future dignity of that of which we, through God's\ngrace, form a part, surely a holy, a devoted, a separated, an elevated\nwalk is what becomes us.\n\nMay the Holy Ghost unfold these things, more fully and powerfully, to\nour hearts, that so we may have a deeper sense of the conduct and\ncharacter which are worthy of the high vocation wherewith we are\ncalled. \"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may\nknow what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory\nof his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness\nof his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his\nmighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the\ndead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far\nabove all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every\nname that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is\nto come; and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be\nthe head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fulness\nof him that filleth all in all.\" (Eph. i. 18-23.)\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] It is an interesting fact that the moon, as viewed through a\npowerful telescope, presents the appearance of one vast ruin of nature.\n\n[2] The Hebrew word which is rendered \"builded\" in the margin, is\n[Hebrew: vayyven] which the LXX. render by [Greek: okodomesen]. A\nreference to the original of Eph. ii. 20, 22 will show the reader that\nthe words rendered \"built\" and \"builded together\" are inflections of\nthe same verb.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n\nThis chapter introduces to our notice two prominent subjects, namely,\n\"the seventh day\" and \"the river.\" The first of these demands special\nattention.\n\nThere are few subjects on which so much misunderstanding and\ncontradiction prevails as the doctrine of \"the Sabbath.\" Not that there\nis the slightest foundation for either the one or the other; for the\nwhole subject is laid down in the Word, in the simplest possible\nmanner. The distinct _commandment_, to \"keep holy the Sabbath-day,\"\nwill come before us, the Lord permitting, in our meditations on the\nbook of Exodus. In the chapter now before us, there is no command given\nto man whatever; but simply the record that, \"God rested on the seventh\nday.\" \"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host\nof them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made;\nand he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.\nAnd God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it\nhe had rested from all his work which God created and made.\" There is\nno commandment given to man, here. We are simply told that God enjoyed\nhis rest, because all was done, so far as the mere creation was\nconcerned. There was nothing more to be done, and, therefore, the One\nwho had, during six days, been working, ceased to work, and enjoyed his\nrest. All was complete; all was very good; all was just as he himself\nhad made it; and he rested in it. \"The morning stars sang together; and\nall the sons of God shouted for joy.\" The work of creation was ended,\nand God was celebrating a sabbath.\n\nAnd be it observed, that this is the true character of a sabbath. This\nis the only sabbath which God ever celebrated, so far as the inspired\nrecord instructs us. After this, we read of God's commanding man to\nkeep the sabbath, and man utterly failing so to do; but we never read\nagain the words, \"God rested:\" on the contrary, the word is, \"My Father\nworketh hitherto, and I work.\" (John v. 17.) The sabbath, in the strict\nand proper sense of the term, could only be celebrated when there\nreally was nothing to be done. It could only be celebrated amid an\nundefiled creation,--a creation on which no spot of sin could be\ndiscerned. God can have no rest where there is sin; and one has only to\nlook around him in order to learn the total impossibility of God's\nenjoying a rest in creation _now_. The thorn and the thistle, together\nwith the ten thousand other melancholy and humiliating fruits of a\ngroaning creation, rise before us, and declare that God must be at\n_work_ and not at _rest_. Could God rest in the midst of thorns and\nbriers? Could he rest amid the sighs and tears, the groans and sorrows,\nthe sickness and death, the degradation and guilt of a ruined world?\nCould God sit down, as it were, and celebrate a sabbath in the midst\nof such circumstances?\n\nWhatever answer may be given to these questions, the word of God\nteaches us that God has had no sabbath, as yet, save the one which the\n2d of Genesis records. \"The seventh day,\" and none other, was the\nsabbath. It showed forth the completeness of creation-work; but\ncreation-work is marred, and the seventh-day rest interrupted; and\nthus, from the fall to the incarnation, God was working; from the\nincarnation to the cross, God the Son was working; and from Pentecost\nuntil now, God the Holy Ghost has been working.\n\nAssuredly, Christ had no sabbath when he was upon this earth. True, he\nfinished his work,--blessedly, gloriously finished it,--but where did\nhe spend the Sabbath-day? _In the tomb!_ Yes, my reader, the Lord\nChrist, God manifest in the flesh, the Lord of the Sabbath, the maker\nand sustainer of heaven and earth, spent the seventh day in the dark\nand silent tomb. Has this no voice for us? Does it convey no teaching?\nCould the Son of God lie in the grave on the seventh day, if that day\nwere to be spent in rest and peace; and in the full sense that nothing\nremained to be done? Impossible! We want no further proof of the\nimpossibility of celebrating a sabbath than that which is afforded at\nthe grave of Jesus. We may stand beside that grave amazed to find it\noccupied by such an one on the seventh day; but, oh! the reason is\nobvious. Man is a fallen, ruined, guilty creature. His long career of\nguilt has ended in crucifying the Lord of glory; and not only\ncrucifying him, but placing a great stone at the mouth of the tomb, to\nprevent, if possible, his leaving it.\n\nAnd what was man doing while the Son of God was in the grave? He was\nobserving the Sabbath-day! What a thought! Christ in his grave to\nrepair a broken sabbath, and yet man attempting to keep the sabbath as\nthough it were not broken at all! It was _man's_ sabbath, and not\nGod's. It was a sabbath without Christ,--an empty, powerless,\nworthless, because Christless and Godless, form.\n\nBut some will say, \"the day has been changed, while all the principles\nbelonging to it remain the same.\" I do not believe that scripture\nfurnishes any foundation for such an idea. Where is the divine warrant\nfor such a statement? Surely if there is scripture authority, nothing\ncan be easier than to produce it. But the fact is, there is none; on\nthe contrary, the distinction is most fully maintained in the New\nTestament. Take one remarkable passage, in proof: \"In the end of the\nSabbath, as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week.\" (Matt.\nxxviii. 1.) There is, evidently, no mention here of the seventh day\nbeing changed to the first day; nor yet of any transfer of the Sabbath\nfrom the one to the other. The first day of the week is not the Sabbath\nchanged, but altogether a new day. It is the first day of a new period,\nand not the last day of an old. The seventh day stands connected with\nearth and earthly rest: the first day of the week, on the contrary,\nintroduces us to heaven and heavenly rest.\n\nThis makes a vast difference in the principle; and when we look at the\nmatter in a practical point of view, the difference is most material.\nIf I celebrate the seventh day, it marks me as an earthly man, inasmuch\nas that day is, clearly, the rest of earth--creation-rest; but if I am\ntaught by the Word and Spirit of God to understand the meaning of the\nfirst day of the week, I shall at once apprehend its immediate\nconnection with that new and heavenly order of things, of which the\ndeath and resurrection of Christ form the everlasting foundation. The\nseventh day appertained to Israel and to earth. The first day of the\nweek appertains to the Church and to heaven. Further, Israel was\n_commanded_ to observe the sabbath day; the Church is _privileged_ to\nenjoy the first day of the week. The former was the _test_ of Israel's\nmoral condition; the latter is the significant _proof_ of the Church's\neternal acceptance. That made manifest what Israel _could do_ for God;\nthis perfectly declares what God _has done_ for us.\n\nIt is quite impossible to over-estimate the value and importance of the\nLord's day, ([Greek: he kyriake hemera,]) as the first day of the week\nis termed, in the first chapter of the Apocalypse. Being the day on\nwhich Christ rose from the dead, it sets forth not the completion of\ncreation, but the full and glorious triumph of redemption. Nor should\nwe regard the celebration of the first day of the week as a matter of\nbondage, or as a yoke put on the neck of a Christian. It is his delight\nto celebrate that happy day. Hence we find that the first day of the\nweek was pre-eminently the day on which the early Christians came\ntogether to break bread; and at that period of the Church's history,\nthe distinction between the sabbath and the first day of the week was\nfully maintained. The Jews celebrated the former, by assembling in\ntheir synagogues to read \"the law and the prophets;\" the Christians\ncelebrated the latter, by assembling to break bread. There is not so\nmuch as a single passage of scripture in which the first day of the\nweek is called the sabbath day; whereas there is the most abundant\nproof of their entire distinctness.\n\nWhy, therefore, contend for that which has no foundation in the Word?\nLove, honor, and celebrate the Lord's day as much as possible; seek,\nlike the apostle, to be \"in the Spirit\" thereon; let your retirement\nfrom secular matters be as profound as ever you can make it; but while\nyou do all this, call it by its proper name; give it its proper place;\nunderstand its proper principles; attach to it its proper\ncharacteristics; and, above all, do not bind down the Christian, as\nwith an iron rule, to observe the seventh day, when it is his high and\nholy privilege to observe the first. Do not bring him down from heaven,\nwhere he can rest, to a cursed and bloodstained earth, where he cannot.\nDo not ask him to keep a day which his Master spent in the tomb,\ninstead of that blessed day on which he left it. (See, carefully, Matt.\nxxviii. 1-6; Mark xvi. 1-2; Luke xxiv. 1; John xx. 1, 19, 26; Acts xx.\n7; 1 Cor. xvi. 2; Rev. i. 10; Acts xiii. 14; xvii. 2; Col. ii. 16.)\n\nBut let it not be supposed that we lose sight of the important fact\nthat the sabbath will again be celebrated, in the land of Israel, and\nover the whole creation. It assuredly will. \"There remaineth a rest\n([Greek: sabbatismos]) for the people of God.\" (Heb. iv. 9.) When the\nSon of Abraham, Son of David, and Son of Man, shall assume his position\nof government over the whole earth, there will be a glorious\nsabbath,--a rest which sin shall never interrupt. But now, he is\nrejected, and all who know and love him are called to take their place\nwith him in his rejection; they are called to \"go forth to him without\nthe camp bearing his reproach.\" (Heb. xiii. 13.) If earth could keep a\nsabbath, there would be no reproach; but the very fact of the\nprofessing church's seeking to make the first day of the week the\nsabbath, reveals a deep principle. It is but the effort to get back to\nan earthly standing, and to an earthly code of morals.\n\nMany may not see this. Many true Christians may, most conscientiously,\nobserve the sabbath day, as such; and we are bound to honor their\nconsciences, though we are perfectly warranted in asking them to\nfurnish a scriptural basis for their conscientious convictions. We\nwould not stumble or wound their conscience, but we would seek to\ninstruct it. However, we are not now occupied with conscience or its\nconvictions, but only with the principle which lies at the root of what\nmay be termed the sabbath question; and I would only put the question\nto the Christian reader, which is more consonant with the entire scope\nand spirit of the New Testament, the celebration of the seventh day or\nsabbath, or the celebration of the first day of the week or the Lord's\nday?[3]\n\nWe shall now consider the connection between the sabbath, and the river\nflowing out of Eden. There is much interest in this. It is the first\nnotice we get of \"the river of God,\" which is, here, introduced in\nconnection with God's rest. When God was resting in his works, the\nwhole world felt the blessing and refreshment thereof. It was\nimpossible for God to keep a sabbath, and earth not to feel its sacred\ninfluence. But, alas! the streams which flowed forth from Eden--the\nscene of earthly rest--were speedily interrupted, because the rest of\ncreation was marred by sin.\n\nYet, blessed be God, sin did not put a stop to his activities, but only\ngave them a new sphere; and wherever he is seen acting, the river is\nseen flowing. Thus, when we find him, with a strong hand, and an\noutstretched arm, conducting his ransomed hosts across the sterile sand\nof the desert, there we see the stream flowing forth, not from Eden,\nbut from the smitten Rock,--apt and beautiful expression of the ground\non which sovereign grace ministers to the need of sinners! This was\nredemption, and not merely creation. \"That rock was Christ,\" Christ\nsmitten to meet his people's need. The smitten Rock was connected with\nJehovah's place in the tabernacle; and truly there was moral beauty in\nthe connection. God dwelling in curtains, and Israel drinking from a\nsmitten rock, had a voice for every opened ear, and a deep lesson for\nevery circumcised heart. (Exod. xvii. 6.)\n\nPassing onward, in the history of God's ways, we find the river flowing\nin another channel. \"In the last day, that great day of the feast,\nJesus stood, and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto\nme, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out\nof his belly shall flow rivers of living water.\" (John vii. 37, 38.)\nHere, then, we find the river emanating from another source, and\nflowing through another channel; though, in one sense, the source of\nthe river was ever the same, being God himself; but, then, it was God,\nknown in a new relationship and upon a new principle. Thus in the\npassage just quoted, the Lord Jesus was taking his place, in spirit,\noutside of the whole existing order of things, and presenting himself\nas the source of the river of living water, of which river the person\nof the believer was to be the channel. Eden, of old, was constituted a\ndebtor to the whole earth, to send forth the fertilizing streams. And\nin the desert, the rock, when smitten, became a debtor to Israel's\nthirsty hosts. Just so, now, every one who believes in Jesus, is a\ndebtor to the scene around him, to allow the streams of refreshment to\nflow forth from him.\n\nThe Christian should regard himself as the channel through which the\nmanifold grace of Christ may flow out to a needy world; and the more\nfreely he communicates, the more freely will he receive, \"for there is\nthat scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more\nthan is meet, and it tendeth to poverty.\" This places the believer in a\nplace of sweetest privileges, and, at the same time, of the most solemn\nresponsibility. He is called to be the constant witness and exhibiter\nof the grace of him on whom he believes.\n\nNow, the more he enters into the privilege, the more will he answer the\nresponsibility. If he is habitually feeding upon Christ, he cannot\navoid exhibiting him. The more the Holy Spirit keeps the Christian's\neye fixed on Jesus, the more will his heart be occupied with his\nadorable Person, and his life and character bear unequivocal testimony\nto his grace. Faith is, at once, the power of ministry, the power of\ntestimony, and the power of worship. If we are not living \"by the\nfaith of the Son of God, who loved us, and gave himself for us,\" we\nshall neither be effectual servants, faithful witnesses, nor true\nworshippers. We may be doing a great deal; but it will not be service\nto Christ. We may be saying a great deal, but it will not be testimony\nfor Christ. We may exhibit a great deal of piety and devotion; but it\nwill not be spiritual and true worship.\n\nFinally, we have the river of God, presented to us in the last chapter\nof the Apocalypse.[4] \"And he showed me a pure river of water of life,\nclear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.\"\n\"There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God,\nthe holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.\" This is the last\nplace in which we find the river. Its source can never again be\ntouched,--its channel never again interrupted. \"The throne of God\" is\nexpressive of eternal stability; and the presence of the Lamb marks it\nas based upon the immediate ground of accomplished redemption. It is\nnot God's throne in creation; nor in providence: but in redemption.\nWhen I see _the Lamb_, I know its connection with me as _a sinner_.\n\"The throne of God,\" as such, would but deter me; but when God reveals\nhimself in the Person of the Lamb, the heart is attracted, and the\nconscience tranquillized.\n\nThe blood of the Lamb cleanses the conscience from every speck and\nstain of sin, and sets it, in perfect freedom, in the presence of a\nholiness which cannot tolerate sin. In the cross, all the claims of\ndivine holiness were perfectly answered; so that the more I understand\nthe latter, the more I appreciate the former. The higher our estimate\nof holiness, the higher will be our estimate of the work of the cross.\n\"Grace reigns, through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus\nChrist our Lord.\" Hence the Psalmist calls on the saints to give thanks\nat the remembrance of God's holiness. This is a precious fruit of a\nperfect redemption. Before ever a sinner can give thanks at the\nremembrance of God's holiness, he must look at it by faith, from the\nresurrection side of the cross.\n\nHaving thus traced the river, from Genesis to Revelation, we shall\nbriefly look at Adam's position in Eden. We have seen him as a type of\nChrist; but he is not merely to be viewed typically, but personally;\nnot merely as absolutely shadowing forth \"the second man, the Lord from\nheaven,\" but also as standing in the place of personal responsibility.\nIn the midst of the fair scene of creation, the Lord God set up a\ntestimony, and this testimony was also a test for the creature. It\nspoke of _death_ in the midst of _life_. \"In the day that thou eatest\nthereof, thou shalt surely die.\" Strange, solemn sound! Yet, it was a\nneeded sound. Adam's life was suspended upon his strict obedience. The\nlink which connected him with the Lord God[5] was obedience, based on\nimplicit confidence in the One who had set him in his position of\ndignity--confidence in his truth--confidence in his love. He could obey\nonly while he confided. We shall see the truth and force of this more\nfully when we come to examine the next chapter.\n\nI would here suggest to my reader the remarkable contrast between the\ntestimony set up in Eden, and that which is set up now. Then, when all\naround was _life_, God spoke of _death_; now, on the contrary, when all\naround is death, God speaks of life: then the word was, \"in the day\nthou eatest thou shalt _die_;\" now the word is, \"believe and _live_.\"\nAnd, as in Eden, the enemy sought to make void God's testimony, as to\nthe result of eating the fruit, so now, he seeks to make void God's\ntestimony as to the result of believing the gospel. God had said, \"In\nthe day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely _die_.\" But the\nserpent said, \"Ye shall not surely _die_.\" And now, when God's word\nplainly declares that \"he that believeth on the Son _hath_ everlasting\n_life_,\" (John iii. 36,) the same serpent seeks to persuade people\nthat they have _not_ everlasting _life_, nor should they presume to\nthink of such a thing, until they have, first, _done_, _felt_, and\n_experienced_ all manner of things.\n\nMy beloved reader, if you have not yet heartily believed the divine\nrecord, let me beseech you to allow \"the voice of the Lord\" to prevail\nabove the hiss of the serpent. \"He that heareth my word, and believeth\non him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into\ncondemnation; but is passed from death unto life.\" (John v. 24.)\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[3] This subject will, if the Lord permit, come before us again in the\ntwentieth chapter of Exodus; but I would, here, observe, that very much\nof the offence and misunderstanding connected with the important\nsubject of the sabbath, may be justly traced to the inconsiderate and\ninjudicious conduct of some who, in their zeal for what they termed\nChristian liberty, in reference to the sabbath, rather lose sight of\nthe claims of honest consciences; and also of the place which the\nLord's day occupies in the New Testament. Some have been known to enter\non their weekly avocations, simply to show their liberty, and thus they\ncaused much needless offence. Such acting could never have been\nsuggested by the Spirit of Christ. If I am ever so clear and free in my\nown mind, I should respect the consciences of my brethren; and,\nmoreover, I do not believe that those who so carry themselves, really\nunderstand the true and precious privileges connected with the Lord's\nday. We should only be too thankful to be rid of all secular occupation\nand distraction, to think of having recourse to them for the purpose of\nshowing our liberty. The good providence of our God has so arranged for\nhis people throughout the British Empire that they can, without\npecuniary loss, enjoy the rest of the Lord's day, inasmuch as all are\nobliged to abstain from business. This must be regarded by every\nwell-regulated mind as a mercy; for, if it were not thus ordered, we\nknow how man's covetous heart would, if possible, rob the Christian of\nthe sweet privilege of attending the assembly on the Lord's day. And\nwho can tell what would be the deadening effect of uninterrupted\nengagement with this world's traffic? Those Christians who, from Monday\nmorning to Saturday night, breathe the dense atmosphere of the mart,\nthe market, and the manufactory, can form some idea of it.\n\nIt cannot be regarded as a good sign to find men introducing measures\nfor the public profanation of the Lord's day. It assuredly marks the\nprogress of infidelity and French influence.\n\nBut there are some who teach that the expression [Greek: he kyriake\nhemera], which is rightly enough translated, \"the Lord's day,\" refers to\n\"the day of the Lord,\" and that the exiled apostle found himself\ncarried forward, as it were, into the Spirit of the day of the Lord. I\ndo not believe the original would bear such an interpretation; and,\nbesides, we have in 1 Thess. v. 2, and 2 Peter iii. 10, the exact\nwords, \"the day of the Lord,\" the original of which is quite different\nfrom the expression above referred to, being not [Greek: he kyriake\nhemera], but [Greek: he hemera kyriou]. This entirely settles the\nmatter, so far as the mere criticism is concerned; and as to\ninterpretation, it is plain that by far the greater portion of the\nApocalypse is occupied, not with \"the day of the Lord,\" but with events\nprior thereto.\n\n[4] Compare, also, Ezekiel xlvii. 1-12; and Zech. xiv. 8.\n\n[5] My reader will observe the change in the second chapter from the\nexpression \"God\" to \"Lord God.\" There is much importance in the\ndistinction. When God is seen acting in relation with man, he takes the\ntitle \"Lord God,\"--(Jehovah Elohim;) but until man appears on the\nscene, the word \"Lord\" is not used. I shall just point out three out of\nmany passages in which the distinction is very strikingly presented.\n\"And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as _God_\n(Elohim) had commanded him; and the _Lord_ (Jehovah) shut him in.\"\n(Gen. vii. 16.) Elohim was going to destroy the world which he had\nmade; but Jehovah took care of the man with whom he stood in relation.\nAgain, \"that all the earth may know that there is a God (Elohim) in\nIsrael. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord (Jehovah)\nsaveth,\" &c. (1 Sam. xvii. 46, 47.) All the earth was to recognise the\npresence of Elohim; but Israel was called to recognise the actings of\nJehovah, with whom they stood in relation. Lastly, \"Jehoshaphat cried\nout, and _the Lord_ (Jehovah) helped him; and _God_ (Elohim) moved\n_them_ to depart from him.\" (2 Chron. xviii. 31.) Jehovah took care of\nhis poor erring servant; but Elohim, though unknown, acted upon the\nhearts of the uncircumcised Syrians.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n\nThis section of our book sets before us the breaking up of the whole\nscene on which we have been dwelling. It abounds in very weighty\nprinciples; and has, very justly, been, in all ages, resorted to as a\nmost fruitful theme for those who desired to set forth the truth as to\nman's ruin and God's remedy. The serpent enters, with a bold question\nas to divine revelation,--terrible model and forerunner of all infidel\nquestions since raised by those who have, alas! too faithfully served\nthe serpent's cause in the world,--questions which are only to be met\nby the supreme authority and divine majesty of Holy Scripture.\n\n\"Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?\"\nThis was Satan's crafty inquiry; and had the word of God been dwelling\nrichly in Eve's heart, her answer might have been direct, simple, and\nconclusive. The true way in which to meet Satan's questions and\nsuggestions, is to treat them as his, and repel them by the word. To\nlet them near the heart, for a moment, is to lose the only power by\nwhich to answer them. The devil did not openly present himself and say,\n\"I am the devil, the enemy of God, and I am come to traduce him, and\nruin you.\" This would not be serpent-like; and, yet, he really did all\nthis, _by raising questions_ in the mind of the creature. To admit the\nquestion, \"hath God said?\" when I know that God has spoken, is positive\ninfidelity; and the very fact of my admitting it, proves my total\nincapacity to meet it. Hence, in Eve's case, the form of her reply\nevidenced the fact that she had admitted to her heart the serpent's\ncrafty inquiry. Instead of adhering strictly to the exact words of God,\nshe, in her reply, actually adds thereto.\n\nNow, either to add to, or take from, God's word, proves, very clearly,\nthat his word is not dwelling in my heart, or governing my conscience.\nIf a man is finding his enjoyment in obedience, if it is his meat and\nhis drink, if he is living by every word that proceedeth out of the\nmouth of Jehovah, he will, assuredly, be acquainted with, and fully\nalive to, his word. He could not be indifferent to it. The Lord Jesus,\nin his conflict with Satan, accurately applied the word, because he\nlived upon it, and esteemed it more than his necessary food. He could\nnot misquote or misapply the word, neither could he be indifferent\nabout it. Not so Eve. She added to what God had said. His command was\nsimple enough, \"Thou shalt not eat of it.\" To this Eve adds her own\nwords, \"neither shall ye touch it.\" These were Eve's words and not\nGod's. He had said nothing about touching; so that whether her\nmisquotation proceeded from ignorance, or indifference, or a desire to\nrepresent God in an arbitrary light, or from all three together, it is\nplain that she was entirely off the true ground of simple confidence\nin, and subjection to, God's holy word. \"By the words of thy mouth, I\nhave kept me from the paths of the destroyer.\"\n\nNothing can possess more commanding interest than the way in which the\nword is everywhere put forward throughout the sacred canon, together\nwith the immense importance of strict obedience thereto. Obedience is\ndue from us to God's word, simply because it is his word. To raise a\nquestion when he has spoken, is blasphemy. We are in the place of the\ncreature. He is the Creator; He may, therefore, justly claim obedience\nfrom us. The infidel may call this \"blind obedience;\" but the Christian\ncalls it intelligent obedience, inasmuch as it is based upon the\nknowledge that it is God's word to which he is obedient. If a man had\nnot God's word, he might well be said to be in blindness and darkness,\nfor there is not so much as a single ray of divine light, within or\naround us, but what emanates from God's pure and eternal word. All that\nwe want to know is that God has spoken, and then obedience becomes the\nvery highest order of intelligent acting. When the soul gets up to God,\nit has reached the very highest source of authority. No man, nor body\nof men, can claim obedience to their word, because it is theirs; and\nhence the claims of the Church of Rome are arrogant and impious. In her\nclaiming obedience, she usurps the prerogative of God; and all who\nyield it, rob God of his right. She presumes to place herself between\nGod and the conscience; and who can do this with impunity? When God\nspeaks, man is bound to obey. Happy is he if he does so. Woe be to him\nif he does not. Infidelity may question if God has spoken; superstition\nmay place human authority between my conscience and what God has\nspoken; by both alike I am effectually robbed of the word, and, as a\nconsequence, of the deep blessedness of obedience.\n\nThere is a blessing in every act of obedience; but the moment the soul\nhesitates, the enemy has the advantage; and he will assuredly use it to\nthrust the soul farther and farther from God. Thus, in the chapter\nbefore us, the question, \"Hath God said?\" was followed by, \"Ye shall\nnot surely die.\" That is to say, there was first the question raised,\nas to whether God had spoken, and then followed the open contradiction\nof what God had said. This solemn fact is abundantly sufficient to show\nhow dangerous it is to admit near the heart a question as to divine\nrevelation, in its fulness and integrity. A refined rationalism is very\nnear akin to bold infidelity; and the infidelity that dares to judge\nGod's Word is not far from the atheism that denies his existence. Eve\nwould never have stood by to hear God contradicted, if she had not\npreviously fallen into looseness and indifference as to his word. She,\ntoo, had her \"Phases of Faith,\" or, to speak more correctly, her phases\nof infidelity; she suffered God to be contradicted by a creature,\nsimply because his word had lost its proper authority over her heart,\nher conscience, and her understanding.\n\nThis furnishes a most solemn warning to all who are in danger of being\nensnared by an unhallowed rationalism. There is no true security, save\nin a profound faith in the plenary inspiration and supreme authority of\n\"ALL SCRIPTURE.\" The soul that is endowed with this has a triumphant\nanswer to every objector, whether he issue from Rome or Germany. \"There\nis nothing new under the sun.\" The self-same evil which is now\ncorrupting the very springs of religious thought and feeling,\nthroughout the fairest portion of the continent of Europe, was that\nwhich laid Eve's heart in ruins, in the garden of Eden. The first step\nin her downward course was her hearkening to the question, \"Hath God\nsaid?\" And then, onward she went, from stage to stage, until, at\nlength, she bowed before the serpent, and owned him as her god, and the\nfountain of truth. Yes, my reader, the serpent displaced God, and the\nserpent's lie God's truth. Thus it was with fallen man; and thus it is\nwith fallen man's posterity. God's word has no place in the heart of\nthe unregenerated man; but the lie of the serpent has. Let the\nformation of man's heart be examined, and it will be found that there\nis a place therein for Satan's lie, but none whatever for the truth of\nGod. Hence the force of the word to Nicodemus, \"Ye must be born again.\"\n\nBut, it is important to observe the mode in which the serpent sought to\nshake Eve's confidence in God's truth, and thus bring her under the\npower of infidel \"_reason_.\" It was by shaking her confidence in God's\nlove. He sought to shake her confidence in what God had said by\nshowing that the testimony was not founded in love. \"For,\" said he,\n\"God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be\nopened, and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil.\" (Ver. 5.) In\nother words, \"There is positive advantage connected with the eating of\nthat fruit of which God is seeking to deprive you; why, therefore,\nshould you believe God's testimony? you cannot place confidence in one\nwho, manifestly, does not love you; for, if he loved you, why should he\nprohibit your enjoying a positive privilege?\"\n\nEve's security against the influence of all this reasoning, would have\nbeen simple repose in the infinite goodness of God. She should have\nsaid to the serpent, \"I have the fullest confidence in God's goodness,\nand, therefore, I deem it impossible that he could withhold any real\ngood from me. If that fruit were good for me, I should surely have it;\nbut the fact of its being forbidden by God proves that I would be no\nbetter, but much worse off by the eating of it. I am convinced of God's\n_love_, and I am convinced of God's _truth_, and I believe, too, that\nyou are an evil one come to draw my heart away from the fountain of\ngoodness and truth. Get thee behind me, Satan.\" This would have been a\nnoble reply. But it was not given. Her confidence in truth and love\ngave way, and all was lost; and so we find that there is just as little\nplace in the heart of fallen man for God's love, as there is for God's\ntruth. The heart of man is a stranger to both the one and the other,\nuntil renewed by the power of the Holy Ghost.\n\nNow, it is deeply interesting to turn from Satan's lie in reference to\nthe truth and love of God, to the mission of the Lord Jesus\nChrist, who came from the bosom of the Father in order to reveal what\nhe really is. \"Grace and truth,\"--the very things which man lost, in\nhis fall,--\"came by Jesus Christ.\" (John i. 17.) He was \"the faithful\nwitness\" of what God was. (Rev. i. 5.) Truth reveals God as he is; but\nthis truth is connected with the revelation of perfect grace; and thus\nthe sinner finds, to his unspeakable joy, that the revelation of what\nGod is, instead of being his destruction, becomes the basis of his\neternal salvation. \"This is life eternal, that they might know thee,\nthe only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.\" (John xvii.\n3.) I cannot know God and not have life. The loss of the knowledge of\nGod was death; but the knowledge of God is life. This, necessarily,\nmakes life a thing entirely outside of ourselves, and dependent upon\nwhat God is. Let me arrive at what amount of self-knowledge I may, it\nis not said that \"this is life eternal, to know themselves;\" though, no\ndoubt, the knowledge of God and the knowledge of self will go very much\ntogether; still, \"eternal life\" is connected with the former, and not\nwith the latter. To know God as he is, is life; and \"all who know not\nGod\" shall be \"punished with everlasting destruction from his\npresence.\"\n\nIt is of the utmost importance to see that what really stamps man's\ncharacter and condition is his ignorance or knowledge of God. This it\nis that marks his character here, and fixes his destiny hereafter. Is\nhe evil in his thoughts, evil in his words, evil in his actions? It is\nall the result of his being ignorant of God. On the other hand, is he\npure in thought, holy in conversation, gracious in action? It is but\nthe practical result of his knowledge of God. So also as to the future.\nTo know God is the solid ground of endless bliss,--everlasting glory.\nTo know him not is \"everlasting destruction.\" Thus the knowledge of God\nis every thing. It quickens the soul, purifies the heart, tranquillizes\nthe conscience, elevates the affections, sanctifies the entire\ncharacter and conduct.\n\nNeed we wonder, therefore, that Satan's grand design was to rob the\ncreature of the true knowledge of the only true God? He misrepresented\nthe blessed God: he said he was not kind. This was the secret spring of\nall the mischief. It matters not what shape sin has since taken,--it\nmatters not through what channel it has flowed, under what head it has\nranged itself, or in what garb it has clothed itself,--it is all to be\ntraced to this one thing, namely, ignorance of God. The most refined\nand cultivated moralist, the most devout religionist, the most\nbenevolent philanthropist, if ignorant of God, is as far from life and\ntrue holiness, as the publican and the harlot. The prodigal was just as\nmuch a sinner, and as positively away from the Father, when he had\ncrossed the threshold, as when he was feeding swine in the far country.\n(Luke xv. 13-15.) So in Eve's case. The moment she took herself out of\nthe hands of God,--out of the position of absolute dependence upon, and\nsubjection to, his word,--she abandoned herself to the government of\nsense, as used of Satan for her entire overthrow.\n\nThe sixth verse presents three things, namely: \"the lust of the flesh,\nthe lust of the eye, and the pride of life;\" which three, as the\napostle states, comprehend \"all that is in the world.\" These things\nnecessarily took the lead, when God was shut out. If I do not abide in\nthe happy assurance of God's love and truth, his grace and\nfaithfulness, I shall surrender myself to the government of some one,\nor it may be all, of the above principles; and this is only another\nname for the government of Satan. There is, strictly speaking, no such\nthing as man's free-will. If man be self-governed, he is really\ngoverned by Satan; and if not, he is governed by God.\n\nNow, the three great agencies by which Satan works are \"the lust of the\nflesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.\" Those were the\nthings presented by Satan to the Lord Jesus, in the temptation. He\nbegan by tempting the Second Man to take himself out of the position of\nabsolute dependence upon God. \"Command these stones that they be made\nbread.\" He asked him to do this, not, as in the case of the first man,\nto make himself what he was not, but to prove what he was. Then\nfollowed the offer of the kingdoms of the world, with all their glory.\nAnd, finally, conducting him to a pinnacle of the temple, he tempted\nhim to give himself, suddenly and miraculously, to the admiration of\nthe assembled people below. (Comp. Matt. iv. 1-11 with Luke iv. 1-13.)\nThe plain design of each temptation was to induce the Blessed One to\nstep from the position of entire dependence upon God, and perfect\nsubjection to his will. But all in vain. \"_It is written_,\" was the\nunvarying reply of the only dependent, self-emptied, perfect man.\nOthers might undertake to manage for themselves: none but God should\nmanage for him.\n\nWhat an example for the faithful, under all their circumstances! Jesus\nkept close to scripture, and thus conquered: without any other weapon,\nsave the sword of the Spirit, he stood in the conflict, and gained a\nglorious triumph. What a contrast with the first Adam! The one had\nevery thing to plead for God: the other had every thing to plead\nagainst him. The garden, with all its delights, in the one case; the\nwilderness, with all its privations, in the other: confidence in Satan,\nin the one case; confidence in God in the other: complete defeat in the\none case; complete victory in the other. Blessed forever be the God of\nall grace, who has laid our help on One so mighty to conquer, mighty to\nsave!\n\nLet us now inquire how far Adam and Eve realized the serpent's promised\nadvantage. This inquiry will lead us to a deeply-important point in\nconnection with the fall of man. The Lord God had so ordered it, that\nin and by the fall, man should get what previously he had not, and that\nwas _a conscience_,--a knowledge of both good and evil. This, man\nevidently could not have had before. He could not have known aught\nabout evil, inasmuch as evil was not there to be known. He was in a\nstate of innocence, which is a state of ignorance of evil. Man got a\nconscience in and by the fall; and we find that the very first effect\nof conscience was to make him a coward. Satan had utterly deceived the\nwoman. He had said, \"your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as\ngods, knowing good and evil.\" But he had left out a material part of\nthe truth, namely, that they should know good, without the power to do\nit; and that they should know evil, without the power to avoid it.\nTheir very attempt to elevate themselves in the scale of moral\nexistence involved the loss of true elevation. They became degraded,\npowerless, Satan-enslaved, conscience-smitten, terrified creatures.\n\"The eyes of them both were opened,\" no doubt; but alas! to what a\nsight! It was only to discover their own nakedness. They opened their\neyes upon their own condition, which was \"wretched, and miserable, and\npoor, and blind, and naked.\" \"They knew that they were naked,\"--sad\nfruit of the tree of knowledge! It was not any fresh knowledge of\ndivine excellency they had attained,--no fresh beam of divine light\nfrom the pure and eternal fountain thereof,--alas! no: the very\nearliest result of their disobedient effort after knowledge was the\ndiscovery that they were naked.\n\nNow, it is well to understand this; well, too, to know how conscience\nworks,--to see that it can only make cowards of us, as being the\nconsciousness of what we are. Many are astray as to this: they think\nthat conscience will bring us to God. Did it operate thus, in the case\nof Adam and Eve? Assuredly not. Nor will it, in the case of any sinner.\nHow could it? How could the sense of what _I am_ ever bring me to God,\nif not accompanied by the faith of what _God is_? Impossible: it will\nproduce shame, self-reproach, remorse, anguish. It may, also, give\nbirth to certain efforts, on my part, to remedy the condition which it\ndiscloses; but these very efforts, so far from drawing us to God,\nrather act as a blind to hide him from our view. Thus, in the case of\nAdam and Eve, the discovery of their nakedness was followed by an\neffort of their own to cover it. \"They sewed fig-leaves together and\nmade themselves aprons.\" This is the first record we have of man's\nattempt to remedy, by his own device, his condition; and the attentive\nconsideration thereof will afford us not a little instruction as to the\nreal character of human religiousness in all ages. In the first place\nwe see, not only in Adam's case, but in every case, that man's effort\nto remedy his condition is based upon the sense of his nakedness. He\nis, confessedly, naked, and all his works are the result of his being\nso. This can never avail. I must know that I am clothed, before I can\ndo any thing acceptable in the sight of God.\n\nAnd this, be it observed, is the difference between true Christianity\nand human religiousness. The former is founded upon the fact of a man's\nbeing clothed: the latter, upon the fact of his being naked. The former\nhas for its starting-post what the latter has for its goal. All that a\ntrue Christian does, is because he is clothed,--perfectly clothed; all\nthat a mere religionist does, is in order that he may be clothed. This\nmakes a vast difference. The more we examine the genius of man's\nreligion, in all its phases, the more we shall see its thorough\ninsufficiency to remedy his state, or even to meet his own sense\nthereof. It may do very well for a time. It may avail so long as death,\njudgment, and the wrath of God are looked at from a distance, if looked\nat at all; but when a man comes to look these terrible realities\nstraight in the face, he will find, in good truth, that his religion is\na bed too short for him to stretch himself upon, and a covering too\nnarrow for him to wrap himself in.\n\nThe moment Adam heard the voice of the Lord God, in Eden, \"_he was\nafraid_,\" because, as he himself confessed, \"I was naked.\" Yes, naked,\nalthough he had his apron on him. But it is plain that that covering\ndid not even satisfy his own conscience. Had his conscience been\ndivinely satisfied, he would not have been afraid. \"If our heart\ncondemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.\" (1 John iii. 20,\n21.) But if even the human conscience cannot find repose in man's\nreligious efforts, how much less can the holiness of God. Adam's apron\ncould not screen him from the eye of God; and he could not stand in his\npresence naked: therefore he fled to hide himself. This is what\nconscience will do at all times. It will cause man to hide himself from\nGod; and, moreover, all that his own religiousness offers him is a\nhiding-place from God. This is a miserable provision, inasmuch as he\nmust meet God, some time or other; and if he has naught save the sad\nconscience of what he is, he must be afraid,--yea, he must be wretched.\nIndeed, nothing is needed, save hell itself, to complete the misery of\none who feels he has to meet God, and knows only his own unfitness to\nmeet him.\n\nHad Adam known God's perfect love, he would not have been afraid.\n\"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear, because\nfear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.\" (1\nJohn iv. 17, 18.) But Adam knew not this, because he had believed the\nserpent's lie. He thought that God was any thing but love; and,\ntherefore, the very last thought of his heart would have been to\nventure into his presence. He could not do it. Sin was there, and God\nand sin can never meet; so long as there is sin on the conscience,\nthere must be the sense of distance from God. \"He is of purer eyes\nthan to behold evil, and cannot look upon iniquity.\" (Hab. i. 13.)\nHoliness and sin cannot dwell together. Sin, wherever it is found, can\nonly be met by the wrath of God.\n\nBut, blessed be God, there is something beside the _conscience of what\nI am_. There is _the revelation of what he is_; and this latter the\nfall of man really brought out. God had not revealed himself, fully, in\ncreation: he had shown \"his eternal power and Godhead,\"[6] ([Greek:\ntheiotes]) but he had not told out all the deep secrets of his nature\nand character. Wherefore Satan made a grand mistake in coming to meddle\nwith God's creation. He only proved to be the instrument of his own\neternal defeat and confusion, and \"his violent dealing\" shall forever\n\"come down upon his own pate.\" His _lie_ only gave occasion for the\ndisplay of the full _truth_ in reference to God. Creation never could\nhave brought out what God was. There was infinitely more in him than\npower and wisdom. There was love, mercy, holiness, righteousness,\ngoodness, tenderness, long-suffering. Where could all these be\ndisplayed, but in a world of sinners? God, at the first, came down to\n_create_; and, then, when the serpent presumed to meddle with creation,\nGod came down to _save_. This is brought out in the first words uttered\nby the Lord God, after man's fall. \"And the Lord God called unto Adam,\nand said unto him, Where art thou?\" This question proved two things. It\nproved that man was lost, and that God had come to seek. It proved\nman's sin, and God's grace. \"Where art thou?\" Amazing faithfulness!\nAmazing grace! Faithfulness, to disclose, in the very question itself,\nthe truth as to man's condition: grace, to bring out, in the very fact\nof God's asking such a question, the truth as to his character and\nattitude, in reference to fallen man. Man was lost; but God had come\ndown to look for him--to bring him out of his hiding-place, behind the\ntrees of the garden, in order that, in the happy confidence of faith,\nhe might find a hiding-place in himself. This was grace. To create man\nout of the dust of the ground was _power_; but to seek man in his lost\nestate was _grace_. But who can utter all that is wrapped up in the\nidea of God's being a _seeker_? God seeking a sinner? What could the\nBlessed One have seen in man, to lead him to seek for him? Just what\nthe shepherd saw in the lost sheep; or what the woman saw in the lost\npiece of silver; or what the father saw in the lost son. The sinner is\nvaluable to God; but why he should be so eternity alone will unfold.\n\nHow, then, did the sinner reply to the faithful and gracious inquiry of\nthe Blessed God? Alas! the reply only reveals the awful depth of evil\ninto which he had fallen. \"And he said, I heard thy voice in the\ngarden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he\nsaid, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree,\nwhereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man\nsaid, The woman whom _thou gavest_ to be with me, she gave me of the\ntree, and I did eat.\" Here, we find him actually laying the blame of\nhis shameful fall on the circumstances in which God had placed him, and\nthus, indirectly, upon God himself. This has ever been the way with\nfallen man. Every one and every thing is blamed but _self_. In the case\nof true conviction, the very reverse is exhibited. \"Is it not _I_ that\nhave sinned?\" is the inquiry of a truly humbled soul. Had Adam known\nhimself, how different would have been his style! But he neither knew\nhimself nor God, and, therefore, instead of throwing the blame entirely\nupon himself, he threw it upon God.\n\nHere, then, was man's terrible position. He had lost all. His\ndominion--his dignity--his happiness--his innocence--his purity--his\npeace--all was gone from him; and, what was still worse, he accused God\nof being the cause of it.[7] There he stood, a lost, ruined, guilty,\nand yet, _self-vindicating_, and, therefore, _God-accusing_ sinner.\n\nNow, it is perfectly true, that no man can believe the gospel, except\nby the power of the Holy Ghost; and it is also true, that all who so\nbelieve the gospel are the happy subjects of God's eternal counsels.\nBut does all this set aside man's responsibility to believe a plain\ntestimony set before him in God's Word? It most certainly does no such\nthing. But it does reveal the sad evil of man's heart, which leads him\nto reject _God's testimony_ which is plainly revealed, and to give as a\nreason for so doing _God's decree_, which is a profound secret, known\nonly to himself. However, it will not avail, for we read in 1 Thess. i.\n8, 9, that those \"who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,\nshall be punished with everlasting destruction.\"\n\nMen are responsible to believe the gospel, and they will be punished\nfor not believing it. They are not responsible to know any thing about\nGod's counsels, inasmuch as they are not revealed, and, therefore,\nthere can be no guilt attached to ignorance concerning them. The\napostle could say to the Thessalonians, \"knowing, brethren beloved,\nyour election of God.\" How did he know it? Was it by having access to\nthe page of God's secret and eternal decrees? By no means. How then?\n\"Because ([Greek: hoti]) our gospel came not unto you in word only, but\nalso in power.\" (1 Thess. i. 4, 5.) This is the way to know the\nelection of any. When the gospel comes in power, it is a plain proof of\nGod's election.\n\nBut, I doubt not, the people who draw a plea from the divine counsels\nfor rejecting the divine testimony, only want some flimsy excuse to\ncontinue in sin. They really do not want God; and it would be far more\nhonest in them to say so, plainly, than to put forward a plea which is\nnot merely flimsy, but positively blasphemous. Such a plea will not\navail them much amid the terrors of the day of judgment, now fast\napproaching.\n\nBut, just at this point, God began to reveal himself, and his purposes\nof redeeming love; and herein lay the true basis of man's peace and\nblessedness. When man has come to the end of himself, God can show what\nhe is; but not until then. The scene must be entirely cleared of man,\nand all his vain pretensions, empty boastings, and blasphemous\nreasonings, ere God can or will reveal himself. Thus it was when man\nwas hidden behind the trees of the garden, that God unfolded his\nwondrous plan of redemption through the instrumentality of the bruised\nseed of the woman. Here we are taught a valuable principle of truth as\nto what it is which alone will bring a man, peacefully and confidingly,\ninto the presence of God.\n\nIt has been already remarked that conscience will never effect this.\nConscience drove Adam behind the trees of the garden; revelation\nbrought him forth into the presence of God. The consciousness of what\nhe was terrified him; the revelation of what God was tranquillized him.\nThis is truly consolatory for a poor sin-burdened heart. The reality of\nwhat I am is met by the reality of what God is; and this is salvation.\n\nThere is a point where God and man must meet, whether in grace or\njudgment, and that point is where both are revealed _as they are_.\nHappy are they who reach that point in grace! Woe be to them who will\nhave to reach it in judgment! It is with what we are that God deals;\nand it is as he is that he deals with us. In the cross, I see God\ndescending in grace to the lowest depths, not merely of my negative,\nbut my positive condition, as a sinner. This gives perfect peace. If\nGod has met me, in my actual condition, and himself provided an\nadequate remedy, all is eternally settled. But all who do not thus, by\nfaith, see God, in the cross, will have to meet him, by and by, in\njudgment, when he will have to deal, according to what he is, with what\nthey are.\n\nThe moment a man is brought to know his real state, he can find no rest\nuntil he has found God, in the cross, and then he rests in God himself.\nHe, blessed be his name, is the Rest and Hiding-place of the believing\nsoul. This, at once, puts human works and human righteousness in their\nproper place. We can say, with truth, that those who rest in such\nthings cannot possibly have arrived at the true knowledge of\nthemselves. It is quite impossible that a divinely quickened\nconscience can rest in aught save the perfect sacrifice of the Son of\nGod. All effort to establish one's own righteousness must proceed from\nignorance of the righteousness of God. Adam might learn, in the light\nof the divine testimony about \"the seed of the woman,\" the\nworthlessness of his fig-leaf apron. The magnitude of that which had to\nbe done, proved the sinner's total inability to do it. Sin had to be\nput away. Could man do that? Nay, it was by him it had come in. The\nserpent's head had to be bruised. Could man do that? Nay, he had become\nthe serpent's slave. God's claims had to be met. Could man do that?\nNay, he had already trampled them under foot. Death had to be\nabolished. Could man do that? Nay, he had, by sin, introduced it, and\nimparted to it its terrible sting.\n\nThus, in whatever way we view the matter, we see the sinner's complete\nimpotency, and, as a consequence, the presumptuous folly of all who\nattempt to assist God in the stupendous work of redemption, as all\nassuredly do who think to be saved in any other way but \"by grace,\nthrough faith.\"\n\nHowever, though Adam might, and, through grace, did, see and feel that\nhe could never accomplish all that had to be done, yet God revealed\nhimself as about to achieve every jot and tittle thereof, by the seed\nof the woman. In short, we see that he graciously took the entire\nmatter into his own hands. He made it, altogether, a question between\nhimself and the serpent; for although the man and the woman were called\nupon, individually, to reap, in various ways, the bitter fruits of\ntheir sin, yet it was to the serpent that the Lord God said, \"Because\nthou hast done this.\" The serpent was the source of the ruin; and the\nseed of the woman was to be the source of the redemption. Adam heard\nall this, and believed it; and, in the power of that belief, \"he called\nhis wife's name the mother of _all living_.\" This was a precious fruit\nof faith in God's revelation. Looking at the matter from nature's point\nof view, Eve might be called, \"the mother of all _dying_.\" But, in the\njudgment of faith, she was the mother of all _living_. \"His mother\ncalled him Ben-oni; (the son of my sorrow;) but his father called him\nBenjamin (the son of my right hand).\"\n\nIt was through the sustaining energy of faith that Adam was enabled to\nendure the terrible results of what he had done. It was God's wondrous\nmercy to allow him to hear what he said to the serpent, before he was\ncalled to listen to what he had to say to himself. Had it not been so,\nhe must have been plunged in despair. It is despair to be called upon\nto look at myself, without being able to look at God, as revealed in\nthe cross, for my salvation. There is no child of fallen Adam who could\nbear to have his eyes opened to the reality of what he is, and what he\nhas done, without being plunged in despair, unless he could take refuge\nin the cross. Hence, in that place to which all who reject Christ must\nfinally be consigned, hope cannot come. There, men's eyes will be\nopened to the reality of what they are, and what they have done; but\nthey will not be able to find relief and refuge in God. What God is,\nwill, _then_, involve hopeless perdition; as truly as what God is,\ndoth, _now_, involve eternal salvation. The holiness of God will, then,\nbe eternally against them; as it is now that in which all who believe\nare called to rejoice. The more I realize the holiness of God, now, the\nmore I know my security; but, in the case of the lost, that very\nholiness will be but the ratification of their eternal doom.\nSolemn--unspeakably solemn--reflection!\n\nWe shall, now, briefly glance at the truth presented to us in God's\nproviding coats for Adam and Eve. \"Unto Adam, also, and to his wife,\ndid the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.\" We have here,\nin figure, the great doctrine of divine righteousness set forth. The\nrobe which God provided was an effectual covering, because he provided\nit; just as the apron was an ineffectual covering because man had\nprovided it. Moreover, God's coat was founded upon blood-shedding.\nAdam's apron was not. So also, now, God's righteousness is set forth in\nthe cross; man's righteousness is set forth in the works, the\nsin-stained works, of his own hands. When Adam stood clothed in the\ncoat of skin he could not say, \"I was naked,\" nor had he any occasion\nto hide himself. The sinner may feel perfectly at rest, when, by faith,\nhe knows that God has clothed him: but to feel at rest till then, can\nonly be the result of presumption or ignorance. To know that the dress\nI wear, and in which I appear before God, is of his own providing, must\nset my heart at perfect rest. There can be no true, permanent rest in\naught else.\n\nThe closing verses of this chapter are full of instruction. Fallen man,\nin his fallen state, must not be allowed to eat of the fruit of the\ntree of life, for that would entail upon him endless wretchedness in\nthis world. To take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever, in\nour present condition, would be unmingled misery. The tree of life can\nonly be tasted in resurrection. To live forever, in a frail tabernacle,\nin a body of sin and death, would be intolerable. Wherefore, the Lord\nGod \"drove out the man.\" He drove him out into a world which,\neverywhere, exhibited the lamentable results of his fall. The Cherubim\nand the flaming sword, too, forbid fallen man to pluck the fruit of the\ntree of life; while God's revelation pointed him to the death and\nresurrection of the seed of the woman, as that wherein life was to be\nfound beyond the power of death.\n\nThus Adam was a happier, and a safer man, outside the bounds of\nParadise, than he had been within, for this reason--that, within, his\nlife depended upon himself; whereas, outside, it depended upon another,\neven a promised Christ. And as he looked up, and beheld \"the Cherubim\nand the flaming sword,\" he could bless the hand that had set them\nthere, \"to keep the way of the tree of life,\" inasmuch as the same hand\nhad opened a better, a safer, and a happier way to that tree. If the\nCherubim and flaming sword stopped up the way to Paradise, the Lord\nJesus Christ has opened \"a new and living way\" into the holiest of all.\n\"I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father,\nbut by me.\" (Compare John xiv. 6; Heb. x. 20.) In the knowledge of\nthis, the believer now moves onward through a world which is under the\ncurse,--where the traces of sin are visible on all hands. He has found\nhis way, by faith, to the bosom of the Father; and while he can\nsecretly repose there, he is cheered by the blessed assurance that the\none who has conducted him thither, is gone to prepare a place in the\nmany mansions of the Father's house, and that he will soon come again\nand receive him unto himself, amid the glory of the Father's kingdom.\nThus, in the bosom, the house, and the kingdom of the Father, the\nbeliever finds his present portion, his future home and reward.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[6] There is a profoundly interesting thought suggested by comparing\nthe word [Greek: theiotes] (Rom. i. 20) with the word [Greek: theotes]\n(Col. ii. 9.) They are both rendered \"Godhead;\" but they present a very\ndifferent thought. The heathen might have seen that there was something\nsuperhuman, something divine, in creation; but pure, essential,\nincomprehensible Deity dwelt in the Adorable Person of the Son.\n\n[7] Man not only accuses God of being the author of his fall, but also\nblames him for his non-recovery. How often do we hear persons say that\nthey cannot believe unless God give them the power to believe; and,\nfurther, that unless they are the subjects of God's eternal decree,\nthey cannot be saved.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTERS IV., V.\n\n\nAs each section of the Book of Genesis opens before us, we are\nfurnished with fresh evidence of the fact that we are travelling over,\nwhat a recent writer has well termed, \"the seed-plot of the whole\nBible;\" and not only so, but the seed-plot of man's entire history.\n\nThus, in the fourth chapter, we have, in the persons of Cain and Abel,\nthe first examples of a religious man of the world, and of a genuine\nman of faith. Born, as they were, outside of Eden, and being the sons\nof fallen Adam, they could have nothing, natural, to distinguish them,\none from the other. They were both sinners. Both had a fallen nature.\nNeither was innocent. It is well to be clear in reference to this, in\norder that the reality of divine grace, and the integrity of faith, may\nbe fully and distinctly seen. If the distinction between Cain and Abel\nwere founded in nature, then it follows, as an inevitable conclusion,\nthat they were not the partakers of the fallen nature of their father,\nnor the participators in the circumstances of his fall; and, hence,\nthere could be no room for the display of grace, and the exercise of\nfaith.\n\nSome would teach us that every man is born with qualities and\ncapacities which, if rightly used, will enable him to work his way back\nto God. This is a plain denial of the fact so clearly set forth in the\nhistory now before us. Cain and Abel were born, not inside, but outside\nof Paradise. They were the sons, not of innocent, but of fallen Adam.\nThey came into the world as the partakers of the nature of their\nfather; and it mattered not in what phase that nature might display\nitself, it was nature still,--fallen, ruined, irremediable nature.\n\"That which is born of the flesh is (not merely fleshly, but) flesh;\nand that which is born of the Spirit is, (not merely spiritual, but)\nspirit.\" (John iii.)\n\nIf ever there was a fair opportunity for the distinctive qualities,\ncapacities, resources, and tendencies of nature to manifest themselves,\nthe lifetime of Cain and Abel furnished it. If there were aught in\nnature, whereby it could recover its lost innocence, and establish\nitself again within the bounds of Eden, this was the moment for its\ndisplay. But there was nothing of the kind. They were both _lost_. They\nwere \"flesh.\" They were not innocent. Adam lost his innocence and never\nregained it. He can only be looked at as the fallen head of a fallen\nrace, who, by his \"disobedience,\" were made \"sinners.\" (Rom. v. 19.) He\nbecame, so far as he was personally concerned, the corrupt source, from\nwhence have emanated the corrupt streams of ruined and guilty\nhumanity,--the dead trunk from which have shot forth the branches of a\ndead humanity, morally and spiritually dead.\n\nTrue, as we have already remarked, he himself was made a subject of\ngrace, and the possessor and exhibitor of a lively faith in a promised\nSavior; but this was not any thing natural, but something entirely\ndivine. And, inasmuch as it was not natural, neither was it within the\nrange of nature's capacity to communicate it. It was not, by any means,\nhereditary. Adam could not bequeath nor impart his faith to Cain or\nAbel. His possession thereof was simply the fruit of love divine. It\nwas implanted in his soul by divine power; and he had not divine power\nto communicate it to another. Whatever was natural, Adam could, in the\nway of nature, communicate; but nothing more. And seeing that he, as a\nfather, was in a condition of ruin, his son could only be in the same.\nAs is the begetter, so are they also that are begotten of him. They\nmust, of necessity, partake of the nature of him from whom they have\nsprung. \"As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy.\" (1 Cor.\nxv. 48.)\n\nNothing can be more important, in its way, than a correct understanding\nof the doctrine of federal headship. If my reader will turn, for a\nmoment, to Rom. v. 12-21, he will find that the inspired apostle looks\nat the whole human race as comprehended under two heads. I do not\nattempt to dwell on the passage; but merely refer to it, in connection\nwith the subject in hand. The fifteenth chapter of first Corinthians\nwill also furnish instruction of a similar character. In the first man,\nwe have sin, disobedience, and death. In the Second man, we have\nrighteousness, obedience, and life. As we derive a nature from the\nformer, so do we also from the latter. No doubt, each nature will\ndisplay, in each specific case, its own peculiar energies; it will\nmanifest, in each individual possessor thereof, its own peculiar\npowers. Still, there is the absolute possession of a real, abstract,\npositive nature.\n\nNow, as the mode in which we derive a nature from the first man is by\nbirth, so the mode in which we derive a nature from the Second man is\nby _new_ birth. Being born, we partake of the nature of the former;\nbeing \"born _again_,\" we partake of the nature of the latter. A\nnewly-born infant, though entirely incapable of performing the act\nwhich reduced Adam to the condition of a fallen being, is,\nnevertheless, a partaker of his nature; and so, also, a newly-born\nchild of God,--a newly-regenerated soul, though having nothing whatever\nto do with the working-out of the perfect obedience of \"the man Christ\nJesus,\" is, nevertheless, a partaker of his nature. True it is that,\nattached to the former nature, there is sin; and attached to the\nlatter, there is righteousness,--man's sin, in the former case; God's\nrighteousness in the latter: yet, all the while, there is the actual,\n_bona fide_ participation of a real nature, let the adjuncts be what\nthey may. The child of Adam partakes of the human nature and its\nadjuncts; the child of God partakes of the divine nature and its\nadjuncts. The former nature is according to \"the will of man,\" (John\ni.,) the latter is according to \"the will of God;\" as St. James, by the\nHoly Ghost, teaches us, \"of his own will begat he us by the word of\ntruth.\" (James i. 18.)\n\nFrom all that has been said, it follows, that Abel was not\ndistinguished from his brother Cain by any thing natural. The\ndistinction between them was not grounded upon aught in their nature or\ncircumstances, for, as to these, \"there was no difference.\" What,\ntherefore, made the vast difference? The answer is as simple as the\ngospel of the grace of God can make it. The difference was not in\nthemselves, in their nature, or their circumstances; it lay,\n_entirely_, in their _sacrifices_. This makes the matter most simple,\nfor any truly convicted sinner,--for any one who truly feels that he\nnot only partakes of a fallen nature, but is himself, also, a sinner.\nThe history of Abel opens, to such an one, the only true ground of his\napproach to, his standing before, and his relationship with, God. It\nteaches him, distinctly, that he cannot come to God on the ground of\nany thing in, of, or pertaining to, nature; and he must seek, _outside\nhimself_, and in the person and work of another, the true and\neverlasting basis of his connection with the Holy, the Just, and only\nTrue God. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews sets the whole subject before\nus, in the most distinct and comprehensive way. \"By faith Abel offered\nunto God a more excellent sacrifice ([Greek: pleiona thysian]) than\nCain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God bearing\nwitness ([Greek: martyrountos]) to his gifts; and by it he being dead\nyet speaketh.\" Here we are taught that it was, in nowise, a question as\nto the men, but only as to their \"sacrifice,\"--it was not a question as\nto the offerer, but as to his offering. Here lay the grand distinction\nbetween Cain and Abel. My reader cannot be too simple in his\napprehension of this point, for therein lies involved the truth as to\nany sinner's standing before God.\n\nAnd, now, let us inquire what the offerings were. \"And in process of\ntime it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an\noffering unto Jehovah. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of\nhis flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel,\nand to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering, he had not\nrespect.\" (Gen. iv. 3-5.) This passage sets the difference clearly\nbefore us: Cain offered to Jehovah the fruit of a cursed earth, and\nthat, moreover, without any blood to remove the curse. He presented \"an\nunbloody sacrifice,\" simply because he had no faith. Had he possessed\nthat divine principle, it would have taught him, even at this early\nmoment, that \"without shedding of blood there is no remission.\" (Heb.\nix.) This is a great cardinal truth. The penalty of sin is death. Cain\nwas a sinner, and, as such, death stood between him and Jehovah. But,\nin his offering, there was no recognition whatever of this fact. There\nwas no presentation of a sacrificed life, to meet the claims of divine\nholiness, or to answer to his own true condition as a sinner. He\ntreated Jehovah as though he were, altogether, such an one as himself,\nwho could accept the sin-stained fruit of a cursed earth.\n\nAll this, and much more, lay involved in Cain's \"unbloody sacrifice.\"\nHe displayed entire ignorance in reference to divine requirements, in\nreference to his own character and condition as a lost and guilty\nsinner, and in reference to the true state of that ground, the fruit of\nwhich he presumed to offer. No doubt, reason might say, \"what more\nacceptable offering could a man present, than that which he had\nproduced by the labor of his hands, and the sweat of his brow?\" Reason,\nand even man's religious mind, may think thus; but God thinks quite\ndifferently; and faith is always sure to agree with God's thoughts. God\nteaches, and faith believes, that there must be a sacrificed life, else\nthere can be no approach to God.\n\nThus, when we look at the ministry of the Lord Jesus, we see, at once,\nthat, had he not died upon the cross, all his services would have\nproved utterly unavailing as regards the establishment of our\nrelationship with God. True, \"he went about doing good\" all his life;\nbut it was his death that rent the veil. (Matt. xxvii. 51.) Naught but\nhis death could have done so. Had he continued, to the present moment,\n\"going about doing good,\" the veil would have remained entire, to bar\nthe worshipper's approach into \"the holiest of all.\" Hence we can see\nthe false ground on which Cain stood as an offerer and a worshipper. An\nunpardoned sinner coming into the presence of Jehovah, to present \"an\nunbloody sacrifice,\" could only be regarded as guilty of the highest\ndegree of presumption. True, he had toiled to produce this offering;\nbut what of that? Could a sinner's toil remove the curse and stain of\nsin? Could it satisfy the claims of an infinitely holy God? Could it\nfurnish a proper ground of acceptance for a sinner? Could it set aside\nthe penalty which was due to sin? Could it rob death of its sting, or\nthe grave of its victory? Could it do any or all of these things?\nImpossible. \"Without shedding of blood is no remission.\" Cain's\n\"unbloody sacrifice,\" like every other unbloody sacrifice, was not\nonly worthless, but actually abominable, in the divine estimation. It\nnot only demonstrated his entire ignorance of his own condition, but\nalso of the divine character. \"God is not worshipped with men's hands\nas though he needed any thing.\" And yet Cain thought he could be thus\napproached. And every mere religionist thinks the same. Cain has had\nmany millions of followers, from age to age. Cain-worship has abounded\nall over the world. It is the worship of every unconverted soul, and is\nmaintained by every false system of religion under the sun.\n\nMan would fain make God a receiver instead of a giver; but this cannot\nbe; for, \"it is more blessed to give than to receive;\" and, assuredly,\nGod must have the more blessed place. \"Without all contradiction, the\nless is blessed of the better.\" \"Who hath _first_ given to him?\" God\ncan accept the smallest gift from a heart which has learnt the deep\ntruth contained in those words, \"of thine own have we given thee;\" but,\nthe moment a man presumes to take the place of the \"first\" giver, God's\nreply is, \"if I were hungry, I would not tell thee;\" for \"he is not\nworshipped with men's hands, as though he _needed any thing_, seeing he\n_giveth_ to _all_ life and breath and _all_ things.\" The great Giver of\n\"all things\" cannot possibly \"need any thing.\" Praise is all that we\ncan offer to God; but this can only be offered in the full and clear\nintelligence that our sins are all put away; and this again can only be\nknown by faith in the virtue of an accomplished atonement.\n\nMy readers may pause, here, and read prayerfully the following\nscriptures, namely, Psalm i.; Isaiah i. 11-18; and Acts xvii. 22-34, in\nall of which he will find distinctly laid down the truth as to man's\ntrue position before God, as also the proper ground of worship.\n\nLet us now consider Abel's sacrifice. \"And Abel, he also brought of the\nfirstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof.\" In other words, he\nentered, by faith, into the glorious truth, that God could be\napproached by sacrifice; that there was such a thing as a sinner's\nplacing the death of another between himself and the consequence of his\nsin, that the claims of God's nature and the attributes of his\ncharacter could be met by the blood of a spotless victim,--a victim\noffered to meet God's demands, and the sinner's deep necessities. This\nis, in short, the doctrine of the cross, in which alone the conscience\nof a sinner can find repose, because, therein, God is fully glorified.\n\nEvery divinely-convicted sinner must feel that death and judgment are\nbefore him, as \"the due reward of his deeds;\" nor can he, by aught that\nhe can accomplish, alter that destiny. He may toil and labor; he may,\nby the sweat of his brow, produce an offering; he may make vows and\nresolutions; he may alter his way of life; he may reform his outward\ncharacter; he may be temperate, moral, upright, and, in the human\nacceptation of the word, religious; he may, though entirely destitute\nof faith, read, pray, and hear sermons. In short, he may do any thing,\nor every thing which lies within the range of human competency; but,\nnotwithstanding all, \"death and judgment\" are before him. He has not\nbeen able to disperse those two heavy clouds which have gathered upon\nthe horizon. There they stand; and, so far from being able to remove\nthem, by all his doings, he can only live in the gloomy anticipation\nof the moment when they shall burst upon his guilty head. It is\nimpossible for a sinner, by his own works, to place himself in life and\ntriumph, at the other side of \"death and judgment,\"--yea, his very\nworks are only performed for the purpose of preparing him, if possible,\nfor those dreaded realities.\n\nHere, however, is exactly where the cross comes in. In that cross, the\nconvicted sinner can behold a divine provision for all his guilt and\nall his need. There, too, he can see death and judgment entirely\nremoved from the scene, and life and glory set in their stead. Christ\nhas cleared the prospect of death and judgment, so far as the true\nbeliever is concerned, and filled it with life, righteousness, and\nglory. \"He hath abolished death, and brought life and incorruptibility\nto light, through the gospel.\" (2 Tim. i. 10.) He has glorified God in\nthe putting away of that which would have separated us, forever, from\nhis holy and blissful presence. \"He has put away sin,\" and hence it is\ngone. (Heb. ix. 26.) All this is, in type, set forth in Abel's \"more\nexcellent sacrifice.\" There was no attempt, on Abel's part, to set\naside the truth as to his own condition, and proper place as a guilty\nsinner,--no attempt to turn aside the edge of the flaming sword, and\nforce his way back to the tree of life,--no presumptuous offering of an\n\"unbloody sacrifice,\"--no presentation of the fruit of a cursed earth\nto Jehovah,--he took the real ground of a sinner, and, as such, set the\ndeath of a victim between him and his sins, and between his sins and\nthe holiness of a sin-hating God. This was most simple. Abel deserved\ndeath and judgment, but he found a substitute.\n\nThus is it with every poor, helpless, self-condemned,\nconscience-smitten sinner. Christ is his substitute, his ransom, his\nmost excellent sacrifice, his ALL. Such an one will feel, like Abel,\nthat the fruit of the ground could never avail for him; that were he to\npresent to God the fairest fruits of earth, he would still have a\nsin-stained conscience, inasmuch as \"without shedding of blood is no\nremission.\" The richest fruits, and the most fragrant flowers, in the\ngreatest profusion, could not remove a single stain from the\nconscience. Nothing but the perfect sacrifice of the Son of God can\ngive ease to the heart and conscience. All who by faith lay hold of\nthat divine reality, will enjoy a peace which the world can neither\ngive nor take away. It is faith which puts the soul in present\npossession of this peace. \"Being justified by faith, we have peace with\nGod, through our Lord Jesus Christ.\" (Rom. v. 1.) \"By faith Abel\noffered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.\"\n\nIt is not a question of feeling, as so many would make it. It is\nentirely a question of faith in an accomplished fact,--faith wrought in\nthe soul of a sinner, by the power of the Holy Ghost. This faith is\nsomething quite different from a mere feeling of the heart, or an\nassent of the intellect. Feeling is not faith. Intellectual assent is\nnot faith. Some would make faith to be the mere assent of the intellect\nto a certain proposition. This is fearfully false. It makes the\nquestion of faith human, whereas it is really divine. It reduces it to\nthe level of man, whereas it really comes from God. Faith is not a\nthing of to-day or to-morrow. It is an imperishable principle,\nemanating from an eternal source, even God himself: it lays hold of\nGod's truth, and sets the soul in God's presence.\n\nMere feeling and sentimentality can never rise above the source from\nwhence they emanate; and that source is self; but faith has to do with\nGod and his eternal word, and is a living link, connecting the heart\nthat possesses it with God who gives it. Human feelings, however\nintense,--human sentiments, however refined,--could not connect the\nsoul with God. They are neither divine nor eternal, but are human and\nevanescent. They are like Jonah's gourd, which sprang up in a night,\nand perished in a night. Not so faith. That precious principle partakes\nof all the value, all the power, and all the reality of the source from\nwhence it emanates, and the object with which it has to do. It\njustifies the soul; (Rom. v. 1;) it purifies the heart; (Acts xv. 9;)\nit works by love; (Gal. v. 6;) it overcomes the world. (1 John v. 4.)\nFeeling and sentiment never could accomplish such results: they belong\nto nature and to earth,--faith belongs to God and to heaven; they are\noccupied with self,--faith is occupied with Christ; they look inward\nand downward,--faith looks outward and upward; they leave the soul in\ndarkness and doubt,--faith leads it into light and peace; they have to\ndo with one's own fluctuating condition,--faith has to do with God's\nimmutable truth, and Christ's eternally-enduring sacrifice.\n\nNo doubt, faith will produce feelings and sentiments,--spiritual\nfeelings and truthful sentiments,--but the fruits of faith must never\nbe confounded with faith itself. I am not justified by feelings, nor\nyet by faith _and_ feelings, but simply by faith. And why? Because\nfaith believes God when he speaks; it takes him at his word; it\napprehends him as he has revealed himself in the person and work of\nthe Lord Jesus Christ. This is life, righteousness, and peace. To\napprehend God as he is, is the sum of all present and eternal\nblessedness. When the soul finds out God, it has found out all it can\npossibly need, here or hereafter; but he can only be known by his own\nrevelation, and by the faith which he himself imparts, and which,\nmoreover, always seeks divine revelation as its proper object.\n\nThus, then, we can in some measure enter into the meaning and power of\nthe statement, \"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent\nsacrifice than Cain.\" Cain had no faith, and therefore he offered an\nunbloody sacrifice. Abel had faith, and therefore he offered both\n\"blood and fat,\" which, in type, set forth the presentation of the\nlife, and also the inherent excellency of the Person of Christ. \"The\nblood\" set forth the former; \"the fat\" shadowed forth the latter. Both\nblood and fat were forbidden to be eaten under the Mosaic economy. The\nblood is the life; and man, under law, had no title to life. But, in\nthe sixth of John we are taught that unless we eat blood we have no\nlife in us. Christ is _the_ life. There is not a spark of life outside\nof him. All out of Christ is death. \"In him was life,\" and in none\nelse.\n\nNow, he gave up his life on the cross; and, to that life, sin was by\nimputation attached, when the blessed One was nailed to the cursed\ntree. Hence, in giving up his life, he gave up also the sin attached\nthereto, so that it is effectually put away, having been left in his\ngrave from which he rose triumphant, in the power of a new life, to\nwhich righteousness as distinctly attaches itself as did sin to that\nlife which he gave up on the cross. This will help us to an\nunderstanding of an expression used by our blessed Lord after his\nresurrection, \"A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.\"\nHe did not say, \"flesh and blood;\" because, in resurrection, he had not\nassumed into his sacred person the blood which he had shed out upon the\ncross as an atonement for sin. \"The life of the flesh is in the blood,\nand I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your\nsouls: for it is the blood which maketh an atonement for the soul.\"\n(Lev. xvii. 11.) Close attention to this point will have the effect of\ndeepening in our souls the sense of the completeness of the putting\naway of sin by the death of Christ; and we know that whatever tends to\ndeepen our sense of that glorious reality, must necessarily tend to the\nfuller establishment of our peace, and to the more effectual promotion\nof the glory of Christ as connected with our testimony and service.\n\nWe have already referred to a point of much interest and value in the\nhistory of Cain and Abel, and that is, the entire identification of\neach with the offering which he presented. My reader cannot possibly\nbestow too much attention upon this. The question, in each case, was\nnot as to the person of the offerer; but entirely as to the character\nof his offering. Hence, of Abel we read that \"God testified of his\n_gifts_.\" He did not bear witness to Abel, but to Abel's sacrifice; and\nthis fixes distinctly the proper ground of a believer's peace and\nacceptance before God.\n\nThere is a constant tendency in the heart to ground our peace and\nacceptance upon something in or about ourselves, even though we admit\nthat that something is wrought by the Holy Ghost. Hence arises the\nconstant looking _in_, when the Holy Ghost would ever have us looking\n_out_. The question for every believer is not, \"what am I?\" but, \"what\nis Christ?\" Having come to God \"in the name of Jesus,\" he is wholly\nidentified with him, and accepted in his name, and, moreover, can no\nmore be rejected than the One in whose name he has come. Before ever a\nquestion can be raised as to the feeblest believer, it must be raised\nas to Christ himself. But this latter is clearly impossible, and thus\nthe security of the believer is established upon a foundation which\nnothing can possibly move. Being in himself a poor worthless sinner, he\nhas come in the name of Christ, he is identified with Christ, accepted\nin and as Christ, bound up in the same bundle of life with Christ. God\ntestifies, not of him, but of his gift, and his gift is Christ. All\nthis is most tranquillizing and consolatory. It is our happy privilege\nto be able, in the confidence of faith, to refer every objection and\nevery objector to Christ and his finished atonement. All our springs\nare in him. In him we boast all the day long. Our confidence is not in\nourselves, but in him who hath wrought every thing for us. We hang on\nhis name, trust in his work, gaze on his person, and wait for his\ncoming.\n\nBut the carnal mind at once displays its enmity against all this truth\nwhich so gladdens and satisfies the heart of a believer. Thus it was\nwith Cain. \"He was very wroth, and his countenance fell.\" That which\nfilled Abel with peace, filled Cain with wrath. Cain, in unbelief,\ndespised the only way in which a sinner could come to God. He refused\nto offer blood, without which there can be no remission; and then,\nbecause _he_ was not received, _in his sins_, and because Abel was\naccepted, _in his gift_, \"he was wroth, and his countenance fell.\" And\nyet, how else could it be? He should either be received with his sins,\nor without them; but God could not receive him with them, and he would\nnot bring the blood which alone maketh atonement; and, therefore, he\nwas rejected, and, being rejected, he manifests in his ways the fruits\nof corrupt religion. He persecutes and murders the true witness,--the\naccepted, justified man,--the man of faith; and, in so doing, he stands\nas the model and forerunner of all false religionists in every age. At\nall times, and in all places, men have shown themselves more ready to\npersecute on religious grounds than on any other. This is Cain-like.\nJustification--full, perfect, unqualified justification, by faith only,\nmakes God every thing, and man nothing: and man does not like this; it\ncauses his countenance to fall, and draws out his anger. Not that he\ncan give any reason for his anger; for it is not, as we have seen, a\nquestion of man at all, but only of the ground on which he appears\nbefore God. Had Abel been accepted on the ground of aught in himself,\nthen, indeed, Cain's wrath and his fallen countenance would have had\nsome just foundation; but, inasmuch as he was accepted, exclusively on\nthe ground of his offering; and, inasmuch as it was not to him, but to\nhis gift, that Jehovah bore testimony, his wrath was entirely without\nany proper basis. This is brought out in Jehovah's word to Cain: \"If\nthou doest well, (or, as the LXX. reads it, if thou offer correctly,\n[Greek: orthos prosenenkes],) shalt thou not be accepted?\" The\nwell-doing had reference to the offering. Abel did well by hiding\nhimself behind an acceptable sacrifice. Cain did badly by bringing an\noffering without blood; and all his after-conduct was but the\nlegitimate result of his false worship.\n\n\"And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they\nwere in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew\nhim.\" Thus has it ever been; the Cains have persecuted and murdered the\nAbels. At all times, man and his religion are the same; faith and its\nreligion are the same: and wherever they have met, there has been\nconflict.\n\n However, it is well to see that Cain's act of murder was the true\nconsequence--the proper fruit--of his false worship. His foundation was\nbad, and the superstructure erected thereon was also bad. Nor did he\nstop at the act of murder; but having heard the judgment of God\nthereon, despairing of forgiveness through ignorance of God, he went\nforth from his blessed presence, and built a city, and had in his\nfamily the cultivators of the useful and ornamental\nsciences,--agriculturists, musicians, and workers in metals. Through\nignorance of the divine character, he pronounced his sin too great to\nbe pardoned.[8] It was not that he really knew his sin, but that he\nknew not God. He fully exhibited the terrible fruit of the fall in the\nvery thought of God to which he gave utterance. He did not want pardon,\nbecause he did not want God. He had no true sense of his own condition;\nno aspirations after God; no intelligence as to the ground of a\nsinner's approach to God. He was radically corrupt,--fundamentally\nwrong; and all he wanted was to get out of the presence of God, and\nlose himself in the world and its pursuits. He thought he could live\nvery well without God, and he therefore set about decorating the world\nas well as he could, for the purpose of making it a respectable place,\nand himself a respectable man therein, though in God's view it was\nunder the curse, and he was a fugitive and a vagabond.\n\nSuch was \"_the way of Cain_,\" in which way millions are at this moment\nrushing on. Such persons are not by any means divested of the religious\nelement in their character. They would like to offer something to God;\nto do something for him. They deem it right to present to him the\nresults of their own toil. They are ignorant of themselves, ignorant of\nGod; but with all this there is the diligent effort to improve the\nworld; to make life agreeable in various ways; to deck the scene with\nthe fairest colors. God's remedy to _cleanse_ is rejected, and man's\neffort to _improve_ is put in its place. This is \"the way of Cain.\"\n(Jude 11.)\n\nAnd, my reader, you have only to look around you to see how this \"way\"\nprevails at the present moment. Though the world is stained with the\nblood of \"a greater than\" Abel, even with the blood of Christ; yet see\nwhat an agreeable place man seeks to make of it! As in Cain's day, the\ngrateful sounds of \"the harp and organ,\" no doubt, completely drowned,\nto man's ear, the cry of Abel's blood; so now, man's ear is filled with\nother sounds than those which issue from Calvary, and his eye filled\nwith other objects than a crucified Christ. The resources of his\ngenius, too, are put forth to render this world a hot-house, in which\nare produced, in their rarest form, all the fruits for which nature so\neagerly longs. And not merely are the real wants of man, as a creature,\nsupplied, but the inventive genius of the human mind has been set to\nwork for the purpose of devising things, which, the moment the eye\nsees, the heart desires, and not only desires, but imagines that life\nwould be intolerable without them. Thus, for instance, some years ago,\npeople were content to devote three or four days to the accomplishing\nof a journey of one hundred miles; but now they can accomplish it in\nthree or four hours; and not only so, but they will complain sadly if\nthey happen to be five or ten minutes late. In fact, man must be saved\nthe trouble of living. He must travel without fatigue, and he must hear\nnews without having to exercise patience for it. He will lay iron rails\nacross the earth, and electric wires beneath the sea, as if to\nanticipate, in his own way, that bright and blissful age when \"there\nshall be no more sea.\"[9]\n\nIn addition to all this, there is abundance of religion, so called;\nbut, alas! charity itself is compelled to harbor the apprehension, that\nvery much of what passes for religion is but a screw in the vast\nmachine, which has been constructed for man's convenience, and man's\nexaltation. Man would not be without religion. It would not be\nrespectable; and, therefore, he is content to devote one-seventh of his\ntime to religion; or, as he thinks and professes, to his eternal\ninterests; and then he has six-sevenths to devote to his temporal\ninterests; but whether he works for time or eternity, it is for\n_himself_, in reality. Such is \"the way of Cain.\" Let my reader ponder\nit well. Let him see where this way begins, whither it tends, and where\nit terminates.\n\nHow different the way of the man of faith! Abel felt and owned the\ncurse; he saw the stain of sin, and, in the holy energy of faith,\noffered that which met it, and met it thoroughly,--met it divinely. He\nsought and found a refuge in God himself; and instead of building a\ncity on the earth, he found but a grave in its bosom. The earth, which\non its surface displayed the genius and energy of Cain and his family,\nwas stained underneath with the blood of a righteous man. Let the man\nof the world remember this; let the man of God remember it; let the\nworldly-minded Christian remember it. The earth which we tread upon is\nstained by the blood of the Son of God. The very blood which justifies\nthe Church condemns the world. The dark shadow of the cross of Jesus\nmay be seen by the eye of faith, looming over all the glitter and glare\nof this evanescent world. \"The fashion of this world passeth away.\" It\nwill soon all be over, so far as the present scene is concerned. \"The\nway of Cain\" will be followed by \"the error of Balaam,\" in its\nconsummated form; and then will come \"the gainsaying of Core;\" and what\nthen? \"The pit\" will open its mouth to receive the wicked, and close it\nagain, to shut them up in \"blackness of darkness forever.\" (Jude 13.)\n\nIn full confirmation of the foregoing lines, we may run the eye over\nthe contents of Chapter V. and find therein the humiliating record of\nman's weakness, and subjection to the rule of death. He might live for\nhundreds of years, and \"beget sons and daughters;\" but, at last, it\nmust be recorded that \"_he died_.\" \"Death reigned from Adam to Moses.\"\nAnd, again, \"It is appointed unto men once to die.\" Man cannot get over\nthis. He cannot, by steam, or electricity, or any thing else within the\nrange of his genius, disarm death of its terrible sting. He cannot, by\nhis energy, set aside the sentence of _death_, although he may produce\nthe comforts and luxuries of _life_.\n\nBut whence came this strange and dreaded thing, death? St. Paul gives\nus the answer: \"By one man sin entered into the world, and _death by\nsin_.\" (Rom. v. 12.) Here we have the origin of death. It came by sin.\nSin snapped asunder the link which bound the creature to the living\nGod; and, that being done, he was handed over to the dominion of death,\nwhich dominion he had no power whatever to shake off. And this, be it\nobserved, is one of the many proofs of the fact of man's total\ninability to meet God. There can be no fellowship between God and man,\nsave in the power of life; but man is under the power of death; hence,\non natural grounds, there can be no fellowship. Life can have no\nfellowship with death, no more than light with darkness, or holiness\nwith sin. Man must meet God on an entirely new ground, and on a new\nprinciple, even faith; and this faith enables him to recognize his own\nposition, as \"sold under sin,\" and, therefore, subject to death; while,\nat the same time, it enables him to apprehend God's character, as the\ndispenser of a new life,--life beyond the power of death,--a life\nwhich can never be touched by the enemy, nor forfeited by us.\n\nThis it is which marks the security of the believer's life. Christ is\nhis life,--a risen, glorified Christ,--a Christ victorious over every\nthing that could be against us. Adam's life was founded upon his own\nobedience; and, therefore, when he disobeyed, life was forfeited. But\nChrist, having life in himself, came down into this world, and fully\nmet all the circumstances of man's sin, in every possible form; and, by\nsubmitting to death, destroyed him who had the power thereof, and, in\nresurrection, becomes the Life and Righteousness of all who believe in\nhis most excellent name.\n\nNow, it is impossible that Satan can touch this life, either in its\nsource, its channel, its power, its sphere, or its duration. God is its\nsource; a risen Christ, its channel; the Holy Ghost, its power; heaven,\nits sphere; and eternity, its duration. Hence, therefore, as might be\nexpected, to one possessing this wondrous life, the whole scene is\nchanged; and while, in one sense, it must be said, \"in the midst of\nlife we are in death,\" yet, in another sense, it can be said, \"in the\nmidst of death we are in life.\" There is no death in the sphere into\nwhich a risen Christ introduces his people. How could there be? Has not\nhe abolished it? It cannot be an abolished and an existing thing at the\nsame time and to the same people; but God's word tells us it is\nabolished. Christ emptied the scene of death, and filled it with life;\nand, therefore, it is not death, but glory that lies before the\nbeliever. Death is behind him, and behind him forever. As to the\nfuture, it is all glory,--cloudless glory. True, it may be his lot to\n\"fall asleep,\"--to \"sleep in Jesus,\"--but that is not death, but \"life\nin earnest.\" The mere matter of departing to be with Christ cannot\nalter the specific hope of the believer, which is to meet Christ in the\nair, to be with him, and like him, forever.\n\nOf this we have a very beautiful exemplification in Enoch, who forms\nthe only exception to the rule of Chap. V. The rule is, \"he died;\" the\nexception is, \"he should not see death.\" \"By faith Enoch was translated\nthat he should not see death; and was not found, because God had\ntranslated him; for before his translation he had this testimony, that\nhe pleased God.\" (Heb. xi. 5.) Enoch was \"the seventh from Adam;\" and\nit is deeply interesting to find, that death was not suffered to\ntriumph over \"the seventh;\" but that, in his case, God interfered, and\nmade him a trophy of his own glorious victory over all the power of\ndeath. The heart rejoices, after reading, six times, the sad record,\n\"he died,\" to find, that the seventh did not die; and when we ask, How\nwas this? the answer is, \"by faith.\" Enoch lived in the faith of his\ntranslation, and walked with God three hundred years. This separated\nhim, practically, from all around. To walk with God must, necessarily,\nput one outside the sphere of this world's thoughts. Enoch realized\nthis; for, in his day, the spirit of the world was manifested; and\nthen, too, as now, it was opposed to all that was of God. The man of\nfaith felt he had naught to do with the world, save to be a patient\nwitness therein of the grace of God and of coming judgment. The sons of\nCain might spend their energies in the vain attempt to improve a cursed\nworld, but Enoch found a better world, and lived in the power of\nit.[10] His faith was not given him to improve the world, but to walk\nwith God.\n\nAnd oh, how much is involved in these three words, \"walked with God!\"\nWhat separation and self-denial! what holiness and moral purity! what\ngrace and gentleness! what humility and tenderness! and yet, what zeal\nand energy! What patience and long-suffering! and yet what faithfulness\nand uncompromising decision! To walk with God comprehends every thing\nwithin the range of the divine life, whether active or passive. It\ninvolves the knowledge of God's character as he has revealed it. It\ninvolves, too, the intelligence of the relationship in which we stand\nto him. It is not a mere living by rules and regulations; nor laying\ndown plans of action; nor in resolutions to go hither and thither, to\ndo this or that. To walk with God is far more than any or all of these\nthings. Moreover, it will sometimes carry us right athwart the thoughts\nof men, and even of our brethren, if they are not themselves walking\nwith God. It may, sometimes, bring against us the charge of doing too\nmuch: at other times, of doing too little; but the faith that enables\none to \"walk with God,\" enables him also to attach the proper value to\nthe thoughts of man.\n\nThus we have, in Abel and Enoch, most valuable instruction as to the\nsacrifice on which faith rests; and, as to the prospect which hope now\nanticipates; while, at the same time, \"the walk with God\" takes in all\nthe details of actual life which lie between those two points. \"The\nLord will give grace and glory;\" and between the grace that has been,\nand the glory that is to be, revealed, there is the happy assurance,\nthat \"no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.\"\n(Psalm lxxxiv. 11.)\n\nIt has been remarked, that \"the cross and the coming of the Lord form\nthe termini of the Church's existence,\" and these termini are\nprefigured in the sacrifice of Abel, and the translation of Enoch. The\nChurch knows her entire justification through the death and\nresurrection of Christ, and she waits for the day when he shall come\nand receive her to himself. She, \"through the Spirit, waits for the\nhope of righteousness by faith.\" (Gal. v. 5.) She does not wait for\nrighteousness, inasmuch as she, by grace, has that already; but she\nwaits for the hope which properly belongs to the condition into which\nshe has been introduced.\n\nMy reader should seek to be clear as to this. Some expositors of\nprophetic truth, from not seeing the Church's specific place, portion,\nand hope, have made sad mistakes. They have, in effect, cast so many\ndark clouds and thick mists around \"the bright and morning star,\" which\nis the proper hope of the Church, that many saints, at the present\nmoment, seem unable to rise above the hope of the God-fearing remnant\nof Israel, which is to see \"the Sun of righteousness arise with healing\nin his wings.\" (Mal. iv.) Nor is this all. Very many have been deprived\nof the moral power of the hope of Christ's appearing, by being taught\nto look for various events and circumstances previous to the moment of\nhis manifestation to the Church. The restoration of the Jews, the\ndevelopment of Nebuchadnezzar's image, the revelation of the man of\nsin,--all these things, it is maintained, must take place ere Christ\ncomes. That this is not true, might be proved from numerous passages of\nNew-Testament scripture, were this the fitting place to adduce them.\n\nThe Church, like Enoch, will be taken away from the evil around, and\nthe evil to come. Enoch was not left to see the world's evil rise to a\nhead, and the judgment of God poured forth upon it. He saw not \"the\nfountains of the great deep broken up,\" nor \"the windows of heaven\nopened.\" He was taken away before any of these things occurred; and he\nstands before the eye of faith as a beautiful figure of those, \"who\nshall not all sleep, but shall all be changed, in a moment, in the\ntwinkling of an eye.\" (1 Cor. xv. 51, 52.) Translation, not death, was\nthe hope of Enoch; and, as to the Church's hope, it is thus briefly\nexpressed by the apostle, \"To wait for the Son from heaven.\" (1 Thess.\ni. 10.) This, the simplest and most unlettered Christian can understand\nand enjoy. Its power, too, he can, in some measure, experience and\nmanifest. He may not be able to study prophecy very deeply, but he can,\nblessed be God, taste the blessedness, the reality, the comfort, the\npower, the elevating and separating virtue of that celestial hope which\nproperly belongs to him as a member of that heavenly body, the Church;\nwhich hope is not merely to see \"the Sun of righteousness,\" how blessed\nsoever that may be in its place, but to see \"the bright and morning\nstar.\" (Rev. ii. 28.) And as, in the natural world, the morning star is\nseen, by those who watch for it, before the sun rises, so Christ, as\nthe morning star, will be seen by the Church, before the remnant of\nIsrael can behold the beams of the Sun.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[8] The word used by Cain is [Hebrew: minneso'] which occurs in Psalm\nxxxii. 1, \"whose transgression is _forgiven_.\" The LXX. renders it by\n[Greek: aphethenai], \"to be remitted.\"\n\n[9] True, the Lord is using all those things for the furtherance of his\nown gracious ends; and the Lord's servant can freely use them also; but\nthis does not hinder our seeing the spirit which originates and\ncharacterizes them.\n\n[10] It is very evident that Enoch knew nothing whatever about the mode\nof \"making the best of both worlds.\" To him there was but one world.\nThus it should be with us.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTERS VI.-IX.\n\n\nWe have now arrived at a deeply-important and strongly-marked division\nof our book. Enoch has passed off the scene. His walk, as a stranger on\nearth, has terminated in his translation to heaven. He was taken away\nbefore human evil had risen to a head, and, therefore, before the\ndivine judgment had been poured out. How little influence his course\nand translation had upon the world is manifest from the first two\nverses of Chapter VI. \"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply\non the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the\nsons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took\nthem wives of all which they chose.\"\n\nThe mingling of that which is of God with that which is of man is a\nspecial form of evil, and a very effectual engine, in Satan's hand, for\nmarring the testimony of Christ on the earth. This mingling may\nfrequently wear the appearance of something very desirable; it may\noften look like a wider promulgation of that which is of God,--a fuller\nand a more vigorous outgoing of a divine influence,--a something to be\nrejoiced in rather than to be deplored: but our judgment as to this\nwill depend entirely upon the point of view from which we contemplate\nit. If we look at it in the light of God's presence, we cannot possibly\nimagine that an advantage is gained when the people of God mingle\nthemselves with the children of this world; or when the truth of God is\ncorrupted by human admixture. Such is not the divine method of\npromulgating truth, or of advancing the interests of those, who ought\nto occupy the place of witnesses for him on the earth. Separation from\nall evil is God's principle; and this principle can never be infringed\nwithout serious damage to the truth.\n\nIn the narrative now before us, we see that the union of the sons of\nGod with the daughters of men led to the most disastrous consequences.\nTrue, the fruit of that union seemed exceedingly fair, in man's\njudgment, as we read, \"the same became mighty men, which were of old,\nmen of renown;\" yet, God's judgment was quite different. He seeth not\nas man seeth. His thoughts are not as ours. \"God saw that the\nwickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of\nthe thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.\" Such was man's\ncondition before God,--\"evil _only_\"--\"evil continually.\" So much for\nthe mingling of the holy with the profane. Thus it must ever be. If the\nholy seed will not maintain its purity, all must be forfeited, as\nregards testimony on the earth. Satan's first effort was to frustrate\nGod's purpose, by putting the holy seed to death; and when that failed,\nhe sought to gain his end by corrupting it.\n\nNow, it is of the deepest moment that my reader should clearly\nunderstand the aim, the character, and the result of this union between\n\"the sons of God\" and \"the daughters of men.\" There is great danger, at\nthe present day, of compromising truth for the sake of union. This\nshould be carefully guarded against. There can be no true union\nattained at the expense of truth. The true Christian's motto should\never be--\"maintain truth at all cost; if union can be promoted in this\nway, so much the better; but maintain the truth.\" The principle of\nexpediency, on the contrary, may be thus enunciated:--\"Promote union at\nall cost; if truth can be maintained as well, so much the better; but\npromote union.\" This latter principle can only be carried out at the\nexpense of all that is divine in the way of testimony.[11] There can,\nevidently, be no true testimony where truth is forfeited; and hence, in\nthe case of the antediluvian world, we see that the unhallowed union\nbetween the holy and the profane--between that which was divine and\nthat which was human--only had the effect of bringing the evil to a\nhead, and then God's judgment was poured out.\n\n\"The Lord said, I will destroy man.\" Nothing less would do. There must\nbe the entire destruction of that which had corrupted God's way on the\nearth. \"The mighty men, and men of renown,\" must all be swept away,\nwithout distinction. \"All flesh\" must be set aside, as utterly unfit\nfor God. \"The end of _all_ flesh is come before me.\" It was not merely\nthe end of _some_ flesh; no, it was all corrupt, in the sight of\nJehovah,--all irrecoverably bad. It had been tried, and found wanting;\nand the Lord announces his remedy to Noah in these words, \"Make thee an\nark of gopher wood.\"\n\nThus was Noah put in possession of God's thoughts about the scene\naround him. The effect of the word of God was to lay bare the roots of\nall that which man's eye might rest upon with complacency and pride.\nThe human heart might swell with pride, and the bosom heave with\nemotion, as the eye ran down along the brilliant ranks of men of art,\nmen of skill, \"men of might,\" and \"men of renown.\" The sound of the\nharp and the organ might send a thrill through the whole soul, while,\nat the same time, the ground was cultivated, and man's necessities were\nprovided for in such a way as to contradict every thought in reference\nto approaching judgment. But, oh! those solemn words, \"_I will\ndestroy!_\" What a heavy gloom they would necessarily cast over the\nglittering scene! Could not man's genius invent some way of escape?\nCould not \"the mighty man deliver himself by his much strength?\" Alas,\nno: there was one way of escape, but it was revealed to faith, not to\nsight,--not to reason,--not to imagination.\n\n\"By faith Noah, being _warned of God_, of things _not seen_ as yet,\nmoved with fear ([Greek: eulabetheis]), prepared an ark to the saving\nof his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of\nthe righteousness which is by faith.\" (Heb. xi. 7.) The word of God\nbrings his light to shine upon all that by which man's heart is\ndeceived. It removes, completely, the gilding with which the serpent\ncovers a vain, deceitful, passing world, over which hangs the sword of\ndivine judgment. But it is only \"faith\" that will be \"warned of God,\"\nwhen the things of which he speaks are \"not seen as yet.\" Nature is\ngoverned by what it sees,--it is governed by its senses. Faith is\ngoverned by the pure word of God; (inestimable treasure in this dark\nworld!) this gives stability, let outward appearances be what they\nmay. When God spoke to Noah of judgment impending, there was no sign of\nit. It was \"not seen as yet;\" but the word of God made it a present\nreality to the heart that was enabled to mix that word with faith.\nFaith does not wait to _see_ a thing, ere it believes, for \"faith\ncometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.\"\n\nAll that the man of faith needs, is to know that God has spoken; this\nimparts perfect certainty to his soul. \"Thus saith the Lord,\" settles\nevery thing. A single line of sacred scripture is an abundant answer to\nall the reasonings and all the imaginations of the human mind; and when\none has the word of God as the basis of his convictions, he may calmly\nstand against the full tide of human opinion and prejudice. It was the\nword of God which sustained the heart of Noah during his long course of\nservice; and the same word has sustained the millions of God's saints\nfrom that day to this, in the face of the world's contradiction. Hence,\nwe cannot set too high a value upon the word of God. Without it, all is\ndark and uncertainty; with it, all is light and peace. Where it shines,\nit marks out for the man of God a sure and blessed path; where it\nshines not, one is left to wander amid the bewildering mazes of human\ntradition. How could Noah have \"preached righteousness\" for 120 years\nif he had not had the word of God as the ground of his preaching? How\ncould he have withstood the scoffs and sneers of an infidel world? How\ncould he have persevered in testifying of \"judgment to come,\" when not\na cloud appeared on the world's horizon? Impossible. The word of God\nwas the ground on which he stood, and \"the Spirit of Christ\" enabled\nhim to occupy, with holy decision, that elevated and immovable ground.\n\nAnd now, my beloved Christian reader, what else have we wherewith to\nstand, in service for Christ, in an evil day, like the present? Surely,\nnothing; nor do we want aught else. The word of God, and the Holy\nGhost, by whom _alone_ that word can be understood, applied, or used,\nare all we want to equip us perfectly--to furnish us thoroughly--\"to\nall good works,\" under whatever head those works may range themselves.\n(2 Tim. iii. 16, 17.) What rest for the heart! What relief from all\nSatan's imagery, and man's imaginations! God's pure, incorruptible,\neternal word! May our hearts adore him for the inestimable treasure!\n\"Every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil\ncontinually;\" but God's word was the simple resting-place of Noah's\nheart.\n\n\"God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me.... Make\nthee an ark of gopher wood.\" Here was man's ruin, and God's remedy. Man\nhad been allowed to pursue his career to the utmost limit, to bring his\nprinciples and ways to maturity. The leaven had worked and filled the\nmass. The evil had reached its climax. \"All flesh\" had become so bad\nthat it could not be worse; wherefore nothing remained but for God to\ndestroy _it_ totally; and, at the same time, to save all those who\nshould be found, according to his eternal counsels, linked with \"the\neighth person,\"--the only righteous man then existing. This brings out\nthe doctrine of the cross in a very vivid manner. There we find at once\nGod's judgment of nature with all its evil; and, at the same time, the\nrevelation of his saving grace, in all its fulness, and in all its\nperfect adaptation to those who have really reached the lowest point of\ntheir moral condition, as judged by himself. \"The Day-spring from on\nhigh hath visited us.\" (Luke i. 78.) Where? Just _where we are_, as\nsinners. God has come down to the very deepest depths of our ruin.\nThere is not a point in all the sinner's state to which the light of\nthat blessed Day-spring has not penetrated; but, if it has thus\npenetrated, it must, by virtue of what it is, reveal our true\ncharacter. The light must judge every thing contrary to itself; but,\nwhile it does so, it also \"gives the knowledge of salvation through the\nremission of sins.\" The cross, while it reveals God's judgment upon\n\"all flesh,\" reveals his salvation for the lost and guilty sinner. Sin\nis perfectly judged,--the sinner perfectly saved,--God perfectly\nrevealed, and perfectly glorified, in the cross.\n\nIf my reader will turn for a moment to the First Epistle of Peter, he\nwill find much light thrown upon this entire subject. At the third\nchapter, verse 18, we read, \"for Christ also hath once suffered for\nsins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put\nto death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which (Spirit)\nhe went and preached (through Noah) to the spirits (now) in prison;\nwhich once were disobedient, when the long-suffering of God waited in\nthe days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, wherein few, that\nis, eight souls, were saved through water ([Greek: di' hydatos]); to\nwhich the antitype ([Greek: antitypon]) baptism doth also now save us,\nnot the putting away of the filth of the flesh, (as by water,)[12] but\nthe answer of a good conscience towards God, by the resurrection of\nJesus Christ, who, having gone into heaven, is at the right hand of\nGod, angels, and authorities, and powers, being made subject to him.\"\n\nThis is a most important passage. It sets the doctrine of the ark and\nits connection with the death of Christ very distinctly before us. As\nin the Deluge, so in the death of Christ, all the billows and waves of\ndivine judgment passed over that which, in itself, was without sin. The\ncreation was buried beneath the flood Of Jehovah's righteous wrath; and\nthe Spirit of Christ exclaims, \"All thy billows and thy waves have gone\nover me.\" (Ps. xlii. 7.) Here is a profound truth for the heart and\nconscience of a believer. \"_All_ God's billows and waves\" passed over\nthe spotless person of the Lord Jesus, when he hung upon the cross;\nand, as a most blessed consequence, not one of them remains to pass\nover the person of the believer. At Calvary we see, in good truth, \"the\nfountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven\nopened.\" \"Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts.\"\nChrist drank the cup, and endured the wrath perfectly. He put himself,\njudicially, under the full weight of all his people's liabilities, and\ngloriously discharged them. The belief of this gives settled peace to\nthe soul. If the Lord Jesus has met all that could be against us, if he\nhas removed out of the way every hindrance, if he has put away sin, if\nhe has exhausted the cup of wrath and judgment on our behalf, if he has\ncleared the prospect of every cloud, should we not enjoy settled peace?\nUnquestionably. Peace is our unalienable portion. To us belong the deep\nand untold blessedness and holy security which redeeming love can\nbestow on the righteous ground of Christ's absolutely accomplished\nwork.\n\nHad Noah any anxiety about the billows of divine judgment? None\nwhatever. How could he? He knew that \"_all_\" had been poured forth,\nwhile he himself was raised by those very outpoured billows into a\nregion of cloudless peace. He floated in peace on that very water by\nwhich \"all flesh\" was judged. He was put beyond the reach of judgment;\nand put there, too, by God himself. He might have said, in the\ntriumphant language of Romans viii., \"If God be for us, who can be\nagainst us?\" He had been invited in by Jehovah himself, as we read in\nChapter vii. 1, \"Come thou and all thy house into the ark;\" and when he\nhad taken his place there, we read, \"_the Lord shut him in_.\" Here,\nassuredly, was full and perfect security for all within. Jehovah kept\nthe door, and no one could go in or out without him. There was both a\nwindow and a door to the ark. The Lord secured, with his own omnipotent\nhand, the door, and left Noah the window, from which he might look\nupward to the place from whence all the judgment had emanated, and see\nthat no judgment remained for him. The saved family could only look\n_upward_, because the window was \"above.\" (Chap. vi. 16.) They could\nnot see the waters of judgment, nor the death and desolation which\nthose waters had caused. God's salvation--the \"gopher wood,\" stood\nbetween them and all these things. They had only to gaze upward into a\ncloudless heaven,--the eternal dwelling-place of the One who had\ncondemned the world, and saved them.\n\nNothing can more fully express the believer's perfect security in\nChrist than those words, \"the Lord shut him in.\" Who could open what\nGod had shut? None. The family of Noah were as safe as God could make\nthem. There was no power, angelic, human or diabolical, which could\npossibly burst open the door of the ark, and let the waters in. That\ndoor was shut by the self-same hand that had opened the windows of\nheaven, and broken up the fountains of the great deep. Thus Christ is\nspoken of as the One \"that hath the key of David, he that openeth and\nno man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth.\" (Rev. iii. 7.) He\nalso holds in his hand \"the keys of hell and of death.\" (Rev. i. 18.)\nNone can enter the portals of the grave, nor go forth therefrom without\nhim. He has \"all power in heaven and on earth.\" He is \"head over all\nthings to the Church,\" and in him the believer is perfectly secure.\n(Matt. xxviii. 18; Eph. i. 22.) Who could touch Noah? What wave could\npenetrate that ark which was \"pitched within and without with pitch?\"\nJust so now, who can touch those who have, by faith, retreated into the\nshadow of the cross? Every enemy has been met and silenced,--yes,\nsilenced for ever. The death of Christ has triumphantly answered every\ndemur; while, at the same time, his resurrection is the satisfactory\ndeclaration of God's infinite complacency in that work which is, at\nonce, the basis of his righteousness in receiving us, and of our\nconfidence in drawing nigh unto him.\n\nHence, therefore, the door of our ark being secured, by the hand of God\nhimself, nothing remains for us but to enjoy the window; or, in other\nwords, to walk in happy and holy communion with him who has saved us\nfrom coming wrath, and made us heirs and expectants of coming glory.\nPeter speaks of those, who \"are blind, and cannot see afar off, and\nhave forgotten that they were purged from their old sins.\" (2 Peter i.\n9.) This is a lamentable condition for any one to be in, and it is the\nsure result of not cultivating diligent, prayerful communion with him\nwho has eternally shut us in in Christ.\n\nLet us, now, ere we proceed further with Noah's history, glance for a\nlittle at the condition of those to whom he had so long preached\nrighteousness. We have been looking at the _saved_,--let us now look at\nthe _lost_: we have been thinking of those _within_ the ark,--let us\nnow think of those _without_. No doubt, many an anxious look would be\ncast after the vessel of mercy, as it rose with the water; but, alas!\n\"the door was shut,\" the day of grace was over, the time of testimony\nclosed, and that forever, so far as they were concerned. The same hand\nwhich had shut Noah _in_, had shut them _out_; and it was as impossible\nfor those without to get in as it was for those within to get out. The\nformer were irrecoverably lost; the latter, effectually saved. The\nlong-suffering of God, and the testimony of his servant, had both been\nslighted. Present things had engrossed them. \"They did eat, they drank,\nthey married wives, and were given in marriage, _until_ the day that\nNoah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.\"\n(Luke xvii. 26, 27.) There was nothing wrong in any of these things,\nabstractedly looked at. The wrong was not in the things done, but in\nthe doers of them. Every one of them might be done in the fear of the\nLord, and to the glory of his holy name, were they only done in faith.\nBut, alas! they were not so done. The word of God was rejected. He told\nof judgment; but they did not believe. He spoke of sin and ruin; but\nthey were not convinced. He spoke of a remedy; but they would not give\nheed. They went on with their own plans and speculations, and had no\nroom for God. They acted as if the earth belonged to them, by a lease,\nforever. They forgot that there was a clause of surrender. They thought\nnot of that solemn \"_until_.\" God was shut out. \"Every imagination of\nthe thoughts of their heart was only evil continually;\" and hence, they\ncould do nothing right. They thought, spake, and acted for themselves.\nThey did their own pleasure, and forgot God.\n\nAnd, my reader, remember the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, how he\nsaid, \"_as it was_ in the days of Noah, _so shall it be_ in the days\nof the Son of man.\" Some would have us to believe that ere the Son of\nman appears in the clouds of heaven, this earth shall be covered, from\npole to pole, with a fair mantle of righteousness. They would teach us\nto look for a reign of righteousness and peace, as the result of\nagencies now in operation; but the brief passage just quoted cuts up by\nthe roots, in a moment, all such vain and delusive expectations. How\nwas it in the days of Noah? Did righteousness cover the earth, as the\nwaters cover the sea? Was God's truth dominant? Was the earth filled\nwith the knowledge of the Lord? Scripture replies, \"the earth was\nfilled with violence.\" \"All flesh had corrupted his way on the earth.\"\n\"The earth also was corrupt before God.\" Well, then, \"_so_ shall it be\nin the days of the Son of man.\" This is plain enough. \"Righteousness\"\nand \"violence\" are not very like each other. Neither is there any\nsimilarity between universal wickedness and universal peace. It only\nneeds a heart subject to the Word, and freed from the influence of\npreconceived opinions, in order to understand the true character of the\ndays immediately preceding \"the coming of the Son of man.\" Let not my\nreader be led astray. Let him reverently bow to Scripture. Let him look\nat the condition of the world, \"in the days before the flood;\" and let\nhim bear in mind, that \"_as_\" it was then, \"_so_\" shall it be at the\nclose of this present period. This is most simple,--most conclusive.\nThere was nothing like a state of universal righteousness and peace\nthen, neither shall there be any thing like it by-and-by.\n\nNo doubt, man displayed abundant energy in making the world a\ncomfortable and an agreeable place for himself; but that was a very\ndifferent thing from making it a suitable place for God. So also at\nthis present time; man is as busy as he can be, in clearing the stones\noff the pathway of human life, and making it as smooth as possible; but\nthis is not \"making straight in the desert a highway for our God;\" nor\nis it making \"the rough places smooth,\" that all flesh may see the\nsalvation of Jehovah. Civilization prevails; but civilization is not\nrighteousness. The sweeping and garnishing are going forward; but it is\nnot in order to fit the house for Christ, but for Antichrist. The\nwisdom of man is put forth in order to cover, with the folds of his own\ndrapery, the blots and blemishes of humanity; but, though covered, they\nare not removed! They are underneath, and will, ere long, break out in\nmore hideous deformity than ever. The painting of vermilion will soon\nbe obliterated, and the carved cedar wood destroyed. The dams by which\nman sedulously seeks to stem the torrent of human wretchedness, must\nsoon give way before the overwhelming force thereof. All the efforts to\nconfine the physical, the mental, and the moral degradation of Adam's\nposterity within those enclosures, which human benevolence, if you\nplease, has devised, must, in the sequel, prove abortive. The testimony\nhas gone forth. \"The end of _all_ flesh has come before me.\" It has not\ncome before man; but it has come before God: and, albeit, the voice of\nthe scoffers may be heard, saying, \"Where is the promise of his coming?\nfor, since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were\nfrom the beginning of creation;\" yet the moment is rapidly hastening on\nwhen those scoffers will get their answer. \"The day of the Lord will\ncome as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away\nwith a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the\nearth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up.\" (2\nPeter iii. 4-10.) This, my reader, is the answer to the intellectual\nscoffs of the children of this world, but not to the spiritual\naffections and expectations of the children of God. These latter, thank\nGod, have a totally different prospect, even to meet the Bridegroom in\nthe air, before evil shall have reached its culminating point, and,\ntherefore, before the divine judgment shall be poured forth thereon.\nThe Church of God looks not for the burning up of the world, but for\nthe arising of \"the bright and morning Star.\"\n\nNow, in whatever way we look at the future, from whatever point of view\nwe contemplate it, whether the object, which presents itself to the\nsoul's vision be the Church in glory, or the world in flames, the\ncoming of the Bridegroom, or the breaking in of the thief, the morning\nStar, or the scorching sun, the translation, or the deluge, we must\nfeel the unspeakable importance of attending to God's present testimony\nin grace, to lost sinners. \"_Now_ is the accepted time; behold, _now_\nis the day of salvation.\" (2 Cor. vi. 2.) \"God was in Christ,\nreconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto\nthem.\" (2 Cor. v. 19.) He is reconciling now, he will be judging\nby-and-by; it is all grace now; it will be all wrath then; he is\npardoning sin now, through the cross; he will punish it then, in hell,\nand that forever. He is sending out a message of purest, richest,\nfreest grace. He is telling sinners of an accomplished redemption\nthrough the precious sacrifice of Christ. He is declaring that all is\ndone. He is waiting to be gracious. \"The long-suffering of our Lord is\nsalvation.\" \"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men\ncount slackness, but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any\nshould perish, but that all should come to repentance.\" (2 Peter iii.)\nAll this makes the present moment one of peculiar solemnity. Unmingled\ngrace declared!--unmingled wrath impending! How solemn! How deeply\nsolemn!\n\nAnd, then, with what profound interest should we mark the unfolding of\nthe divine purposes! Scripture sheds its light upon these things; and\nsuch a light, too, that we need not, as another has said, \"vacantly\nstare on passing events, as those who know not where they are, and\nwhither they are going.\" We should accurately know our bearings. We\nshould fully understand the direct tendency of all the principles now\nat work. We should be well aware of the vortex, toward which all the\ntributary streams are rapidly flowing on. Men dream of a golden age;\nthey promise themselves a millennium of the arts and sciences; they\nfeed upon the thought, that \"to-morrow shall be as this day, and more\nabundant.\" But, oh! how utterly vain are all those thoughts, dreams,\nand promises. Faith can see the clouds gathering thickly around the\nworld's horizon. Judgment is coming. The day of wrath is at hand. The\ndoor will soon be shut. The \"strong delusion\" will soon set in with\nterrible intensity. How needful, then, it is to raise a warning\nvoice,--to seek, by faithful testimony, to counteract man's pitiable\nself-complacency. True, in so doing, we shall be exposed to the charge\nwhich Ahab brought against Micaiah, of always prophesying evil: but no\nmatter for that. Let us prophesy what the word of God prophesies, and\nlet us do this simply for the purpose of \"persuading men.\" The word of\nGod only removes from beneath our feet a hollow foundation, for the\npurpose of placing instead thereof a foundation which never can be\nmoved. It only takes away from us a delusive hope, to give us, instead,\n\"a hope which maketh not ashamed.\" It takes away \"a broken reed,\" to\ngive us the \"Rock of ages.\" It sets aside \"a broken cistern, which can\nhold no water,\" to set in its place \"the Fountain of living waters.\"\nThis is true love. It is God's love. He will not cry \"peace, peace,\"\nwhen there is no peace; nor \"daub with untempered mortar.\" He would\nhave the sinner's heart resting sweetly in his own eternal Ark of\nsafety, enjoying present communion with himself, and fondly cherishing\nthe hope, that, when all the ruin, the desolation, and the judgment\nhave passed away, it shall rest with him in a restored creation.\n\nWe shall now return to Noah, and contemplate him in a new position. We\nhave seen him building the ark, we have seen him in the ark, and we\nshall now view him going forth of the ark, and taking his place in the\nnew world.[13] \"And God remembered Noah.\" The strange work of judgment\nbeing over, the saved family, and all in association with them, come\ninto remembrance. \"God made a wind to pass over the earth; and the\nwaters assuaged; the fountains also of the deep and the windows of\nheaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained.\" The\nbeams of the sun now begin to act upon a world that had been baptized\nwith a baptism of judgment. Judgment is God's \"strange work.\" He\ndelights not in, though he is glorified by, it. Blessed be his name, he\nis ever ready to leave the place of judgment, and enter that of mercy,\nbecause he delights in mercy.\n\n\"And it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the\nwindow of the ark which he had made: and he sent forth a raven, which\nwent forth, to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the\nearth.\" The unclean bird made its escape, and found, no doubt, a\nresting-place upon some floating carcase. It sought not the ark again.\nNot so the dove. \"She found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she\nreturned unto him into the ark ... and again he sent forth the dove out\nof the ark: and the dove came in to him, in the evening; and, lo, in\nher mouth was an olive-leaf, pluckt off.\" Sweet emblem of the renewed\nmind, which, amid the surrounding desolation, seeks and finds its rest\nand portion in Christ; and not only so, but also lays hold of the\nearnest of the inheritance, and furnishes the blessed proof, that\njudgment has passed away, and that a renewed earth is coming fully into\nview. The carnal mind, on the contrary, can rest in any thing and every\nthing but Christ. It can feed upon all uncleanness. \"The olive-leaf\"\nhas no attraction for it. It can find all it needs in a scene of death,\nand hence is not occupied with the thought of a new world and its\nglories; but the heart that is taught and exercised by the Spirit of\nGod, can only rest and rejoice in that in which he rests and rejoices.\nIt rests in the Ark of his salvation \"until the times of the\nrestitution of all things.\" May it be thus with you and me, beloved\nreader! May Jesus be the abiding rest and portion of our hearts, that\nso we may not seek them in a world which is under the judgment of God!\nThe dove went back to Noah, and waited for his time of rest; and we\nshould ever find our place with Christ, until the time of his\nexaltation, and glory, in the ages to come. \"He that shall come, will\ncome, and will not tarry.\" All we want, as to this, is a little\npatience. May God direct our hearts into his love, and into \"the\npatience of Christ!\"\n\n\"And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark.\" The same God\nthat had said, \"Make thee an ark\" and \"Come thou into the ark,\" now\nsays, \"Go forth of the ark.\" \"And Noah went forth ... and builded an\naltar unto the Lord.\" All is simple obedience. There is the obedience\nof faith and the worship of faith: both go together. The altar is\nerected, where, just before; all had been a scene of death and\njudgment. The ark had borne Noah and his family safely over the waters\nof judgment. It had carried him from the old into the new world, where\nhe now takes his place as a worshipper.[14] And, be it observed, it was\n\"unto the Lord\" he erected his altar. Superstition would have\nworshipped _the ark_, as being the means of salvation. It is ever the\ntendency of the heart to displace God by his ordinances. Now, the ark\nwas a very marked and manifest ordinance; but Noah's faith passed\nbeyond the ark to the God of the ark; and hence, when he stepped out of\nit, instead of casting back a lingering look at it, or regarding it as\nan object of worship or veneration, he built an altar unto the Lord,\nand worshipped him: and the ark is never heard of again.\n\nThis teaches us a very simple, but, at the same time, a very seasonable\nlesson. The moment the heart lets slip the reality of God himself,\nthere is no placing a limit to its declension; it is on the highway to\nthe grossest forms of idolatry. In the judgment of faith, an ordinance\nis only valuable as it conveys God, in living power, to the soul; that\nis to say, so long as faith can enjoy Christ therein, according to his\nown appointment. Beyond this, it is worth just nothing; and if it in\nthe smallest degree comes between the heart and his precious work and\nhis glorious person, it ceases to be an ordinance of God, and becomes\nan instrument of the devil. In the judgment of superstition, the\nordinance is every thing, and God is shut out; and the name of God is\nonly made use of to exalt the ordinance, and give it a deep hold of the\nhuman heart, and a mighty influence over the human mind. Thus it was\nthat the children of Israel worshipped the brazen serpent. That, which\nhad once been a channel of blessing to them, because used of God,\nbecame, when their hearts had departed from the Lord, an object of\nsuperstitious veneration; and Hezekiah had to break it in pieces, and\ncall it \"a piece of brass.\" In itself it was only a \"Nehushtan,\" but,\nwhen used of God, it was a means of rich blessing. Now, faith owned it\nto be what divine revelation said it was; but superstition, throwing,\nas it ever does, divine revelation overboard, lost the real purpose of\nGod in the thing, and actually made a god of the thing itself. (See 2\nKings xviii. 4.)\n\nAnd, my reader, is there not a deep lesson in all this for the present\nage? I am convinced there is. We live in an age of ordinances. The\natmosphere which enwraps the professing church, is impregnated with the\nelements of a traditionary religion, which robs the soul of Christ, and\nhis divinely full salvation. It is not that human traditions boldly\ndeny that there is such a person as Christ, or such a thing as the\ncross of Christ: were they to do so, the eyes of many might be opened.\nHowever, it is not thus. The evil is of a far more insidious and\ndangerous character. Ordinances are added to Christ, and the work of\nChrist. The sinner is not saved by Christ alone, but by Christ and\nordinances. Thus he is robbed of Christ altogether; for it will,\nassuredly, be found that _Christ and ordinances_ will prove, in the\nsequel, to be _ordinances, and not Christ_. This is a solemn\nconsideration for all who stand up for a religion of ordinances. \"If ye\nbe circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing.\" It must be Christ\nwholly, or not at all. The devil persuades men, that they are honoring\nChrist when they make much of his ordinances; whereas, all the while he\nknows full well that they are, in reality, setting Christ entirely\naside, and deifying the ordinance. I would only repeat here a remark\nwhich I have made elsewhere, namely, that superstition makes _every\nthing_ of the ordinance; infidelity, profanity, and mysticism, make\n_nothing_ of it; faith uses it according to divine appointment.\n\nBut I have already extended this section far beyond the limit which I\nhad prescribed for it. I shall, therefore, close it with a hasty glance\nat the contents of Chapter ix. In it we have the new covenant, under\nwhich creation was set, after the Deluge, together with the token of\nthat covenant. \"And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them,\nBe fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.\" Observe, God's\ncommand to man, on his entrance into the restored earth, was to refill\nthat earth; not parts of the earth, but the earth. He desired to have\nmen dispersed abroad, over the face of the world, and not relying upon\ntheir own concentrated energies. We shall see, in Chap. xi., how man\nneglected all this.\n\nThe fear of man is now lodged in the heart of every other creature.\nHenceforth the service, rendered by the inferior orders of creation to\nman, must be the constrained result of \"fear and dread.\" In life, and\nin death, the lower animals were to be at the service of man. All\ncreation is delivered, by God's everlasting covenant, from the fear of\na second deluge. Judgment is never again to take that shape. \"The world\nthat then was, being overflowed with _water_, perished; but the heavens\nand the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store,\nreserved unto _fire_ against the day of judgment and perdition of\nungodly men.\" The earth was once purged with water; and it will be\nagain purged by fire; and in this second purgation none will escape,\nsave those, who have fled for refuge to him who has passed through the\ndeep waters of death, and met the fire of divine judgment.\n\n\"And God said, This is the token of the covenant ... I do set my bow\nin the cloud ... and I will remember my covenant.\" The whole creation\nrests, as to its exemption from a second deluge, on the eternal\nstability of God's covenant, of which the bow is the token; and it is\nhappy to bear in mind, that when the bow appears, the eye of God rests\nupon it; and man is cast, not upon his own imperfect and most uncertain\nmemory, but upon God's. \"I,\" says God, \"will remember.\" How sweet to\nthink of what God will, and what he will not, remember! He will\nremember his own covenant, but he will not remember his people's sins.\nThe cross, which ratifies the former, puts away the latter. The belief\nof this gives peace to the troubled heart and uneasy conscience.\n\n\"And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that\n_the bow shall be seen in the cloud_.\" Beautiful and most expressive\nemblem! The beams of the sun, reflected from that which threatens\njudgment, tranquillize the heart, as telling of God's covenant, God's\nsalvation, and God's remembrance. Precious, most precious sunbeams,\nderiving additional beauty from the very cloud which reflects them! How\nforcibly does this bow in the cloud remind us of Calvary. There we see\na cloud indeed,--a dark, thick, heavy cloud of judgment, discharging\nitself upon the sacred head of the Lamb of God,--a cloud so dark, that\neven at mid-day \"there was darkness over all the earth.\" But, blessed\nbe God, faith discerns, in that heaviest cloud that ever gathered, the\nmost brilliant and beauteous bow that ever appeared; for it sees the\nbright beams of God's eternal love darting through the awful gloom, and\nreflected in the cloud. It hears, too, the words, \"It is finished,\"\nissuing from amid the darkness, and in those words it recognizes the\nperfect ratification of God's everlasting covenant, not only with\ncreation, but with the tribes of Israel and the Church of God.\n\nThe last paragraph of this chapter presents a humiliating spectacle.\nThe lord of creation fails to govern himself: \"And Noah began to be an\nhusbandman, and he planted a vineyard; and he drank of the wine, and\nwas drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.\" What a condition\nfor Noah, the only righteous man, the preacher of righteousness, to be\nfound in! Alas! what is man? Look at him where you will, and you see\nonly failure. In Eden, he fails; in the restored earth, he fails; in\nCanaan, he fails; in the Church, he fails; in the presence of\nmillennial bliss and glory, he fails. He fails everywhere, and in all\nthings: there is no good thing in him. Let his advantages be ever so\ngreat, his privileges ever so vast, his position ever so desirable, he\ncan only exhibit failure and sin.\n\nWe must, however, look at Noah in two ways, namely, as _a type_, and as\n_a man_; and while the type is full of beauty and meaning, the man is\nfull of sin and folly; yet the Holy Ghost has written these words,\n\"Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generation; and Noah walked\nwith God.\" Divine grace had covered all his sins, and clothed his\nperson with a spotless robe of righteousness. Though Noah exposed his\nnakedness, God did not see it, for he looked not at him in the weakness\nof his own condition, but in the full power of divine and everlasting\nrighteousness. Hence we may see how entirely astray--how totally\nalienated from God and his thoughts--Ham was in the course he adopted;\nhe evidently knew nothing of the blessedness of the man whose iniquity\nis forgiven and his sin covered. On the contrary, Shem and Japheth\nexhibit in their conduct a fine specimen of the divine method of\ndealing with human nakedness; wherefore they inherit a blessing,\nwhereas Ham inherits a curse.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[11] We should ever bear in mind, that \"the wisdom which is from above\nis _first pure_, then peaceable.\" (James iii. 17.) The wisdom which is\nfrom beneath would put \"peaceable\" first, and, therefore, it can never\nbe pure.\n\n[12] It is impossible to over-estimate the wisdom of the Holy Ghost,\nas seen in the way in which he treats the ordinance of baptism, in the\nabove remarkable passage. We know the evil use which has been made of\nbaptism; we know the false place it has gotten in the thoughts of many;\nwe know how that the efficacy, which belongs only to the blood of\nChrist, has been attributed to the water of baptism; we know how the\nregenerating grace of the Holy Ghost has been transferred to water\nbaptism; and, with the knowledge of all this, we cannot but be struck\nwith the way in which the Spirit of God guards the subject, by stating,\nthat it is not the mere washing away of the filth of the flesh, as by\nwater, \"but the answer of a good conscience toward God,\" which \"answer\"\nwe get, not by baptism, how important soever it may be, as an ordinance\nof the kingdom, but \"by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,\" \"who was\ndelivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification.\"\n\nBaptism, I need hardly say, as an ordinance of divine institution, and\nin its divinely-appointed place, is most important and deeply\nsignificant; but when we find men, in one way or another, putting the\nfigure in place of the substance, we are bound to expose the work of\nSatan by the light of the word of God.\n\n[13] I would here mention, for my reader's prayerful consideration, a\nthought very familiar to the minds of those who have specially given\nthemselves to the study of what is called \"dispensational truth.\" It\nhas reference to Enoch and Noah. The former was taken away, as we have\nseen, before the judgment came; whereas the latter was carried through\nthe judgment. Now, it is thought that Enoch is a figure of the Church,\nwho shall be taken away before human evil reaches its climax, and\nbefore the divine judgment falls thereon. Noah, on the other hand, is a\nfigure of the remnant of Israel, who shall be brought through the deep\nwaters of affliction, and through the fire of judgment, and led into\nthe full enjoyment of millennial bliss, in virtue of God's everlasting\ncovenant. I may add, that I quite receive this thought in reference to\nthose two Old-Testament fathers. I consider that it has the full\nsupport of the general scope and analogy of Holy Scripture.\n\n[14] It is interesting to look at this entire subject of the ark and\ndeluge, in connection with that most important and deeply significant\nordinance of baptism. A truly baptized person, that is, one who, as the\napostle says, \"obeys from the heart that type of doctrine to which he\nis delivered,\" is one, who has passed from the old world into the new,\nin spirit and principle, and by faith. The water rolls over his person,\nsignifying that his old man is buried, that his place in nature is\nignored, that his old nature is entirely set aside; in short, that he\nis a dead man. When he is plunged beneath the water, expression is\ngiven to the fact that his name, place, and existence, in nature, are\nput out of sight; that the flesh, with all that pertained thereto, its\nsins, its iniquities, its liabilities, is buried in the grave of\nChrist, and never can come into God's sight again.\n\nAgain, when he rises up out of the water, expression is given to the\ntruth, that he only comes up as the possessor of a new life, even the\nresurrection life of Christ. If Christ had not been raised from the\ndead, the believer could not come up out of the water, but should\nremain buried beneath its surface, as the simple expression of the\nplace which righteously belongs to nature. But, inasmuch as Christ rose\nfrom the dead, in the power of a new life, having entirely put away our\nsins, we also come up out of the water; and, in so doing, set forth the\nfact, that we are put, by the grace of God, and through the death of\nChrist, in full possession of a new life, to which divine righteousness\ninseparably attaches. \"We are buried with him by baptism into death;\nthat like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the\nFather, even so we also should walk in newness of life.\" (See Rom. vi.\nand Col. ii. _passim_. Comp. also 1 Peter iii. 18-22.) All this makes\nthe institution of baptism one of immense importance, and pregnant with\nmeaning.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n\nThis section of our book records the generations of Noah's three sons,\nnoticing, especially, Nimrod, the founder of the kingdom of Babel, or\nBabylon, a name which occupies a very prominent place on the page of\ninspiration. Babylon is a well-known name,--a well-known influence.\nFrom the tenth chapter of Genesis, down to the eighteenth chapter of\nRevelation, Babylon, again and again, appears before us, and always as\nsomething decidedly hostile to those who occupy, for the time being,\nthe position of public testimony for God. Not that we are to look upon\nthe Babylon of Old Testament scripture as identical with the Babylon of\nthe Apocalypse. By no means. I believe the former is a city; the\nlatter, a system; but both the city and the system exert a powerful\ninfluence against God's people. Hardly had Israel entered upon the wars\nof Canaan, when \"a Babylonish garment\" brought defilement and sorrow,\ndefeat and confusion, into the host. This is the earliest record of\nBabylon's pernicious influence upon the people of God; but every\nstudent of Scripture is aware of the place which Babylon gets\nthroughout the entire history of Israel.\n\nThis would not be the place to notice in detail the various passages in\nwhich this city is introduced. I would only remark here, that whenever\nGod has a corporate witness on the earth, Satan has a Babylon to mar\nand corrupt that witness. When God connects his name with a city on the\nearth, then Babylon takes the form of a city; and when God connects his\nname with the Church, then Babylon takes the form of a corrupt\nreligious system, called \"the great whore,\" \"the mother of\nabominations,\" &c. In a word, Satan's Babylon is always seen as the\ninstrument moulded and fashioned by his hand, for the purpose of\ncounteracting the divine operations, whether in Israel of old, or the\nChurch now. Throughout the Old Testament Israel and Babylon are seen,\nas it were, in opposite scales; when Israel is up, Babylon is down; and\nwhen Babylon is up, Israel is down. Thus, when Israel had utterly\nfailed, as Jehovah's witness, \"the king of Babylon broke his bones,\"\nand swallowed him up. The vessels of the house of God, which ought to\nhave remained in the _city_ of Jerusalem, were carried away to the\n_city_ of Babylon. But Isaiah, in his sublime prophecy, leads us onward\nto the opposite of all this. He presents, in most magnificent strains,\na picture, in which Israel's star is in the ascendant, and Babylon\nentirely sunk. \"And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord\nshall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the\nhard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, that thou shalt take up\nthis proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the\noppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!... since _thou_ art laid\ndown, no feller is come up against _us_.\" (Isa. xiv. 3-8.)\n\nThus much as to the Babylon of the Old Testament. Then, as to the\nBabylon of Revelation, my reader has only to turn to the 17th and 18th\nchapters of that book to see her character and end. She is presented in\nmarked contrast with the bride, the Lamb's wife; and as to her end, she\nis cast as a great millstone into the sea; after which we have the\nmarriage of the Lamb, with all its accompanying bliss and glory.\n\nHowever, I could not attempt to pursue this most interesting subject\nhere: I have merely glanced at it in connection with the name of\nNimrod. I feel assured that my reader will find himself amply repaid\nfor any trouble he may take in the close examination of all those\nscriptures in which the name of Babylon is introduced. We shall now\nreturn to our chapter.\n\n\"And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a _mighty one in the earth_. He\nwas a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as\nNimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his\nkingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, _in the land of\nShinar_.\" Here, then, we have the character of the founder of Babylon.\nHe was \"a mighty one _in the earth_\"--\"a mighty hunter before the\nLord.\" Such was the origin of Babylon; and its character, throughout\nthe entire book of God, remarkably corresponds therewith. It is always\nseen as a mighty influence in the earth, acting in positive antagonism\nto every thing which owes its origin to heaven; and it is not until\nthis Babylon has been totally abolished, that the cry is heard, amid\nthe hosts above, \"Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.\"\nThen all Babylon's mighty hunting will be over forever, whether it be\nits hunting of wild beasts, to subdue them; or its hunting of souls, to\ndestroy them. All its might, and all its glory, all its pomp and pride,\nits wealth and luxury, its light and joy, its glitter and glare, its\npowerful attractions and wide-spread influence, shall have passed away\nforever. She shall be swept with the besom of destruction, and plunged\nin the darkness, the horror and desolation, of an everlasting night.\n\"How long, O Lord?\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\n\nThis is a chapter of very deep interest to the spiritual mind. It\nrecords two great facts, namely, the building of Babel, and the call of\nAbraham; or, in other words, man's effort to provide for himself, and\nGod's provision made known to faith; man's attempt to establish himself\n_in the earth_, and God's calling a man _out of_ it, to find his\nportion and his home _in heaven_.\n\n\"And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And it came\nto pass as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the\nland of Shinar; and they dwelt there.... And they said, Go to, let us\nbuild us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let\nus make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the\nwhole earth.\" The human heart ever seeks a name, a portion, and a\ncentre in the earth. It knows nothing of aspirations after heaven,\nheaven's God, or heaven's glory. Left to itself, it will ever find its\nobjects in this lower world; it will ever \"build beneath the skies.\" It\nneeds God's call, God's revelation, and God's power, to lift the heart\nof man above this present world, for man is a grovelling\ncreature,--alienated from heaven, and allied to earth. In the scene now\nbefore us, there is no acknowledgment of God, no looking up to, or\nwaiting on, him; nor was it the thought of the human heart to set up a\nplace in which God might dwell,--to gather materials for the purpose of\nbuilding a habitation for him,--alas! no; his name is never once\nmentioned. To make a name for himself was man's object on the plain of\nShinar; and such has been his object ever since. Whether we contemplate\nman on the plain of Shinar, or on the banks of the Tiber, we find him\nto be the same self-seeking, self-exalting, God-excluding creature,\nthroughout. There is a melancholy consistency in all his purposes, his\nprinciples, and his ways; he ever seeks to shut out God and exalt\nhimself.\n\nNow, in what light soever we view this Babel confederacy, it is most\ninstructive to see in it the early display of man's genius and\nenergies, regardless of God. In looking down along the stream of human\nhistory, we may easily perceive a marked tendency to confederacy, or\nassociation. Man seeks, for the most part, to compass his great ends in\nthis way. Whether it be in the way of Philanthropy, Religion, or\nPolitics, nothing can be done without an association of men regularly\norganized. It is well to see this principle,--well to mark its\nincipient working,--to see the earliest model which the page of\ninspiration affords of a human association, as exhibited on the plain\nof Shinar, in its design, its object, its attempt, its overthrow. If we\nlook around us at the present moment we see the whole scene filled with\nassociations. To name them were useless, for they are as numerous as\nare the purposes of the human heart. But it is important to mark that\nthe first of all these was the Shinar association, for the\nestablishment of the human interests, and the exaltation of the human\nname,--objects which may well be set in competition with any that\nengage the attention of this enlightened and civilized age. But, in the\njudgment of faith, there is one grand defect, namely, God is shut out;\nand to attempt to exalt man, without God, is to exalt him to a dizzy\nheight only that he may be dashed down into hopeless confusion and\nirretrievable ruin. The Christian should only know _one_ association,\nand that is, the Church of the living God, incorporated by the Holy\nGhost, who came down from heaven as the witness of Christ's\nglorification, to baptize believers into one body, and constitute them\nGod's dwelling-place. Babylon is the very opposite of this, in every\nparticular; and she becomes at the close, as we know, \"the habitation\nof devils.\" (See Rev. xviii.)\n\n\"And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one\nlanguage; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained\nfrom them which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and\nthere confound their language, that they may not understand one\nanother's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon\nthe face of all the earth; and they left off to build the city.\" Such\nwas the end of man's first association. Thus it will be to the end.\n\"Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces\n... gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves,\nand ye shall be broken in pieces.\" (Isa. viii. 9.) How different it is\nwhen God associates men! In the second chapter of Acts, we see the\nblessed One coming down in infinite grace to meet man in the very\ncircumstances in which his sin had set him. The Holy Ghost enabled the\nmessengers of grace to deliver their message in the very tongue wherein\neach was born. Precious proof this, that God desired to reach man's\nheart with the sweet story of grace! The law from the fiery mount was\nnot thus promulgated. When God was telling what man ought to be, he\nspoke in one tongue; but when he was telling what he himself was, he\nspoke in many. Grace broke through the barrier which man's pride and\nfolly had caused to be erected, in order that every man might hear and\nunderstand the glad tidings of salvation,--\"the wonderful works of\nGod.\" And to what end was this? Just to associate men on God's ground,\nround God's centre, and on God's principles. It was to give them, in\nreality, one language, one centre, one object, one hope, one life. It\nwas to gather them in such a way as that they never should be scattered\nor confounded again; to give them a name and a place which should\nendure forever; to build for them a tower and a city which should not\nonly have their top reaching to heaven, but their imperishable\nfoundation laid _in_ heaven, by the omnipotent hand of God himself. It\nwas to gather them around the glorious person of a risen and highly\nexalted Christ, and unite them all in one grand design of magnifying\nand adoring him.\n\nIf my reader will turn to the seventh chapter of Revelation, he will\nfind at the close thereof, \"All nations, and kindreds, and people, and\ntongues,\" standing round the Lamb; and, with one voice, ascribing all\npraise to him. Thus the three scriptures may be read in most\ninteresting and profitable connection. In Gen. xi. God gives various\ntongues as an expression of his _judgment_; in Acts ii. he gives\nvarious tongues as an expression of _grace_; and in Rev. vii. we see\nall those tongues gathered round the Lamb, in _glory_. How much better\nit is, therefore, to find our place in God's association than in man's!\nThe former ends in glory, the latter in confusion; the former is\ncarried forward by the energy of the Holy Ghost, the latter by the\nunhallowed energy of fallen man; the former has for its object the\nexaltation of Christ, the latter has for its object the exaltation of\nman, in some way or other.\n\nFinally, I would say, that all who sincerely desire to know the true\ncharacter, object, and issue of human associations, should read the\nopening verses of Genesis xi.; and, on the other hand, all who desire\nto know the excellency, the beauty, the power, the enduring character\nof divine association, should look at that holy, living, heavenly\ncorporation, which is called, in the New Testament, the Church of the\nliving God, the body of Christ, the bride of the Lamb.\n\nMay the Lord enable us to look at and apprehend all these things, in\nthe power of faith; for only in this way can they profit our souls.\nPoints of truth, however interesting; scriptural knowledge, however\nprofound and extensive; Biblical criticism, however accurate and\nvaluable, may all leave the heart barren, and the affections cold. We\nwant to find Christ in the Word; and, having found him, to feed on him\nby faith. This would impart freshness, unction, power, vitality,\nenergy, and intensity, all of which we deeply stand in need of, in this\nday of freezing formalism. What is the value of a chilling orthodoxy\nwithout a living Christ, known in all his powerful, personal\nattractions? No doubt, sound doctrine is immensely important. Every\nfaithful servant of Christ will feel himself imperatively called upon\nto \"hold fast the form of sound words.\" But, after all, a living Christ\nis the very soul and life, the joints and marrow, the sinews and\narteries, the essence and substance of sound doctrine. May we, by the\npower of the Holy Ghost, see more beauty and preciousness in Christ,\nand thus be weaned from the spirit and principles of Babylon.\n\nWe shall, God willing, consider the remainder of Chapter xi. in the\nnext section.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n\nThe book of Genesis is, for the most part, taken up with the history of\nseven men, namely, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and\nJoseph. There is, I doubt not, a specific line of truth brought out in\nconnection with each of those men. Thus, for example, in Abel we have\nthe great foundation truth of man's coming to God, in the way of\natonement,--atonement apprehended by faith. In Enoch, we have the\nproper portion and hope of the heavenly family; while Noah presents to\nus the destiny of the earthly family. Enoch was taken to heaven before\nthe judgment came; Noah was carried through the judgment into a\nrestored earth. Thus, in each, we have a distinct character of truth,\nand, as a consequence, a distinct phase of faith. My reader can pursue\nthe subject fully, in connection with the eleventh of Hebrews; and I\nfeel assured he will find much interest and profit, in so doing. We\nshall now proceed with our immediate theme, namely, the call of\nAbraham.\n\nBy comparing Chapter xii. 1, Chapter xi. 31, with Acts vii. 2-4, we\nlearn a truth of immense practical value to the soul. \"The Lord _had_\nsaid unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and _from thy kindred_,\nand from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee.\" (Chap.\nxii. 1.) Such was the communication made to Abraham,--a communication\nof the most definite character, designed of God to act upon Abraham's\nheart and conscience. \"The God of glory appeared unto our father\nAbraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and\nsaid unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and\ncome into a land that I will show thee. Then went he forth out of the\nland of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran, (or Haran;) and from\nthence, _when his father was dead_, he removed him into this land\nwherein ye now dwell.\" (Acts vii. 2-4.) The result of this\ncommunication is given in Chapter xi. 31: \"And Terah took Abram his\nson, and Lot the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai his\ndaughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them\nfrom Ur of the Chaldees, _to go into the land of Canaan_: and they\ncame _unto Haran, and dwelt there_ ... and Terah died in Haran.\"\n\nFrom all these passages taken together, we learn that the ties of\nnature hindered the full response of Abraham's soul to the call of God.\nThough called to Canaan, he, nevertheless, tarried at Haran, till\nnature's tie was snapped by death, and then, with unimpeded step, he\nmade his way to the place to which \"the God of glory\" had called him.\nThis is full of meaning. The influences of nature are ever hostile to\nthe full realization and practical power of \"the calling of God.\" We\nare sadly prone to take lower ground than that which the divine call\nwould set before us. It needs great simplicity and integrity of faith\nto enable the soul to rise to the height of God's thoughts, and to make\nour own of that which he reveals.\n\nThe apostle's prayer (Eph. i. 15-22) demonstrates how fully he, by the\nHoly Ghost, entered into the difficulty with which the Church would\never have to contend, in seeking to apprehend \"the hope of _God's\ncalling_, and the riches of the glory of _his_ inheritance in the\nsaints;\" because, evidently, if we fail to apprehend the calling, we\ncannot \"walk worthy\" thereof. I must know where I am called to go,\nbefore I can go thither. Had Abraham's soul been fully under the power\nof the truth that \"God's calling\" was to Canaan, and that there, too,\nlay \"his inheritance,\" he could not have remained in Charran. And so\nwith us. If we are led by the Holy Ghost into the understanding of the\ntruth, that we are called with a heavenly calling; that our home, our\nportion, our hope, our inheritance, are all above, \"where Christ\nsitteth at God's right hand,\" we could never be satisfied to maintain\na standing, seek a name, or lay up an inheritance, on the earth. The\ntwo things are incompatible: this is the true way to look at the\nmatter. The heavenly calling is not an empty dogma, a powerless theory,\nnor a crude speculation. It is either a divine reality, or it is\nabsolutely nothing. Was Abraham's call to Canaan a speculation? Was it\na mere theory about which he might talk or argue, while, at the same\ntime, he continued in Charran? Assuredly not. It was a truth, a divine\ntruth, a powerfully practical truth. He was called to Canaan, and God\ncould not possibly sanction his stopping short thereof. Thus it was\nwith Abraham, and thus it is with us. If we would enjoy the divine\nsanction and the divine presence, we must be seeking by faith to act\nupon the divine call. That is to say, we must seek to reach, in\nexperience, in practice, and moral character, the point to which God\nhas called us, and that point is full fellowship with his own\nSon,--fellowship with him in his rejection below, fellowship with him\nin his acceptance above.\n\nBut, as in Abraham's case, it was death that broke the link by which\nnature bound him to Charran; so, in our case, it is death which breaks\nthe link by which nature ties us down to this present world. We must\nrealize the truth that we have died in Christ, our Head and\nRepresentative,--that our place in nature and in the world is amongst\nthe things that were,--that the cross of Christ is to us what the Red\nSea was to Israel, namely, that which separates us forever from the\nland of death and judgment. Thus only shall we be able to walk, in any\nmeasure, \"worthy of the calling wherewith we are called,\"--our high,\nour holy, our heavenly calling,--our \"calling of God in Christ Jesus.\"\n\nAnd here I would dwell for a little on the cross of Christ in its two\ngrand, fundamental phases, or in other words, the cross as the basis of\nour worship and our discipleship, our peace and our testimony, our\nrelation with God, and our relation with the world. If as a convicted\nsinner I look at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, I behold in it the\neverlasting foundation of my peace. I see my \"sin\" put away, as to the\nroot or principle thereof, and I see my \"sins\" borne. I see God to be,\nin very deed, \"for me,\" and that, moreover, in the very condition in\nwhich my convicted conscience tells me I am. The cross unfolds God as\nthe _sinner's_ Friend. It reveals him in that most wondrous character\nas the righteous Justifier of the most ungodly sinner. Creation never\ncould do this. Providence never could do this. Therein I may see God's\npower, his majesty, and his wisdom: but what if all these things should\nbe ranged against me? Looked at in themselves abstractedly, they would\nbe so, for I am a sinner; and power, majesty, and wisdom, could not put\naway my sin, nor justify God in receiving me.\n\nThe introduction of the cross, however, changes the aspect of things\nentirely. There I find God dealing with sin in such a manner as to\nglorify himself infinitely. There I see the magnificent display and\nperfect harmony of all the divine attributes. I see love, and such love\nas captivates and assures my heart, and weans it, in proportion as I\nrealize it, from every other object. I see wisdom, and such wisdom as\nbaffles devils and astonishes angels. I see power, and such power as\nbears down all opposition. I see holiness, and such holiness as\nrepulses sin to the very farthest point of the moral universe, and\ngives the most intense expression of God's abhorrence thereof, that\ncould possibly be given. I see grace, and such grace as sets the sinner\nin the very presence of God,--yea, puts him into his bosom. Where could\nI see all these things but in the cross? Nowhere else. Look where you\nplease, and you cannot find aught that so blessedly combines those two\ngreat points, namely, \"glory to God in the highest,\" and \"on earth\npeace.\"\n\nHow precious, therefore, is the cross, in this its first phase, as the\nbasis of the sinner's peace, the basis of his worship, and the basis of\nhis eternal relationship with the God who is there so blessedly and so\ngloriously revealed! How precious to God, as furnishing him with a\nrighteous ground on which to go in the full display of all his\nmatchless perfections, and in his most gracious dealings with the\nsinner! So precious is it to God that, as a recent writer has well\nremarked, \"All that he has said,--all that he has done, from the very\nbeginning, indicates that it was ever uppermost in his heart. And no\nwonder! His dear and well-beloved Son was to hang there, between heaven\nand earth, the object of all the shame and suffering that men and\ndevils could heap upon him, because he loved to do his Father's will,\nand redeem the children of his grace. It will be the grand centre of\nattraction, as the fullest expression of his love, throughout\neternity.\"\n\nThen, as the basis of our practical discipleship and testimony, the\ncross demands our most profound consideration. In this aspect of it, I\nneed hardly say, it is as perfect as in the former. The same cross\nwhich connects me with God has separated me from the world. A dead man\nis evidently done with the world; and hence the believer, having died\nin Christ, is done with the world; and, having risen with Christ, is\nconnected with God, in the power of a new life, a new nature. Being\nthus inseparably linked with Christ, he of necessity participates in\nhis acceptance with God, and in his rejection by the world. The two\nthings go together. The former makes him a worshipper and a citizen in\nheaven, the latter makes him a witness and a stranger on earth. That\nbrings him inside the veil; this puts him outside the camp. The one is\nas perfect as the other. If the cross has come between me and my sins,\nit has just as really come between me and the world. In the former\ncase, it puts me into the place of peace with God; in the latter, it\nputs me into the place of hostility with the world, that is, in a moral\npoint of view; though in another sense it makes me the patient, humble\nwitness of that precious, unfathomable, eternal grace which is set\nforth in the cross.\n\nNow, the believer should clearly understand, and rightly distinguish\nbetween, both the above phases of the cross of Christ. He should not\nprofess to enjoy the one, while he refuses to enter into the other. If\nhis ear is open to hear Christ's voice within the veil, it should be\nopen also to hear his voice outside the camp. If he enters into the\natonement which the cross has accomplished, he should also realize the\nrejection which it necessarily involves. The former flows out of the\npart which God had in the cross; the latter out of the part which man\nhad therein. It is our happy privilege, not only to be done with our\nsins, but to be done with the world also. All this is involved in the\ndoctrine of the cross. Well, therefore, might the apostle say, \"God\nforbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,\nby which the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.\" Paul\nlooked upon the world as a thing which ought to be nailed to the cross;\nand the world, in having crucified Christ, had crucified all who\nbelonged to him. Hence there is a double crucifixion, as regards the\nbeliever and the world; and were this fully entered into, it would\nprove the utter impossibility of ever amalgamating the two. Beloved\nreader, let us deeply, honestly, and prayerfully ponder these things;\nand may the Holy Ghost give us the ability to enter into the full\npractical power of both the phases of the cross of Christ.\n\nWe shall now return to our theme.\n\nWe are not told how long Abraham tarried at Haran; yet God graciously\nwaited on his servant until, freed from nature's clog, he could fully\nobey his command. There was, however, no accommodation of that command\nto the circumstances of nature. This would never do. God loves his\nservants too well to deprive them of the full blessedness of entire\nobedience. There was no fresh revelation to Abraham's soul during the\ntime of his sojourn in Haran. It is well to see this. We must act up to\nthe light already communicated, and then God will give us more. \"To him\nthat hath shall more be given.\" This is God's principle. Still we must\nremember that God will never _drag_ us along the path of true-hearted\ndiscipleship. This would greatly lack the moral excellency which\ncharacterizes all the ways of God. He does not _drag_ but _draw_ us\nalong the path which leads to ineffable blessedness in himself; and if\nwe do not see that it is for our real advantage to break through all\nthe barriers of nature, in order to respond to God's call, we forsake\nour own mercies. But alas! our hearts little enter into this. We begin\nto calculate about the sacrifices, the hindrances, and the\ndifficulties, instead of bounding along the path, in eagerness of soul,\nas knowing and loving the One whose call has sounded in our ears.\n\nThere is much true blessing to the soul in every step of obedience, for\nobedience is the fruit of faith; and faith puts us into living\nassociation and communion with God himself. Looking at obedience in\nthis light, we can easily see how distinctly it is marked off, in every\nfeature of it from legality. This latter sets a man with the entire\nburden of his sins on him to serve God by keeping the law; hence the\nsoul is kept in constant torture, and so far from running in the path\nof obedience, it has not even taken the very first step. True\nobedience, on the contrary, is simply the manifestation or outflow of a\nnew nature communicated in grace. To this new nature God graciously\nimparts precepts for its guidance; and it is perfectly certain that the\ndivine nature guided by the divine precepts can never by any\npossibility resolve itself into legality. What constitutes legality is\nthe old nature taking up God's precepts and essaying to carry them out.\nTo attempt to regulate man's fallen nature by God's pure and holy law,\nis as useless and absurd as any thing can be. How could fallen nature\nbreathe an atmosphere so pure? Impossible. Both the atmosphere and the\nnature must be divine.\n\nBut not only does the blessed God impart a divine nature to the\nbeliever, and guide that nature by his heavenly precepts, he also sets\nbefore it suited hopes and expectations. Thus, in Abraham's case, \"_The\nGod of glory_ appeared unto him.\" And for what purpose? To set before\nhis soul's vision an attractive object,--\"a land that _I_ will show\nthee.\" This was not compulsion but attraction. God's land was in the\njudgment of the new nature,--the judgment of faith, far better than Ur\nor Charran: and albeit he had not seen the land, yet, inasmuch as it\nwas God's land, faith judged it to be worth having, and not only worth\nhaving, but also fully worth the surrender of present things. Hence we\nread, \"by faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place\nwhich he should after receive as an inheritance obeyed, and he went\nout, not knowing whither he went.\" That is to say, \"he walked by faith,\nnot by sight.\" Though he had not seen with his eyes, he believed with\nhis heart, and faith became the great moving spring in his soul. Faith\nrests on a far more solid ground than the evidence of our senses, and\nthat is the word of God. Our senses may deceive us, but God's word\nnever can.\n\nNow, the entire truth of the divine nature, together with the precepts\nwhich guide and the hopes which animate it, the whole of the divine\ndoctrine respecting these things is completely thrown overboard by the\nsystem of legalism. The legalist teaches that we must surrender earth\nin order to get heaven. But how can fallen nature surrender that to\nwhich it is allied? How can it be attracted by that in which it sees\nno charms? Heaven has no charms for nature; yea, it is the very last\nplace it would like to be found in. Nature has no taste for heaven, its\noccupations, or its occupants. Were it possible for nature to find\nitself there, it would be miserable. Thus, then, nature has no ability\nto surrender earth, and no desire to get heaven. True, it would be glad\nto escape hell and its ineffable torment, gloom, and misery. But the\ndesire to escape hell, and the desire to get heaven, spring from two\nvery different sources. The former may exist in the old nature; the\nlatter can only be found in the new. Were there no \"lake of fire,\" and\nno \"worm\" in hell, nature would not so shrink from it. The same\nprinciple holds good in reference to all of nature's pursuits and\ndesires. The legalist teaches that we must give up sin before we can\nget righteousness. But nature cannot give up sin; and as to\nrighteousness, it absolutely hates it. True, it would like a certain\namount of religion; but it is only with the idea that religion will\npreserve it from hell fire. It does not love religion because of its\nintroducing the soul to the present enjoyment of God and his ways.\n\nHow different from all this miserable system of legalism, in every\nphase thereof, is \"the gospel of the glory of the blessed God!\" This\ngospel reveals God himself coming down in perfect grace, and putting\naway sin by the sacrifice of the cross; putting it away, in the most\nabsolute manner, on the ground of eternal righteousness, inasmuch as\nChrist suffered for it, having been made sin for us. And not only is\nGod seen putting away sin, but also imparting a new life, even the\nrisen life of his own risen, exalted, and glorified Son, which life\nevery true believer possesses, in virtue of being linked, in God's\neternal counsels, with him who was nailed to the cross, but is now on\nthe throne of the Majesty in the heavens. This nature, as we have\nremarked, he graciously guides by the precepts of his holy word,\napplied in power by the Holy Ghost. He also animates it by the\npresentation of indestructible hopes. He reveals, in the distance, \"the\nhope of glory\"--\"a city which hath foundations\"--\"a better country,\nthat is an heavenly\"--the \"many mansions\" of the Father's house, on\nhigh--\"golden harps\"--\"green palms,\" and \"white robes\"--\"a kingdom\nwhich cannot be moved\"--everlasting association with himself, in those\nregions of bliss and light, where sorrow and darkness can never\nenter--the unspeakable privilege of being led, throughout the countless\nages of eternity, \"beside the still waters, and through the green\npastures\" of redeeming love. How different is all this from the\nlegalist's notion! Instead of calling upon me to educate and manage, by\nthe dogmas of systematic religion, an irremediably corrupt nature, in\norder that thereby I may surrender an earth that I love, and attain to\na heaven which I hate, he, in infinite grace, and on the ground of\nChrist's accomplished sacrifice, bestows upon me a nature which can\nenjoy heaven, and a heaven for that nature to enjoy; and, not only a\nheaven, but himself the unfailing spring of all heaven's joy.\n\nSuch is God's most excellent way. Thus he dealt with Abraham. Thus he\ndealt with Saul of Tarsus. Thus he deals with us. The God of glory\nshowed Abraham a better country than Ur or Charran. He showed Saul of\nTarsus a glory so bright, that it closed his eyes to all earth's\nbrightest glories, and caused him to count them all \"but dung,\" that he\nmight win that blessed One who had appeared to him, and whose voice had\nspoken to his inmost soul. He saw a heavenly Christ in glory; and,\nthroughout the remainder of his course, notwithstanding the weakness of\nthe earthen vessel, that heavenly Christ and that heavenly glory\nengrossed his whole soul.\n\n\"And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the\nplain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.\" The presence\nof the Canaanite in God's land would, necessarily, prove a trial to\nAbraham. It would be a demand upon his faith and hope, an exercise of\nheart, a trial of patience. He had left Ur and Charran behind, and come\ninto the country of which \"the God of glory\" had spoken to him, and\nthere he finds \"the Canaanite.\" But there, too, he finds the Lord. \"And\nthe Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this\nland.\" The connection between the two statements is beautiful and\ntouching. \"The Canaanite was then in the land,\" and lest Abraham's eye\nshould rest upon the Canaanite, the present possessor of the land,\nJehovah appears to him as the One who was going to give the land to him\nand to his seed forever. Thus Abraham was taken up with the Lord, and\nnot with the Canaanite. This is full of instruction for us. The\nCanaanite in the land is the expression of the power of Satan; but,\ninstead of being occupied with Satan's power to keep us out of the\ninheritance, we are called to apprehend Christ's power to bring us in.\n\"We wrestle, not with flesh and blood, ... but with spiritual\nwickedness in the heavenlies.\" The very sphere into which we are called\nis the sphere of our conflict. Should this terrify us? By no means. We\nhave Christ there,--a victorious Christ, in whom we are \"more than\nconquerors.\" Hence, instead of indulging \"a spirit of fear,\" we\ncultivate a spirit of worship. \"And there builded he an _altar_ unto\nthe Lord, who appeared unto him.\" \"And he removed from thence unto a\nmountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his _tent_.\" The altar and\nthe tent give us the two great features of Abraham's character. A\nworshipper of God, a stranger in the world,--most blessed\ncharacteristics! Having nothing on earth,--having our all in God.\nAbraham had \"not so much as to set his foot upon;\" but he had God to\nenjoy, and that was enough.\n\nHowever, faith has its trials, as well as its answers. It is not to be\nimagined that the man of faith, having pushed out from the shore of\ncircumstances, finds it all smooth and easy sailing. By no means. Again\nand again he is called to encounter rough seas and stormy skies; but it\nis all graciously designed to lead him into deeper and more matured\nexperience of what God is to the heart that confides in him. Were the\nsky always without a cloud and the ocean without a ripple, the believer\nwould not know so well the God with whom he has to do; for, alas! we\nknow how prone the heart is to mistake the peace of circumstances for\nthe peace of God. When every thing is going on smoothly and pleasantly,\nour property safe, our business prosperous, our children and servants\ncarrying themselves agreeably, our residence comfortable, our health\nexcellent, every thing, in short, just to our mind, how apt we are to\nmistake the peace which reposes upon such circumstances for that peace\nwhich flows from the realized presence of Christ. The Lord knows this;\nand, therefore, he comes in, in one way or another, and stirs up the\nnest, that is, if we are found nestling in circumstances, instead of in\nhimself.\n\nBut, again, we are frequently led to judge of the rightness of a path\nby its exemption from trial, and _vice versa_. This is a great mistake.\nThe path of obedience may often be found most trying to flesh and\nblood. Thus, in Abraham's case, he was not only called to encounter the\nCanaanite, in the place to which God had called him, but there was also\n\"a famine in the land.\" Should he, therefore, have concluded that he\nwas not in his right place? Assuredly not. That would have been to\njudge according to the sight of his eyes, the very thing which faith\nnever does. No doubt it was a deep trial to the heart, an inexplicable\npuzzle to nature; but to faith it was all plain and easy. When Paul was\ncalled into Macedonia, almost the first thing he had to encounter was\nthe prison at Philippi. This, to a heart out of communion, would have\nseemed a death-blow to the entire mission. But Paul never questioned\nthe rightness of his position. He was enabled to \"sing praises\" in the\nmidst of it all, assured that every thing was just as it should be: and\nso it was; for in the prison of Philippi was one of God's vessels of\nmercy, who could not, humanly speaking, have heard the gospel, had not\nthe preachers of it been thrust into the very place where he was. The\ndevil was made, in spite of himself, the instrument of sending the\ngospel to the ears of one of God's elect.\n\nNow, Abraham should have reasoned in the same way, in reference to the\nfamine. He was in the very place in which God had set him; and,\nevidently, he received no direction to leave it. True, the famine was\nthere; and, moreover, Egypt was at hand, offering deliverance from\npressure; still the path of God's servant was plain. _It is better to\nstarve in Canaan, if it should be so, than live in luxury in Egypt._ It\nis better far to suffer in God's path, than be at ease in Satan's. It\nis better to be poor with Christ, than rich without him. \"Abraham had\nsheep, and oxen, and he asses, and men servants, and maid servants, and\nshe asses, and camels.\" Substantial proofs, the natural heart would,\ndoubtless, say, of the rightness of his step, in going down to Egypt.\nBut, ah! he had no altar,--no communion. Egypt was not the place of\nGod's presence. He lost more than he gained by going thither. This is\never the case. Nothing can ever make up for the loss of our communion\nwith God. Exemption from temporary pressure, and the accession of the\ngreatest wealth are but poor equivalents for what one loses by\ndiverging a hair's breadth from the straight path of obedience. How\nmany of us can add our amen to this! How many, in order to avoid the\ntrial and exercise connected with God's path, have slipped aside into\nthe current of this present evil world, and thereby brought leanness\nand barrenness, heaviness and gloom, into their souls! It may be they\nhave, to use the common phrase, \"made money,\" increased their store,\nobtained the world's favor, been \"entreated well\" by its Pharaohs,\ngotten a name and a position amongst men; but are these a proper\nequivalent for joy in God, communion, liberty of heart, a pure,\nuncondemning conscience, a thankful, worshipping spirit, vigorous\ntestimony, and effectual service? Alas, for the man that can think so!\nAnd yet all the above incomparable blessings have been often sold for a\nlittle ease, a little influence, a little money.\n\nChristian reader, let us watch against the tendency to slip aside from\nthe narrow, yet safe, the _sometimes_ rough, yet _always_ pleasant,\npath of simple, wholehearted obedience. Let us keep guard--jealous,\ncareful guard--over \"faith and a pure conscience,\" for which nothing\ncan compensate. Should trial come, let us, instead of turning aside\ninto Egypt, wait on God; and thus the trial, instead of proving an\noccasion of stumbling, will prove an opportunity for obedience. Let us,\nwhen tempted to slip into the course of the world, remember him \"who\ngave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present\nevil world, according to the will of God, and our Father.\" (Gal. i. 4.)\nIf such was his love for us, and such his sense of the true character\nof this present world, that he gave himself, in order to deliver us\nfrom it, shall we deny him by plunging again into that from which his\ncross has forever delivered us? May God Almighty forbid! May he keep us\nin the hollow of his hand, and under the shadow of his wings, until we\nsee Jesus as he is, and be like him, and with him forever.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n\nThe opening of this chapter presents to us a subject of immense\ninterest to the heart,--namely, the true character of divine\nrestoration. When the child of God has, in any way, declined in his\nspiritual condition, and lost his communion, he is in great danger,\nwhen conscience begins to work, of failing in the apprehension of\ndivine grace, and of stopping short of the proper mark of divine\nrestoration. Now, we know that God does every thing in a way entirely\nworthy of himself. Whether he creates, redeems, converts, restores, or\nprovides, he can only act like himself. What is worthy of himself is,\never and only, his standard of action. This is unspeakably happy for\nus, inasmuch as we would ever seek to \"limit the Holy One of Israel;\"\nand in nothing are we so prone to limit him as in his restoring grace.\nIn the case now before us, we see that Abraham was not only delivered\nout of Egypt, but brought back \"unto the place where his tent had been\n_at the beginning_, ... unto the place of the altar which he had made\nthere _at the first_: and there Abraham called on the name of the\nLord.\" Nothing can satisfy God, in reference to a wanderer or\nbackslider, but his being entirely restored. We, in the\nself-righteousness of our hearts, might imagine that such an one should\ntake a lower place than that which he had formerly occupied; and so he\nshould, were it a question of his merit or his character; but, inasmuch\nas it is, altogether, a question of grace, it is God's prerogative to\nfix the standard of restoration; and his standard is set forth in the\nfollowing passage: \"If thou wilt return, O Israel, return _to me_.\" It\nis thus that God restores, and it would be unworthy of himself to do\nany thing else. He will either not restore at all, or else restore in\nsuch a way as to magnify and glorify the riches of his grace. Thus,\nwhen the leper was brought back, he was actually conducted \"to the door\nof the tabernacle of the congregation.\" When the prodigal returned, he\nwas set down at the table with the father. When Peter was restored, he\nwas able to stand before the men of Israel and say, \"ye denied the Holy\nOne, and the Just,\"--the very thing which he had done himself, under\nthe most aggravated circumstances. In all these cases, and many more\nwhich might be adduced, we see the perfectness of God's restoration. He\nalways brings the soul back to himself, in the full power of grace and\nthe full confidence of faith. \"If thou wilt return, return _to me_.\"\n\"Abraham came unto the place where his tent had been at _the\nbeginning_.\"\n\nThen, as to the moral effect of divine restoration, it is most deeply\npractical. If legalism gets its answer in the _character_ of the\nrestoration, antinomianism gets its answer in the _effect_ thereof. The\nrestored soul will have a very deep and keen sense of the evil from\nwhich it has been delivered, and this will be evidenced by a jealous,\nprayerful, holy, and circumspect spirit. We are not restored in order\nthat we may, the more lightly, go and sin again, but rather that we may\n\"go and sin no more.\" The deeper my sense of the _grace_ of divine\nrestoration, the deeper will be my sense of the _holiness_ of it also.\nThis principle is taught and established throughout all scripture; but\nespecially in two well-known passages, namely, Psalms xxiii. 3, and 1\nJohn i. 9: \"He restoreth my soul: _he leadeth me in the paths of\nrighteousness_ for his name's sake.\" And again: \"If we confess our\nsins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to _cleanse\nus from all unrighteousness_.\" The proper path for a divinely-restored\nsoul is \"the path of righteousness.\" In other words, having tasted\ndivine grace we walk in righteousness. To talk of grace, while walking\nin unrighteousness, is, as the apostle says, to turn \"the grace of our\nGod into lasciviousness.\" If \"grace reigns through righteousness unto\neternal life,\" it also manifests itself in righteousness, in the\noutflow of that life. The grace that forgives us our sins, cleanses us\nfrom all unrighteousness. Those things must never be separated. When\ntaken together, they furnish a triumphant answer to the legalism and\nantinomianism of the human heart.\n\nBut there was a deeper trial for Abraham's heart than even the famine,\nnamely, that arising from the company of one who evidently was not\nwalking in the energy of personal faith, nor in the realization of\npersonal responsibility. It seems plain that Lot was, from the very\nbeginning, borne onward rather by Abraham's influence and example, than\nby his own faith in God. This is a very common case. If we look down\nalong the history of the people of God, we can easily see how that, in\nevery great movement produced by the Spirit of God, certain individuals\nhave attached themselves thereto who were not personally participators\nof the power which had produced the movement. Such persons go on for a\ntime, either as a dead weight upon the testimony, or an active\nhindrance to it. Thus, in Abraham's case, the Lord called him to leave\nhis kindred; but he brought his kindred with him. Terah retarded him in\nhis movement, until death took him out of the way. Lot followed him\nsomewhat farther, until \"the lusts of other things\" overpowered him,\nand he entirely broke down.\n\nThe same thing is observable in the great movement of Israel out of\nEgypt. \"A mixed multitude\" followed them, and caused much defilement,\nweakness, and sorrow; for we read, in Numbers xi., \"the mixed multitude\nthat was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel _also_\nwept again, and said, who shall give us flesh to eat.\" So also, in the\nearly days of the Church; and not only so, but in every revival which\nhas taken place therein, down to the present day, many have been acted\nupon by various influences, which, not being divine, proved evanescent;\nand the persons so acted upon sooner or later gave way, and found their\nproper level. Nothing will endure but that which is of God. I must\nrealize the link between me and the living God. I must know myself as\none called of him into the position which I occupy, else I shall have\nno stability, and exhibit no consistency therein. It will not do for us\nto follow in the track of other people, merely because it is their\ntrack. God will graciously give each a path to walk in, a sphere to\nmove in, and a responsibility to fulfil; and we are bound to know our\ncalling and the functions thereof, that, by his grace ministered to our\nsouls daily, we may work therein effectually to his glory. It matters\nnot what our measure may be, provided it be what God hath dealt to us.\nWe may have \"five talents,\" or we may have but \"one:\" still, if we use\nthe \"one,\" with our eye fixed on the Master, we shall be just as sure\nto hear from his gracious lips the words, \"well done,\" as if we had\nused the \"five.\" This is encouraging. Paul, Peter, James, and John, had\neach his peculiar measure, his specific ministry; and so with all: none\nneeds to interfere with another. A carpenter has a saw and a plane, a\nhammer and a chisel; and he uses each as he needs it. Nothing can be\nmore worthless than imitation. If, in the natural world, we look at the\nvarious orders of creation, we see no imitation. All have their proper\nsphere, their proper functions. And if it be thus in the natural world,\nhow much more in the spiritual. The field is wide enough for all. In\nevery house there are vessels of various sizes and various shapes. The\nmaster wants them all.\n\nLet us, therefore, my beloved reader, search and see whether we are\nwalking under a divine or a human influence; whether our faith stands\nin the wisdom of man, or in the power of God; whether we are doing\nthings because others have done them, or because the Lord has called us\nto do them; whether we are merely propped up by the example and\ninfluence of our fellow, or sustained by personal faith in God. These\nare serious inquiries. It is, no doubt, a happy privilege to enjoy the\nfellowship of our brethren; but if we are propped up by them, we shall\nsoon make shipwreck. So, also, if we go beyond our measure, our action\nwill be strained and unsightly, uneasy and unnatural. It is very easy\nto see when a man is working in his place, and according to his\nmeasure. All affectation, assumption, and imitation, is contemptible\nin the extreme. Hence, though we cannot be great, let us be honest; and\nthough we cannot be brilliant, let us be genuine. If a person goes\nbeyond his depth, without knowing how to swim, he will surely flounder.\nIf a vessel put out to sea, without being sea-worthy and in trim, it\nwill surely be beaten back into harbor, or lost. Lot left \"Ur of the\nChaldees,\" but he fell in the plains of Sodom. The call of God had not\nreached his heart, nor the inheritance of God filled his vision. Solemn\nthought! may we ponder it deeply! Blessed be God, there is a path for\neach of his servants, along which shines the light of his approving\ncountenance, and to walk therein should be our chief joy. His approval\nis enough for the heart that knows him. True, we may not always be able\nto command the approval and concurrence of our brethren; we may\nfrequently be misunderstood; but we cannot help these things. \"The day\"\nwill set all this to rights, and the loyal heart can contentedly wait\nfor that day, knowing that then \"every man shall have praise of God.\"\n\nBut it may be well to examine, more particularly, what it was that\ncaused Lot to turn aside off the path of public testimony. There is a\ncrisis in every man's history at which it will assuredly be made\nmanifest on what ground he is resting, by what motives he is actuated,\nand by what objects he is animated. Thus it was with Lot. He did not\ndie at Charran; but he fell at Sodom. The _ostensible_ cause of his\nfall was the strife between his herdmen and those of Abraham; but the\nfact is, when one is not really walking with a single eye and purified\naffections, he will easily find a stone to stumble over. If he does\nnot find it at one time, he will at another. If he does not find it\nhere, he will find it there. In one sense, it makes little matter as to\nwhat may be the apparent cause of turning aside; the _real_ cause lies\nunderneath, far away, it may be, from common observation, in the hidden\nchambers of the heart's affections and desires, where _the world_, in\nsome shape or form, has been sought after. The strife between the\nherdmen might have been easily settled without spiritual damage to\neither Abraham or Lot. To the former, indeed, it only afforded an\noccasion for exhibiting the beautiful power of faith, and the moral\nelevation, the heavenly vantage-ground, on which faith ever sets the\npossessor thereof. But to the latter it was an occasion for exhibiting\nthe thorough worldliness of his heart. The strife no more produced the\nworldliness in Lot than it produced the faith in Abraham; it only\nmanifested, in the case of each, what was really there.\n\nThus it is always: controversies and divisions arise in the Church of\nGod, and many are stumbled thereby, and driven back into the world, in\none way or another. They then lay the blame on the controversy and\ndivision, whereas the truth is, that these things were only the means\nof developing the real condition of the soul, and the bent of the\nheart. The world was in the heart, and _would be_ reached by some\n_route_ or another; nor is there much of moral excellency exhibited in\nblaming men and things, when the root of the matter lies within. It is\nnot that controversy and division are not to be deeply deplored:\nassuredly they are. To see brethren contending in the very presence of\n\"the Canaanite and the Perizzite,\" is truly lamentable and\nhumiliating. Our language should ever be, \"Let there be no strife, I\npray thee, between me and thee ... for we are brethren.\" Still, why did\nnot Abraham make choice of Sodom? Why did not the strife drive him into\nthe world? Why was it not an occasion of stumbling to him? Because he\nlooked at it from God's point of view. No doubt, he had a heart that\ncould be attracted by \"well-watered plains,\" just as powerfully as\nLot's heart; but then he did not allow his own heart to choose. He\nfirst let Lot take his choice, and then left God to choose for him.\nThis was heavenly wisdom. This is what faith ever does: it allows God\nto fix its inheritance, as it also allows him to make it good. It is\nalways satisfied with the portion which God gives. It can say, \"the\nlines are fallen to me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly\nheritage.\" It matters not where \"the lines\" fall; for, in the judgment\nof faith, they always \"fall in pleasant places,\" just because God casts\nthem there.\n\nThe man of faith can easily afford to allow the man of sight to take\nhis choice. He can say, \"If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will\ngo to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to\nthe left.\" What beautiful disinterestedness and moral elevation we have\nhere! and yet what security! It is certain that, let nature range where\nit will, let it take its most comprehensive grasp, its boldest and\nhighest flight, there is never the slightest danger of its laying its\nhand upon faith's treasure. It will seek its portion in quite an\nopposite direction. Faith lays up its treasure in a place which nature\nwould never dream of examining and, as to its approaching thereto, it\ncould not if it would; and it would not if it could. Hence, therefore,\nfaith is perfectly safe, as well as beautifully disinterested, in\nallowing nature to take its choice.\n\nWhat, then, did Lot choose when he got his choice. He chose Sodom. The\nvery place that was about to be judged. But how was this? Why select\nsuch a spot? Because he looked at the outward appearance, and not at\nthe intrinsic character and future destiny. The intrinsic character was\n\"_wicked_.\" Its future destiny was \"_judgment_,\"--to be destroyed by\n\"fire and brimstone out of heaven.\" But, it may be said, \"Lot knew\nnothing of all this.\" Perhaps not, nor Abraham either; but God did; and\nhad Lot allowed God to \"choose his inheritance for him,\" he certainly\nwould not have chosen a spot that he himself was about to destroy. He\ndid not, however. He judged for himself. Sodom suited him, though it\ndid not suit God. His eye rested on the \"well-watered plains,\" and his\nheart was attracted by them. \"He pitched his tent _toward_ Sodom.\" Such\nis nature's choice! \"Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present\nworld.\" Lot forsook Abraham for the same reason. He left the place of\ntestimony, and got into the place of judgment.\n\n\"And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him,\nLift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art,\nnorthward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land\nwhich thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever.\" The\n\"strife\" and \"separation,\" so far from damaging Abraham's spiritual\ncondition, rather brought out, in full relief, his heavenly principles,\nand strengthened in his soul the life of faith. Moreover, it cleared\nthe prospect for him, and delivered him from the company of one who\ncould only prove a dead weight. Thus it worked for good, and yielded a\nharvest of blessing. It is at once most solemn, and yet most\nencouraging, to bear in mind that, in the long run, men find their\nproper level. Men who run unsent, break down, in one way or another,\nand find their way back to that which they profess to have left. On the\nother hand, those who are called of God, and lean on him, are, by his\ngrace, sustained. \"Their path is as the shining light, which shineth\nmore and more unto the perfect day.\" The thought of this should keep us\nhumble, watchful, and prayerful. \"Let him that thinketh he standeth\ntake heed lest he fall,\" for truly, \"there are first that shall be\nlast, and there are last that shall be first.\" \"He that endureth to the\nend, the same shall be saved,\" is a principle which, whatever be its\nspecific application, has a wide moral bearing. Many a vessel has\nsailed out of harbor in gallant style, with all its canvas spread, amid\ncheering and shouting, and with many fair promises of a first-rate\npassage; but, alas! storms, waves, shoals, rocks, and quicksands, have\nchanged the aspect of things; and the voyage that commenced with hope\nhas ended in disaster. I am here only referring to the path of service\nand testimony, and by no means to the question of a man's eternal\nacceptance in Christ. This latter, blessed be God, does not in any wise\nrest with ourselves, but with him who has said, \"I give unto my sheep\neternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them\nout of my hand.\" But do we not know that many Christians set out on\nsome special course of service or testimony, under the impression that\nthey are called of God thereto, and after a time they break down?\nUnquestionably. And, further, very many set out in the profession of\nsome special principle of action, respecting which they have not been\ndivinely taught, or the consequences of which they have not maturely\nconsidered in the presence of God, and, as a necessary result, they\nthemselves have been found after a time in the open violation of those\nvery principles. All this is deplorable, and should be carefully\navoided. It tends to weaken the faith of God's elect, and causes the\nenemies of the truth to speak reproachfully. Each one should receive\nhis call and his commission directly from the Master himself. All whom\nChrist calls into any special service, he will, infallibly, maintain\ntherein, for he never sent any one a warfare at his own charges. But if\nwe run unsent, we shall not only be left to _learn_ our folly, but to\n_exhibit_ it.\n\nYet it is not that any one should set himself up as the impersonation\nof any principle, or as an example of any special character of service\nor testimony. God forbid. This would be the most egregious folly and\nempty conceit. It is a teacher's business to set forth God's Word; and\nit is a servant's business to set forth the Master's will; but while\nall this is fully understood and admitted, we must ever remember the\ndeep need there is of counting the cost, ere we undertake to build a\ntower or go forth to war. Were this more seriously attended to, there\nwould be far less confusion and failure in our midst. Abraham was\ncalled of God from Ur to Canaan, and hence, God led him forth on the\nway. When Abraham tarried at Charran, God waited for him; when he\nwent down into Egypt, he restored him; when he needed guidance, he\nguided him; when there was a strife and a separation, he took care of\nhim; so that Abraham had only to say, \"Oh, how great is thy goodness\nwhich _thou hast laid up_ for them that fear thee; which thou hast\nwrought for them that trust in thee, before the sons of men.\" He lost\nnothing by the strife. He had his tent and his altar before; and he had\nhis tent and his altar afterwards. \"Then Abram removed _his tent_ and\ncame and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built\nthere _an altar_ unto the Lord.\" Lot might choose Sodom; but as for\nAbraham, he sought and found his all in God. There was no altar in\nSodom. Alas! all who travel in that direction are in quest of something\nquite different from that. It is never the worship of God, but the love\nof the world that leads them thither. And even though they should\nattain their object, what is it? How does it end? Just thus: \"He gave\nthem their request, but sent leanness into their souls.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\n\nWe are here presented with an historic record of the revolt of five\nkings from under the hand of Chedorlaomer, and a battle consequent\nthereon. The Spirit of God can occupy himself with the movements of\n\"kings and their armies,\" when such movements are in anywise connected\nwith the people of God. In the present case, Abraham personally had\nnothing whatever to do with the revolt or its consequences. His \"tent\nand altar\" were not likely to furnish an occasion for the declaration\nof war, nor yet to be much affected by the outbreak or issue thereof.\nThe proper portion of a heavenly man could never, by any possibility,\ntempt the cupidity nor excite the ambition of the kings and conquerors\nof this world.\n\nHowever, although Abraham was not affected by the battle of \"four kings\nwith five,\" yet Lot was. His position was such as to involve him in the\nwhole affair. So long as we are enabled, through grace, to pursue the\npath of simple faith, we shall be thrown completely outside the range\nof this world's circumstances; but if we abandon our high and holy\nposition as those whose \"citizenship is in heaven,\" and seek a name, a\nplace, and a portion in the earth, we must expect to participate in\nearth's convulsions and vicissitudes. Lot had taken up his abode in the\nplains of Sodom, and was, therefore, deeply and sensibly affected by\nthe wars of Sodom. It must ever be thus. It is a bitter and a painful\nthing for the child of God to mingle himself with the children of this\nworld. He can never do so without serious damage to his own soul, as\nwell as to the testimony with which he is entrusted. What testimony was\nLot in Sodom? A very feeble one, indeed, if one at all. The very fact\nof his settling himself there was the death-blow to his testimony. To\nhave spoken a word against Sodom and its ways would have been to\ncondemn himself,--for why was he there? But in truth, it does not by\nany means appear that to testify for God formed any part of his object\nin \"pitching his tent toward Sodom.\" Personal and family interests\nseem to have been the leading springs of action in his heart; and\nthough, as Peter tells us, \"his righteous soul was vexed with the\nfilthy conversation of the wicked, from day to day,\" yet had he but\nlittle power to act against it, even if inclined so to do.\n\nIt is important, in a practical point of view, to see that we cannot be\ngoverned by two objects at the same time. For example, I cannot have\nbefore my mind as objects my worldly interests and the interests of the\ngospel of Christ. If I go to a town for the purpose of setting-up in\nbusiness, then, clearly, business is my object, and not the gospel. I\nmay, no doubt, propose to myself both to attend to business and to\npreach the gospel as well; but, all the while, either one or the other\nmust be my object. It is not that a servant of Christ may not most\nblessedly and effectually preach the gospel and attend to business\nalso: he assuredly may; but, in such a case, the gospel will be his\nobject, and not business. Paul preached the gospel and made tents; but\nthe gospel was his object, and not tent-making. If I make business my\nobject, the gospel preaching will speedily prove to be formal and\nunprofitable work; yea, it will be well if it be not made use of to\nsanctify my covetousness. The heart is very treacherous; and it is\noften truly astonishing to see how it deceives us when we desire to\ngain some special point. It will furnish, in abundance, the most\nplausible reasons; while the eyes of our understanding are so blinded\nby self-interest or unjudged wilfulness, as to be incapable of\ndetecting their plausibility. How frequently do we hear persons\ndefending a continuance in a position which they admit to be wrong,\non the plea that they thereby enjoy a wider sphere of usefulness. To\nall such reasoning, Samuel furnishes a pointed and powerful reply: \"To\nobey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.\"\nWhich was--Abraham or Lot--able to do the more good? Does not the\nhistory of those two men prove beyond a question that the most\neffectual way to serve the world is to be faithful to it, by separating\nfrom and testifying against it?\n\nBut be it remembered that genuine separation from the world can only be\nthe result of communion with God. I may seclude myself from the world,\nand constitute myself the centre of my being, like a monk or a cynic;\nbut separation to God is a totally different thing. The one chills and\ncontracts, the other warms and expands. That drives us in upon\nourselves; this draws us out in love and interest for others. That\nmakes self and its interests our centre; this makes God and his glory\nour centre. Thus, in Abraham's case, we see that the very fact of his\nseparation enabled him to render effectual service to one who had\ninvolved himself in trouble by his worldly ways. \"When Abraham heard\nthat _his brother_ was taken captive, he armed his trained servants,\nborn in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them\nunto Dan ... and he brought back all the goods, and also brought again\nhis brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.\"\nLot was Abraham's brother, after all; and brotherly love must act. \"A\nbrother is born for adversity;\" and it often happens that a season of\nadversity softens the heart, and renders it susceptible of kindness,\neven from one with whom we have had to part company; and it is\nremarkable that, while in verse 12 we read, \"they took Lot, _Abraham's\nbrother's son_,\" yet in verse 14 we read, \"when Abram heard that _his\nbrother_ was taken captive.\" The claims of a brother's trouble are\nanswered by the affections of a brother's heart. This is divine.\nGenuine faith, while it always renders us independent, never renders us\nindifferent. It will never wrap itself up in its fleece while a brother\nshivers in the cold. There are three things which faith does: it\n\"purifies the heart;\" it \"works by love;\" and it \"overcomes the world;\"\nand all these results of faith are beautifully exhibited in Abraham on\nthis occasion. His heart was purified from Sodom's pollutions; he\nmanifested genuine love to Lot, his brother; and, finally, he was\ncompletely victorious over the kings. Such are the precious fruits of\nfaith,--that heavenly, Christ-honoring principle.\n\nHowever, the man of faith is not exempt from the assaults of the enemy;\nand it frequently happens that immediately after a victory one has to\nencounter a fresh temptation. Thus it was with Abraham. \"The king of\nSodom went out to meet him, after his return from the slaughter of\nChedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him.\" There was,\nevidently, a very deep and insidious design of the enemy in this\nmovement. \"The king of Sodom\" presents a very different thought, and\nexhibits a very different phase of the enemy's power, from what we have\nin \"Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him.\" In the former, we\nhave rather the hiss of the serpent; in the latter, the roar of the\nlion; but whether it were the serpent or the lion, the Lord's grace\nwas amply sufficient; and most seasonably was this grace ministered to\nthe Lord's servant at the exact moment of need. \"And Melchizedek, king\nof Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the\nmost high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the\nmost high God, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be the most\nhigh God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.\" We have\nhere to remark, first, the peculiar point at which Melchizedek enters\nthe scene; and, secondly, the double effect of his ministry. He did not\ncome forth when Abraham was in pursuit of Chedorlaomer, but when the\nking of Sodom was in pursuit of Abraham. This makes a great moral\ndifference. A deeper character of communion was needed to meet the\ndeeper character of conflict.\n\nAnd then as to the ministry,--the \"bread and wine\" refreshed Abraham's\nspirit, after his conflict with Chedorlaomer; while the benediction\nprepared his heart for his conflict with the king of Sodom. Abraham was\na conqueror, and yet he was about to be a combatant, and the royal\npriest refreshed the conqueror's spirit, and fortified the combatant's\nheart.\n\nIt is peculiarly sweet to observe the manner in which Melchizedek\nintroduces God to the thoughts of Abraham. He calls him \"the most high\nGod, possessor of heaven and earth;\" and not only so, but pronounces\nAbraham \"blessed\" of that same God. This was effectually preparing him\nfor the king of Sodom. A man who was \"blessed\" of God did not need to\ntake aught from the enemy; and if \"the possessor of heaven and earth\"\nfilled his vision, \"the goods\" of Sodom could have but little\nattraction. Hence, as might be expected, when the king of Sodom made\nhis proposal, \"Give me the persons and take the goods to thyself,\"\nAbraham replies, \"I have lift up my hand unto the Lord, the most high\nGod, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a\nthread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that\nis thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich.\" Abraham\nrefuses to be enriched by the king of Sodom. How could he think of\ndelivering Lot from the power of the world, if he himself were governed\nthereby? The only true way in which to deliver another is to be\nthoroughly delivered myself. So long as I am in the fire, it is quite\nimpossible I can pluck another out of it. The path of separation is the\npath of power, as it is also the path of peace and blessedness.\n\nThe world in all its various forms is the great instrument of which\nSatan makes use, in order to weaken the hands and alienate the\naffections of the servants of Christ. But, blessed be God, when the\nheart is true to him, he always comes in to cheer, to strengthen, and\nto fortify, at the right time. \"The eyes of the Lord run to and fro\nthroughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of\nthem whose heart is perfect toward him.\" (2 Chron. xvi. 9.) This is an\nencouraging truth for our poor, timid, doubting, faltering hearts.\nChrist will be our strength and shield. He will \"cover our heads in the\nday of battle;\" he will \"teach our hands to war and our fingers to\nfight;\" and finally \"he will bruise Satan under our feet shortly.\" All\nthis is unspeakably comforting to a heart sincerely desirous of making\nway against \"the world, the flesh, and the devil.\" May the Lord keep\nour hearts true to himself in the midst of the ensnaring scene around\nus.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\n\n\"After these things, the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision,\nsaying, Fear not, Abram. I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great\nreward.\" The Lord would not suffer his servant to be a loser, by\nrejecting the offers of this world. It was infinitely better for\nAbraham to find himself hidden behind Jehovah's shield, than to take\nrefuge beneath the patronage of the king of Sodom; and to be\nanticipating his \"exceeding great reward,\" than to accept \"the goods\"\nof Sodom. The position into which Abraham is put in the opening verse\nof our chapter, is beautifully expressive of the position into which\nevery soul is introduced by the faith of Christ. Jehovah was his\n\"shield,\" that he might rest in him; Jehovah was his \"reward,\" that he\nmight wait for him. So with the believer now: he finds his present\nrest, his present peace, his present security, all in Christ. No dart\nof the enemy can possibly penetrate the shield which covers the weakest\nbeliever in Jesus.\n\nAnd then as to the future, Christ fills it. Precious portion! Precious\nhope! A portion which can never be exhausted: a hope which will never\nmake ashamed. Both are infallibly secured by the counsels of God, and\nthe accomplished atonement of Christ. The present enjoyment thereof is\nby the ministry of the Holy Ghost who dwells in us. This being the\ncase, it is manifest that if the believer is pursuing a worldly career,\nor indulging in worldly or carnal desires, he cannot be enjoying either\nthe \"shield\" or the \"reward.\" If the Holy Ghost is grieved, he will not\nminister the enjoyment of that which is our proper portion, our proper\nhope. Hence in the section of Abraham's history now before us, we see\nthat when he had returned from the slaughter of the kings and rejected\nthe offer of the king of Sodom, Jehovah rose before his soul in the\ndouble character, as his \"shield and his exceeding great reward.\" Let\nthe heart ponder this, for it contains a volume of deeply practical\ntruth. We shall now examine the remainder of the chapter.\n\nIn it we have unfolded to us the two great principles of sonship and\nheirship. \"And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I\ngo _childless_, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of\nDamascus? And Abram said, Behold, thou hast given to me no _seed_: and\nlo, one born in my house is mine _heir_.\" Abraham desired a son, for he\nknew upon divine authority that his \"seed\" should inherit the land.\n(Chap. xiii. 15.) Sonship and heirship are inseparably connected in the\nthoughts of God. \"He that shall come forth out of thine own bowels\nshall be thine heir.\" Sonship is the proper basis of every thing; and\nmoreover it is the result of God's sovereign counsel and operation, as\nwe read in James, \"of his own will begat he us.\" Finally, it is founded\nupon God's eternal principle of resurrection. How else could it be?\nAbraham's body was \"dead;\" wherefore, in his case, as in every other,\nsonship must be in the power of resurrection. Nature is dead, and can\nneither beget nor conceive aught for God. There lay the inheritance\nstretching out before the patriarch's eye, in all its magnificent\ndimensions; but where was the heir? Abraham's body and Sarah's womb\nalike answered \"_death_.\" But Jehovah is the God of resurrection, and,\ntherefore, a \"dead body\" was the very thing for him to act upon. Had\nnature not been dead, God should have put it to death ere he could\nfully show himself. The most suitable theatre for the living God is\nthat from which nature, with all its boasted powers and empty\npretensions, has been totally expelled by the sentence of death.\nWherefore, God's word to Abraham was, \"look now toward heaven, and tell\nthe stars, if thou be able to number them; and he said unto him, So\nshall thy seed be.\" When the God of resurrection fills the vision there\nis no limit to the soul's blessing, for he who can quicken the dead,\ncan do any thing.\n\n\"And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it unto him for\nrighteousness.\" The imputation of righteousness to Abraham is here\nfounded upon his believing in the Lord as the Quickener of the dead. It\nis in this character that he reveals himself in a world where death\nreigns; and when a soul believes in him, as such, it is counted\nrighteous in his sight. This necessarily shuts man out, as regards his\nco-operation, for what can he do in the midst of a scene of death? Can\nhe raise the dead? Can he open the gates of the grave? Can he deliver\nhimself from the power of death, and walk forth, in life and liberty,\nbeyond the limits of its dreary domain? Assuredly not. Well, then, if\nhe cannot do so, he cannot work out righteousness, nor establish\nhimself in the relation of sonship. \"God is not the God of the dead,\nbut of the living,\" and, therefore, so long as a man is under the power\nof death, and under the dominion of sin, he can neither know the\nposition of a son, nor the condition of righteousness. Thus, God alone\ncan bestow the adoption of sons, and he alone can impute righteousness,\nand both are connected with faith in him as the One who raised up\nChrist from the dead.\n\nIt is in this way that the apostle handles the question of Abraham's\nfaith, in Romans iv., where he says, \"It was not written for his sake\nalone, that it was imputed unto him; but for us also to whom it shall\nbe imputed, _if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from\nthe dead_.\" Here the God of resurrection is presented \"to us also,\" as\nthe object of faith, and our faith in him as the alone ground of our\nrighteousness. If Abraham had looked up into heaven's vault, spangled\nwith innumerable stars, and then looked at \"his own body now dead,\" how\ncould he ever grasp the idea of a seed as numerous as those stars?\nImpossible. But he did not look at his own body, but at the\nresurrection power of God; and, inasmuch as that was the power which\nwas to produce the seed, we can easily see that the stars of heaven and\nthe sand on the sea-shore are but feeble figures indeed; for what\nnatural object could possibly illustrate the effect of that power which\ncan raise the dead?\n\nSo also, when a sinner hearkens to the glad tidings of the gospel, were\nhe to look up to the unsullied light of the divine presence, and then\nlook down into the unexplored depths of his own evil nature, he might\nwell exclaim, How can I ever get thither? How can I ever be fit to\ndwell in that light? Where is the answer? In himself? Nay, blessed be\nGod, but in that blessed One who travelled from the bosom to the cross\nand the grave, and from thence to the throne, thus filling up in his\nperson and work all the space between those extreme points. There can\nbe nothing higher than the bosom of God,--the eternal dwelling-place of\nthe Son; and there can be nothing lower than the cross and the grave;\nbut, amazing truth! I find Christ in both. I find him in the bosom, and\nI find him in the grave. He went down into death in order that he might\nleave behind him in the dust thereof the full weight of his people's\nsins and iniquities. Christ in the grave exhibits the end of every\nthing human,--the end of sin,--the full limit of Satan's power. The\ngrave of Jesus forms the grand terminus of all. But resurrection takes\nus beyond this terminus and constitutes the imperishable basis on which\nGod's glory and man's blessing repose forever. The moment the eye of\nfaith rests on a risen Christ, there is a triumphant answer to every\nquestion as to sin, judgment, death, and the grave. The One who\ndivinely met all these is alive from the dead, and has taken his seat\nat the right hand of the majesty in the heavens; and, not only so, but\nthe Spirit of that risen and glorified One, in the believer,\nconstitutes him a son. He is quickened out of the grave of Christ; as\nwe read, \"and you, being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision of\nyour flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you\nall trespasses.\" (Col. ii. 13.)\n\nHence, therefore, sonship, being founded on resurrection, stands\nconnected with perfect justification,--perfect righteousness,--perfect\nfreedom from every thing which could, in any wise, be against us. God\ncould not have us in his presence with sin upon us. He could not suffer\na single speck or stain of sin upon his sons and daughters. The father\ncould not have the prodigal at _his_ table with the rags of the far\ncountry upon him. He could go forth to meet him in those rags. He could\nfall upon his neck and kiss him, in those rags. It was worthy, and\nbeautifully characteristic of his grace so to do; but then to seat him\nat his table in the rags would never do. The grace that brought the\nfather out to the prodigal, reigns through the righteousness which\nbrought the prodigal in to the father. It would not have been grace had\nthe father waited for the son to deck himself in robes of his own\nproviding; and it would not have been righteous to bring him in in his\nrags; but both grace and righteousness shone forth in all their\nrespective brightness and beauty when the father went out and fell on\nthe prodigal's neck; but yet did not give him a seat at the table until\nhe was clad and decked in a manner suited to that elevated and happy\nposition. God, in Christ, has stooped to the very lowest point of man's\nmoral condition, that, by stooping he might raise man to the very\nhighest point of blessedness, in fellowship with himself. From all\nthis, it follows, that our sonship, with all its consequent dignities\nand privileges, is entirely independent of us. We have just as little\nto do with it as Abraham's dead body and Sarah's dead womb had to do\nwith a seed as numerous as the stars which garnish the heavens, or as\nthe sand on the sea-shore. It is all of God. God the Father drew the\nplan, God the Son laid the foundation, and God the Holy Ghost raises\nthe superstructure; and on this superstructure appears the inscription,\n\"THROUGH GRACE, BY FAITH, WITHOUT WORKS OF LAW.\"\n\nBut, then, our chapter opens another most important subject to our\nview, namely, _heirship_. The question of sonship and righteousness\nbeing fully settled,--divinely and unconditionally settled,--the Lord\nsaid unto Abraham, \"I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the\nChaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.\" Here comes out the\ngreat question of heirship, and the peculiar path along which the\nchosen heirs are to travel ere they reach the promised inheritance. \"If\nchildren, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so\nbe that we _suffer_ with him, that we may be also glorified together.\"\nOur way to the kingdom lies through suffering, affliction, and\ntribulation; but, thank God, we can, by faith, say, \"the _sufferings_\nof this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which\nshall be revealed in us.\" And further, we know that \"our _light\naffliction_, which is but for a moment, worketh out for us a far more\nexceeding and eternal weight of glory.\" Finally, \"we glory in\n_tribulation_, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience\nexperience, and experience hope.\" It is a high honor and a real\nprivilege to be allowed to drink of our blessed Master's cup, and be\nbaptized with his baptism; to travel in blest companionship with him\nalong the road which leads directly to the glorious inheritance. The\nHeir and the joint-heirs reach that inheritance by the pathway of\nsuffering.\n\nBut let it be remembered that the suffering of which the joint-heirs\nparticipate has no penal element in it. It is not suffering from the\nhand of infinite justice, because of sin; all that was fully met on the\ncross, when the divine Victim bowed his sacred head beneath the stroke.\n\"Christ also hath _once_ suffered for sins,\" and that \"once,\" was on\nthe tree and _nowhere else_. He never suffered for sins before, and he\nnever can suffer for sins again. \"_Once_, in the end of the world, (the\nend of all flesh,) hath he appeared to put away sin, by the sacrifice\nof himself.\" \"Christ was _once_ offered.\"\n\nThere are two ways in which to view a suffering Christ: first, as\nbruised of Jehovah; secondly, as rejected of men. In the former, he\nstood alone; in the latter, we have the honor of being associated with\nhim. In the former, I say, he stood alone, for who could have stood\nwith him? He bore the wrath of God alone; he travelled in solitude down\ninto \"the rough valley that had neither been eared nor sown,\" and there\nhe settled forever the question of our sins. _With_ this we had nothing\nto do, though _to_ this we are eternally indebted for every thing. He\nfought the fight and gained the victory, alone; but he divides the\nspoils with us. He was in solitude \"in the horrible pit and miry clay;\"\nbut directly he planted his foot on the everlasting \"rock\" of\nresurrection, he associates us with him. He uttered the _cry_ alone; he\nsings the \"_new song_\" in company. (Ps. xl. 2, 3.)\n\nNow, the question is, Shall we refuse to suffer from the hand of man\n_with him_ who suffered from the hand of God _for us_? That it is, in a\ncertain sense, a question is evident from the Spirit's constant use of\nthe word \"if,\" in connection with it. \"If so be we suffer with him.\"\n\"If we suffer, we shall reign.\" There is no such question as to\nsonship. We do not reach the high dignity of sons through suffering,\nbut through the quickening power of the Holy Ghost, founded on the\naccomplished work of Christ, according to God's eternal counsel. This\ncan never be touched. We do not reach the _family_ through suffering.\nThe apostle does not say, \"that ye may be counted worthy of the\n_family_ of God for which ye also suffer.\" They were in the family\nalready; but they were bound for the kingdom; and their road to that\nkingdom lay through suffering; and not only so, but the measure of\nsuffering for the kingdom would be according to their devotedness and\nconformity to the King. The more like we are _to_ him, the more we\nshall suffer _with_ him; and the deeper our fellowship with him in the\nsuffering, the deeper will be our fellowship in the glory. There is a\ndifference between the _house_ of the Father and the kingdom of the\nSon: in the former, it will be a question of capacity; in the latter, a\nquestion of assigned position. All my children may be round my table,\nbut their enjoyment of my company and conversation will entirely depend\non their capacity. One may be seated on my knee, in the full enjoyment\nof his relationship as a child, yet perfectly unable to comprehend a\nword I say; another may exhibit uncommon intelligence in conversation,\nyet not be a whit happier in his relationship than the infant on my\nknee. But when it becomes a question of service for me, or public\nidentification with me, it is evidently quite another thing. This is\nbut a feeble illustration of the idea of capacity in the Father's\nhouse, and assigned position in the kingdom of the Son.\n\nBut let it be remembered that our suffering with Christ is not a yoke\nof bondage, but a matter of privilege; not an iron rule, but a gracious\ngift; not constrained servitude, but voluntary devotedness. \"Unto you\n_it is given_, in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but\nalso to suffer for his sake.\" (Phil. i. 29.) Moreover, there can be\nlittle doubt but that the real secret of suffering for Christ is to\nhave the heart's affections centred in him. The more I love Jesus, the\ncloser I shall walk with him, and the closer I walk with him, the more\nfaithfully I shall imitate him, and the more faithfully I imitate him,\nthe more I shall suffer with him. Thus it all flows from love to\nChrist; and then it is a fundamental truth that \"we love him because he\nfirst loved us.\" In this, as in every thing else, let us beware of a\nlegal spirit; for it must not be imagined that a man, with the yoke of\nlegality round his neck, is suffering for Christ; alas! it is much to\nbe feared that such an one does not know Christ; does not know the\nblessedness of sonship; has not yet been established in grace; is\nrather seeking to reach the family by works of law, than to reach the\nkingdom by the path of suffering.\n\nOn the other hand, let us see that we are not shrinking from our\nMaster's cup and baptism. Let us not profess to enjoy the benefits\nwhich his cross secures, while we refuse the rejection which that cross\ninvolves. We may rest assured that the road to the kingdom is not\nenlightened by the sunshine of this world's favor, nor strewed with the\nroses of its prosperity. If a Christian is advancing in the world, he\nhas much reason to apprehend that he is not walking in company with\nChrist. \"If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there\nshall also my servant be.\" What was the goal of Christ's earthly\ncareer? Was it an elevated, influential position in this world? By no\nmeans. What then? He found his place on the cross, between two\ncondemned malefactors. \"But,\" it will be said, \"God was in this.\" True;\nyet man was in it likewise; and this latter truth is what must\ninevitably secure our rejection by the world, if only we keep in\ncompany with Christ. The companionship of Christ, which lets me into\nheaven, casts me out of earth; and to talk of the former, while I am\nignorant of the latter, proves there is something wrong. If Christ were\non earth, now, what would his path be? Whither would it tend? Where\nwould it terminate? Would we like to walk with him? Let us answer these\ninquiries under the edge of the word, and under the eye of the\nAlmighty; and may the Holy Ghost make us faithful to an absent, a\nrejected, a crucified Master. The man who walks in the Spirit will be\nfilled with Christ; and, being filled with him, he will not be occupied\nwith suffering, but with him for whom he suffers. If the eye is fixed\non Christ, the suffering will be as nothing in comparison with the\npresent joy and future glory.\n\nThe subject of heirship has led me much further than I intended; but I\ndo not regret it, as it is of considerable importance. Let us now\nbriefly glance at the deeply significant vision of Abraham as set forth\nin the closing verses of our chapter. \"And _when the sun was going\ndown_, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great\ndarkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety, that\nthy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall\nserve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years: and also\nthat nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall\nthey come out with great substance.... And it came to pass, that _when\nthe sun went down_, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a\nburning lamp that passed between those pieces.\"\n\nThe entire of Israel's history is summed up in those two figures, the\n\"furnace\" and the \"lamp.\" The former presents to us those periods of\ntheir history in which they were brought into suffering and trial;\nsuch, for example, as the long period of Egyptian bondage, their\nsubjection to the kings of Canaan, the Babylonish captivity, their\npresent dispersed and degraded condition. During all these periods they\nmay be considered as passing through the smoking furnace. (See Deut.\niv. 20; 1 Kings viii. 51; Isaiah xlviii. 10.)\n\nThen, in the burning lamp, we have those points in Israel's eventful\nhistory at which Jehovah graciously appeared for their relief, such as\ntheir deliverance from Egypt, by the hand of Moses; their deliverance\nfrom under the power of the kings of Canaan, by the ministry of the\nvarious judges; their return from Babylon, by the decree of Cyrus; and\ntheir final deliverance, when Christ shall appear in his glory. The\ninheritance must be reached through the furnace; and the darker the\nsmoke of the furnace, the brighter and more cheering will be the lamp\nof God's salvation.\n\nNor is this principle confined merely to the people of God as a whole;\nit applies just as fully to individuals. All who have ever reached a\nposition of eminence as _servants_, have endured the furnace before\nthey enjoyed the lamp. \"An horror of great darkness\" passed across the\nspirit of Abraham. Jacob had to endure twenty-one years of sore\nhardship, in the house of Laban. Joseph found his furnace of affliction\nin the dungeons of Egypt. Moses spent forty years in the desert. Thus\nit must be with all God's _servants_. They must be \"tried\" first, that,\nbeing found \"faithful,\" they may be \"put into the ministry.\" God's\nprinciple, in reference to those who serve him, is expressed in those\nwords of St. Paul, \"not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride, he\nfall into the condemnation of the devil.\" (1 Tim. iii. 6.)\n\nIt is one thing to be _a child of God_; it is quite another to be _a\nservant of Christ_. I may love my child very much, yet, if I set him to\nwork in my garden, he may do more harm than good. Why? Is it because he\nis not a dear child? No; but because he is not a practised servant.\nThis makes all the difference. Relationship and office are distinct\nthings. Not one of the Queen's children is at present capable of being\nher prime minister. It is not that all God's children have not\nsomething to do, something to suffer, something to learn. Undoubtedly\nthey have; yet it ever holds good that _public service_ and _private\ndiscipline_ are intimately connected in the ways of God. One who comes\nforward much in public will need that chastened spirit, that matured\njudgment, that subdued and mortified mind, that broken will, that\nmellow tone, which are the sure and beautiful result of God's secret\ndiscipline; and it will generally be found that those who take a\nprominent place without more or less of the above moral qualifications,\nwill sooner or later break down.\n\nLord Jesus, keep thy feeble servants very near unto thine own most\nblessed person, and in the hollow of thine hand!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\n\nHere we find unbelief casting its dark shadow across the spirit of\nAbraham, and again turning him aside for a season from the path of\nsimple, happy confidence in God. \"And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold the\nLord hath restrained me from bearing.\" These words bespeak the usual\nimpatience of unbelief; and Abram should have treated them accordingly,\nand waited patiently on the Lord for the accomplishment of his gracious\npromise. The poor heart naturally prefers any thing to the attitude of\n_waiting_. It will turn to any expedient, any scheme, any resource,\nrather than be kept in that posture. It is one thing to believe a\npromise at the first, and quite another thing to wait quietly for the\naccomplishment thereof. We can see this distinction constantly\nexemplified in a child. If I promise my child any thing, he has no idea\nof doubting my word; but yet, I can detect the greatest possible\nrestlessness and impatience in reference to the time and manner of\naccomplishment. And cannot the wisest sage find a true mirror in which\nto see himself reflected in the conduct of a child? Truly so. Abraham\nexhibits faith, in Chapter xv. and yet he fails in patience in Chapter\nxvi. Hence the force and beauty of the apostle's word, in Hebrews vi.\n\"followers of them who through _faith and patience_ inherit the\npromises.\" God makes a promise: faith believes it; hope anticipates it;\npatience _waits_ quietly for it.\n\nThere is such a thing in the commercial world as \"the present worth\" of\na bill or promissory note; for if men are called upon to wait for their\nmoney, they must be paid for waiting. Now, in faith's world, there is\nsuch a thing as the _present_ worth of God's promise; and the scale by\nwhich that worth is regulated is the heart's experimental knowledge of\nGod; for according to my estimate of God, will be my estimate of his\npromise; and moreover, the subdued and patient spirit finds its rich\nand full reward in waiting upon him for the accomplishment of all that\nhe has promised.\n\nHowever, as to Sarah, the real amount of her word to Abraham is this,\n\"The Lord has failed me; it may be, my Egyptian maid will prove a\nresource for me.\" Any thing but God for a heart under the influence of\nunbelief. It is often truly marvellous to observe the trifles to which\nwe will betake ourselves when once we have lost the sense of God's\nnearness, his infallible faithfulness, and unfailing sufficiency. We\nlose that calm and well-balanced condition of soul so essential to the\nproper testimony of the man of faith; and, just like other people,\nbetake ourselves to any or every expedient, in order to reach the\nwished-for end, and call that \"a laudable use of means.\"\n\nBut it is a bitter thing to take ourselves out of the place of\nabsolute dependence upon God. The consequences must be disastrous. Had\nSarah said, \"Nature has failed me, but God is my resource,\" how\ndifferent it would have been! This would have been her proper ground;\nfor nature really had failed her. But then it was nature in one shape,\nand therefore she wished to try nature in another. She had not learnt\nto look away from nature in every shape. In the judgment of God and of\nfaith, nature in Hagar was no better than nature in Sarah. Nature,\nwhether young or old, is alike to God; and, therefore, alike to faith;\nbut, ah! we are only in the power of this truth when we are\nexperimentally finding our living centre in God himself. When the eye\nis taken off that glorious Being, we are ready for the meanest device\nof unbelief. It is only when we are consciously leaning on the only\ntrue, the only wise, the living God, that we are enabled to look away\nfrom every creature stream. It is not that we shall despise God's\ninstrumentality. By no means. To do so would be recklessness and not\nfaith. Faith values the instrument, not because of itself, but because\nof him who uses it. Unbelief looks only at the instrument, and judges\nof the success of a matter by the apparent efficiency thereof, instead\nof by the sufficiency of him who, in grace, uses it. Like Saul, who,\nwhen he looked at David, and then looked at the Philistine, said, \"Thou\nart not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou\nart but a youth.\" Yet the question in David's heart was, not as to\nwhether he was able, but whether Jehovah was able.\n\nThe path of faith is a very simple and a very narrow one. It neither\ndeifies the means on the one hand, nor despises it on the other. It\nsimply values it, so far as it is evidently God's means, and no\nfurther. There is a vast difference between God's using the creature to\nminister to me, and my using it to shut him out. This difference is not\nsufficiently attended to. God used the ravens to minister to Elijah,\nbut Elijah did not use them to exclude God. If the heart be really\ntrusting in God, it will not trouble itself about his means. It waits\non him, in the sweet assurance that by what means soever he pleases, he\nwill bless, he will minister, he will provide.\n\nNow, in the case before us, in this chapter, it is evident that Hagar\nwas not God's instrument for the accomplishment of his promise to\nAbraham. He had promised a son, no doubt, but he had not said that this\nson should be Hagar's; and, in point of fact, we find from the\nnarrative, that both Abraham and Sarah \"multiplied their sorrow,\" by\nhaving recourse to Hagar; for \"when she saw that she had conceived, her\nmistress was despised in her eyes.\" This was but the beginning of those\nmultiplied sorrows which flowed from hastening after nature's\nresources. Sarah's dignity was trampled down by an Egyptian bond-woman,\nand she found herself in the place of weakness and contempt. The only\ntrue place of dignity and power is the place of felt weakness and\ndependence. There is no one so entirely independent of all around as\nthe man who is really walking by faith, and waiting only upon God; but\nthe moment a child of God makes himself a debtor to nature or the\nworld, he loses his dignity, and will speedily be made to feel his\nloss. It is no easy task to estimate the loss sustained by diverging,\nin the smallest measure, from the path of faith. No doubt, all those\nwho walk in that path will find trial and exercise; but one thing is\ncertain, that the blessings and joys which peculiarly belong to them\nare infinitely more than a counterpoise; whereas, when they turn aside,\nthey have to encounter far deeper trial, and naught but that.\n\n\"And Sarai said, My wrong be _upon thee_.\" When we act wrong, we are\nofttimes prone to lay the blame on some one else. Sarah was only\nreaping the fruit of her own proposal, and yet she says to Abraham, \"My\nwrong be upon thee;\" and then, with Abraham's permission, she seeks to\nget rid of the trial which her own impatience had brought upon her.\n\"But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold thy maid is in thy hand; do to her\nas it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled\nfrom her face.\" This will not do. \"The bond-woman\" cannot be got rid of\nby hard treatment. When we make mistakes, and find ourselves called\nupon to encounter the results thereof, we cannot counteract those\nresults by carrying ourselves with a high hand. We frequently try this\nmethod, but we are sure to make matters worse thereby. If we have done\nwrong, we should humble ourselves and confess the wrong, and wait on\nGod for deliverance. But there was nothing like this manifested in\nSarah's case. Quite the reverse. There is no sense of having done\nwrong; and, so far from waiting on God for deliverance, she seeks to\ndeliver herself in her own way. However, it will always be found that\nevery effort which we make to rectify our errors, previous to the full\nconfession thereof, only tends to render our path more difficult. Thus\nHagar had to return, and give birth to her son, which son proved to be\nnot the child of promise at all, but a very great trial to Abraham and\nhis house, as we shall see in the sequel.\n\nNow, we should view all this in a double aspect; first, as teaching us\na direct practical principle of much value; and secondly, in a\ndoctrinal point of view. And, first, as to the direct, practical\nteaching, we may learn that when, through the unbelief of our hearts,\nwe make mistakes, it is not all in a moment, nor yet by our own\ndevices, we can remedy them. Things must take their course. \"Whatsoever\na man soweth that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh\nshall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit,\nshall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.\" This is an unalterable\nprinciple, meeting us again and again on the page of inspiration, and\nalso on the page of our personal history. Grace forgives the sin and\nrestores the soul, but that which is sown must be reaped. Abraham and\nSarah had to endure the presence of the bond-woman and her son for a\nnumber of years, and then get rid of them in God's way. There is\npeculiar blessedness in leaving ourselves in God's hands. Had Abraham\nand Sarah done so on the present occasion, they would never have been\ntroubled with the presence of the bond-woman and her son; but, having\nmade themselves debtors to nature, they had to endure the consequences.\nBut, alas! we are often \"like a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke,\" when\nit would be our exceeding comfort to \"behave and quiet ourselves as a\nchild that is weaned of his mother.\" No two figures can be more\nopposite than a stubborn bullock and a weaned child. The former\nrepresents a person senselessly struggling under the yoke of\ncircumstances, and rendering his yoke all the more galling by his\nefforts to get rid of it; the latter represents one meekly bowing his\nhead to every thing, and rendering his portion all the sweeter by\nentire subjection of spirit.\n\nAnd now, as to the doctrinal view of this chapter. We are authorized to\nlook at Hagar and her son, as figures of the covenant of works, and all\nwho are thereby brought into bondage. (See Gal. iv. 22-25.) \"The flesh\"\nis, in this important passage, contrasted with \"promise;\" and thus we\nnot only get the divine idea as to what the term \"flesh\" implies, but\nalso as to Abraham's effort to obtain the seed by means of Hagar,\ninstead of resting in God's \"promise.\" The two covenants are\nallegorized by Hagar and Sarah, and are diametrically opposite the one\nto the other. The one gendering to bondage, inasmuch as it raised the\nquestion as to man's competency \"to do\" and \"not to do,\" and made life\nentirely dependent upon that competency. \"The man that doeth these\nthings shall live in them.\" This was the Hagar-covenant. But the\nSarah-covenant reveals God as the God of promise, which promise is\nentirely independent of man, and founded upon God's willingness and\nability to fulfil it. When God makes a promise there is no \"if\"\nattached thereto. He makes it unconditionally, and is resolved to\nfulfil it; and faith rests in him in perfect liberty of heart. It needs\nno effort of nature to reach the accomplishment of a divine promise.\nHere was, precisely, where Abraham and Sarah failed. They made an\neffort of nature to reach a certain end, which end was absolutely\nsecured by a promise of God. This is the grand mistake of unbelief. By\nits restless activity, it raises a hazy mist around the soul, which\nhinders the beams of the divine glory from reaching it. \"He could there\ndo no mighty works, because of their unbelief.\" One great\ncharacteristic virtue of faith is, that it ever leaves the platform\nclear for God to show himself; and truly, when he shows himself, man\nmust take the place of a happy worshipper.\n\nThe error into which the Galatians allowed themselves to be drawn, was\nthe addition of something of nature to what Christ had already\naccomplished for them by the cross. The gospel which had been preached\nto them and which they had received, was the simple presentation of\nGod's absolute, unqualified, and unconditional, grace. \"Jesus Christ\nhad been evidently set forth crucified among them.\" This was not merely\npromise divinely made, but promise divinely and most gloriously\naccomplished. A crucified Christ settled every thing in reference both\nto God's claims and man's necessities. But the false teachers upset all\nthis, or sought to upset it, by saying, \"Except ye be circumcised after\nthe manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.\" This, as the apostle teaches\nthem, was in reality \"making Christ of none effect.\" Christ must either\nbe a _whole_ Saviour, or _no_ Saviour at all. The moment a man says,\n\"Except _ye_ be this or that, ye cannot be saved,\" he totally subverts\nChristianity; for in Christianity I find God coming down to me _just as\nI am_, a lost, guilty, self-destroyed sinner; and coming moreover with\na full remission of _all_ my sins, and a full salvation from my lost\nestate, all perfectly wrought by himself on the cross.\n\nHence, therefore, a man who tells me, \"You must be so and so, in order\nto be saved,\" robs the cross of all its glory, and robs me of all my\npeace. If salvation depends upon our being or doing aught, we shall\ninevitably be lost. Thank God it does not; for the great fundamental\nprinciple of the gospel is, that God is ALL,--man is NOTHING. It is not\na mixture of God and man. It is all of God. The peace of the gospel\ndoes not repose in part on Christ's work, and in part on man's work; it\nreposes _wholly_ on Christ's work, because that work is\nperfect,--perfect forever; and it renders all who put their trust in it\nas perfect as itself.\n\nUnder the law, God as it were stood still to see what man could do; but\nin the gospel God is seen acting, and as for man, he has but to \"stand\nstill and see the salvation of God.\" This being so, the inspired\napostle hesitates not to say to the Galatians, \"Christ is become of no\neffect unto you; whosoever of you are justified by law ([Greek: en\nnomo]), ye are fallen from grace.\" If man has any thing to do in the\nmatter, God is shut out; and if God is shut out, there can be no\nsalvation, for it is impossible that man can work out a salvation by\nthat which proves him a lost creature; and then if it be a question of\n_grace_, it must be all grace. It cannot be half grace, half law. The\ntwo covenants are perfectly distinct. It cannot be half Sarah and half\nHagar. It must be either the one or the other. If it be Hagar, God has\nnothing to do with it; and if it be Sarah, man has nothing to do with\nit. Thus it stands throughout. The law addresses man, tests him, sees\nwhat he is really worth, proves him a ruin, and puts him under the\ncurse; and not only puts him under it, but keeps him there so long as\nhe is occupied with it,--so long as he is alive. \"The law hath dominion\nover a man so long as he liveth;\" but when he is dead, its dominion\nnecessarily ceases so far as he is concerned, though it still remains\nin full force to curse every _living_ man.\n\nThe gospel, on the contrary, assuming man to be lost, ruined, dead,\nreveals God as he is,--the Saviour of the lost,--the Pardoner of the\nguilty,--the Quickener of the dead. It reveals him, not as exacting\naught from man, (for what could be expected from one who has died a\nbankrupt?) but as exhibiting his own independent grace in redemption.\nThis makes a material difference and will account for the extraordinary\nstrength of the language employed in the Epistle to the Galatians: \"I\nmarvel\"--\"Who hath bewitched you?\"--\"I am afraid of you\"--\"I stand in\ndoubt of you\"--\"I would they were even cut off that trouble you.\" This\nis the language of the Holy Ghost, who knows the value of a full Christ\nand a full salvation; and who also knows how essential the knowledge of\nboth is to a lost sinner. We have no such language as this in any other\nepistle; not even in that to the Corinthians, although there were some\nof the grossest disorders to be corrected amongst them. All human\nfailure and error can be corrected by bringing in God's grace; but the\nGalatians, like Abraham in this chapter, were going away from God, and\nreturning to the flesh. What remedy could be devised for this? How can\nyou correct an error which consists in departing from that which alone\ncan correct any thing? To fall from grace, is to get back under the\nlaw, from which nothing can ever be reaped but \"the CURSE.\" May the\nLord establish our hearts in his own most excellent grace!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\n\nHere we have God's remedy for Abraham's failure set before us. \"And\nwhen Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared unto Abram,\nand said unto him, _I am the Almighty God_: walk before _me_, and be\nthou _perfect_.\"[15] This is a most comprehensive verse. It is very\nevident that Abraham had not been walking before the Almighty God when\nhe adopted Sarah's expedient in reference to Hagar. It is faith alone\nthat can enable a man to walk up and down before an Almighty One.\nUnbelief will ever be thrusting in something of self, something of\ncircumstances, second causes, and the like, and thus the soul is robbed\nof the joy and peace, the calm elevation, and holy independence, which\nflow from leaning upon the arm of One who can do every thing. I believe\nwe deeply need to ponder this. God is not such an abiding reality to\nour souls as he ought to be, or as he would be, were we walking in more\nsimple faith and dependence.\n\n\"Walk before _me_.\" This is true power. To walk thus, implies our\nhaving nothing whatever before our hearts save God himself. If I am\nfounding my expectation upon men and things, I am not walking before\nGod, but before men and things. It is of the utmost importance to\nascertain who or what I have before me as an object. To what am I\nlooking? On whom or what am I leaning, at this moment? Does God\n_entirely_ fill my future? Have men or circumstances aught to do\ntherein? Is there any space allotted to the creature? The only way in\nwhich to get above the world is to walk by faith, because faith so\ncompletely fills the scene with God, that there is no room for the\ncreature,--no room for the world. If God fills up my entire range of\nvision, I can see nothing else; and then I am able to say with the\nPsalmist, \"My soul, wait thou _only_ upon God; for my expectation is\nfrom him. He _only_ is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence, I\nshall not be moved.\" (Ps. lxii. 5, 6.) This word \"only\" is deeply\nsearching. Nature cannot say this. Not that it will, save when under\nthe direct influence of a daring and blasphemous skepticism, formally\nshut out God altogether; but it, assuredly, cannot say, \"_He only_.\"\n\nNow, it is well to see that, as in the matter of salvation, so in all\nthe details of actual life, from day to day, God will not share his\nglory with the creature. From first to last, it must be \"he only;\" and\nthis, too, in reality. It will not do to have the language of\ndependence upon God on our lips, while our hearts are really leaning on\nsome creature resource. God will make all this fully manifest; he will\ntest the heart; he will put faith into the furnace. \"Walk before me,\nand be thou perfect.\" Thus it is we reach the proper point. When the\nsoul is enabled, by grace, to get rid of all its fondly-cherished\ncreature expectations, then, and only then, it is prepared to let God\nact; and when he acts all must be well. He will not leave any thing\nundone. He will perfectly settle every thing on behalf of those who\nsimply put their trust in him. When unerring wisdom, omnipotent power,\nand infinite love combine, the confiding heart may enjoy unruffled\nrepose. Unless we can find some circumstance too big or too little for\n\"the Almighty God,\" we have no proper base on which to found a single\nanxious thought. This is an amazing truth, and one eminently calculated\nto put all who believe it into the blessed position in which we find\nAbraham in this chapter. When God had, in effect, said to him, \"Leave\n_all_ to me and I will settle it for you, beyond your utmost desires\nand expectations; the seed and the inheritance, and every thing\npertaining thereto, will be fully and everlastingly settled, according\nto the covenant of the Almighty God,\"--then \"_Abram fell on his face_.\"\nTruly blessed attitude! the only proper one for a thoroughly empty,\nfeeble, and unprofitable sinner to occupy in the presence of the living\nGod, the Creator of heaven and earth, the possessor of all things, \"the\nAlmighty God.\"\n\n\"And God talked with him.\" It is when man is in the dust that God can\ntalk to him in grace. Abraham's posture here is the beautiful\nexpression of entire prostration, in the presence of God, in the sense\nof utter weakness and nothingness. And this, be it observed, is the\nsure precursor of God's revelation of himself. It is when the creature\nis laid low that God can show himself in the unclouded effulgence of\nwhat he is. He will not give his glory to another. He can reveal\nhimself, and allow man to worship in view of that revelation; but until\nthe sinner takes his proper place, there can be no unfolding of the\ndivine character. How different is Abraham's attitude in this and the\npreceding chapter! There, he had nature before him; here, he has the\nAlmighty God. There, he was an actor; here, he is a worshipper. There,\nhe was betaking himself to his own and Sarah's contrivance; here, he\nleaves himself and his circumstances, his present and his future, in\nGod's hands, and allows him to act in him, for him, and through him.\nHence, God can say, \"I will make\"--\"I will establish\"--\"I will\ngive\"--\"I will bless.\" In a word, it is all God and his actings; and\nthis is real rest for the poor heart that has learnt any thing of\nitself.\n\nThe covenant of circumcision is now introduced. Every member of the\nhousehold of faith must bear in his body the seal of that covenant.\nThere must be no exception. \"He that is born in thy house, and he that\nis bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant\nshall be in your flesh, for an everlasting covenant. And the\nuncircumcised man-child, whose flesh of his foreskin is not\ncircumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people: he hath broken\nmy covenant.\" We are taught in Romans iv., that circumcision was \"a\nseal of the righteousness of faith.\" \"Abraham believed God, and it was\ncounted unto him for righteousness.\" Being thus counted righteous, God\nset his \"seal\" upon him.\n\nThe seal with which the believer is now sealed is not a mark in the\nflesh, but \"that Holy Spirit of promise, whereby he is sealed unto the\nday of redemption.\" This is founded upon his everlasting connection\nwith Christ, and his perfect identification with him, in death and\nresurrection; as we read, in Colossians, \"And ye are complete in him,\nwhich is the head of all principality and power. In whom also ye are\n_circumcised_ with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off\nthe body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ;\nburied with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him, through\nthe faith of the operation of God who hath raised him from the dead.\nAnd you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh,\nhath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all\ntrespasses.\" This is a most glorious passage, unfolding to us the true\nidea of what circumcision was meant to typify. Every believer belongs\nto \"the circumcision\" in virtue of his living association with him who,\nby his cross, has forever abolished every thing that stood in the way\nof his church's perfect justification. There was not a speck of sin on\nthe conscience, nor a principle of sin in the nature of his people, for\nwhich Christ was not judged on the cross; and they are now looked upon\nas having died with Christ, lain in the grave with Christ, been raised\nwith Christ, perfectly accepted in him,--their sins, their iniquities,\ntheir transgressions, their enmity, their uncircumcision, having been\nentirely put away by the cross. The sentence of death has been written\non the flesh; but the believer is in possession of a new life, in union\nwith his risen Head in glory.\n\nThe apostle in the above passage teaches that the Church was quickened\nout of the grave of Christ; and moreover, that the forgiveness of all\nher trespasses is as complete, and as entirely the work of God, as was\nthe raising of Christ from the dead; and this latter, we know, was the\nresult of \"God's mighty power,\" or, as it may be rendered, \"according\nto the energy of the might of his power\" (Eph. i. 19),--a truly\nwonderful expression, calculated to set forth the magnitude and glory\nof redemption, as well as the solid basis on which it rests.\n\nWhat rest--perfect rest--for the heart and conscience is here! What\nfull relief for the burdened spirit! _All_ our sins buried in the grave\nof Christ,--not one--even the smallest--left out! God did this for us!\nAll that his searching eye could detect in us, he laid on the head of\nChrist when he hung upon the cross! He judged him there and then,\ninstead of judging us, in hell forever! Precious fruit, this, of the\nadmirable, the profound, the eternal counsels of redeeming love! And we\nare \"sealed,\" not with a certain mark cut in our flesh, but with the\nHoly Ghost. The entire household of faith is sealed thus. Such is the\ndignity, the value, the changeless efficacy of the blood of Christ,\nthat the Holy Ghost--the Third Person of the eternal Trinity--can take\nup his abode in all those who have put their trust therein.\n\nAnd now, what remains for those who know these things, save to \"be\nsteadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.\" Thus\nmay it be, O Lord, through the grace of thy Holy Spirit!\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[15] I would here offer a remark as to the word \"perfect.\" When Abraham\nwas called upon to be \"perfect,\" it did not mean perfect to himself;\nfor this he never was, and never could be. It simply meant that he\nshould be perfect as regards the object before his heart,--that his\nhopes and expectations were to be perfectly and undividedly centred in\nthe \"Almighty God.\"\n\nIn looking through the New Testament, we find the word \"perfect\" used\nin at least four distinct senses. In Matt. v. 48, we read, \"Be ye\ntherefore _perfect_, even as your Father which is in heaven is\nperfect.\" Here we learn from the context that the word \"perfect\" refers\nto the principle of our walk. At verse 44, we read, \"love your enemies,\n... that ye may be the sons of your Father which is in heaven; for he\nmaketh the sun to rise upon the evil and the good, and sendeth rain\nupon the just and the unjust.\" Hence to be \"perfect\" in the sense of\nMatt. v. 48 is to act on a principle of grace toward all, even toward\nthose who are injurious and hostile. A Christian going to law, and\nasserting or contending for his rights, is not \"perfect as his Father;\"\nfor his Father is dealing in _grace_, whereas he is dealing in\n_righteousness_.\n\nThe question here is not as to the right or wrong of going to law with\nworldly people (as to brethren, 1 Cor. vi. is conclusive). All I\ncontend for is, that a Christian so doing is acting in a character the\ndirect opposite to that of his Father; for assuredly he is not going to\nlaw with the world. He is not now on a judgment-seat, but on a\nmercy-seat--a throne of grace. He showers his blessings upon those who,\nwere he to go to law with them, should be in hell. Wherefore it is\nplain that a Christian, when he brings a man before the judgment-seat,\nis not \"perfect as his Father which is in heaven is perfect.\"\n\nAt the close of Matt. xviii. we have a parable which teaches us that a\nman who asserts his rights is ignorant of the true character and proper\neffect of grace. The servant was not _unrighteous_ in demanding what\nwas due to him; but he was _ungracious_. He was totally unlike his\nmaster. He had been forgiven ten thousand talents, and yet he could\nseize his fellow by the throat for a paltry hundred pence. What was the\nconsequence? He was delivered to the tormentors. He lost the happy\nsense of _grace_, and was left to reap the bitter fruits of having\nasserted his _rights_, while being himself a subject of _grace_. And,\nobserve further, he was called \"a _wicked_ servant,\" not because of\nhaving owed \"ten thousand talents,\" but because of not having forgiven\nthe \"hundred pence.\" _The master_ had ample grace to settle the former,\nbut _he_ had not grace to settle the latter. This parable has a solemn\nvoice for all Christians going to law; for although in the application\nof it, it is said, \"so shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you from\nyour heart, forgive not every one _his brother_ their trespasses,\" yet\nis the principle of general application, that a man acting in\nrighteousness will lose _the sense_ of grace.\n\nIn Hebrews ix. we have another sense of the term \"perfect.\" Here, too,\nthe context settles the import of the word. It is \"perfect, as\npertaining to the conscience.\" This is a deeply important use of the\nterm. The worshipper under the law never could have a perfect\nconscience, for the simplest reason possible, because he never had a\nperfect sacrifice. The blood of a bullock and a goat did well enough\n_for a time_, but it could not do _forever_, and therefore could not\ngive a perfect conscience. Now, however, the weakest believer in Jesus\nis privileged to have a perfect conscience. Why? Is it because he is a\n_better man_ than the worshipper under the law? Nay; but because he has\ngotten a _better sacrifice_. If Christ's sacrifice is perfect forever,\nthe believer's conscience is perfect forever. The two things\nnecessarily go together. For the Christian not to have a perfect\nconscience is a dishonor to the sacrifice of Christ. It is tantamount\nto saying that his sacrifice is only temporary, and not eternal in its\neffect; and what is this but to bring it down to the level of the\nsacrifices under the Mosaic economy.\n\nIt is very needful to distinguish between perfection in the flesh and\nperfection as to conscience. To pretend to the former, is to exalt\n_self_; to refuse the latter, is to dishonor Christ. The babe in Christ\nshould have a perfect conscience; whereas St. Paul had not, nor could\nhave, perfect flesh. The flesh is not presented in the word as a thing\nwhich is to be perfected, but as a thing which has been crucified. This\nmakes a wide difference. The Christian has sin in him, but not _on_\nhim. Why? Because Christ who had no sin _in_ him, ever, had sin on him\nwhen he was nailed to the cross.\n\nFinally, in Phil. iii. we have two other senses of the word \"perfect.\"\nThe apostle says, \"not as though I had already attained, either were\nalready _perfect_;\" and yet a little farther on he says, \"Let as many\nas be _perfect_ be thus minded.\" The former refers to the apostle's\nfull and everlasting conformity to Christ in glory. The latter refers\nto our having Christ as the all-engrossing object before the heart's\naffections.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\n\nThis chapter affords a beautiful exemplification of the results of an\nobedient, separated walk. \"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if\nany man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup\nwith him, and he with me.\" (Rev. iii. 20.) Again, we read, \"Jesus\nanswered, and said unto him, If a man love me he will keep my words,\nand my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our\nabode with him.\" (John xiv. 23.) From these passages, taken in\nconnection with our chapter, we learn that an obedient soul enjoys a\ncharacter of communion entirely unknown to one who moves in a worldly\natmosphere.\n\nThis does not touch, in the most remote manner, the question of\nforgiveness or justification. All believers are clothed in the same\nspotless robe of righteousness,--all stand in one common justification,\nunder the eye of God. The one life flows down from the Head in heaven\nthrough all the members on earth. This is plain. The doctrine, in\nreference to the above important points, is fully established in the\nword; and has been, again and again, unfolded through the foregoing\npages of this volume. But we should remember that justification is one\nthing, and the fruit thereof quite another. To be a child is one thing,\nto be an obedient child is quite another. Now, a father loves an\nobedient child, and will make such a child more the depositary of his\nthoughts and plans. And is this not true, in reference to our heavenly\nFather? Unquestionably. John xiv. 23, puts this quite beyond dispute;\nand, moreover, it proves that for one to speak of loving Christ and not\nto \"keep his words,\" is hypocrisy. \"If a man love me, he will keep my\nwords.\" Hence, if we are not keeping Christ's words, it is a sure proof\nwe are not walking in the love of his name. Love to Christ is proved by\ndoing the things which he commands, and not by merely saying, \"Lord,\nLord.\" It is of very little avail to say, \"I go, sir,\" while the heart\nhas no idea of going.\n\nHowever, in Abraham we see one who, however he may have failed in\ndetail, was nevertheless characterized in the main by a close, simple,\nand elevated walk with God; and in the interesting section of his\nhistory now before us, we find him in the enjoyment of three special\nprivileges, namely, providing refreshment _for_ the Lord, enjoying full\ncommunion _with_ the Lord, and interceding for others _before_ the\nLord. These are high distinctions; and yet are they only such as ever\nresult from an obedient, separated, holy walk. Obedience refreshes the\nLord, as being the fruit of his own grace in our hearts. We see in the\nonly perfect man that ever lived how he constantly refreshed and\ndelighted the Father. Again and again God bore testimony to him from\nheaven, as his \"beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased.\" The path of\nChrist furnished a continual feast to heaven. His ways were ever\nsending up a fragrant incense to the throne of God. From the manger to\nthe cross, he did always the things which pleased his Father. There was\nno interruption, no variation, no salient point. He was the only\nperfect One. \"There only can the Spirit trace a perfect life below.\"\nHere and there, as we look along the current of inspiration, we find\none and another who occasionally refreshed the mind of heaven. Thus, in\nthe chapter before us, we find the tent of the stranger at Mamre\naffording refreshment to the Lord himself,--refreshment lovingly\noffered and willingly accepted. (Ver. 1-8.)\n\nThen we find Abraham enjoying high communion _with_ the Lord, first in\nreference to his own personal interests, (ver. 9-15,) and secondly in\nreference to the destinies of Sodom. (Ver. 16, 21.) What confirmation\nto Abraham's heart in the absolute promise \"_Sarah_ shall have a son!\"\nYet this promise only elicited a laugh from Sarah, as it had elicited\none from Abraham in the preceding chapter.\n\nThere are two kinds of laughter spoken of in scripture. There is first\nthe laughter with which the Lord fills our mouth, when, at some trying\ncrisis, he appears in a signal manner for our relief. \"When the Lord\nturned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then\nwas our mouth filled with _laughter_, and our tongue with singing: then\nsaid they among the heathen, the Lord hath done great things for them;\nthe Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad.\" (Ps.\ncxxvi. 1, 2.)\n\nAgain, there is the laughter with which unbelief fills our mouths, when\nGod's promises are too magnificent for our narrow hearts to take in, or\nthe visible agency too small in our judgment for the accomplishment of\nhis grand designs. The first of these we are never ashamed or afraid to\navow. Zion's sons are not ashamed to say, \"then was our mouth filled\nwith laughter.\" (Ps. cxxvi. 2.) When Jehovah makes us to laugh, we may\nlaugh heartily. \"But Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was\nafraid.\" Unbelief makes us cowards and liars; faith makes us bold and\ntruthful. It enables us to \"come boldly,\" and to \"draw near with true\nhearts.\"\n\nBut, further, Abraham is made the depositary of God's thoughts and\ncounsels about Sodom. Though having nothing to do with it personally,\nyet he was so near the Lord that he was let into his mind in reference\nto it. The way to know the divine purposes about this present evil\nworld, is not to be mixed up with it in its schemes and speculations,\nbut to be entirely separated from it. The more closely we walk with\nGod, and the more subject we are to his word, the more we shall know of\nhis mind about every thing. I do not need to study the newspaper in\norder to know what is going to happen in the world. God's word reveals\nall I want to know. In its pure and sanctifying pages I learn all about\nthe character, the course, and the destiny of the world; whereas, if I\ngo to the men of the world for news, I may expect that the devil will\nuse them to cast dust in my eyes.\n\nHad Abraham visited Sodom in order to obtain information about its\nfacts, had he applied to some of its leading intelligent men, to know\nwhat they thought of Sodom's present condition and future prospects,\nhow would he have been answered? Doubtless they would have called his\nattention to their agricultural and architectural schemes, the vast\nresources of the country; they would have placed before his eyes one\nvast, mingled scene of buying and selling, building and planting,\neating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. Doubtless, too,\nthey would never dream of judgment, and if any one had made mention\nthereof, their mouths would have been filled with infidel laughter.\nHence, then, it is plain, that Sodom was not the place in which to\nlearn about Sodom's end. No; \"the place, where Abraham stood before the\nLord,\" afforded the only proper point from whence to take in the whole\nprospect. There he could stand entirely above the fogs and mists which\nhad gathered upon Sodom's horizon. There, in the clearness and calmness\nof the divine presence, he could understand it all. And what use did he\nmake of his knowledge and his elevated position? How was he occupied in\nthe Lord's presence? The answer to these inquiries leads us to the\nthird special privilege enjoyed by our patriarch in this chapter,\nnamely,--\n\nIntercession for others _before_ the Lord. He was enabled to plead for\nthose who were mixed up in Sodom's defilement, and in danger of being\ninvolved in Sodom's judgment. This was a happy and a holy use to make\nof his place of nearness to God. Thus it is ever. The soul that can\n\"draw near to God,\" in the assurance of faith, having the heart and\nconscience perfectly at rest, being able to repose in God as to the\npast, the present, and the future,--that soul will be able and willing\nto intercede for others. The man who has on \"the whole armor of God,\"\nwill be able to pray for all \"saints.\" And, oh! what a view this gives\nus of the intercession of our Great High-priest, who has passed into\nthe heavens! \"What infinite repose he enjoys in all the divine\ncounsels!\" With what conscious acceptance he sits enthroned amid the\nbrightness of the Majesty in the heavens! And with what efficacy he\npleads before that Majesty for those who are toiling along amid the\ndefilement of this present scene! Happy, ineffably happy, they who are\nthe subjects of such all-prevailing intercession! At once happy and\nsecure. Would that we had hearts to enter into all this,--hearts\nenlarged by personal communion with God, to take in more of the\ninfinite fulness of his grace, and the suitability of his provision,\nfor all our need.\n\nWe see in this scripture that how blessed soever Abraham's intercession\nmight be, yet it was limited, because the intercessor was _but a man_.\nIt did not reach the need. He said, \"I will speak _yet but this once_,\"\nand there he stopped short, as if afraid of having presented too large\na draft at the treasury of infinite grace, or forgetting that faith's\ncheck was never yet dishonored at God's bank. It was not that he was\nstraitened in God. By no means. There was abundance of grace and\npatience in him to have hearkened to his dear servant, had he proceeded\neven to three or one. But the servant was limited. He was afraid of\noverdrawing his account. He ceased to ask, and God ceased to give. Not\nso our blessed Intercessor. Of him it can be said, \"He is able to save\n_to the uttermost_, ... seeing he _ever_ liveth to make intercession.\"\nMay our hearts cling to him in all our need, our weakness, and our\nconflict.\n\nBefore closing this section, I would offer a remark, which, whether it\nmay be regarded as properly flowing out of the truth contained therein,\nor not, is nevertheless worthy of consideration. It is of the utmost\nimportance in the study of scripture to distinguish between God's moral\ngovernment of the world, and the specific hope of the Church. The\nentire body of Old Testament prophecy, and much of the New, treats of\nthe former, and, in so doing, presents, I need hardly say, a subject of\ncommanding interest to every Christian. It is interesting to know what\nGod is doing, and will do, with all the nations of the\nearth,--interesting to read God's thoughts about Tyre, Babylon,\nNineveh, and Jerusalem,--about Egypt, Assyria, and the land of Israel.\nIn short, the entire range of Old Testament prophecy demands the\nprayerful attention of every true believer. But let it be remembered,\nwe do not find therein contained the proper hope of the Church. How\ncould we? If we have not therein the Church's existence directly\nrevealed, how could we have the Church's hope? Impossible. It is not\nthat the Church cannot find there a rich harvest of divine moral\nprinciples, which she may most happily and profitably use. She\nundoubtedly can; but this is quite another thing from finding there her\nproper existence and specific hope. And yet, a large portion of the\nOld-Testament prophecies has been applied to the Church; and this\napplication has involved the whole subject in such mist and confusion\nthat simple minds are scared away from the study; and, in neglecting\nthe study of prophecy, they have also neglected that which is quite\ndistinct from prophecy, properly so called, even the hope of the\nChurch; which hope, be it well remembered, is not any thing which God\nis going to do with the nations of the earth, but to meet the Lord\nJesus in the clouds of heaven, to be forever with him, and forever like\nhim.\n\nMany may say, I have no _head_ for prophecy. Perhaps not, but you have\na _heart_ for Christ? Surely if you love Christ, you will love his\nappearing, though you may have no capacity for prophetic\ninvestigation. An affectionate wife may not have a head to enter into\nher husband's affairs; but she has a heart for her husband's return.\nShe might not be able to understand his ledger and day-book; but she\nknows his footstep and recognizes his voice. The most unlettered saint,\nif only he has affection for the person of the Lord Jesus, can\nentertain the most intense desire to see him; and this is the Church's\nhope. The apostle could say to the Thessalonians, \"Ye turned to God\nfrom idols, to serve the living and true God, and to _wait for his Son\nfrom heaven_.\" (1 Thess. i. 9, 10.) Now, evidently, those Thessalonian\nsaints could, at the moment of their conversion, have known little, if\nany thing, of prophecy, or the special subject thereof; and yet they\nwere, at that very moment, put into the full possession and power of\nthe specific hope of the Church,--even the coming of the Son. Thus is\nit throughout the entire New Testament. There, no doubt, we have\nprophecy,--there, too, we have God's moral government; but, at the same\ntime, numberless passages might be adduced in proof of the fact that\nthe common hope of Christians in apostolic times--the simple,\nunimpeded, and unencumbered hope--was, THE RETURN OF THE BRIDEGROOM.\nMay the Holy Ghost revive \"that blessed hope\" in the Church,--may he\ngather in the number of the elect, and \"make ready a people prepared\nfor the Lord!\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\n\nThere are two methods which the Lord graciously adopts, in order to\ndraw the heart away from this present world. The first is, by setting\nbefore it the attractiveness and stability of \"things above.\" The\nsecond is, by faithfully declaring the evanescent and shakeable nature\nof \"things on the earth.\" The close of Hebrews xii. furnishes a\nbeautiful example of each of these methods. After stating the truth,\nthat we are come unto mount Zion, with all its attendant joys and\nprivileges, the apostle goes on to say, \"See that ye refuse not him\nthat speaketh: for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on\nearth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that\nspeaketh from heaven; whose voice then shook the earth, but now he hath\npromised, saying, Yet once I shake, not only the earth, but also\nheaven. Now this word Once signifieth the removal of the shakeable\nthings, as of things that are made, that the unshakeable things may\nremain.\" Now it is much better to be _drawn_ by the joys of heaven,\nthan _driven_ by the sorrows of earth. The believer should not wait to\nbe shaken out of present things. He should not wait for the world to\ngive him up before he gives up the world. He should give it up in the\npower of communion with heavenly things. There is no difficulty in\ngiving up the world when we have, by faith, laid hold of Christ: the\ndifficulty would then be to hold it. If a scavenger were left an estate\nof ten thousand a year, he would not long continue to sweep the\nstreets. Thus, if we are realizing our portion amid the unshakeable\nrealities of heaven, we shall find little difficulty in resigning the\ndelusive joys of earth. Let us now look at the solemn section of\ninspired history here set before us.\n\nIn it we find Lot \"sitting in the gate of Sodom,\" the place of\nauthority. He has evidently made progress. He has \"got on in the\nworld.\" Looked at from a worldly point of view, his course has been a\nsuccessful one. He at first \"pitched his tent _toward_ Sodom.\" Then, no\ndoubt, he found his way into it; and now we find him sitting in the\ngate,--a prominent, influential post. How different is all this from\nthe scene with which the preceding chapter opens! But, ah! my reader,\nthe reason is obvious. \"_By faith_ Abraham sojourned in the land of\npromise, as in a _strange country_, dwelling in tabernacles.\" We have\nno such statement in reference to Lot.[16] It could not be said, \"By\nfaith Lot sat in the gate of Sodom.\" Alas! no: he gets no place among\nthe noble army of confessors,--the great cloud of witnesses to the\npower of faith. The world was his snare, present things his bane. He\ndid not \"endure as seeing him who is invisible.\" He looked at \"the\nthings which are seen, and temporal:\" whereas Abraham looked at \"the\nthings which are unseen and eternal.\" There was a most material\ndifference between those two men, who, though they started together on\ntheir course, reached a very different goal, so far as their public\ntestimony was concerned. No doubt Lot was saved, yet it was \"so as by\nfire,\" for, truly, \"his work was burned up.\" On the other hand, Abraham\nhad \"an abundant entrance ministered unto him into the everlasting\nkingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.\"\n\nFurther, we do not find that Lot is permitted to enjoy any of the high\ndistinctions and privileges with which Abraham was favored. Instead of\nrefreshing the Lord, Lot gets his righteous soul vexed; instead of\nenjoying communion _with_ the Lord, he is at a lamentable distance\n_from_ the Lord; and lastly, instead of interceding for others, he\nfinds enough to do to intercede for himself. The Lord remained to\ncommune with Abraham, and merely sent his angels to Sodom; and these\nangels could, with difficulty be induced to enter into Lot's house, or\npartake of his hospitality: \"they said, Nay, but _we will abide in the\nstreet all night_.\" What a rebuke! How different from the willing\nacceptance of Abraham's invitation, as expressed in the words, \"So do\nas thou hast said.\"\n\nThere is a great deal involved in the act of partaking of any one's\nhospitality. It expresses, when intelligently looked at, full\nfellowship with him. \"I will come in unto him, and sup _with him_, and\n_he with me_.\" \"If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come\ninto my house and abide.\" If they had not so judged her, they would not\nhave accepted her invitation.\n\nHence, the angels' word to Lot contains a most unqualified condemnation\nof his position in Sodom. They would rather abide in the street all\nnight, than enter under the roof of one in a wrong position. Indeed,\ntheir only object in coming to Sodom seems to have been to deliver\nLot, and that, too, because of Abraham; as we read: \"And it came to\npass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that _God remembered\nAbraham_, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he\noverthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.\" This is strongly marked. It\nwas simply for Abraham's sake that Lot was suffered to escape: the Lord\nhas no sympathy with a worldly mind; and such a mind it was that had\nled Lot to settle down amid the defilement of that guilty city. Faith\nnever put him there; a spiritual mind never put him there; \"his\nrighteous soul\" never put him there. It was simple love for this\npresent evil world that led him first to \"_choose_,\" then to \"pitch his\ntent toward,\" and finally, to \"sit in the gate of Sodom.\" And, oh! what\na portion he chose. Truly it was a broken cistern which could hold no\nwater,--a broken reed which pierced his hand. It is a bitter thing to\nseek, in any wise, to manage for ourselves; we are sure to make the\nmost grievous mistakes. It is infinitely better to allow God to order\nall our ways for us, to commit them all, in the spirit of a little\nchild, to him who is so willing and so able to manage for us,--to put\nthe pen, as it were, into his blessed hand, and allow him to sketch out\nour entire course according to his own unerring wisdom and infinite\nlove.\n\nNo doubt Lot thought he was doing well for himself and his family when\nhe moved to Sodom; but the sequel shows how entirely he erred; and it\nalso sounds in our ears a voice of deepest solemnity,--a voice telling\nus to beware how we yield to the incipient workings of a worldly\nspirit. \"Be content with such things as ye have.\" Why? Is it because\nyou are so well off in the world? Because you have all that your poor\nrambling hearts would seek after? Because there is not so much as a\nsingle chink in your circumstances, through which a vain desire might\nmake its escape? Is this to be the ground of our contentment? By no\nmeans. What then? \"For he hath said, I will never leave thee nor\nforsake thee.\" Blessed portion! Had Lot been content therewith, he\nnever would have sought the well-watered plains of Sodom.\n\nAnd then, if we need any further ground of inducement to the exercise\nof a contented spirit, truly we have it in this chapter. What did Lot\ngain in the way of happiness and contentment? Little indeed. The people\nof Sodom surround his house, and threaten to break into it; he seeks to\nappease them by a most humiliating proposition, but all in vain. If a\nman will mingle with the world for the purpose of self-aggrandizement,\nhe must make up his mind to endure the sad consequences. We cannot\nprofit by the world, and at the same time bear effectual testimony\nagainst its wickedness. \"This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he\nwill needs be a judge.\" This will never do. The true way to judge is to\nstand apart, in the moral power of grace, not in the supercilious\nspirit of Pharisaism. To attempt to reprove the world's ways while we\nprofit by association with it, is vanity; the world will attach very\nlittle weight to such reproof and such testimony. Thus it was, too,\nwith Lot's testimony to his sons-in-law; \"he seemed as one that\nmocked.\" It is vain to speak of approaching judgment, while finding our\nplace, our portion, and our enjoyment, in the very scene which is to be\njudged.\n\nAbraham was in a far better position to speak of judgment, inasmuch as\nhe was entirely outside of the sphere thereof. The tent of the stranger\nat Mamre was in no danger, though Sodom were in flames. Oh, that our\nhearts longed more after the precious fruits of a realized\nstrangership, so that instead of having, like poor Lot, to be dragged\nby main force out of the world, and casting a lingering look behind, we\nmight, with holy alacrity bound forward like a racer towards the goal!\n\nLot evidently longed after the scene which he was forced by angelic\npower to abandon; for not only had the angels to lay hold of him and\nhasten him away from the impending judgment, but even when exhorted to\nescape for _his life_ (which was all he could save from the wreck) and\nflee to the mountain, he replies, \"Oh! not so, my Lord: behold, now,\nthy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy\nmercy which thou hast showed unto me in saving _my life_; and I cannot\nescape to the mountain, lest some evil take me and I die: behold, now,\n_this city_ is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: oh, let me\nescape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.\" What\na picture! He seems like a drowning man, ready to catch even at a\nfloating feather. Though commanded by the angel to flee to the\nmountain, he refuses, and still fondly clings to the idea of \"a little\ncity,\"--some little shred of the world. He feared death in the place to\nwhich God was mercifully directing him,--yea, he feared all manner of\nevil, and could only hope for safety in some little city, some spot of\nhis own devising. \"Oh, let me escape _thither, and my soul shall\nlive_.\" How sad! There is no casting himself wholly upon God. Alas! he\nhad too long walked at a distance from him; too long breathed the dense\natmosphere of a \"city,\" to be able to appreciate the pure air of the\ndivine presence, or lean on the arm of the Almighty. His soul seemed\ncompletely unhinged; his worldly nest had been abruptly broken up, and\nhe was not quite able to nestle himself, by faith, in the bosom of God.\nHe had not been cultivating communion with the invisible world; and,\nnow, the visible was passing away from beneath his feet with tremendous\nrapidity. The \"fire and brimstone from heaven\" were about to fall upon\nthat in which all his hopes and all his affections were centred. The\nthief had broken in upon him, and he seems entirely divested of\nspiritual nerve and self-possession. He is at his wits' end; but the\nworldly element, being strong in his heart, prevails, and he seeks his\nonly refuge in \"a little city.\" Yet he is not at ease even there, for\nhe leaves it and gets up to the mountain. He does through fear what he\nwould not do at the command of God's messenger.\n\nAnd then, see his end! His own children make him drunk, and in his\ndrunkenness he becomes the instrument of bringing into existence the\nAmmonites and the Moabites,--the determined enemies of the people of\nGod. What a volume of solemn instruction is here! Oh, my reader, see\nhere what the world is! see what a fatal thing it is to allow the heart\nto go out after it! What a commentary is Lot's history upon that brief\nbut comprehensive admonition, \"Love not the world!\" This world's Sodoms\nand its Zoars are all alike. There is no security, no peace, no rest,\nno solid satisfaction for the heart therein. The judgment of God hangs\nover the whole scene; and he only holds back the sword, in\nlong-suffering mercy, not willing that any should perish, but that all\nshould come to repentance.\n\nLet us, then, seek to pursue a path of holy separation from the world.\nLet us, while standing outside its entire range, be found cherishing\nthe hope of the Master's return. May its well-watered plains have no\ncharms for our hearts. May its honors, its distinctions, and its\nriches, be all surveyed by us in the light of the coming glory of\nChrist. May we be enabled, like the holy patriarch Abraham, to get up\ninto the presence of the Lord, and, from that elevated ground, look\nforth upon the scene of wide-spread ruin and desolation,--to see it\nall, by faith's anticipative glance, a smoking ruin. _Such it will be._\n\"The earth also, and the things that are therein, shall be burned up.\"\nAll that about which the children of this world are so intensely\nanxious--after which they are so eagerly grasping--for which they are\nso fiercely contending--all--all will be burned up. And who can tell\nhow soon? \"Where is Sodom? Where is Gomorrah? Where are the cities of\nthe plain,--those cities which were once all life, and stir, and\nbustle? Where are they now? All gone! swept away by the judgment of\nGod! Consumed by his fire and brimstone!\" Well, his judgments now hang\nover this guilty world. The day is at hand; and, while judgments\nimpend, the sweet story of grace is being told out to many an ear.\nHappy they who hear and believe that story! Happy they who flee to the\nstrong mountain of God's salvation! who take refuge behind the cross of\nthe Son of God, and therein find pardon and peace!\n\nGod grant that the reader of these lines may know what it is, with a\nconscience purged from sin, and his heart's affections purged from the\ndefiling influence of the world, to wait for the Son from heaven.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[16] It would furnish a very searching question for the heart, in\nreference to every undertaking, were we to ask, \"Am I doing this by\nfaith?\" \"Whatever is not of faith is sin;\" and, \"Without faith it is\nimpossible to please God.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\n\nWe have two distinct points in this chapter: first, the moral\ndegradation to which the child of God sometimes subjects himself in the\nview of the world; and, secondly, the moral dignity which always\nbelongs to him in the view of God. Abraham again exhibits the dread of\ncircumstances which the heart can so easily understand. He sojourns in\nGerar, and fears the men of that place. Judging that God was not there,\nhe forgets that he is always with him. He seems to be more occupied\nwith the men of Gerar than with the One who was stronger than they.\nForgetting God's ability to protect his wife, he has recourse to the\nsame stratagem which, years before, he had adopted in Egypt. This is\nvery admonitory. The father of the faithful was carried away, by taking\nhis eye off God. He lost for a little his centre in God, and,\ntherefore, gave way. How true it is that we are only strong as we cling\nto God in the sense of our perfect weakness. So long as we are in the\npath of his appointment, nothing can harm us. Had Abraham simply leaned\non God, the men of Gerar would not have meddled with him; and it was\nhis privilege to have vindicated God's faithfulness in the midst of the\nmost appalling difficulties. Thus, too, he would have maintained his\nown dignity as a man of faith.\n\nIt is often a source of sorrow to the heart to mark how the children of\nGod dishonor him, and, as a consequence, lower themselves before the\nworld by losing the sense of his sufficiency for every emergency. So\nlong as we live in the realization of the truth that _all_ our springs\nare in God, so long shall we be above the world, in every shape and\nform. There is nothing so elevating to the whole moral being as faith:\nit carries one entirely beyond the reach of this world's thoughts; for\nhow can the men of the world, or even worldly-minded Christians,\nunderstand the life of faith? Impossible: the springs on which it draws\nlie far away beyond their comprehension. They live on the surface of\npresent things. So long as they can _see_ what they deem a proper\nfoundation for hope and confidence, so long they are hopeful and\nconfident; but the idea of resting solely on the promise of an unseen\nGod, they understand not. But the man of faith is calm in the midst of\nscenes in which nature can _see_ nothing. Hence it is that faith ever\nseems, in the judgment of nature, such a reckless, improvident,\nvisionary thing. None but those who know God, can ever approve the\nactings of faith, for none but they really understand the solid and\ntruly reasonable ground of such actings.\n\nIn this chapter we find the man of God actually exposing himself to the\nrebuke and reproach of the men of the world, by reason of his actings\nwhen under the power of unbelief. Thus it must ever be. Nothing but\nfaith can impart true elevation to a man's course and character. We\nmay, it is true, see some who are naturally upright and honorable in\ntheir ways, yet nature's uprightness and honor cannot be trusted: they\nrest on a bad foundation, and are liable to give way at any moment. It\nis only faith which can impart a truly elevated moral tone, because it\nconnects the soul in living power with God, the only Source of true\nmorality. And it is a remarkable fact that, in the case of all those\nwhom God has graciously taken up, we see that, when off the path of\nfaith, they sank even lower than other men. This will account for\nAbraham's conduct in this part of his history.\n\nBut there is another point of much interest and value brought out here.\nWe find that Abraham had harbored an evil thing for a number of years:\nhe had, it seems, started upon his course with a certain reserve in his\nsoul, which reserve was the result of his want of full, unqualified\nconfidence in God. Had he been able fully to trust God in reference to\nSarah, there would have been no need of any reserve or subterfuge\nwhatever. God would have fenced her round about from every ill; and who\ncan harm those who are the happy subjects of his unslumbering\nguardianship? However, through mercy, Abraham is enabled to bring out\nthe root of the whole matter,--to confess and judge it thoroughly, and\nget rid of it. This is the true way to act. There can be no real\nblessing and power till every particle of leaven is brought forth into\nthe light and there trampled under foot. God's patience is exhaustless.\nHe can wait. He can bear with us; but he never will conduct a soul to\nthe culminating point of blessing and power while leaven remains known\nand unjudged. Thus much as to Abimelech and Abraham. Let us now look at\nthe moral dignity of the latter, in the view of God.\n\nIn the history of God's people, whether we look at them as a whole, or\nas individuals, we are often struck with the amazing difference between\nwhat they are in God's view, and what they are in the view of the\nworld. God sees his people in Christ. He looks at them through Christ;\nand hence he sees them \"without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.\"\nThey are as Christ is before God. They are perfected forever, as to\ntheir standing in Christ. \"They are not in the flesh but in the\nSpirit.\"\n\nBut, in themselves, they are poor, feeble, imperfect, stumbling,\ninconsistent creatures; and, inasmuch as it is what they are in\nthemselves, and that alone, that the world takes knowledge of,\ntherefore it is that the difference seems so great between the divine\nand the human estimate.\n\nYet it is God's prerogative to set forth the beauty, the dignity, and\nthe perfection of his people. It is his exclusive prerogative, inasmuch\nas it is he himself who has bestowed those things. They are only comely\nthrough the comeliness which he has put upon them; and it is therefore\ndue to him to declare what that comeliness is; and truly he does it in\na manner worthy of himself, and never more blessedly than when the\nenemy comes forth to injure, to curse, or accuse. Thus, when Balak\nseeks to curse the seed of Abraham, Jehovah's word is: \"I have not\nbeheld iniquity in Jacob, neither have I seen perverseness in Israel.\"\n\"How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel.\"\nAgain, when Satan stands forth to resist Joshua, the word is, \"The Lord\nrebuke thee, O Satan, ... is not this a brand plucked out of the\nfire?\" Thus he ever puts himself between his people and every tongue\nthat would accuse them. He does not answer the accusation by a\nreference to what his people are in themselves, or to what they are in\nthe view of the men of this world, but to what he himself has made\nthem, and where he set them.\n\nThus, in Abraham's case, he might lower himself in the view of\nAbimelech, king of Gerar; and Abimelech might have to rebuke him, yet,\nwhen God comes to deal with the case, he says to Abimelech, \"Behold,\nthou art but a dead man;\" and of Abraham he says, \"He is a prophet, and\nhe shall pray for thee.\" Yes, with all \"the integrity of his heart, and\nthe innocency of his hands,\" the king of Gerar was \"but a dead man;\"\nand, moreover, he must be a debtor to the prayers of the erring and\ninconsistent stranger for the restoration of the health of his\nhousehold. Such is the manner of God: he may have many a secret\ncontroversy with his child on the ground of his practical ways; but\ndirectly the enemy enters a suit against him, Jehovah ever pleads his\nservant's cause. \"Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.\"\n\"He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine eye.\" \"It is God that\njustifieth, who is he that condemneth?\" No dart of the enemy can\npenetrate the shield, behind which the Lord has hidden the very\nfeeblest lamb of his blood-bought flock. He hides his people in his\npavilion, sets their feet upon the Rock of ages, lifts their head above\ntheir enemies round about, and fills their hearts with the everlasting\njoy of his salvation.\n\nHis name be praised for evermore!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\n\n\"And the Lord visited Sarah, as he had said, and the Lord did unto\nSarah as he had spoken.\" Here we have accomplished promise,--the\nblessed fruit of patient waiting upon God. None ever waited in vain.\nThe soul that takes hold of God's promise by faith has gotten a stable\nreality which will never fail him. Thus was it with Abraham; thus was\nit with all the faithful from age to age; and thus will it be with all\nthose who are enabled, in any measure, to trust in the living God. Oh,\nit is a wonderful blessing to have God himself as our portion and\nresting-place, amid the unsatisfying shadows of this scene through\nwhich we are passing; to have our anchor cast within the veil; to have\nthe word and oath of God, the two immutable things, to lean upon, for\nthe comfort and tranquillity of our souls.\n\nWhen God's promise stood before the soul of Abraham, as an accomplished\nfact, he might well have learnt the futility of his own effort to reach\nthat accomplishment. Ishmael was of no use whatever, so far as God's\npromise was concerned. He might, and did, afford something for nature's\naffections to entwine themselves around, thus furnishing a more\ndifficult task for Abraham to perform afterwards; but he was in no wise\nconducive to the development of the purpose of God, or to the\nestablishment of Abraham's faith,--quite the reverse. Nature can never\ndo aught for God. The Lord must \"visit,\" and the Lord must \"do,\" and\nfaith must wait, and nature must be still; yea, must be entirely set\naside as a dead, worthless thing, and then the divine glory can shine\nout, and faith find in that outshining all its rich and sweet reward.\n\"Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age, _at the set\ntime_ of which God had spoken to him.\" There is such a thing as God's\n\"set time,\" his \"due season,\" and for this the faithful must be content\nto wait. The time may seem long, and hope deferred may make the heart\nsick; but the spiritual mind will ever find its relief in the assurance\nthat all is for the ultimate display of God's glory. \"For the vision is\nfor an appointed time, but _at the end_ it shall speak, and not lie;\nthough it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not\ntarry ... but the just shall live by his faith.\" (Hab. ii. 3, 4.) This\nwondrous faith! It brings into our present all the power of God's\nfuture, and feeds upon God's promise as a present reality. By its power\nthe soul is kept hanging upon God, when every outward thing seems to be\nagainst it; and, \"at the set time,\" the mouth is filled with laughter.\n\"Abraham was an hundred years old when his son Isaac was born unto\nhim.\" Thus nature had nothing to glory in. \"Man's extremity was God's\nopportunity;\" and Sarah said, \"_God_ hath made me to laugh.\" All is\ntriumph when God is allowed to show himself.\n\nNow, while the birth of Isaac filled Sarah's mouth with laughter, it\nintroduced an entirely new element into Abraham's house. The son of the\nfree-woman very speedily developed the true character of the son of the\nbond-woman. Indeed, Isaac proved in principle to be to the household of\nAbraham what the implantation of the new nature is in the soul of a\nsinner. It was not _Ishmael changed_, but it was _Isaac born_. The son\nof the bond-woman could never be any thing else but that. He might\nbecome a great nation; he might dwell in the wilderness and become an\narcher; he might become the father of twelve princes;--but he was the\nson of the bond-woman all the while. On the contrary, no matter how\nweak and despised Isaac might be, he was the son of the free-woman. His\nposition and character, his standing and prospects, were all from the\nLord. \"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born\nof the Spirit is spirit.\"\n\nRegeneration is not a change of the old nature, but the introduction of\na new: it is the implantation of the nature or life of the second Adam,\nby the operation of the Holy Ghost, founded upon the accomplished\nredemption of Christ, and in full keeping with the sovereign will or\ncounsel of God. The moment a sinner believes in his heart and confesses\nwith his mouth the Lord Jesus, he becomes the possessor of a new life,\nand that life is Christ. He is born of God, is a child of God, is a son\nof the free-woman. (See Rom. x. 9; Col. iii. 4; 1 John iii. 1, 2; Gal.\niii. 26; iv. 31.)\n\nNor does the introduction of this new nature alter, in the slightest\ndegree, the true, essential character of the old. This latter continues\nwhat it was, and is made in no respect better; yea, rather, there is\nthe full display of its evil character in opposition to the new\nelement. \"The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against\nthe flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other.\" There they are\nin all their distinctness, and the one is only thrown into relief by\nthe other.\n\nI believe this doctrine of the two natures in the believer is not\ngenerally understood; and yet, so long as there is ignorance of it, the\nmind must be utterly at sea, in reference to the true standing and\nprivileges of the child of God. Some there are, who think that\nregeneration is a certain change which the old nature undergoes; and,\nmoreover, that this change is gradual in its operation, until at length\nthe whole man becomes transformed. That this idea is unsound can be\nproved by various quotations from the New Testament. For example, \"the\ncarnal mind is enmity against God.\" How can that which is thus spoken\nof ever undergo any improvement? The apostle goes on to say, \"it is not\nsubject to the law of God, _neither indeed can be_.\" If it _cannot be_\nsubject to the law of God, how can it be improved? How can it undergo\nany change? Again, \"that which is born of the flesh is flesh.\" Do what\nyou will with flesh, and it is flesh all the while. As Solomon says,\n\"Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar, among wheat with a\npestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.\" (Prov. xxvii.\n22.) There is no use in seeking to make foolishness wise: you must\nintroduce heavenly wisdom into the heart that has been heretofore only\ngoverned by folly. Again, \"ye have put off the old man.\" (Col. iii. 9.)\nHe does not say, Ye have improved or are seeking to improve \"the old\nman;\" but, Ye have put it off. This gives us a totally different idea.\nThere is a very great difference between seeking to mend an old\ngarment, and casting it aside altogether, and putting on a new one.\nThis is the idea of the last-quoted passage. It is a putting off the\nold and a putting on of the new. Nothing can be more distinct or\nsimple.\n\nPassages might easily be multiplied to prove the unsoundness of the\ntheory, with respect to the gradual improvement of the old nature,--to\nprove that the old nature is dead in sins, and utterly unrenewable and\nunimproveable; and, moreover, that the only thing we can do with it is,\nto keep it under our feet in the power of that new life which we have\nin union with our risen Head in the heavens.\n\nThe birth of Isaac did not improve Ishmael, but only brought out his\nreal opposition to the child of promise. He might have gone on very\nquietly and orderly till Isaac made his appearance; but then he showed\nwhat he was by persecuting and mocking at the child of resurrection.\nWhat, then, was the remedy? To make Ishmael better? By no means; but,\n\"cast out this bond-woman and her son; for the son of this bond-woman\nshall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.\" (8-10.) Here was the\nonly remedy. \"That which is crooked cannot be made straight;\" therefore\nyou have only to get rid of the crooked thing altogether, and occupy\nyourself with that which is divinely straight. It is labor lost to seek\nto make a crooked thing straight. Hence all efforts after the\nimprovement of nature are utterly futile, so far as God is concerned.\nIt may be all very well for men to cultivate and improve that which is\nof use to themselves; but God has given his children something\ninfinitely better to do, even to cultivate that which is his own\ncreation, the fruits of which, while they in no wise serve to exalt\nnature, are entirely to his praise and glory.\n\nNow, the error into which the Galatian churches fell, was the\nintroduction of that which addressed itself to nature. \"Except ye be\ncircumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.\" Here\nsalvation was made to depend upon something that man could be, or man\ncould do, or man could keep. This was upsetting the whole glorious\nfabric of redemption, which, as the believer knows, rests exclusively\nupon what Christ is, and what he has done. To make salvation dependent\nin the most remote manner upon any thing in, or done by, man, is to set\nit entirely aside. In other words, Ishmael must be entirely cast out,\nand all Abraham's hopes be made to depend upon what God had done and\ngiven in the person of Isaac. This, it is needless to say, leaves man\nnothing to glory in. If present or future blessedness were made to\ndepend upon even a divine change wrought in nature, flesh might glory.\nThough my nature were improved, it would be something of _me_, and thus\nGod would not have _all_ the glory. But when I am introduced into a new\ncreation, I find it is all of God, designed, matured, developed by\nhimself alone. God is the actor, and I am a worshipper; he is the\nblesser, and I am the blessed; he is \"the better,\" and I am \"the less;\"\n(Heb. vii. 7;) he is the giver, and I am the receiver. This is what\nmakes Christianity what it is; and, moreover, distinguishes it from\nevery system of human religion under the sun, whether it be Romanism,\nPuseyism, or any other _ism_ whatsoever. Human religion gives the\ncreature a place more or less; it keeps the bond-woman and her son in\nthe house; it gives man something to glory in. On the contrary,\nChristianity excludes the creature from all interference in the work of\nsalvation; casts out the bond-woman and her son, and gives _all_ the\nglory to him to whom alone it is due.\n\nBut let us inquire who this bond-woman and her son really are, and what\nthey shadow forth. Galatians iv. furnishes ample teaching as to these\ntwo points. In a word then the bond-woman represents the covenant of\nthe law; and her son represents all who are \"of works of law,\" or on\nthat principle ([Greek: ex ergon nomou]). This is very plain. The\nbond-woman only genders to bondage, and can never bring forth a free\nman. How can she? The law never could give liberty, for so long as a\nman was alive it ruled him. (Rom. vii. 1.) I can never be free so long\nas I am under the dominion of any one. But while I live, the law rules\nme; and nothing but death can give me deliverance from its dominion.\nThis is the blessed doctrine of Romans vii. \"Wherefore, my brethren, ye\nalso are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should\nbe married to another, even to him that is raised from the dead, that\nwe should bring forth fruit unto God.\" This is freedom; for, \"If the\nSon shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.\" (John viii. 36.)\n\"So, then, brethren, we are not children of the bond-woman, but of the\nfree.\" (Gal. iv. 31.)\n\nNow, it is in the power of this freedom that we are enabled to obey the\ncommand, \"Cast out this bond-woman and her son.\" If I am not\nconsciously free, I shall be seeking to attain liberty in the strangest\nway possible, even by keeping the bond-woman in the house; in other\nwords, I shall be seeking to get life by keeping the law; I shall be\nestablishing any own righteousness. No doubt, it will involve a\nstruggle to cast out this element of bondage, for legalism is natural\nto our hearts. \"The thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight, because\nof his son.\" Still, however grievous it may be, it is according to the\ndivine mind that we should abidingly \"stand fast in the liberty\nwherewith Christ hath made us free, and not be entangled again with the\nyoke of bondage.\" (Gal. v. 1.) May we, beloved reader, so fully and\nexperimentally enter into the blessedness of God's provision for us in\nChrist that we may be done with all thoughts about the flesh, and all\nthat it can be, do, or produce. There is a fulness in Christ which\nrenders all appeal to nature utterly superfluous and vain.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\n\nAbraham is now in a fit moral position to have his heart put to a most\nsevere test. The long-cherished reserve being put forth from his heart,\nin Chap. xx.--the bond-woman and her son being put forth from his\nhouse, as in Chap. xxi., he now stands forth in the most honored\nposition in which any soul can be placed, and that is a position of\ntrial from the hand of God himself. There are various kinds of trial:\ntrial from the hand of Satan; trial from surrounding circumstances; but\nthe highest character of trial is that which comes directly from the\nhand of God, when he puts his dear child into the furnace for the\npurpose of testing the reality of his faith. God will do this: he must\nhave reality. It will not do to say, \"Lord, Lord,\" or, \"I go, sir.\" The\nheart must be probed to the very bottom, in order that no element of\nhypocrisy or false profession may be allowed to lodge there. \"My son,\ngive me _thine heart_.\" He does not say, \"Give me thine head, or thine\nintellect, or thy talents, or thy tongue, or thy money;\" but \"Give me\nthine heart:\" and in order to prove the sincerity of our response to\nthis gracious command, he will lay his hand upon something very near\nour hearts. Thus he says to Abraham, \"Take now thy son, thine only son\nIsaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and\noffer him there for a burnt-offering, upon one of the mountains which I\nwill tell thee of.\" This was coming very close to Abraham's heart. It\nwas passing him through a searching crucible indeed. God \"requires\ntruth in the inward parts.\" There may be much truth on the lips, and\nmuch in the intellect, but God looks for it in the heart. It is no\nordinary proof that will satisfy God, as to the love of our hearts. He\nhimself did not rest satisfied with giving an ordinary proof. He gave\nhis Son, and we should aim at giving very striking proofs of our love\nto him who so loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins.\n\nHowever, it is well to see that God confers a signal honor upon us when\nhe thus tests our hearts. We never read that \"the Lord did tempt Lot.\"\nNo; Sodom tempted Lot. He never reached a sufficiently high elevation\nto warrant his being tried by the hand of Jehovah. It was too plainly\nmanifest that there was plenty between his heart and the Lord, and it\ndid not, therefore, require the furnace to bring that out. Sodom would\nhave held out no temptation whatever to Abraham. This was made manifest\nin his interview with Sodom's king, in Chapter xiv. God knew well that\nAbraham loved him far better than Sodom; but he would make it manifest\nthat he loved him better than any one or any thing, by laying his hand\nupon the nearest and dearest object. \"Take now thy son, thine only son,\nIsaac.\" Yes, Isaac, the child of promise; Isaac, the object of\nlong-deferred hope, the object of parental love, and the one in whom\nall the kindreds of the earth were to be blessed. This Isaac must be\noffered as a burnt-offering. This, surely, was putting faith to the\ntest, in order that, being more precious than gold that perisheth,\nthough it be tried with fire, it might be found unto praise, and honor,\nand glory. Had Abraham's whole soul not been stayed simply on the Lord,\nhe never could have yielded unhesitating obedience to such a searching\ncommand. But God himself was the living and abiding support of his\nheart, and therefore he was prepared to give up all for him.\n\nThe soul that has found _all_ its springs in God, can, without any\ndemur, retire from _all_ creature streams. We can give up the creature,\njust in proportion as we have found out, or become experimentally\nacquainted with the Creator, and no further. To attempt to give up the\nvisible things in any other way, save in the energy of that faith which\nlays hold of the invisible, is the most fruitless labor possible. It\ncannot be done. I will hold fast my Isaac until I have found my all in\nGod. It is when we are enabled by faith, to say \"God is our refuge and\nstrength, a very present help in trouble,\" that we can also add,\n\"therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and though\nthe mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.\" (Ps. xlvi. 1, 2.)\n\n\"And Abraham rose up early in the morning.\" There is ready obedience.\n\"I made haste and delayed not to keep thy commandments.\" Faith never\nstops to look at circumstances, or ponder results; it only looks at\nGod; it expresses itself thus: \"But when it pleased God, who separated\nme from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son\nin me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles; immediately I\nconferred not with flesh and blood.\" (Gal. i. 15, 16.) The moment we\nconfer with flesh and blood, our testimony and service are marred, for\nflesh and blood can never obey. We must rise early, and carry out,\nthrough grace, the divine command. Thus we are blessed, and God is\nglorified. Having God's own word as the basis of our acting will ever\nimpart strength and stability to our acting. If we merely act from\nimpulse, when the impulse subsides, the acting will subside also.\n\nThere are two things needful to a course of steady and consistent\naction, viz., the Holy Ghost, as the power of action, and the word to\ngive proper direction. To use a familiar illustration: on a railway, we\nshould find steam of little use without the iron rails firmly laid\ndown; the former is the power by which we move; and the latter, the\ndirection. It is needless to add that the rails would be of little use\nwithout the steam. Now, Abraham was blessed with both. He had the power\nof action conferred by God; and the command to act given by God also.\nHis devotedness was of a most definite character; and this is deeply\nimportant. We frequently find much that looks like devotedness, but\nwhich, in reality, is but the desultory activity of a will not brought\nunder the powerful action of the word of God. All such apparent\ndevotedness is worthless, and the spirit from which it proceeds will\nvery speedily evaporate. We may lay down the following principle,\nviz., whenever devotedness passes beyond divinely appointed bounds it\nis suspicious. If it comes not up to these bounds it is defective; if\nit flows without them it is erratic. I quite admit that there are\nextraordinary operations and ways of the Spirit of God, in which he\nasserts his own sovereignty, and rises above ordinary bounds; but, in\nsuch cases, the evidence of divine activity will be sufficiently strong\nto carry home conviction to every spiritual mind; nor will they, in the\nslightest degree, interfere with the truth of the principle that true\ndevotedness will ever be founded upon and governed by divine principle.\nTo sacrifice a son might seem to be an act of most extraordinary\ndevotedness; but, be it remembered, that what gave that act all its\nvalue, in God's sight, was the simple fact of its being based upon\nGod's command.\n\nThen, we have another thing connected with true devotedness, and that\nis a spirit of worship. \"I and the lad will go yonder and _worship_.\"\nThe really devoted servant will keep his eye, not on his service, be it\never so great, but on the Master, and this will produce a spirit of\nworship. If I love my master, according to the flesh, I shall not mind\nwhether I am cleaning his shoes or driving his carriage; but if I am\nthinking more of myself than of him, I shall rather be a coachman than\na shoeblack. So it is precisely in the service of the heavenly Master:\nif I am thinking only of him, planting churches and making tents will\nbe both alike to me. We may see the same thine in angelic ministry. It\nmatters not to an angel whether he be sent to destroy an army, or to\nprotect the person of some heir of salvation. It is the Master who\nentirely fills his vision. As some one has remarked, \"if two angels\nwere sent from heaven, one to rule an empire, and the other to sweep\nthe streets, they would not dispute about their respective work.\" This\nis most true, and so should it be with us. The servant should ever be\ncombined with the worshipper, and the works of our hands perfumed with\nthe ardent breathings of our spirits. In other words we should go forth\nto our work in the spirit of those memorable words, \"I and the lad will\ngo yonder and worship.\" This would effectually preserve us from that\nmerely mechanical service into which we are so prone to drop,--doing\nthings for doing's sake, and being more occupied with our work than\nwith our Master. All must flow from simple faith in God, and obedience\nto his word.\n\n\"By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and he that had\nreceived the promises, offered up his only-begotten.\" (Heb. xi. 17.) It\nis only as we are walking by faith that we can begin, continue, and end\nour works in God. Abraham not merely set out to offer his son, but he\nwent on, and reached the spot which God had appointed. \"And Abraham\ntook the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son;\nand he took the fire in his hand, and a knife: and they went both of\nthem together.\" And further on we read, \"And Abraham built an altar\nthere; and laid the wood in order; and bound Isaac his son, and laid\nhim on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand,\nand took the knife to slay his son.\" This was real work, \"a work of\nfaith and labor of love,\" in the highest sense. It was no mere\nmockery--no drawing near with the lips, while the heart was far off--no\nsaying, \"I go, sir, and went not.\" It was all deep reality, just such\nas faith ever delights to produce, and which God delights to accept. It\nis easy to make a show of devotedness when there is no demand for it.\nIt is easy to say, \"though all shall be offended because of thee, yet\nwill I never be offended ... though I should die with thee, yet will I\nnot deny thee;\" but the point is to stand the trial. When Peter was put\nto the test, he entirely broke down. Faith never talks of what it will\ndo, but does what it can in the strength of the Lord. Nothing can be\nmore thoroughly worthless than a spirit of empty pretension. It is just\nas worthless as the basis on which it rests. But faith acts \"when it is\ntried;\" and till then it is content to be unseen and silent.\n\nNow, it needs hardly to be remarked that God is glorified in those holy\nactivities of faith. He is the immediate object of them, as he is the\nspring from whence they emanate. There was not a scene in Abraham's\nentire history in which God was so much glorified as the scene on Mount\nMoriah. There it was that he was enabled to bear testimony to the fact\nthat he had found all his fresh springs in God,--found them not merely\nprevious to, but after, Isaac's birth. This is a most touching point.\nIt is one thing to rest in God's blessings, and another thing to rest\nin himself. It is one thing to trust God when I have before my eyes the\nchannel through which the blessing is to flow; and quite another thing\nto trust him when that channel is entirely stopped up. This was what\nproved the excellency of Abraham's faith. He showed that he could not\nmerely trust God for an innumerable seed while Isaac stood before him\nin health and vigor; but just as fully if he were a smoking victim on\nthe altar. This was a high order of confidence in God; it was unalloyed\nconfidence; it was not a confidence propped up in part by the Creator\nand in part by the creature. No; it rested on one solid pedestal, viz.,\nGod himself. \"He accounted that God was able.\" He never accounted that\nIsaac was able. Isaac without God was nothing; God without Isaac was\nevery thing. This is a principle of the very last importance, and one\neminently calculated to test the heart most keenly. Does it make any\ndifference to me to see the apparent channel of all my blessings dried\nup? Am I dwelling sufficiently near the fountain-head to be able, with\na worshipping spirit, to behold all the creature streams dried up? This\nI do feel to be a searching question. Have I such a simple view of\nGod's sufficiency as to be able as it were to \"stretch forth my hand\nand take the knife to slay my son.\" Abraham was enabled to do this,\nbecause his eye rested on the God of resurrection. \"He accounted that\nGod was able to raise him up even from the dead.\"\n\nIn a word, it was with God he had to do, and that was quite enough. He\nwas not suffered to strike the blow. He had gone to the very utmost\nbounds; he had come up to the line beyond which God could not suffer\nhim to go. The Blessed One spared the father's heart the pang which he\ndid not spare his own heart, even that of smiting his Son. He, blessed\nbe his name, passed beyond the utmost bounds, for \"he spared not his\nown Son, but delivered him up for us all.\" \"It pleased the Lord to\nbruise him; he hath put him to grief.\" There was no voice from heaven\nwhen, on Calvary, the Father offered up his only-begotten Son. No, it\nwas a perfectly accomplished sacrifice; and in its accomplishment our\neverlasting peace is sealed.\n\nHowever, Abraham's devotedness was fully proved and fully accepted.\n\"For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld\nthy son, thine only son, from me.\" Mark, it is \"_now_ I know.\" It had\nnever been proved before. It was there, no doubt; and, if there, God\nknew it; but the valuable point here is, that God founds his knowledge\nof it upon the palpable evidence afforded at the altar upon Mount\nMoriah. Faith is always proved by action, and the fear of God by the\nfruits which flow from it. \"Was not Abraham our father justified by\nworks when he had offered Isaac his son on the altar?\" (James ii. 21.)\nWho could think of calling his faith in question? Take away faith, and\nAbraham appears on Moriah as a murderer and a madman. Take faith into\naccount, and he appears as a devoted worshipper,--a God-fearing,\njustified man. But faith must be proved. \"What doth it profit, my\nbrethren, though a man _say_ he hath faith, and have not works?\" (James\nii. 14.) Will either God or man be satisfied with a powerless and\nprofitless profession? Surely not. God looks for reality, and honors it\nwhere he sees it; and as for man, he can understand naught save the\nliving and intelligible utterance of a faith that shows itself in acts.\nWe are surrounded by the profession of religion; the phraseology of\nfaith is on every lip; but faith itself is as rare a gem as ever,--that\nfaith which will enable a man to push out from the shore of present\ncircumstances, and meet the waves and the winds, and not only meet\nthem, but endure them, even though the Master should seem to be asleep\non the pillow.\n\nAnd here I would remark the beautiful harmony between St. James and St.\nPaul on the subject of justification. The intelligent and spiritual\nreader, who bows to the important truth of the plenary inspiration of\nholy scripture, knows full well that on this question it is not with\nPaul or James we have to do, but with the Holy Ghost, who graciously\nused each of those honored men as the pen to write his thoughts, just\nas I might take up a quill-pen or a steel-pen to write my thoughts, in\nwhich case it would be quite preposterous to speak of a discrepancy\nbetween the two pens, inasmuch as the writer is one. Hence it is just\nas impossible that two divinely-inspired penmen could clash, as that\ntwo heavenly bodies, while moving in their divinely-appointed orbits,\ncould come into collision.\n\nBut, in reality, as might be expected, there is the fullest and most\nperfect harmony between those two apostles; indeed, on the subject of\njustification, the one is the counterpart or exponent of the other. St\nPaul gives us the inward principle, St. James the outward development\nof that principle; the former presents the hidden life, the latter the\nmanifested life; the former looks at man in relation to God, the latter\nlooks at him in his relation to man. Now we want both: the inward would\nnot do without the outward; and the outward would be valueless and\npowerless without the inward. \"Abraham was justified\" when \"he believed\nGod;\" and \"Abraham was justified\" when \"he offered Isaac his son.\" In\nthe former case we have his secret standing; in the latter, his public\nacknowledgment by heaven and earth. It is well to understand this\ndistinction. There was no voice from heaven when \"Abraham believed\nGod,\" though in God's view he was there, then, and thus \"counted\nrighteous;\" but \"when he had offered his son upon the altar,\" God could\nsay, \"now I know;\" and all the world had a powerful and unanswerable\nproof of the fact that Abraham was a justified man. Thus will it ever\nbe. Where there is the inward principle, there will be the outward\nacting; but all the value of the latter springs from its connection\nwith the former. Disconnect, for one moment, Abraham's acting, as set\nforth by St. James, from Abraham's faith, as set forth by St. Paul, and\nwhat justifying virtue did it possess? None whatever. All its value,\nall its efficacy, all its virtue, springs from the fact that it was the\noutward manifestation of that faith, by virtue of which he had been\nalready counted righteous before God. Thus much as to the admirable\nharmony between St. Paul and St. James: or rather as to the unity of\nthe voice of the Holy Ghost, whether that voice be uttered by St. Paul\nor St. James.\n\nWe now return to our chapter. It is deeply interesting to mark here how\nAbraham's soul is led into a fresh discovery of God's character by the\ntrial of his faith. When we are enabled to bear the testings of God's\nown hand, it is sure to lead us into some new experience with respect\nto his character, which makes us to know how valuable the testing is.\nIf Abraham had not stretched out his hand to slay his son, he never\nwould have known the rich and exquisite depths of that title which he\nhere bestows upon God, viz., \"Jehovah Jireh.\" It is only when we are\nreally put to the test that we discover what God is. Without trial we\ncan be but theorists, and God would not have us such: he would have us\nentering into the living depths that are in himself,--the divine\nrealities of personal communion with him. With what different feelings\nand convictions must Abraham have retraced his steps from Moriah to\nBeersheba! from the mount of the Lord to the well of the oath! What\nvery different thoughts of God! What different thoughts of Isaac! What\ndifferent thoughts of every thing! Truly we may say, \"Happy is the man\nthat endureth trial.\" It is an honor put upon one by the Lord himself,\nand the deep blessedness of the experience to which it leads cannot\neasily be estimated. It is when men are brought, to use the language of\nthe 107th Psalm, \"to their wits' end,\" that they discover what God is.\nOh, for grace to endure trial, that God's workmanship may appear, and\nhis name be glorified in us!\n\nThere is one point, which, before closing my remarks on this chapter, I\nshall notice, and that is, the gracious way in which God gives Abraham\ncredit for having done the act which he had showed himself so fully\nprepared to do. \"By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord; for because\n_thou hast done this thing_, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only\nson, that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will\nmultiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon\nthe sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of _his enemies_;\nand in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed: because\nthou hast obeyed my voice.\" This beautifully corresponds with the\nSpirit's notice of Abraham's acting, as put before us in Heb. xi. and\nalso in James ii., in both of which scriptures he is looked upon as\nhaving offered Isaac his son upon the altar. The grand principle\nconveyed in the whole matter is this: Abraham proved that he was\nprepared to have the scene entirely cleared of _all_ but God; and,\nmoreover, it was this same principle which both _constituted_ and\n_proved_ him a justified man. Faith can do without every one and every\nthing but God. It has the full sense of his sufficiency, and can,\ntherefore, let go all beside. Hence Abraham could rightly estimate the\nwords, \"_by myself_ have I sworn.\" Yes, this wondrous word, \"myself,\"\nwas every thing to the man of faith. \"For when God made promise to\nAbraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself....\nFor men verily swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is to\nthem an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show\nunto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it\nby an oath.\" The word and oath of the living God should put an end to\nall the strivings and workings of the human will, and form the\nimmovable anchor of the soul amid all the tossing and tumult of this\nstormy world.\n\nNow, we must condemn ourselves constantly, because of the little power\nwhich the promise of God has in our hearts. There it is, and we profess\nto believe it; but ah! it is not that deep, abiding, influential\nreality which it ought ever to be; we do not draw from it that \"strong\nconsolation\" which it is calculated to afford. How little prepared are\nwe, in the power of faith, in the promise of God, to slay our Isaac! We\nneed to cry to God that he would be graciously pleased to endow us\nwith a deeper insight into the blessed reality of a life of faith in\nhimself, that so we may understand better the import of that word of\nSt. John: \"This is the victory that overcometh the world, even your\nfaith.\" We can only overcome the world by faith. Unbelief puts us under\nthe power of present things; in other words, it gives the world the\nvictory over us. A soul that has entered by the teaching of the Holy\nGhost into the sense of God's sufficiency, is entirely independent of\nthings here. Beloved reader, may we know this, for our peace and joy in\nGod and his glory in us.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\n\nThis little section of inspiration furnishes much sweet and profitable\ninstruction to the soul. In it the Holy Spirit sets before us a\nbeautiful exhibition of the mode in which the man of faith should carry\nhimself toward those that are without. While it is true, divinely true,\nthat faith makes a man independent of the men of the world, it is no\nless true that faith will ever teach him to walk honestly toward them.\nWe are told to \"walk honestly toward them that are without;\" (1 Thess.\niv. 12:) \"to provide things honest in the sight of all;\" (2 Cor. viii.\n21:) \"to owe no man any thing;\" (Rom. xiii. 8.) These are weighty\nprecepts,--precepts which, even before their distinct enunciation, were\nduly observed in all ages by the faithful servants of Christ, but which\nin modern times alas! have not been sufficiently attended to.\n\nThe 23d of Genesis therefore is worthy of special notice. It opens with\nthe death of Sarah, and introduces Abraham in a new character, viz.,\nthat of a mourner. \"Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for\nher.\" The child of God must meet such things; but he must not meet them\nas others. The great fact of resurrection comes in to his relief, and\nimparts a character to his sorrow quite peculiar. (1 Thess. iv. 13,\n14.) The man of faith can stand at the grave of a brother or sister, in\nthe happy consciousness that it shall not long hold its captive, \"For\nif we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which\nsleep in Jesus will God bring with him.\" The redemption of the soul\nsecures the redemption of the body; the former we have, the latter we\nwait for. (Rom. viii. 23.)\n\nNow, I believe that in purchasing Machpelah for a burying-place,\nAbraham gave expression to his faith in resurrection. \"_He stood up\nfrom_ before his dead.\" Faith cannot long keep death in view; it has a\nhigher object, blessed be the \"living God\" who has given it.\nResurrection is that which ever fills the vision of faith; and, in the\npower thereof, it can rise up from before the dead. There is much\nconveyed in this action of Abraham. We want to understand its meaning\nmuch more fully, because we are much too prone to be occupied with\ndeath and its consequences. Death is the boundary of Satan's power; but\nwhere Satan ends, God begins. Abraham understood this when he rose up\nand purchased the cave of Machpelah as a sleeping-place for Sarah. This\nwas the expression of Abraham's thought in reference to the future. He\nknew that in the ages to come, God's promise about the land of Canaan\nwould be fulfilled, and he was able to lay the body of Sarah in the\ntomb, \"in sure and certain hope of a glorious resurrection.\"\n\nThe sons of Heth knew nothing about this. The thoughts which were\nfilling the patriarch's soul were entirely foreign to the uncircumcised\nchildren of Heth. To them it seemed a small matter where he buried his\ndead; but it was by no means a small matter to him. \"I am a stranger\nand a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burying-place with\nyou that I may bury my dead out of my sight.\" It might, and manifestly\ndid, appear strange to them to make so much ado about a grave; but,\n\"beloved, the world knoweth us not, even as it knew him not.\" The\nfinest traits and characteristics of faith are those which are most\nincomprehensible to the natural man. The Canaanites had no idea of the\nexpectations which were giving character to Abraham's actings on this\noccasion. They had no idea that he was looking forward to the\npossession of the land, while he was merely looking for a spot in\nwhich, as a dead man, he might wait for God's time, and God's manner,\nviz., the MORNING OF RESURRECTION. He felt _he_ had no controversy with\nthe children of Heth, and hence he was quite prepared to lay his head\nin the grave, and allow God to act for him, and with him, and by him.\n\n\"These all died in (or according to) faith, ([Greek: kata pistin]) not\nhaving received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were\npersuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were\nstrangers and pilgrims on the earth.\" (Heb. xi. 13.) This is a truly\nexquisite feature in the divine life. Those \"witnesses,\" of whom the\napostle is speaking in Heb. xi. not merely lived by faith, but even\nwhen they arrived at the close of their career, they proved that the\npromises of God were as real and satisfying to their souls as when they\nfirst started. Now, I believe this purchase of a burying-place in the\nland was an exhibition of the power of faith, not only to live, but to\ndie. Why was Abraham so particular about this purchase? Why was he so\nanxious to make good his claim to the field and cave of Ephron on\nrighteous principles? Why so determined to weigh out the full price\n\"current with the merchant?\" FAITH is the answer. He did it all by\nfaith. He knew the land was his in prospect, and that in\nresurrection-glory his seed should yet possess it, and until then he\nwould be no debtor to those who were yet to be dispossessed.\n\nThus we may view this beautiful chapter in a twofold light; first, as\nsetting before us a plain, practical principle, as to our dealings with\nthe men of this world; and secondly, as presenting the blessed hope\nwhich should ever animate the man of faith. Putting both these points\ntogether, we have an example of what the child of God should ever be.\nThe hope set before us in the gospel is a glorious immortality; and\nthis, while it lifts the heart above every influence of nature and the\nworld, furnishes a high and holy principle with which to govern all our\nintercourse with those who are without. \"We know that when he shall\nappear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.\" This is\nour hope. What is the moral effect of this? \"Every man that hath this\nhope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.\" (1 John iii. 2, 3.)\nIf I am to be like Christ by-and-by, I shall seek to be as like him now\nas I can. Hence, the Christian should ever seek to walk in purity,\nintegrity, and moral grace, in the view of all around.\n\nThus it was with Abraham, in reference to the sons of Heth. His whole\ndeportment and conduct, as set forth in our chapter, would seem to have\nbeen marked with very pure elevation and disinterestedness. He was \"a\nmighty prince among them,\" and they would fain have done him a favor;\nbut Abraham had learnt to take his favors only from the God of\nresurrection, and while he would pay _them_ for Machpelah, he would\nlook to _him_ for Canaan. The sons of Heth knew well the value of\n\"current money with the merchant,\" and Abraham knew the value of the\ncave of Machpelah. It was worth much more to him than it was to them.\n\"The land was worth\" to them \"four hundred shekels of silver,\" but to\nhim it was priceless, as the earnest of an everlasting inheritance,\nwhich, because it was an everlasting inheritance, could only be\npossessed in the power of resurrection. Faith conducts the soul onward\ninto God's future; it looks at things as he looks at them, and\nestimates them according to the judgment of the sanctuary. Therefore,\nin the intelligence of faith, Abraham stood up from before his dead,\nand purchased a burying-place, which significantly set forth his hope\nof resurrection, and of an inheritance founded thereon.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\n\nThe connection of this chapter with the two which precede it is worthy\nof notice. In Chapter xxii. the son is offered up; in Chap. xxiii.\nSarah is laid aside; and in Chapter xxiv. the servant is sent forth to\nprocure a bride for him who had been, as it were, received from the\ndead in a figure. This connection, in a very striking manner, coincides\nwith the order of events connected with the calling out of the Church.\nWhether this coincidence is to be regarded as of divine origin will, it\nmay be, raise a question in the minds of some; but it must at least be\nregarded as not a little remarkable.\n\nWhen we turn to the New Testament, the grand events which meet our view\nare, first, the rejection and death of Christ; secondly, the setting\naside of Israel after the flesh; and, lastly, the calling out of the\nChurch to occupy the high position of the bride of the Lamb.\n\nNow all this exactly corresponds with the contents of this and the two\npreceding chapters. The death of Christ needed to be an accomplished\nfact ere the Church, properly so called, could be called out. \"The\nmiddle wall of partition\" needed to be broken down, ere the \"_one new\nman_\" could be developed. It is well to understand this in order that\nwe may know the place which the Church occupies in the ways of God. So\nlong as the Jewish economy subsisted there was the most strict\nseparation maintained between Jew and Gentile, and hence the idea of\nboth being united in one new man was far removed from the mind of a\nJew. He was led to view himself in a position of entire superiority to\nthat of a Gentile, and to view the latter as utterly unclean, to whom\nit was unlawful to come in. (Acts x. 28.)\n\nIf Israel had walked with God according to the truth of the\nrelationship into which he had graciously brought them, they would have\ncontinued in their peculiar place of separation and superiority; but\nthis they did not do; and, therefore, when they had filled up the\nmeasure of their iniquity, by crucifying the Lord of life and glory,\nand rejecting the testimony of the Holy Ghost, we find St. Paul is\nraised up to be the minister of a new thing, which was held back in the\ncounsels of God, while the testimony to Israel was going on. \"For this\ncause I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye\nhave heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given me\nto you-ward: how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery\n... which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, _as it\nis now_ revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets (i. e.,\nNew-Testament prophets, [Greek: tois hagiois apostolois autou kai\nprophetais]) by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs,\nand of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the\ngospel.\" (Eph. iii. 1-6.) This is conclusive. The mystery of the\nChurch, composed of Jew and Gentile, baptized by one Spirit into one\nbody, united to the glorious Head in the heavens, had never been\nrevealed until Paul's day. Of this mystery the apostle goes on to say,\n\"_I_ was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God,\ngiven unto me, by the effectual working of his power.\" (Ver. 7.) The\napostles and prophets of the New Testament formed, as it were, the\nfirst layer of this glorious building. (See Eph. ii. 20.) This being\nso, it follows as a consequence that the building could not have been\nbegun before. If the building had been going on from the days of Abel\ndownwards, the apostle would then have said, \"the foundation of the\nOld-Testament saints.\" But he has not said so, and therefore we\nconclude that, whatever be the position assigned to the Old-Testament\nsaints, they cannot possibly belong to a body which had no existence,\nsave in the purpose of God, until the death and resurrection of Christ,\nand the consequent descent of the Holy Ghost. Saved they were, blessed\nbe God: saved by the blood of Christ, and destined to enjoy heavenly\nglory with the Church; but they could not have formed a part of that\nwhich did not exist for hundreds of years after their time.\n\nIt were easy to enter upon a more elaborate demonstration of this most\nimportant truth, were this the place for so doing; but I shall now go\non with our chapter, having merely touched upon a question of\ncommanding interest, because of its being suggested by the position of\nthe 24th of Genesis.\n\nThere may be a question in some minds as to whether we are to view this\ndeeply-interesting portion of scripture as _a type_ of the calling out\nof the Church by the Holy Ghost. For myself, I feel happier in merely\nhandling it as _an illustration_ of that glorious work. We cannot\nsuppose that the Spirit of God would occupy an unusually long chapter\nwith the mere detail of a family compact, were that compact not\ntypical or illustrative of some great truth. \"Whatsoever things were\nwritten aforetime, were written for our learning.\" This is emphatic.\nWhat, therefore, are we to learn from the chapter before us? I believe\nit furnishes us with a beautiful illustration or foreshadowing of the\ngreat mystery of the Church. It is important to see that, while there\nis no direct revelation of this mystery in the Old Testament, there\nare, nevertheless, scenes and circumstances which, in a very remarkable\nmanner, shadow it forth; as, for example, the chapter before us. As has\nbeen remarked, the son being, in a figure, offered up, and received\nagain from the dead; the original parent stem, as it were, being laid\naside, the messenger is sent forth by the father to procure a bride for\nthe son.\n\nNow, in order to the clear and full understanding of the contents of\nthe entire chapter, we may consider the following points, viz., 1, _the\noath_; 2, _the testimony_; 3, _the result_. It is beautiful to observe\nthat the call and exaltation of Rebekah were founded upon the oath\nbetween Abraham and his servant. She knew nothing of this, though she\nwas, in the purpose of God, so entirely the subject of it all. So it is\nexactly with the Church of God as a whole and each constituent part.\n\"In thy book were all my members written, which in continuance were\nfashioned, when as yet there were none of them.\" (Ps. cxxxix. 16.)\n\"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath\nblessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ;\naccording as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the\nworld, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.\"\n(Eph. i. 3, 4.) \"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to\nbe conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born\namong many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also\ncalled; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he\njustified, them he also glorified.\" (Rom. viii. 29, 30.) These\nscriptures are all in beautiful harmony with the point immediately\nbefore us. The call, the justification, and the glory of the Church,\nare all founded on the eternal purpose of God,--his word and oath,\nratified by the death, resurrection, and exaltation of the Son. Far\nback, beyond the bounds of time, in the deep recesses of God's eternal\nmind, lay this wondrous purpose respecting the Church, which cannot, by\nany means, be separated from the divine thought respecting the glory of\nthe Son. The oath between Abraham and the servant had for its object\nthe provision of a partner for the son. It was the father's desire with\nrespect to the son that all led to Rebekah's after-dignity. It is happy\nto see this. Happy to see how the Church's security and blessing stand\ninseparably connected with Christ and his glory. \"For the man is not of\nthe woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for\nthe woman; but the woman for the man.\" (1 Cor. xi. 8, 9.) So it is in\nthe beautiful parable of the marriage-supper; \"the kingdom of heaven is\nlike unto a certain king which made a marriage for his son.\" (Matt.\nxxii. 2.) THE SON is the grand object of all the thoughts and counsels\nof God: and if any are brought into blessing, or glory, or dignity, it\ncan only be in connection with him. All title to these things, and even\nto life itself, was forfeited by sin; but Christ met all the penalty\ndue to sin; he made himself responsible for every thing on behalf of\nhis body the Church; he was nailed to the cross as her representative;\nhe bore her sins in his own body on the tree, and went down into the\ngrave under the full weight of them. Hence, nothing can be more\ncomplete than the Church's deliverance from all that was against her.\nShe is quickened out of the grave of Christ, where all her trespasses\nwere laid. The life which she has is a life taken up at the other side\nof death, after every possible demand had been met. Hence, this life is\nconnected with, and founded upon, divine righteousness, inasmuch as\nChrist's title to life is founded upon his having entirely exhausted\nthe power of death; and he is the Church's life. Thus the Church enjoys\ndivine life; she stands in divine righteousness; and the hope that\nanimates her is the hope of righteousness. (See, amongst many other\nscriptures, John iii. 16, 36; v. 39, 40; vi. 27, 40, 47, 68; xi. 25;\nxvii. 2; Rom. v. 21; vi. 23; 1 Tim. i. 16; 1 John ii. 25; v. 20; Jude\n21; Eph. ii. 1-6, 14, 15; Col. i. 12-22; ii. 10-15; Rom. i. 17; iii.\n21-26; iv. 5, 23-25; 2 Cor. v. 21; Gal. v. 5.)\n\nThese scriptures most fully establish the three points, viz., the life,\nthe righteousness, and the hope of the Church, all of which flow from\nher being one with him who was raised from the dead. Now, nothing can\nbe so calculated to assure the heart as the conviction that the\nChurch's existence is essential to the glory of Christ. \"The woman is\nthe glory of the man.\" (1 Cor. xi. 7.) And again, the Church is called\n\"the fulness of him that filleth all in all.\" (Eph. i. 23.) This last\nis a remarkable expression. The word translated \"fulness\" means the\ncomplement, that which, being added to something else, makes up a\nwhole. Thus it is that Christ the Head, and the Church the body, make\nup the \"one new man.\" (Eph. ii. 15.) Looking at the matter in this\npoint of view, it is no marvel that the Church should have been the\nobject of God's eternal counsels. When we view her as the body, the\nbride, the companion, the counterpart, of his only-begotten Son, we\nfeel that there was, through grace, wondrous reason for her being so\nthought of before the foundation of the world. Rebekah was necessary to\nIsaac, and therefore she was the subject of secret counsel while yet in\nprofound ignorance about her high destiny. All Abraham's thought was\nabout Isaac. \"I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven,\nand the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take _a wife unto my son_\nof the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.\" Here we see\nthat the all-important point was, \"a wife unto my son.\" \"It is not good\nthat the man should be alone.\" This opens up a very deep and blessed\nview of the Church. In the counsels of God she is necessary to Christ;\nand in the accomplished work of Christ, divine provision has been made\nfor her being called into existence.\n\nWhile occupied with such a character of truth as this, it is no longer\na question as to whether God can save poor sinners; he actually wants\nto \"make a marriage for his Son,\" and the Church is the destined\nbride,--she is the object of the Father's purpose, the object of the\nSon's love, and of the testimony of the Holy Ghost. She is to be the\nsharer of all the Son's dignity and glory, as she is the sharer of all\nthat love of which he has been the everlasting object. Hear his own\nwords: \"And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them; that\nthey may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that\nthey may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou\nhast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me.\" (John xvii.\n22, 23.) This settles the whole question. The words just quoted give us\nthe thoughts of Christ's heart in reference to the Church. She is to be\nas he is, and not only so, but she is so even now, as St. John tells\nus, \"Herein is love perfected with us, that we may have boldness in the\nday of judgment: because as he is, _so are we_ in this world.\" (1 John\niv. 17.) This gives full confidence to the soul. \"We are in him that,\nis true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal\nlife.\" (1 John v. 20.) There is here no ground for uncertainty. Every\nthing is secured for the bride in the bridegroom. All that belonged to\nIsaac became Rebekah's because Isaac was hers; and so all that belongs\nto Christ is made available to the Church. \"All things are yours;\nwhether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death,\nor things present, or things to come; all are yours, and ye are\nChrist's, and Christ is God's.\" (1 Cor. iii. 21-23.) Christ is \"head\nover all things to the Church.\" (Eph. i. 22.) It will be his joy\nthroughout eternity to exhibit the Church in all the glory and beauty\nwith which he has endowed her, for her glory and beauty will be but the\nreflection of his. Angels and principalities shall behold in the Church\nthe marvellous display of the wisdom, power, and grace of God in\nChrist.\n\nBut we shall now look at the second point for consideration, viz.,\n_the testimony_. Abraham's servant carried with him a very distinct\ntestimony. \"And he said, I am Abraham's servant. And the Lord hath\nblessed my master greatly, and he is become great; and he hath given\nhim flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and men servants, and maid\nservants, and camels, and asses. And Sarah, my master's wife, bare a\nson to my master when she was old; and unto him hath he given all that\nhe hath.\" (Ver. 34-36.) He reveals the father and the son. Such was his\ntestimony. He speaks of the vast resources of the father, and of the\nson's being endowed with all these in virtue of his being \"the\nonly-begotten,\" and the object of the father's love. With this\ntestimony he seeks to obtain a bride for the son.\n\nAll this, I need hardly remark, is strikingly illustrative of the\ntestimony with which the Holy Ghost was sent from heaven upon the day\nof Pentecost. \"When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you\nfrom the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the\nFather, he shall testify of me.\" (John xv. 26.) Again, \"Howbeit when he\nthe Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he\nshall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he\nspeak; and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he\nshall receive of mine and show it unto you. _All things that the\nFather hath are mine_: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine and\nshall show it unto you.\" (John xvi. 13-15.) The coincidence of these\nwords with the testimony of Abraham's servant is instructive and\ninteresting. It was by telling of Isaac that he sought to attract the\nheart of Rebekah; and it is, as we know, by telling of Jesus, that the\nHoly Ghost seeks to draw poor sinners away from a world of sin and\nfolly into the blessed and holy unity of the body of Christ. \"He shall\ntake of mine and show it unto you.\" The Spirit of God will never lead\nany one to look at himself or his work; but only and always at Christ.\nHence, the more really spiritual any one is, the more entirely will he\nbe occupied with Christ.\n\nSome there are who regard it as a great mark of spirituality to be ever\nlooking in at their own hearts, and dwelling upon what they find there,\neven though that be the work of the Spirit. This is a great mistake. So\nfar from its being a proof of spirituality, it is a proof of the very\nreverse, for it is expressly declared of the Holy Ghost that \"he shall\nnot speak of himself;\" but that, on the contrary, \"he shall take of\nmine and show it unto you.\" Therefore, whenever one is looking inward,\nand building on the evidences of the Spirit's work there, he may be\nassured he is not led by the Spirit of God in so doing. It is by\nholding up Christ that the Spirit draws souls to God. This is very\nimportant. The knowledge of Christ is life eternal; and it is the\nFather's revelation of Christ by the Holy Ghost that constitutes the\nbasis of the Church. When Peter confessed Christ to be the Son of the\nliving God, Christ's answer was, \"Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jonah;\nfor flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which\nis in heaven. And I say unto thee, that thou art Peter; and upon this\nrock _I will build_ my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail\nagainst it.\" (Matt. xvi. 17, 18.) What rock? Peter? God forbid. \"This\nrock\" [Greek: taute te petra] simply means the Father's revelation of\nChrist as the Son of the living God, which is the only means by which\nany one is introduced into the assembly of Christ. Now this opens to us\nvery much the true character of the gospel. It is pre-eminently and\nemphatically a revelation,--a revelation not merely of a doctrine, but\nof a Person,--the Person of the Son. This revelation being received by\nfaith, draws the heart to Christ, and becomes the spring of life and\npower,--the ground of membership,--the power of fellowship. \"When it\npleased God ... to _reveal his Son_ in me,\" &c. Here we have the true\nprinciple of \"the rock,\" viz., God revealing his Son. It is thus the\nsuperstructure is reared up; and on this solid foundation it reposes,\naccording to God's eternal purpose.\n\nIt is therefore peculiarly instructive to find in this 24th of Genesis\nsuch a marked and beautiful illustration of the mission and special\ntestimony of the Holy Ghost. Abraham's servant, in seeking to procure a\nbride for Isaac, sets forth all the dignity and wealth with which he\nhad been endowed by the father; the love of which he was the object;\nand, in short, all that was calculated to affect the heart and draw it\noff from present things. He showed Rebekah an object in the distance,\nand set before her the blessedness and reality of being made one with\nthat beloved and highly-favored object. All that belonged to Isaac\nwould belong to Rebekah too, when she became part of him. Such was his\ntestimony. Such also is the testimony of the Holy Ghost He speaks of\nChrist, the glory of Christ, \"the beauty of Christ, the fulness of\nChrist, the grace of Christ, the unsearchable riches of Christ,\" the\ndignity of his Person and the perfectness of his work.\n\nMoreover, he sets forth the amazing blessedness of being one with such\na Christ, \"members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.\" Such\nis the Spirit's testimony always; and herein we have an excellent\ntouchstone by which to try all sorts of teaching and preaching. The\nmost spiritual teaching will ever be characterized by a full and\nconstant presentation of Christ. He will ever form the burden of such\nteaching. The Spirit cannot dwell on aught but Jesus. Of him he\ndelights to speak. He delights in setting forth his attractions and\nexcellencies. Hence, when a man is ministering by the power of the\nSpirit of God, there will always be more of Christ than any thing else\nin his ministry. There will be little room in such ministry for human\nlogic and reasoning. Such things may do very well where a man desires\nto set forth himself; but the Spirit's sole object,--be it well\nremembered by all who minister,--will ever be to set forth Christ.\n\nLet us now look, in the last place, at _the result_ of all this. Truth,\nand the practical application of truth, are two very different things.\nIt is one thing to speak of the peculiar glories of the Church, and\nquite another thing to be practically influenced by those glories. In\nRebekah's case, the effect was most marked and decisive. The testimony\nof Abraham's servant sank down into her ears, and into her heart, and\nentirely detached her heart's affections from the scene of things\naround her. She was ready to leave all and follow after, in order that\nshe might apprehend that for which she had been apprehended. It was\nmorally impossible that she could believe herself to be the subject of\nsuch high destinies, and yet continue amid the circumstances of nature.\nIf the report concerning the future were true, attachment to the\npresent was the worst of folly. If the hope of being Isaac's bride,\njoint-heir with him of all his dignity and glory,--if this were a\nreality, then to continue to tend Laban's sheep would be practically to\ndespise all that God had in grace set before her.\n\nBut, no: the prospect was far too bright to be thus lightly given up.\nTrue, she had not yet seen Isaac, nor yet the inheritance; but she had\nbelieved the report, the testimony of _him_, and had received, as it\nwere, the earnest of _it_, and these were enough for her heart; and\nhence she unhesitatingly arises and expresses her readiness to depart\nin the memorable words, \"_I will go_.\" She was fully prepared to enter\nupon an unknown path in companionship with one who had told her of an\nobject far away, and of a glory connected with him, to which she was\nabout to be raised. \"I will go,\" said she, and \"forgetting the things\nwhich were behind, and reaching forth toward the things which were\nbefore, she pressed toward the mark for the prize of her high calling.\"\nMost touching and beautiful illustration this of the Church, under the\nconduct of the Holy Ghost, going onward to meet her heavenly\nBridegroom. This is what the Church should be; but, alas! there is sad\nfailure here. There is little of that holy alacrity in laying aside\nevery weight and every entanglement, in the power of communion with the\nHoly Guide and Companion of our way, whose office and delight it is to\ntake of the things of Jesus, and show them unto us; just as Abraham's\nservant took of the things of Isaac, and showed them to Rebekah; and\nno doubt, too, he found his joy in pouring fresh testimonies concerning\nthe son into her ear, as they moved onward toward the consummation of\nall her joy and glory. Thus it is, at least with our heavenly guide and\ncompanion. He delights to tell of Jesus, \"He shall take of mine and\nshow it unto you;\" and again, \"he shall show you things to come.\" Now,\nthis is what we really want,--this ministry of the Spirit of God,\nunfolding Christ to our souls, producing earnest longing to see him as\nhe is, and be made like him forever. Naught but this will ever detach\nour hearts from earth and nature. What, save the hope of being\nassociated with Isaac, would ever have led Rebekah to say, \"I will go,\"\nwhen her \"brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a\nfew days, at least ten.\" And so with us: nothing but the hope of seeing\nJesus as he is, and being like him, will ever enable or lead us to\npurify ourselves, even as he is pure.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\n\nIn the opening of this chapter, Abraham's second marriage is set before\nus,--an event not without its interest to the spiritual mind, when\nviewed in connection with what we have been considering in the\npreceding chapter. With the light furnished by the prophetic scriptures\nof the New Testament, we understand that after the completion and\ntaking-up of the elect bride of Christ, the seed of Abraham will again\ncome into notice. Thus, after the marriage of Isaac, the Holy Ghost\ntakes up the history of Abraham's seed by a new marriage, together\nwith other points in his history, and that of his seed according to the\nflesh. I do not press any special interpretation of all this: I merely\nsay that it is not without its interest.\n\nWe have already referred to the remark of some one on the book of\nGenesis, namely, that it is \"full of the seeds of things;\" and as we\npass along its comprehensive pages, we shall find them teeming with all\nthe fundamental principles of truth, which are more elaborately wrought\nout in the New Testament. True, in Genesis these principles are set\nforth illustratively, and in the New Testament didactically; still, the\nillustration is deeply interesting, and eminently calculated to bring\nhome the truth with power to the soul.\n\nAt the close of this chapter we are presented with some principles of a\nvery solemn and practical nature. Jacob's character and actings will\nhereafter, if the Lord will, come more fully before us; but I would\njust notice, ere passing on, the conduct of Esau in reference to the\nbirthright, and all which it involved. The natural heart places no\nvalue on the things of God. To it God's promise is a vague, valueless,\npowerless thing, simply because God is not known. Hence it is that\npresent things carry such weight and influence in man's estimation. Any\nthing that man can _see_ he values, because he is governed by sight,\nand not by faith. To him the present is every thing: the future is a\nmere uninfluential thing,--a matter of the merest uncertainty. Thus it\nwas with Esau. Hear his fallacious reasoning: \"Behold, I am at the\npoint to die; and what profit shall this birthright do to me?\" What\nstrange reasoning! _The present_ is slipping from beneath my feet: I\nwill therefore despise and entirely let go the _future_! Time is\nfading from my view, I will therefore abandon all interest in eternity!\n\"Thus Esau despised his birthright.\" Thus Israel despised the pleasant\nland; (Ps. cvi. 24); thus they despised Christ. (Zech. xi. 13.) Thus\nthose who were bidden to the marriage despised the invitation. (Matt.\nxxii. 5.) Man has no heart for the things of God. The present is every\nthing to him. A mess of pottage is better than a title to Canaan.\nHence, the very reason why Esau made light of the birthright was the\nreason why he ought to have grasped it with the greater intensity. The\nmore clearly I see the vanity of man's present, the more I shall cleave\nto God's future. Thus it is in the judgment of faith. \"Seeing then that\n_all these things shall be dissolved_, what manner of persons ought ye\nto be in all holy conversation and godliness; looking for and hasting\nunto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire\nshall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?\nNevertheless we, _according to his promise_, look for new heavens and a\nnew earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.\" (2 Pet. iii. 11-13.) These\nare the thoughts of God, and therefore the thoughts of faith. The\nthings that are seen shall be dissolved. What, then, are we to despise\nthe unseen? By no means. The present is rapidly passing away. What is\nour resource? \"Looking for, and hasting unto, the coming of the day of\nGod.\" This is the judgment of the renewed mind; and any other judgment\nis only that of \"a profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat\nsold his birthright.\" (Heb. xii. 16.) The Lord keep us judging of\nthings as he judges. This can only be done by faith.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI.\n\n\nThe opening verse of this chapter connects itself with Chap. xii.\n\"There was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in\nthe days of Abraham.\" The trials which meet God's people in their\ncourse are very much alike; and they ever tend to make manifest how far\nthe heart has found its _all_ in God. It is a difficult matter--a rare\nattainment--so to walk in sweet communion with God as to be rendered\nthereby entirely independent of things and people here. The Egypts and\nthe Gerars which lie on our right hand and on our left present great\ntemptations, either to turn aside out of the right way, or to stop\nshort of our true position as servants of the true and living God.\n\n\"And Isaac went unto Abimelech, King of the Philistines, unto Gerar.\"\nThere is a manifest difference between Egypt and Gerar. Egypt is the\nexpression of the world in its natural resources, and its independence\nof God. \"My river is mine own,\" is the language of an Egyptian who knew\nnot Jehovah, and thought not of looking to him for aught. Egypt was,\nlocally, farther removed from Canaan than Gerar; and, morally, it\nexpresses a condition of soul farther from God. Gerar is thus referred\nto in Chap. x.: \"And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as\nthou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza: as thou goest unto Sodom, and\nGomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.\" (Ver. 19.) We are\ninformed that \"from Gerar to Jerusalem was three days' journey.\" It\nwas, therefore, as compared with Egypt, an advanced position; but still\nit lay within the range of very dangerous influences. Abraham got into\ntrouble there, and so does Isaac, in this chapter, and that, too, in\nthe very same way. Abraham denied his wife, and so does Isaac. This is\npeculiarly solemn. To see both the father and the son fall into the\nsame evil, in the same place, tells us plainly that the influence of\nthat place was not good.\n\nHad Isaac not gone to Abimelech, King of Gerar, he would have no\nnecessity for denying his wife; but the slightest divergence from the\ntrue line of conduct superinduces spiritual weakness. It was when Peter\nstood and warmed himself at the high-priest's fire that he denied his\nMaster. Now, it is manifest that Isaac was not really happy in Gerar.\nTrue, the Lord says unto him, \"sojourn in this land;\" but how often\ndoes the Lord give directions to his people morally suitable to the\ncondition he knows them to be in, and calculated also to arouse them to\na true sense of that condition? He directed Moses, in Num. xiii. to\nsend men to search the land of Canaan; but had they not been in a low\nmoral condition such a step would not have been necessary. We know well\nthat faith does not need \"_to spy out_\" when God's promise lies before\nus. Again, he directed Moses to choose out seventy elders to help him\nin the work; but had Moses fully entered into the dignity and\nblessedness of his position, he would not have needed such a direction.\nSo, in reference to the setting up of a king, in 1 Sam. viii. They\nought not to have needed a king. Hence, we must always take into\nconsideration the condition of an individual or a people to whom a\ndirection is given before we can form any correct judgment as to the\ndirection.\n\nBut again it may be said, if Isaac's position in Gerar was wrong, how\ndo we read, \"Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received the same year\nan hundred-fold: and the Lord blessed him.\" (Ver. 12.) I reply, we can\nnever judge that a person's condition is right because of prosperous\ncircumstances. We have had already to remark that there is a great\ndifference between the Lord's presence and his blessing. Many have the\nlatter without the former; and, moreover, the heart is prone to mistake\nthe one for the other,--prone to put the blessing for the presence; or\nat least to argue that the one must ever accompany the other. This is a\ngreat mistake. How many do we see surrounded by God's blessings, who\nneither have, nor wish for, God's presence? It is important to see\nthis. A man may \"wax great, and go forward, and grow until he becomes\nvery great, and have possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and\ngreat store of servants,\" and all the while not have the full,\nunhindered joy of the Lord's presence with him. Flocks and herds are\nnot the Lord. They are things on account of which the Philistines might\nenvy Isaac, whereas they never would have envied him on account of the\nLord's presence. He might have been enjoying the sweetest and richest\ncommunion with God, and the Philistines have thought nothing whatever\nabout it, simply because they had no heart to understand or appreciate\nsuch a reality. Flocks, herds, servants, and wells of water they could\nappreciate; but the divine presence they could not appreciate.\n\nHowever, Isaac at length makes his way from amongst the Philistines,\nand gets up to Beersheba. \"And _the Lord appeared unto him_ the same\nnight, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father; fear not, for _I\nam with thee_, and will bless thee\" (Ver. 24.) Mark, it was not the\nLord's blessing merely, but the Lord himself. And why? because Isaac\nhad left the Philistines, with all their envy, and strife, and\ncontention behind, and gone up to Beersheba. Here the Lord could show\nhimself to his servant. The blessings of his liberal hand might follow\nhim during his sojourn in Gerar; but his presence could not there be\nenjoyed. To enjoy God's presence we must be where he is, and he\ncertainly is not to be found amid the strife and contention of an\nungodly world; and hence, the sooner the child of God gets away from\nall such, the better. So Isaac found it. He had no rest in his own\nspirit; and he assuredly did not in any wise serve the Philistines by\nhis sojourn amongst them. It is a very common error to imagine that we\nserve the men of this world by mixing ourselves up with them in their\nassociations and ways. The true way to serve them is to stand apart\nfrom them in the power of communion with God, and thus show them the\npattern of a more excellent way.\n\nMark the progress in Isaac's soul, and the moral effect of his course.\n\"He went up from thence,\" \"the Lord appeared unto him,\" \"he builded an\naltar,\" \"he called upon the name of the Lord,\" \"he pitched his tent,\"\n\"his servants digged a well.\" Here we have most blessed progress. The\nmoment he took a step in the right direction, he went from strength to\nstrength. He entered into the joy of God's presence,--tasted the sweets\nof true worship, and exhibited the character of a stranger and\npilgrim, and found peaceful refreshment, an undisputed well, which the\nPhilistines could not stop because they were not there.\n\nThese were blessed results in reference to Isaac himself; and now\nobserve the effect produced upon others. \"Then Abimelech went to him\nfrom Gerar, and Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phicol the chief\ncaptain of his army. And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me,\nseeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, We\nsaw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there now\nbe an oath betwixt us,\" &c. The true way to act on the hearts and\nconsciences of the men of the world is to stand in decided separation\nfrom them, while dealing in perfect grace toward them. So long as Isaac\ncontinued in Gerar, there was nothing but strife and contention. He was\nreaping sorrow for himself, and producing no effect whatever upon those\naround him. On the contrary, the moment he went away from them, their\nhearts were touched, and they followed him, and desired a covenant.\nThis is very instructive. The principle unfolded here may be seen\nconstantly exemplified in the history of the children of God. The first\npoint with the heart should ever be to see that in our position we are\n_right with God_, and not only right in position, but in the moral\ncondition of the soul. When we are right with God, we may expect to act\nsalutarily upon men. The moment Isaac got up to Beersheba, and took his\nplace as a worshipper, his own soul was refreshed, and he was used of\nGod to act upon others. So long as we continue in a low position, we\nare robbing ourselves of blessing, and failing totally in our testimony\nand service.\n\nNor should we, when in a wrong position, stop to inquire, as we so\noften do, \"Where can I find any thing better?\" God's order is, \"Cease\nto do evil;\" and when we have acted upon that holy precept, we are\nfurnished with another, namely, \"Learn to do well.\" If we expect to\n\"learn\" how \"to do well,\" before we \"cease to do evil,\" we are entirely\nmistaken. \"Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from among the dead.\"\n([Greek: ek ton nekron].) And what then? \"Christ shall give thee\nlight.\" (Eph. v. 14.)\n\nMy beloved reader, if you are doing what you know to be wrong, or if\nyou are identified in any way with what you own to be contrary to\nscripture, hearken to the word of the Lord, \"Cease to do evil.\" And be\nassured, when you have yielded obedience to this word, you will not\nlong be left in ignorance as to your path. It is sheer unbelief that\nleads us to say, \"I cannot cease to do evil until I find something\nbetter.\" The Lord grant us a single eye and a docile spirit.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTERS XXVII.-XXXV.\n\n\nThese chapters present to us the history of Jacob,--at least the\nprincipal scenes in that history. The Spirit of God here sets before us\nthe deepest instruction, first, as to God's purpose of infinite grace;\nand, secondly, as to the utter worthlessness and depravity of human\nnature.\n\nThere is a passage in Chap. xxv. which I purposely passed over, in\norder to take it up here, so that we might have the truth in reference\nto Jacob fully before us. \"And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife,\nbecause she was barren; and the Lord was entreated of him, and Rebekah\nhis wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her: and\nshe said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the\nLord. And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two\nmanner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people\nshall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the\nyounger.\" This is referred to in Malachi, where we read, \"I have loved\nyou, saith the Lord; yet ye say, wherein hast thou loved us? Was not\nEsau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I have loved Jacob and hated\nEsau.\" This is again referred to in Rom. ix.: \"For the children being\nnot yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of\nGod according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that\ncalleth; it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger, as it\nis written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.\"\n\nThus we have very distinctly before us, God's eternal purpose according\nto _the election of grace_. There is much involved in this expression.\nIt banishes all human pretension from the scene, and asserts God's\nright to act as he will. This is of the very last importance. The\ncreature can enjoy no real blessedness until he is brought to bow his\nhead to sovereign grace. It becomes him so to do, inasmuch as he is a\nsinner, and as such utterly without claim to act or dictate. The great\nvalue of finding oneself on this ground is, that it is then no longer a\nquestion of what we deserve to get, but simply of what God is pleased\nto give. The prodigal might talk of being a servant, but he really did\nnot deserve the place of a servant, if it were to be made a question of\ndesert; and therefore he had only to take what the father was pleased\nto give,--and that was the very highest place, even the place of\nfellowship with himself. Thus it must ever be. \"Grace all the work\nshall crown through everlasting days.\" Happy for us that it is so. As\nwe go on, day by day, making fresh discoveries of ourselves, we need to\nhave beneath our feet the solid foundation of God's grace: nothing else\ncould possibly sustain us in our growing self-knowledge. The ruin is\nhopeless, and therefore the grace must be infinite: and infinite it is,\nhaving its source in God himself, its channel in Christ, and the power\nof application and enjoyment in the Holy Ghost. The Trinity is brought\nout in connection with the grace that saves a poor sinner. \"Grace\nreigns through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our\nLord.\" It is only in redemption that this reign of grace could be seen.\nWe may see in creation the reign of wisdom and power; we may see in\nprovidence the reign of goodness and long-suffering; but only in\nredemption do we see the reign of grace, and that, too, on the\nprinciple of righteousness.\n\nNow, we have in the person of Jacob a most striking exhibition of the\npower of divine grace; and for this reason, that we have in him a\nstriking exhibition of the power of human nature. In him we see nature\nin all its obliquity, and therefore we see grace in all its moral\nbeauty and power. From the facts of his remarkable history, it would\nseem that, before his birth, at his birth, and after his birth, the\nextraordinary energy of nature was seen. Before his birth, we read,\n\"the children struggled together within her.\" At his birth, we read,\n\"his hand took hold on Esau's heel.\" And, after his birth,--yea, to the\nturning-point of his history, in Chap. xxxii., without any\nexception,--his course exhibits nothing but the most unamiable traits\nof nature; but all this only serves, like a dark back-ground, to throw\ninto relief the grace of him who condescends to call himself by the\npeculiarly touching name, \"the God of Jacob,\"--a name most sweetly\nexpressive of free grace.\n\nLet us now examine the chapters consecutively. Chap. xxvii. exhibits a\nmost humbling picture of sensuality, deceit, and cunning; and when one\nthinks of such things in connection with the people of God, it is sad\nand painful to the very last degree. Yet how true and faithful is the\nHoly Ghost! He must tell all out. He cannot give us a partial picture.\nIf he gives us a history of man, he must describe man as he is, and not\nas he is not.\n\nSo, if he unfolds to us the character and ways of God, he gives us God\nas he is. And this, we need hardly remark, is exactly what we need. We\nneed the revelation of one perfect in holiness, yet perfect in grace\nand mercy, who could come down into all the depth of man's need, his\nmisery and his degradation, and deal with him there, and raise him up\nout of it into full, unhindered fellowship with himself in all the\nreality of what he is. This is what scripture gives us. God knew what\nwe needed, and he has given it to us, blessed be his name!\n\nAnd be it remembered that in setting before us in faithful love all the\ntraits of a man's character, it is simply with a view to magnify the\nriches of divine grace and to admonish our souls. It is not by any\nmeans in order to perpetuate the memory of sins forever blotted out\nfrom his sight. The blots, the failures, and the errors of Abraham,\nIsaac, and Jacob, have been perfectly washed away, and they have taken\ntheir place amid \"the spirits of just men made perfect;\" but their\nhistory remains on the page of inspiration for the display of God's\ngrace, and for the warning of God's people in all ages; and, moreover,\nthat we may distinctly see that the blessed God has not been dealing\nwith perfect men and women, but with those of \"like passions as we\nare;\" that he has been walking and bearing with the same failures, the\nsame infirmities, the same errors, as those over which we mourn every\nday.\n\nThis is peculiarly comforting to the heart; and it may well stand in\nstriking contrast with the way in which the great majority of human\nbiographies are written, in which, for the most part, we find not the\nhistory of men, but of beings devoid of error and infirmity. Such\nhistories have rather the effect of discouraging than of edifying those\nwho read them. They are rather histories of what men ought to be, than\nof what they really are, and they are therefore useless to us,--yea,\nnot only useless, but mischievous.\n\nNothing can edify save the presentation of God dealing with man as he\nreally is; and this is what the word gives us. The chapter before us\nillustrates this very fully. Here we find the aged patriarch Isaac,\nstanding as it were at the very portal of eternity, the earth and\nnature fast fading away from his view, yet occupied about \"savory\nmeat,\" and about to act in direct opposition to the divine counsel, by\nblessing the elder instead of the younger. Truly this was nature, and\nnature with its \"eyes dim.\" If Esau had sold his birthright for a mess\nof pottage, Isaac was about to give away the blessing for a mess of\nvenison. How very humiliating!\n\nBut God's purpose must stand, and he will do all his pleasure. Faith\nknows this; and, in the power of that knowledge, can wait for God's\ntime. This nature never can do, but must set about gaining its own ends\nby its own inventions. These are the two grand points brought out in\nJacob's history,--God's purpose of grace on the one hand; and, on the\nother, nature plotting and scheming to reach what that purpose would\nhave infallibly brought about without any plot or scheme at all. This\nsimplifies Jacob's history amazingly, and not only simplifies it, but\nheightens the soul's interest in it also. There is nothing, perhaps, in\nwhich we are so lamentably deficient, as in the grace of patient,\nself-renouncing dependence upon God. Nature will be working in some\nshape or form, and thus, so far as in it lies, hindering the outshining\nof divine grace and power. God did not need the aid of such elements as\nRebekah's cunning and Jacob's gross deceit, in order to accomplish his\npurpose. He had said, \"the elder shall serve the younger.\" This was\nenough,--enough for faith, but not enough for nature, which must ever\nadopt its own ways, and know nothing of what it is to wait on God.\n\nNow, nothing can be more truly blessed than the position of hanging in\nchild-like dependence upon God, and being entirely content to wait for\nhis time. True it will involve trial; but the renewed mind learns some\nof its deepest lessons, and enjoys some of its sweetest experiences,\nwhile waiting on the Lord; and the more pressing the temptation to\ntake ourselves out of his hands, the richer will be the blessing of\nleaving ourselves there. It is so exceedingly sweet to find ourselves\nwholly dependent upon one who finds infinite joy in blessing us. It is\nonly those who have tasted in any little measure the reality of this\nwondrous position that can at all appreciate it. The only one who ever\noccupied it perfectly and uninterruptedly was the Lord Jesus himself.\nHe was over dependent upon God, and utterly rejected every proposal of\nthe enemy to be any thing else. His language was, \"In thee do I put my\ntrust;\" and again, \"I was cast upon thee from the womb.\" Hence, when\ntempted by the devil to make an effort to satisfy his hunger, his reply\nwas, \"It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every\nword that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.\" When tempted to cast\nhimself from the pinnacle of the temple, his reply was, \"It is written\nagain, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.\" When tempted to take the\nkingdoms of the world from the hand of another than God, and by doing\nhomage to another than him, his reply was, \"It is written, Thou shalt\nworship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.\" In a word,\nnothing could allure the perfect man from the place of absolute\ndependence upon God. True, it was God's purpose to sustain his Son; it\nwas his purpose that he should suddenly come to his temple; it was his\npurpose to give him the kingdoms of this world; but this was the very\nreason why the Lord Jesus would simply and uninterruptedly wait on God\nfor the accomplishment of his purpose, in his own time and in his own\nway. He did not set about accomplishing his own ends. He left himself\nthoroughly at God's disposal. He would only eat when God gave him\nbread; he would only enter the temple when sent of God; he will ascend\nthe throne when God appoints the time. \"Sit thou at my right hand,\n_until I make_ thine enemies thy footstool.\" (Ps. cx.)\n\nThis profound subjection of the Son to the Father is admirable beyond\nexpression. Though entirely equal with God, he took, as man, the place\nof dependence, rejoicing always in the will of the Father; giving\nthanks even when things seemed to be against him; doing always the\nthings which pleased the Father; making it his grand and unvarying\nobject to glorify the Father; and finally, when all was accomplished,\nwhen he had perfectly finished the work which the Father had given, he\nbreathed his spirit into the Father's hand, and his flesh rested in\nhope of the promised glory and exaltation. Well, therefore, may the\ninspired apostle say, \"Let this mind be in you, which was also in\nChrist Jesus; who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to\nbe equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him\nthe form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being\nfound in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto\ndeath, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly\nexalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at\nthe name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and\nthings in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue\nshould confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the\nFather.\" (Phil. ii. 5-11.)\n\nHow little Jacob knew, in the opening of his history, of this blessed\nmind! How little was he prepared to wait for God's time and God's way!\nHe much preferred Jacob's time and Jacob's way. He thought it much\nbetter to arrive at the blessing and the inheritance by all sorts of\ncunning and deception, than by simple dependence upon and subjection to\nGod, whose electing grace had promised, and whose almighty power and\nwisdom would assuredly accomplish all for him.\n\nBut oh! how well one knows the opposition of the human heart to all\nthis! Any attitude for it save that of patient waiting upon God. It is\nalmost enough to drive nature to distraction to find itself bereft of\nall resource but God. This tells us in language not to be misunderstood\nthe true character of human nature. In order to know what nature is, I\nneed not travel into those scenes of vice and crime which justly shock\nall refined moral sense. No: all that is needful is just to try it for\na moment in the place of dependence, and see how it will carry itself\nthere. It really knows nothing of God, and therefore cannot trust him;\nand herein lies the secret of all its misery and moral degradation. It\nis totally ignorant of the true God, and can therefore be naught else\nbut a ruined and worthless thing. The knowledge of God is the source of\nlife,--yea, is itself life; and until a man has life, what is he, or\nwhat can he be?\n\nNow, in Rebekah and Jacob, we see nature taking advantage of nature in\nIsaac and Esau. It was really this. There was no waiting upon God\nwhatever. Isaac's eyes were dim: he could therefore be imposed upon,\nand they set about doing so, instead of looking to God, who would have\nentirely frustrated Isaac's purpose to bless the one whom God would not\nbless,--a purpose founded in nature, and most unlovely nature, for\n\"Isaac loved Esau,\" not because he was the first-born, but \"because he\ndid eat of his venison.\" How humiliating!\n\nBut we are sure to bring unmixed sorrow upon ourselves when we take\nourselves, our circumstances, or our destinies, out of the hands of\nGod.[17] Thus it was with Jacob, as we shall see in the sequel. It has\nbeen observed by another, that \"whoever observes Jacob's life, after he\nhad surreptitiously obtained his father's blessing, will perceive that\nhe enjoyed very little worldly felicity. His brother purposed to murder\nhim, to avoid which he was forced to flee from his father's house; his\nuncle Laban deceived him, as he had deceived his father, and treated\nhim with great rigor; after a servitude of twenty-one years, he was\nobliged to leave him in a clandestine manner, and not without danger of\nbeing brought back or murdered by his enraged brother; no sooner were\nthese fears over, than he experienced the baseness of his son Reuben,\nin defiling his bed; he had next to bewail the treachery and cruelty of\nSimeon and Levi towards the Shechemites; then he had to feel the loss\nof his beloved wife; he was next imposed upon by his own sons, and had\nto lament the supposed untimely end of Joseph; and, to complete all,\nlie was forced by famine to go into Egypt, and there died in a strange\nland. So just, wonderful, and instructive are all the ways of\nprovidence.\"\n\nThis is a true picture, so far as Jacob was concerned; but it only\ngives us one side, and that the gloomy side. Blessed be God, there is a\nbright side likewise; for God had to do with Jacob; and in every scene\nof his life, when Jacob was called to reap the fruits of his own\nplotting and crookedness, the God of Jacob brought good out of evil,\nand caused his grace to abound over all the sin and folly of his poor\nservant. This we shall see as we proceed with his history.\n\nI shall just offer a remark here upon Isaac, Rebekah, and Esau. It is\nvery interesting to observe how, notwithstanding the exhibition of\nnature's excessive weakness, in the opening of this 27th chapter, Isaac\nmaintains by faith the dignity which God had conferred upon him. He\nblesses with all the consciousness of being endowed with power to\nbless. He says, \"I have blessed him; yea, and he shall be blessed....\nBehold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to\nhim for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him; and what\nshall I do now unto thee, my son?\" He speaks as one who by faith, had\nat his disposal all the treasures of earth. There is no false humility,\nno taking a low ground by reason of the manifestation of nature. True,\nhe was on the eve of making a grievous mistake,--even of moving right\nathwart the counsel of God; still he knew God, and took his place\naccordingly, dispensing blessings in all the dignity and power of\nfaith. \"I have blessed him; yea, and he shall be blessed.\" \"With corn\nand wine have I sustained him.\" It is the proper province of faith to\nrise above all one's own failure, and the consequences thereof, into\nthe place where God's grace has set us.\n\nAs to Rebekah, she was called to feel all the sad results of her\ncunning actings. She no doubt imagined she was managing matters most\nskilfully; but alas! she never saw Jacob again: so much for management!\nHow different would it have been had she left the matter entirely in\nthe hands of God. This is the way in which faith manages, and it is\never a gainer. \"Which of you, by taking thought, can add to his stature\none cubit?\" We gain nothing by our anxiety and planning; we only shut\nout God, and that is no gain. It is a just judgment from the hand of\nGod to be left to reap the fruits of our own devices; and I know of few\nthings more sad than to see a child of God so entirely forgetting his\nproper place and privilege, as to take the management of his affairs\ninto his own hands. The birds of the air and the lilies of the field\nmay well be our teachers when we so far forget our position of\nunqualified dependence upon God.\n\nThen, again, as to Esau, the apostle calls him \"a profane person, who\nfor one morsel of meat sold his birthright,\" and \"afterwards, when he\nwould have inherited the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no\nplace of change of mind, though he sought it carefully with tears.\"\nThus we learn what a profane person is, viz. one who would like to hold\nboth worlds; one who would like to enjoy the present, without\nforfeiting his title to the future. This is by no means an uncommon\ncase. It expresses to us the mere worldly professor, whose conscience\nhas never felt the action of divine truth, and whose heart has never\nfelt the influence of divine grace.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[17] We should ever remember, in a place of trial, that what we want is\nnot a change of circumstances, but victory over self.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII.\n\n\nWe are now called to trace Jacob in his movement from under his\nfather's roof, to view him as a homeless and lonely wanderer on the\nearth. It is here that God's special dealings with him commence. Jacob\nnow begins to realize, in some measure, the bitter fruit of his\nconduct, in reference to Esau; while, at the same time, God is seen\nrising above all the weakness and folly of his servant, and displaying\nhis own sovereign grace and profound wisdom in his dealings with him.\nGod will accomplish his own purpose, no matter by what instrumentality;\nbut if his child, in impatience of spirit, and unbelief of heart, will\ntake himself out of his hands, he must expect much sorrowful exercise\nand painful discipline. Thus it was with Jacob: he might not have had\nto flee to Haran, had he allowed God to act for him. God would,\nassuredly, have dealt with Esau, and caused him to find his destined\nplace and portion; and Jacob might have enjoyed that sweet peace which\nnothing can yield save entire subjection in all things to the hand and\ncounsel of God.\n\nBut here is where the excessive feebleness of our hearts is constantly\ndisclosed. We do not lie passive in God's hand; we will be acting; and,\nby our acting, we hinder the display of God's grace and power on our\nbehalf. \"_Be still_ and know that I am God,\" is a precept which naught,\nsave the power of divine grace, can enable one to obey. \"Let your\nmoderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. ([Greek: engys])\nBe careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication\nwith thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.\" What will\nbe the result of thus acting? \"The peace of God, which passeth all\nunderstanding, shall garrison ([Greek: phrouresei]) your hearts and\nminds by Christ Jesus.\" (Phil. iv. 5-7.)\n\nHowever, God graciously overrules our folly and weakness, and while we\nare called upon to reap the fruits of our unbelieving and impatient\nways, he takes occasion from them to teach our hearts still deeper\nlessons of his own tender grace and perfect wisdom. This, while it,\nassuredly, affords no warrant whatever for unbelief and impatience,\ndoes most wonderfully exhibit the goodness of our God, and comfort the\nheart even while we may be passing through the painful circumstances\nconsequent upon our failure. God is above all; and, moreover, it is his\nspecial prerogative to bring good out of evil; to make the eater yield\nmeat, and the strong yield sweetness; and hence, while it is quite true\nthat Jacob was compelled to be an exile from his father's roof in\nconsequence of his own restless and deceitful acting, it is equally\ntrue that he never could have learnt the meaning of \"Bethel\" had he\nbeen quietly at home. Thus the two sides of the picture are strongly\nmarked in every scene of Jacob's history. It was when he was driven, by\nhis own folly, from Isaac's house, that he was led to taste, in some\nmeasure, the blessedness and solemnity of \"God's house.\"\n\n\"And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he\nlighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the\nsun was set; and he took of the stones of that place and put them for\nhis pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.\" Here we find the\nhomeless wanderer just in the very position in which God could meet\nhim, and in which he could unfold his purposes of grace and glory.\nNothing could possibly be more expressive of helplessness and\nnothingness than Jacob's condition as here set before us. Beneath the\nopen canopy of heaven, with a pillow of stone, in the helpless\ncondition of sleep. Thus it was that the God of Bethel unfolded to\nJacob his purposes respecting him and his seed. \"And he dreamed, and\nbehold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to\nheaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.\nAnd behold the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of\nAbraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest,\nto thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the\ndust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the\neast, and to the north and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed\nshall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with\nthee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will\nbring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I\nhave done that which I have spoken to thee of.\"\n\nHere we have, indeed, \"grace and glory.\" The ladder \"set _on the\nearth_\" naturally leads the heart to meditate on the display of God's\ngrace, in the Person and work of his Son. On the earth it was that the\nwondrous work was accomplished which forms the basis, the strong and\neverlasting basis, of all the divine counsels in reference to Israel,\nthe Church, and the world at large. On the earth it was that Jesus\nlived, labored, and died; that through his death he might remove out\nof the way every obstacle to the accomplishment of the divine purpose\nof blessing to man.\n\nBut \"the top of the ladder reached to heaven.\" It formed the medium of\ncommunication between heaven and earth; and \"behold the angels of God\nascending and descending upon it,\"--striking and beautiful picture of\nhim by whom God has come down into all the depth of man's need, and by\nwhom also he has brought man up and set him in his own presence\nforever, in the power of divine righteousness! God has made provision\nfor the accomplishment of all his plans, despite of man's folly and\nsin; and it is for the everlasting joy of any soul to find itself, by\nthe teaching of the Holy Ghost, within the limits of God's gracious\npurpose.\n\nThe prophet Hosea leads us on to the time when that which was\nforeshadowed by Jacob's ladder shall have its full accomplishment. \"And\nin that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the\nfield, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of\nthe ground: and I will break the bow, and the sword, and the battle,\nout of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. And I will\nbetroth thee unto me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in\nrighteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies;\nI will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and thou shalt know\nthe Lord. And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the\nLord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the\nearth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall\nhear Jezreel. And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have\nmercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them\nwhich were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou\nart my God.\" (Hosea ii. 18-23.) There is also an expression in the\nfirst chapter of John, bearing upon Jacob's remarkable vision; it is\nChrist's word to Nathanael, \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, hereafter\nye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and\ndescending upon the Son of man.\" (Ver. 51.)\n\nNow, this vision of Jacob's is a very blessed disclosure of divine\ngrace to Israel. We have been led to see something of Jacob's real\ncharacter, something, too, of his real condition; both were evidently\nsuch as to show that it should either be divine grace for him, or\nnothing. By birth he had no claim; nor yet by character. Esau might put\nforward some claim on both these grounds; i. e., provided God's\nprerogative were set aside; but Jacob had no claim whatsoever; and\nhence, while Esau could only stand upon the exclusion of God's\nprerogative, Jacob could only stand upon the introduction and\nestablishment thereof. Jacob was such a sinner, and so utterly divested\nof all claim, both by birth and by practice, that he had nothing\nwhatever to rest upon save God's purpose of pure, free, and sovereign\ngrace. Hence, in the revelation which the Lord makes to his chosen\nservant, in the passage just quoted, it is a simple record or\nprediction of what he himself would yet do. \"_I_ am.... _I_ will\ngive.... _I_ will keep.... _I_ will bring.... _I_ will not leave thee\nuntil _I_ have done that which _I_ have spoken to thee of.\" It was all\nhimself. There is no condition whatever. No _if_ or _but_; for when\n_grace_ acts there can be no such thing. Where there is an _if_, it\ncannot possibly be grace. Not that God cannot put man into a position\nof responsibility in which he must needs address him with an \"if.\" We\nknow he can; but Jacob asleep on a pillow of stone was not in a\nposition of responsibility, but of the deepest helplessness and need;\nand therefore he was in a position to receive a revelation of the\nfullest, richest, and most unconditional grace.\n\nNow, we cannot but own the blessedness of being in such a condition\nthat we have nothing to rest upon save God himself; and, moreover, that\nit is in the most perfect establishment of God's own character and\nprerogative that we obtain all our true joy and blessing. According to\nthis principle, it would be an irreparable loss to us to have any\nground of our own to stand upon, for in that case God should address us\non the ground of responsibility, and failure would then be inevitable.\nJacob was so bad, that none but God himself could do for him.\n\nAnd, be it remarked, that it was his failure in the habitual\nrecognition of this that led him into so much sorrow and pressure.\nGod's revelation of himself is one thing, and our resting in that\nrevelation is quite another. God shows himself to Jacob, in infinite\ngrace; but no sooner does Jacob awake out of sleep, than we find him\ndeveloping his true character, and proving how little he knew,\npractically, of the blessed One who had just been revealing himself so\nmarvellously to him. \"He was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this\nplace! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of\nheaven.\" His heart was not at home in the presence of God; nor can any\nheart be so until it has been thoroughly emptied and broken. God is at\nhome, blessed be his name, with a broken heart, and a broken heart at\nhome with him. But Jacob's heart was not yet in this condition; nor had\nhe yet learnt to repose, like a little child, in the perfect love of\none who could say, \"Jacob have I loved.\" \"Perfect love casteth out\nfear;\" but where such love is not known and fully realized, there will\nalways be a measure of uneasiness and perturbation. God's house and\nGod's presence are not dreadful to a soul who knows the love of God as\nexpressed in the perfect sacrifice of Christ. Such a soul is rather led\nto say, \"Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place\nwhere thine honor dwelleth.\" (Ps. xxvi. 8.) And again, \"One thing have\nI desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the\nhouse of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the\nLord, and to inquire in his temple.\" (Ps. xxvii. 4.) And again, \"How\namiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea,\neven fainteth, for the courts of the Lord.\" (Ps. lxxxiv.) When the\nheart is established in the knowledge of God, it will assuredly love\nhis house, whatever the character of that house may be, whether it be\nBethel, or the temple at Jerusalem, or the Church now composed of all\ntrue believers, \"builded together for an habitation of God through the\nSpirit.\" However, Jacob's knowledge, both of God and his house, was\nvery shallow, at that point in his history on which we are now\ndwelling.\n\nWe shall have occasion, again, to refer to some principles connected\nwith Bethel; and shall now close our meditations upon this chapter with\na brief notice of Jacob's bargain with God, so truly characteristic of\nhim, and so demonstrative of the truth of the statement with respect to\nthe shallowness of his knowledge of the divine character. \"And Jacob\nvowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this\nway that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so\nthat I come again to my Father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be\nmy God; and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's\nhouse: and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth\nunto thee.\" Observe, \"_if_ God will be with me.\" Now, the Lord had just\nsaid, emphatically, \"I _am_ with thee, and _will keep thee in all\nplaces_ whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land,\"\n&c. And yet poor Jacob's heart cannot get beyond an \"_if_;\" nor, in its\nthoughts of God's goodness, can it rise higher than \"bread to eat, and\nraiment to put on.\" Such were the thoughts of one who had just seen the\nmagnificent vision of the ladder reaching from earth to heaven, with\nthe Lord standing above, and promising an innumerable seed and an\neverlasting possession. Jacob was evidently unable to enter into the\nreality and fulness of God's thoughts. He measured God by himself, and\nthus utterly failed to apprehend him. In short, Jacob had not yet\nreally got to the end of himself; and hence he had not really begun\nwith God.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTERS XXIX.-XXXI.\n\n\n\"Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people\nof the east.\" As we have just seen, in Chap. xxviii., Jacob utterly\nfails in the apprehension of God's real character, and meets all the\nrich grace of Bethel with an \"if,\" and a miserable bargain about food\nand raiment. We now follow him into a scene of thorough bargain-making.\n\"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.\" There is no\npossibility of escaping from this. Jacob had not yet found his true\nlevel in the presence of God; and therefore God uses circumstances to\nchasten and break him down.\n\nThis is the real secret of much, very much, of our sorrow and trial in\nthe world. Our hearts have never been really broken before the Lord; we\nhave never been self-judged and self-emptied; and hence, again and\nagain, we, as it were, knock our heads against the wall. No one can\nreally enjoy God until he has got to the bottom of self, and for this\nplain reason, that God has begun the display of himself at the very\npoint at which the end of flesh is seen. If, therefore, I have not\nreached the end of my flesh, in the deep and positive experience of my\nsoul, it is morally impossible that I can have any thing like a just\napprehension of God's character. But I must, in some way or other, be\nconducted to the true measure of nature. To accomplish this end, the\nLord makes use of various agencies which, no matter what they are, are\nonly effectual when used by him for the purpose of disclosing, in our\nview, the true character of all that is in our hearts. How often do we\nfind, as in Jacob's case, that even although the Lord may come near to\nus and speak in our ears, yet we do not understand his voice or take\nour true place in his presence. \"The Lord is in this place, and I knew\nit not.... How dreadful is this place!\" Jacob learnt nothing by all\nthis, and it therefore needed twenty years of terrible schooling, and\nthat, too, in a school marvellously adapted to his flesh; and even\nthat, as we shall see, was not sufficient to break him down.\n\nHowever, it is remarkable to see how he gets back into an atmosphere so\nentirely suited to his moral constitution. The bargain-making Jacob\nmeets with the bargain-making Laban, and they are both seen as it were,\nstraining every nerve to outwit each other. Nor can we wonder at Laban,\nfor he had never been at Bethel: he had seen no open heaven with a\nladder reaching from thence to earth; he had heard no magnificent\npromises from the lips of Jehovah, securing to him all the land of\nCanaan, with a countless seed: no marvel, therefore, that he should\nexhibit a grasping, grovelling spirit; he had no other resource. It is\nuseless to expect from worldly men aught but a worldly spirit and\nworldly principles and ways; they have gotten naught superior; and you\ncannot bring a clean thing out of an unclean. But to find Jacob, after\nall he had seen and heard at Bethel, struggling with a man of the\nworld, and endeavoring by such means to accumulate property, is\npeculiarly humbling.\n\nAnd yet, alas! it is no uncommon thing to find the children of God thus\nforgetting their high destinies and heavenly inheritance, and\ndescending into the arena with the children of this world, to struggle\nthere for the riches and honors of a perishing, sin-stricken earth.\nIndeed, to such an extent is this true, in many instances, that it is\noften hard to trace a single evidence of that principle which St. John\ntells us \"overcometh the world.\" Looking at Jacob and Laban, and\njudging of them upon natural principles, it would be hard to trace any\ndifference. One should get behind the scenes, and enter into God's\nthoughts about both, in order to see how widely they differed. But it\nwas God that had made them to differ, not Jacob; and so it is now.\nDifficult as it may be to trace any difference between the children of\nlight and the children of darkness, there is nevertheless a very wide\ndifference indeed,--a difference founded on the solemn fact that the\nformer are \"the vessels of mercy, which God has afore prepared unto\nglory,\" while the latter are \"the vessels of wrath, fitted (not by God,\nbut by sin) to destruction.\"[18] (Rom. ix. 22, 23.) This makes a very\nserious difference. The Jacobs and the Labans differ materially, and\nhave differed, and will differ forever, though the former may so sadly\nfail in the realization and practical exhibition of their true\ncharacter and dignity.\n\nNow, in Jacob's case, as set forth in the three chapters now before us,\nall his toiling and working, like his wretched bargain before, is the\nresult of his ignorance of God's grace, and his inability to put\nimplicit confidence in God's promise. The man that could say, after a\nmost unqualified promise from God to give him the whole land of Canaan,\n\"IF God will give me food to eat and raiment to put on,\" could have had\nbut a very faint apprehension of who God was, or what his promise was\neither; and because of this, we see him seeking to do the best he can\nfor himself. This is always the way when grace is not understood: the\nprinciples of grace may be professed, but the real measure of our\nexperience of the power of grace is quite another thing. One would have\nimagined that Jacob's vision had told him a tale of grace; but God's\nrevelation at Bethel, and Jacob's actings at Haran, are two very\ndifferent things; yet the latter tell out what was Jacob's sense of the\nformer. Character and conduct prove the real measure of the soul's\nexperience and conviction, whatever the profession may be. But Jacob\nhad never yet been brought to measure himself in God's presence, and\ntherefore he was ignorant of grace, and he proved his ignorance by\nmeasuring himself with Laban, and adopting his maxims and ways.\n\nOne cannot help remarking the fact that inasmuch as Jacob failed to\nlearn and judge the inherent character of his flesh before God,\ntherefore he was in the providence of God led into the very sphere in\nwhich that character was fully exhibited in its broadest lines. He was\nconducted to Haran, the country of Laban and Rebekah, the very school\nfrom whence those principles, in which he was such a remarkable adept,\nhad emanated, and where they were taught, exhibited, and maintained. If\none wanted to learn what God was, he should go to Bethel; if to learn\nwhat man was, he should go to Haran. But Jacob had failed to take in\nGod's revelation of himself at Bethel, and he therefore went to Haran,\nand there showed what he was,--and oh, what scrambling and scraping!\nwhat shuffling and shifting! There is no holy and elevated confidence\nin God, no simply looking to and waiting on him. True, God was with\nJacob,--for nothing can hinder the outshinings of divine grace.\nMoreover, Jacob in a measure owns God's presence and faithfulness.\nStill nothing can be done without a scheme and a plan. Jacob cannot\nallow God to settle the question as to his wives and his wages, but\nseeks to settle all by his own cunning and management. In short, it is\n\"the supplanter\" throughout. Let the reader turn, for example, to Chap.\nxxx. 37-42, and say where he can find a more masterly piece of cunning.\nIt is verily a perfect picture of Jacob. In place of allowing God to\nmultiply \"the ringstraked, speckled, and spotted cattle,\" as he most\nassuredly would have done, had he been trusted, he sets about securing\ntheir multiplication by a piece of policy which could only have found\nits origin in the mind of a Jacob. So in all his actings, during his\ntwenty years' sojourn with Laban; and finally, he most\ncharacteristically \"steals away,\" thus maintaining in every thing his\nconsistency with himself.\n\nNow, it is in tracing out Jacob's real character from stage to stage of\nhis extraordinary history, that one gets a wondrous view of divine\ngrace. None but God could have borne with such an one, as none but God\nwould have taken such an one up. Grace begins at the very lowest point.\nIt takes up man as he is, and deals with him in the full intelligence\nof what he is. It is of the very last importance to understand this\nfeature of grace at one's first starting; it enables us to bear with\nsteadiness of heart the after discoveries of personal vileness which so\nfrequently shake the confidence and disturb the peace of the children\nof God.\n\nMany there are who at first fail in the full apprehension of the utter\nruin of nature as looked at in God's presence, though their hearts have\nbeen attracted by the grace of God, and their consciences tranquillized\nin some degree by the application of the blood of Christ. Hence, as\nthey get on in their course, they begin to make deeper discoveries of\nthe evil within; and, being deficient in their apprehensions of God's\ngrace and the extent and efficacy of the sacrifice of Christ, they\nimmediately raise a question as to their being children of God at all.\nThus they are taken off Christ and thrown on themselves, and then they\neither betake themselves to ordinances in order to keep up their tone\nof devotion, or else fall back into thorough worldliness and carnality.\nThese are disastrous consequences, and all the result of not having\n\"the heart established in grace.\"\n\nIt is this that renders the study of Jacob's history so profoundly\ninteresting and eminently useful. No one can read the three chapters\nnow before us and not be struck at the amazing grace that could take up\nsuch an one as Jacob; and not only take him up, but say, after the full\ndiscovery of all that was in him, \"He hath not beheld iniquity in\nJacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel.\" (Numb. xxiii. 21.)\nHe does not say that iniquity and perverseness were not in him. This\nwould never give the heart confidence,--the very thing above all others\nwhich God desires to give. It could never assure a poor sinner's heart\nto be told that there was _no sin in_ him; for alas! he knows too well\nthere is; but to be told there is no sin _on_ him, and that, moreover,\nin God's sight, on the simple ground of Christ's perfect sacrifice,\nmust infallibly set his heart and conscience at rest. Had God taken up\nEsau, we should not have had by any means such a blessed display of\ngrace; for this reason, that he does not appear before us in the\nunamiable light in which we see Jacob. The more man sinks, the more\nGod's grace rises. As my debt rises in my estimation from the fifty\npence up to the five hundred, so my sense of grace rises also, my\nexperience of that love which, when we \"had _nothing_ to pay,\" could\n\"frankly forgive\" us all. (Luke vii. 42.) Well might the apostle say,\n\"it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace: not with\nmeats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.\"\n(Heb. xiii. 9.)\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[18] It is deeply interesting to the spiritual mind to mark how\nsedulously the Spirit of God, in Rom. ix. and indeed throughout all\nscripture, guards against the horrid inference which the human mind\ndraws from the doctrine of God's election. When he speaks of \"vessels\nof wrath,\" he simply says, \"fitted to destruction.\" He does not say\nthat God \"fitted\" them.\n\nWhereas, on the other hand, when he refers to \"the vessels of mercy\" he\nsays, \"whom _he_ had afore prepared unto glory.\" This is most marked.\n\nIf my reader will turn for a moment to Matt. xxv. 34-41, he will find\nanother striking and beautiful instance of the same thing.\n\nWhen the king addresses those on his right hand, he says, \"Come, ye\n_blessed of my Father_, inherit the kingdom _prepared for you_ from the\nfoundation of the world.\" (Verse 34.)\n\nBut when he addresses those on his left, he says, \"Depart from me, ye\ncursed.\" He does not say, \"cursed of my Father.\" And, further, he says,\n\"into everlasting fire, prepared,\" not for _you_, but \"for the devil\nand his angels.\" (Verse 41.)\n\nIn a word, then, it is plain that God has \"prepared\" a kingdom of\nglory, and \"vessels of mercy\" to inherit that kingdom; but he has not\nprepared \"everlasting fire\" for men, but for the \"devil and his\nangels;\" nor has he fitted the \"vessels of wrath,\" but they have fitted\nthemselves.\n\nThe word of God as clearly establishes \"_election_\" as it sedulously\nguards against \"_reprobation_.\" Every one who finds himself in heaven\nwill have to thank God for it; and every one that finds himself in hell\nwill have to thank himself.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXII.\n\n\n\"And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.\" Still God's\ngrace follows him, notwithstanding all. \"Nothing changeth God's\naffection.\" Whom he loves, and how he loves, he loves to the end. His\nlove is like himself, \"the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.\" But\nhow little effect \"God's host\" had upon Jacob may be seen by his\nactings as here set before us. \"And Jacob sent messengers before him to\nEsau his brother, unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.\" He\nevidently feels uneasy in reference to Esau, and not without reason. He\nhad treated him badly, and his conscience was not at ease; but instead\nof casting himself unreservedly upon God, he betakes himself to his\nusual planning again, in order to avert Esau's wrath. He tries to\n_manage_ Esau, instead of leaning on God.\n\n\"And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto _my lord_\nEsau; _thy servant_ Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and\nstayed there until now.\" All this bespeaks a soul very much off its\ncentre in God. \"My lord,\" and \"thy servant,\" is not like the language\nof a brother, or of one in the conscious dignity of the presence of\nGod; but it was the language of Jacob, and of Jacob, too, with a bad\nconscience.\n\n\"And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother\nEsau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.\nThen Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed.\" But what does he first\ndo? Does he at once cast himself upon God? No; he begins to manage. \"He\ndivided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and\nthe camels, into two bands; and said, If Esau come to the one company\nand smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.\"\nJacob's first thought was always _a plan_; and in this we have a true\npicture of the poor human heart. True, he turns to God after he makes\nhis plan, and cries to him for deliverance; but no sooner does he cease\npraying than he resumes the planning. Now, praying and planning will\nnever do together. If I plan, I am leaning more or less on my plan; but\nwhen I pray, I should lean exclusively upon God. Hence, the two things\nare perfectly incompatible; they virtually destroy each other. When my\neye is filled with my own management of things, I am not prepared to\nsee God acting for me; and in that case prayer is not the utterance of\nmy need, but the mere superstitious performance of something which I\nthink ought to be done, or it may be asking God to sanctify my plans.\nThis will never do. It is not asking God to sanctify and bless my\nmeans, but it is asking him to do it all himself.[19]\n\nThough Jacob asked God to deliver him from his brother Esau, he\nevidently was not satisfied with that, and therefore he tried to\n\"appease him with a present.\" Thus his confidence was in the \"present,\"\nand not entirely in God. \"The heart is deceitful above all things, and\ndesperately wicked.\" It is often hard to detect what is the real ground\nof the heart's confidence. We imagine, or would fain persuade\nourselves, that we are leaning upon God, when we are in reality leaning\nupon some scheme of our own devising. Who, after hearkening to Jacob's\nprayer, wherein he says, \"Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my\nbrother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he will come and\nsmite me, and the mother with the children,\" could imagine him saying,\n\"I will appease him with a present.\" Had he forgotten his prayer? Was\nhe making a god of his present? Did he place more confidence in a few\ncattle than in Jehovah, to whom he had just been committing himself?\nThese are questions which naturally arise out of Jacob's actings in\nreference to Esau, and we can readily answer them by looking into the\nglass of our own hearts. There we learn, as well as on the page of\nJacob's history, how much more apt we are to lean on our own management\nthan on God; but it will not do; we must be brought to see the end of\nour management, that it is perfect folly, and that the true path of\nwisdom is to repose in full confidence upon God.\n\nNor will it do to make our prayers part of our management. We often\nfeel very well satisfied with ourselves when we add prayer to our\narrangement, or when we have used all lawful means and called upon God\nto bless them. When this is the case, our prayers are worth about as\nmuch as our plans, inasmuch as we are leaning upon them instead of upon\nGod. We must be really brought to the end of every thing with which\nself has aught to do; for until then, God cannot show himself. But we\ncan never get to the end of our plans until we have been brought to the\nend of ourselves. We must see that \"all flesh is grass, and all the\ngoodliness thereof is as the flower of the field.\" (Isa. xl. 6.)\n\nThus it is in this interesting chapter; when Jacob had made all his\nprudent arrangements, we read, \"And Jacob was left alone; and there\nwrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.\" This is a\nturning-point in the history of this very remarkable man. To be left\nalone with God is the only true way of arriving at a just knowledge of\nourselves and our ways. We can never get a true estimate of nature and\nall its actings, until we have weighed them in the balance of the\nsanctuary, and there we ascertain their real worth. No matter what we\nmay think about ourselves, nor yet what man may think about us; the\ngreat question is, What does God think about us? And the answer to this\nquestion can only be heard when we are \"left alone.\" Away from the\nworld; away from self; away from all the thoughts, reasonings,\nimaginations, and emotions of mere nature, and \"alone\" with God,--thus,\nand thus alone, can we get a correct judgment about ourselves.\n\n\"Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him.\" Mark, it was\nnot Jacob wrestling with a man; but a man wrestling with Jacob; this\nscene is very commonly referred to as an instance of Jacob's power in\nprayer. That it is not this is evident from the simple wording of the\npassage. My wrestling with a man, and a man wrestling with me, present\ntwo totally different ideas to the mind. In the former case I want to\ngain some object from him; in the latter, he wants to gain some object\nfrom me. Now, in Jacob's case, the divine object was to bring him to\nsee what a poor, feeble, worthless creature he was, and when Jacob so\npertinaciously held out against the divine dealing with him, \"he\ntouched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was\nout of joint as he wrestled with him.\" The sentence of death must be\nwritten on the flesh,--the power of the cross must be entered into\nbefore we can steadily and happily walk with God. We have followed\nJacob so far, amid all the windings and workings of his extraordinary\ncharacter,--we have seen him planning and managing during his twenty\nyears' sojourn with Laban; but not until he \"was left alone,\" did he\nget a true idea of what a perfectly helpless thing he was in himself.\nThen, the seat of his strength being touched, he learnt to say, \"I will\nnot let _thee_ go.\"\n\n   \"Other refuge have I none:\n   Clings my helpless soul to thee.\"\n\nThis was a new era in the history of the supplanting, planning Jacob.\nUp to this point he had held fast by his own ways and means; but now he\nis brought to say, \"I will not let _thee_ go.\" Now, let my reader\nremark, that Jacob did not express himself thus until \"the hollow of\nhis thigh was touched.\" This simple fact is quite sufficient to settle\nthe true interpretation of the whole scene. God was wrestling with\nJacob to bring him to this point. We have already seen that, as to\nJacob's power in prayer, he had no sooner uttered a few words to God\nthan he let out the real secret of his soul's dependence, by saying, \"I\nwill appease him (Esau) with a present.\" Would he have said this if he\nhad really entered into the meaning of prayer, or true dependence upon\nGod? Assuredly not. If he had been looking to God alone to appease\nEsau, could he have said, \"I will appease him by a present?\"\nImpossible: God and the creature must be kept distinct, and will be\nkept so in every soul that knows much of the sacred reality of a life\nof faith.\n\nBut, alas! here is where we fail, if one may speak for another. Under\nthe plausible and apparently pious formula of using means, we really\ncloak the positive infidelity of our poor deceitful hearts; we think we\nare looking to God to bless our means, while, in reality, we are\nshutting him out by leaning on the means, instead of leaning on him.\nOh, may our hearts be taught the evil of thus acting. May we learn to\ncling more simply to God _alone_, that so our history may be more\ncharacterized by that holy elevation above the circumstances through\nwhich we are passing! It is not, by any means, an easy matter so to get\nto the end of the creature, in every shape and form, as to be able to\nsay, \"I will not let thee go except thou bless me.\" To say this from\nthe heart, and to abide in the power of it, is the secret of all true\nstrength. Jacob said it when the hollow of his thigh was touched; but\nnot till then. He struggled long ere he gave way, because his\nconfidence in the flesh was strong. But God can bring down to the dust\nthe stoutest character. He knows how to touch the spring of nature's\nstrength, and write the sentence of death thoroughly upon it; and until\nthis is done, there can be no real \"power with God or man.\" We must be\n\"weak\" ere we can be \"strong.\" \"The power of Christ\" can only \"rest on\nus\" in connection with the knowledge of our infirmities. Christ cannot\nput the seal of his approval upon nature's strength, its wisdom, or its\nglory: all these must sink that he may rise. Nature can never form, in\nany one way, a pedestal on which to display the grace or power of\nChrist; for if it could, then might flesh glory in his presence; but\nthis, we know, can never be.\n\nAnd, inasmuch as the display of God's glory, and God's name or\ncharacter, is connected with the entire setting aside of nature, so,\nuntil this latter is set aside, the soul can never enjoy the disclosure\nof the former. Hence, though Jacob is called to tell out his name, to\nown that his name is \"Jacob, or a supplanter,\" he yet receives no\nrevelation of the name of him who had been wrestling with him, and\nbringing him down into the dust. He received for himself the name of\n\"Israel, or prince,\" which was a great step in advance; but when he\nsays, \"Tell me, I pray thee, thy name;\" he received the reply,\n\"Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name?\" The Lord refuses to\ntell his name, though he had elicited from Jacob the truth as to\nhimself, and he blesses him accordingly. How often is this the case in\nthe annals of God's family! There is the disclosure of self in all its\nmoral deformity; but we fail to get hold practically of what God is,\nthough he has come so very close to us, and blessed us, too, in\nconnection with the discovery of ourselves. Jacob received the new name\nof Israel when the hollow of his thigh had been touched. He became a\nmighty prince when he had been brought to know himself as a weak man;\nbut still the Lord had to say, \"Wherefore is it that thou dost ask\nafter my name?\" There is no disclosure of the name of him who,\nnevertheless, had brought out the real name and condition of Jacob.\n\nFrom all this we learn that it is one thing to be blessed by the Lord,\nand quite another thing to have the revelation of his character, by the\nSpirit, to our hearts. \"He blessed him there;\" but he did not tell his\nname. There is blessing in being brought, in any measure, to know\nourselves, for therein we are led into a path, in which we are able,\nmore clearly, to discern what God is to us in detail. Thus it was with\nJacob. When the hollow of his thigh was touched he found himself in a\ncondition in which it was either God or nothing. A poor halting man\ncould do little: it therefore behoved him to cling to one who was\nalmighty.\n\nI would remark, ere leaving this chapter, that the book of Job is, in a\ncertain sense, a detailed commentary on this scene in Jacob's history.\nThroughout the first thirty-one chapters, Job grapples with his\nfriends, and maintains his point against all their arguments; but in\nChapter xxxii. God, by the instrumentality of Elihu, begins to wrestle\nwith him; and in Chapter xxxviii. he comes down upon him directly with\nall the majesty of his power, overwhelms him by the display of his\ngreatness and glory, and elicits from him the well-known words, \"I have\nheard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.\nWherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.\" (Chap. xlii.\n5, 6.) This was really touching the hollow of his thigh. And mark the\nexpression, \"mine eye seeth _thee_.\" He does not say, \"I see myself\"\nmerely; no; but \"thee.\" Nothing but a view of what God is, can really\nlead to repentance and self-loathing. Thus it will be with the people\nof Israel, whose history is very analogous with that of Job. When they\nshall look upon him whom they have pierced, they will mourn, and then\nthere will be full restoration and blessing. Their latter end, like\nJob's will be better than their beginning. They will learn the full\nmeaning of that word, \"O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me\nis thine help.\" (Hosea xiii. 9.)\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[19] No doubt, when faith allows God to act, he will use his own\nagency; but this is a totally different thing from his owning and\nblessing the plans and arrangements of unbelief and impatience. This\ndistinction is not sufficiently understood.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTERS XXXIII. XXXIV.\n\n\nWe may here see how groundless were all Jacob's fears, and how useless\nall his plans. Notwithstanding the wrestling, the touching the hollow\nof the thigh, and the halting, we find Jacob still planning. \"And Jacob\nlifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him\nfour hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto\nRachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their\nchildren foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and\nJoseph hindermost.\" This arrangement proved the continuance of his\nfears. He still anticipated vengeance from the hand of Esau, and he\nexposed those about whom he cared least to the first stroke of that\nvengeance. How wondrous are the depths of the human heart! How slow it\nis to trust God! Had Jacob been really leaning upon God, he never\ncould have anticipated destruction for himself and his family; but\nalas! the heart knows something of the difficulty of simply reposing,\nin calm confidence, upon an ever-present, all-powerful, and infinitely\ngracious God.\n\nBut mark now the thorough vanity of the heart's anxiety. \"And Esau ran\nto meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him; and\nthey wept.\" The present was quite unnecessary,--the plan useless. God\n\"appeased\" Esau, as he had already appeased Laban. Thus it is he ever\ndelights to rebuke our poor, coward, unbelieving hearts, and put to\nflight all our fears. Instead of the dreaded sword of Esau, Jacob meets\nhis embrace and kiss; instead of strife and conflict, they mingle their\ntears. Such are God's ways. Who would not trust him? Who would not\nhonor him with the heart's fullest confidence? Why is it that,\nnotwithstanding all the sweet evidence of his faithfulness to those who\nput their trust in him, we are so ready, on every fresh occasion, to\ndoubt and hesitate? The answer is simple: we are not sufficiently\nacquainted with God. \"Acquaint now thyself with him and be at peace.\"\n(Job xxii. 21.) This is true, whether in reference to the unconverted\nsinner, or to the child of God. The true knowledge of God, real\nacquaintance with him, is life and peace. \"This is life eternal, that\nthey might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou\nhast sent.\" (John xvii. 3.) The more intimate our acquaintance with\nGod, the more solid will be our peace, and the more will our souls be\nlifted above every creature dependence. \"God is a rock,\" and we only\nneed to lean our whole weight upon him to know how ready and how able\nhe is to sustain us.\n\nAfter all this manifestation of God's goodness, we find Jacob settling\ndown in Succoth, and, contrary to the spirit and principles of a\npilgrim life, building a house as if it were his home. Now, Succoth was\nevidently not his divinely-appointed destination. The Lord had not said\nto him, \"I am the God of Succoth;\" no; but \"I am the God of Bethel.\"\nBethel, therefore, and not Succoth, should have been Jacob's grand\nobject. But alas! the heart is always prone to rest satisfied with a\nposition and portion short of what God would graciously assign.\n\nJacob then moves on to Shechem, and purchases ground, still falling\nshort of the divine mark, and the name by which he calls his altar is\nindicative of the moral condition of his soul. He calls it\n\"El-elohe-Israel,\" or \"God, the God of Israel.\" This was taking a very\ncontracted view of God. True, it is our privilege to know God as our\nGod; but it is a higher thing to know him as the God of his own house,\nand to view ourselves as part of that house. It is the believer's\nprivilege to know Christ as _his_ head; but it is a higher thing to\nknow him as the head of his body the Church, and to know ourselves as\nmembers of that body.\n\nWe shall see, when we come to Chap. xxxv. that Jacob is led to take a\nhigher and a wider view of God; but at Shechem he was manifestly on low\nground, and he was made to smart for it, as is always the case when we\nstop short of God's own ground. The two tribes and a half took up their\nposition on this side of Jordan, and they were the first to fall into\nthe enemy's hand. So it was with Jacob. We see, in Chap. xxxiv., the\nbitter fruits of his sojourn at Shechem. There is a blot cast upon his\nfamily, which Simeon and Levi attempt to wipe out, in the mere energy\nand violence of nature, which only led to still deeper sorrow; and\nthat, too, which touched Jacob still more keenly than the insult\noffered to his daughter: \"And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have\ntroubled _me_, to make _me_ to stink among the inhabitants of the land,\namong the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and _I_ being few in number,\nthey shall gather themselves together against _me_, and slay _me_; and\n_I_ shall be destroyed, _I_ and my house.\" Thus it was the consequences\nin reference to himself that affected Jacob most. He seems to have\nwalked in constant apprehension of danger to himself or his family, and\nin the manifestation of an anxious, a cautious, timid, calculating\nspirit, utterly incompatible with a life of genuine faith in God.\n\nIt is not that Jacob was not, in the main, a man of faith; he assuredly\nwas, and as such gets a place amongst the \"cloud of witnesses\" in Heb.\nxi. But then he exhibited sad failure from not walking in the habitual\nexercise of that divine principle. Could faith have led him to say, \"I\nshall be destroyed, I and my house?\" Surely not. God's promise in\nChapter xxviii. 14, 15, should have banished every fear from his poor\ntimid spirit. \"I will keep thee.... I will not leave thee.\" This should\nhave tranquillized his heart. But the fact is, his mind was more\noccupied with his danger among the Shechemites than with his security\nin the hand of God. He ought to have known that not a hair of his head\ncould be touched, and therefore, instead of looking at Simeon and Levi,\nor the consequences of their rash acting, he should have judged himself\nfor being in such a position at all. If he had not settled at Shechem,\nDinah would not have been dishonored, and the violence of his sons\nwould not have been exhibited. We constantly see Christians getting\ninto deep sorrow and trouble through their own unfaithfulness; and\nthen, instead of judging themselves, they begin to look at\ncircumstances, and to cast upon them the blame.\n\nHow often do we see Christian parents, for instance, in keen anguish of\nsoul about the wildness, unsubduedness, and worldliness of their\nchildren; and, all the while, they have mainly to blame themselves for\nnot walking faithfully before God in reference to their family. Thus\nwas it with Jacob. He was on low moral ground at Shechem; and, inasmuch\nas he lacked that refined sensibility which would have led him to\ndetect the low ground, God, in very faithfulness, used his\ncircumstances to chastise him. \"God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man\nsoweth that shall he also reap.\" This is a principle flowing out of\nGod's moral government,--a principle, from the application of which\nnone can possibly escape; and it is a positive mercy to the children of\nGod that they are obliged to reap the fruits of their errors. It is a\nmercy to be taught, in any way, the bitterness of departing from, or\nstopping short of, the living God. We must learn that this is not our\nrest; for, blessed be God, he would not give us a polluted rest. He\nwould ever have us resting _in_, and _with_ himself. Such is his\nperfect grace; and when our hearts wander, or fall short, his word is,\n\"If thou wilt return, return _unto me_.\" False humility, which is\nsimply the fruit of unbelief, would lead the wanderer or backslider to\ntake lower ground, not knowing the principle or measure of God's\nrestoration. The prodigal would seek to be made a servant, not knowing\nthat, so far as he was concerned, he had no more title to the place of\na servant than to that of a son; and, moreover, that it would be\nutterly unworthy of the father's character to put him in such a\nposition. We must come to God on a principle and in a manner worthy of\nhimself, or not at all.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXV.\n\n\n\"And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there.\" This\nconfirms the principle on which we have been dwelling. When there is a\nfailure or declension, the Lord calls the soul back to himself.\n\"Remember therefore _from whence thou art fallen_; and repent and do\n_the first works_.\" (Rev. ii. 5.) This is the divine principle of\nrestoration. The soul must be recalled to the very highest point; it\nmust be brought back to the divine standard. The Lord does not say,\n\"remember where you are;\" no; but \"remember the lofty position from\nwhence you have fallen.\" Thus only can one learn how far he has\ndeclined, and how he is to retrace his steps.\n\nNow, it is when thus recalled to God's high and holy standard, that one\nis really led to see the sad evil of one's fallen condition. What a\nfearful amount of moral evil had gathered round Jacob's family,\nunjudged by him, until his soul was roused by the call to \"go up to\nBethel.\" Shechem was not the place in which to detect all this evil.\nThe atmosphere of that place was too much impregnated with impure\nelements to admit of the soul's discerning, with any degree of\nclearness and precision, the true character of evil. But the moment the\ncall to Bethel fell on Jacob's ear, \"Then Jacob said unto his\nhousehold, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods\nthat are among you, and be clean and change your garments, and let us\narise and go up to Bethel; and I will make thee an altar unto God, who\nanswered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which\nI went.\" The very mention of \"the house of God\" struck a chord in the\nsoul of the patriarch; it carried him, in the twinkling of an eye, over\nthe history of twenty eventful years. It was at Bethel he had learnt\nwhat God was, and not at Shechem; hence he must get back to Bethel\nagain, and erect an altar upon a totally different base, and under a\ntotally different name, from his altar at Shechem. This latter was\nconnected with a mass of uncleanness and idolatry.\n\nJacob could speak of \"El-elohe-Israel,\" while surrounded by a quantity\nof things utterly incompatible with the holiness of the house of God.\nIt is important to be clear in reference to this point. Nothing can\nkeep the soul in a path of consistent, intelligent separation from evil\nsave the sense of what \"the house of God\" is, and what becomes that\nhouse. If I merely look at God, in reference to myself, I shall not\nhave a clear, full, divine sense of all that flows out of a due\nrecognition of God's relation to his house. Some there are who deem it\na matter of no importance how they are mixed up with impure materials\nin the worship of God, provided they themselves are true and upright in\nheart. In other words, they think they can worship God at Shechem; and\nthat an altar named \"El-elohe-Israel\" is just as elevated, just as much\naccording to God, as an altar named \"El Bethel.\" This is evidently a\nmistake. The spiritually-minded reader will at once detect the vast\nmoral difference between Jacob's condition at Shechem and his condition\nat Bethel; and the same difference is observable between the two\naltars. Our ideas in reference to the worship of God must, of\nnecessity, be affected by our spiritual condition; and the worship\nwhich we present will be low and contracted, or elevated and\ncomprehensive, just in proportion as we enter into the apprehension of\nhis character and relationship.\n\nNow, the name of our altar and the character of our worship express the\nsame idea. El-Bethel worship is higher than El-elohe-Israel worship,\nfor this simple reason, that it conveys a higher idea of God. It gives\nme a more elevated thought of God to speak of him as the God of his\nhouse than as the God of a solitary individual. True, there is\nbeautiful grace expressed in the title, \"God, the God of Israel;\" and\nthe soul must ever feel happy in looking at the character of God, as\ngraciously connecting himself with every separate stone of his house,\nand every separate member of the body. Each stone in the building of\nGod is a \"lively stone,\" as connected with the \"living stone,\" having\ncommunion with the \"living God,\" by the power of \"the Spirit of life.\"\nBut while all this is blessedly true, God is the God of his house; and\nwhen we are enabled, by an enlarged spiritual intelligence, to view him\nas such, we enjoy a higher character of worship than that which flows\nfrom merely apprehending what he is to ourselves individually.\n\nBut there is another thing to be remarked in Jacob's recall to Bethel.\nHe is told to make an altar \"unto God, that appeared unto thee when\nthou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.\" He is thus reminded\nof \"the day of his distress.\" It is often well to have our minds led in\nthis way to the point in our history in which we found ourselves\nbrought down to the lowest step of the ladder. Thus Saul is brought\nback to the time when he was \"little in his own eyes.\" This is the true\nstarting-point with all of us. \"When thou wast little in thine own\neyes,\" is a point of which we often need to be reminded. It is then\nthat the heart really leans on God. Afterwards we begin to fancy\nourselves to be something, and the Lord is obliged to teach us afresh\nour own nothingness. When first one enters upon a path of service or\ntestimony, what a sense there is of personal weakness and incapacity!\nand, as a consequence, what leaning upon God! what earnest, fervent\nappeals to him for help and strength! Afterwards we begin to think\nthat, from being so long at the work, we can get on by ourselves,--at\nleast there is not the same sense of weakness or the same simple\ndependence upon God; and then our ministry becomes a poor, meagre,\nflippant, wordy thing, without unction or power,--a thing flowing, not\nfrom the exhaustless tide of the Spirit, but from our own wretched\nminds.\n\nFrom ver. 9-15, God renews his promise to Jacob, and confirms the new\nname of \"prince,\" instead of \"supplanter;\" and Jacob again calls the\nname of the place \"Bethel.\" At verse 18 we have an interesting example\nof the difference between the judgment of faith and the judgment of\nnature. The latter looks at things through the hazy mist with which it\nis surrounded; the former looks at them in the light of the presence\nand counsels of God. \"And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing\n(for she died), that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called\nhim Benjamin.\" Nature called him \"the son of my sorrow;\" but faith\ncalled him \"the son of the right hand.\" Thus is it ever. The difference\nbetween the thoughts of nature and those of faith must ever be wide\nindeed; and we should earnestly desire that our souls should be\ngoverned only by the latter, and not by the former.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVI.\n\n\nFurnishes a catalogue of Esau's sons, with their various titles and\nlocalities. We shall not dwell on this, but pass on to one of the most\nfruitful and interesting sections in the entire canon of inspiration,\nviz.:--\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTERS XXXVII-L,\n\n\nOn which we shall dwell more particularly. There is not in scripture a\nmore perfect and beautiful type of Christ than Joseph. Whether we view\nChrist as the object of the Father's love,--the object of the envy of\n\"his own\",--in his humiliation, sufferings, death, exaltation, and\nglory,--in all, we have him strikingly typified by Joseph.\n\nIn Chapter xxxvii. we have Joseph's dreams,--the statement of which\ndraws out the enmity of his brethren. He was the object of his father's\nlove, and the subject of very high destinies; and, inasmuch as the\nhearts of his brethren were not in communion with these things, they\nhated him. They had no fellowship in the father's love, and they would\nnot yield to the thought of Joseph's exaltation. In all this they\nrepresent the Jews in Christ's day. \"He came to his own, and his own\nreceived him not.\" He had \"no form nor comeliness in their eyes.\" They\nwould neither own him as the Son of God, nor King of Israel. Their eyes\nwere not open to behold \"his glory,--the glory as of the only begotten\nof the Father, full of grace and truth.\" They would not have him; yea,\nthey hated him.\n\nNow, in Joseph's case, we see that he, in no wise, relaxed his\ntestimony in consequence of his brethren's refusal of his first dream.\n\"And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren,\" and they\nhated him yet the more.... \"And he dreamed yet another dream, and he\ntold it to his brethren.\" This was simple testimony founded upon divine\nrevelation; but it was testimony which brought Joseph down to the pit.\nHad he kept back his testimony, or taken off aught of its edge and\npower, he might have spared himself; but, no: he told them the truth,\nand therefore they hated him.\n\nThus was it with Joseph's great Antitype. He bore witness to the\ntruth--he witnessed a good confession--he kept back nothing--he could\nonly speak the truth because he was _the_ truth, and his testimony to\nthe truth was answered, on man's part, by the cross, the vinegar, the\nsoldier's spear. The testimony of Christ, too, was connected with the\ndeepest, fullest, richest grace. He not only came as \"the truth,\" but\nalso as the perfect expression of all the love of the Father's heart;\n\"grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.\" He was the full disclosure to\nman of what God was. Hence man was left entirely without excuse. He\ncame and showed God to man, and man hated God with a perfect hatred.\nThe fullest exhibition of divine love was answered by the fullest\nexhibition of human hatred. This is seen in the cross,--and we have it\ntouchingly foreshadowed at the pit into which Joseph was cast by his\nbrethren.\n\n\"And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them,\nthey conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another,\nBehold, this dreamer cometh; come now, therefore, and let us slay him,\nand cast him into some pit; and we will say, some evil beast hath\ndevoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams.\" These\nwords forcibly remind us of the parable in Matthew xxii. \"But, last of\nall, he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But\nwhen the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is\nthe heir, come let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.\nAnd they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.\"\nGod sent his Son into the world with this thought, \"They will\nreverence my son;\" but alas! man's heart had no reverence for the\n\"well-beloved\" of the Father. They cast him out. Earth and heaven were\nat issue in reference to Christ; and they are at issue still. _Man_\ncrucified him; but _God_ raised him from the dead. Man placed him on a\ncross between two thieves; God set him at his own right hand in the\nheavens. Man gave him the very lowest place on earth; God gave him the\nvery highest place in heaven, in brightest majesty.\n\nAll this is shown out in Joseph's history. \"Joseph is a fruitful bough,\neven a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall. The\narchers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but\nhis bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong\nby the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd,\nthe stone of Israel;) even by the God of thy father, who shall help\nthee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of\nheaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the\nbreast and of the womb; the blessings of thy father have prevailed\nabove the blessings of my progenitors, unto the utmost bounds of the\neverlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the\ncrown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.\" (Gen.\nxlix. 22-26.)\n\nThese verses beautifully exhibit to our view \"the sufferings of Christ\nand the glory that should follow.\" \"The archers\" have done their work;\nbut God was stronger than they. The true Joseph has been shot at and\ngrievously wounded in the house of his friends; but \"the arms of his\nhands have been made strong\" in the power of resurrection, and faith\nnow knows him as the basis of all God's purposes of blessing and glory\nin reference to the Church, Israel, and the whole creation. When we\nlook at Joseph in the pit and in the prison, and look at him afterwards\nas ruler over all the land of Egypt, we see the difference between the\nthoughts of God and the thoughts of men; and so when we look at the\ncross, and at \"the throne of the majesty in the heavens,\" we see the\nsame thing.\n\nNothing ever brought out the real state of man's heart toward God but\nthe coming of Christ. \"If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had\nnot had sin.\" (John xv. 22.) It is not that they would not have been\nsinners. No: but \"they had not had sin.\" So he says in another place,\n\"If ye were blind, ye should have no sin.\" (John ix. 41.) God came near\nto man in the person of his Son, and man was able to say, \"this is the\nheir;\" but yet he said, \"come, let us kill him.\" Hence \"they have no\ncloak for their sin.\" Those who say they see have no excuse. _Confessed\nblindness_ is not at all the difficulty, but _professed sight_. This is\na truly solemn principle for a professing age like the present. The\npermanence of sin is connected with the mere profession to see. A man\nwho is blind and knows it, can have his eyes opened; but what can be\ndone for one who thinks he sees, when he really does not?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVIII.\n\n\nPresents one of those remarkable circumstances in which divine grace is\nseen gloriously triumphing over man's sin. \"It is evident that our Lord\nsprang out of Juda.\" (Heb. vii. 14.) But how? \"Judas begat Phares and\nZara of _Thamar_.\" (Matt. i. 3.) This is peculiarly striking. God, in\nhis great grace, rising above the sin and folly of man, in order to\nbring about his own purposes of love and mercy. Thus, a little farther\non, in Matthew, we read, \"David the king begat Solomon, of her that had\nbeen the wife of Urias.\" It is worthy of God thus to act. The Spirit of\nGod is conducting us along the line through which, according to the\nflesh, Christ came; and in doing so he gives us as links in the\ngenealogical chain, Tamar and Bathsheba! How evident it is that there\nis nothing of man in this! How plain it is that when we reach the close\nof the first chapter of Matthew, it is \"God manifest in the flesh\" we\nfind, and that, too, from the pen of the Holy Ghost! Man could never\nhave devised such a genealogy. It is entirely divine: and no spiritual\nperson can read it without seeing in it a blessed exhibition of divine\ngrace in the first place, and of the divine inspiration of Matthew's\ngospel in the second place,--at least of his account of Christ's\ngenealogy according to the flesh. I believe a comparison of 2 Sam. xi.\nand Gen. xxxviii. with Matt. i. will furnish the thoughtful Christian\nwith matter for a very sweet and edifying meditation.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIX.-XLV.\n\n\nIn perusing these interesting sections of inspiration, we perceive a\nremarkable chain of providential actings, all tending to one grand\npoint, namely, _the exaltation of the man who had been in the pit_; and\nat the same time bringing out by the way a number of subordinate\nobjects. \"The thoughts of many hearts\" were to be \"revealed;\" but\nJoseph was to be exalted. \"He called for a famine upon the land: he\nbrake the whole staff of bread. He sent a man before them, even Joseph,\nwho was sold for a servant; whose feet they hurt with fetters; he was\nlaid in iron; until the time that his word came; the word of the Lord\ntried him. The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people,\nand let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all\nhis substance; to bind his princes at his pleasure, and teach his\nsenators wisdom.\" (Psalm cv. 16-22.)\n\nIt is well to see that the leading object was to exalt the one whom men\nhad rejected; and then to produce in those same men a sense of their\nsin in rejecting. And how admirably all this is effected! The most\ntrivial and the most important, the most likely and the most unlikely\ncircumstances are made to minister to the development of God's\npurposes. In Chapter xxxix. Satan uses Potiphar's wife, and in Chap.\nxl. he uses Pharaoh's chief butler. The former he used to put Joseph\ninto the dungeon; and the latter he used to keep him there, through his\nungrateful negligence; but all in vain. God was behind the scenes. His\nfinger was guiding all the springs of the vast machine of\ncircumstances, and when the due time was come, he brought forth the man\nof his purpose, and set his feet in a large room. Now, this is ever\nGod's prerogative. He is above all, and can use all for the\naccomplishment of his grand and unsearchable designs. It is sweet to be\nable thus to trace our Father's hand and counsel in every thing. Sweet\nto know that all sorts of agents are at his sovereign disposal; angels,\nmen, and devils--all are under his omnipotent hand, and all are made to\ncarry out his purposes.\n\nIn the scripture now before us, all this is seen in a most remarkable\nmanner. God visits the domestic circle of a heathen captain, the\nhousehold of a heathen king, yea, and his bed-side, and makes the very\nvisions of his head upon his bed contribute to the development of his\ncounsels. Nor is it merely individuals and their circumstances that we\nsee thus taken up and used for the furtherance of God's ends; but Egypt\nand all the surrounding countries are brought into the scene; in short,\nthe whole earth was prepared by the hand of God to be a theatre on\nwhich to display the glory and greatness of the one \"who was separate\nfrom his brethren.\" Such are God's ways; and it is one of the happiest\nand most elevating exercises for the soul of a saint to trace thus the\nadmirable actings of his heavenly Father. How forcibly is God's\nprovidence brought out in this profoundly interesting history of\nJoseph! Look, for a moment, into the dungeon of the captain of the\nguard. See there a man \"laid in iron,\" charged with a most abominable\ncrime--the outcast and offscouring of society; and yet see him, almost\nin a moment, raised to the very highest eminence, and who can deny that\nGod is in it all?\n\n\"And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all\nthis, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: thou shalt be\nover my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be\nruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said\nunto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And\nPharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand,\nand arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about\nhis neck. And he made him to ride in the second chariot that he had:\nand they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all\nthe land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and\nwithout thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of\nEgypt.\" (Chap. xli. 39-44.)\n\nHere, then, was exaltation of no ordinary kind. Contrast this with the\npit and the dungeon; and mark the chain of events by which it was all\nbrought about, and you have, at once, a marked exhibition of the hand\nof God, and a striking type of the sufferings and glory of the Lord\nJesus Christ. Joseph was taken from the pit and the dungeon, into which\nhe had been brought by the envy of his brethren, and the false judgment\nof the Gentile, to be ruler over the whole land of Egypt; and not only\nso, but to be the channel of blessing, and the sustainer of life, to\nIsrael and the whole earth. This is all typical of Christ; indeed, a\ntype could hardly be more perfect. We see a man laid, to all intents\nand purposes, in the place of death, by the hand of man, and then\nraised up by the hand of God, and set in dignity and glory. \"Ye men of\nIsrael, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God\namong you by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by him in\nthe midst of you, as ye yourselves also know; him, being delivered by\nthe determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by\nwicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up, having\nloosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should\nbe holden of it.\" (Acts. ii. 22-24.)\n\nBut there are two points in Joseph's history which, together with what\nhas been noticed, render the type remarkably perfect; I allude to his\nmarriage with a stranger in Chapter xli, and his interview with his\nbrethren in Chapter xlv. The following is the order of events. Joseph\npresents himself to his brethren as one sent by the father; they reject\nhim, and, so far as lies in them, put him in the place of death; God\ntakes him up from thence, and raises him to a position of highest\ndignity: thus exalted, he gets a bride; and when his brethren according\nto the flesh, are thoroughly broken and prostrate before him, he makes\nhimself known to them, tranquillizes their hearts, and brings them into\nblessing; he then becomes the channel of blessing to them and to the\nwhole world.\n\nI shall just make a few remarks on Joseph's marriage and the\nrestoration of his brethren. The strange wife shadows forth the Church.\nChrist presented himself to the Jews, and being rejected, took his seat\non high, and sent down the Holy Ghost to gather out an elect Church,\ncomposed of Jew and Gentile, to be united with him in heavenly glory.\nThe doctrine of the Church has already been dwelt upon in our remarks\non Chapter xxiv., but one or two points remain to be noticed here. And\nfirst, we may observe that Joseph's Egyptian bride was intimately\nassociated with him in his glory.[20] She, as being part of himself,\nshared in all that was his. Moreover, she occupied a place of nearness\nand intimacy known only to herself. Thus it is with the Church, the\nbride of the Lamb. She is gathered to Christ to be the sharer, at once,\nof his rejection and his glory. It is Christ's position which gives\ncharacter to the position of the Church, and her position should ever\ngive character to her walk. If we are gathered to Christ, it is as\nexalted in glory, and not as humbled down here. \"Henceforth know we no\nman after the flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh,\nyet now henceforth know we him no more.\" (2 Cor. v. 16.) The Church's\ngathering-point is Christ in glory. \"I, if I be lifted up from the\nearth, will draw all men unto me.\" (John xii. 32.)\n\nThere is far more of practical value in the clear apprehension of this\nprinciple than might, at first sight, appear. It is ever the aim of\nSatan, as it is the tendency of our hearts, to lead us to stop short of\nGod's mark in every thing, and specially in the centre of our unity as\nChristians. It is a popular sentiment, that \"the blood of the Lamb is\nthe union of saints,\" i. e., it is the blood which forms their centre\nof unity. Now, that it is the infinitely precious blood of Christ\nwhich sets us individually as worshippers in the presence of God is\nblessedly true. The blood, therefore, forms the divine basis of our\nfellowship with God. But when we come to speak of the centre of our\nunity as a church, we must see that the Holy Ghost gathers us to the\nPerson of a risen and glorified Christ; and this grand truth gives\ncharacter--high and holy character--to our association as Christians.\nIf we take lower ground than this we must inevitably form a sect or an\n_ism_. If we gather round an ordinance, however important, or round a\ntruth, however indisputable, we make something less than Christ our\ncentre.\n\nHence, it is more important to ponder the practical consequences which\nflow out of the truth of our being gathered to a risen and glorified\nHead in the heavens. If Christ were on earth, we should be gathered to\nhim here; but, inasmuch as he is hidden in the heavens, the Church\ntakes her character from his position there. Hence, Christ could say,\n\"They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world;\" and again,\n\"For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified\nthrough the truth.\" (John xvii. 16, 19.) So, also, in 1 Peter, we read,\n\"To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but\nchosen of God and precious; ye also, as lively stones, are built up a\nspiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices,\nacceptable to God by Jesus Christ.\" (Chap. ii. 4, 5.) If we are\ngathered to Christ we must be gathered to him _as_ he is, and _where_\nhe is; and the more the Spirit of God leads our souls into the\nunderstanding of this, the more clearly we shall see the character of\nwalk that becomes us. Joseph's bride was united to him, not in the pit\nor the dungeon, but in the dignity and glory of his position in Egypt;\nand, in her case, we can have no difficulty in perceiving the vast\ndifference between the two positions.\n\nBut farther we read, \"And unto Joseph were born two sons, _before the\nyears of famine came_.\" There was a time of trouble coming; but\nprevious thereto the fruit of his union appeared. The children whom God\nhad given him were called into existence previous to this time of\ntrial. So will it be in reference to the Church. All the members\nthereof will be called out, the whole body will be completed and\ngathered to the Head in heaven, previous to \"the great tribulation\"\nwhich shall come upon all the earth.\n\nWe shall now turn for a little to Joseph's interview with his brethren,\nin which we shall find some points of resemblance to Israel's history\nin the latter day. During the period that Joseph was hidden from the\nview of his brethren, these latter were called to pass through deep and\nsearching trial,--through intensely painful exercises of conscience.\nOne of these exercises is poured out in the following words: \"And they\nsaid one to another, _We are verily guilty_ concerning our brother, in\nthat we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and _we would\nnot hear_; therefore _is this distress come upon us_. And Reuben\nanswered them, saying. Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against\nthe child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also, _his blood\nis required_.\" (Chap. xlii. 21, 22.)\n\nAgain, in Chap. xliv. we read, \"And Judah said, What shall we say unto\nmy Lord? What shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath\nfound out the iniquity of thy servants.\" None can teach like God. He\nalone can produce in the conscience the true sense of sin, and bring\nthe soul down into the profound depths of its own condition in his\npresence. This is all his own work. Men run on in their career of\nguilt, heedless of every thing, until the arrow of the Almighty pierces\ntheir conscience, and then they are led into those searchings of heart,\nand intense exercises of soul, which can only find relief in the rich\nresources of redeeming love. Joseph's brethren had no conception of all\nthat was to flow to them from their actings toward him. \"They took him\nand cast him into a pit ... and they sat down to eat bread.\" \"Woe to\nthem ... that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief\nointments; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.\"\n(Amos vi. 6.)\n\nHowever, God produced grief of heart, and exercises of conscience, and\nthat in a most wonderful way. Years rolled on, and these brethren might\nhave vainly imagined that all was right; but, then, \"seven years of\nplenty, and seven years of scarcity!\" What did they mean? Who sent\nthem? And for what were they designed? Admirable providence!\nUnsearchable wisdom! The famine reaches to Canaan, and the calls of\nhunger actually bring the guilty brethren to the feet of the injured\nJoseph! How marked is the display of God's own hand in all this! There\nthey stand, with the arrow of conviction thrust through and through\ntheir consciences, in the presence of the man whom they had, \"with\nwicked hands,\" cast into the pit. Surely their sin had found them out;\nbut it was in the presence of Joseph. Blessed place!\n\n\"Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by\nhim; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood\nno man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.\"\n(Chap. xlv. 1.) No stranger was allowed to witness this sacred scene.\nWhat stranger could understand or appreciate it? We are here called to\nwitness, as it were, divinely-wrought conviction in the presence of\ndivine grace; and we may say, when these two come together there is an\neasy settlement of every question.\n\n\"And Joseph said unto his brethren, _Come near to me_, I pray you. And\nthey came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold\ninto Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves,\nthat you sold me hither; for God did send me before you, to preserve\nlife.... And God sent me before you, to preserve you a posterity in the\nearth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not\nyou sent me hither, but God.\" This is grace indeed, setting the\nconvicted conscience perfectly at rest. The brethren had, already, most\nthoroughly condemned themselves, and hence Joseph had only to pour in\nthe blessed balm into their broken hearts. \"This is all sweetly typical\nof God's dealings with Israel, in the latter day, when they shall look\nupon him whom they have pierced, and mourn.\" Then they shall prove the\nreality of divine grace, and the cleansing efficacy of that \"fountain\nwhich shall be opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of\nJerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.\" (Zech. xiii. 1.)\n\nIn the third chapter of Acts, we find the Spirit of God in Peter\nseeking to produce this divine conviction in the consciences of the\nJews. \"The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our\nfathers, hath glorified his son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied\nhim in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.\nBut ye denied the holy One and the just, and desired a murderer to be\ngranted unto you; and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised\nfrom the dead, whereof we are witnesses.\" These statements were\ndesigned to elicit from the hearts and lips of the hearers the\nconfession made by Joseph's brethren--\"We are verily guilty.\" Then\nfollows the grace. \"And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye\ndid it, as did also your rulers. But those things, which God before had\nshowed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he\nhath so fulfilled. Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your\nsins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from\nthe presence of the Lord.\" We here see that, although the Jews really\ncarried out the enmity of their hearts in the death of Christ, as did\nalso Joseph's brethren in their treatment of him, yet, the grace of God\nto each is seen in this, that all is shown to be decreed and foreshown\nof God for their blessing. This is perfect grace, surpassing all human\nthought; and all that is needed in order to the enjoyment thereof, is a\nconscience truly convicted by the truth of God. Those who could say,\n\"We are verily guilty,\" could rightly understand the words of precious\ngrace, \"It was not you, but God.\" Thus it must ever be. The soul that\nhas thoroughly pronounced its own condemnation, is prepared to\nunderstand and appreciate God's pardon.\n\nThe remaining chapters of this book are taken up with the removal of\nJacob and his family into Egypt, and their settlement there; Joseph's\nactings during the remaining years of famine; Jacob's blessing the\ntwelve patriarchs; his death and burial. We shall not dwell in detail\nupon these things, though the spiritual mind may find much to feed upon\ntherein.[21] Jacob's groundless fears dissipated by the sight of his\nson alive, and exalted,--the peculiar grace of God seen in its\noverruling power, yet evidently mingled with judgment, inasmuch as\nJacob's sons have to go down into the very place whither they had sent\ntheir brother. Again, Joseph's remarkable grace throughout: though\nexalted by Pharaoh, he hides himself, as it were, and binds the people\nin abiding obligation to the king. Pharaoh says, \"Go to Joseph,\" and\nJoseph, in effect, says, \"all you have and all you are belong to\nPharaoh.\" This is sweetly interesting, and leads the soul on to that\nglorious time when the Son of man shall take the reins of government\ninto his own hand, by divine appointment, and rule over the whole\nredeemed creation, his Church--the bride of the Lamb--occupying the\nnearest and most intimate place, according to the eternal counsels. The\nhouse of Israel, fully restored, shall be nourished and sustained by\nhis gracious hand; and all the earth shall know the deep blessedness of\nbeing under his sceptre. Finally, having brought every thing into\nsubjection, he shall hand back the reins of government into the hands\nof God, that \"he may be all in all.\" From all this we may form some\nidea of the richness and copiousness of Joseph's history. In short, it\nsets before us distinctly in type the mission of the Son to the house\nof Israel,--his humiliation and rejection,--the deep exercises and\nfinal repentance and restoration of Israel,--the union of the Church\nwith Christ,--his exaltation and universal government, and, finally, it\npoints us forward to the time when \"God shall be all in all.\" It is\nquite needless to remark, that all these things are largely taught and\nfully established throughout the entire canon of inspiration: we do not\ntherefore build their truth upon Joseph's history; still it is edifying\nto find such early foreshadowings of these precious truths: it proves\nto us the divine unity which pervades holy scripture. Whether we turn\nto Genesis or to Ephesians,--to the prophets of the Old or those of the\nNew Testament,--we learn the same truths. \"ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY\nINSPIRATION OF GOD.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[20] Joseph's wife sets forth the Church as united to Christ in his\nglory; Moses' wife presents the Church as united to Christ in his\nrejection.\n\n[21] The close of Jacob's career stands in most pleasing contrast with\nall the previous scenes of his eventful history. It reminds one of a\nserene evening, after a tempestuous day: the sun, which during the day\nhad been hidden from view by clouds, mists, and fogs, sets in majesty\nand brightness, gilding with his beams the western sky, and holding out\nthe cheering prospect of a bright to-morrow. Thus is it with our aged\npatriarch. The supplanting, the bargain-making, the cunning, the\nmanagement, the shifting, the shuffling, the unbelieving selfish\nfears,--all those dark clouds of nature and of earth seem to have\npassed away, and he comes forth in all the calm elevation of faith, to\nbestow blessings, and impart dignities, in that holy skilfulness, which\ncommunion with God can alone impart.\n\nThough nature's eyes are dim, faith's vision is sharp. He is not to be\ndeceived as to the relative positions assigned to Ephraim and Manasseh\nin the counsels of God. He has not, like his father Isaac, in Chapter\nxxvii., to \"tremble very exceedingly,\" in view of an almost fatal\nmistake. Quite the reverse. His intelligent reply to his less\ninstructed son is, \"I know it, my son, I know it.\" The power of sense\nhas not, as in Isaac's case, dimmed his spiritual vision. He has been\ntaught in the school of experience the importance of keeping close to\nthe divine purpose, and nature's influence cannot move him from thence.\n\nIn Chapter xlviii. 11, we have a very beautiful example of the mode in\nwhich our God ever rises above all our thoughts, and proves himself\nbetter than all our fears. \"And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not\nthought to see thy face; and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed.\" To\nnature's view, Joseph was dead; whereas in God's view he was alive, and\nseated in the highest place of authority, next the throne. \"Eye hath\nnot seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man,\nthe things which God hath prepared for them that love him.\" (1 Cor. ii.\n9.) Would that our souls could rise higher in their apprehension of God\nand his ways.\n\nIt is interesting to notice the way in which the titles \"Jacob\" and\n\"Israel\" are introduced in the close of the Book of Genesis; as, for\nexample, \"One told _Jacob_, and said, Behold thy son Joseph cometh unto\nthee: and _Israel_ strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.\" Then,\nit is immediately added, \"And _Jacob_ said unto Joseph, God Almighty\nappeared unto me at Luz.\" Now, we know, there is nothing in scripture\nwithout its specific meaning, and hence this interchange of names\ncontains some instruction. In general, it may be remarked, that \"Jacob\"\nsets forth the depth to which God had descended; \"Israel,\" the height\nto which Jacob was raised.\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTranscribers notes:\n\nMaintained original spelling and punctuation.\n\nGreek and Hebrew transliteration is enclosed in brackets i.e.[Greek:]","title":"Notes on the Book of Genesis","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":94534}