HOILE HOMILETICJE:
OK
DISCOURSES
(PRINCIPALLY IN THE FORM OF SKELETONS)
NOW FIRST DIGESTED INTO ONE CONTINUED SERIES,
AND FORMING A COMMENTARY
THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT;
TO WHICH IS ANNEXED,
AN IMPROVED EDITION OF A TRANSLATION OF
CLAUDE S ESSAY ON THE COMPOSITION OF A SERMON
IN TWENTY-ONE VOLUMES.
BY THE REV. CHARLES SIMEON, M.A.
SENIOR FELLOW OF KING S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.
^UL, ;
VOL. I.
f f , V S--* T ( ,- "I
GENESIS TO LEVITICUS.
\. ; = -ti .;
LONDON:
o
HOLDSWORTH AND BALL,
18, ST. PAUL S CHURCH-YARD.
MDCCC XXXII.
TO HIS GRACE
WILLIAM
LORD ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY,
PRIMATE OF ALL ENGLAND,
AND METROPOLITAN.
MY LORD ARCHBISHOP,
IN offering this work to your Grace s
patronage, I beg permission to state what occa
sion there is for such a work, and what I have
aimed at in the composition of it.
It is to be regretted, that, whilst the edu
cation we receive in our Universities is admirably
adapted to lay a good foundation for us to build
upon, there is no subsequent instruction given
us to fit us for the employment of the ministry.
Before men are called to the public exercise of
VOL. i. a
DEDICATION.
the medical or legal profession, they have an
appropriate line of study assigned them : nor
does any one expect to succeed in either of
those professions, till he has, with much labour
and study, qualified himself for the discharge of
the duties pertaining to it. But for the service
of the Established Church no such preparatory
studies are required ; nor are any great facilities
afforded for the acquisition of that knowledge,
which ought to be possessed before we become
stated and accredited teachers in the Church of
Christ. Even that species of composition which
is peculiarly proper for an edifying exposition of
God s blessed Word, is never made a subject of
specific instruction ; or, at least, is never marked
out with such clearness as to render the attain
ment of it easy to persons at their first entrance
on their clerical duties. Hence considerable dis
couragement is felt by the Younger Clergy, and
a great temptation is thrown in their way, to avail
themselves of the labours of others, instead of
striking out at first a path for themselves.
m
To remedy this defect, as far as was in my
power, I have endeavoured to unfold the most
important and instructive parts of Holy Writ,
DEDICATION.
both in the Old and New Testament, avoiding
carefully all peculiarities of human systems, and
all unprofitable controversies ; and I have done
this in such a way, as to exemplify what ap
peared to me the most simple and edifying
mode of stating divine truth. Throughout the
whole I have laboured to maintain that spirit
of moderation which so eminently distinguishes
the Established Church, giving to every revealed
truth, as far as I was able, its proper place,
and that precise measure of consideration which
it seemed to occupy in the Inspired Volume.
At the same time, every thing has been brought
forward with an especial view to its practical
improvement, so as to lead the minds of my
Younger Brethren to that which was pre
eminently necessary for them in their public
ministrations. This has been my object invari
ably : and in that view I W 7 ould hope the
Discourses here offered to the Public will prove
of some little service to the Church of Christ.
To render them the more useful, I have studied
conciseness, compressing into every separate Dis
course all that was needful for an elucidation of
the subject, and confirming every part of it with
DEDICATION.
such references to Scripture, as should leave no
reasonable doubt of its accordance with " the mind
of the Spirit" of God. In every one of the Dis
courses also I have so clearly marked the method,
that the entire scope of the passage may be seen
with the glance of an eye ; and the Young Mini
ster may be able to prosecute his work with ease
according to his own judgment, making no other
use of what is contained within the brackets, than
to enlarge or confirm his own views of the subject.
These my best endeavours, such as they are,
I lay before your Grace for your approbation,
and commend to God for his divine blessing,
without which they can be of no avail.
I am,
MY LORD ARCHBISHOP,
Your Grace s most obliged
And devoted Servant,
CHARLES SIMEON.
KING S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE,
May 20, 1833.
PREFACE.
INSTRUCTION relative to the Composition of Sermons is
of great importance, not only to Ministers, but, eventually,
to the community at large. And it were much to be wished
that more regard were paid to this in the education of those
who are intended for the ministry. It has sometimes been
recommended to the younger Clergy to transcribe printed
Sermons for a season, till they shall have attained an ability to
compose their own. And it is to be lamented, that this advice
has been too strictly followed : for, when they have once formed
this habit, they find it very difficult to relinquish it: the trans
ition from copying to composing of Sermons is so great, that
they are too often discouraged in their first attempts, and
induced, from the difficulty they experience in writing their
own Sermons, to rest satisfied in preaching those of others.
To remove, as far as possible, these difficulties from young
beginners, is the intent of these Skeletons. The directions
given in Mr. Claude s Essay on the Composition of a Sermon,
which is annexed to these Skeletons, cannot fail of being-
helpful to every one who will study them with care : but there
appears to be something further wanted ; something of an in
termediate kind, between a didactic Essay like Claude s, and
a complete Sermon; something which may simplify the theory,
and set it in a practical light.
The following Skeletons a are not intended particularly to
exemplify Mr. Claude s rules. There are indeed all his different
kinds of discussion contained in the Skeletons. But instead of
illustrating particular rules, they are all intended rather to
a For this use of the word " Skeleton," see Johnson s Dictionary.
VOL. I. b
vi PREFACE.
illustrate one general rule; namely, to shew how texts may be
treated in a natural manner. The author has invariably pro
posed to himself three things as indispensably necessary in
every discourse ; UNITY in the design, PERSPICUITY in the
arrangement, and SIMPLICITY in the diction.
It may perhaps be not unuseful to point out the manner in
which these discourses are formed. As soon as the subject is
chosen, the first inquiry is, What is the principal scope and
meaning of the text* 1 *. Let us suppose, for instance, that the
text of Jer. xxxi. 18 20, were the subject. Upon examina
tion, it appears to be a soliloquy of the Deity, expressing
what He had seen to be the workings of Ephraim s mind, and
declaring the emotions which the sight of his penitent child
had occasioned within his own bosom. Having ascertained
this, nothing is to be introduced into any part of the discourse,
which does not, in some way or other, reflect light upon the
main subject. The next inquiry is, Of ivhat parts does the
text consist, or into what parts may it be most easily and natu
rally resolved? Here an obvious division occurs: it is evident
that the text contains, 1st, The reflections of a true penitent;
and, 2dly, The reflections of God over him. This division
being made, the discussion of the two parts must be under
taken in their order. But how shall we elucidate the
first head? Shall we say, that the penitent is roused from
his lethargy, humbled for his transgressions, stimulated to
prayer? &c. &c. Such a distribution would, doubtless, con
tain many useful truths ; but they are truths which may be
spoken from a thousand other texts as well as this ; and after
they had been spoken, the people would still be left without
any precise knowledge of the portion of Scripture which should
have been opened to them. If the text did not contain any
important matter, it would then be proper, and even necessary,
to enter in this general manner into the subject : but if the
text itself afford ample means of elucidating the point that is
under discussion, it is always best to adhere to that. In order
then to enter fully into the subject, we examine more care
fully, what are the particular reflections which God noticed in
* I BEG EVERY YOUNG MINISTER VERY ESPECIALLY TO REMEMBER
THIS.
PREFACE. vii
the penitent before us. And here we observe a further dis
crimination : the penitent s experience is delineated at two
different periods; one in the beginning, and the other in the
progress, of his repentance. This distinction serves to open
an easy method for arranging what shall be spoken.
Upon investigating still more accurately his expressions, it
appears that he laments his past incorrigibleness in the ways
of sin, and, with an humble expression of his hope in God,
implores converting grace. Soon afterwards, reflecting with
a kind of joyful surprise upon the progress he has made, he
thankfully ascribes the honour to God, through w r hose illumi
nating and converting grace he has been enabled to make such
attainments. This experience being not peculiar to Ephraim,
but common to all true penitents, we illustrate and confirm it
by suitable passages of Holy Writ. A similar process is then
pursued with respect to the second head : and when that is
arranged and discussed in like manner, we proceed to the appli
cation. The nature of the application must depend in some
measure on the subject that has been discussed, and on the
state of the congregation to whom it is addressed. Where
there are many w r ho make a profession of godliness, it will be
necessary to pay some attention to them, and to accommodate
the subject in part to their state, in a way of conviction, con
solation, encouragement, &c. But where the congregation is
almost entirely composed of persons who are walking in " the
broad way" of worldliness and indifference, it may be proper
to suit the application to them alone. In either case it may
be done by inferences, or by address to distinct characters, or
by a general address : but, for the most part, either of the
former methods is preferable to the last. As for the exordium,
that is the last part to be composed ; and Mr. Claude s direc
tions for it cannot be improved.
Here then is an example of a discourse made on a text that
affords an abundance of useful and important matter. But
this is not the case in all texts: take Matt. xvi. 26, for instance.
In that, the general scope of the text is, to declare the value
of the soul; the distribution of it into its leading parts might
be varied in many ways: but whatever distribution were
adopted, one must of necessity supply from one s own inven
tion matter for the illustration of it ; because the text itself,
viii PREFACE.
though very important, does not limit one to any particular
considerations.
By the adoption of sucli a plan as this, many good ends are
attained : for not only is unity preserved, and a perspicuity
diffused through the whole, but a variety of ideas suggest
themselves which would not otherwise occur to the mind : an
hackneyed way of treating texts will he avoided : the observa
tions will be more appropriate: they will arise in a better
order, and be introduced to more advantage: the attention of
the audience will be fixed more on the word of God : their
memories will be assisted : and the very reading of the text
afterwards will bring to their minds much of what they have
heard : besides, they will be more enabled to discern beauties
in the Scripture when they peruse it in their closets. But it
may be thought, that, on this plan, it will be always neces
sary to use divisions. This, however, is by no means the
case : every text drawn up after this manner, must of necessity
have an unity of design ; and wherever that is, the divisions
may be either mentioned or concealed, as the tvriter shall
choose. Let the foremen tionccl text in Jer. xxxi. be treated
without any division at all ; and the same arrangement will-
serve exactly as well as if the divisions were specified. It
will stand thus
" A true penitent in the beginning of his repentance re
flects on his incorrigibleness in the ways of sin, and pleads
with God to turn and convert his soul
" When he has advanced a little in his repentance, he
reflects with gratitude on the progress he has made, and he
gives to God the glory of it
" In such a state he is most acceptable to God
" Whilst he can scarcely find terms whereby to express his
own vilcness, God accounts no honours too great for him
" He owns him as a pleasant child; expresses his com
passionate regard for him, promises to manifest his mercy
towards him, and grants him all that he himself can possibly
desire. "-
Divest the Skeleton of Matt. xvi. 26, of its divisions, and
it will be equally clear.
" By the world we are to understand pleasure, riches,
and honour
PREFACE. ix
" This, if considered in itself, is vile ; if, as estimated by the
best judges, worthless
" The soul, on the contrary, if considered in itself, is noble ;
and if, as estimated by the best judges, invaluable
" Such being the disparity between the value of the world,
and that of the soul, we cannot but see what must be the
result of a comparison between them
" We suppose, for argument sake, that a man may possess the
whole world, and that after having possessed it for a while, he
loses his own soul ; what in the issue would he be profited ?
" Whether we enter generally or particularly into this sub
ject, the result will be still the same."
These two Skeletons are selected in order to exemplify this
idea, 1st, In a subject where the whole matter is contained
in the text ; and, 2dly, In a subject where nothing but the
general idea is suggested : and if the Reader will give himself
the trouble to examine, he will find that every one of the
other Skeletons may, with equal ease, be drawn out in the
same manner. This is a point of considerable importance :
for if the mind were necessarily cramped and fettered by
this method of composition, it would be inexpedient to adopt
it. But it is manifest that it leaves the mind at most perfect
liberty: and while many advantages arise from it, there is no
room at all for the principal objection, which might at first
sight appear to lie against it. But though these observations
are made to shew that discourses might be formed from the
Skeletons as easily without divisions as with them, it is not
to be thought that the mention of the divisions is a matter of
indifference: the minds of the generality are not capable of
tracing the connexion and coherence of a discourse : their
attention will flag ; they will lose much of what they hear ;
and have no clew whereby to recover it: whereas the mention
of an easy and natural division will relieve their minds, assist
their memories, and enable them to " mark, learn, and in
wardly digest" the word.
If any student, who has a view to the ministry, should
choose to employ a part of his Sabbath in perusing any of
these compositions, he would do well first to get a clear view
of the great outlines of the discourse, and then to consider,
under each part, what is contained in the brackets ; consulting,
x PREFACE.
as he proceeds, the passages of Scripture that are quoted.
After this, if he will write over the whole, interweaving those
passages, or such parts of them as refer immediately to the
subject, adding only a few words here and there to connect the
whole, he will find that every Skeleton will make a dis
course, which, if read distinctly, will occupy the space of
nearly half an hour. In this way he may attain, without any
great difficulty, a considerable knowledge of the Scriptures,
together witli an habit of thinking clearly and connectedly on
the principal doctrines contained in them. If any one, who
has entered upon the sacred office, should think them worthy
of his attention, a different method of using them should be
adopted. He, having finished his academical studies, has his
time more at his own command: he should therefore make
himself perfect master of the Skeleton before him, and then
write in his own language, and according to his own concep
tions, his views of the subject : and he will find that " verba
provisam rcm non invita sequentur." It is proper however
to observe, that those parts, which have three marks after
them should be more fully opened.
But there is one caution which requires peculiar attention.
In the Skeletons many passages of the Holy Scriptures are
quoted, partly for the conviction of the Reader s own mind,
and partly to furnish him with the proper materials for con
firming his word. These passages, if they were all formally
quoted, would make the sermon a mere rhapsody, a string of
texts, that could not fail to weary and disgust the audience.
But if they be glanced at, if the proper parts only be selected,
and interwoven with the writer s own language, they will give
a richness and variety to the discourse, at the same time that
they will be peculiarly grateful to those who delight in the
word of God. There is however another extreme, which
would be no less pernicious : if no passages be formally ad
duced, many parts of the discourse will appear to want con
firmation. The proper medium seems to be, to quote them
expressly when there is reason to apprehend that any doubt is
entertained respecting the truth that is insisted on, or where
the citing of them will give peculiar weigjit to the point in
hand : in all other places the language of Scripture should be
used rather to enrich and adorn our own.
P R E F A C E. xi
It cannot be but that a Work of this nature should be liable
.to many objections. Persons will vary in their judgment with
respect to it, according as they affect or disregard order ;
according as they relish or disapprove the use of Scripture
language ; according as they have been habituated to close
thinking, or have been accustomed to a desultory way of com
municating their ideas ; and, lastly, according as they acquiesce
in the unsophisticated doctrines of Scripture, or fondly attach
themselves to human systems.
But the Author begs leave to observe, that the very plan of
suggesting the whole substance of a Sermon in a few pages, of
shewing in so small a space how to introduce, divide, discuss,
and apply every subject, and of referring to the most impor
tant passages of Scripture that can reflect light upon it,
necessarily precludes all the ornaments of language, and
induces somewhat perhaps of obscurity. But if there be
found some reason for that complaint, "brevis esse laboro,
obscurus fio," it is hoped the candid Reader will consider it as
a fault incident to the plan itself; and if he meet with any
expression which appears too unqualified, he is requested to
remember, that a thousand qualifying clauses might be intro
duced into a full discourse, which could not possibly find place
in such compositions as these : if he would regard these in
their proper view, he must consider them only as rough mate
rials prepared to his hand, that out of them he may construct
an edifice, modelled and adorned to his own taste.
There is another objection indeed, which has been mentioned
to the Author by some of his most judicious friends. It is feared
that these Skeletons may administer to sloth and idleness. But
he apprehends they are so constructed, that they cannot pos
sibly be used at all, unless a considerable degree of thought
be bestowed upon them. Nor does he think that any person,
who has ever found the pleasure of addressing his congrega
tion in his own words, will be satisfied with reciting the
compositions of another. On the other hand, if some, who
would otherwise have preached the sermons of others, be drawn
gradually to compose their own, and if others, who have been
rude and incoherent, be assisted in the exercise of their judg
ment, it will tend to wipe off disgrace from the Established
Church, and eventually, it is hoped, to benefit the souls of many.
xii PREFACE.
It is not possible to say what is the best mode of preaching
for every individual, because the talents of men are so various,
and the extent of their knowledge so different. It seems at
all events expedient that a young Minister should for some
years pen his sermons, in order that he may attain a proper
mode of expressing his thoughts, and accustom himself to the
obtaining of clear, comprehensive, and judicious views of his
subject: but that he should always continue to write every
word of his discourses, seems by no means necessary. Not
that it is at any time expedient for him to deliver an unpre
meditated harangue : this would be very unsuitable to the holy
and important office which he stands up to discharge. But
there is a medium between such extemporaneous effusions and
a servile adherence to what is written : there is a method
recommended by the highest authorities, which, after we have
written many hundred sermons, it may not be improper to
adopt : the method referred to is, to draw out a full plan or
skeleton of the discourse, with the texts of Scripture which
are proper to illustrate or enforce the several parts, and then
to express the thoughts in such language as may occur at the
time. This plan, if it have some disadvantage in point of
accuracy or elegance, has, on the other hand, great advantages
over a written sermon : it gives a Minister an opportunity of
speaking with far more effect to the hearts of men, and of
addressing himself to their passions, as well by his looks and
gesture, as by his w T ords.
Archbishop Seeker, in his last Charge, after observing, in
reference to the matter of our sermons, " We have, in fact,
lost many of our people to sectaries by not preaching in a
manner sufficiently evangelical," (p. 299,) adds, in reference
to the manner of our preaching, " There is a middle way c ,
used by our predecessors, of setting down, in short notes, the
method and principal heads, and enlarging on them in such
words as present themselves at the time : perhaps, duly ma
naged, this is the lest." (p. 315.) He then proceeds to express
his disapprobation of what is called Mandating of Sermons, or
repeating them from memory. This custom obtains much
among foreign Divines, and throughout the whole Church of
c z. c. Between written discourses, and unpremeditated addresses.
PREFACE. xiii
Scotland ; and in the Statute Book of our University there is
an order from King Charles II., that this should be practised
by all the Clergy, as well when preaching before the Uni
versity and at Court, as before any common audience d . This
shews at least, that if a Minister had thoroughly studied his
discourse, it was deemed no objection against him that he
delivered it without book. But the way proposed by Arch
bishop Seeker seems far preferable, on account of the unne
cessary increase of labour to the Minister, and because the
repeating of a sermon will most generally appear, as the Arch
bishop justly expresses it, like " the saying of a lesson."
Many other authorities of the greatest note might be adduced
(as those of Bishop Wilkin, Bishop Burnet, Archbishop of
Cambray, &c.) if it were the Author s wish to vindicate this
mode of preaching : but he is far from thinking it proper for
all persons, or in all places. He considers it however as
extremely useful, where a Minister s talents will admit of it.
But, after all, the great concern both of Ministers and private
Christians is, to enjoy the blessing of God upon their own
souls. In whatever manner the truth may be delivered, whe
ther from a written discourse or memoriter, or from a well-
digested plan, they may expect that God will accompany it
with a divine energy, if they be looking up to him in the
d " Mr. Vice-Chancellor, and Gentlemen,
" Whereas his Majesty is informed, that the practice of reading-
Sermons is generally taken up by the Preachers before the University,
and therefore continued even before himself, his Majesty hath com
manded me to signify to you his pleasure that the said practice, which
took beginning with the disorders of the late times, be wholly laid
aside, and that the aforesaid Preachers deliver their Sermons, both in
Latin and English, by memory or without book, as being a way of
preaching which his Majesty judgeth most agreeable to the use of all
foreign Churches, to the custom of the University heretofore, and the
nature and intendment of that holy exercise.
" And that his Majesty s commands in the premises may be duly
regarded and observed, his farther pleasure is, that the names of all
such ecclesiastical persons, as shall continue the present supine and
slothful way of preaching, be from time to time signified unto me by
the Vice-Chancellor for the time being, upon pain of his Majesty s
displeasure. MONMOUTH."
" October 8, 1674." (Page 300 of the Statute Book.)
xiv PREFACE,
exercise of faith and prayer. In this hope, the Sermon, on
Mark xvi. 15, 16, and the four Skeletons annexed to it, are sent
forth into the world : and if, by means of them, the excellency
of the Gospel may be more clearly seen, its importance more
deeply felt, and its strengthening, comforting, sanctifying
efficacy more richly experienced, the Author s labours will be
abundantly repaid. They are annexed to Claude s Essay ;
and the Author recommends those who could thoroughly under
stand Claude, to consult them.
In the discussion of so many subjects, it cannot fail but
that every doctrine of our holy religion must be more or less
canvassed. On every point the Author has spoken freely,
and without reserve. As for names and parties in religion,
he equally disclaims them all : he takes his religion from the
Bible ; and endeavours, as much as possible, to speak as that
speaks . Hence, as in the Scriptures themselves, so also in
this Work, there will be found sentiments, not really opposite,
but apparently of an opposite tendency, according to the subject
that is under discussion. In writing, for instance, on John v.
40, " Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life" he does
not hesitate to lay the whole blame of men s condemnation on
the obstinacy of their own depraved will : nor docs he think it
at all necessary to weaken the subject by nice distinctions,
in order to support a system. On the contrary, when lie
preaches on John vi. 44, " No man can come unto me, except
the Father who hath sent me draw him," he does not scruple
to state in the fullest manner he is able, " That we have no
power to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God,
without the grace of God by Christ preventing us that we may
have a good will, and working with us when we have that good
will 1 ":" nor docs he judge it expedient on any account to soften,
and palliate, and fritter away this important truth. While too
c If in any thing he grounded his sentiments upon human authority,
it would not be on the dogmas of Calvin or Arminius, but on the
Articles and Homilies of the Church of England. He has the hap
piness to say, that he does ex animo, from his inmost soul, believe the
doctrines to which he has subscribed : but the reason of his believing
them is not, that they are made the Creed of the Established Church,
but, that he finds them manifestly contained in the Sacred Oracles.
f The Tenth Article.
PREFACE. xv
many set these passages at variance, and espouse the one in
opposition to the other, he dwells with equal pleasure on them
both ; and thinks it, on the whole, better to state these appa
rently opposite truths in the plain and unsophisticated manner
of the Scriptures, than to enter into scholastic subtleties, that
have been invented for the upholding of human systems. He
is aware, that they who are warm advocates for this or that
system of religion, will be ready to condemn him as incon
sistent : but, if he speak in exact conformity with the Scrip
tures, he shall rest the vindication of his conduct simply on
the authority and example of the Inspired Writers. He has
no desire to be wise above what is written, nor any conceit
that he can teach the Apostles to speak with more propriety
and correctness than they have spoken.
It may be asked perhaps, How do you reconcile these doc
trines, which you believe to be of equal authority and equal
importance ? But what right has any man to impose this task
on the preachers of God s word ? God has not required it
of them ; nor is the truth or falsehood of any doctrine to be
determined absolutely by this criterion. It is presumed, that
every one will acknowledge the holiness of God, and the
existence of sin: but will any one undertake to reconcile
them ? or does any one consider the inability of man to recon
cile them, as a sufficient ground for denying either the one or
the other of these truths ? If then neither of these points are
doubted, notwithstanding they cannot be reconciled by us,
why should other points, equally obvious in some respects, yet
equally difficult to be reconciled in others, be incompatible,
merely because we, with our limited capacity, cannot perfectly
discern their harmony and agreement ?
But perhaps these points, which have been such a fruitful
source of contention in the Church, are not so opposite to
each other as some imagine : and it is possible, that the truly
scriptural statement will be found not in an exclusive adoption
of either, nor yet in a confused mixture of both, but in the
proper and seasonable application of them both; or, to use
the language of St. Paul, " in rightly dividing the word of
truth."
Here the Author desires to speak with trembling. He is
aware that he is treading upon slippery ground ; and that he
xvi P R E F A C E.
lias but little prospect of satisfying any who have decidedly
ranged themselves under the standard either of Calvin or
Arminius. But he wishes to be understood : he is not soli
citous to bring any man to pronounce his Shibboleth ; much
less has he any design to maintain a controversy in support of
it : he merely offers an apology for the sentiments contained
in his publication, and, with much deference, submits to the
public his views of scripture truth : and, whether they be per
fectly approved or not, this he hopes to gain from all parties,
a favourable acceptance of what they approve, and a candid
forbearance in the points they disapprove.
This being premised, he will proceed to state the manner in
which these apparently opposite tenets may, in his judgment,
be profitably insisted on.
It is supposed by many, that the doctrines of grace are
incompatible with the doctrine of man s free-will ; and that
therefore the one or the other must be false. But why so ?
Can any man doubt one moment whether he be a free agent
or not? he may as well doubt his own existence. On the
other hand, will any man who has the smallest spark of humi
lity, affirm, that he has made himself to differ ; and that he
has something which he has not received from a superior
power g ? Will any one refuse to say with the Apostle, " By
the grace of God I am what I am h ?"
Again ; as men differ with respect to the first beginnings of
a work of grace, so do they also with respect to the manner in
which it must be carried on ; some affirming, that God has
engaged to "perfect that which concerneth us;" and others,
that even St. Paul had reason to fear " lest he himself should
become a cast-away." But why should these things be deemed
incompatible 1 ? Does not every man feel within himself a
e I Cor. iv. 7. h 1 Cor. xv. 10.
1 Benhadad might have recovered from his disease, though God had
decreed that, by Hazael s device, he should die of it ; (2 Kings viii. 10.)
so we may (for aught that there is in us) die in our sins, though God
has decreed that he will save us from death. In both cases the decree
of God stands ; but the possibility of the event, as considered in itself,
remains unaltered. Neither our liableness to perish prevents the
execution of God s decree ; nor does his decree alter our liableness
(in ourselves) to perish.
PREFACE. xvii
liableness, yea, a proneness to fall ? Does not every man feel,
that there is coiruption enough within him to drive him to the
commission of the greatest enormities, and eternally to destroy
his soul ? He can have but little knowledge of his own heart
who will deny this. On the other hand, who that is holding
on in the ways of righteousness, does not daily ascribe his
steadfastness to the influence of that grace, which he receives
from God ; and look daily to God for more grace, in order that
he maybe " kept by his power through faith unto salvation k ?"
No man can in any measure resemble the scripture saints,
unless he be of this disposition. Why then must these things
be put in opposition to each other, so that every advocate for
one of these points must of necessity controvert and explode
the other ? Only let any pious person, whether Calvinist or
Arminian, examine the language of his prayers after he has
been devoutly pouring out his soul before God, and he will
find his own words almost in perfect consonance with the fore
going statement. The Calvinist will be confessing the extreme
depravity of his nature, together with his liability and prone-
ness to fall ; and the Arminian will be glorifying God for all
that is good within him, and will commit his soul to God, in
order that HE who has laid the foundation of his own spiritual
temple, may also finish it 1 .
k Zcch. iv. 9.
1 1 Pet. i. 5.
A circumstance within the Author s knowledge reflects so much light
upon this subject, that he trusts he shall be pardoned for relating it.
A young Minister, about three or four years after he was ordained,
had an opportunity of conversing familiarly with the great and vene
rable leader of the Arminians in this kingdom ; and, wishing to im
prove the occasion to the uttermost, he addressed him nearly in the
following words : " Sir, I understand that you are called an Arminian ;
and I have been sometimes called a Calvinist ; and therefore I suppose
we are to draw daggers. But before I consent to begin the combat,
with your permission I will ask you a few questions, not from imperti
nent curiosity, but for real instruction." Permission being very readily
and kindly granted, the young Minister proceeded to ask, " Pray,
Sir, do you feel yourself a depraved creature, so depraved, that you
would never have thought of turning unto God, if God had not first
put in into your heart ? " " Yes," says the veteran, " I do indeed."
" And. do you utterly despair of recommending yourself to God by
xviii PREFACE.
Doubtless either of these points may be injudiciously stated,
or improperly applied. If the doctrines of Election and Pre
destination be so stated as to destroy man s free agency, and
make him merely passive in the work of salvation, they are not
stated as they are in the Articles and Homilies of our Church,
or as they are in the Holy Scriptures. On the other hand, if
the doctrines of free-will and liableness to final apostasy be so
stated as to rob God of his honour, and to deny that he is both
" the Author and the Finisher of our faith," they are equally
abhorrent from the sentiments of our Established Church,
and from the plainest declarations of Holy Writ.
The Author humbly apprehends, that there is a perfect
agreement between these different points ; and that they are
equally salutary or equally pernicious, according as they are
properly or improperly implied. If, for instance, on hearing
a person excuse his own supineness by saying, " I can do
nothing, unless God give me his grace;" we should reply,
" This is true ; it is God who alone can give you either to
will or to do;" what would be the consequence? we should
any thing that you can do ; and look for salvation solely through the
blood and righteousness of Christ ?" " Yes, solely through Christ."
" But, Sir, supposing you were first saved by Christ, are you not
somehow or other to save yourself afterwards by your own works ?"
" Xo ; I must be saved by Christ from first to last." "Allowing
then that you were first turned by the grace of God, are you not in
some way or other to keep yourself by your own power ? " " No."
" What then, arc you to be upheld every hour and every moment by
God, as much as an infant in its mother s arms ? " " Yes ; altoge
ther."- " And is all your hope in the grace and mercy of God to
preserve you unto his heavenly kingdom ? " " Yes ; I have no hope,
hut in him." " Then, Sir, with your leave, I will put up my dagger
again ; for this is all my Calvinism ; this is my election, my justi
fication by faith, my final perseverance : it is, in substance, all that
I hold, and as I hold it : and therefore, if you please, instead of
searching out terms and phrases to be a ground of contention between
us, we will cordially unite in those things wherein we agree."
The Arminian leader was so pleased with the conversation, that he
made particular mention of it in his journals ; and notwithstanding
there never afterwards was any connexion between the parties, he
retained an unfeigned regard for his young inquirer to the hour of his
death.
PREFACE. xix
confirm him in his sloth, and encourage him to cast all the
blame of his condemnation upon God himself. But if we
should bring before him the apparently opposite truths, and
bid him arise and call upon God ; we should take the way to
convince him, that the fault was utterly his own, and that his
destruction would be the consequence, not of God s decrees,
but of his own inveterate love of sin.
Let us suppose, on the other hand, that a person, having
" tasted the good word of life," begin to boast, that lie
has made himself to differ, and that his superiority to others
is the mere result of his own free-will : if, in answer to him,
we should immediately descant on our freedom to good or
evil, and on the powers with which God has endued us for the
preservation of our souls, we should foster the pride of his
heart, and encourage him, contrary to an express command,
to glory before God m : whereas, if we should remind him, that
" by the grace of God we are what we are," and that all must
say, " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name
be the praise," we should lower his overweening conceit of his
own goodness, and lead him to acknowledge his obligations to
God.
Let us illustrate the same in reference to the two other
doctrines we mentioned, namely, The perseverance of the
saints, and our liableness, in ourselves, to " make shipwreck of
the faith." Suppose a person say, (< I need not be careful about
my conduct ; " for " God has begun the good work within me,
and has engaged to perform it till the day of Christ : " if we
were to begin extolling the covenant of grace, and setting
forth the truth of God in his promises, we should countenance
his error, at the very time that he was turning the grace of
God into licentiousness. But if we should warn him against
the danger of being given over to a reprobate mind, and of
perishing under an accumulated load of guilt, we should coun
teract his sinful disposition, and stimulate him to flee from the
wrath to come.
On the other hand, if a humble person should be drooping
and desponding under a sense of his own corruptions, and we
should spread before him all our difficulties and dangers, we
m 1 Cor. i. 29. Rom. iii. 27.
xx PREFACE.
should altogether " break the bruised reed, and quench the
smoking flax:" but if we should point out to him the fulness
and stability of God s covenant ; if we should enlarge upon the
interest which Christ takes in his people, and his engagements
that none shall ever pluck them out of his hand" ; it is obvious,
that we should administer a cordial to his fainting spirit, or (as
God requires of us) we should " strengthen the weak hands,
and confirm the feeble knees, and comfort the fearful heart."
These sentiments may perhaps receive some confirmation
from the conduct of the Apostle Paul. In administering the
word, he consulted the state of his auditors, and apportioned
to them either " milk or strong meat," according to their
ability to digest and improve it . In reference to this we
may say, that the doctrines of human liberty, and human
frailty, together with the other first principles of Christianity,
are as milk, which those who are yet " babes in Christ," must
have set before them : but that the doctrines of grace, or " the
deep things of God," are rather as strong meat, which none can
digest, unless they have grown to some stature in the family
of Christ, and have had their spiritual senses long exercised
in discerning good and evil p : and that, as strong meat, which
would nourish an adult, would destroy the life of an infant ;
and milk that would nourish an infant, would be inadequate to
the support of a man oppressed with hard labour ; so it is with
respect to the points which we have been considering. Or, if
we may be permitted a little to vary this illustration, the one
sort of truths are as food proper to be administered to all;
whereas the other are rather as cordials for the support and
comfort of those who need them.
In a word, there seems to be a perfect correspondence
between God s works of providence and grace : in the former,
" he worketh all things according to the counsel of his own
will," yet leaves men perfectly free agents in all that they do ;
so in the latter, he accomplishes his own eternal purpose both
in calling, and in keeping, his elect; but yet he never puts
upon them any constraint, which is not perfectly compatible
with the freest operations of their own will.
The Author well knows that these doctrines may le, and
n John x. 27, 28. o 1 Cor. iii. 1, 2. P Heb. v. 1214.
PREFACE. xxi
alas! too often are, so stated as to be really contradictory.
But that they may be so stated as to be profitable to the souls
of men, he hopes is clear from the illustrations that have been
just given q .
He trusts he shall be pardoned if he go yet further, and say,
that, in his judgment, there not only is no positive contradic
tion in this statement, but that there is a propriety in it, yea,
moreover, a necessity for it, because there is a subserviency in
these truths, the one to the other. God elects us ; but he car
ries his purpose into effect by the free agency of man, which
is altogether influenced by rational considerations. So also he
carries on and completes his work in our souls, by causing us
to feel our proneness to apostatize, and by making us cry to
him daily for the more effectual influences of his grace. Thus,
while he consults his own glory, he promotes our greatest
good, in that he teaches us to combine humility with earnest
ness, and vigilance with composure.
The Author would not have troubled the Reader with this
apology, were it not that he is exceedingly desirous to coun
teract that spirit of animosity, which has of late so greatly
prevailed against those who adhere to the principles of the
Established Church. Not that he has himself any cause to
complain : but he would wish his Work to be brought to this
test Does it uniformly tend
TO HUMBLE THE SINNER?
TO EXALT THE SAVIOUR?
TO PROMOTE HOLINESS?
If in one single instance it lose sight of any of these points,
let it be condemned without mercy. But, if it invariably
Q Many have carried their attachment to system so far, that they
could not endure to preach upon any passage of Scripture that seemed
to oppose their favourite sentiments ; or, if they did, their whole endea
vour has been to make the text speak a different language from that
which it appeared to do. In opposition to all such modes of pro
cedure, it is the Author s wish in this preface to recommend a con
formity to the Scriptures themselves, without any solicitude about
systems of man s invention. Nor would any thing under heaven be
more grateful to him than to see names and parties buried in eternal
oblivion, and primitive simplicity restored to the Church.
VOL. I. c
xxii PREFACE.
pursue these ends, then let not any, whatever system they
embrace, quarrel with an expression that does not quite accord
with their views. Let them consider the general scope and
tendency of the book : and, if it be, as he trusts it is, not to
strengthen a party in the Church, but to promote the good of
the whole ; then let smaller differences of sentiment be over
looked, and all unite in vindicating the great doctrines of
SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST.
Why these Discourses have been multiplied to such an extent
the Author will briefly explain. The Reformers of the Church
of England, by the publication of HOMILIES on some of the
fundamental topics of religion and morals, have rendered an
inestimable service to all classes of society. But it is obvious,
that these Homilies embrace only a few of the subjects to
which it is essential to call the attention of mankind. It is
also a known fact, that the Reformers themselves designed
considerably to enlarge the number of these truly Scriptural
addresses. The Ministers of the Church, accordingly, have
never considered their private labours as superseded by the
Homilies; but have, from age to age, supplied to the nation
Discourses of the highest value.
It has not, however, as the Author believes, occurred to any
divine, to supply a regular series of Discourses on the most
important parts of the whole volume of Scripture; and to
adapt those Discourses, by their general construction, their
simplicity, and their brevity, to the especial service of the
younger orders of the Clergy. But, perhaps, a young Minister
may find it not an unprofitable exercise, to take some of the
texts here treated, and to make an arrangement of them
for himself in the first instance from his own mind, and
then to compare that arrangement with what is here set
before him.
To supply this deficiency in theological writings, is the par
ticular object of the volumes which the Author now humbly
presents to the public/ And he trusts this labour of love will
be regarded by his Brethren in the Ministry, not as an act of
presumption, but as a humble and affectionate attempt to
r For the TITLE, Horse Homileticce, see Acts xx. 11. in the
Greek. This book contains short discourses on divers subjects.
PREFACE. xxiii
render their entrance on their holy and honourable calling
more easy, and their prosecution of it more useful. And, by
embracing so many subjects which have a different aspect in
systematic divinity, he hopes that he has paved the way for
their rising superior to human systems of every kind.
The Author is no friend to systematizers in Theology. He
has endeavoured to derive from the Scriptures alone his views
of religion ; and to them it is his wish to adhere, with scru
pulous fidelity; never wresting any portion of the word of
God to favour a particular opinion, but giving to every part
of it that sense, which it seems to him to have been designed
by its great Author to convey.
He is aware that he is likely, on this account, to be con
sidered, by the zealous advocates of human systems, as occa
sionally inconsistent : but if he should be discovered to be no
more inconsistent than the Scriptures themselves, he will have
reason to be satisfied. He has no doubt but that there is a
system in the Holy Scriptures; (for truth cannot be incon
sistent with itself:) but he is persuaded that neither Calvinists
nor Arminians are in exclusive possession of that system.
He is disposed to think that the Scripture system, be it
what it may, is of a broader and more comprehensive cha
racter than some very exact and dogmatical Theologians are
inclined to allow : and that, as wheels in a complicated machine
may move in opposite directions and yet subserve one common
end, so may truths apparently opposite be perfectly recon
cilable with each other, and equally subserve the purposes of
God in the accomplishment of man s salvation. The Author
feels it impossible to repeat too often, or avow too distinctly,
that it is an invariable rule with him to endeavour to give to
every portion of the word of God its full and proper force,
without considering one moment what scheme it favours, or
whose system it is likely to advance. Of this he is sure, that
there is not a decided Calvinist or Arminian in the world,
who equally approves of the whole of Scripture. He appre
hends, that there is not a determined votary of either system,
who, if he had been in the company of St. Paul, whilst he
was writing his different Epistles, would not have recom
mended him to alter one or other of his expressions.
But the Author would not wish one of them altered : he
xxiv PREFACE.
finds as much satisfaction in one class of passages as in
another ; and employs the one (he believes) as often, and as
freely, as the other. Where the Inspired Writers speak in
unqualified terms, he thinks himself at liberty to do the same ;
judging, that they needed no instruction from him how to
propagate the truth. He is content to sit as a learner at the
feet of the holy Apostles, and has no ambition to teach them
how they ought to have spoken. And as both the strong
Calvinists and Arminians approve of some parts of Scripture
and not of others, such he expects will be the judgment of the
partisans of these particular systems on his unworthy com
ments ; the Calvinists approving of what is written on pas
sages which have a Calvinistic aspect ; and the Arminians, of
what is written on passages that favour their particular views.
In like manner, he has reason, he fears, to expect a measure of
condemnation from the advocates of each system, when treating
of the passages which they appear to him to tvrest, each for
the purpose of accommodating them to his own favourite
opinions. He bitterly regrets that men will range them
selves under human banners and leaders, and employ them
selves in converting the Inspired Writers into friends and
partisans of their peculiar principles. Into this fault he
trusts that he has never fallen. One thing he knows,
namely, that pious men, both of the Calvinistic and Arminian
persuasion, approximate very nearly when they are upon their
knees before God in prayer; the devout Arminian then
acknowledging his total dependence upon God, as strongly
as the most confirmed Calvinist; and the Calvinist acknow
ledging his responsibility to God, and his obligation to exer
tion, in terms as decisive as the most determined Arminian.
And what both these individuals are upon their knees, it is
the wish of the Author to become in his writings. Hence it
is that he expects to be alternately approved by both parties,
and condemned by both. His only fear is, that each may be
tempted to lay hold of those parts of his work only which
oppose their favourite system, and represent them as con
taining an entire view of his sentiments. He well knows
the force of prejudice, and the bitterness of the odium Theolo-
gicum; and he cannot hope to be so fortunate as completely
to escape either. But, even if assailed on all sides, he shall
P R E F A C E. xxv
have the satisfaction of reflecting, that it has been his wish
simply to follow the Oracles of God. The Scriptures and
the Church of England have been claimed, by each of these
two parties, as exclusively favouring their peculiar system ;
and if the same comprehensive and liberal character be found
in his writings, he shall consider it, whatever may be the
judgment of mere partisans, as no small presumption in his
own favour.
There is another point also, in respect to which it has been
his aim not to offend ; and that is, in not so perverting the
Scripture as to make it refer to Christ and his salvation, when
no such object appears to have been in the contemplation of
the inspired writer. He regrets to observe, in some indivi
duals, what he knows not how to designate by any more ap
propriate term than that (which however he uses with much
hesitation) of an ultra-Evangelical taste ; which overlooks in
many passages the practical lessons they were intended to
convey, and detects in them only the leading doctrines of the
Gospel. This error he has laboured earnestly to avoid ; being
well assured, that lessons of morality are, in their place, as
useful and important as the doctrines of grace. In a word, it
has been his endeavour faithfully to deliver, in every instance,
what he verily believed to be the mind of God in the passage
immediately under consideration : and in the adoption of this
principle of interpretation, he trusts for the approbation of all,
who prefer the plain and obvious comments of sobriety to the
far-fetched suggestions of a licentious fancy. He wishes much
that the practice of expounding the Scriptures, which obtained
so generally, and with such beneficial effects, at the time of the
Reformation, were revived. He has in his present work
introduced many Discourses constructed upon this model ;
and he cannot but earnestly recommend it to his Younger
Brethren in the Ministry, especially those who preach three
times in the week, to reserve at least one of these seasons for
exposition. It is his wish, however, to guard them against a
desultory manner of explaining the Scripture ; and to advise,
that the leading point of the whole passage be the point mainly
regarded ; and the subordinate parts only so far noticed, as to
throw additional light upon that. If this caution be not
attended to, the minds of the people are likely to be distracted
xxvi PREFACE.
with the diversity and incoherence of the matter brought
before them. But if an unity of subject be preserved, the
discourse will come with ten-fold weight to the minds of the
audience ; who will be led, under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, to search the Scriptures for themselves, and to read
them with more profit at their own homes. To this it may be
added, that it is not necessary the whole passage should be
read for the text : let the most striking part of it alone be
introduced in the first instance ; and then the whole ex
plained, with such remarks as are suited to impress on the
mind the truths contained in it. This will be found to have
been the course pursued in many of the following Discourses^
to a greater extent perhaps than at first sight appears.
In order to render the work useful as a COMMENTARY ON
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, the Author has made it his object
carefully to consider the context, and, in every passage which
he undertook to examine, has uniformly limited his considera
tion of every distinct subject to the view of it presented in the
context. The Author thinks it expedient, that discourses deli
vered before mixed assemblies should present a complete view
of a subject, without reference to any preceding or following
discourse : and to this he has directed his attention throughout
the whole work ; so that any single Discourse will present to
the Reader all that was judged necessary for the elucidation
and improvement of the subject in hand. And, if in some few
instances there be an idea repeated in two consecutive Dis
courses, it may well be accounted for, from the circumstance,
that, though standing together here, many, so placed, were
preached at the distance of twenty or thirty years from each
other.
The Author has also sought to render the work useful FOR
FAMILIES. It has often been a matter of complaint, that
there existed few Sermons sufficiently plain and concise for
the instruction of Servants: he has therefore filled up the
outline of many of these sketches somewhat fully, hoping that
Clergymen and others may find them not altogether useless
as a Family Instructor.
The texts cited in the New Testament from the Old, or
occurring more than once in the volume of Scripture, are
treated only once in the volume, and that generally in the
PREFACE. xxvii
place where it seems to the Author to occupy the most impor
tant station. This he particularly mentions, in order that the
Reader may not be led to imagine, that a passage occurring in
any one Gospel is left unnoticed, because no Discourse upon
it is found in that particular place ; or that a prophecy is not
examined, because it is not considered in the book of the par
ticular Prophet where it originally occurs. Some passages in
the Prophets are cited in the New Testament no less than six
different times, (particularly Ps. cxviii. 22, 23, and Isai. vi.
9, 10); but of course such passages are investigated only once.
In order that the agreement between the Author s views,
and what he conceives to be the views of the Church of England,
may be ascertained, he begs leave to refer the Reader to the
Four Sermons on Deut. v. 28, 29, in which " The Excellency
of the Liturgy" is delineated; and to that on 2 Cor. i. 1 3,
wherein " The Churchman s Confession" is considered. And
to any who may wish to become acquainted with the Author s
views of what is called "Evangelical Religion, 1 he begs to
recommend the perusal of the Sermons on 1 Cor. ii. 2, and
Psalm cxix. 128 ; which were written for the express pur
pose of exhibiting, in as clear and comprehensive a manner as
he tvas able, Ms opinions upon that important subject. More
especially, with this object, he would entreat their candid
consideration of what he has called an " Appeal to Men of
Wisdom and Candour:" (on 1 Cor. x. 15.) All these Sermons,
together with those on. the Liturgy, and those on the Offices
of the Holy Spirit, were delivered before the University
of Cambridge. These Discourses, it may be added, com
prehend all the topics which he considers as of primary and
fundamental importance to mankind. On many other points
there exists, and will probably continue to exist, a diversity of
opinion : and in writing upon the whole Scriptures, it would
not be expected but that he should occasionally touch on such
topics, as they presented themselves to him in his course. But
as he has endeavoured, without prejudice or partiality, to give
to every text its just meaning, its natural bearing, and its legi
timate use, he hopes, that those who dislike his expositions of
the texts which oppose their particular views, will consult what
he has written on the texts which they regard as the sheet-
anchors of their system ; and that, finding him, as he trusts
xxviii PREFACE.
they will, free from party spirit, they will themselves endea
vour to shake off party prejudices, and co-operate with him in
maintaining and extending that comprehensive, and generous,
and harmonious, as well as devout spirit in the Church, which,
he ventures to say, it has been one of the great objects of his
life to promote.
The Author has only to add, that by compressing thus every
subject into the smallest space, he has given in this work,
what, if a little dilated and printed in the usual way, would
have occupied ONE HUNDRED VOLUMES. And if the Reader
peruse one discourse every day of his life, the whole will occupy
him exactly SEVEN YEARS.
CONTENTS TO VOL. I,
Discourse.
Text.
Subject.
Page.
GENESIS
1.
i. 26.
Creation of M^an
1
2.
ii. 2, 3.
Appointment of the Sabbath
6
3.
ii. 16, 17.
Covenant made with Adam
12
4.
iii. 4.
The Serpent beguiling Eve
19
5.
iii. 6, 7.
The Fall of Man
24
6.
iii. 1113.
Excuses made by our first Parents,
after their Fall
31
7.
iii. 15.
The Seed of the Woman ....
36
8.
iii. 2124.
The Way of Salvation illustrated to
our first Parents
40
9.
iv. 810.
The Death of Abel
46
10.
iv. 26.
Institution of Public Worship . .
51
11.
v. 24.
Enoch s Walking with God
56
12,
vi. 3.
Strivings of the Spirit . . . .
60
13.
vi. 5.
Extent of Man s Wickedness . . .
66
14.
vi. 6, 7.
God s Determination to destroy Man
70
15.
vi. 22.
Noah s Obedience ....
75
16.
vii. 1 .
Preservation of Noah
78
17.
ix. 1216.
God s Covenant with Noah . . .
85
18.
xi. 4 8.
Confusion of Ton&ues
90
19.
xii. 14.
Call of Abram
96
20.
xii. 5.
Abram s Journey to Canaan . . .
100
21.
xiii. 8 11.
Separation of Abram and Lot . .
105
22.
xiv. 18 20.
Melchizedec blessing Abram . . .
110
23.
XV. 1.
Encouragement to the Fearful .
116
24.
xv. 5, 6.
Abram justified by Faith ....
118
25.
xv. 8.
Covenant confirmed to Abram
125
26.
xvi. 13.
The Omniscience of God
131
27.
xvii. 9, 10.
Circumcision of Abraham ....
133
28.
xviii. 13, 14.
Sarah reproved for her Unbelief .
139
29.
xviii. 19.
Abraham s Care of his Family
144
XXX
CONTENTS.
~~I ~
Subject.
Page.
30.
81.
32.
33.
31.
35.
30.
37.
38.
39.
10.
41.
12.
13.
44.
45.
1(5.
47.
48.
40.
r>o.
51.
52.
53.
54.
5 ."> .
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
GENESIS
xviii. 32.
xix. 17.
xx. 9.
xxi. 9, 10.
xxii. G 10.
xxii. 12.
xxii. 14.
xxii. 18.
xxiii. 17, 18.
xxiv. 24.
xxv. 23.
xxv. 32.
xxvii. 35.
xxviii. 12,13.
xxviii. 15.
xxviii. 1C 19.
xxviii. 2022.
xxxii. 26.
xxxiii. 4.
xxxiv. 31.
xxxvii. 4.
xxxix. 9.
xl. 23.
xli. 41.
xlii. 21.
xlii. 36.
xlv. 8.
xlv. 27, 28.
xlvii. 7 10.
xlviii. 15, 16.
xlix. 10.
Abrahams Intercession for Sodom .
Lot delivered out of Sodom . . .
Abraham reproved for denying his
150
157
163
169
175
179
183
190
193
Abraham casting out Hagar and Ish-
Importance of Evidences ....
JehoraJi-jireh, the Lord will provide .
Abraham s promised Seed ....
Abraham purchasing a Bury ing-Place
198
205
211
215
222
225
229
239
245
251
256
260
264
269
273
276
282
286
291
Jacob preferred before Esau . .
The Birthright typical of the Chris-
Jacob obtaining the Blessing . . .
Jacob s Vision a Type of the Minis
tration of Angels to Christ . . .
The Manner in which God dispenses
Jacob s Pillar at Beth-el ....
Jacob pleading with God ....
Reconciliation of Esau and Jacob
Slaughter of the Shechemites . . .
Joseph envied by his Brethren . .
The Need of fleeing from Sin with
Ingratitude of Pharaoh s Butler . .
The Power of Conscience ....
Jacob s unbelieving Fears ....
God viewed in Joseph s Advancement,
Jacob s Resolution to visit Joseph in
Jacob s Interview with Pharaoh .
Jacob blessing the Sons of Joseph . .
Christ the true Shiloh .
297
300
305
CONTENTS.
XXXI
Discourse
Text.
Subject.
Page.
61.
62.
63.
GENESIS
xlix. 22 24.
1. 1517.
EXODUS
iii. 2, 3.
Joseph a Type of Christ ....
Joseph s Brethren fulfilling the Pro
phecy respecting them ....
309
314
319
64.
65.
iii. 12.
iii. 14,
God s Presence with his People . .
The Self -Existence and Immutability
of God
322
327
66.
iv. 1014.
Moses declining the Commission given
330
67
v 2
334
68.
69.
70.
71.
v. 17, 18.
vi. 9.
vii. 3.
ix. 16.
The Opposition that is made to Religion,
The Despondency of Israel
God hardening Pharaoh s Heart . .
Pharaoh s Elevation to the Throne of
339
343
347
352
72.
ix. 20, 21.
The Danger of disregarding the Word
of God
358
73.
74.
x. 3.
x. 23.
On delaying our Repentance .
Distinguishing Privileges of the Lord s
362
367
75.
xi. 7.
God puts a Difference between his
371
76
xii. 41, 42.
373
77
xii. 3 11.
The Passover
377
78.
xii. 2123.
Deliverance of the Israelites from the
Destroying Anoel ....
381
79.
80.
xiii. 1416.
xiii. 17, 18.
Redemption of the First-born .
God s Condescension to his People s
JVeakness
385
389
81.
82.
xiii. 21, 22.
xiv. 15.
The Pillar and the Cloud ....
The Command given to the Israelites
394
398
83.
84
xiv. 31.
XV 11
Israel s Deliverance at the Red Sea .
The Character of God
403
407
85.
86.
87
xv. 24, 25.
xv. 26.
xv i IG is.
The Waters of Marah sweetened
Christ the Healer of his People . .
410
414
419
XXX11
CONTENTS,
Discourse.
Text.
Subject.
Page.
83.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.
101.
] 02.
103.
101.
105.
100.
107.
108.
109.
110.
111.
112.
113.
114.
115.
110.
117.
118.
EXODUS
xvi. 35.
xvii. 5, 6.
xvii. 11.
xix. 36.
xx. 18, 19.
xxiii. 13.
xxiii. 2022.
xxiii. 29, 30.
xxiv. 68.
xxiv. 11.
xxv. 8, 9.
xxviii. 29, 30.
xxviii. 3638.
xxx. 710.
xxx. 1416.
xxx. 25 31.
xxxi. 6.
xxxii. 19, 20.
xxxii. 26.
xxxii. 3133.
xxxiii. 5, 6.
xxxiii. 12, 13.
xxxiii. 14.
xxxiii. 18, 19.
xxxiv. 5 7.
xxxiv. 14.
xxxiv. 23, 24.
xxxiv. 35.
xxxvi. 5 7.
xl. 1, 2.
xl. 33, 34.
426
429
432
436
441
444
449
452
Moses striking the Rock ....
The History of the Jews typical of
Christian Experience ....
Moses Message to the Israelites . .
The Danger of wilful and obstinate
The Victories of Israel gradual and
God s Covenant u itli Israel . . .
A Sight of God is a Feast to the
458
463
467
471
475
478
484
488
492
497
503
508
514
519
524
527
533
540
543
548
553
556
560
The Command to build the Taber-
TJie sltonement-^Ioncii .
The u4nointin(j Oil
God the Source of all Wisdom . ,
Moses 1 Indignation against the Wor
shippers of the Golden Calf
The Lord s People to be decided and
Moses intercedes for Israel
Repentance of the Israelites . . .
Past Mercies pleaded before God
God s Presence with his Church .
God s Goodness his Glory . . . .
The Perfections of God ....
Jehovah a jealous God
The three yearly Feasts at Jerusalem
The Veil of Moses
The Offerings for the Tabernacle
The Tabernacle Service commenced .
Erecting of the Tabernacle
CONTENTS.
XXXlll
Discourse.
Text.
subject.
1
i age.
119
LEVITICUS
i. 3, 4.
The Burnt-Offerin^
565
1^0
ii. 13.
The Meat- Offering
570
121.
122.
123.
ii. 13.
ii. 1416.
v. 5, 6.
The Meat-Offering a Type of Christ .
Green Ears of Corn to be offered .
The Sin and Trespass-Offerings com
pared
576
581
586
124.
125.
1^6.
v. 1719.
vi. 13.
vii. 11.
The Trespass- Offering a Type of Christ
Fire on the Altar not to go out
Tlie Pcace-Offerinn
592
598
604
127.
128.
129.
130.
131.
132.
133.
ix. 23, 24.
x. 13.
xiii. 45, 4G.
xiv. 4 9.
xiv. 1418.
xvi. 21, 22.
xvi. 29, 30, 33.
God s Acceptance of the Sacrifices .
Death of Nadab and Abihu
The Laws relating to Leprosy . . .
Purification of the Leper ....
The Cleansing of the Leper . . .
The /Scape-Goat a Type of Christ .
Duties required on the great Day of
Atonement . . .
608
613
616
621
625
631
634
134.
135
xvii. 1012.
xxiii 15 17
The Prohibition to cat Blood
Feast of First-Fruits , .
639
644
130.
xxiii. 23 25.
648
137
xxiii 39 43
Feast of Tabernacles . .
652
138
xxiv i 3
The Golden Candlestick ,
657
139
xxiv 5 -9
The Shcw-Bread . . .
661
140
xxiv 13 15
The Blasphemer stoned . .
665
141.
142
xxv. 9 11.
xxv ^0 22
The Jubilee a Type of the Gospel
The Sabbatical Year , .
669
674
143.
xxvi. 40 42.
God s Promises to Penitents .
679
ADVERTISEMENT.
The Reader who is desirous of finding an illustration of
any prophecy in particular, will be sure to meet with it, either
in its place in the Old Testament, or in some one of the places
where it is cited in the New Testament.
In like manner every parable and miracle will be found in
one or other of the Evangelists.
A copy of the Index to Dr. Doddridge s Harmony of the Four
Gospels is inserted in the last volume, in order that the Reader
may be enabled, with ease, to find any event related by the
Evangelists ; and also to take the whole History of our Lord
consecutively, so as to form out of these Discourses one con
tinued History from the Birth of our Lord to his Ascension.
In doing this, he will find that not one important circumstance,
from the last entry of our Lord into Jerusalem to his Ascension,
is omitted.
GENESIS.
CREATION OF MAN.
Gen. i. 26. And God said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness.
THOUGH men constantly trace their origin to
their immediate parents, and frequently to their
remoter ancestors, yet they rarely consider When, or
How they first came into existence, or Whether any
change has taken place in their nature since they
came out of their Creator s hands. That there was
a period when no such creature as man existed, even
reason itself would teach us ; for every effect must
proceed from some cause : and therefore the forma
tion of man, however remotely we trace his origin,
must, in the first instance, have been the product
of some intelligent Being, who was eternally self-
existent. But we are not left to the uncertain
deductions of reason : God has been pleased to
reveal unto us (what could not otherwise have been
known a ) the time and manner of our creation, toge
ther with the state in which we were created. And
these are the subjects which we would now propose
for your consideration :
I. The circumstances of our creation
a Heb. xi. 3.
VOL. I. B
o GENESIS, I. 26. [l.
We may not unprofitably notice somewhat respect
ing the time
[Five days had been occupied in reducing to order the
confused chaos, and in furnishing the world with whatever
could enrich or adorn it. On the sixth, God formed man,
whom he reserved to the last, as being the most excellent of
his works ; and whose formation he delayed, till every thing
in this habitable globe was fitted for his accommodation. It
is not for us to inquire why God chose this space of time for
the completion of his work, when he could as easily have
formed it all in an instant : but one instructive lesson at least
we may learn from the survey which he took of every day s
work ; it teaches his creatures to review their works from day
to day, in order that, if they find them to have been good,
they may be excited to gratitude; or, if they perceive them
to have been evil, they may be led to repentance. At the
close of every day, God pronounced his work to be " good:"
but when man was formed, and the harmony of all the parts,
together with the conduciveness of each to its proper end,
and the subserviency of every part to the good of the whole,
were fully manifest, then he pronounced the whole to be
rcry good." From this also we learn, that it is not one
work or two, however good in themselves, that should fully
satisfy our minds ; but a comprehensive view of all our works,
as harmonizing with each other, and corresponding with all
the ends of our creation.]
In the manner of our creation there is something
worthy of very peculiar attention-
fin the formation of all other things God merely exer
cised his own sovereign will, saying, " Let there be light,"
" Let such and such things take place." But in the creation
of man we behold the language of consultation ; " Let us
make man." There is not the least reason to suppose that
this was a mere form of speech, like that which obtains
among monarchs at this day; for this is quite a modern
refinement : nor can it be an address to angels ; for they had
nothing to do in the formation of man : it is an address to
the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, both of whom co-operated
in the formation of Him who was to be the master-piece of
divine wisdom and power 1 . This appears from a still more
striking expression, which occurs afterwards; where God
says, " Now man is become like one of us, to know good
and evil c ." And it is confirmed in a variety of other
b The work of Creation is ascrihed to Jesus Christ, John i. 1 3.
and to the Holy Ghost, Gen. i. 2. Job xxvi. 13. and xxxiii. 4.
c Gen. iii. 22.
1 CREATION OF MAN. 8
passages, where God, under the character of our " Creator"
or " Maker," is spoken of in the plural number d .
We must not however suppose that there are three Gods :
there certainly is but One God ; and His unity is as clear as
his existence : and this is intentionally marked in the very
verse following our text; where the expressions, "us" and
" our" are turned into "he" and "his:" " God created man
in his own image ; in the image of God created he him."
Here, then, we may see an early intimation of the Trinity
in Unity ; a doctrine which pervades the whole Bible, and is
the very corner-stone of our holy religion. And it is deserv
ing of particular notice, that, in our dedication to our Creator
at our baptism, we are expressly required to acknowledge
this mysterious doctrine, being " baptized in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ."]
The text informs us further respecting,
II. The state in which we were created
There was some " likeness " to God even in the
nature of man. " God is a spirit," who thinks, and
wills, and acts. Man also has a spirit, distinct from
his body, or from the mere animal life : he has a
thinking, willing substance, which acts upon matter
by the mere exercise of its own volitions, except
when the material substance on which it operates is
bereft of its proper faculties, or impeded in the use
of them. But the image of God in which man was
formed, is, properly, two-fold :
1. Intellectual
[" God is a God of knowledge." He has a perfect dis
cernment of every thing in the whole creation. Such, too,
was Adam in his first formation. Before he had had any
opportunity to make observations on the beasts of the field
and the birds of the air, he gave names to every one of them,
suited to their several natures, and distinctive of their proper
characters. But it was not merely in things natural that
Adam was so \vell instructed : he doubtless had just views of
God, his nature and perfections : he had also a thorough
knowledge of himself, of his duties, his interests, his happi
ness. There was no one thing which could conduce either to
his felicity or usefulness, which was not made known to him,
as far as he needed to be instructed in it. As God is light
d See Job xxxv. 10. Isaiah liv. 5. Eccl. xii. 1. These are all
plural in the original.
e Matt, xxviii. 19.
GENESIS, I. 26. -
L.wio nf darkness f , so was Adam,
concerned to know.]
2. Moral-
,ess is no less characteristic of the Deity than wis-
lo ni vss is no LC^ - > f* i, i i -\
3m 1 loves every thing that is good, and infinitely abhors
t , that is evil. Every one of His perfections is
In this respect, also, did man bear a resemblance to
his Maker. " God made him upright*. As he had a view
the commandment in all its breadth, so had ^confor
mity to it in all his dispositions and actions. He felt no
reluctance in obeying it: his will was in perfect unison with
the will of his Maker. All the inferior appetites were in
habitual subjection to his reason, which also was m subjec
tion to the commands of God. We are told respecting the
Lord Jesus Christ, that he was the image of God h , the
imao-e of the invisible God 1 ," "the express image of his
pemm k " What the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, was upon
earth, that was man in Paradise " holy, harmless, unde-
1 That man s resemblance to his Maker did indeed consist in
these two things, is manifest ; because our renewal after the
divine imao-e is expressly said to be in knowledge, and in
true holiness". Well, therefore, does the Apostle say ol
man, that " he is the image and glory of God ."]
INFER
1. What an awful change has sin brought into
the world!
[Survey the character before drawn : and compare it with
men in the present state : " How is the gold become dim,
and the fine gold changed!" Men are now enveloped in
darkness, and immersed in sin. They "know nothing as
they ought to know," and do nothing as they ought to do it.
No* words can adequately express the blindness of ^ their
minds, or the depravity of their hearts. Yet all this has
resulted from that one sin which Adam committed in Para
dise. He lost the divine image from his own soul; and
"begat a son in his own fallen likeness:" and the streams
that have been flowing for nearly six thousand years from
that polluted fountain, are still as corrupt as ever. O that
we habitually considered sin in this light, and regarded it as
the one source of all our miseries !]
f 1 John i. 5. R Eccl. vii. 29. h 2 Cor. iv. 4.
Col. i. 15. k II eb. i. 3. i Heh. vii. 26.
m Col. iii. 10. n Eph. iv. 24. 1 Cor. xi. 7.
CREATION OF MAN.
1.]
2. What a glorious change will the Holy Spirit
effect in the hearts of all who seek Him !
[In numberless passages, as well as in those before
cited p , the Holy Spirit is spoken of, as "renewing" our
souls, and making us "new creatures q ." What Adam was
in Paradise, that shall we be, " according to the measure of
the gift of Christ." " Instead of the thorn shall come up
the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-
tree 1 ." He will " open the eyes of our understanding," and
cause us to "know all things" that are needful for our salva
tion 8 : and at the same time that he " turns us from darkness
unto light, lie will turn us also from the power of Satan unto
God :" " He will put his laws in our minds, and write them in
our hearts*." Let not any imagine that their case is despe
rate ; for He who created all things out of nothing, can easily
create us anew in Christ Jesus : and he will do it, if we only
direct our eyes to Christ: "We all beholding as in a glass
the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from
glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord 11 ."]
3. What obligations do we owe to the ever-blessed
Trinity !
[If we looked no further than to our first creation, we
are infinitely indebted to the sacred Three, for making us the
subject of their consultation, and for co-operating to form us
in the most perfect manner. But what shall we say to that
other consultation, respecting the restoration of our souls ?
Hear, and be astonished at that gracious proposal, " Let us
restore man to our image." " I," says the Father, " will par
don and accept them, if an adequate atonement can be found
to satisfy the demands of justice." " Then on me be their
guilt," says his only dear Son : " I will offer myself a sacri
fice for them, if any one can be found to apply the virtue of
it effectually to their souls, and to secure to me the purchase
of my blood." " That shall be my charge," says the blessed
Spirit: "I gladly undertake the office of enlightening, re
newing, sanctifying their souls ; and I will " preserve every
one of them blameless unto thy heavenly kingdom." Thus,
by their united efforts, is the work accomplished ; and a way
of access is opened for every one of us through Christ, by
that one Spirit, unto the Father x . O let every soul rejoice
in this Tri-une God ! and may the Father s love, the grace of
Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all
evermore ! Amen.]
P See notes m and n a 2 Cor. v. 17. r Isai. Iv. 13.
s 1 John ii. 20, 27. * Heb. viii. 10. u 2 Cor. iii. 18.
x Eph. ii. 18.
GENESIS, IT. 2, 3. [2.
II.
APPOINTMENT OF THE SABBATH.
Gen. ii. ^, 3. Ow the seventh day, God ended his work which
he had made: and he rested on the seventh day from all his
work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh
daij, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested
from all his work, which God created and made.
THOUGH we know no reason on God s part why
he should proceed in the work of creation by slow
and gradual advancement, instead of perfecting the
whole at once; yet we may conceive a reason on
the part of man, who is enabled thereby to take a
more minute and deliberate survey of all its parts,
and from every fresh discovery of the creation to
derive fresh themes of praise to the Creator. This
idea seems to be countenanced by the institution of
a Sabbath immediately after the completion of the
sixtli day s work. At all events, this is the improve
ment which it becomes us to make of the Sabbath :
in speaking of which we shall shew,
I. The reason of its appointment-
God, after finishing his work, " rested, and was
refreshed"." Whether this expression be merely a
figure taken from what is experienced by us after
any laborious and successful exertion, or whether it
intimate the complacency which God felt, as it were,
on a review of his works, we cannot absolutely de
termine. But his sanctifying of the seventh day in
consequence of that rest, shews, that he consulted,
1. His own glory
[As " God made all things for himself," so he instituted
the Sabbath in order that his rational creatures might have
stated opportunities of paying him their tribute of prayer
and praise. If no period had been fixed by him for the
solemnities of public worship, it would have been impossible
to bring mankind to an agreement respecting the time when
they should render unto him their united homage. They
a Exod. xxxi. 17.
2.] APPOINTMENT OF THE SABBATH. 7
would all acknowledge the propriety of serving him in con
cert ; but each would be ready to consult his own convenience ;
a difference of sentiment also would obtain respecting the
portion of time that should be allotted to his service : and
thus there would never be one hour when all should join
together in celebrating their Creator s praise. But by an
authoritative separation of the seventh day, God has secured,
that the whole creation shall acknowledge him, and that His
goodness shall be had in everlasting remembrance. In this
view, God himself, speaking of the Sabbath ivh ich he /tad
instituted at the creation, and the observance of which he
was, with some additional reasons, enforcing on the Jews,
calls it "a sign " between him and them, that they might
know that he is the Lord b .]
2. His people s good
[Though men might have worshipped God in secret, yet
the appointment of a certain day to be entirely devoted to
His service, had a tendency to spiritualize their minds, and
to make every one in some respect useful in furthering the
welfare of the whole community. Sympathy is a powerful
principle in the human breast : and the sight of others
devoutly occupied in holy exercises, is calculated to quicken
the drowsy soul. The very circumstance of multitudes meet
ing together with raised expectations and heavenly affections,
must operate like an assemblage of burning coals, all of which
are instrumental to the kindling of others, while they receive
in themselves fresh ardour from the contact.
A further benefit from the appointment of the Sabbath is,
that the attention of all must necessarily be directed to the
eternal Sabbath, which awaits them at the expiration of their
appointed week of labour. Each revolving Sabbath, freed
from the distractions of worldly care, and attended, not merely
with bodily rest, but with a rest of the soul in God, must
be to them an earnest and foretaste of heaven itself. Well
therefore does Nehemiah number the Sabbath among the
richest benefits which God had conferred upon his chosen
people c .]
But as some have thought the Sabbath to be a
mere Jewish institution, which, like the rest of the
ceremonial law, is abrogated and annulled, we shall
proceed to shew,
II. The continuance of its obligation
That there was something ceremonial in the Jewish
Sabbath, we readily acknowledge: but there was
b Exod. xxxi. 13, 17. c Neh. ix. 14.
8 GENESIS, II. 2, 3. [2.
something moral also; and therefore, as to the moral
part of it, it must, of necessity, be of perpetual obli
gation. To remove all doubt on this important
subject, consider,
1. The time of its institution
[Sonic have thought that the mention which is made of
the Sabbath in the words before us, was merely by anticipa
tion ; and that the appointment never took place till the days
of Moses. But if this were the case, how came Moses to
specify the circumstance of God s resting on the seventh day
as the reason of that appointment 01 ? It would have been
a good reason for our first parents and their immediate
descendants to hallow the seventh day; but it could be no
reason at all to those who lived almost five-and-twenty hun
dred years after the event ; more especially when so obvious
and cogent a reason as their deliverance out of Egypt was
assigned at the very same time e . But if the command given
to the Jews was a repetition of the injunction given to Adam,
then there is an obvious propriety in assigning the reason
that was obligatory upon all, as well as that which formed ail
additional obligation on the Jewish nation in particular.
Besides, there are traces of a Sabbath from the beginning
of the world. For, if no Sabbath had ever been given,
whence came the practice of measuring time by weeks ? Yet
that custom obtained both in the patriarchal f and antedi
luvian ages": and therefore, since it accords so exactly with
what was afterwards instituted by divine authority, we may
well infer its original appointment by God himself. And if
its obligation existed so many ages before the ceremonial
law was given, then must it continue to exist after that law
is abolished.]
2. The manner of its re-establishment
[Notwithstanding the long continuance of the Jews in
Egypt, the remembrance of the Sabbath was not effaced : for
Moses, _ before ^ the yiriuy of the lair, speaks of the Sabbath
as an institution known and received among them 11 . And,
n-ilhoHt any express direction, they gathered on the sixth
day a double portion of manna to serve them on the Sabbath ;
hich they would not have done, if they had not thought the
servance of the Sabbath to be of the first importance \
1 Exod. xx. 11. c j) cute v< 15
Gen. viii. 10, 12. h Exod. xvi. 23.
direction from
1 Exod. xvi. 22. That they did this without any directi
Moses, is evident from the complaint which the Rulers mad
occasion ; for which complaint there could have been no ground, if
any direction had been given.
2.1 APPOINTMENT OF THE SABBATH. 9
Nevertheless, for the more effectual maintenance of its
authority, God judged it necessary to publish it to them
again, both upon the original grounds, and on other special
grounds peculiar to that people. And how did he publish it ?
Did he deliver it to Moses in the same manner as he did the
ceremonial law ? No : he wrote it with his own finger in
tables of stone, and embodied it with the moral law k . Surely
this affords a very strong presumption that God himself con
sidered its duties, not as ceremonial, limited, and transient,
but as moral, universal, and permanent.]
3. The confirmation of it by the Prophets
[That its obligations should be sanctioned by the pro
phets, we might well expect ; because they lived under the
authority of the Jewish law. The mere circumstance, there
fore, of their insisting on the observation of the Sabbath
would prove nothing. But their speaking of the Sabbath,
as to be observed under the Christian dispensation, very
strongly corroborates the perpetuity of its obligations. Now
the prophet Isaiah does speak of the Sabbath in such a
connexion, that we cannot doubt of its referring to the times
of the Gospel : and he represents the " keeping of the
Sabbath" as no less necessary to our happiness, than the
laying hold of Christ s righteousness and salvation 1 . We
can scarcely think that the prophet would have so strongly
marked the continuance of the Sabbath, if its obligations
were to cease with the ceremonial law.]
4. The observation of it by the Apostles
[The precise day on which the Jews kept their Sabbath,
was indeed changed ; and the first day of the week was sub
stituted for the seventh. This was done in order to com
memorate the resurrection of our blessed Lord; an event,
the most interesting that ever occurred from the foundation
of the world ; an event which proved, beyond all doubt, the
Messiahship of Jesus, and has served from that time as the
corner-stone of all our hopes m . When Israel was brought
out of Egypt, God, in order to commemorate that deliverance,
changed the commencement of the year from the Autumn to
the Spring 11 : can we wonder then, that, in remembrance of
an infinitely greater deliverance, he should alter the day on
which the Sabbath had been observed? It was in the appro
priation of a seventh part of our time to God, that the
morality of the Sabbath consisted; and that is preserved
under the Christian, as much as under the Jewish economy.
k Deut. x. 3, 4. i Isai. Ivi. 1, 2.
m Acts iv. 10 12. n Exod. xii. 2.
10 GENESIS, II. 2, 3. [2.
This change was sanctioned by our blessed Lord, who
repeatedly selected that day for the more public exhibition
of himself to his disciples ; and on that day sent down the
Holy Ghost upon them*; in order that the application, as
well as the completion of his redemption, might give a further
sanctity to the new-appointed day.
From that time the first day of the week was invariably
observed for the public services of the church i; and, to
stamp peculiar honour upon it, it was distinguished by that
endearing name, "The Lord s day 1 ."
AVho that weighs all these arguments, can doubt the con
tinued obligation of the Sabbath?]
For the regulation of our conduct on the Sabbath,
we should inquire into,
III. The nature of its requirements
The same kind of strictness is not required of us
as was enjoined under the law
[Wo have before said, that there was something of a
ceremonial nature in the Jewish Sabbath. The Jews in the
wilderness were not permitted to leave their habitations on
the Sabbath-day s , except to assemble for divine worship; and
the portion of manna which they gathered on the preceding
day for the consumption of that day, was, for the space of
forty years, kept fit for their use upon the Sabbath by a
constant miracle, on purpose that they might have no excuse
for transgressing the divine command 1 . They were forbidden
oven to kindle a fire on the Sabbath-day 11 , or to do any species
of servile work. But all this rigour is not necessary now :
it was suited to the burthensome dispensation of the law ;
but not to the more liberal dispensation under which we live.
Indeed, our blessed Lord has shewn us clearly that works
of necessity x , or of mercy > , may be performed on that as well
as any other day. Being himself " the Lord of the Sabbath-
day," he dispensed with those rites which were merely tempo
rary, and requires of us such services only as a spiritual mind
will most delight in.]
Our sanctification of the Sabbath should consist
rather in mental than in bodily exercises
Luke xxiv. 13, 33, 36, 40, 45. John xx. 19, 26.
This is ascertained hy calculators, as well as from its being the
seventh Sabbath after his resurrection.
( i Acts xx. 7. 1 Cor. xvi. 1,2. r R ev> j. JQ.
Exod. xvi. 29. t Exod. xvi. 24. u Exod. xxxv. 3.
x Matt. xii. 1 8. y Matt. xii. 10 13.
2.] APPOINTMENT OF THE SABBATH. 11
[What are the proper employments for our minds, the
prophet Isaiah has plainly told us : " We should account the
Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable ; and
should honour him, not doing our own ways, nor finding our
own pleasure, nor speaking our own words 2 ." We should
endeavour to have our thoughts abstracted from the world,
and to fix them with intenseness and delight on heavenly
objects. On every day we should present to God our sacri
fices of prayer and praise : but as, under the law, the accus
tomed sacrifices, both of the morning and evening, were
doubled upon the Sabbath a , so, under the Gospel, we should
have our minds doubly occupied in the service of our God.]
The subject before us suggests ample matter,
1. For reproof
[Many, very many there are who hate the duties of the
Sabbath ; and, breaking through all the restraints of con
science, follow without remorse their usual occupations. Others,
complying with the established forms, cry, " What a weariness
is it b ! " When shall the Sabbath be over, that I may prose
cute more pleasing or more profitable employments c ? When
they come up to the house of God, they find no pleasure in
his service, but are rather, like Doeg, " detained before the
Lord d ." Some, indeed, conceiving that they are doing some
what meritorious, spend without reluctance the time allotted
for public service ; but, though they draw nigh to God with
their lips, their hearts are far from him e . It is not such
worshippers that God seeks or approves ; nor is such the
sanctification of the Sabbath that he requires. On the con
trary, he is indignant against all such profaneness or hypo
crisy ; and declares that such persons " worship him in vain. f "
Whatever such persons may imagine, they indeed profane the
Sabbath. And what the consequence will be, they may form
some judgment, from the punishment inflicted on the man who
gathered sticks upon the Sabbath-day. By God s express
command, he was stoned to death g . If, then, so heavy a
sentence was executed upon him by the direction of the Most
High, can we suppose that God is more indifferent about the
conduct of his creatures now ? or that he has loaded them with
mercies for no other end than to give them a greater licence
to sin ? Let us well consider this : for " if they, who despised
Moses law, died without mercy," surely a far sorer punish
ment awaits us, if, with our additional obligations, we disregard
the wonders of redeeming love h .]
z Isaiah Iviii. 13. a Numb, xxviii. 9, 10. b Mai. i. 13.
c Amos viii. 5. d 1 Sam. xxi. 7. e Matt. xv. 8.
f Matt. xv. 9. s Numb. xv. 3236. h Heb.x.28,29.
jo GENESIS, II. 16, 17. [3.
2. For encouragement
[Not only personal, but even national judgments may be
expected for the violation of the Sabbath . But, on the other
haul, every blessing maybe expected both by individuals *
and die community 1 , if the Sabbath be habitually and con
scientiously improved. Indeed, it seems almost impossible
that any one who sets himself in earnest to improve the
Sabbath-day, should ever perish. God would bless to such an
one the ordinances of his grace; and rather send him instruc
tion in some extraordinary way, than suffer him to use the
means in vain m . We can appeal to all who have ever laboured
to sanctify the Sabbath, whether they have not found their
labour well repaid? Surely " God has never said to any,
< Seek ye my face in vain : " and the more diligently we keep
his Sabbaths below, the more shall we be fitted for our eternal
rest.]
i Jor. xvii. 27. k Isaiah Ivi. 4 7. [ Jer. xvii. 24 26.
> Acts viii. 2700. ami x. 1 21.
III.
COVENANT MADE WITH ADAM.
Gen. ii. K), 17. And the Lord God commanded the man,
sayiny, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
hut of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shall
not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou
shalt s u rely die.
WHEN the creation was formed, it was proper
that every part of it should shew forth the Creator s
glory, and, as far as its peculiar nature and capacity
would admit of, fulfil his will. The sun and moon
and stars heing inanimate bodies, it was sufficient
for them to move with regularity in their respective
orbits. The creatures that were endued with life,
were to follow their respective instincts, and, ac
cording to their abilities, to yield obedience to man,
who was God s vicegerent over them. To man more
had been given : of him, therefore, was more re
quired. He was endued with understanding and
will : he was capable of knowing what he owed to
his Maker, and of exercising discretion in performing
3."] COVENANT MADE WITH ADAM. 13
it. To him therefore,, in addition to the moral law
which was written on his heart, and from which he
could not deviate without opposing all his innate
propensities, a positive precept was given : the will
of his Creator was enacted into a law : and that
which was indifferent in itself, was made a test of its
obedience. All the trees in Paradise were given to
him for the nourishment and support of his body.
But that he might have an opportunity of acknow
ledging his dependence on God, and his ready sub
mission to the divine will, one tree was excepted ;
and the use of it was prohibited under the severest
penalties. This prohibition is to be the subject of
our present consideration : and, in order that it may
be understood in all its bearings and relations, we
shall endeavour to explain,
I. Its import
The name given to the forbidden tree strongly
marked the importance of abstaining from it
[Adam was created in the perfect image of his God. He
knew every thing that was good, but nothing that was evil.
This was his honour and his felicity. The knowledge of evil
would have marred, rather than augmented, his happiness.
Such knowledge, if speculative, would be only vain ; if prac
tical, be ruinous. We have no reason to think that the fruit
of the tree was at all noxious in itself; but, as being forbidden,
it could not be eaten without guilt : and therefore the desig
nation given to the tree itself was a standing memorial to
Adam on no account to touch it; since by eating of it lie
would attain the knowledge of evil, which, through the per
fection of his nature, he was hitherto unacquainted with.]
The necessity of abstaining from it was yet more
awfully inculcated in the penalty annexed to dis
obedience
[The death which, in the event of his transgressing the
command, was denounced against him, was three-fold ; it was
temporal, spiritual, eternal. His body, which had not in it
naturally the seeds of dissolution, was to be given up a prey
to various diseases, and at last to return to the dust from
which it sprang. His soul was to lose both the image and
enjoyment of God, and to be consigned over to the influence
of every thing that was earthly, sensual, and devilish. And,
after a certain period, both his body and soul were to be
14 GENESIS, II. 16, 17. [3.
" cast into the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone ;
which is the second death."
That such was the penalty, appears from the event : for,
upon transgressing the divine command, he became mortal : a
change also instantly took place in his intellectual and moral
faculties; as lie shewed, by attempting to hide himself from
God, with whom he had hitherto maintained the most familiar
converse. The eternal duration of his punishment may be
inferred from the penalty annexed to sin at this time : for if
the wages of sin be eternal death now, there can be no doubt
but that it was so tlien a .
There was, however, an implied promise, that, if he per
severed in his obedience, he should live for ever. In the
law which God has since published, and to which the same
penalty is annexed for disobedience, we are assured, that
whoso doeth the things which are commanded, shall live in
them b : from whence we may conclude, that there was a
similar reward prepared for Adam, if he should continue to
obey his God. It is true that the law can not give us life now c ;
but that is not owing to any change in God s regard for obe
dience, but to our incapacity to render that obedience which
his law requires d . If we could keep all the commandments,
we should, by keeping them, enter into life e . And it is mani
fest that the same reward would have been given to Adam ;
since we are told, that " the law was ordained to lifeV]
The import of the prohibition being made clear,
let us consider,,
II. Its nature-
It could not be expected that in so brief a history
as that before us, every minute particular should be
explained: indeed, it was intended that the subse
quent revelations of God s will should clear up things
which were left in a state of obscurity. Now from
ther parts of scripture we find, that this prohibition
was, in reality, a covenant; in which, not Adam only,
t all his posterity were interested. In this cove-
vant, Adam was the head and representative of all
d; and they, to the remotest generations, were
w 2 f r de f Whkh " the Wa " CS of sin > ^ the life
te gift of God are contrasted; both being of the same
<n. Compare also Matt, xxv 46
"Compare Deut xxyii 26. and Gal. iii. 10. with Lev. xviii. 5.
Horn. x. .>. and Gal. iii. 12. c r ;; 1
10.
. . . n 91
" Kon, viii. 3, 4. ekatUix-H. "
3.1 COVENANT MADE WITH ADAM. 15
to stand or fall in him. In proof of this we may
observe that,
1. In this prohibition are contained all the consti
tuent parts of a covenant
[Here are the parties ; God on the one side ; and Adam,
for himself and all his posterity, on the other. Here are the
terms expressly declared: there was a condition prescribed,
namely, that Adam should obey the divine mandate ; on his
performance of which condition, he had a promise of life ;
but on his neglecting to perform it, a threatening of death.
Lastly, there was also a seal annexed to the covenant : as the
rainbow was a seal of the covenant made with Noah ; and
circumcision and baptism were the seals of the Abrahamic
and Christian covenants ; so " the tree of life " was a seal of
the covenant made with Adam s ; it was a pledge to Adam,
that, on his fulfilling the conditions imposed upon him, he
should participate the promised reward.]
2. The consequences flowing from the transgres
sion of it, prove it to have been a covenant
[Death and condemnation were the immediate conse
quences of Adam s sin. Nor were these confined to the
immediate transgressor ; they were entailed on his remotest
posterity : by that one act of his all his children are consti
tuted sinners, and are consigned over to death and condemna
tion. Both scripture and experience attest this melancholy
truth h . Now how can we account for so many millions of
persons being involved in his punishment, if they were not in
some way or other involved also in his guilt? Surely " the
Judge of all the earth will do right;" and therefore, when we
behold punishment inflicted on so many beings, who were
once formed after the divine image, we may be sure that in
the sight of God they are considered as guilty; and, as
infants cannot have contracted guilt in their own persons,
they must have derived it from Adam, by whom they were
represented, and in whom they died.]
3. It is represented as exactly corresponding with
the covenant which God made with Christ on our
behalf-
[Nothing can be more laboured than the parallel which
St. Paul draws between Adam and Christ in the passage we
have just referred to. Not content with tracing all evil to
g Gen. ix. 8 17. Rom. iv. 11.
h How often is it repeated, that all these evils proceeded from the
offence of one man ! See Rom. v. 12 19.
16 GENESIS, II. 16, 17. [3.
the offence of one, he declares that that one person^ even
Adam, was " a type w figure of Him who was to come; and
that as death and condemnation came by the offence at ONE,
that is, Adam; so righteousness and life come by the obe
dience of ONE, even Christ . In another place he draws
precisely the same parallel, representing Christ as "the
second man," " the last Adam*;" and affirming, that as in
Adam all died, so in Christ shall all be made alive 1 .
These things collectively, clearly prove, that the prohibition
was not a mere personal concern with Adam, but that it was
a covenant made with him on behalf of himself and all his
posterity.
If it be thought strange that God should make other per
sons responsible for Adam s conduct ; we answer, that,
amongst ourselves, the happiness of children is greatly in
volved in the conduct of their parents ; and ^ that God
expressly avows, on another occasion, that he did make a
covenant with some on behalf of others who were yet un
born 111 : and if he did it on one occasion, he might with equal
propriety do it on another.]
But lest there should lurk in the mind any dis
satisfaction with this mysterious appointment, we
proceed to shew,
III. Its reasonableness
Consider its reasonableness,
1 . As a prohibition
[If the will of the Maker were to be enacted into a law,
for the purpose of trying the obedience of man, we cannot
conceive a more easy and simple method than the prohibiting
the use of one single tree amidst the thousands which were
laden with the choicest fruits. If God had prohibited all
except one, it would have been highly reasonable that He
should be obeyed, seeing that they were all the works of His
hands, and He w r as at liberty to give or withhold, as it seemed
to Him good. But when He gave the free enjoyment of all,
and denied him only one, certainly nothing could be more
reasonable than that His will should be honoured by a cheer
ful compliance.
Nor was it less reasonable that the prohibition should be
enforced with so severe a penalty: for the object of the
penalty was, to keep Adam from transgression, and to shut
him up under a necessity of continuing holy and happy : and
1 Rom. v. 1219. k i Cor. xv. 45, 47.
i 1 Cor. xv. 22. m Deut. xxix. 14, 15.
3.J COVENANT MADE WITH ADAM. 17
therefore the more awful the sanctions were, the more
likely they were to answer the desired end; and the more
gracious was God in annexing them to the prohibition.]
2. As a covenant
[It is but a small thing to say concerning the covenant,
that it was just : we go much further ; and affirm, that it was
in the highest degree favourable and advantageous to all who
were interested in it. Consider the state in which Adam was,
when subjected to the temptation ; and compare with it the
state in which we should meet temptation, supposing every
one of us to be called forth to the trial as soon as ever we
entered into the world: he was perfect; we are imperfect: he
was in full possession of all his faculties ; we should begin
our conflict while all the powers of our souls were in a state
of infantine weakness : lie was exposed to only one temptation,
and that apparently easy to be withstood, on account of his
having no evil disposition to close with it; we should be
assaulted with ten thousand temptations, with every one of
which we have a proneness to comply : lie conflicted with his
enemy who was yet unskilled in the work of beguiling souls ;
we should engage him after his skill has been augmented by
the experience of six thousand years : lie was fortified by the
consideration that not his own happiness only, but that also
of all his posterity, depended on him ; whereas we should have
no other motive to stedfastness than a regard to our own
personal welfare. Let any one compare these states, and
then say, whether Adam or We were more likely to fall : and
if it appear that his situation was far more conducive to sta
bility than ours, then must it be considered as a great advan
tage to us to have had such a person for our covenant-head.
If it be said, that eventually we are sufferers by it ; we may
well be satisfied with it ; since if he, with all his advantages,
was overcome, there is no hope at all that we, under all our
disadvantages, should have maintained our integrity. Nor
can we doubt, but that if all the human race had been sum
moned before God at once to hear the proposal of having
Adam for their covenant-head, every one of them would have
accepted it, as a signal token of the divine goodness.]
INFER,
1. What folly is it to seek for happiness in sin !
[Depraved as every thing is by means of sin, yet is there
all that we can wish for in this transient state, together with
a liberty " richly to enjoy it." We have not a sense for which
God has not provided a suitable and legitimate indulgence.
Survey the number, brightness, magnitude, and order of the
heavenly bodies ; or the innumerable multitude of animate
VOL. I. C
18 GENESIS, II. 16, 17. [3.
and inanimate beings, with all their variegated hues, the
exquisite formation of their parts, their individual symmetry,
their harmonious configuration, their wonderful adaptation to
their respective ends. Can we conceive a richer feast for our
eves? Behold -how the earth is strewed with flowers, that
cast their perfumes to the wind, and regale us with their
odours ! Where, amongst all the contrivances of art, will any
thing be found to equal the fruits of the earth, in the variety
and "richness of their flavour ? or where will the sons of har
mony produce such exquisite notes as the feathered tribes
gratuitously afford to the meanest cottager ? Take the feelings
for which so many myriads of mankind sacrifice their eternal
interests ; and we" will venture to affirm, that even those are
called forth with keener sensibility and richer zest in the way
of God s appointment, than they ever can be in a way of
licentious and prohibited indulgence. What need have we
then of forbidden fruit? If nothing were left us in this world
but the favour of God and the testimony of a good conscience,
we should have a feast which nothing but heaven can excel :
but when, together with these, we have all that can conduce
to the comfort of the body; when we have " the promise of
the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come," is it
not madness to seek for happiness in sin ; to relinquish " the
fountain of living waters, and to hue out to ourselves cisterns,
broken cisterns, that can hold no water ? " Let us but learn
to enjoy God in every thing, and every thing in God, and we
shall find that this \vorkl, polluted as it is, is yet a Paradise :
with God s favour, pulse is better than royal delicacies, and
the meanest dungeon is a palace.]
2. With what abhorrence should sin be viewed
by us !
[Look through the creation which God pronounced to be
very good, and see how all things are out of course : the earth
that should nourish us, struck with barrenness ; the elements
that should administer to our comfort, armed against us for
our destruction. See the smallest insects in the creation
invading us with irresistible force, and by their united efforts
desolating our fairest prospects. Look at man himself, once
the image of his Maker ; see with what malignant dispositions
he is rilled. See him passing his time here in labour and
sorrow, and generation after generation swept away from the
face of the earth. Follow him into the eternal world, and
behold him banished from the presence of his God, and cast
into a lake of fire and brimstone, there to endure the full
penalty of all his crimes. Behold all this, I say, and consider
that this is the work of sin. One sin introduced it all ; and
successive generations have lived only to complete what our
THE SERPENT BEGUILING EVE.
4-]
first parents began. O that we could view sin in this light !
O that we could bear in mind the judgment denounced against
it, " In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die ! " We have warnings sufficient to intimidate the stoutest
heart : " The wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men 11 :" " The soul that sinneth, it
shall die : " " Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death p ."
Only let sin be stripped of its deceitful attire, and be viewed
in all its naked deformity, and we shall shudder even at the
thought of it, and flee from it as from the face of a serpent.]
3. How thankful should we be for the tree of life !
[Blessed be God, the tree of life yet grows in the midst
of us q . No cherubim with flaming swords obstruct our way
to it ; on the contrary, all the angels in heaven are ready to
exert all their influence to conduct us to it ; and God, even
our Father, invites and intreats us to gather its life-giving
fruits. This tree of life is no other than the Lord Jesus
Christ : " it bears twelve manner of fruits," suited to all our
various necessities ; and its very " leaves are for the healing
of the nations r ." Let us then flock around this tree : let us
with humble boldness stretch forth our hands to gather its
fruits. We may see around us many who have already expe
rienced its efficacy to heal the sick, and to revive the dead.
Let us view the Saviour as God s instituted ordinance for this
very end: and now that he is accessible unto us, let us ap
proach him ; lest haply the accepted time be terminated, and
we eat for ever the bitter fruits of our transgression.]
IV.
THE SERPENT BEGUILING EVE.
Gen. iii. 4. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall
not surely die.
IN reference to the fact before us, St. Paul says,
" The serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty."
And great is the subtilty which appears throughout
the whole of his conduct on this occasion. He took
an opportunity of addressing himself to Eve when
she was alone, that so she might become an easier
victim to his wiles. He insinuated his temptation
n Rom. i. 18. Ezek. xviii. 20. P Jam. i. 15.
i Rev. ii. 7. r Rev. xxii. 2.
OQ GENESIS, III. 4, [4.
first in a way of inquiry only ; " Hath God said, Ye
shall not cat of every tree in the garden ?" By this
he intimated, that she had made some^ mistake re-
s^ecting the supposed prohibition, since it was
scarcely probable that her Maker, who had granted
her every thing else in the garden, should impose
such an unnecessary restriction upon her. When,
in answer to this, Eve informed him, that not only
was the restriction really given, but that it was en
forced with the most tremendous sanction that could
possibly be imagined, he again insinuated that she
must be under a mistake, since it could not be that
so good a God should inflict so heavy a judgment for
so slight an offence : " Ye shall not surely die."
Now this is the very temptation with which he
has ever since, even to this present hour, assaulted
unwary men, and by which he is yet daily ruining
millions of the human race. We will therefore
endeavour to put you on your guard against it, by
shewing,
I. The falsehood of the suggestion
Two things were here insinuated, namely, That
the threatening was not of such a terrific import as
she imagined ; and that, whatever it might import,
it should not be eventually executed. But in both
these things " he lied unto her ;" for,
1. God will fulfil his threatenings to whatsoever
they may relate
[Sec his threatenings to individuals Ahab, in dependence
on his false prophets, and on Satan who inspired them, thought
to come oil victorious: but, notwithstanding his device to
escape the notice of the Syrians, he was slain, according to
the prediction of the prophet Micaiah. Hiel the Bethelite
would rebuild the city of Jericho: but did he escape the
judgment denounced, many hundred years before, against any
person who should presume to make the attempt? Did he
not lay the foundation in the death of his first-born, and raise
up the gates in the death of his youngest son 3 ? See his
threatenings against the whole nation of Israel: Were they
not carried captive to Babylon, according to His word ? and
a Josh. vi. 20. with 1 Kino- s xvi. 34.
4.1 THE SERPENT BEGUILING EVE. 21
is not the dispersion of the Jews at this day a proof, that no
word of God shall ever fall to the ground ? See his threaten-
ings against the whole world Did not the deluge come
according to the prediction, and sw r eep away every living
creature (those only excepted that were in the ark) from the
face of the earth ? Let us be sure that God is true : and that
whatever He has spoken shall surely come to pass.]
2. He will fulfil them in the extent that is here
declared
[Death temporal, spiritual, and eternal were included in
the sentence denounced against transgression: and on our
first parents it came, the very day that they ate of the for
bidden tree. They did not, it is true, cease on that day to
live, because God had purposes to serve by their continuance
in life : but the seeds of death were that day implanted in
their constitution; and in due time they returned to their
native dust. That they died at that very moment a spiritual
death, is evident from their conduct : for they foolishly hoped
to hide themselves among the trees of the garden from the
eyes of the omniscient God ; and offered vain excuses for their
transgression, instead of humbling themselves for it before
God. To eternal death also they were subjected; and to it
they would have been consigned, had not God, of his infinite
mercy, provided a way of deliverance from it, through that
seed of the woman, who was in due time to bruise the serpent s
head. If it be doubted whether God will execute so heavy a
judgment on the sinners of mankind, I hesitate not to declare,
that he most assuredly will ; since he has himself declared it
in terms that admit of no reasonable doubt b and " he is not a
man that he will lie, nor the son of man that he will repent."]
But since so many are deceived by this suggestion,
I will endeavour to shew, more distinctly,
II. The danger of listening to.it
The effect of this sad delusion is visible in all
around us. It is entirely owing to this that Satan
retains so many in bondage, and leads them captive
at his will.
1. Hence it is that men make so light of sin
[Whence is it, I would ask, that men are drawn aside by
every temptation, and that for a momentary gratification they
will offend their God? Is it not from a secret persuasion,
that God will not fulfil his threateiiings, and that they may
b See Matt. xxv. 46. the Greek and Mark ix. 43 48. and
Rev. xiv. 10, 11.
oo GENESIS, III. 4. [4.
sin against him with impunity ? If meii^saw before their eyes
the instruments of torture whereby the violators of a law were
to be put to a lino-ering and cruel death, and knew at the
same time that there was no possibility of escape to any one
who should transgress the law, would they incur the penalty
with the same indifference that they now transgress the laws
of God ? How much less then would they rush into wretched
ness, if they saw hell open before them, and heard the groans
of those who are now suffering under the wrath of God? ? No
verily : they would not then " make a mock at sin, but
would tremble at it, and flee from it as from the face of a
scrnent. If then you would be preserved from sin, listen not
a moment to this accursed suggestion : and if the whole world
should unite in saying, " Ye shall not surely die," reply to
them, " Get thee behind me, Satan," for " thou art a liar
from the beginning."]
2. Hence it is also that men make so light of sal
vation
[Salvation by Christ is offered to a ruined world. But
who believes our report? Who receives it with that gratitude
which it might well be expected that a perishing sinner should
feel towards his reconciled God and Saviour ? With the ex
ception of a few r , the whole world regard the Gospel as little
better than a cunningly devised fable ; so faint are the emo
tions it excites, and so transient the effects which it produces.
And what is the reason of this ? Is it not that men do not
feel their need of such a Saviour, and that they do not believe
that God s threatenings will ever be executed upon them?
Yes : to this source must it be traced : for if they verily be
lieved, that the wrath of God, which is revealed against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, would fall upon
them, and that all their hope of escaping it was by embracing
the Gospel, they would flee to Christ with their w r hole hearts,
and cleave unto him with their whole souls, and not rest a
moment till they saw themselves within the gates of the city of
refuge. Were they duly sensible of their danger, even a hope,
a mere peradventure that God might have mercy upon them,
would be sufficient to make them weep before him day and
night. Not a word of mercy was mixed in Jonah s message to
Nineveh : yet the most distant hope of mercy was sufficient to
encourage that whole city to repent in dust and ashes. What
then would not all the promises of the Gospel effect, if men
really felt the greatness of their guilt and danger? It is evi
dent, that all the indifference of men about the Gospel must
be traced to this one source, their believing of Satan s lie in
preference to the truth of God : and, if ever the Gospel is
to have a saving influence on our hearts, we must begin by
4.1 THE SERPENT BEGUILING EVE. 23
rejecting this suggestion of the devil, and by believing that all
the threatenings of God against sin and sinners shall assuredly
be accomplished.]
OBSERVE then, on the whole,
1. What need there is of fidelity in ministers
[Satan at this time, no less than formerly, suggests to
men, " Ye shall not surely die :" and his emissaries all the
world over are re-echoing the delusive sound. Every friend
we have, father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, the
very instant we begin to dread the wrath of God, unite their
endeavours to compose our minds, by saying, * There is no
such penalty against sin as ye suppose, nor have you any
reason to fear that it shall be inflicted on you. Our own
wicked hearts also are but too ready to adopt a sentiment so
gratifying to the mind, and to speak peace to us on insuf
ficient grounds. And what would be the consequence if
ministers also favoured such delusions, and, through fear of
alarming you, neglected to warn you of your danger ? Would
not Satan triumph to a far greater extent than he already
does ? Would he not be secure of his prey ? Is not this the
very effect produced, wherever the Gospel, instead of being
preached with apostolic fidelity, is kept upon the back
ground, and modified to the taste of a deluded world? Be
thankful then if you hear your guilt and danger faithfully set
before you : be thankful, as you would be if a man, seeing
your house on fire, roused you from your slumbers, and saved
you from death. And, if God have vouchsafed to you this
mercy, improve it with all diligence, by fleeing from the wrath
to come, and laying hold on eternal life.]
2. What a mercy it is, that, notwithstanding the
truth of God in his threatenings, there is a way of
salvation opened for us in the Gospel
[Yes ; God can be true, and yet absolve the sinner from
his guilt : for, in Christ Jesus, " Mercy and truth are met
together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other."
The penalty of death has been inflicted upon the Lord Jesus
Christ, as the surety and substitute of sinners : and, if we
believe in him, all that he has done and suffered for us shall
be so imputed to us as to be accepted of God in our behalf,
so that God shall be " a just God, and yet a Saviour," yea
"just, and yet the justifier" of sinful man. O blessed
tidings! amply sufficient to pacify the most afflicted mind,
and to warrant in our hearts the most joyful hope ! Brethren,
only believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I will adopt with
confidence the very words of Satan, and say, " Ye shall not
surely die." I will go further still, and from a doubtful
GENESIS, III. 6, 7. [5.
turn them to a direct affirmation, and say, Surely
ye shall not die. So says our blessed Lord himself: "My
sheep shall never perish:" St. Paul also says, "There is no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." On this,
therefore, you may rely, with the fullest possible assurance :
for, if the threatenings of God shall be fulfilled, so shall also
His promises be : not one of them shall ever fail, as long as
the world shall stand. Fear not then to see the worst of your
state : fear not to acknowledge the extent of your guilt and
danger, since the provision for you in Christ Jesus is fully
commensurate with your necessities, and suited to your wants.
Only believe in Him, and you shall not be ashamed or con
founded world without end.]
V.
THE FALL OF MAN.
Gen. iii. (>, 7. And wlien the woman saw that the tree ivas
(jood for food, and that it ivas pleasant to the eyes, and a
tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband ivith
her; and lie did eat. And the eyes of them both were
ope tied.
THE happiness of our first parents in Paradise
must have far exceeded any thing which we can
conceive. Formed in the image of God, they had
not a desire or thought contrary to His holy will.
There was no cloud upon their understanding, no
undue bias on their will, nothing inordinate in their
affections. With respect to outward comforts, they
possessed all that they could wish. God himself had
planted a garden for them, and given them the whole
produce, except one tree, for their support. Above
all, they enjoyed the freest intercourse with their
Maker, and conversed with Him as a man converseth
with his friend. But this happiness, alas! was of
short continuance : for Satan, who had left his first
estate, and, from being a bright angel before the
throne of God, was become an apostate spirit and a
wicked fiend, he, I say, envied their felicity, and
sought to reduce them to the same misery with him
self. An opportunity for making his attempt soon
5. THE FALL OF MAN. 25
occurred. He saw the woman near the forbidden
tree, and at a distance from her husband. So fa
vourable an occasion was not to be lost. He instantly
took possession of a serpent ; which being confessedly
the most subtle of all animals,, was least likely to
create suspicion in her mind, and fittest to be em
ployed in so arduous a service. Through the in
strumentality of this creature, Satan entered into
conversation with her; and, as we learn from the
history before us, succeeded in withdrawing both her
and her husband from their allegiance to God. In
the text we have a summary of the fatal tragedy : in
it, as connected with the context, the whole plot is
developed, and the awful catastrophe declared.
That we may have a just view of the conduct of
our first parents, we shall consider,
I. Their temptation
The scope of Satan s conversation with Eve was to
persuade her that she might partake of the forbidden
tree,
1. With safety-
[With this view, his first attempt was to raise doubts in
her mind respecting the prohibition. And here his subtilty is
very conspicuous; he does not shock her feelings by any
strong assertion ; but asks, as it were for information, whether
such a prohibition as he had heard of had been really given.
Nevertheless, his mode of putting the question insinuates,
that he could scarcely credit the report; because the im
posing of such a restraint would be contrary to the generosity
which Grod had shewn in other respects, and to the distin
guished love which he had professed to bear towards them.
Now, though he did not so far prevail as to induce her to
deny that God had withheld from her the fruit of that tree,
yet he gained much even in this first address : for, he led her
to maintain a conversation with him : he disposed her also to
soften the terms in which the prohibition had been given 3 :
and though she might intend nothing more than to prevent
a God had said, " In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die :" and she, in reporting it, said, " Ye shall not eat of it
or touch it, lest ye die ; " thus converting a most positive threatening
of instant and certain death, into a gentle caution against a possible,
or probable, misfortune : " Touch not, for fear ye die."
26 GENESIS, III. 6, 7. [5.
his entertaining any hard thoughts of God, she hereby em
boldened him to prosecute his purpose in a more direct and
open manner.
Improving the advantage he had already gamed, he pro
ceeded to question in direct terms the grounds of her fears, in
relation to the penalty : " Ye shall not surely die." He here
intimates, that she must be mistaken with respect both to
the extent and certainty of the penalty. God could never
tlireaten " death" for such an offence as that: he could
threaten nothing worse even for the most heinous transgres
sion that could be committed: how then could he annex that
to so small a matter as the eating of a piece of fruit? At
least, if he did put forth his threat, he certainly would never
execute it; u Ye shall not surely die:" it could not be, that
a just and good God should ever proceed to such rigorous
measures on so slight an occasion. By this daring assertion,
he quite disarmed her; and persuaded her, that she must
have misunderstood the divine declaration, or, at least, that it
never could be carried into effect.]
2. With advantage
[Finding that Eve did not revolt at his impious asser
tions, he went on to direct and open blasphemy. He knew,
that to an intelligent and holy being nothing was so desirable
as knowledge : he therefore affirmed, that there was in the fruit
of that tree a virtue capable of wonderfully enlarging her
views, so that she and her husband should " become as gods,"
and possess a self-sufficiency and independence suited to that
high character. In confirmation of this, he appeals to God
himself; and blasphemously insinuates, that God, in with
holding the fruit from them, had been actuated by nothing
but envy, and a jealousy, lest they should become as wise
and happy as himself.
Such was the temptation with which that " old serpent"
assaulted Eve ; hoping that, if he could prevail with her, he
might, through her influence, overcome her husband also.]
Happy would it have been, if we could have re
ported of them, as we can of the second Adam, that
they repelled the Tempter. But, in following the
course of their history, we are constrained to notice,
II. Their sin-
Eve, overpowered by the alluring aspect of the
fruit, and the hope of attaining a knowledge as supe
rior to what she already possessed, as this serpent s
was to that of all the rest of the creation, ate of the
5.J THE FALL OF MAN. 27
fruit, and prevailed upon her husband to partake
with her b .
Without inquiring how she prevailed with him, or
what would have been the effect if she alone had
fallen, let it suffice to know, that Adam transgressed
in eating the forbidden fruit, and that this was the
sin whereby he and all his posterity were ruined.
That the offence may not be thought trivial, let us
consider of what malignant qualities it was composed:
1. What pride!
[Our first parents were endowed with faculties unknown
to any other creatures. While, in common with all the rest,
they possessed a beautifully constructed frame of body, they
had a rational soul also, which assimilated them to God; so
that they were a connecting link between God and the brute
creation, a kind of compound of both. Moreover, they were
constituted lords of this lower world ; and all other creatures
were subjected to their dominion. None was above them
but God himself. But they chose to have no superior : they
affected to be as gods. What daring presumption! What
criminal ambition! It was time indeed that " their lofti
ness should be bowed down, and their haughtiness be made
low."]
2. What unbelief !
[God had spoken with a perspicuity which could not
admit of misconstruction, and an energy that precluded
doubt. Yet they listen to the suggestions of a wicked fiend,
and believe the lies of Satan in preference to Jehovah s word.
Can any thing be conceived more insulting to the Majesty
of heaven than this ? Can an offence be deemed light which
offers such an indignity to the God of truth ?]
3. What ingratitude!
[What could God have done more for them than he had
done ? What could they have, to augment their felicity ?
And, if any restraint at all was to be laid upon them for the
purpose of trying their fidelity and obedience, what smaller
restraint could be conceived than the prohibition of one
single tree amidst ten thousand? Was one tree too much for
Him to reserve, who had created all the rest for their use?
b A variety of questions might be asked respecting different parts
of this history ; but where God has not been pleased to inform us,
we should be contented to be ignorant : and where no certainty can
be attained, we judge it better to pass over matters in silence, than to
launch out into the boundless and unprofitable regions of conjecture.
28 GENESIS, III. 6, 7. [5.
Were they to think much of so small an act of self-denial,
where so much was provided for their indulgence ? Were
they to be so unmindful of all which He had done for them,
and of all the good things which He had in store for them,
as to refuse Him so small a testimony of their regard?
Amazing! Incredible! that such favours should be so re
quited !]
4. What rebellion !
[God had an undoubted right to command; and, what
ever His injunctions were, they were bound to obey them.
But how do they regard this single, this easy precept ? They
set it at nought : they transgress it : they violate it volun
tarily, immediately, and without so much as a shadow of
reason. They lose sight of all the considerations of duty,
or interest : they are absorbed in the one thought of personal
gratification ; and upon that they rush, without one moment s
concern, how much they may displease their Friend and .13 e-
nefactor, their Creator and Governor, their Lord and Judge.
Shall not God visit for such rebellion as this ?]
After their transgression, we are naturally led to
inquire into,
III. Their recompence
Satan had told them, that " their eyes should be
opened :" but little did they think in what sense his
words should be verified! " Their eyes were now
opened ;" but only like the eyes of the Syrian army
when they saw themselves in the heart of an enemy s
country , or those of the rich man when he lifted
them up in hell torments/ They beheld now, what
it was their happiness not to know, the consequences
of sin. They beheld,
1. The guilt they had contracted
[Sin, while yet they were only solicited to commit it,
appeared of small malignity : its present pleasures seemed
to overbalance its future pains. But when the bait was
swallowed, how glad would they have been if they had never
viewed it with desire, or ventured to trespass on what they
knew to have been forbidden ! Now all the aggravations of
their sin would rush into their minds at once, and over
whelm them with shame. It is true, they could not yet
view their conduct with penitence and contrition, because
God had not yet vouchsafed to them the grace of repentance :
c 2 Kings vi. 20. a Luke xvi. 23.
[5. THE FALL OF MAN. 29
they could at present feel little else than self-indignant
rage, and self-tormenting despondency : but their anguish,
though not participating the ingenuous feelings of self-lothing
and self-abhorrence, must have been pungent beyond all ex
pression: and they must have seemed to themselves to be
monsters of iniquity.]
2. The misery they had incurred
[Wherever they cast their eyes, they must now see how
awfully they were despoiled. If they lifted them up to
heaven, there they must behold the favour of their God for
ever forfeited. If they cast them around, every thing must
remind them of their base ingratitude ; and they would envy
the meanest of the brute creation. If they looked within,
O what a sink of iniquity were they now become ! The
nakedness of their bodies, which in innocence administered no
occasion for shame, now caused them to feel what need they
had of covering, not for their bodies merely, but much more
for their souls. If they thought of their progeny, what pangs
must they feel on their account ; to have innumerable genera
tions rise in succession to inherit their depravity, and partake
their doom ! If they contemplated the hour of dissolution, how
terrible must that appear ! to be consigned, through diseases
and death, to their native dust; and to protract a miserable
existence in that world, whither the fallen angels were
banished, and from whence there can be no return! Me-
thinks, under the weight of all these considerations, they
wept till they could weep no more e ; and till their exhausted
nature sinking under the load, they fell asleep through excess
of sorrow f .]
INFER,
1. How deplorable is the state of every unregene-
rate man !
[Any one who considers the state of our first parents
after their fall, may easily conceive that it was most pitiable.
But their case is a just representation of our own. We are
despoiled of the divine image, and filled with all hateful and
abominable dispositions : we are under the displeasure of the
Almighty : we have nothing to which we can look forward
in this world, but troubles, disorders, and death; and in the
eternal world, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish
for evermore. Why do we not endeavour to get our minds
suitably affected with this our melancholy condition? Why
do we not see ourselves, as in a glass ; and apply to ourselves
that commiseration which we are ready to bestow on our
e 1 Sam. xxx. 4. f Luke xxii. 45.
30 GENESIS, III. 6, 7. [5.
first parents ? Alas ! " the god of this world hath blinded
our minds:" else we should smite upon our breasts with
sorrow and anguish, and implore without delay the mercy
which we so much need.]
2. How astonishing was the grace of God in pro
viding a Saviour for us !
[It is needless to say that our first parents could do
nothing to repair the evil which they had committed. And
how far they were from attempting to make reparation for it,
we see, when they fled from God, and cast the blame on
others, yea even on God himself, rather than acknowledge
their transgressions before him. But God, for His own great
name sake, interposed, and promised them a Saviour, through
whom they, and their believing posterity, should be restored
to his favour. To this gracious promise we owe it, that we
are not all involved in endless and irremediable misery. Let
heaven and earth stand astonished at the goodness of our
God ! And let all the sinners of mankind testify their ac
ceptance of his proffered mercy, by fleeing for refuge to the
hope set before them.]
3. How vigilant should we all be against the de
vices of Satan !
[He who "beguiled Eve under the form of a serpent,"
can assume any shape, for the purpose of deceiving us. He
is sometimes " transformed into an angel of light," so that we
may be ready to follow his advice, as if he were a messenger
from heaven. But we may easily distinguish his footsteps, if
only we attend to the following inquiries : Does he lessen in
our eyes the sinfulness of sin? Does he weaken our appre
hensions of its danger? Does he persuade us to that which
is forbidden ? Would he make us think lightly of that which
is threatened? Does he stimulate our desires after evil by
any considerations of the pleasure or the profit that shall
attend it? Does he calumniate God to us, as though He
were unfriendly, oppressive, or severe? If our temptations
be accompanied with any of these things, we may know
assuredly that " the enemy hath done this," and that he is
seeking our destruction. Let us then be on our guard against
him. Let us watch and pray that we enter not into tempta
tion. However remote we may imagine ourselves to be from
the love of evil, let us not think ourselves secure : for if Satan
vanquished our first parents under all the advantages they
enjoyed, he will certainly overcome us, unless "we resist
him," " strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might."]
(3.1 EXCUSES MADE BY OUR FIRST PARENTS. 31
VI.
EXCUSES MADE BY OUR FIRST PARENTS, AFTER THEIR FALL.
Gen. iii. 1113. Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I com
manded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man
said, The ivoman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave
me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said
unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And
the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
THE immediate effects of sin are not easily dis
covered by us at this time : for if we look for them
in ourselves, our partiality and self-love conceal them
from us ; and if we look for them in others, the uni
versal prevalence of those effects prevents us from
ascribing them to their proper cause. To see them
in their true colours,, we should be able to contrast
the habits of some person during a state of inno
cence with those which he manifests after the
commission of sin. Doubtless there are glaring in
stances of iniquity, from the investigation of which
we may gather instruction : but we shall make our
observations to the greatest advantage, if we exa
mine the records respecting the conduct of our first
parents after their unhappy fall. The accounts
given of them are not indeed very full and circum
stantial ; yet the narration, brief as it is, is sufficient
to elucidate the immediate influence of sin upon the
mind, as well as its remoter consequences in the
destruction of the soul. There are two things in
particular which we shall be led to notice from
the words before us ;
I. The way in which men betray their consciousness
of guilt
Mark the conduct of our first parents. While they
were innocent, they were strangers either to shame
or fear : but instantly after their transgression, they
made coverings for themselves of fig-leaves, and fled
from the presence of their God. Here we may
behold ourselves as in a glass : they have set a pat
tern to us which all their posterity have followed :
32 GENESIS, III. 11-13. [6.
however men may affect to be innocent, they all be
tray their consciousness of guilt in these two things ;
1. They conceal themselves from themselves,, and
from each other
[Knowing that their hearts are depraved, and that, if
narrowly inspected, they would exhibit a most disgusting ap
pearance, men will not turn their eyes inwards. They will
not examine the motives and principles of their actions : they
cast a veil over the workings of pride and ambition, of envy
and malice, of falsehood and covetousness, of carnality and
selfishness : and then, because they see no evil in their
actions, they hastily conclude there is none. And so success
ful are they in hiding from themselves their own deformity,
that when all around them are even amazed at the impro
priety of their conduct, they take credit to themselves for
virtuous principles and laudable deportment.
If we should attempt to open their eyes, and to set before
them their o\vn picture, they would not even look at it, but
would be offended with our fidelity, and condemn us as desti
tute of either charity or candour.
Now, would men act in this manner if they had not a
secret consciousness that all was not right within ? Would
they not rather be glad of any assistance whereby they might
discover any latent evil ; or, at least, be glad to " come to
the light, that their deeds might be made manifest that they
were wrought in God ? "
There is the still greater anxiety in men to hide their
shame from each other. The whole intercourse of mankind
with each other is one continued system of concealment. All
endeavour to impose on others, by assuming the appearances
of virtue ; but no one will give credit to his neighbour for
being as guiltless in his heart as he seems to be in his con
duct. A thorough knowledge of a person whose principles
have been tried, will indeed gain our confidence : but who
has so good an opinion of human nature in general as to com
mit his wife or daughter to the hands of a perfect stranger ;
or to give him unlimited access to all his treasures ; or even
to take his word, where he can as easily obtain a legal secu
rity ? But, if men were not conscious of depravity within
themselves, why should they be so suspicious of others ? The
fact is, they know themselves to have many corrupt propen
sities ; and justly concluding that human nature is the same
in all, they feel the necessity of withholding confidence where
they have not been warranted by experience to place it.]
2. They shun, rather than desire, the presence of
their God
6.] EXCUSES MADE BY OUR FIRST PARENTS. 33
[God comes to all of us in his word, and speaks to us in
the language of love and mercy : He bids us to draw nigh to
Him, and to enjoy " fellowship with him, and with his Son,
Jesus Christ." But are these employments suited to the taste
of all ? or do the habits of the generality evince any regard
for these inestimable privileges ? Nay, if we endeavour to set
God before them, and to make known to them his will, do
they consider us as their friends and benefactors ? They may
bear with us, indeed, in the exercise of our public ministry :
but will they be pleased, if we come home to their houses,
and labour to bring them, as it were, into the presence of
their God ? Will they not be ready to say to us, as the
demoniac did to Christ, " Art thou come hither to torment
us before the time ;" or, like the Jews of old, " Prophesy
unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits ; make the Holy One
of Israel to cease from before us ? "
Now would this be the conduct of men, if they were not
conscious of much guilt within? Would a man who had just
received gold from the mint, be afraid of having it tried by
a touchstone ? or one who was perfectly innocent of a crime,
be afraid of being interrogated in relation to it ? Would not
rather the knowledge of God be desirable to one who had no
wish but to perform his will ? Would he not account it his
highest happiness to gain an increasing acquaintance with his
Saviour, and a more entire conformity to his image ?]
When the guilt of men can no longer be con
cealed, they have many refuges of lies to which they
flee ; to expose which,, we shall shew,
II. The way in which they endeavour to palliate and
excuse it
Our first parents confessed indeed their trans
gression, but in a way which clearly shewed, that
they were not humbled for it. Thus, when we
cannot deny our guilt,
1. We cast it upon others
[Doubtless we all are accessary to the production of
much guilt in others : and it is well to take shame to our
selves in that view. But to take occasion from this to excuse
our own wickedness, is only to add sin to sin. Yet who does
not betake himself to this refuge? Mark persons in the
early stage of life ; they will deny their faults as long as
there remains for them any hope of concealment ; and, when
they are clearly detected, they will do their utmost to shift
the blame off from themselves : according to the nature of the
VOL. I. D
34 GENESIS, III. 11-13. [6.
crime alleged, they will impute it to accident, or inadver
tence, or mistake, or, like our first parents, to the instigation
and example of their accomplices. What is the disposition
which shews itself in persons of riper years, when they are
called to account for any evil that they have committed, or
when their angry passions have involved them in dispute and
quarrel: is it not the endeavour of each to criminate the
other, in hopes thereby to exculpate himself I Or when no
particular ill-will is exercised towards others, is not the same
system prevalent; and do not men justify their own conduct
from the habits and examples of those around them ? But
what folly is this ! Did the Serpent compel Eve to eat the
fruit? or was Adam necessitated to follow her example?
They were free agents in what they did: and they should
have rejected with abhorrence the first proposals of sin, how
ever specious they might be, and by whomsoever they might
be made. And in the same manner, it is no excuse to us
that the ways of iniquity are crowded ; for we are to with
stand the solicitations that would allure us from God, and
stem the torrent that w r ould drive us from him.]
2. We cast it even upon God himself
[There is peculiar force in those words of Adam, " The
woman whom thou gavest to be ivilJi me, she gave me of the
tree, and I did eat:" it is no less than a reflection upon God
himself for giving him the woman ; and a casting of the blame
upon him as accessary at least to his fall, if not also as the
original cause of it. It is thus also that we account for our
transgressions from the peculiar circumstances in which we
are placed, and thus ascribe them rather to the dispensations
of Providence, than to our own wilful depravity. One is poor,
and therefore has not leisure to consult the welfare of his
soul ; or is under the authority of others, and cannot serve
God without subjecting himself to their displeasure. Another
is rich, and cannot deviate so far from the habits of the
world, as to conform to the precise rules which God has
prescribed. In this manner, persons endeavour to persuade
themselves that a life of entire devotedness to God is incom
patible with their worldly duties ; and that their deviations or
defects are rather their misfortune than their fault. Some
indeed will be yet more bold in accusing God; and, when
condemned for giving the rein to their appetites, will say,
Why did God give me these passions ? I cannot act other
wise than I do.
How far these excuses will avail in the day of judgment, it
becomes every one to consider with fear and trembling. They
may stifle the accusations of a guilty conscience now; but
there is not a man in the universe so stupid as seriously to
6.1 EXCUSES MADE BY OUR FIRST PARENTS. 35
believe that his conscience will acquit him at the tribunal of
his God.]
We shall conclude with an ADDRESS,
1. To those who are unhumbled for their sins
[Some are so impious, that " they declare their sin as
Sodom : the very shew of their countenance witnesses against
them." To such persons we say with the prophet, " Woe
unto them a ! " Nor can we deliver any milder message to
those who " cover their transgressions, as Adam, and hide
their iniquity in their bosom b : " for God s word to them is
plain; " He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but
whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. c "
It is absolutely indispensable that we humble ourselves before
God, and that we repent in dust and ashes. God has noted
our transgressions, whether we have observed them or not :
for " there is no darkness nor shadow of death where the
workers of iniquity may hide themselves d ." God is ex
tremely earnest in endeavouring to impress this thought upon
our minds 6 . It is equally certain that we cannot impose
upon him by any vain excuses. The day is coming, when he
will not only ask in general, " Hast thou eaten of the tree,
whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat ? "
but will interrogate us, as he did Eve, with holy indignation,
saying, "What is this that thou hast done?" Art thou
aware of its malignity? art thou prepared to meet the con
sequences ? O let us, every one of us, humble ourselves before
him, while yet the effects of his displeasure may be averted
from us : but if yet we remain impenitent and stout-hearted, a
sudden and irremediable destruction shall come upon us f .]
2. To those whose hearts are beginning to relent
[Do not think that a small and transient humiliation is
sufficient. If you could weep " rivers of tears," it would be
no more than the occasion calls for. You may perhaps com
fort yourselves with the thought of not having committed
many or great offences : but consider what it was that brought
guilt and ruin upon the whole race of mankind ; it was not
many offences, but one ; nor was it what would appear to
us a very heinous sin, but only the violation of a positive
precept, the eating of a forbidden fruit : reflect on this, and
you will derive little consolation from the thought that you
are not so bad as others. But, whether your sins have been
more or less heinous, there is one Refuge, and only one, to
a Isai. iii. 9. b Job xxxi. 33. c Prov.xxviii. 13.
d Jobxxxiv.22. e i sa i. xx i x . 15. w i t h Amos ix. 2, 3.
f Prov. xxix. 1.
36 GENESIS, III. 15. [7.
which you must flee for safety. The refuge provided for
our first parents was, " The seed of the woman, who was
in due time to bruise the serpent s head." The same is
provided for you. Jesus was born into the world for this
very end : He has made a full atonement for your sin : and if
" only you acknowledge your transgressions," and believe
in him, they shall be " remembered against you no more
for ever."]
VII.
THE SEED OF THE WOMAN.
Gen. iii. 15. / will put enmity between thee and the woman,
and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise tliy head,
and thou shall bruise his heel.
THIS was the first promise that was ever given
to fallen man. The occasion on which it was given
was this: Satan had beguiled our mother Eve, and,
through her, had prevailed on Adam to transgress :
and lie had thereby destroyed both them and all
their posterity : for, since they were corrupt, nothing
but what was corrupt could proceed from them.
But God, in his abundant mercy, interposed for our
fallen race, who must without such interposition
have been involved in all the misery of the fallen
angels. Against Satan he denounced a curse suited
to his crime: and at the same time informed him,
that, though for the present he had prevailed over
the woman, a seed should spring from her who
should execute on him the vengeance he deserved,
and rescue mankind from the misery he had entailed
upon them.
Now, as the oak with all its luxuriant branches
is contained in the acorn, so w^as the whole of sal
vation, however copiously unfolded in subsequent
revelations, comprehended in this one prophecy ;
which is, in fact, the sum and summary of the whole
Bible. And on this promise all the Saints lived,
during the space of 2000 years : yes, all from Adam
to the time of Abraham were encoViraged, comforted,
and saved by this promise alone, illustrated as it was
by sacrifices appointed by the Lord.
7.1 THE SEED OF THE WOMAN. 37
In explaining this prophecy, I shall call your at
tention to,
I. The person here predicted
[It was the Lord Jesus Christ ; who was in a peculiar
way " the seed of the woman :" for he was formed in the womb
simply by the agency of the Holy Ghost, and was born of a
pure virgin altogether without the intervention of man. And
this was necessary : for, had he been born like other men, he
would have been in the loins of Adam, like other men ; and
therefore would, like them, have been partaker of his guilt
and corruption. But, being the sole and immediate work
manship of God, he was absolutely perfect, and therefore
capable of sustaining the office of a Saviour for fallen man :
whereas, if he had been otherwise formed, he would have
needed a Saviour for himself, and been incapable of effecting
salvation for others. Thus you see, that when it was impos
sible for man to restore himself to God, God " laid help for
him upon One that was Mighty ;" on one who, being God
and man in one person, was able to effect for men all that
their necessities required. As man, he could atone for sin ;
and as God, he could render that atonement available for all
who should trust in him.]
At the same time that this prophecy announced
the Messiah s advent, it declared,,
II. The conflicts he should sustain
[Between Satan and him, God put an irreconcilable
enmity; which, without a moment s intermission, has raged
from that very time even to the present hour. Satan, having
thus introduced sin into the world, instigated every child of
Adam to the commission of it. And how far he prevailed,
may be seen in this, that he induced the very first-born of
man to murder his own righteous brother, for no other reason
than because he was more righteous than himself. At times
he had so entirely reduced the whole race of man to his
dominion, that scarcely a righteous man existed upon earth.
And, when God sent prophets to reclaim the world, Satan
stirred up the people of every age and place to destroy them.
At last, when the promised Seed himself came, Satan only
exerted himself the more violently against him, if by any
means he might prevail to destroy the Saviour himself. No
sooner was Jesus born into the world, than Satan stimulated
Herod to destroy all the males around Bethlehem from two
years old and under, that so it might be impossible for Jesus
to escape. And, when Jesus was entering upon his ministry,
he urged him to cast himself down from a pinnacle of the
38 GENESIS, III. 15. [7.
temple, if peradventure he might thus induce him, under an
idea of trusting in God, to destroy himself. Afterwards he
stirred up Peter to dissuade him from executing the work he
had undertaken ; saying, " Master, spare thyself." When he
could not prevail in any of these ways, he put it into the
heart of Judas to betray him, and stirred up all the Priests
and Elders to put him to death. In like manner has this
wicked adversary still prosecuted his malignant work even to
the present hour, blinding the eyes of men, and hardening
their hearts, and " leading them captive at his will :" and if
any have dared to resist his will, he has stirred up all his own
agents, to persecute them, and to put them to death.
On the other hand, Christ has also fought against him from
the beginning, rescuing men from his dominion, and " turn
ing millions from darkness unto light, and from the power of
Satan unto God." In the days of his flesh especially he
she-wed his superiority to Satan, by dismissing him from many
whom he had possessed, and constraining him to relinquish
the hold which he had gained, both of their bodies and their
souls. And though he seemed himself to sink under Satan s
attacks, yet did he, in fact, defeat Satan by the very means
which that adversary had used for his destruction: for by
death he overcame death, and " him that had the power of
death, that is, the devil 3 :" yes, "on the very cross itself he
spoiled all the principalities and powers of hell, triumphing
over them openly in itV And in his ascension, "he led
captivity itself captive ;" and has bound all the hosts of hell,
" reserving them in chains of darkness unto the judgment of
the great clay." In his people, too, lie gets the victory from
day to day, enabling them to resist him manfully, and to
trample both Satan and all his hosts under their feet.
This conflict is still passing from day to day. The God of
this world, and the God of heaven, are contending for us, and
in us (> : and as long as the world shall stand, will this contest
continue.]
But in our text we are informed, that Jesus will
prevail, and enjoy at last,
III. The victory assured to him
[In the conflict, the Saviour s "heel is bruised:" but
he bruises the head" of his great adversary, and breaks his
power for evermore. Behold the Saviour on his throne of
glory, far above all the principalities and powers, whether of
heaven or hell ! Behold the progress of his Gospel in every
age ! and see in heaven the multitudes which no man can
number, continually increased by fresh accessions from every
* Hel). ii. 14. i> Col. ii. 15. c 2 Cor. iv. 4, 6.
7.] THE SEED OF THE WOMAN. 39
quarter of the globe, from the most blinded votaries of Satan
amongst the Heathen, as well as from his more specious ser
vants amongst ourselves ! See the weakest of the children of
men enabled to triumph over him, and, though persecuted
like their divine Master, "made more than conquerors
through him that loved them !" This is going forward
amongst ourselves : so that you see the most devoted vassals
of Satan casting off his yoke, and " brought into the liberty
of the sons of God :" and soon shall you behold those whom
once he held in the most miserable bondage, seated upon
thrones of glory, and actually sitting in judgment upon the
angels, as assessors with their divine Master d . Yes : it is
but a little time, and the seed of Christ, as well as Christ
himself, will be seated upon thrones of glory ; whilst Satan,
and his seed, shall be cast into the lake of fire prepared for
the devil and his angels.
Such is the prophecy before us : and in this way is it ac
complishing yet daily ; and shall be accomplished, till the final
destinies of each shalj terminate the contest for evermore.]
BEHOLD then, brethren,
1 . How marvellous is the grace of God !
[Think under what circumstances he made this promise
to man. He had placed our first parents in Paradise, where
there was every thing that could conduce to their happiness ;
and he himself visited and communed with them, as a friend.
Yet did they, on the very first temptation, violate his express
command: and then, instead of humbling themselves before
him, they fled from him ; and, when summoned into his pre
sence, excused themselves, and even cast the blame of their
iniquity on him : " The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat :
The woman, whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of
the tree, and I did eat." What might we expect now that
he should do unto them ? surely, that he should consign them
over to the misery they deserved. But no: unsought and
unsolicited, he promised them a Saviour, even his only dear
Son, who should rescue both them and all their believing
posterity out of the hands of their great adversary. Now
then, I ask, If God, unsolicited, bestowed the Saviour him
self on these impenitent offenders, will he refuse salvation
to any penitent who calls upon him? Let no sinner
in the universe despond : but let every one see in this
prophecy how abundant and inconceivable is the grace of
God ]
2. How complete shall be the victory of all who
believe in Christ !
d 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3.
4() GENESIS, III. 2124. [8.
[You appear to be in a hopeless condition, because your
corruptions are so great and your enemies so mighty. ^ Go,
then, to the cross of Christ, and there see the Saviour himself
hanging, an helpless and inanimate corpse ! What hope has
HE of victory? Wait a moment, and you will see. Behold
him rising from the grave, ascending to heaven, sending down
the Holy Spirit, establishing his kingdom upon earth, sur
rounded in heaven by myriads of his redeemed, and sealing
up his great adversary, with his hosts, in the bottomless abyss
of hell ! See all this ; and then know what shall be the issue
of your conflicts. You are fighting with a vanquished enemy :
and it is but a little time, and HE, your Almighty Saviour,
" will bruise Satan under your feet," and will elevate you to
thrones of glory, like unto his own. Only follow him in his
conflicts, and you shall be partakers with him in all his victo
ries and triumphs for evermore.]
VIII.
THE WAY OF SALVATION ILLUSTRATED TO OUR FIRST
PARENTS.
Gen. iii. 21 2 -1. Unto Adam also, and to his wife., did the
Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the
Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to
know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand,
and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of
Eden, to till the ground from ivlience lie was taken. So he
drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden
of Eden, cherubims, and a flaming sword wliicli turned every
way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
THE works of God are extremely different from
those which are carried on by man. Creatures of
limited capacity are compelled to act as unforeseen
occasions require; and hence their works are, for
the most part, independent and detached, without
being regulated by any fixed system : but the works
of God are all united and harmonious, as parts of
one grand whole. In the structure of the taber
nacle and all its diversified rites, there was not any
thing, however minute or obscure, which did not
shadow forth some mystery. This appears from the
strict injunction given to Moses to " make every
8.] SALVATION ILLUSTRATED TO OUR FIRST PARENTS. 41
thing according to the pattern shewn to him in the
mount." It is thus also with respect to all the
most remarkable events recorded in the Bible,
whether they relate to the Jewish, patriarchal, or
antediluvian ages ; they were all, in some respect,
figurative and emblematical. Amongst these we
must certainly number the fall of man, with all its
attendant circumstances : the covenant made with
him, the means by which he was induced to violate
it, the way provided for his recovery, were all of
lasting and universal importance. In like manner,
the facts specified in our text must be regarded,
not as mere uninteresting casualties, but as occur
rences of most mysterious import. In God s con
duct towards our first parents, as it is here related,
we may see,
I. The manner in which He illustrated to them his
promised salvation
Our first parents, feeling in themselves the sad
effects of their fall, " sewed fig-leaves together and
made themselves aprons," or rather, twined together
the tender branches of the fig-tree for girdles. But
God was pleased to clothe them in another manner,
even with the skins of beasts ; and thus to direct
their attention to,
1. The blood of atonement
[We are not expressly told, that the animals which were
slain on this occasion were offered in sacrifice ; but if we duly
weigh the reasons for believing that God ordered them to be
slain for this purpose, we can scarcely entertain any doubt
upon the subject.
In the first place, we may be sure that the offering of sacri
fices was not an institution of man s device ; and that, if it
were, it could not be pleasing and acceptable to God. How
could it enter into the mind of man to imagine, that the blood
of a beast could make any satisfaction to God for sin ? What
connexion is there between the blood of a beast and the sin
of man? There was much more reason to think that God
would be displeased with the unauthorized destruction of his
creatures, than that he would be so pleased with it as to
forgive the iniquities of mankind on account of it. Moreover,
had not God himself enjoined this method of propitiating his
42 GENESIS, III. 2124. [8.
anger, we cannot doubt but that he would have answered
the presumptuous offerer, as he did the Jews, " Who hath
required this at your hands*?" But we know that when a
bleeding sacrifice was offered to him by Abel, he testified
his acceptance of it in a visible manner, probably by sending
fire from heaven to consume it. We cannot doubt, therefore,
but that the institution of sacrifices was of divine appointment.
In the next place, if sacrifices were not now instituted, we
can scarcely account for the slaughtering of the animals, and
much less for God s direction respecting it. It is thought
indeed by some, that the flesh was given to our first parents
for food : but this seems very improbable, because God told
Adam at this very time, that he should henceforth subsist,
not upon the fruits of the garden as before, but on " the
herb of the field," which should be produced only by constant
and laborious cultivation b . Nor was it till after the flood
that God gave to man the liberty of eating the flesh of
animals . Hence, if the animals \vere not offered to God
in sacrifice, they were killed merely for their skins, which
seems to be by no means an adequate reason for God s inter
position. On the contrary, if they were by God s command
ment offered in sacrifice, we see, what we are in no other
place informed of, the origin of the institution ; and at the
same time we behold abundant reason for God s special
interference. We see what instruction and consolation our
first parents must derive from such an ordinance : for w r hile
they beheld their own desert in the agonies and death of
an unoffending creature, they must be encouraged to look
forward to that Seed of the Woman, who was in due time
to offer himself a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.
We cannot doubt therefore but that this was the time
when sacrifices were instituted ; and that, as they were
appointed of God to prefigure the great sacrifice, they were
enjoined at this time for the express purpose of directing the
views of fallen man to that atonement which Christ should
afterwards offer to God upon the cross. In this sense, as
well as in the divine purpose, may Christ be called, " The
Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world d ."]
2. The righteousness of Him who made that
atonement
[When we are told that " the Lord God made them
coats of skins, and clothed them," can we suppose that
nothing was intended by him but to provide more conve
niently for their decency and comfort ? Impossible ! There
a Isai. i. 12. D Gen. iii. 18, 19.
c Gen. ix. 3. a R CV> xiii> 8
8.1 SALVATION ILLUSTRATED TO OUR FIRST PARENTS. 43
was in this a deep stupendous mystery. Adam and Eve
thought only of a covering for their bodies : God pointed
out to them a covering for their souls. They were despoiled
of their original righteousness ; and they needed a robe to
cover their naked souls, that they might again stand before
God " without spot or blemish." All means which they
could devise for this purpose would be ineffectual. God
therefore was pleased to shadow forth to them the righteous
ness of Christ; of Him who was " to be the propitiation for
their sins," and emphatically to be " called, The Lord our
Righteousness e ." How far they beheld the substance in the
shadow, we cannot say : but there is abundant proof that the
same means were used in subsequent ages to represent the
Saviour to the world. All the vestments of the priests,
sprinkled with the blood of sacrifices, clearly shewed in what
manner all were to be clothed who would be " an holy priest
hood to the Lord." And the language of Prophets, and
Apostles, and of Christ himself, has so strict an analogy with
the event before us, that we cannot but discern their har
mony and agreement. Isaiah speaks of being " clothed with
the garments of salvation, and covered with a robe of right
eousness 1 ":" St. Paul, enjoying the fuller light of the Gospel,
says more plainly, " Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ g : " And
our blessed Lord more plainly still, " I counsel thee to buy
of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich ; and
white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the
shame of thy nakedness may not appear^"
We need only further observe, that in this marvellous
appointment God taught our fallen parents to look to Him
through one Mediator, and to make that one object the
only ground of all their hopes ; or, in other words, to expect
pardon only through His atoning blood, and acceptance only
through His meritorious and perfect righteousness.]
Having seen how strongly God illustrated to them
his promised salvation, let us notice,
II. The means he used to secure their acceptance
of it-
He banished his guilty creatures from Paradise,
and, by the ministration of angels, prohibited effec
tually their return to it. This he did,
1. Partly in judgment
[The ironical and sarcastic expressions which purport
to be the reason of this dispensation, are certainly strong
e Jer. xxiii. 6. f Isai. Ixi. 10. e Rom. xiii. 14. h Rev. iii. 18.
44 GENESIS, III. 21-24. [8.
indications of liis heavy displeasure. The flattering hope of
" becoming as Gods," had led Adam and his wife to trans-
o-ress the divine command. Now therefore God casts it, as
ft were, in their teeth, with holy indignation, in order that
they might see what they had gained by their folly and
presumption. And whereas they had hitherto enjoyed the
liberty of eating all the fruits of Paradise, and especially
that which was a pledge and earnest to them of God s eternal
favour, he drives them out from the garden, to live in a far
different manner by the sweat of their brow, and to feel
that they were cut off from that life, which, had they main
tained their innocence, would have been consummated in
glory.
Thus we behold them driven as outcasts from God and
happiness, and doomed to a life of labour and sorrow which
should issue in a painful death, and (if repentance intervened
not) in everlasting misery.]
2. Partly in mercy
[God s judgments in this world have always been tem
pered with mercy; yea so tempered, as to be capable of
being turned into the richest blessings. Thus it was in the
case before us. Our first parents had been accustomed to
consider the tree of life as a pledge of the divine favour ; and
would be likely to regard it in the same view after their fall,
as they had done before. Under this delusion they would
be ready to embrace these means of reconciliation with their
offended God, and would be led thereby to neglect the means
which God had prescribed. Persisting in this mistake, they
would pacify their own consciences ; and having lulled them
selves asleep under the guilt of their transgressions, they
would perish in the midst of all the mercy which God had
offered them through the mediation of his Son. To prevent
these fatal consequences, God cuts them off from all access to
the tree of life, and thus necessitates them to seek for mercy
in his appointed way. Precisely as, in destroying the Jewish
nation and polity, God punished his people indeed, but at the
same time consulted their truest interests, by rendering it im
possible for them to fulfil the righteousness of the Mosaic law,
and thereby " shutting them up unto the faith of Christ 1 ;" so
did he expel our first parents from Paradise, that they might
have nothing to divert their attention from that "Seed of the
Woman who was in due time to bruise the Serpent s head."
Tims did God " in judgment remember mercy;" and, in
the very hottest exercise of his anger, provide means for the
richest display of his unmerited, unsought-for kindness.]
1 Gal. iii. 23.
8.] SALVATION ILLUSTRATED TO OUR FIRST PARENTS. 45
From this subject we may LEARN,
1. The antiquity of the Gospel
[Whenever Salvation by the blood and righteousness of
the Lord Jesus is insisted on, it is exclaimed against as a new
doctrine: but it is none other than " the good old way k ,"
which has been pointed out by our Reformers, by the Apo
stles, by the Prophets, and by God himself from the beginning
of the world. God shewed it to our first parents immediately
after their fall : he shewed it them not only by a prophetical
declaration, but also by an emblematical exhibition. And
our very clothing in which we are so apt to pride ourselves,
would, if we considered the origin and occasion of it, lead us
to that way, even to Jesus, in whom alone we can find right
eousness and life. Let us then hold fast the Gospel, without
regarding the senseless cavils of the world : and while " the
proud make it only a stumbling-block, and the conceited reject
it as foolishness," let us receive and glory in it as " the power
of God and the wisdom of God."]
2. The necessity of embracing it
[Like our first parents, we are ready to rest in the seals
of the covenant (as baptism and the Lord s supper), instead of
fleeing to the Saviour himself. But whatever devices we use
for the reconciling of ourselves to God, they will all prove
vain and useless : we shall find them " a bed too short to
stretch ourselves upon, and a covering too narrow to wrap
ourselves in 1 ." There was one way appointed from the be
ginning : that way has been progressively displayed, and illus
trated in different ages ; but it has never been altered, no not
in the slightest degree. " There never has been any other
name whereby we could be saved, but that of Jesus Christ;"
and the only difference between us and the Jews, or us and
Adam, is, that we behold in meridian splendour the truths,
of which they saw only the early dawn. Let us be persuaded
then that all access to life by the first covenant is stopped ;
and that all plans for covering our own shame will be in vain.
We must all be accepted through one sacrifice, and all be
clothed in one righteousness ; and all comply with that direc
tion of the prophet, " In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel
be justified, and shall glory."]
k Jer. vi. 16. l Isai. xxviii. 20. m Acts iv. 12.
46 GENESIS, IV. 810. [9.
IX.
THE DEATH OF ABEL.
Gen. iv. 8 10. And Cain talked with Abel his brother : and
it came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose
up against Abel his brother, and sleiv him. And the Lord
said unto Cain, Where is Abel tluj brother? And he said,
I know not: Am I my brothers keeper? And He said,
What hast thou done ? The voice of thy brother s blood
crieth unto me from the ground.
IT is scarcely to be conceived how much iniquity
there is in the heart of fallen man. That we have
passions which incline us occasionally to deviate from
the path of duty, is nothing more than what all feel
and confess : but that we are ready to perpetrate all
manner of evil, not excepting even murder itself, few
are sufficiently candid or intelligent to acknowledge.
This seems an excess of wickedness, of which human
nature, unless in very extraordinary circumstances, is
not capable. To such a charge most men would be
ready to reply, " Is thy servant a dog, that I should
do this thing?" But we may behold in Cain a just
picture of ourselves. What he was by nature, that
are we also. The first-born of Adam, begotten after
his own fallen image, shews what all are, till renewed
by grace : " they live in malice and envy, hateful,
and hating one another :" and their contempt of God
is equal to all the other odious qualities that defile
their souls. We cannot but be struck with this in
the history of Cain, who having murdered his brother
Abel, presumed even to insult his God. His conduct
will come properly under our review, if we consider,
I. The Murder-
In this awful transaction, there are two things to
be inquired into :
I. The manner in which it was perpetrated
[Satan, in his assaults on man, can exert himself only by
wiles and stratagems, not being permitted to exercise his
power against us in any other way. But when he employs
human agents in his service, he stirs them up to combine in
their attacks " deceit and violence." Such were the weapons
with which the blood-thirsty Cain sought the destruction of his
9.1 THE DEATH OF ABEL. 47
brother Abel. " He talked with Abel his brother." What
the subject of the conversation was, it would be foolish to
conjecture : but that it was of a friendly nature, there can be
no doubt. It was evidently with a design to allure him into
a place of solitude, where he might effect his murderous pur
pose without difficulty or detection. Had he disclosed the
sentiments of his heart, he would have put his brother on his
guard : whereas by feigning affection towards him, he would
remove all fear or suspicion from his brother s mind, and faci
litate the accomplishment of the fatal deed a . To similar
means assassins have had recourse in all ages. It was thus
that Joab slew both Abner and Amasa: " he sent messengers
after Abner, and took him aside in the gate to speak with him
quietly :" " to Amasa he said, Art thou in health, my bro
ther? and took him by the beard to kiss him c :" but his pre
tences to friendship were only to secure access to them, that
he might strike with effect the dagger to their heart. It was
thus that Absalom also contrived to murder his brother
Amnon: he made a feast for all his family, and expressed
particular solicitude to have the company of Amnon : but the
whole was a cover, to effect the destruction of his brother in
the midst of his convivial mirth d .
The murder of a brother is such an atrocious act, that it
scarcely admits of being aggravated by any circumstances : but
if any thing can aggravate it, surely the treachery of Cain
must awfully enhance its guilt. Had it been the effect of
sudden wrath, it had even then been criminal beyond the
power of language to express : but being the result of pre
meditation and contrivance, of deceit and treachery, its enor
mity is increased an hundred-fold.]
2. The motive to the commission of it
[Gladly would we, if possible, find somewhat to extenuate
the guilt of this transaction : but the more minutely we ex
amine it, the more heinous it appears. The Scripture informs
us, that Cain, in the commission of this act, was impelled
only by envy and hatred. God had been pleased to testify
his acceptance of Abel and of his sacrifice, while no such
token of approbation was vouchsafed to Cain. The effect of
this should have been, to lead Cain into a close examination
of his spirit and conduct, and to make him earnest in prayer,
that he might know wherefore this preference had been given
to Abel, and how he also might obtain the favour of his God.
But, alas ! his heart was filled with envy and wrath, insomuch
that his whole countenance was changed. In vain did God
a Ps. Iv. 21. b 2 Sam. iii. 26, 27.
c 2 Sam. xx. 9, 10. d 2 Sam. xiii. 26 28.
48 GENESIS, IV. 810. [9.
expostulate with him on the unreasonableness of his beha
viour 6 . "The spirit that dwelt in him lusted to envy f :"
this malignant passion " was as rottenness in his bones g ," so
thoroughly had it corroded his very inmost soul. The excel
lence of Abel s character served only to add fuel to the flame.
His virtues were his faults ; so " impossible is it to stand
before envyV Cain hated in him the divine image, as much
as he envied him the divine favour. The light of his brother s
example was oifensive to his eyes ; and on this account he
sought to extinguish it. St. John, having told us that Cain
slew his brother, asks, " And wherefore slew he him?" he
then answers, " Because his own works w r ere evil, and his
brother s righteous 1 ."
Such were the motives by which Cain was instigated to this
infernal deed. The murder was first committed in his heart ;
and then completed with his hand ; according to that saying
of the Apostle, " He that hateth his brother is a murderer V
Indeed there is such a connexion between " envy, debate, de
ceit, and murder l " that wherever the first is harboured, the
rest would follow of course, if God in his infinite mercy did not
interpose to limit the operation of our sinful propensities.]
God, who " maketh inquisition for blood/ would
not suffer the murder to be concealed : lie therefore
sought out the offender, and commenced,,
II. The Inquest-
It is said, that " Whose hatred is covered by
deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the
whole congregation 111 :" and where that hatred has
proceeded to murder, God in his providence has
generally fulfilled this saying. On this occasion,
the Governor of the Universe proceeded exactly as
he had done upon the first transgression : He sum
moned the criminal, and made inquiry at his hands.
In the trial we notice,
1. Cain s denial of the fact
[Being interrogated, "Where his brother Abel was," he
answered with consummate effrontery, " I know not : Am I
my brother s keeper?" Alas! how inseparable the connexion
between guilt and falsehood! But what blindness had sin
induced upon his mind, and what obduracy upon his heart !
ver. 0, 7. f Jam. iv. 5. g Prov. xiv. 30.
Prov. xxvii. 4. i 1 John iii. 12. k i j o h n ft. 15.
1 Rom. i. 29. m p rov> xxv i t 2 6.
THE DEATH OF ABEL. 49
9.]
What could he imagine, when he thus flatly denied any know
ledge of his brother ? Did he suppose that he could deceive
his God ? Had he forgotten, that omniscience was an attri
bute essential to the Deity ? Yes : such is the atheism which
sin produces : he said in his heart, " Tush, God hath not seen :
Can he see through the thick clouds 11 ?" Not contented with
uttering this impious falsehood, he added an insult, which we
should scarcely have thought he would have dared to offer to
his earthly parent, much less to his Maker and his God. Be
hold this murderous wretch presuming to criminate his Judge,
and to reprove him as unreasonable and unjust! " Am I my
brother s keeper ?" that is, * What right hast thou to inter
rogate me respecting him ? We stand amazed at this effort
of impiety: but, in truth, it is no other than what is daily
exemplified before our eyes. If we question men respecting
the performance of any of their duties, they will not hesitate
to condemn our expectations as unreasonable, and the laws
on which they are founded, as absurd : and when the autho
rity of God is urged in support of his law, they will not
scruple to arraign the wisdom and equity of the Lawgiver him
self. The very manner in which Cain attempted to conceal
his crime was of itself a strong presumption against his inno
cence. What need had he to be offended with an inquiry
after his brother, if he really knew not where he was ? What
occasion was there for all this petulance and profaneness?
But it was in vain to deny a fact which the all-seeing God was
ready to attest .]
2. His conviction before God
[He had effectually silenced his brother s voice ; so that
no testimony could be borne by him. But the blood which
he had shed, had a voice, which cried aloud ; a voice which
reached the throne of Almighty God, and brought him down
to plead the cause of injured innocence. Indeed, every sin
has a voice, w r hich speaks powerfully in the ears of God, and
calls for vengeance on the head of him who has committed it.
It was in vain to dispute the testimony of Jehovah. The
criminal stands confounded, and waits the sentence awarded
by his Judge. Surely now then at least we shall behold him
softened : his obdurate heart must now relent ; and he will
accept with resignation the punishment of his iniquity. Not
so indeed : he expresses no contrition : he asks not once for
mercy : he complains indeed, but not of himself, not of the
guilt he has contracted, not of the deed he has perpetrated,
but of the punishment he has incurred ; " My punishment is
greater than I can bear." But let not this be wondered at :
11 Job xxii. 14. Ps. xciv. 7 10.
VOL. I. E
,50 GENESIS, IV. 810. [9.
It is the effect of sin to sear the conscience, and to harden the
heart : and the more heinous our transgressions are, the more
shall we be disposed to criminate the authority that calls us
into judgment for them. Even in hell itself this disposition
is exercised, yea, it rages with uncontrolled and incessant fury :
the damned spirits " gnaw their tongues for pain, and blas
pheme the God of heaven because of their pains, and repent
not of their deeds p ."]
Hence then we may OBSERVE,
1. How soon did " the enmity which God has
put between the Serpent s and the Woman s seed q "
begin to shew itself!
[It is an undeniable fact, that " all who live godly in
Christ Jesus do suffer persecution 1 :" and the world, yea
sometimes Christians themselves also, are ready to think that
the opposition made to them is discreditable to their cause.
But our Lord and his Apostles taught us* to expect precisely
the same treatment which they themselves received 8 . They
inform us also how all the Prophets were used by those among
whom they sojourned 1 : they declare that, in all ages, even
from the beginning of the world, " they who have been born
after the flesh have persecuted those who were born after the
Spirit 11 ;" and that all " the blood shed from the time of
righteous Abel" to the time that Christ himself was nailed
upon the cross x , served to illustrate " the enmity of the carnal
mind against God," and the path in which all must walk who
would finally attain to glory. Hence persecutors are empha
tically said to " go in the way of Cain y ." " Let none then
think it strange that they are called to endure a fiery trial,
as though some strange thing happened unto them 2 ;" but
"let them rejoice and glorify God on this behalf 3 ;" knowing
that myriads who are now in heaven " came thither out of
great tribulation 1 ;" and that, " if they also suffer with Christ,
they shall in due time be glorified together with hhn c ."]
2. How vain is it to cultivate the friendship of
the world!
[If, in any situation, fellowship could have been maintained
between a carnal and a spiritual man, we may well suppose that
it should subsist between the two first men who were born
into the world, educated as they must have been with the
strictest care, and necessitated as they were to cultivate a
i> Rev. xvi. 10, 11. q Gen. iii. 15. -" 2 Tim. iii. 12.
* John xv. 1820. t Acts vii. 52. u Gal. iv. 29.
Matt, xxiii. 35. y J ll( le 11. z l p e t. iv. 12.
a 1 Pet. iv. 13, 14, 10. i> Rev. vii. 14. c R om . v iij. 17.
10.1 INSTITUTION OF PUBLIC WORSHIP. 51
friendly intercourse on account of the contracted state of so
ciety in the world : yet not even these could enjoy spiritual
communion with each other. It is true, that all natural men
do not give themselves up, like Cain, to the dominion of their
lusts : but it is equally true, that all men have in their hearts
the same envious and malignant passions d , and that, till they
are renewed by divine grace, they are enemies to true reli
gion 6 . Hence we are told to come out from the world and
be separate, because there can be no more true communion
between believers and unbelievers, than between light and
darkness, or Christ and Belial f . And they who, in opposition
to this direction, choose the unregenerate for their associates,
or form still more intimate connexions with them, are sure to
"suffer loss" in their souls; and, if saved at all, they are
" saved only so as by nre g ."]
3. How certainly " will sin find us out" at last !
[We may conceal our iniquities from man ; but we can
never hide them from God : " There is no darkness nor
shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide
themselves." God does not often interfere to make known
our guilt, as in the case before us ; (though the interpositions
of His providence in the discovery of murder are sometimes
extremely marked and visible ;) but in the day of judgment
" he will make manifest the very counsels of our hearts." It
will be in vain then to deny our guilt, or to raise those cap
tious, not to say impious, objections, which now appear to us
of so much weight : Every thing will be substantiated by the
fullest evidence, and be recompensed according to its desert.
O that " in that day we may be found without spot, and blame
less ! " This may be the state of all, not excepting even mur
derers themselves, provided they wash in the fountain of Christ s
blood, and be renewed by his Holy Spirit. Let us then seek
his pardoning and renewing grace. Then shall we be enabled
to " stand before our God with boldness," and " give up our
account to him with joy, and not with grief."]
d Jam. iv. 5. e R O m. viii, 7.
f 2 Cor. vi. 14, 15, 17. el Cor. iii. 15.
X.
INSTITUTION OF PUBLIC WORSHIP.
Gen. iv. 26. Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.
OF the various institutions of religion, some were
clearly founded on an express appointment from
52 GENESIS, IV. 26. [10.
God himself; others appear to have arisen, in the
first instance, from the suggestions of holy men, and
to have been afterwards authorized and established
by divine authority. It is manifest that baptism was
practised by the Jews long before it was appointed
by Christ as the rite whereby his followers were to
be consecrated to his service: but when it was first-
introduced, or whether by any express command of
God, we know not. The change of the Sabbath
from the seventh day to the first was sanctioned by
the practice of the Apostles : but whether they re
ceived any particular direction respecting it, we are
not informed. The presumption indeed is, that all
the observances which God has sanctioned, origi
nated from him ; and that men began to practise
them in consequence of some intimations from him :
but as this is not declared in Scripture, we must be
contented to leave the matter undecided. We are
not any where told that God commanded men to
meet together for the purposes of public worship. If
we take the text in the precise sense that it bears in
our translation, it should seem that public assemblies
of worship were rather the offspring of necessity ; and
that they arose out of an increase of population, and
a growing neglect of personal and family religion.
The text indeed is, in the margin of our Bibles,
rendered differently : " Then began men to call them
selves by the name of the Lord:" Nor are commen
tators agreed to which of the versions we should give
the preference. We shall therefore include both;
and take occasion from the words to shew,
I. In what manner we should confess God
The descendants of Cain, who had become " a fu
gitive and a vagabond in the earth," soon cast off all
regard for God, and addicted themselves to open and
shameless impiety. Lamech broke through the re
straints which the Creator had imposed in relation to
marriage, and " took unto him two wives;" leaving
thereby an example, which in process of time effaced
the very remembrance of God s original institution.
JQ 1 INSTITUTION OF PUBLIC WORSHIP. 58
From these and other abominations arose an impe
rious necessity for the godly to separate themselves
from the ungodly, and to maintain by an open and
more visible profession the honour of God in the
world. This they did : and in so doing they have
taught us,
1. To separate ourselves from the ungodly
[There is a certain degree of intercourse which must subsist
between us and the world. But it is by no means desirable
to extend it beyond that which the duties of our calling abso
lutely require. Our Lord repeatedly declares that his faithful
followers " are not of the world, even as He was not of the
world a :" The Apostles also with one voice guard us against
cultivating the friendship of the world ; b and teach us to come
out from among them , and to live as a distinct "peculiar
people 1 ," " shining among them as lights in a dark place 6 ."
We should go to them, indeed, when duty calls, as the phy
sician enters the infected chambers of the sick : but we should
never forget, that " evil communications corrupt good man
ners f ;" and that an undue familiarity with them is far more
likely to weaken the spirituality of our own minds, than to
generate a holy disposition in theirs. In us should be verified
the prophecy of Balaam, " Israel shall dwell alone, and shall
not be reckoned among the nations g ."]
2. To make an open profession of our attachment
to Christ
[The godly, in the antediluvian world, called themselves
Children of God, as distinct from those who were only children
of men : and it was foretold that a similar distinction should
obtain among the followers of Christ 11 . If in one instance
Peter failed in acknowledging his Lord, on other occasions he
witnessed a good confession, and manfully withstood the
threatenings of his enemies 1 . It may be thought perhaps,
that, because Christianity is the established religion of the
land, there is no occasion for such boldness now : but the sons
of Cain and of Ishmael are yet amongst us k : there are in
every place those who deride all vital godliness : and it requires
almost as much fortitude to withstand their sneers and con
tempt, as it does to brave more cruel persecutions. There is
the same necessity for us to " take up our cross and follow
Christ," as there was for the primitive Christians : and the
a John xvii. 16. b James iv. 4. c 2 Cor. vi. 14 18.
d 1 Pet. ii. 9. e Phil. ii. 15. f 1 Cor. xv. 33.
g Numb, xxiii. 9. h Isai. xliv. 5. Acts iv. 8, 10, 19, 20.
k Jude 11. Gal. iv. 23, 29.
54 GENESIS, IV. 26. [10.
command given to them to " be faithful unto death/ is equally
to be regarded by us: for the same conduct will be observed
by the fudge towards men of every age and nation ; ^ he will
confess those before his Father who have confessed him in the
world," and " deny before his Father those who have denied,"
or been ashamed of him 1 .]
But the text instructs us also,
II. In what manner we should worship him
We cannot doubt but that Adam and his pious
offspring maintained the worship of God both in
their families and their closets : but till the human
race were considerably multiplied, there was no occa
sion for what may be called public worship. But
when the families became so numerous that they
were obliged to separate, then it was necessary to
call them together at stated times and seasons, that,
by forming different congregations, they might all
receive instruction at once, and keep up in their
minds an habitual reverence for God.
The necessity for public ordinances is obvious;
and the benefit arising from them is incalculable.
1. They preserve the knowledge of God in the
world
[There is reason to fear, that if there were no public ordi
nances of religion, the very name of God would be soon for
gotten. Notwithstanding the establishment of such institutions,
the generality are " perishing for lack of knowledge : " dark
ness has overspread the land, even a darkness that may be seen
and felt 111 . But there is some light shining in the world; and
that is diffused almost exclusively by the public ministry of the
word. Occasionally, God is pleased to instruct men by his
word and Spirit, without the intervention of human agents :
but, as he has set apart an order of men for the express pur
pose of propagating his truth, so he delights to honour them
as his instruments to convey his blessings to the world 11 .
Doubtless he vouchsafes his blessing to those who read and
pray in secret, provided they reverence, as far as their circum
stances admit, his public institutions : but never did he, from
the foundation of the world, impart his blessing to those who
1 Matt. x. 32, 33. Mark viii. 38.
111 Exod. x. 21. with Isai. ix. 2.
" Compare Zech. iv. 11 14. and 2 Cor. iv. 7. with Acts viii.
2G 39. and x. 944.
10.1 INSTITUTION OF PUBLIC WORSHIP. 55
continued to live in an avowed contempt of his ordinances :
No : "he loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwell
ings of Jacob ."]
2. They are the means of perfecting his work in
his people s hearts
[God has told us that this was a very principal end for
his ordaining men to preach the Gospel p ; but it is by means
of the public ordinances chiefly that Ministers can address the
people : and consequently the ordinances themselves are the
means by which God accomplishes his end. We have said
before, that God will also reveal himself to his people in
secret : and it sometimes happens that their communion with
him in private is more sweet and intimate than in the public
assembly : but may we not ask, on the other hand, whether,
when the heart has been cold and formal in the closet, it has
not often been warmed and animated in the church ? And is
not much of the enjoyment experienced in secret, the result
of instructions administered in the public ordinances? In the
one they gather the food; in the other they ruminate and
chew the cud: but the pleasure and nourishment derived to
their souls must be acknowledged, in part at least, as origi
nating in their public duties. To these has God promised his
peculiar blessing q ; and therefore w r e should "reverence his
sanctuary," and join with one consent in a public surrender of
ourselves to God r .]
ADDRESS,
1. Those who have others under their control
[Parents, and Masters, you are responsible to God for the
exercise of your power and influence. Will you then, either
by precept or example, encourage a conformity to the world,
or a disregard of the worship of your God ? O " destroy not
their souls, for whom Christ died ! " Employ your authority
for God : and, whatever opposition you may meet with in the
world, learn to say with Joshua, " As for me and my house,
we will serve the Lord 8 ."]
2. Those who are acting for themselves
[If you have " chosen the good part," be careful that it
" be not taken away from you," either through the love of this
world, or through the fear of man. Be steadfast, and "endure
unto the end, that you may be saved at last." If you lose your
life for Christ s sake, you shall find it unto life eternal. But if
Ps. Ixxxvii. 2. P Eph. iv. 11 15.
<i Exod. xx. 24. Matt, xxviii. 20.
1 See Zeph. iii. 9. Zech. viii. 20 22. s Josh. xxiv. 15.
56 GENESIS, V. 24. [11.
you are " walking in the broad road," think whither it leads:
and begin to serve your God in this world, that you may be
honoured by him in the world to come 4 .]
t John xii. 26.
XL
ENOCH S WALKING WITH GOD.
Gen. v. 24. And Enoch walked with God : and he was not ;
for God took him.
THE cares of a family are by no means incom
patible with a life of devotedness to God. The man
distinguished for his piety above all others in the
antediluvian world, had a very numerous offspring %
to whom doubtless he paid every attention in his
power : yet he w r as not impeded in his spiritual
course ; but found time to serve his God, as much
as if he had been free from all concern about this
present world.
We shall consider,
I. His conduct
We are told, he " walked with God." Now
" walking with God" implies,
1. Agreement
[Enoch, as a fallen creature, was once alienated from God,
like others 1 , and, during his unconverted state, was full of
enmity against him both in heart and life c ; " walking after
the flesh," according to the course of this world, and altogether
contrary to God d . But now he was reconciled to God through
faith in Christ e - And was brought by this means to
an agreement with him both in mind and will.
a His eldest son, Methuselah, was bom to him at the age of sixty-
five ; after which he continued for the space of three hundred years
to beget sons and daughters, ver. 21 23.
b Eph. iv. 18. c R om> v iii. y. Col> j. 21.
Rom. viii. 1. Eph. ii. 2. Lev. xxvi. 27, 28.
c It is said in Heb. xi. 5. that Enoch was " translated by faith : "
and though that faith might have more immediate respect to some
promise given him relative to his translation, yet we can scarcely con
ceive but that it had a further respect to the promised Messiah. And
this idea is greatly strengthened by the account St. Jude gives of his
11.] ENOCH S WALKING WITH GOD. 57
Thus must all of us obtain reconciliation with God through
the blood of Christ, before we can resemble this eminent
saint ; for it is not possible for " two to walk together except
they be agreed f ."~]
2. Familiarity
[Friends who associate much together, contract a fami
liarity with each other : they open to each other their sorrows
and their joys : they consult each other in their difficulties ;
and maintain with the greatest freedom a mutual intercourse.
Thus did Enoch with his God. He considered God as his
friend : he had familiar access to him at all times : he opened
to him all his wants, all his fears, all his trials : he did nothing
without first asking counsel of his friend, and engaging his
assistance.
Nor was this an honour peculiar to him : it is the duty and
the privilege of all the saints : we may go and knock at the
door of our Friend, and he will always open unto us s : we
may have access to him with boldness and with confidence,
even in his most private apartments h : we may ask what we
will of him, and he will do it for us \ He, on the other hand,
will come and knock at our door ; and will come in and sup
with us k : he will communicate to us his secrets ] ; and will in
ten thousand ways manifest himself unto us as he does not
unto the world" 1 .]
3. Affection
[Affection is the very essence of friendship : mere agree
ment or familiarity are of little value without it : where this
does not exist, the intercourse cannot be such as is implied in
walking with God. Enoch loved his God, if I may so speak,
with all his heart, and mind, and soul, and strength : God
would never have given him a special testimony of his appro
bation, if his heart had been destitute of the sacred flame of
love. He went forth to meet his God, as Adam was wont to
do in his state of innocence : he looked forward with joy to
the seasons when he should again renew his fellowship with
him : he studied to avoid every thing that might in any respect
grieve him ; and made it the great object of his life to do what
was pleasing in his sight.
It is in this way that we also are to walk with God : we
foretelling the very manner of the future judgment (ver. 14, 15.) :
for if he prophesied of Christ s second coming, doubtless he was not
ignorant of his first advent.
f Amos iii. 3. s Matt. vii. 7, 8.
11 James iv. 8. Eph. iii. 12. Heb. x. 19.
1 John xv. 7. k Rev. iii. 20. John xiv. 23.
1 Ps. xxv. 14. m John xiv. 21, 22.
58 GENESIS, V. 24. [H.
must commune with him not by constraint, but willingly and
of a ready mind". We must delight ourselves in him . His
loving-kindness must be better to us than life itself? : and it
must^be as marrow and fatness to us to serve and honour
him. ( i]
How acceptable to God this conduct was, we may
learn from,
II. The reward with which God honoured him
The manifestations of God s presence and favour
which he continually enjoyed, were a rich recom-
pence for any self-denial w^hich he exercised, or any
exertions which he used, to please his God. But,
besides all these, God,
1. Exempted him from death, the common lot of
all men
[All, the righteous as well as the wicked, must pay the
penalty of death, which has been entailed on them by the sin
of Adam, and been richly merited by their own personal trans
gressions. But God has been pleased to exempt from it one
in the old world, and one in the new r . This testimony of his
approbation God vouchsafed to Enoch. He was a bold and
faithful witness for God, and doubtless incensed many against
him 8 And God took him from a persecuting and
ungodly world, who probably enough were seeking to destroy
him on account of his pungent admonitions*. He took him
in the prime of life, without any previous pain or sickness.
To some indeed it might appear a calamity to be taken away,
in the midst of his useful labours, and while Ms family were
still looking up to him for instruction and support : but he
thought it "far better to depart and to be with Christ," than
to prolong his days in the midst of a tempting and ungodly
world : and God gave him the desire of his heart.
We, however diligent in walking with God, cannot hope to
participate in such a reward as this. But death shall be dis
armed of its sting, so that it shall be to us rather an object of
desire, than of fear and terror 11 : and while the most stout
hearted sinner in the universe trembles at its approach, we
11 1 John i. 3. o Ps. xxxvii. 4. P Ps. Ixiii. 3.
( i Ps. Ixiii. 5. r Compare 2 Kings ii. 11. with the text.
s Jude 14, 15.
t In Hel). xi. 5. before cited, it is said "he was not found."
This may refer to some search made by his friends (see 2 Kings ii.16.)
or rather by his enemies, (see 1 Kings xviii. 10.)
u 2 Cor. v. 4.
11.1 ENOCH S WALKING WITH GOD. 59
shall be enabled not only to meet it with serenity and com
posure, but to triumph over it as a vanquished enemy. x ]
2. Exalted him both in body and in soul to a
more immediate enjoyment of his presence
[While Enoch was in the body, he could not endure the
full splendour of the divine glory y : he could only behold his
God through the dark medium of faith 2 , or, at most, be per
mitted to "see his back parts*." But God translated him,
both in body and soul, to the highest heavens ; making him
thereby not only an eminent type of Christ s ascension, but an
earnest and pledge to us, that our bodies shall hereafter be
raised to a participation of the happiness, which our glorified
souls shall enjoy at the instant of their departure from the
body. To what extent the blessedness of every individual will
be advanced by the re-union of the soul and body, it is not
possible to say : but it is reasonable to suppose, that that which
consummates our reward, will greatly enhance our felicity.
This, however, Enoch had not to wait for ; he received his full
reward at once ; and was thereby distinguished from all those
disembodied spirits, which, though perfected in glory, waited
for their complete happiness till the day of judgment. The
happiness of Enoch in communing with God on earth was
doubtless exceeding great: but when he arrived at the full
fruition of the divine glory, his blessedness as far exceeded all
that he had before experienced, as the early dawn is surpassed
by the meridian light.
It need not, however, be any matter of regret to us, that we
are not to expect this reward; since, on our dismission from
the body, we shall instantly be in Paradise ; and at the day of
resurrection, we shall have our bodies raised to a participation
of our bliss.]
3. Made him a most distinguished monument to
the whole world, of the love he bears to those who
seek communion with him
[We know but little of the state of those who are gone
into the invisible world, though we believe, from the word of
God, that they are completely happy. But here is an evidence
to our very senses, that none shall be suffered to " seek God s
face in vain." Who, after beholding such an interposition of
the Deity, such an honour conferred on a " man of like passions
with ourselves," can doubt one moment of the acceptance
which all shall find, who serve their God in sincerity and
truth b ?
x 1 Cor. xv. 55. y 1 Tim. vi. 16. z 1 Cor, xiii. 12.
a Exod. xxxiii. 23. b Isai. Ixiv. 5.
60 GENESIS, VI. 3. [12.
In this view then we may consider his reward as an earnest
of ours. We shall not be left without many expressions of
God s love even in this world, if we endeavour to walk closely
with him. But, whether our present state be more or less
joyous, we are sure that in the eternal world we shall not lose
our reward. We need only to consider the exalted condition
of this distinguished saint and we may see in him the blessed
ness reserved for us.]
INFER,
1. What an honourable character is the Christian!
[We consider those as honourable who associate with
great men on earth: but the Christian has higher company
than earthly monarchs ; he walks with God himself; and God
is not ashamed to call him his friend c . In some sense, the
Christian is already translated into God s kingdom 01 , and ad
mitted into the heavenly Zion, and joined to the society of
glorified saints and angels 6 .
Let every one then walk worthy of this high calling; and,
in a dignified contempt of all inferior objects, endeavour to
attain this sublime privilege in its highest perfection.]
2. What a happy character is the Christian !
[His singularity may bring upon him much odium and
persecution. But what need he to regard the frowns of men,
who enjoys fellowship with God? One smile from his almighty
Friend is sufficient to counterbalance all the indignities that
can possibly be cast upon him. Yet, after all, his happiness
in this world is but as the drop before the shower. When he
has filled up the measure of his obedience, G~od takes him to
himself; a band of angels are sent to bear his spirit to the
regions of the blest. It must not be said of the Christian,
" He dies;" but merely, that " God translates him" from a
world of sin and misery, to a world of blessedness and glory.
" Such honour have all his saints ;" God grant it may be ours
for ever and ever! Amen.]
c Ileh. xi. 16. James ii. 23. John xv. 15.
(l Col. i. 13. c Hcb. xii. 22, 23.
XII.
STRIVINGS OF THE SPIRIT.
Gen. vi. 3. And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not always
strive with man.
^ MAN, at first, was created in the image of his
God : but when he fell, he begat children in his own
12.] STRIVINGS OF THE SPIRIT. 61
fallen image. His very first-born became a murderer.
Some of his posterity, however, were pious : but they,
not being careful to connect themselves with those
who feared God, were drawn aside from religion by
their ungodly wives, insomuch that, in eight or nine
generations, " all flesh had corrupted their way,"
and it repented " God that he had made man a ." In
consequence of this, God determined to destroy the
whole earth. But yet, being full of mercy, he would
not proceed to this extremity without giving to man
space for repentance. Accordingly, he commanded
Noah to preach to them ; and to declare, that in the
space of 120 years the threatened judgments should
be inflicted, if the people did not avert those judg
ments by their penitence. During that period his
Holy Spirit should continue to strive with them
but no longer : for " he should not always strive
with man, who was now become altogether flesh,"
and carnal ; and who, if he did not repent in the
time allotted him, should be left to reap the bitter
fruit of his own ways.
That this warning may have a salutary effect on
us, I will endeavour to shew,
I. That the Spirit of God, if long resisted, will cease
to strive with us.
Certain it is, that the Spirit of God does strive
with unregenerate men
[He strove with the whole antediluvian world, by the
ministry of Noah : for " by the Spirit did that holy man
preach, during the whole period whilst the ark was preparing,
even to the spirits which for their disobedience were con
demned, and shut up in the prison " reserved for all impenitent
transgressors b . " To the whole nation of Israel, also, did the
Holy Spirit for ages testify, in and by his Prophets, notwith
standing they dealt proudly, and withdrew their shoulder,
and hardened their neck, and would not hear c ." With us
also does he strive, both by the ministry of his word, and by
his own immediate agency on the hearts of men. For, what
is conscience, but God s vicegerent in the soul? By that,
God speaks to us; warning, and inviting us from time to
a Gen. vi, 6, 7, 12. to 1 Pet. iii. 19, 20. c Neh. ix. 29, 30.
62 GENESIS, VI. 3. [12.
time, if by any means we may be induced to repent and turn
unto him. Let any one only look back upon his past life ;
and he shall find that there have been some periods when he
has felt a conviction upon his mind that it was his duty, and
would be his happiness, to seek after God, and obtain, whilst
yet he might, the remission of his sins.]
But we resist his sacred motions
[To whom amongst us may not those words of Stephen
be applied, (if not in reference to the present moment, yet
certainly in reference to some period of our lives,) " Ye stiff-
necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always
resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so also do ye d ."
We may not, indeed, have set ourselves in such hostility to
the truth as they did; but have we been more practically
obedient than they? Have we obeyed the voice of the Lord
our God, calling us to repentance, and to a dedication of our
whole selves to him ? Alas ! there has been the same stoutness
of heart in us, as in persons of a more profane character;
many of whom, perhaps, have " said, I will not, but afterwards
have repented, and went" into their Lord s vineyard; whilst
we, perhaps, have said, " I go, Sir," but have been as far from
executing our acknowledged duty as ever 6 .]
And will the Spirit always continue to strive
with us ?
[No : we are assured he will not. We know that his
motions may be resisted, till they are altogether " quenched f ."
And in many instances has he been driven away by the obsti
nacy of those with whom he had striven. Of Saul we are told,
that " the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul ; and an evil
spirit from the Lord troubled him g ." And it was not without
reason that David prayed, " Cast me not away from thy pre
sence ! and take not thy Holy Spirit from me 11 !" When God
saw his ancient people incurably addicted to idolatry, He said,
" Ephraim is joined to idols : let him alone 1 ." And what else
can we expect, if we continue obstinate in our sins ? The
doom of Israel must of necessity be ours. Of them it is said,
" They rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit; therefore he was
turned to be their enemy, and fought against them k :" and we
verily can expect no other, than that He, whose solicitations
we refused to follow, as a Friend, shall send forth his vindic
tive judgments against us, as an Enemy.]
Let me then proceed to shew,
(1 Acts vii. 51. c Matt. xxi. 2830. f 1 Thess. v. 19.
& 1 Sam. xvi. 14. h Ps. li. 11. i Hos. iv. 17.
k Isai. Ixiii. 10,
12.1 STRIVINGS OF THE SPIRIT. 63
II. What is the state of a soul thus abandoned by
the Lord.
Truly its condition is most pitiable. God has
said, "Woe unto them, when I depart from them 1 :"
and verily it will be a woeful day for any one of us,
if God should ever abandon us to ourselves ! for the
deserted soul is from that moment given up, yes,
and given up for ever,
1. To delusion-
fit is surprising what delusions an abandoned sinner will
harbour in his heart : " I shall have peace, though I walk in
the imaginations of my heart to add drunkenness to thirst,
and sin to sin m ." Refuges of lies he shall have in plenty, to
administer to his composure : There is no future state : death
is but an eternal sleep : or, at all events, God is too merciful
to inflict punishment in a future state : or, at any rate, the
punishment cannot be eternal. As for the Holy Scriptures,
perhaps they are only the writings of fallible men, like our
selves : or, at best, they are so highly figurative, that you can
not depend upon them. Thus men take refuge in infidelity,
that so they may rid themselves of records, which, if credited,
would be subversive of their peace. And to these delusions
God will give them up ; as he has said : " They have chosen
their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abomina
tions : I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their
fears upon them n ." In the New Testament, this judgment is
yet more emphatically denounced : " They (the Antichristian.
powers) received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved," says St. Paul : " and for this cause, God shall send
them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie ; that they
all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness ." Oh, terrible judgment! and
the more terrible, because they who are subjected to it have
no conception that they are lying under it : but it will be the
assured portion of all with whom the Spirit of God has ceased
to strive.]
2. To bondage
[To the power of their own lusts will they be given up,
so that Satan shall lead them captive at his will. How awful
is that declaration of Solomon, " His own iniquities shall take
the wicked himself; and he shall be holden with the cords of
his own sins p !" Yet this must be the fate of all who constrain
1 Hos. ix. 12. m Deut. xxix. 19. n Isai. Ixvi. 3, 4.
2 Thess. ii. 10 12. P Prov. v. 22.
64 GENESIS, VI. 3. [12.
the Holy Spirit to depart from them. If men " will despise
and reject all the counsel of the Lord, they will assuredly be
left to eat the fruit of their own ways, and be filled with their
own devices." It was so with the Heathen, " who liked not
to retain God in their knowledge : he gave them over to a
reprobate mind q ." It was so, also, with the Israelites: " My
people would not hearken to my voice, and Israel would none
of me : so I gave them up unto their own. hearts lust ; and
they walked in their own counsels 1 ." What more common
than to see this very judgment inflicted before our eyes? The
infidel, the drunkard, the whoremonger, the thief, the covet
ous man, the profane swearer, what slaves do they become to
their respective habits ! These shew us the very truth that
I am insisting on ; and declare, with one voice, that the
Ethiopian may as well change his skin or the leopard his
spots, as they renounce the habits to which they have been
given over by their God.]
3. To obduracy
[Pharaoh, for his obstinacy, was given up to a state of
hardness that is scarcely to be credited. And how many, in
every age, when forsaken by the Lord, have had " their con
sciences seared as with a hot iron," and become altogether
" past feeling 8 !" Behold the scoffer, who pours contempt on
all religion, and, with daring impiety, cries, " Where is the
promise of God s coming to judgment ? for since the fathers
fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the begin
ning of the creation 1 ." If reproved for their impiety, they
will in effect say, "Who is Lord over us u ?" " We know
not the Lord; neither will we obey his voice x ." Even in
death itself, they often evince the very same hardness, and
shew how entirely they are given over by the Lord. Their
friends around them are ready to say, " They died like
lambs :" and so indeed they did, even like brute beasts that
have no understanding, having no conception of the state
which awaits them at their departure hence. A terrible
judgment this is ! and a certain prelude,]
4. To ruin !
[There is a time wherein God may be found, by every
living man : but that season may be passed ; and a time
arrive, when he will no more be found y, and when all God s
offered mercies shall be for ever withheld. Such a period had
actually arrived to the Jewish nation, when they crucified the
i Rom. i. 28. r p s . l xxx i. 11, 12.
8 Eph. iv. 19. 1 Tim. iv. 2. t 2 Pet. iii. 4. " Ps. xii. 4.
x Exod. v. 2. y I sa i. l v . 6.
12.1 STRIVINGS OF THE SPIRIT. 65
Lord of glory. Our blessed Saviour, previous to his death,
took up this lamentation over them : " O Jerusalem, Jeru
salem, thou that killest the prophets, and stones t them who
are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy
children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under
her wings, but ye would not ! Behold, your house is left unto
you desolate 2 !" " Oh that thou hadst known, even thou, at
least in this thy day, the things which belong mito thy peace !
but now they are hid from thine eyes a ." Thus, it is to be
feared, there may be, even amongst ourselves, some with whom
God will strive no longer : they have so long trifled with the
means of grace, and been unprofitable under all the culture
that has been bestowed upon them, that they shall be hence
forth left only to be gathered, in due season, as fuel for the
fire b . What an awful thought, To be left only to " fill up the
measure of their iniquities," and to " treasure up wrath against
the day of wrath c !" Better were it for a man that he had never
been born, than that ever he should live for such an end as
that ! But such is the state of the deserted soul : and at the
appointed hour, " wrath will come upon him to the uttermost."]
ADDRESS,
1. Those who are yet withstanding the motions of
the Holy Spirit
[Little do you think how greatly you offend your God,
or what misery you are entailing on your own souls. But let
me ask, Is there one amongst you that does not look back
upon his past rebellion with regret ? Is there one who is not
persuaded in his mind, that he would have been a for happier
man, if he had obeyed the voice of the Lord, and followed,
instead of resisting, the dictates of his conscience ? How long,
then, will ye continue this rebellious course ? Shall not the de
claration in my text affect you ? Shall not even the possibility
of your day of grace having come to an end, appal you ? Do
but think how much you have at stake and how
short is the time which you have to seek the things belong
ing to your peace. - I pray you, Arise, ere it be too late,
and cry unto your God, " if God peradventure may give you
repentance, and you may be recovered out of the snare of the
devil, by whom you have been taken captive at his will d !"
" To-day, while it is called to-day, harden not your hearts, as
in the provocation, as in the day of temptation in the wilder
ness ; lest you provoke God to swear, in his wrath, that you
shall never enter into his rest ."]
z Matt, xxiii. 37, 38. a Luke xix. 42. b Heb. vi. 7, 8.
Rom. ii. 5. d 2 Tim ii.25, 26. e Ps. xcv. 7 11.
VOL. I. F
G6 GENESIS, VI. 5. [13.
2. Those who through grace have obeyed his
blessed will
[Truly this is of the Lord, who alone has " made you
willing V and has thus caused you to "differ from those
around you*." - - Be thankful for this distinguishing
grace; but remember that you still need his gracious in
fluences as much as ever. There is not any part of the divine
life that can be carried on within you but by the operation of
the Holy Spirit. He must be within you " a Spirit of wisdom
and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and of might, a Spirit
of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, and must make you
of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord 11 ." Seek him,
then, for all these gracious ends: and be careful that you
" do not grieve him," by any sinful disposition, or any secret
neglect 1 . It is by him that you are to be " sealed unto the
day of redemption k ," and by him that you are to be " ren
dered meet for your heavenly inheritance." To him, there
fore, " I commend you, and to the word of his grace, which is
able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among
all them that are sanctified 1 ."]
f Ps. ex. 3. s I Cor. iv. 7. h Isai. xi. 2, 3.
1 Eph. iv. 30. k Eph. iv. 30. J Acts xx. 32.
XIII.
EXTENT OF MAN*S WICKEDNESS.
Gen. vi. 5. God saw that tlie wickedness of man ivas great
in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of
his heart ivas only evil continually.
THE extent of man s wickedness is far greater
than the generality of mankind have any conception
of. Whilst a person s words and actions are inoffen
sive before men, he is supposed to conduct himself
acceptably to God. And even when his words and
actions are blameworthy, he is judged as having
nothing wrong in his intentions, and as possessing,
on the whole, a good heart. But God looks chiefly
at the heart, which is the fountain from whence
every thing that is evil proceeds 1 : and his testimony
respecting it is, that " the heart," not of this or that
a Matt. vii. 2123.
13. j EXTENT OF MAN S WICKEDNESS. 67
more egregious offender,, but of every man by na
ture, " is deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked." In the passage before us, God assigns his
reason for destroying the whole world by an uni
versal deluge. And that we may be suitably affected
by it, I shall set before you,
I. The testimony of God respecting man-
He speaks more immediately respecting the ante
diluvian world
[In general, the wickedness of man was great in the earth.
No doubt, every species of wickedness was committed, in the
most shameless manner. But, more particularly , "the hearts"
of men were evil; " the thoughts" of their hearts were evil ;
" the imaginations " of the thoughts were evil, and this too
without exception, without mixture, without intermission ; for
every imagination was evil, and " only" evil, and that " con
tinually" What an awful statement is here !
But how could this be ascertained ? Who could be com
petent to judge of this ? and on what authority is this de
clared? I answer, It is the declaration of God, wlio can
discern all things ; for " all things are naked and opened be
fore him b ;" and he himself says, " I know the things that come
into your mind, every one of them c ." And, as he knows
every tiling, so he is able to estimate the quality of every
thing ; for " he weigheth the spirits d ." And this is his tes
timony, after a thorough inspection of every human being.]
But the same must be spoken of man at this day
[God himself repeats the same testimony, in relation to
those who survived the deluge, and of all their descendants 6 .
And it is as true of us, as it was of them. In proof of tins,
I will appeal to your own observation and experience. What,
from observation, would you yourselves say was the state of
the world around you ? Do you not see that evil of every
kind obtains to a vast extent ; and that piety, except in some
very narrow circles of persons whom the world regards as weak
enthusiasts, is altogether banished ; insomuch that you may
mix in society for months and years, and yet never once hear
them speak with admiration and gratitude respecting all the
wonders of Redeeming Love ? Of what passes in the hearts of
others you are not able to judge ; and therefore, in relation
to that, I appeal to every man s own experience. What has
been the state of your hearts ? As to your words and actions,
I will suppose them to have been correct : but your "hearts"
b Heb. iv. 13. c Ezek. xi. 5. d Prov. xvi. 2. e Gen. viii. 21.
F 2
(J8 GENESIS, VI. 5. [13.
your "thoughts" " the imaginations of your thoughts," what
report must you give of them ? Have they been all correct ?
or, could you hear that man should see them as God has seen
them ? The proud, the envious, the uncharitable, the angry,
the vindictive, the impure thoughts, say, (whether carried into
effect or not) have they not sprung up within your hearts as
their proper soil, and so occupied the ground, that no holy
fruits would grow unto perfection ? If occasionally a transient
thought of good has arisen, how coldly has it been entertained,
how feebly has it operated, how soon has it been lost ! And,
at all events, if compared with what the Law requires, and
what God and his Christ deserve at your hands, tell me whe
ther it do not fall so short of your duty, that you cannot ven
ture to call it good, but only evil of a less malignant kind ?
Know ye then, all of you, that this is your real state before
God : and now learn,]
II. What effect it should produce upon you
Certainly this view of our state, and especially as
attested by the heart-searching God, should produce
in us,
1. Humiliation
[Even on a review of our words and actions, I am con
vinced there is not any one of us who has not reason to be
ashamed, especially if those words and actions be tried by the
standard of God s holy Law. But who amongst us could bear
to have all his thoughts inspected and disclosed ? Who would
not blush, and be confounded before God and man, if his
heart were exposed to public view, so that every imagination
of every thought of it should be disclosed ? Yet God beholds
it all ; and has as perfect a recollection of all that has passed
through our minds from our earliest infancy to this present
moment, as if it had passed not an hour ago. What then
becomes us, but the deepest humiliation ? In truth, our reli
gious thoughts, when compared with what they ought to have
been in number and intensity, are no less a ground of humi
liation, than those which have sprung from a more impure
source ; since they prove, indisputably, how defective are our
conceptions of God s excellency, and how faint our sense of
the Redeemer s love. I call on you then, every one of you,
my brethren, to " lothe yourselves for your abominations,"
and to " abhor yourselves," as Isaiah did, and as holy Job
did, " in dust and ashes f ."]
2. Gratitude
^ [We have often told you, that God has sent to us a
Saviour, even his only dear Son ; and that through Him all
f Isai. vi. 5. and Job xlii. G.
13. ] EXTENT OF MAN S WICKEDNESS. 69
our iniquities, how great soever they may have been, shall be
forgiven. But methinks, this is only " a cunningly-devised
fable : " for, how can it be supposed, that God should ever
have shewn such mercy, and manifested such love, towards
such vile creatures as we? But, brethren, however incredible
it may appear, it is true, even the very truth of God. Not
withstanding all you have done amiss, " God is not willing
that any of you should perish, but that all should come to
repentance and live." Yes, brethren, he has laid all your
iniquities on his only-begotten Son; who, agreeably to the
Father s will, has expiated them by his own blood, and will
take them away from your souls for ever. Tell me, then,
whether gratitude do not well become you? Tell me, whe
ther there should be any bounds to your gratitude? What,
think you, would the fallen angels feel, if such mercy were
shewn to them ? And what are millions of the redeemed now
feeling before the throne? Oh, let your souls be penetrated
with a measure of their love, and your songs of praise abound
day and night, even as theirs.]
3. Fear
[Though your hearts may have been renewed by divine
grace, you are renewed, brethren, only in part : you have still
the flesh within you, as well as the Spirit ; and you carry about
with you still " a body of sin and death," from which, to your
dying hour, you will need to be delivered. In fact, your whole
life must be " a putting-off of the old man, and a putting-on
of the new." I need not tell you what precautions people
take, when they carry a light in the midst of combustibles,
which, if ignited, will spread destruction all around. Know,
that ye carry such combustibles about you, wherever you go ;
and you know not how soon you may come in contact with
somewhat that may cause a desperate explosion. You all
know how David fell, in an unguarded moment ; and what a
dreadful tissue of evil was produced by one sinful imagination.
Know ye, then, what corrupt creatures ye are : be sensible of
your proneness to commit even the vilest abominations : and
pray, day and night, to God, to " hold up your goings in his
ways, that your footsteps slip not." It was from sad expe
rience that Peter spoke, when he said, " Be sober, be vigilant;
for your adversary, the devil, goeth about as a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour : whom resist, steadfast in the
faiths." He had indulged self-confidence, and had slept when
he should have watched : and hence arose his fall, which speaks
loudly to every one of us. " Be ye, then, not high-minded;
but fear : " and " what I say unto one, I say unto all, Watch."]
s I Pet, v. 8.
70
GENESIS, VI. C, 7. [14.
XIV.
GOD S DETERMINATION TO DESTROY MAN.
Gen. vi. 6, 7. And it repented the Lord that he had made
man \m the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And
the Lord said, I will destroy man, -whom I have created,
from the face of the earth,
THE evil of sin is visible wherever we turn our
eyes. Not only has a manifest deterioration taken
place in the intellectual and moral qualities of man,
but the material world itself, together with all the
brute creation, bears marks of God s displeasure, and
of the curse inflicted on account of sin. The spring
with all its vivifying powers, or the autumn with all
its profusion of matured fruits, does not more sur
pass the desolate appearances of winter, than the
earth at its first formation did the state to which it
is now reduced. It was the garden of the Lord,
replete with beauty, and productive of nothing which
did not minister to the comfort of its inhabitants :
but it is become a waste howling wilderness, infected
with plagues, agitated with storms, and fruitful in
occasions of sorrow. Whether any additional curse
was inflicted on it at the time of the deluge, we can
not say : but the shortening of man s life from eight
or nine hundred years to less than one tenth of that
period, seems to indicate, that both the frame of our
bodies, and every thing that contributes to their
support, have undergone a further change, and " be
come subject to vanity" in a yet greater degree, than
they were before the deluge. However this may be,
it is certain that, of all the judgments with which
God has ever visited his rebellious creatures, the
deluge was the most tremendous. All other expres
sions of God s anger have been limited to a few
individuals, or cities, or nations ; but this extended
over the face of the whole earth.
That we may view aright this awful dispensation,
let us consider,
I. The state of the antediluvian world
14.] GOD S DETERMINATION TO DESTROY MAN. 7.1
The degeneracy of mankind had been advancing
with rapid strides from the time that Adam fell, to
the time spoken of in our text. Their state was
characterized by
1. General supinen ess
[Our blessed Lord informs us, that " in the days before
the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving
in marriage, till the day that Noah entered into the ark a ."
By this he did not mean to condemn the use of those means
which God himself had appointed for the maintenance of life
and the preservation of our species, but to inform us, that the
people were altogether addicted to carnal and sensual indul
gences, without paying any regard to their spiritual and
eternal interests. The great ends of life were quite forgotten
by them; and their only study was, how to dissipate care,
and spend their time in pleasure.]
2. Awful depravity
[The expressions used in the preceding and following
context clearly shew, that wickedness of every kind was prac
tised without restraint b . The law of God being disregarded,
and human laws not having been framed and executed as
they are amongst us, the strong and violent oppressed the
weak and peaceable ; and whatsoever any man s interest or
inclination prompted him to do, that he did without shame
or remorse. We may form some idea perhaps of the state
which then existed, from what still exists among uncivilized
nations, and amongst us also, when the restraints of human
laws are withdrawn .]
3. Obstinate impenitence
[For a hundred and twenty years did Noah continue to
warn that wicked generation 1 . By his practice also as well
as by his preaching, did he condemn them. Before their eyes
" he prepared (with vast expense and labour) an ark for the
preservation of his household e ;" giving them thereby a certain
pledge that the threatened judgments should be inflicted on
the impenitent and unbelieving : but they, no doubt, ridiculed
a Matt. xxiv. 37 39.
b ver. 5, 11, 12, 13. The words themselves are strong; but the
frequent repetition of them greatly increases their energy.
c How ready are men to emhark their property and risk their
lives in privateering expeditions, when they can obtain a licence to
rob and plunder their unoffending neighbours! And how terrible
are the atrocities committed by victorious armies !
d 1 Pet. iii. 19, 20. e Heb. xi. 7.
72 GENESIS, VI. (3, 7. [14.
his precautions as absurd and visionary ; and the longer the
judgment was delayed, the more bold was their confidence,
and the more bitter their derision f . Amongst us, the Gospel,
though generally, is not universally, despised : some are
brought to listen to its benign overtures : but to such a
degree did the contemporaries of Noah harden themselves
against the gracious messages of Heaven, that in that whole
space of time there was not (as far as we know) one single
person awakened to a sense of his guilt and danger.]
Fearful indeed must have been their state, when
we consider,
II. The regret which it excited in the bosom of
Jehovah
We must understand the language of the text, not
in a literal, but figurative sense
[We are not to suppose that God did not foresee what
would happen ; for prescience is an essential perfection of His
nature : take away his foreknowledge, and you deny him to be
God. Nor must we suppose that his happiness was really in
terrupted by what he saw in his creatures ; for he is as immu
table in his happiness, as in his nature. The language of the
text is accommodated to our feeble apprehensions : it is taken
from what passes among men, when they are disappointed in
their expectations and endeavours. As a potter, finding that
a vessel which he has formed with the utmost care does not
answer the desired purpose, regrets his labour, and casts out
of his sight the worthless object with indignation and grief;
so God represents himself as " repenting that he had made
man, and as grieved at his heart " that he had bestowed upon
him so much labour in vain.]
Nevertheless the figure conveys to us much plain
and solid instruction
[The same figure occurs in various other parts of holy
writ : sometimes it imports a change from anger to pity g , and
sometimes the reverse 11 . In the text, it is intended to inti
mate, that God is not an unconcerned spectator of human
actions that he expects men to answer the end of their
creation, by seeking his glory and their own happiness
and that lie will manifest against sin his heavy displeasure,
making all who practise it the objects of his fiery indigna
tion ]
f 2 Pet. iii. 3 (i. B Jonah iii. 10.
ll 1 Sam. xv. 11. It is used in both senses, and in connexion
with the foregoing illustration. Jer. xviii. 3 10.
14.J GOD S DETERMINATION TO DESTROY MAN. 73
The feelings of our Creator on account of man s
apostasy are more plainly shewn by,
III. The resolution he adopted in consequence of it
To destroy all the human race was indeed a terrible
resolve
[We can form little conception of the distress occasioned
through the habitable globe, when once the flood began to
rise above its accustomed limits. Every contrivance would be
resorted to, and every eminence be made a refuge, in hopes
that the waters would subside, and that a premature death
might be avoided. When one place was covered, happy would
they feel themselves who could flee to some lofty mountain,
and carry with them provision for their support. But they
would soon find that they indulged a vain hope : a suspense,
more painful than death itself, would soon occupy their minds ;
and the waves, fast approaching, would at last terminate their
lives, which fear and terror had already half destroyed. It is
probable that many would seek admittance into the ark, and
cling to it, when every other refuge had failed. Many too
would, doubtless, betake themselves to prayer in the midst of
their distress : but the time of judgment was come ; and mercy,
whether exercised or not in the eternal world, could not be
extended to them 1 . Children in vain solicited their parents
aid ; in vain did the fond mother clasp them in her arms, or
the affrighted husband strive to succour his beloved wife : all,
in quick succession, were swept away ; and neither man nor
beast (those only in the ark excepted) were permitted to sur
vive the wreck of nature.]
But, however terrible this judgment was, it was
strictly just
[The punishments inflicted by human governors, of ne
cessity, involve the innocent with the guilty : the children
suffer through the misconduct of their parents ; yet no one on
that account exclaims against the laws as unjust. Why then
should that be deemed unjust in the government of God which
is approved as just in the governments of men? But God, who
is the giver of life, and by whom alone it is maintained, has a
right to take it away at any time, and in any manner that he
sees fit. Does any one arraign his providence, if numbers
both of men and children are carried off by a pestilence, or
overwhelmed in a storm? By what authority then do we
prescribe limits to God, and say unto him, " Hitherto shalt
thou go, and no further?" We might as well condemn the
1 Thus it was with Saul, 1 Sam. xv. 25, 20.
74 GENESIS, VI. 6, 7. [14.
Governor of the Universe for inflicting disease and death upon
one single infant, as arraign his justice for destroying many.
The lives of all are forfeited: and whether he take them away
after a longer or shorter period, or cut them off singly or at
once, he is still the same; " a God of truth and without
iniquity, just and right is he." The Judge of all the earth will
do right : and who are we that we should reply against him ?
" Whoso reproveth God, let him answer it."]
INFER,
1. We are not at all the more safe for having many
on our side
[No doubt, the antediluvians fortified themselves against
the warnings of Noah, by the consideration that they acted
only like those around them. They probably replied, as many
at this time do, If I perish, what must become of all the
world? And, Is God so unmerciful as to destroy the whole
world? But the event shewed the folly of all such reason
ings : and we should learn from it to expect safety in no other
way than in turning from all iniquity, and seeking refuge in
Christ Jesus.]
2. There will certainly be a day of future retri
bution
[From the judgment executed at the deluge it is manifest,
that God will punish sin: but from the indiscriminate manner
in which that punishment was inflicted, we may be assured,
that there shall be a day in which justice shall be more equi
tably dispensed k , or, as it is called in Scripture, " a day of the
revelation of the righteous judgment of God." Then shall
every one receive according to his deeds, whether they be good
or evil: " the wicked shall go away into everlasting punish
ment, but the righteous into life eternal." May God prepare
us all for that great and solemn day!]
3. It becomes us all to grieve and mourn for our
past sins
[Have the sins of men caused God himself to " repent and
be grieved at his heart" that ever he formed man; and should
not our sins awaken sorrow and contrition in our hearts? O
that we could but view them aright! O that we could mourn
over them, as it becomes us, and weep in dust and ashes!
Surely if we go on impenitent in our sins, the day will come,
when we shall repent that ever we were created; we shall wish
that we had died in our mother s womb ; we shall find that " it
would have been better for us if we had never been born."]
k 2 Pet. ii. 4, 5, 9.
15.]
NOAHS OBEDIENCE.
XV.
NOAHS OBEDIENCE.
Gen. vi. 22. Thus did Noah; according to all that God
commanded him, so did he.
NEVER, from the foundation of the world to this
hour, if we except the sacrifice which Christ made of
himself upon the cross for the sins of men, was there
such a demonstration of God s hatred of sin, as that
which was given at the universal deluge. All flesh
having corrupted their way, God determined to ex
ecute vengeance upon all, and to destroy from the
face of the earth every living thing. There was, how
ever, one favoured servant, whom, together with his
family, he was pleased to exempt from the general
judgment. Noah was a righteous man, and obtained
favour in his sight; and, by means prescribed to him
by God himself, he was preserved. Let us consider,
I. The obedience rendered by him
It is not easy to form a just estimate of this
[Let us contemplate the circumstances in which he was
placed. He was appointed " a preacher of righteousness,"
unto all who came within the reach of his ministrations : and
he was commanded to declare that God would overwhelm the
whole world with a deluge. Of such a judgment there was
no appearance whatever for the space of 120 years, during
the whole of which period he proclaimed its approach. If at
the beginning of his ministrations any were impressed with
fear, they soon were led to deride the menace ; and to con
clude, from the delay, that the threatened calamity should
never come upon them.
Let us next notice the means he was directed to use for the
preservation of God s chosen remnant. He was to build a
vessel of stupendous magnitude, capable of holding two of
every sort of animals that breathed, and of containing also
provision for them. The expense and labour employed in
constructing this ark must have been immense : and the
ridicule which it must have excited, year after year, must
have been almost beyond endurance.
Let us, lastly, observe his perseverance in the use of those
means, till he had completed the work assigned him. Nothing
could induce him to desist from his work, till it was perfected
in every part. Then he, with his whole family, entered into
7G GENESIS, VI. 22. [15.
the ark, having first assigned to every living creature its place :
and then " God shut him in :" and on that very day the ram
descended, and the flood commenced, which speedily reached
above the highest mountains, and destroyed every living crea
ture from the face of the earth.]
Verily this obedience was of a most exalted cha
racter
[It shewed how firmly he believed the divine testimony,
whilst yet there was not only no symptom of any such cala
mity, but no conceivable mode by which the threatened judg
ment could be inflicted. It shewed how much he stood in
awe of God; and how determined he was, whilst yet the
means of safety were within his reach, to avail himself of the
opportunity that was afforded him, lest he also should be
involved in the general ruin. It shewed, too, how boldly he
faced reproach, when cast upon him for executing the divine
commands. Had such a conduct been called for during the
space of a few days only, we should have been the less asto
nished at it : but when it continued without intermission or
abatement for the space of 120 years, we cannot but reckon
it amongst the sublimest acts of obedience ever rendered unto
God by fallen man.]
But in perfect accordance with this, is,
II. The obedience required of us
1. The danger to which we are exposed is similar
[God has declared that he will call the whole world into
judgment ; and that in that day " the wicked shall be turned
into hell, and all the nations that forget God a ." We see not,
indeed, any preparation for such a judgment ; and are ready
to think that it never can be executed. But God has de
nounced it against the whole world ; and executed it shall be,
whether men will believe it or not. Multitudes who assisted
in building the ark, would not believe the declarations of God,
till the threatened judgments were inflicted : and so it is with
us. Multitudes laugh at the threatenings of God ; and will
continue to do so, till their day of grace shall have passed,
and the wrath of God shall fall upon them to the uttermost.]
2. The means provided for our escape are similar
[God has provided an ark for us even his only dear
Son ; an ark, into which all who believe shall be admitted,
but which will speedily be closed against the unbelieving
world. Many think it altogether absurd to imagine that such
an ark is provided for us : they would prefer one of their own
* Ps. ix. 17.
15.1 NOAH S OBEDIENCE. 77
constructing, and for which their own good works shall afford
the materials. To enter into Christ by faith, and to look for
salvation through faith in him, is in their eyes an unsuitable
device : and it is derided accordingly, as an indication of
weakness and folly. But this, after all, will be found " the
wisdom of God," yea, and " the power of God unto salvation "
also to all them that embrace it.]
3. The distinction that will be made between the
believing and unbelieving world will also be similar
[Of those who believed the testimony of Noah, not one
perished: of those that disbelieved it, not one was saved.
And so it will be at the last day. Those who are " found in
Christ," will be monuments of God s sparing mercy; whilst
those who have neglected and despised him, will be monu
ments of his righteous indignation for ever and ever.]
To dilate more, either on the original fact,, or on its
typical adaptation to our circumstances, will not be
necessary : the whole taken together in one combined
view will be found, I apprehend, more instructive.
LEARN then, from the whole,
1. The office of faith-
fit was to his faith that Noah s conduct on this occasion
must be ascribed 1 . He did not reason on the subject that was
revealed to him. He did not say, How can such a deluge be
produced? or, How can it be supposed that a merciful God
should exercise such severity? or, How can it be hoped, that,
if all the rest of the world be destroyed, any vessel that I can
build will preserve me? It is probable that others argued
thus: but he believed, and acted upon, the divine testimony.
Now it is precisely in that way that we must exercise faith in
the divine records. We are not to argue, How can it be, that
any should be punished with endless torments in hell ? or, that
so great a part of mankind should be doomed to that fate ? or,
that a simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ should be suffi
cient to deliver those, who without such faith must inevitably
perish? We are to give credit to the divine testimony; and
to assure ourselves, that whatever God has spoken shall surely
come to pass; that " he who believeth and is baptized, shall
be saved; and that he who believeth not, shall be damned."]
2. The necessity of fear
[By this also was Noah actuated ; and under the influence
of it he prepared the ark c . And if we believe God s threat-
enings against sin and sinners, how can we but fear ? The
t> Heb. xi. 7. c Heb. xi. 7.
78 GENESIS, VII. 1. [16.
wrath of God is not to be disregarded, as a matter of no con
cern : no, in truth, it becomes us to tremble at it, and to flee
from it with all imaginable earnestness. Well would it have
been for them, if the people whom he warned had feared also :
but, because they would not fear, they perished. So will it be
with us also d . It shall surely be found a truth at last, that
"he who, being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall sud
denly be destroyed, and that without a remedy 6 ."]
3. The benefit of obedience
[Here you behold with your eyes what shall be again
realized in the day of judgment. Behold Noah for 120 years
an object of universal derision, but now, with his family, borne
above the waves in perfect safety, whilst all the rest of the
world, not excepting the very builders of the ark, are over
whelmed in one common destruction ! Thus let the ungodly
world laugh at piety now, if they will : but such will be the
issue of their contemptuous proceedings, when those who were
the objects of their scorn will be honoured by their God, and
be saved with an everlasting salvation. " Say ye to the right
eous, that it shall be well with him ; for they shall eat the fruit
of their doings : but woe unto the wicked ! it shall be ill with
him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him f ."]
d Matt.xxiv. 37 39. e Prov. xxix. 1. Compare 2 Pet. ii. 5, 9.
f Isai. iii. 10, 11.
XVI.
PRESERVATION OF NOAH.
Gen. vii. 1. And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou, and
all thy house, into the ark.
THE Church of God has frequently been at so
low an ebb,, that its existence cannot now be traced.
There have been times, even since the promulgation
of Christianity, when the righteous have been but
few : they appear to us indeed much fewer than they
really were: and, if we had authentic records re
specting them, as we have concerning the Jews, it is
probable that we should find several thousand wor
shippers of Jehovah for one whose name has been
transmitted to us a . But in the patriarchal ages we are
a 1 Kings xix. 14, 18.
!(}.] PRESERVATION OF NOAH. 79
certain that the knowledge of God was very limited :
yea, so universal was the degeneracy of man before
the flood, that piety was confined to one single family :
nor were all of them truly religious, though for their
parents sake they were all made partakers of the same
deliverance. The history before us presents to our
view a most distressing scene ; a world of sinners
doomed to destruction ; and the only righteous family
in the world selected out of them, to be monuments
of God s sparing mercy. The account given of Noah
in the text will lead us to shew,
I. The provision made for his security-
Righteousness is universally an object of God s re
gard : and though it is not meritorious in his sight so
as to justify men before him, yet is it so pleasing and
acceptable to him, that he will on account of it
bestow many temporal blessings, and in the eternal
world will confer a more exalted state of glory b . On
account of his eminent piety, God distinguished
Noah c , and instructed him to make an ark for the
saving of himself and his household.
This ark was typical of the Church of Christ. St.
Peter compares it with baptism, by which we are
initiated into the Church ; and tells us, that as Noah
was saved by his admission into the one, so are we by
our introduction into the other d .
To mark the resemblance between the type and
antitype, we may observe that the ark was,
1. Divinely appointed
[As the Tabernacle in the time of Moses, so the Ark in
Noah s time, was made according to a pattern devised by God
himself.
Noah never could have thought of constructing such a vessel
himself: the suggestion originated with God: the model for it
was given by God : nor was even the smallest part of it left to
be formed after man s device.
And who among the sons of men ever conceived the idea of
saving man through the incarnation and death of God s only-
begotten Son? Who could ever have imagined that Jehovah s
b Ezek. ix. 4. with 1 Tim. iv. 8.
c See the words following the text. d 1 Pet. iii. 20, 21.
80 GENESIS, VII. 1. [16.
Fellow should become a man ; that He should submit to this
degradation, yea, moreover should endure the accursed death
of the cross, for the purpose of reconciling us to his offended
Father, and of " gathering together into one body all things
both in heaven and on earth e ? " Who, I ask, would have ever
thought of forming a church in such a way, and of saving man
by such means ? The whole plan bears the stamp^ and cha
racter of a divine origin, according to what is said by the
Apostle, " By grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not
of yourselves ; it is the gift of God f ."]
2. Wisely framed
[The ark, it must be confessed, did not accord with those
principles of navigation which obtain amongst us : it was de
fective in some of the most essential points : it had no mast,
no sails, no rudder. But it was so constructed as to convince
all who were saved in it, that their salvation was of God alone,
and that to him alone was all the glory due. At the same
time it was so formed, that every creature in it found ample
accommodation.
The Church too is constituted far otherwise than human
wisdom would have framed it. Man would have left room for
the display of his own skill, and for the establishment of his
own righteousness. He would not have chosen to stand in
debted wholly to the righteousness of another: that is too
offensive to his natural pride : it is " to the Jews a stumbling-
block, and to the Greeks foolishness g ." To have no sails or
rudder left for him to manage, would be disgusting ; because
it would necessitate him to feel his entire dependence on God,
and to acknowledge, that " it is not of him that willeth, nor
of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy h ." Yet
in all these things God s wisdom is displayed. This way of sal
vation is justly called, " the wisdom of God, and the power
of God 1 ." It cuts off all possible occasion for boasting k , and
compels us to say, " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but
unto thy name be the praise." At the same time it is the
most suitable that can possibly be imagined. While the moral
and discreet are constrained to seek refuge in Christ, the vilest
prodigal is not left to despair of mercy : he may enter in at
the same door with others, and participate the salvation which
God has provided for him.]
3. Richly furnished
c Eph. i. 10.
f Eph. ii. 8. Tovro, it should seem, refers rather to the sentiment
expressed, than to irleme, which is of the feminine gender.
G 1 Cor. i. 23. h Rom. ix. 16. i 1 Cor. i. 24.
k Rom. iii. 27.
PRESERVATION OF NOAH, 81
[There was in the ark an abundant store of provision both
for man and beast : so that no creature, from the largest animal
to the smallest insect, lacked any thing that was needful for it.
Surely in this respect it beautifully represents the Church
of Christ, wherein the ordinances of divine grace are adminis
tered, and "exceeding great and precious promises are given"
for our support. There is not a person in it, from the greatest
to the least, who may not find all that can conduce to his
health and comfort. There is milk for babes, and meat for
those who are of full age 1 . There is " a feast of fat things"
provided for our daily sustenance. There are the richest
cordials, " even wines upon the lees well refined," that are
dispensed freely to all who desire them. Nothing is lacking :
we need never fear lest the store should be exhausted.
Nothing is grudged to the meanest servant in the family :
all is given to one as well as to another; and to every one,
" without money and without price."]
We may yet further trace the typical import of the
ark in,
II. The direction given in reference to it
Noah having finished the ark, waited for further
intimations of the divine will, which at length were
given him. The direction, as it relates to us, implies
two things ;
1. That we should use the appointed means of sal
vation ourselves
[God having formed his church, and provided every thing
requisite for the preservation of our souls, now speaks to every
one of us, " Enter thou into the ark."
Christ says to us, " I am the door;" " I am the way, the
truth, and the life." By Him therefore we are to enter in m ."
By faith in him we shall be placed beyond the reach of harm,
and may " rejoice in hope of the glory of God 11 ." This is the
duty to which we are called.
We are not to amuse ourselves with indulging idle specula
tions about the fitness of the ark to answer its intended purpose :
we have no time to lose: the danger is imminent: if we lose
the present moment, we may be undone for ever. We have
nothing to do but to " enter in," and to commit ourselves to
the care of our heavenly Pilot.]
2. That we should exert ourselves for the salvation
of others
1 Heb. v. 13. 14. m John x. 9. n Rom. v. 2.
VOL. I. G
82 GENESIS, VII. 1. [16.
[We should not be contented to go to heaven alone : we
should say with the church of old, "Draw me; and we will run
after thee." It is the height of impiety to ask, " Am I my
brother s keeper?" We are all appointed to watch over each
other: What the Minister is amongst his flock, that every
Parent and Master is among his children and servants. We
should employ all the influence we possess, for the advantage
of those around us. God testified his approbation of Abraham
on account of his fidelity in improving this talent ; and inflicted
signal judgments upon Eli for neglecting to exert his parental
authority. If, like Lot, we cannot prevail upon our relatives
to follow our advice, W T C shall not be responsible for them : but
if they perish through our neglect, their blood will be required
at our hands p . We should therefore warn our children and
servants to flee from the wrath to come. We should open to
them the way of salvation through faith in a crucified Saviour.
We should declare faithfully to them, that there is " no other
name given under heaven whereby we can be saved, but the
name of Jesus Christ ; " and we should urge them with all
possible earnestness to embrace his covenant, and seek accept
ance through him : In short, we should separate both ourselves
and them from an ungodly world, and " seek to be found in
Christ, not having our own righteousness, but that which is of
God by faith in him."]
We are aware that many OBJECTIONS will arise
against this advice : which therefore we will briefly
consider.
1. We are in the ark already-
fit is granted, that as far as the ark designates the visible
Church of Christ, we are all inclosed in it q . But we must dis
tinguish between the visible and the invisible church. Our
blessed Lord has taught us carefully to distinguish between the
fruitful and unfruitful branches ; which, though they are both
" in him," will be very differently dealt with by the great Hus
bandman 1 ". The Gospel net incloses many fishes; but the good
only will be preserved : the bad will be cast away s . In the
field, the tares grow together with the wheat : but a separation
will be made at last ; the one for the fire of hell, the other for
the granary of heaven *. The Jews were the peculiar people
Cant. i. 4. P Ezek. xxxiii. 8, 9.
f i In the baptismal service we pray, that, " as Noah and his family
were saved in the ark from perishing by water, so we, being received
into the ark of Christ s Church, may so pass the waves of this trou
blesome world, that we may be finally brought to the land of ever
lasting life."
* John xv. 2. Matt. xiii. 47, 48. t Matt. xiii. 30.
16.] PRESERVATION OF NOAH. 83
of God : and St. Paul tells us, that " to them pertained the
adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of
the law, and the service of God, and the promises :" Yet " he
had great heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart on
account of them ;" which he would not have had, if he had
thought that the possession of those outward privileges was
sufficient. But he accounts for his feelings by saying, that
"all are not Israel, who are of Israel 11 ." And he elsewhere
assures us, in still stronger terms, that it is not any outward
privilege or profession that constitutes us Christians, but an
inward change of heart, which approves itself to the all-seeing
God x . Let us not then deceive ourselves, or imagine that we
must of necessity be saved because we have been baptized: for
there was an " accursed Ham " in the ark, as well as a right
eous Noah : but let us inquire into the dispositions and habits
of our minds : let us examine whether we have given up our
selves unreservedly to God; and whether we are striving to
"glorify him with our bodies and our spirits, which are
his?"]
2. We do not see that we are in any danger
[This was the case with the antediluvian world. They
saw no appearance of any deluge : they could not persuade
themselves that God would ever inflict such a tremendous
judgment on the earth: and they imputed the anxiety of
Noah to superstition, credulity, and folly. But did their un
belief make void the truth of God? Yea rather, did it not
harden them to their own destruction ? What security then
will our unbelief afford us? We see not any symptoms of
that wrath which is threatened against an ungodly world :
but will it therefore never come ? Will the word of God fail
of its accomplishment? Is it safe for us to set up our opi
nions against the positive declarations of Heaven, and to found
all our hopes of salvation upon the presumption that " God
will lie ? " Seen, or unseen, our danger is the same : and if
all perished at the deluge who took not refuge in the ark, so
will all perish at the day of judgment who have not "fled for
refuge to the hope set before them."]
3. We shall become singular
[This is an objection which we cannot but allow ; and it
is with pain and grief that we confess its force. We acknow
ledge that, if we will seek in earnest the salvation of our souls,
we must be singular. But whose fault is this ? It was not
Noah s fault that he was singular in the old world : it was the
u Rom. ix. 3 6. * Rom. ii. 28, 29.
84 GENESIS, VII. 1. [16.
fault of those who refused to listen to the voice of mercy, and
to obey the commands of God. And surely Noah would have
paid a very unbecoming deference to the world, if he had fol
lowed their example rather than his own convictions, and
consented to perish with them, rather than secure his own
salvation. Why then should we carry our complaisance to
such a criminal extent, whe^i the everlasting salvation of our
souls is at stake ? We regret that we are compelled to be
singular : but we must confess, It is better to be saved with
Noah and his little family, than to perish with an ungodly
w r orld : It is better to walk in the narrow and unfrequented
way which leadeth unto life, than to go in the broad road
which terminates in destruction.]
Dismissing then your objections, " suffer a word of
EXHORT ATION"-
[To every one we would address the words of our text,
" Enter thou, and all thy family, into the ark." Consider, how
near the day of mercy may have come to its close ! The day of
judgment may be far off, as it respects the world at large; but
it may be nigh at hand as it respects ourselves. The hour of
death may be much nearer to us than we imagine : and that
will, in effect, be the day of judgment to us. O what shall we
then do, if we be not found in the true ark ? What shall w r e
do, if we belong not to Him " of whom the whole family in
heaven and earth is named," and be not numbered amongst
his " little flock," on whom alone the kingdom of heaven will
be conferred ? Let us only paint to ourselves the distress we
should have felt, if we had seen the waters rapidly surrounding
us, and the ark shut against us : yet this would be a very faint
image of what we shall feel, \vheii the vials of God s wrath
shall be poured out upon us, and no hope of deliverance be
afforded. Let us then " not seek merely, but strive, to enter
in." Let us endeavour to bring all we can along with us. It
will be a painful sight, if we be saved ourselves, to see our
wife, our children, our servants, our friends perishing around
us, and swallowed up in " the lake that burrieth with fire and
brimstone." On the other hand, what a joy will it be to pre
sent them unto God, saying, " Here am I, and the children
thou hast given me ! " Let us then exert our influence while
we can ; and I pray God that our labours may be crowned with
success ; and that, instead of going to heaven alone, we may
all have some to be " our joy and crown of rejoicing" in that
-i 1 ,-| " > JO
solemn dayij
17.] GOD S COVENANT WITH NOAH. 85
XVII.
GOD S COVENANT WITH NOAH.
Gen. ix. 12 16. And God said, This is the token of the
Covenant which I make between me and you and every
living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations :
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token
of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come
to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow
shall be seen in the cloud: and I will remember my covenant
which is between me and you and every living creature of
all flesh, and the waters shall no more become a flood to
destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud, and
I ivill look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting
covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh
that is upon the earth.
MAN has no claim whatever upon his God, any
more than a vessel has upon the potter who formed it.
He is indebted to God for the existence which he has,
and depends altogether on his will for the continuance
of that existence. But God has been pleased to lay
himself under voluntary engagements with his crea
tures, in order that they may know how gracious he
is, and be encouraged to serve him with more lively
gratitude. When he had formed man at the first, he
entered into a covenant with him to bestow on him
blessings to which he could not otherwise have been
entitled. And after that the extreme wickedness of
the w r orld had provoked him to destroy it, he vouch
safed to make another covenant with Noah, whom he
had preserved in the ark. He knew that the severe
judgment which he had inflicted on the human race
would, for a time at least, strike terror into succeeding
generations, and perhaps deter them from cultivating
the earth. He therefore gave to Noah an assurance
that he would never again destroy all his creatures
with a flood; and confirmed this promise by a cove
nant and an oath.
It will be instructive to mark,
I. The peculiarities of this covenant-
In many things it differs very widely from any
86 GENESIS, IX. 1216. [17.
other covenant that God has ever entered into. Its
peculiarity is visible,,
1. In the parties with whom it was made
[The covenant made witli Adam, included him and his
posterity. That with Abraham, extended only to him and his
believing Seed. That with Moses, was limited to the Jewish
nation. But the covenant with Noah comprehended the whole
creation : it embraced the beasts of the field, as well as the
human race : every living creature, not excepting the meanest
reptile, was interested in it.]
2. In the blessings which it promised
[All other covenants held forth spiritual and eternal bless
ings to those who were admitted into them. Even the Mosaic
covenant, which dwelt so much upon the enjoyment of the pro
mised land, can by no means be considered as confining the pro
spects of the Jews to temporal happiness : for the presence of
God amongst them w r as very distinctly promised them, together
with the special manifestations of his love and favour: and the
very land itself was regarded as typical of a better rest, which
they were hereafter to receive. But the covenant made with
Noah, promised only that the earth should not any more be
destroyed by a flood. It engaged indeed that there should be a
constant succession of the seasons till the end of time : but it
gave no intimation whatever of spiritual mercies. Being made
with the whole creation of beasts as well as men, it promised
only such blessings as all the creation could partake of.]
3. In the seal with which it was confirmed
[Every covenant has a seal affixed to it, as a pledge of its
accomplishment. The Adamic covenant was confirmed by the
tree of life ; the Abrahamic, by circumcision ; the Christian, by
baptism. In each the seal was significant, either of duties un
dertaken, or of benefits conferred. But the seal that was chosen
for the covenant with Noah, was very peculiar. It was the rain
bow. Whenever a rainbow appears, it is a sign that there is
rain at that very moment descending on the earth ; (for a rain
bow is nothing more than the rays of the sun reflected from the
drops that fall) : consequently, it is in itself rather a ground for
apprehending that another deluge may come. Yet God was
pleased to appoint that as a token and pledge, that he never
will deluge the earth again : he has chosen that, I say, which is
an intimation of our danger, to be his pledge for our security.]
Without insisting any longer on these subordinate
matters, we proceed to notice,
II. Wherein it accords with the Christian covenant
17.] GOD S COVENANT WITH NOAH. 87
There certainly are some striking features in this
covenant, which, if not intended absolutely to typify
the Christian covenant, are at least well calculated to
draw our attention to it.
1. It was founded upon a sacrifice
[This is particularly deserving of notice. As soon as Noah
had come out from the ark, he built an altar, and offered sacri
fices upon it. These sacrifices were to God " an odour of a
sweet smell : " yea, so acceptable were they to him, that he
immediately " said in his heart, I will not curse the ground
any more for man s sake a ." Can we refrain from acknow
ledging the correspondence which this bears with the covenant
of grace ? The hopes which God has been pleased to give us
of deliverance from the curses of his law, are altogether founded
on that great sacrifice which was once offered on the cross.
The covenant indeed was made thousands of years before our
blessed Saviour became incarnate : but he was, in the divine
intention and purpose, " the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world." From the moment he undertook our cause, he
engaged to " make his soul an offering for sin b :" and it was
on that ground that he was to have a people given to him for
" a purchased possession ."
Let us never forget this glorious truth ; " Our curse was re
moved by Christ being made a curse for us d :" Our reconcilia
tion with God was effected solely by the blood of his cross e :
God smelled the sweet savour of his sacrifice f , and determined
that all who came to him through Christ should find accept
ance with him ; and that " through the blood of the everlasting
covenant"" he would be a God of peace unto them g .]
2. It embraced all, without any respect to their
moral character
[In the passage before cited h God declares that " he would
not anymore curse the earth, though the imagination of man s
heart was evil from his youth." It was not on account of the
merits of mankind that God made that covenant with Noah,
nor would he withhold the blessings of it on account of their
demerits : yea, though he foresaw that men would still be na
turally and universally prone to evil, he voluntarily entered
into this covenant, in order that he might display his own
grace and mercy towards them. And what did God find in
a Gen. viii. 2022. b Isai. liii. 1012. c Eph. i. 14.
* Gal. iii. 13. * Col. i. 20. f Eph. v. 2.
g Heb. xiii. 20, 21. h Gen. viii. 20 22.
1 The marginal version is " though ; " and it is certainly prefer
able to the word "/or," which stands in the text.
88 GENESIS, IX. 1216. [17.
our fallen race that could induce him to enter into covenant
with his Son on their behalf? Had he respect to any merit of
theirs ; or was he prevented by what he foresaw in reference
to their demerit ? Had he, in short, any other view than that
of displaying " the exceeding riches of his grace in his kind
ness towards us through Christ Jesus?" The parallel in this
respect is exact. There is indeed a point connected with this,
which forms rather a contrast than a parallel: and we the
rather specify it, because the mention of it is necessary to guard
against all misconception of our meaning. The covenant made
with Noah not only extended its benefits to the ungodly, but
left them still as ungodly as ever : whereas the covenant of
grace makes provision for the change of men s characters k : it
offers indeed all its blessings to the most unworthy ; but when
they embrace it, they are made partakers of a new and divine
nature 1 , which secures the gradual renovation of their souls
after the image of their God. " Sin is no longer suffered to
have dominion over them, because they are not under the law,
but under grace 111 ." Nevertheless, we repeat it, the Christian
covenant includes none on account of their superior goodness,
nor rejects any on account of their more atrocious sinfulness ;
but embraces all who will accept its benefits, and imparts sal
vation to them freely " without money and without price."]
3. It was immutable and everlasting-
fit is above four thousand years since the covenant was
given to Noah ; and no part of it has ever yet failed. There
have been partial inundations, and partial suspensions of
fruitful seasons : but at no period, from the deluge to this
hour, has any thing occurred like the desolation that was
inflicted in the days of Noah. And we may rest assured, that
the revolutions of night and day, summer and winter, seed
time and harvest, will continue till the day of judgment, when
the earth, and all that is therein, shall be destroyed by fire.
And can we not affirm the same respecting the covenant of
grace? Is not that " ordered in all tilings and sure ? " We
are told that " God, in order to shew the immutability of his
counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable
things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have
fled to Christ for refuge, might have strong consolation 11 :"
And when did He ever violate his solemn engagements ? Who
that ever sought to lay hold on this covenant, was rejected?
Who that firmly trusted in it ever found it to fail him in any
one particular? We challenge the whole world to produce a
single instance, wherein " God has ever broken his covenant,
k Jer. xxxi. 33. 1 2 Pet. i. 4.
m Rom. vi. 14. i. Hcb. vi. 17, 18.
17.1 GOD S COVENANT WITH NOAH. 89
or altered the thing that had gone out of his lips ." The com
parison between the two covenants in this particular is not
forced or fanciful ; it is suggested by God himself ; who assures
us that the covenant of his grace and peace shall be more im
movable than rocks or mountains, yea, as unalterable as the
covenant which he made with Noah 1 .]
We will close the subject with two suitable REFLEC
TIONS :
1 . What reason have we to admire the forbearance
of God!
[The continuance of the world, considering the state of its
inhabitants, is a most astonishing proof of God s mercy and
forbearance. Let us only look around, and see whether man
kind be not almost universally living as they did before the
flood : " they were then eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage," and regardless of the warnings of God s
righteous Monitor. And this is precisely our state : yet God has
spared us, instead of inflicting on us the judgments we have
deserved. He has even sent us " fruitful seasons, filling our
hearts with food and gladness." What reason then have we
to bless and magnify his name ! But let us rather turn our
eyes inward, and see what reason God has had to make us
monuments of his vengeance. Let us contemplate how many
of our fellow-creatures are at this moment suffering the just
desert of their deeds, while we continue upon mercy s ground,
and have all the offers of salvation still sounding in our ears.
Let us " account this long-suffering of God to be salvation : "
let us " seek him while he may be found, and call upon him
while he is near."]
2. What encouragement have we to seek his grace!
[Without ever once adverting to it in our minds, we are
at this moment enjoying the benefits of the covenant made
with Noah : and, notwithstanding all our unworthiness, we are
yet daily invited to embrace that better covenant, the covenant
of grace. What shall we do then ? Shall we continue regard
less of God s mercies, till our day of grace is irrevocably past ?
O let us " not despise the riches of his patience and long-
suffering and forbearance ; but let his goodness lead us to
repentance." Let us " not receive such stupendous grace in
vain." Let us intreat him to " look upon the face of his
anointed," as he looks continually upon the rainbow ; and for
the sake of Jesus to pity and pardon us. Then shall we find
favour in his sight, and be delivered from the desolations,
which must at last come upon the unbelieving world.]
Ps. Ixxxix. 34. P Isai. liv. 8 10.
90 GENESIS, XI. 48. [18.
XVIII.
CONFUSION OF TONGUES.
Gen. xi. 4 8. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city,
and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us
make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face
of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the
city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And
the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all
one language ; and this they begin to do : and now nothing
will be restrained from them ivhich they have imagined to do.
Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language,
that they may not understand one another s speech. So the
Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all
the earth; and they left off to build the city.
THERE are many things observable in the world,
of which neither reason nor history enables us to give
any account. One would naturally suppose that
Noah and his family speaking the same language,
their children should speak the same ; and that the
same would be transmitted to their latest posterity.
Small alterations might be expected to arise ; but
they would only be different dialects of the same lan
guage. But instead of this, there are hundreds of
different languages in the world. Even in this island
there are no less than three. Learned men have in
deed endeavoured to trace various languages to one ;
but though by their efforts they have displayed their
own ingenuity, they have never been able to establish
their hypothesis. The true origin of this diversity
of languages is revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures.
In the passage before us we are informed respecting
the time and manner and occasion of their first in
troduction. The descendants of Noah were building
a city and tower in order to prevent that dispersion
of their families, which God had ordained for the re
plenishing of the earth : and God, in righteous dis
pleasure, confounded their languages, so that they
could not understand each other : by this means they
were necessitated to relinquish their project, and to
fulfil the designs of his overruling Providence.
18.] CONFUSION OF TONGUES. 91
In our observations on the history of these builders
we shall notice,
I. Their intentions-
It does not appear that they designed to fortify
themselves against another deluge ; for then they
would have built on a mountain rather than a plain.
They had principally two things in view :
1. The advancement of their own honour
[They said, " Go to, let us make ourselves a name." They
thought that by raising this city they should immortalize them
selves, and be famed for their wisdom and energy to the
remotest generations. And here we see the principle which
actuates all the world. What is it but the desire of fame which
impels the warrior to the field of battle ? What has greater in
fluence on the philosopher, or more forcibly animates him in his
researches after knowledge? What is it that actuates the rich in
constructing and decorating their spacious edifices, but a desire
to display their taste and opulence ? Even the charitable are
too often under the influence of this motive. To this, in many
instances, must be ascribed the founding of colleges, or endow
ing of hospitals, or contributing to the support of established
institutions. If, in any public charity, the publishing of the
names of its supporters were to be discontinued, a difference
would soon be found in the amount of the contributions. Would
to God we could exempt the professors of religion also from
this imputation! Where the heart is really right with God,
it is on its guard against this base principle ; but there are too
many hypocrites, whose chief aim is to be accounted religious,
and to be admired either for their talents or their virtues.
There will at times be a mixture of principle in the best of
men, which it is the labour of their lives to detect and rectify :
and there is in all who are truly conscientious a commendable
desire to approve themselves to their fellow-creatures in the
discharge of their several duties. It is not in reference to
either of these that we now speak. It is rather in reference
to those in whom the love of fame has a predominant ascend
ancy : of them we say, as of the builders of Babel, that they
are the objects of God s just and heavy displeasure a .]
2. The gratification of their own wishes
[God had ordered that the survivors of the deluge should
" increase and multiply, and replenish the earth b ." Of course,
a See this exemplified in Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. iv. 30, 31.)
Herod (Acts xii. 22, 23.) and even the pious Hezekiah (2 Kings xx.
1318.) b Gen. ix. 1.
92 GENESIS, XL 48. [18.
if the whole earth was to be re-peopled, the rising generations
must gradually enlarge their borders, with a view to occupy
every quarter of the globe. But the builders of Babel thought
that such a dispersion would deprive them of many comforts,
and be attended with many inconveniences. As for the divine
will, they were not much concerned about it : all they thought
of was, their own ease and pleasure : and if obedience to God
stood in competition with the gratification of their own wishes,
they did not hesitate to sacrifice duty to inclination.
In this respect their example is very generally followed.
God has prescribed a line of conduct to us which is difficult and
self-denying. He requires us to sit loose to the vanities of
this world, and to seek our rest and happiness above. This but
ill suits our earthly and sensual dispositions. Hence we choose
not to submit to such restraints : we think we are at liberty to
please ourselves : we pronounce the commands of God to be
unnecessarily strict and severe : we content ourselves with
such a conformity to them as will consist with the indulgence
of our own desires : and we prosecute our plans without any
reference to His will, or any subjection to His control.
Look at the young, the gay, the worldly, the ambitious ; and
say whether they be not all treading in the steps of these in
fatuated builders? Say whether they do not systematically
shun a life of self-denial, and follow their own inclinations
rather than the commands of God?
How offensive such a life is to God we may collect from
those declarations of the apostle, That " to be carnally-minded
is death," and that " they who are in the flesh cannot please
God c ."]
Since their purpose was directly opposite to God s
decree, we shall not wonder at,
II. Their disappointment
God in this place, as also in several other places,
speaks in the plural number ; " Let US go down d ."
By this form of expression he gave, it should seem,
an early intimation of the mysterious doctrine of the
Trinity, which was afterwards to be more clearly re
vealed. Moreover, speaking after the manner of men,
he represents himself as coming down from heaven to
inspect their work, and as feeling an apprehension,
that, if he did not interrupt its progress, his own
plans respecting the dispersion of mankind would be
defeated. He then declares his determination to
c Rom. viii. C, 8. a Gen. i. 2G. and iii. 22.
18.] CONFUSION OF TONGUES. 93
frustrate their design, and to accomplish his own
purposes, by confounding their language.
Now in this their disappointment it will be profit
able to notice,
1. The time
\_God interrupted them in the midst of all their hopes and
projects. They had made considerable progress in their work,
and were, doubtless, anticipating the satisfaction they would
feel in its completion. And thus it is that the expectations of
those who are seeking their happiness in this world are gene
rally disappointed. They form their plans ; they prosecute
their designs ; they advance in their prospects ; partial success
animates them to a more diligent pursuit of their favourite
object: but sooner or later God stops them in their career, and
says to them, " Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be re
quired of thee." " When they are saying, Peace and safety,
then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as a thief in the
night, or as travail upon a woman with child."]
2. The manner
[The means which God used to stop the progress of the
work was the most unlooked for that can be imagined. The
people engaged in it might conceive it possible that they should
be stopped by quarrels amongst themselves, or by another
deluge, or by fire from heaven ; but they could never entertain
the remotest idea of such an interruption as they experienced.
And thus does God generally interpose to disappoint the
expectations of worldly men. He has ten thousand ways in
which to render their plans abortive, or to embitter to them
the very things in which they have sought their happiness.
We have laboured for honour and distinction : he suffers us
perhaps to attain our wishes ; and then makes our elevation a
source of nothing but disquietude and pain. Many have looked
for enjoyment in the acquisition of a partner or a family; who
after a time would give the world perhaps to loose the indis
soluble knot, or to have been " written childless in the earth."
In short, the Governor of the Universe is never at a loss for
means to confound the devices of the wise, or frustrate the
counsels of the ungodly.
Moreover, as the disappointment of the builders was strange
and unlooked for, so was it in a way that perpetuated their
disgrace. The building which they had raised would, for many
centuries perhaps, be a witness against them : every time also
that they opened their lips, they would be reminded of their
folly and wickedness by the very language which they spoke :
and as long as the world shall stand, the different nations of
94 GENESIS, XL 48. [18.
the earth will exhibit the sad effects of their impiety, the
indelible records of their shame.
And where can we turn our eyes without seeing memorials
of human folly, and evidences, that all creature-confidences are
vain? Ask the aged, and they will testify; inquire even of the
young, and they will confess ; that the creature, however fair
its appearance or promising its aspect, is on]y " a broken
cistern which can hold no water." All of them, both rich and
poor, " have gone to it with their vessels, and come away
ashamed 6 ." They renew indeed their applications from time to
time ; but only to experience repeated disappointments. There
are but few who have not found their cup, notwithstanding
its occasional sweets, so distasteful on the whole, that they are
almost weary of the world by the time that they have half com
pleted their destined course. And the more eager they have
been in their pursuit of earthly good, the more painfully have
they been made to feel, that it was all " vanity and vexation
of spirit."
If we look into the eternal world, what monuments shall
wo there find of disappointed ambition! What multitudes are
tit ere, who once said, ( I aspire after happiness; I shall find it
in the attainment of wealth, and in the gratifications of sense !
They passed their time in dreaming of happiness which they
never realized ; and knew not that they had been dreaming,
till " they awoke to shame and everlasting contempt." And
though, while in this .world they justified their choice, they
themselves will to all eternity be witnesses for God, acknow
ledging the folly of their former conduct, and the justice of
their present doom.]
We cannot conclude without OBSERVING,
1. How awfully do we at this moment suffer under
the curse inflicted on them !
[Difference of language has not only placed obstacles in
the way of commercial intercourse, but has given occasion to
contiguous or distant nations to consider each other as enemies.
Moreover, it has been the means of excluding the greater part
of the world from all the advantages of revelation. And if a
benevolent person, desirous of diffusing the knowledge of
Christ among the heathen, engage in the arduous undertaking,
he must first lose several years before he can attain a com
petent knowledge of the languages in which he is to address
them: even then he labours under the greatest disadvantages
in speaking to them ; and, after all, he must limit his exer
tions to two or three nations at the uttermost. Multitudes
e Jer. xiv. 3.
18.] CONFUSION OF TONGUES. 95
there are who would gladly encounter labour and fatigue in
the service of their fellow-creatures ; but they are discouraged
by these difficulties, and are compelled to restrain their bene
volent wishes through a conscious incapacity to carry them
into effect. Nor is this all : for the unlearned of our own
nation sustain incalculable loss through the introduction of
foreign words, and foreign idioms, into our own language ; inso
much that, if they hear a discourse that has been penned for the
edification of the learned, the preacher is, in fact, " a barbarian
to them," almost as much as if he spoke in another language.
Suffering thus as we do for the transgression of those
builders, we ought at least to shun a repetition of their sins,
and to humble ourselves before God for all the pride and
worldliness of our hearts.]
2. How graciously has God blended mercy with
judgment !
[When the plan of salvation was perfected, and the time
for the more extensive propagation of the Gospel was arrived,
God inspired holy men, without any previous instruction, to
speak all manner of languages, and to diffuse the knowledge
of the truth through all nations ; that as by the division of
tongues he had dispersed men through the earth, so by the
gift of tongues " he might gather together in one the children
of God that were scattered abroad f ." The end of that gift
having been in a measure attained, and the gift itself with
drawn, he stirred up men of learning and piety in different
countries to translate the Scriptures into their respective
languages, so that the unlearned might read them in the
language which they understood. What do we of this nation
owe to God, and, under God, to our Reformers, for giving us
the Bible in our own tongue ! If the volume of inspiration
were locked up in the languages in which it was first written,
how deplorable would be our state ! Oh, never, never can we
be sufficiently thankful that the fountains of divine knowledge
are open and accessible to all !
Moreover, though the languages of men are still different,
there is a language in which all the children of God through
out the earth agree, the language of the heart. As far as
respects the work of God upon their souls, they all speak
precisely the same thing. Sighs and groans and tears are
universally the expressions of their sorrow on account of sin.
They all agree in exalting Christ as " their wisdom, their
righteousness, their sanctification, and their complete re
demption." They glory in Him, and in him alone. They
are indeed Barbarians to the ignorant ungodly world, who
f Acts ii. 3 6. with John xi. 52.
96 GENESIS, XII. 14. [19.
are ready to say of them as the Jews did of the Apostles,
" These men are full of new wine," they are foolish, they are
mad. But they understand each other : though brought from
the most distant parts of the earth, there will be found such
an agreement between them, as will unite their hearts to each
other in the closest bonds of love. What was said of them
before their dispersion 8 , may be said of them now again,
" They are all one, and they have all one language." Though
Egyptians by nature, they have learned the language of Canaan 11 ,
and are again united in building an edifice that shall last for
ever.
Let us then bless our God for these rich mercies ; and from
being " strangers and foreigners, let us seek to become fellow-
citizens with the saints, and of the household of God."]
e ver. 6. h Isai. xix. 18.
XIX.
CALL OF ABRAM.
Gen. xii. 1 4. Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get
thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and, from
thy father s house, unto a land that I will sliew thee : And
I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and
make tin/ name great; and thou shalt be a blessing; And
I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth
thee : and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him.
OUR God has been pleased to teach us, no less by
example than by precept : and the instruction to be
gathered from the life and conduct of his saints, com
mends itself to us with peculiar force, as being less
open to the evasions of criticism, or the objections of
prejudice. Doubtless we must exercise a sober judg
ment in determining how far we are to follow the
Patriarchs, Prophets, or Apostles ; for there were many
things in their conduct which were peculiar to their
situation and circumstances. But we can never ma
terially err, if we attend to the spirit of their actions :
here they were patterns to us : and as far as relates to
this, we are to be " followers of them who through
faith and patience now inherit the promises." We are
hidden particularly to "walk in the steps of our
19.] CALL OF ABRAM. 97
father Abraham :" one of the most remarkable of
which is that which is mentioned in our text.
We shall endeavour to observe that sobriety of
interpretation, while we consider,
I. The Call of Abram-
The command given to him was most extraor
dinary
[The world had speedily relapsed into idolatry. Abrain
was brought up, it should seem, in the common superstition.
But it pleased God to separate him from the idolatrous world,
in order that lie might be a living witness for Jehovah, and
preserve in his family the knowledge of the true God. For
this end God appeared to him, and commanded him to leave
his country and friends, and to go into a land which should
afterwards be shewn him.]
But however strange this may appear, a similar
command is given to every one of us
[We are not indeed called to leave our country and con
nexions : but to withdraw our affections from earthly tilings,
and to fix them upon things above, we are called a . The whole
world around us lies in wickedness b : and we are expressly for
bidden to be of the world, any more than Christ himself was
of the world . We are not to love it, or any thing that is in
it d . We are not to be conformed to it c , or to seek its friend
ship f : we are rather to come out from it s , and be altogether
crucified to it h . We are to regard it as a wilderness through
which we are passing to our Father s house ; and in our passage
through it to consider ourselves only as strangers and pilgrims 1 .
If we meet with good accommodation and kind treatment, we
are to be thankful: if we meet with briers and thorns in our
way, we must console ourselves with the thought, that it is our
appointed way, and that every step will bring us nearer home k .
Nothing good is to detain us ; nothing evil to divert us from
our path. We are to be looking forward to our journey s end,
and to be proceeding towards it, whatever be the weather, or
whatever the road 1 . The direction given to the church, is the
same in every age ; " Hearken, O daughter, and incline thine
ear ; forget also thine own people and thy father s house ; so
shall the King have pleasure in thy beauty." There is no ex
emption, no dispensation granted to any, no difference allowed.
a Col. iii. 1, 2. b 1 John v. 19. c John xvii. 14, 16.
d 1 Johnii. 15, 16. e Rom. xii. 2. f Jam. iv. 4.
g 2 Cor. vi. 17, 18. h Gal. vi. 14. * Heb. xi. 13.
k Acts xiv. 22. i Heb. xi. 1416. m Ps. xlv. 10, 11.
VOL. I. II
98 GENESIS, XII. 14, [19.
Some from their occupations in society must be more conver
sant with the world than others : but in heart and affection all
must be withdrawn from it; "not partaking of its sins, lest
they should receive also of its plagues 11 ."]
There will not appear to be any thing harsh in the
command given to Abram, if we consider,
II. The inducements offered him
These were far more than equivalent to any sacri
fice he could make
[He was to be blessed in himself, and a blessing to others.
In respect of temporal things, he was blessed in a very signal
manner to the latest hour of his life . He was loaded also with
spiritual and eternal benefits, being justified and accounted
righteous before God, and being exalted after death to the
highest seat in his Father s house. He was also a blessing to
many : for his children and household were governed by him
in a way most conducive .to their best interests. The people
amongst whom he sojourned could not but be edified by his
instructions and conduct: and to this day the whole of his
life affords a stimulus to the church to serve God after his
example. But most of all was he a blessing in being the
Progenitor of the Messiah, " in whom all the nations of the
earth were to be blessed 1 :" and every person will be blessed or
cursed according as he accepts or rejects that promised Seed 1 .]
Similar inducements are offered to us also
[Everyone who, for Christ s sake, will renounce the world,
shall be blessed. He may not possess opulence and honour ;
but " the little that he hath, shall be better to him than all the
riches of the ungodly." In his soul he shall be truly blessed.
View him in the state least enviable according to human ap
prehension ; see him weeping and mourning for his sins ; yet
then is he truly blessed 1 : lie shall have pardon and acceptance
with his God : lie shall experience the renewing and sanctify
ing influences of the Holy Spirit: he shall have "joys and
consolations which the stranger intermeddleth not with :" and
in due time " he shall be blessed with faithful Abraham," in
the eternal fruition of his God.
He shall be a blessing too to all around him. View him in
his family connexions; view him as a husband, a parent, a
master, a friend ; who so kind, so benevolent, so anxious to
promote the happiness of those connected with him ? View
him in the church^ or in the state ; what blessings does he com
municate by the light of his example ! what evils does he avert
n Rev. xviii. 4. o Gen. xxiv. 1, 35.
P Acts iii. 25. and Gal. hi. 8, 16. ( i ver. 3. r Matt. v. 3, 4.
19.^ CALL OF ABRAM. 99
by his prevailing intercessions ! Suppose the Christian to be
instrumental to the salvation of one single soul ; the whole
world is not equivalent to the good that he has done. Nor is
it that, individual soul only that shall acknowledge him as its
benefactor; for, all the good that shall arise through the me
dium of that soul to the remotest posterity, shall be traced up
to him as its author ; and shall occasion thanksgivings to God
on his behalf to all eternity.
Let these inducements be duly weighed, and how light will
the vanities of this world appear in comparison of them !]
From a believing prospect of these benefits arose,
III. His ready obedience
Notwithstanding all the obstacles in his way, he
without hesitation obeyed the call
[His friends and relatives would consider his conduct as
an indication of consummate weakness and folly : especially,
when he could not so much as tell them whither he was going,
they would be ready to pity him as insane. But as, 011 the
one hand, he valued not the comforts of their society, so
neither, on the other hand, did he regard their contempt and
ridicule : every consideration gave way to a sense of duty, and
a desire of the promised blessings. He believed, firmly be
lieved, all that God had spoken. He believed especially that
the Saviour of the world should spring from his loins ; and
that, through the merits of that Saviour, he himself, together
with all his believing posterity, should possess that good land,
even heaven itself, of which Canaan was a type and shadow.
Under the influence of this faith he was contented to forego
all the comforts that he could lose, and to endure all the suf
ferings that could come upon him 8 .]
In this he was a pattern and example to all be
lievers
[If we renounce the world for Christ s sake, and set our
selves in earnest to seek the land of promise, we shall be de
spised and hated, even as Christ himself was *. But this we are
not to regard. We are " not to confer with flesh and blood;"
but instantly and perseveringly to pursue our destined course.
What though we have never seen heaven, nor can even tell
where it lies ? it is sufficient for us to know that it is a land
flowing with milk and honey, and that it is "kept for us until
the time appointed of the Father." Nor need we doubt but
that it will far more than counterbalance all the sufferings that
we can endure in our way to it u . Let us only exercise the
s Heb. xi. 8 10. * John xv. 18 20. u Rom. viii. 18.
100 GENESIS, XII. 5. [20.
faith of Abram, and we shall instantly set out to follow his
steps.]
ADDRESS,
1. Those who are at ease in their native land-
fit may appear harsh to say, that, " if you hate not father
and mother, and houses and lands, yea and your own life also,
you cannot he Christ s diseiple x :" hut this is the word of
Christ himself. It is true, we are not to understand it in a
literal sense; for we are not to " hate" even our enemies: hut
when our friends, or even life itself, stand in competition with
Christ, we must act as if we hated them ; we must sacrifice
them all without one moment s hesitation. On lower terms
than these Christ never will accept us : " We must forsake
all, and follow him."]
2. Those who have set out towards the land of
promise
[Terah the father, and Nahor the brother, of Abram, ac
companied him as far as Charran ; and there (from what motive
we know not) they all abode five years. God then renewed his
call to Abram ; but alas ! his father was dead ; and Nahor was
weary of a wandering life ; so that, on the recommencement
of his journey, Abram had no associate but his Wife and
Nephew. We pretend not to determine any thing of the spi
ritual state of Terah or Nahor ; but their never entering into
the land of Canaan may well be a caution to us to " beware,
lest, having received a promise of entering into God s rest,
any of us should seem to come short of it y ." It were better
never to have begun our journey heaven-ward, than to turn
back, even in our hearts 2 .]
x Luke xiv. 26. v Hch. iv. 1.
7 2 Pet. ii. 20, 21. Heb. x. 38, 39.
XX.
ABRAM S JOURNEY TO CANAAN.
Gen. xii. 5. They went forth, to go into the land of Canaan :
and into the land of Canaan they came.
THE call of Abram is one of the most instruc
tive subjects that can occupy the human mind ; both
because the perfections of Almighty God were most
gloriously displayed in it; and because, in it, he
shewed himself one of the brightest patterns of obe
dience that ever the world beheld.
20. J ABRAM S JOURNEY TO CANAAN. 101
He had had a revelation from God whilst yet he
was at Ur, in the land of the Chaldees : by that he
was directed to leave his native country; which was
immersed, as he also and his father were, in idolatry" 1 .
At Haran (or, as it is also called, Charran) he abode
till his father s death ; when he received from God a
further direction to go into Canaan, with an express
assurance that the whole land of Canaan should be
given to him and his posterity for an inheritance, and
that in his seed should all the nations of the earth be
blessed b . With this direction he complied : he took
his wife and family, and all that he possessed, and set
out upon the journey ; as it is said in the words
before us " They went forth, to go into the land of
Canaan ; and into the land of Canaan they came."
Now this call of Abram is very instructive ; no
less as displaying the glorious perfections of God who
called him, than as exhibiting the distinguished vir
tues of him who obeyed the call. I propose then, in
illustrating this subject, to set before you,
I. The perfections of God for your admiration
To this we are particularly led by that expression
of St. Stephen, " The God of glory appeared unto
our father Abraham." Observe, then,
1. His sovereignty
[Why was Abram distinguished above all other of the
sons of men, to be so blessed in himself, and such a blessing
to the world ? He and all his family were idolaters, as also were
all around him : yet was he selected by Almighty God from
among them, and made the friend and favourite of heaven.
Can any account for this ? Can it be traced to any thing but
the sovereign will and pleasure of Jehovah ? However adverse
any man may be to the idea of God s sovereignty in the dis
pensation of his blessings, he cannot deny, he cannot question
it, in this case. Yet this is really what is done in the conver
sion of every soul to God. The Almighty Sovereign of the
universe " has saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and
grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began ." "It is God, and God alone, that has made any of
a Josh. xxiv. 2. b ver. 1 4. with Acts vii. 2 4. C 2 Tim. i. 9.
102 GENESIS, XII. 5. [20.
us to differ" from our fellows 11 : and every saint, whether in
heaven or on earth, must say, " By the grace of God I am
what I am 6 ."]
2. His power
[Nothing less than omnipotence could have effected such a
sudden and total change in the heart of Abram as was
wrought at this time : nor, in truth, could any thing less
than omnipotence have sufficed to accomplish for him all that
was now promised. And is less power required for the " turn
ing of any man from darkness unto light, and from the power
of Satan unto God ? " It is a new creation, and is expressly
called so by God himself f . It is compared by St. Paul to the
power which the Father exercised in raising his Son Jesus
Christ from the dead, and exalting him to glory far above all
the principalities and powers, whether of heaven or hell g .
From the first awakening of a sinner to his final exaltation to
glory, he must say, in reference to the whole work, " He that
hath wrought me to this self-same thing is God 11 ."]
3. His faithfulness
[Not one foot of ground had Abram : nor for twenty-
five years after the promise was made to him, had he the child
to whom the promises were made. The time w T as past in
which, according to the course of nature, it was possible for
him and Sarah to have a child. Yet the child was given him ;
and to his posterity all the land of Canaan ; and in due time,
the seed also, in whom all the nations of the earth were to be
blessed. Thus, in like manner, are all the promises fulfilled
to every one who believes in Christ : not one jot or tittle of
God s word is ever suffered to fail 1 . " The promises of God
in Christ are, not yea and nay, but yea and amen, to the
glory of God k ," and to the everlasting salvation of all who
rely upon them. However numerous their dangers be, or
great their difficulties, " they shall never be plucked out of
God s hands 1 ," but shall be " kept by his power unto full and
complete salvation m . "]
Let us now set before you that which is no less
conspicuous in our text ; namely,
II. The virtues of Abram, for your imitation
We are told, on divine authority, that if we be
d 1 Cor. iv. 7. 1 Cor. xv. 10. f Eph. ii. 10.
s Eph. i. 19 21. See the wonderful force of the original.
h 2 Cor. v. 5. i Josh, xxiii. 14. k 2 Cor. i. 20.
1 John x. 29. >" 1 Pet. i. 5.
20. ] ABRAM S JOURNEY TO CANAAN. 103
Abram s seed, we shall do the works of Abram.
Behold, then,
1. His simple faith
[He received implicitly all that God spake unto him.
To whatsoever it referred, and however improbable, humanly
speaking, the accomplishment of it was, he never for one
moment doubted the truth of God s word, " nor ever staggered
at any promise through unbelief." Now in this most particu
larly he is set forth as an example to us ; who are required to
" walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which
he had whilst he was yet uncircumcised 11 ." And more espe
cially are we to imitate him in relation to the faith which he
exercised on the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he beheld at the
distance of two thousand years as the Saviour of the world.
If any person ever could be justified by his works, Abram
might have claimed that honour : but, eminent as his obe
dience to the divine mandates was, " he had nothing whereof
to glory before God ;" and, sensible of his own utter unworthi-
ness, he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for righteousness,
and was justified solely by faith in him . And why is this so
minutely recorded concerning him ? Was it for his sake, that
he might be honoured ? No : it was altogether for our sakes,
that we might know how we also are to be justified, and may
look simply to Christ as our all in all p .]
2. His prompt decision-
fit is said concerning him, that " when he was called to
go out into a place which he should after receive for an in
heritance, he obeyed." There was in him no hesitation, no
delay. And in this way must we also obey the divine call,
when bidden to " forsake all and follow Christ." We must
"not confer with flesh and blood q ;" but must, like the Dis
ciples with their nets, and Matthew at- the receipt of custom,
leave all for Christ. We must be on our guard against spe
cious excuses, " Lord, let me go home and bury my father,"
or " take leave of my friends :" we must not be looking for
" a more convenient season ;" our obedience must be prompt,
our decision firm and unchangeable : whilst it is called to-day,
we must avail ourselves of the opportunity that is afforded
us to do the will of God : to hesitate, is treason : to delay,
is death. " What our hand findeth to do, we must do it
instantly, and with all our might."]
3. His self-denying zeal
[Doubtless Abram felt that attachment which men
n Rom. iv. 12. ib. ver. 1 3. P ib. ver. 22 25. 1 Gal. i. 16.
101. GENESIS, XII. 5. [20.
usually do to their native country ; and found it painful to
turn his back upon all his friends, and to forsake all the
comforts which he enjoyed in opulence and ease. No doubt,
too, he had much to combat with amongst his friends and
acquaintance. He was leaving his native country, and yet
" he knew not whither he was going." How strange must
this appear! yea, what a folly and infatuation! But "he
knew in whom he had believed," and had no fear but that the
Lord Jehovah, who had called him, would guide his feet, and
keep him in all his ways. And shall not we also have much
to contend with, if we obey the call of God in his Gospel ?
To renounce the world, to " mortify our members upon
earth, to cut off a right hand, to pluck out a right eye, to
crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts," is surely no
easy work. The very terms in which these duties are expressed
sufficiently declare what self-denial is necessary for the dis
charge of them. From without, also, our difficulties will be
increased. We shall have foes without number to obstruct
our way ; and most of all, " those of our own household."
Hence our blessed Lord warned his followers, saying, " If any
man will bo my disciple, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross daily, and follow me." In truth, " if we hate not father
and mother, and houses and land, yea, and our own lives also
in comparison of him, we cannot be his disciples." Let not
this appear a hard saying : obey it, like Abram ; and, like
him, you shall find it " a light burden and an easy yoke."]
4. His prudent care
[Abram collected together all the substance which he
could conveniently carry with him, and took it along with him
for his support. To have acted otherwise, without necessity,
would have been to tempt God, rather than to trust in him.
He had many dependent on him ; and it became him, as far
as with propriety he could, to provide for their support. And
the same prudent care becomes us also. It is one thing to
improve the means we possess, and another to trust in them.
We must never say to gold, " Thou art my hope ; or to the
fine gold, Thou art my confidence :" but at the same time we
are to employ the talents which God has committed to us,
that we may support ourselves, and not be chargeable to
others. That is a remarkable expression of Solomon, "I
wisdom dwell with prudence 1 ." And a prudent attention to
our worldly circumstances tends rather to honour, than dis
grace, religion. Abram, as the head of a family, provided
for his own : and he did right in this : yea, if he had not done
it, he would have " denied the faith, and been worse than an
r Prov. viii. 12.
21.1 SEPARATION OF ABRAM AND LOT. 105
infidel." Whatever, then, be your situation in life, endeavour
to discharge the duties of it in a becoming manner ; and let
your determination through grace be like that of David, " I
will behave myself wisely in a perfect way 8 ."]
5. His persevering diligence-
fin stopping at Haran till his father s death, I suppose,
he judged that to be, or rather, that it was for the time, his
proper destination. But being afterwards directed to go to
Canaan, he went forth, and turned not aside till he came
thither : and there he abode for many years. Indeed, to the
very end of his life he held on in the good way which God
had directed him to pursue. And thus it is that we also must
approve ourselves to God. We must " not turn back : for, if
we do, God s soul will have no pleasure in us." If we " turn
back" at any time, it is to certain " perdition." Let us " re
member Lot s wife." In fact, it were better for us never to have
" known the way of righteousness, than, after having known it,
to depart from it." Go on then, like Abram, " as pilgrims
and sojourners here," " shewing plainly, that you are seeking
a better country 1 ." And be assured, that " if, by patient con
tinuance in well-doing, you seek for glory and honour and
immortality, you shall in the end attain eternal life 11 ."]
s Ps. ci. 2. t Heb. xi. 9, 10, 1316. u Rom. ii. 9.
XXI.
SEPARATION OF ABRAM AND LOT.
Gen. xiii. S 11. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be
no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between
my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not
the ivhole land before thee ? Separate thyself, I pray thee,
from me : if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to
the right ; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will
go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the
plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before
the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha, even as the
garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as thou comest
unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan.
WEALTH is almost universally considered as a
source of happiness, and in that view is most eagerly
desired. That it may conduce to our happiness in
some respects, especially when it is improved for the
relief of our fellow-creatures, we admit : but it is much
106 GENESIS, XIII. 811. [21.
oftener a source of trouble and vexation than of
satisfaction and comfort. " If goods increase, (says
Solomon,) they are increased that eat them 8 ." A
multitude of servants augments our care. Their
disagreements among themselves, or disputes with the
servants of others, frequently become an occasion of
disquietude to ourselves. The envy also and jealousy
that are excited in the breasts of others, operate yet
further to the disturbance of our peace. In how
many families have contentions arisen from this
source! How many who have spent years together
in love and harmony, have been distracted by feuds
and animosities as soon as ever they were called to
share the property that has been bequeathed them !
Even piety itself cannot always prevent that discord,
which the pride or covetousness of others is forward
to excite. Abram and Lot had lived together in per
fect amity, while their circumstances were such as to
preclude any jarring of interests; but when their
opulence increased, occasions of jealousy arose ; their
servants, espousing too warmly their respective inte
rests, quarrelled among themselves ; and it became
expedient at last, on account of the difficulty of
finding pasturage for such numerous flocks and herds,
and for the sake of preventing more serious disputes,
that a separation should take place between them.
The manner in which this separation was effected will
afford us much instruction, while we consider,
I. The proposal of Abram
His conduct on this occasion was indeed such as
became his exalted character. It was,
1. Conciliatory
[Abram well knew the value and blessedness of peace.
He knew that " the beginning of strife is as when one letteth
out water ;" the breach, however small at first, being quickly
widened by the stream that rushes through it, and speedily
defying all the efforts of man to prevent an inundation. He
had learned that valuable lesson, " To leave off contention
before it be meddled with b ;" knowing that when it is once
a Eccl. v. 11. i> Prov. xvii. 14.
21.1 SEPARATION OF ABRAM AND LOT. 107
begun, no man can tell when or how it shall terminate. Hence
he was desirous of promoting peace between the herdmen,
and more especially between himself and Lot. The con
sideration of the relation subsisting between himself and Lot,
rendered the idea of contention still more hateful in his eyes ;
" Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and
between my herdmen and thy herdmen ; for we be brethren."
How amiable was this spirit, how engaging was this address !
and how happy would the world be, if all were thus studious
to prevent contention, and to " keep the unity of the Spirit
in the bond of peace ! "]
2. Condescending
[Abram, as standing in the superior relation of an Uncle,
and as being the person peculiarly called of God, while Lot
was only a Nephew and an attendant, might well have claimed
the deference and submission that were due to him. But, in
stead of arrogating to himself any authority or asserting his
own rights, he was ready to act the part of an inferior ; rightly
judging, that condescension is the truest honour, and that to
be the servant of all is to imitate most nearly the character of
our blessed Lord c . Accordingly the proposal came from him,
that, since circumstances imperiously required a separation, they
should separate in a manner that became their holy profession.
How many angry disputes, and bitter quarrels, and bloody
wars might be avoided, if the contending parties, instead of
proudly requiring the first advances from each other, would
strive who should be foremost in making proposals for peace !]
3. Generous
[Common justice required that the partition of land should
be such as to secure to Abram equal advantages with Lot.
But Abram waved his rights, and cheerfully conceded to his
Nephew whatever portion he chose to take. Though he could
not but know that there was a great difference between the
lands on either side of him, the one being far more fertile and
better watered than the other, he desired Lot to occupy which
ever he preferred, and to leave the other to him. What a
noble, disinterested, generous mind did this manifest ! Would
to God that such an indifference about carnal interests were
more prevalent in the world, and especially among the pro
fessors of religion ! This would shew a becoming deadness to
the world : it would give an evidence, that our hearts were set
on things above, and not on things below : it would illustrate,
more strongly and convincingly than ten thousand words, the
efficacy of faith, and the excellence of true religion.]
c Matt. xx. 2628.
108 GENESIS, XIII. 8 11. [21.
Admirable as was the example of Abram, we
observe a perfect contrast to it in,,
II. The choice of Lot
Whether Lot was at that time a converted man,,
we cannot say: it is certain that twenty years after
this he was a truly righteous man, and a most distin
guished favourite of Heaven d : and it is not impro
bable that the change of heart which he experienced,
arose from the troubles which his present choice
entailed upon him. But without determining his
general character, it is very plain that his conduct in
the present instance argued,
1. Too great a concern about his temporal in
terests
[As far as the history informs us, we have no reason to
think that Lot felt any reluctance in parting with Abram. He
had now an opportunity of gratifying his covetous desires; and
he seems to have embraced it with greediness and joy. If he
had not been blinded by selfishness, he would have returned
the compliment to Abram, and given him his choice : or, if he
had accepted Abram s offer, he would at least have endea
voured to make an equitable division of the lands, so that
each might have his proper portion of the more fertile coun
try. But instead of this, he surveyed with pleasure the w r ell-
watered plains of Jordan, which were beautiful and fruitful like
Eden of old, and took the whole of them for himself; regard
less what difficulties his Uncle might experience ; and intent
only on his own interests. Who does not see the meanness
and illiberality of this conduct? Who does not see that world-
liness and covetousness were the governing principles of his
heart ? If the man who requested our Lord to interpose in
order to obtain for him his proper share of his father s inherit
ance, needed that caution, " Take heed and beware of covet
ousness," much more did the choice of Lot betray a very undue
concern about his temporal interests, and a selfishness that
was deeply reprehensible.]
2. Too little regard to the interests of his soul
[Lot could not but know the character of the people of
Sodom ; for they declared their sin before all, and without the
least reserve^, and he ought to have considered what a ten
dency there is in " evil communications to corrupt good man
ners." But as he left Abram without regret, so he went to
d 2 Pet. ii. 7, 8.
21.] SEPARATION OF ABRAM AND LOT. 109
dwell in Sodom without fear. What benefits he was losing,
and what dangers he was about to rush into, he little thought
of: his earthly prosperity was all that occupied his mind : and
whether the welfare of his soul were forwarded or impeded, he
did not care. This conduct every one must blame : yet how
many are there who pursue the same heedless and pernicious
course ! How many for the sake of temporal advantage will
leave the places where their souls are nourished with the bread
of life, and take up their abode where there is an incessant
" famine of the word !" How many will form their connexions
even for life upon no better principle than this ! Well will it
be for them, if the troubles which they bring upon themselves,
operate, as they did on Lot, to bring them to repentance.]
Let us LEARN from hence,
1. To guard against the love of this world
[It is not without reason that St. John says, " Love not
the world, neither the things that are in the world : if any man
love the world, the love of the Father is not in him 6 ." We see
in the instance before us what unhappy dispositions the love of
this world generated, and what unworthy conduct it produced.
Indeed the folly as well as sinfulness of this disposition is
strongly illustrated in the present case : for Lot had enjoyed
his portion but a little time before he was plundered of all that
he possessed, and himself and family were carried into cap
tivity f : and, after his restoration to liberty and opulence, he
at last was forced to flee for his life, and to leave all his pro
perty, and part also of his family, to be destroyed by fire from
heaven g . Thus shall a love of this world be recompensed to
all. If God have designs of mercy towards them, he will either
take away from them the objects of their idolatrous regard, or
embitter to them the possessions in which they have sought
delight. Let us then be on our guard against that " love of
money which is the root of all evil ; which w r hile some have
coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced them
selves through with many sorrows : for they that would be rich,
fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and
hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition 11 ."]
2. To cultivate an affectionate and self-denying
spirit
[If we look no further than this present life, the exercise of
love and self-denial has greatly the advantage of selfishness, even
when it is most successful. Let us compare the feelings of
Abram and of Lot on this occasion : how refined, how enviable
e 1 John ii. 15, 16. f Gen. xiv. 12.
Gen. xix. 14, 17, 25, 26. h 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10.
110 GENESIS, XIV. 18-20. [22.
were those of Abram in comparison of Lot s ! Give to Lot all
the joy of successful covetousness, and conceive him to be filled
with exultation at the portion he had gained, and at his prospects
of increasing opulence : suppose, on the other hand, Abram im
pressed with thankfulness to God for having enabled him to
sacrifice his own interests rather than contend about them, and
for having disposed his mind to generosity and love : which of
these two had the more solid happiness ? No man who has any
just notions of happiness, can entertain a doubt. What then
we admire in another, let us cultivate in ourselves : and what
we cannot but acknowledge to be highly virtuous and laudable,
let us labour to attain, let us endeavour to preserve in constant
exercise. " Let us be kindly affectioned one to another in bro
therly love, in honour preferring one another 1 ." Let us " look
not on our own things only, but rather and principally on the
things of others k ." Thus "walking in the steps of our father
Abraham," we shall approve ourselves his children; yea, we shall
resemble that greatest of all patterns, the Lord .Jesus Christ,
who " came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to
give his life a ransom for many 1 ." And as Abram was imme
diately visited by God, and refreshed with more assured pro
spects of the promised land" 1 , so shall every one who denies
himself for God, be recompensed with present consolations,
and eternal joys".]
* Rom. xii. 10. k phii. ji. 4> 5. i Matt. xx. 26 28.
m ver. 14 17. " Luke xiv. 14.
XXII.
MELCHIZEDEC BLESSING ABRAM.
Gen. xiv. 18 20. And Melchizedec king of Salem brought
forth bread and wine : and he ^uas the priest of the most
high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram
of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth : and
blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine
enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
WAR is a calamity arising out of the state of fallen
man. We have innumerable lusts which cannot be
satisfied without trespassing on others,, and which
lead us to retaliate injuries with vindictive ferocity.
Hence there is no nation, whether savage or civilized,
which is not frequently engaged in war : and if there
were any one nation determined to cultivate peace
22.1 MELCHIZEDEC BLESSING ABRAM. Ill
to the uttermost, it would still be necessary for them
to learn the art of war, in order that they might be
ready, when attacked, to repel aggression, and to
maintain their liberties. The first war of which we
read in history, was that recorded in the chapter
before us. Chedorlaomer king of Elam, with three
confederate kings, invaded the cities of the plain,
who had combined for their mutual defence ; and,
having defeated the combined armies, took Sodom
and Gomorrha, and plundered them of all that was
valuable or useful. Abram, as we have already seen
in his conduct to Lot, was a man of peace : and from
the history before us it is clear, that he was not
under the influence either of covetousness or am
bition ; but, living in the midst of hostile nations,
he had wisely trained his servants, 318 in number,
to the use of arms : and finding that his nephew Lot
had been carried captive by the victorious invaders,
he determined, with God s help, to rescue him.
Accordingly he armed his little band, and, with a
few allies, pursued the victors. He speedily came
up with them, and, by a stratagem suited to the in
feriority of his force, prevailed against them. Having
dispersed or slain his enemies, he recovered all the
captives and the spoil ; and returned in triumph to
those whose cause he had espoused. In his way to
them he received the testimonies of God s approba
tion mentioned in the text. To elucidate these, to
gether with the circumstances connected with them,
we shall consider,
I. The respect which Melchizedec paid to Abram
Melchizedec was a person of most singular and
mysterious character
[Some have thought that he was the same as Shem : but
Shem s parentage was known ; w T hereas Melchizedec s was not.
Others have thought that he was Christ, who just for that
occasion assumed the appearance of a man : but he was a per
son " made like unto the Son of God ;" and therefore could
not be the Son of God himself. Whoever he was, he was cer
tainly a very eminent type of Christ. His name imported that
he was king of righteousness, while at the same time, as king
112 GENESIS, XIV. 1820. [22.
of Salem, he was king of peace a . He was also " a Priest of
the most high God," ministering, not to one peculiar people,
as the Levites afterwards did, but to mankind at large without
any distinction. In these respects he typified the Lord Jesus,
whose "sceptre is a right sceptre b ," who " maketh peace for
us by the blood of his cross ," and who is "the great High
Priest " that once ministered on earth, and is " now passed into
the heavens" to offer incense before the throne of God d . In
him alone, after Melchizedec, were combined the offices of
King and Priest : He and he only is " a Priest upon his throne e ."
Moreover, Melchizedec was a type of Christ in those things
which we do not know concerning him, as well as in those
things which we do know : yea, there were many things con
cealed from us, on purpose that he might be a more illustrious
type of Christ. We are not informed of his birth, or paren
tage, or death. We are not told w r ho preceded him in his office,
or who followed him. He is merely introduced on this occa
sion as " without father, without mother, without beginning
of life or end of days," that he might fitly represent that
adorable Jesus, who was without father, as Man, and without
mother, as God, and who abideth a priest continually f .]
As God s servant, he came forth on a remarkable
occasion to honour Abram
[Abram was returning with his victorious bands, laden
with the spoil that he had recovered from the slaughtered
kings. For the refreshment of his weary troops, Melchizedec
brought forth bread and wine. It is certainly a striking co
incidence, that this, even bread and wine, is the provision which
our great High Priest has appointed to be received by all his
people to refresh them after their conflicts : but we do not on
the whole apprehend that there was any thing more intended
by the bread and wine, than to administer suitable nourish
ment to Abram and his attendants after their fatigues. But
from the other tokens of respect which Melchizedec shewed to
Abram, there is much instruction to be derived.
Melchizedec blessed Abram for the zeal he had manifested,
and blessed God for the success he had given. In blessing
Abram he shewed what obligations we owe to those who go
forth to fight in our defence, and by their valour procure to us
the peaceful enjoyment of our possessions. If Abram had not
stood forth on that occasion, what misery would have been
entailed on those who had been taken captive, and on those
who were left behind to bewail the loss of their dearest rela
tives, and experience the pressure of want and famine ! And
a See Heb. vii. 1, 2. b p s . x i v> c< c Col. i. 20.
d Heb. iv. 14. e Zech. vi. 13. f Hcb. vii. 3.
22.] MELCHIZEDEC BLESSING ABRAM. 113
we also may easily conceive to what a deplorable state we of
this nation should soon be reduced by our envious and ambi
tious neighbours, if we had not fleets and armies ready to
maintain our cause. It is to be lamented indeed that all our
warriors are not so pacific in their principles, and disinterested
in their patriotism, as Abram was ; but still they are instru
ments of good to us; and we ought to acknowledge with
gratitude the benefits they confer upon us.
Had Melchizedec rested there, he had ill performed the office
of a priest. But he proceeded to bless God also; shewing
thereby, that all success must ultimately be traced to God, " the
giver of every good and perfect gift." It would have been im
piety indeed not to give him the glory of so complete a victory,
obtained by so small a force over four confederate and trium
phant kings, without the loss of one single follower. But he
should be acknowledged in every instance of success, whether
more or less complete, and whether more or less dearly pur
chased: for "it is He who giveth victory unto kings;" "he
raiseth up one and casteth down another;" "he saves whether
by many or by few."]
Let us now turn our attention to,
II. The return which Abram made him
Had we been told that Abram gave Melchizedec
a present in return for his kindness, we should merely
have considered it as a proper compliment suited to
the occasion. But we are informed that " he gave
him tithes of all." This circumstance is peculiarly
important. If we attend to it, and consider it ac
cording to the light reflected upon it in other parts
of Scripture, we shall find in it,
1. An acknowledged duty
[Melchizedec was God s Minister. In the performance of
his high office, he had taken a lively interest in the concerns of
Abram : he had not merely congratulated him as a friend, but
blessed him officially as a priest ; and had rendered thanks also
to God for him as his Minister and representative. In short,
he had been a kind of Mediator between God and Abram,
acting, as Priests are ordained to do, for each, with and towards
the other g . Abram, viewing him in this light, gave him the
tithes, not as a friend, but as God s representative. Doubtless
Abram accompanied the present with unfeigned expressions
of personal respect and gratitude : but still, though he might
intend it in some measure as a token of love to man, he
g Heb. v. 1.
VOL. I. I
114, GENESIS, XIV. 18 20. [22.
designed it principally as a tribute of piety to God. And herein
he has shewn us our duty towards the Priests and Ministers
of God. If they perform their office, as Melchizedec did, with
a tender concern for those amongst whom they minister, and
with real piety towards God, they ought to be " esteemed very
highly in love for their work s sake:" " While they serve at
the altar, they ought to live of the altar ; " and " while they
minister unto us of their spiritual things, we should feel happy
in imparting to them of our temporal things." What if our
property be earned with the sweat of our brow, or purchased,
as Abram s was, at the risk of our life ; we should account a
portion of it due to God, who has enabled us to acquire it ;
and we should consider the support of his Ministry and his
religion as having the first and most urgent demand upon us.]
2. A hidden mystery
[We should have seen nothing particular in this transac
tion, if God had not been pleased to reveal it to us. But by
the light of the New Testament we see in it nothing less than
the abolition of the whole Jewish polity, and the establishment
of Christianity upon its ruins.
The tribe of Levi were by God s special command ordained
to be priests ; and the tithes of every thing (which God claimed
as his property) were to be given to them for their support.
They were to be considered as God s representatives ; and
therefore they had, in this respect, a superiority above all the
other tribes. But Melchizedec ministered in the priesthood
four hundred years before they had any designation to the
office; and an hundred and fifty years before Leyi himself
existed: and to him Abram, the father of all the tribes, paid
tithes. The same superiority therefore which the tribe of Levi
claimed on account of the priesthood above their brethren,
Melchizedec claimed above Abram himself, and consequently
above Levi also: for " Levi being in the loins of his father
Abram, may be considered as paying tithes in Abram." Here
then at once we see, that Melchizedec s priesthood was supe
rior to that of Levi. Now the priesthood of Christ was to be,
not after the order of Levi, but after the order of Melchize
dec; (for God foretold, even while the Levitical priesthood
was in all its plenitude of sanctity and power, that another
priest should arise after the order of Melchizedec 11 .) Christ
therefore had a priesthood of a higher order than that of Levi.
This further appears from the circumstance of his being
appointed to the priesthood with an oath, (" The Lord
sivare, and said, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of
Melchizedec:") whereas the Levitical priests were appointed
11 Ps. ex. 4.
22. j MELCHIZEDEC BLESSING ABRAM. 115
without any such solemnity. Moreover, as we before hinted,
there was no successor to Melchizedec in his priestly office ;
which intimated, that Christ should have none in his ; but that
his priesthood should be everlasting: whereas the Levitical
priests could not continue in their office by reason of death.
From all this it appears, that Christ s priesthood was intended
to supersede that which was appointed by the law; and con
sequently, that the law itself, which was so intimately connected
with the priesthood, was to yield to the dispensation which
Christ should introduce. For if Melchizedec s priesthood,
which was only typical, was superior to that of Levi, much
more must Christ s priesthood be superior ; because the things
which exalted the person and office of Melchizedec, were
merely figurative and shadowy ; whereas those which dignify
the person and office of the Lord Jesus, are real and substan
tial; he is really in his person the eternal God, and will
execute to all eternity the office he has undertaken 1 .
Behold, then, how deep a mystery is contained in that which
appears at first sight so unimportant! O that we may all bear
it in mind, and present to him, not a portion of our property
only, but " our bodies and our souls also to be a living sacrifice
unto God!"]
To IMPROVE this subject, we would earnestly entreat
of you these two things :
1. Study the Scriptures with earnest prayer to
God for the teaching of his good Spirit-
fin every part of God s word there are many important
truths which cannot be discerned, unless God be pleased to
" open our eyes to see them, and our understandings to under
stand them." We do not mean by this observation to refer to
mysteries merely, but to great practical truths. We may un
derstand the letter of Scripture, and yet be extremely ignorant
of its spirit. Take, for instance, such an expression as this,
" God is love :" What, I ask, can we understand of it without
humble meditation and prayer? Yet if we have meditated
and prayed for ever so long a time, there would still be un
searchable riches in those words to reward our continued
search ; yea, eternity itself will not suffice to explore their full
meaning. Exactly as we might have meditated a thousand
years upon the text, and not found out the truths which by
the light of subsequent revelations we discover in them, so it
is with ten thousand other passages, which we cannot duly
comprehend or feel, till God is pleased to reveal them to us
by his Spirit. The Bible is " a sealed book;" and neither
1 See the whole seventh chapter to the Hebrews.
116 GENESIS, XV. 1. [23.
the unlearned nor the learned can open it of themselves k . It
contains inexhaustible " treasures of wisdom and knowledge"
which God alone can impart. Let us then search the Scrip
tures with humility and diligence, lifting up at the same time
our voice to God for understanding: for it is God alone who
giveth wisdom; " out of his mouth cometh knowledge and
understanding 1 ."]
2. Let every mercy you receive, lead you to God
the giver of it
[Ungodly men would have been rioting upon the spoil,
and abusing the gifts which God had bestowed upon them.
But Abram and Melchizedec made this victory an occasion of
glorifying God. O that we could learn of them! Our suc
cesses too often lead to intemperance and riot: yea, mercies
of every other kind have but little effect to solemnize the
spirit, or to change the heart. Deliverances from sickness,
how little are they improved as they ought to be ! Instead of
devoting our renewed strength to the service of our God, we
too commonly lose the impressions that were upon us, and
forget the vows which we made in the day of our calamity.
But let it not be thus in future: let the honour of God be
dear to us: let it be the first desire of our hearts to render
unto him our tribute of praise and thanksgiving : and the
more visible his interpositions have been in our favour, the
more earnest let our endeavours be to live to his glory.]
k Isai. xxix. 11, 12. l Prov. ii. 1 6. m 1 Sam. xxx. 16.
XXIII.
ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE FEARFUL.
Gen. xv. 1. After these things, the word of the Lord came
unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am
thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.*
WE may here observe,,
I. The most eminent saints need encouragement
They are apt at times to feel discouragement,
1. From a review of past difficulties
[Persons under the immediate pressure of their trials are
often not aware of their greatness. God mercifully conceals
it from them, lest their energies should be weakened. But
* This is only a slight sketch, given extemporaneously to a friend.
23.] ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE FEARFUL. 117
when they see, in their calmer moments, what difficulties they
have had to encounter, they are amazed at themselves : I had
almost said, They are amazed at God : and they tremble, lest
there should be a recurrence of similar trials; apprehending
nothing but a failure under them. This was the special case
with Abram at this time.]
2. From a prospect of augmented trials
[Trials in prospect are always formidable ; and the ima
gination often paints them in the deepest colours. A sense
of weakness gives rise to fears ; and the most eminent saints
are apt to be appalled.]
3. From an apprehension of disappointed hopes
[Confidence in a time of ease is apt to fail when the hour
of trial comes: e.g. Peter, on the waves; and Moses -a ; and
Joshua b . And you too, my brethren, who have hoped that
sin should be entirely slain, are apt to be discouraged when
you find it still working in you.]
II. The encouragement which God affords them
God affords them the richest encouragement:
1. He assures them of protection
[He provides armour for his people : and that armour
shall be effectual. But he himself is in the place of armour :
and our enemies must break through him, to reach us. He
is " a wall of fire," that devours the assailants. See how this
is represented by St. Paul (Col. iii. 3): " Your life is hid with
Christ in God." Who can fear, that has such a protection as
this ? The weakest may laugh all his enemies to scorn.]
2. He gives himself to them, as their portion
[Happiness too, as well as protection, will he afford
them: happiness here; happiness hereafter. Conceive of all
the glory of heaven how rich a reward! But heaven is no
thing in comparison of the reward provided : it is the God of
heaven that is our portion. See him in all his perfections, in
all his glory, in all his blessedness: HE is yours; THAT is
yours, for ever your eternal portion, your indefeasible in
heritance. Say, fearful saint, whether here is not sufficient
encouragement ?]
And now, is there here a timid saint ?
[Come with me, and survey your enemies. Who are they?
what are they? They are " crushed before the moth." And
look at your Friend : survey HIM, his power, his goodness, his
a Exod. v. 22, 23. b Josh. vii. 7 9.
118 GENESIS, XV. 5, G. [24.
fidelity. Have you now any cause for fear ? Be strong : fear
not. See 1 Tim. iv. 10.]
To the careless unbeliever let me also speak
[Tell me, Have not you cause to fear? Think of the
clanger to which you are exposed. And where will you find
"a shield?" Think of the recompence that awaits you: how
different from that of the believing soul! Exceeding bitter
will be " thy reward" - O that I could awaken you to
fear! The world and the devil say, " Fear not." But I say,
" Fear, and tremble." Yet will I say, that Abram s God
may still be thine : he was once an idolater, as thou art : the
sovereign grace that elected him, may fix on thee : the cove
nant made with him is open to thee ; and all the blessings of
it will be thine, if, like him, thou wilt be " strong in faith,
giving glory to God." The seed for whom he waited, is come :
the blessings, to which he looked forward, are poured out
upon all the families of the earth. Look to the Lord Jesus
Christ, and they shall all be thine.]
XXIV.
ABRAM JUSTIFIED BY FAITH.
Gen. xv. 5, 6. And he brought him forth abroad, and said.
Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able
to number them. And he said unto him, So shall thy seed
be. And he believed in the Lord ; and he counted it to him
for righteousness.
THE enjoyment of the divine presence is truly sa
tisfying to the soul. In having the light of God s
countenance we have all that we can desire : we are
elevated above earthly things; the possession of them
cannot add to our happiness ; the want of them can
not diminish it. Yet, in another sense, the soul is
not satisfied: the more it has of God, the more it
desires ; nor will it ever be satisfied, till it shall have
attained the full, uninterrupted, everlasting fruition
of him. Unspeakably blessed was the state of Abram,
when God, in return for his active and disinterested
zeal in rescuing Lot from captivity, gave him that
promise, " I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great
reward." This was sufficient to dissipate all fear with
respect to confederacies that might be formed against
24.] ABRAM JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. 119
him, and to confirm that contempt of lucre which he
had shewn in refusing to accept even a thread of a
shoe-latchet of all the spoil that he had taken. But
was Abram contented with this promise ? No. God
had before promised that he should have a child, from
whom in due time the Messiah should spring. He
had waited already ten years, and had no child : and
as he and his wife were far advanced in years, the
prospect of issue became, daily, more dark and dis
couraging. He therefore could not be completely
happy till he could see this great point accomplished.
Hence, notwithstanding the declaration which God
had just made to him, he expressed his regret at not
having an offspring to inherit his substance, and to
confirm his expectations of the promised Messiah ;
" Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go
childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer
of Damascus? Behold, to me thou hast given no
seed: and lo, one born in my house is mine heir."
We cannot suppose that it was merely an anxiety to
have an heir to his fortune, that produced this reply
to God : that, though natural enough, would have
been unworthy of so eminent a saint, and especially at
the very moment when he was receiving such commu
nications from God. But, if we suppose his anxiety to
have respect chiefly to the Messiah, then was it every
way worthy of his high character. Indeed the answer
which God gave to him in the text, clearly shews that
Abram s views extended not to an immediate progeny,
so much as to a remote posterity, who should " be
blessed through him." And in this view the conduct
of Abram strongly exemplifies our introductory ob
servation.
We do not apprehend that he doubted whether the
promise formerly given him would be fulfilled ; but,
that he began to be impatient for its accomplishment.
The repetition of the promise, however, with all its
attendant circumstances, confirmed his faith ; in the
exercise of which he obtained renewed testimonies
of his acceptance with God.
We shall endeavour to set before you,
120 GENESIS, XV. 5, G. [24.
I. The faith he exercised
The promise which was now given him, was very
extensive
[It being early in the morning before sun-rise, God
" brought him forth abroad, and bade him count, if he could,
the stars of heaven ; " and then told him that " his seed should
be, like them," innumerable. This doubtless respected, in the
first instance, his natural seed : and though he waited fifteen
years longer for the birth of that child from whence that nume
rous progeny was to spring, yet it was accomplished, as Moses
repeatedly declared, previous so their taking possession of the
promised land a . But the promise, taken as it must be in con
nexion with that which had been before given him b , and that
which was afterwards given c (for they were all either different
parts, or only repetitions of the same promise), had an ulterior,
and more important view. It assured to him, that he should
have a spiritual seed ; that the Messiah himself should spring
from his loins ; and that multitudes, both of Jews and Gen
tiles, should, through faith in the Messiah, become his spiritual
children.
That the promise had this extensive meaning, we cannot
doubt : for we are told, that the seed promised to Abram, was
Christ d ; and that in this promise the Gospel was preached
unto him 6 . Now the Gospel includes every thing respecting
the work and offices of Christ, and the call of the Gentiles to
believe in him : and therefore these were the things to which
Abram was taught to look forward when this promise was
given him.]
The faith which he exercised, had respect to the
promise in all its parts
[He believed that he should have a numerous progeny: yea,
fifteen years afterwards, when it was more plainly declared that
he should have a child by Sarah, notwithstanding he was about
an hundred years old, and Sarah ninety, and both the dead-
ness of his own body and of Sarah s womb forbade all hope that
a child should be born to him in the natural way, " he, against
hope, believed in hope : " God had said to him, " so SHALL THY
SEED BE ;" and " he staggered not at the promise through un
belief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; being
fully persuaded, that what he had promised he was able also to
perform f ." At the same time, in this progeny he beheld the
promised seed, the Lord Jesus Christ. Of this we can have no
a Deut. i. 10. andx. 22. t> Gen. xii. 2, 3.
c Gen. xvii. 47. and xxii. 17, 18. d Gal. iii. 16.
e Gal. iii. 8. f Rom. iv. 1821.
24.] ABRAM JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. 11
doubt ; for our blessed Lord himself said to the Jews, " Your
father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was
glad g ." What can be the meaning of this ? can it mean only
that he foresaw that this progeny could continue so many hun
dred years ? In truth, he had no reason to rejoice, if that were
all ; for the terrible destruction that was speedily to terminate
their political existence, had far more in it to make him weep,
than the prolongation of it to that period had to make him
rejoice. There can be no doubt but that by " the day of
Christ" is meant, the whole scheme of Christianity as pro-
mulged by the great Founder of it, together with its establish
ment throughout the world by the ministry of his apostles. In
this he might well rejoice, because he himself was to be saved
by what Christ should do and suffer ; and myriads even to the
remotest corners of the earth should be made partakers of the
same salvation. That his faith thus terminated on the Lord
Jesus, seems intimated even in the very words of our text : for
when the promise was given him, it is not said merely that he
believed the Lord, but that " he believed IN the Lord." We
do not indeed mean to lay any great stress on this ; because
we are aware that to believe, and to believe in, may be con
sidered as synonymous expressions : but, as agreeing with the
universal testimony of Christ and his apostles, it ought not to
be overlooked. The faith of our father Abraham is constantly
said to be the same with ours h : but if his had not respect to
Christ, it is essentially different from ours : if it related only to
the power of God, it agreed as much with the faith of those
who crucified the Lord Jesus, as of those who trusted in him
for salvation ; and therefore we are sure that, like the faith of
all his believing children, his faith terminated upon Christ.]
It is this view alone of Abram s faith that can ac
count for,
II. The benefit he obtained
Every exercise of faith on God s word insures the
accomplishment of that word to the believing soul :
" God cannot deny himself." But as the faith of
Abram respected in this instance the whole of God s
promises relating to the work of redemption, it brought
not merely one single benefit, but all the blessings of
redemption into his soul : " it was counted to him
for righteousness." This expression is the founda
tion of much and important reasoning in the New
s John viii. 56. h Rom. iv. 12, 16.
122 GENESIS, XV. 5, 6. [24.
Testament : we shall endeavour therefore to state to
you what we apprehend to be its precise import.
1. It does not mean that the act of faith constituted
Abram s righteousness, or that he was in any way
justified by it as an act
[Faith, considered as an act, is the same as any other act
of the human mind. As hope, or love, or fear, or any other
grace, is a work of man ; so faith, considered as an act, is a
work of man : and if Abram was justified by it in this view,
he was justified by works : but the whole Scripture positively
contradicts this, and affirms that he was justified by faith as-
opposed to ivorks. St. Paul, referring to the words of our text,
says, "What saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God;
audit was counted unto him for righteousness 1 :" then explain
ing himself more fully, he adds, " We say that faith was
counted to him for righteousness k ." He afterwards calls it
" the righteousness of faith," as opposed to the works of the
law 1 : and repeats again, respecting his faith, that "IT was
imputed to him for righteousness."
Moreover if the mere act of faith constituted Abram s justi
fying righteousness, he had whereof he might glory before God:
he could say, * I performed an act which was the true and
proper ground of my salvation ; so that my salvation was not
altogether a gift of free grace, but, as far at least as respected
that act of mine, it was a debt paid to me in consideration of
the work which I had performed. But this idea also St. Paul
expressly controverts ; and maintains, in opposition to it, that
Abram " had not any thing whereof to glory before God," but
that the reward given him was of grace, and. not of debt : " and
from thence he deduces this general position, that " to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted to him for righteousness 11 ."]
2. The meaning is, that his faith,, as laying hold
of Christ and of Ids righteousness, was the mean or
instrument whereby he was justified
[Much has been said on the subject of imputed righteous
ness ; and controversies have been raised about the words, while
in substance the same thing has been intended. That we should
"contend earnestly for the faith," is certain; but " strifes of
words " we should avoid : and if we hold fast that which we
have stated to be the import of the expression, we hold that in
which all good men are agreed, without relinquishing one atom
of important truth.
* Rom. iv. 3. k Rom. iv. 9. J Rom. iv. 13.
m Rom. iv. 22. See also Gal. iii. 6. n Rom. iv. 2 5.
24.1 ABRAM JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. 123
We have before shewn, that Christ and his salvation were
contained in the promises made to Abram ; and that Abram s
faith had respect to them. Now we say that by his faith Abram
became interested in all that Christ did and suffered, precisely
as we do at this day. The only difference between Abram and
us is this : Abram believed in a Saviour that should come ;
and we believe in a Saviour that is come. As to the efficacy
of Christ s death, there is no difference at all between those
who preceded, or those who followed him : he was " the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world." The righteousness
of Christ also availed as much for the justifying of believers
under the Old Testament, as of those who were his more im
mediate followers. The parallel drawn by St. Paul between
the sin of the first Adam and the righteousness of the second
Adam, is equally just, whether it be referred to Abram or to
us : it designates the way in which Abram was justified, as
well as the way in which we are justified: " By one man s
offence death reigned by one : much more they which receive
the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus
Christ." " As by the offence of one, judgment came upon all
men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of One
the free gift comes upon all men to justification of life." " As
by one man s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the
obedience of One shall many be made righteous ." In a
word, " Christ, who had no sin of his own, became a sin-
offering for" Abram, just as he did for us: and Abram, by
believing in Christ, became, as all other believers do, " the
righteousness of God in him 1 *."]
APPLICATION
We intreat you, Brethren,
1. To bear in mind in what way you yourselves
are to be saved
[You have heard how Abram s faith " w r as counted to him
for righteousness." But was this only an historical fact ; a
fact in which you have no personal interest ? Far from it :
St. Paul assures us, that "it was not recorded for Abram s
sake only, but for ours also, to inform us, in what manner we
are to be justified, and to assure us that righteousness shall
be imputed to us also, if we believe on him that raised up
Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our
offences, and raised again for our justification 01 ." Now in this
passage there is an express parallel drawn between the man
ner of Abram s justification, and of ours. While therefore it
proves on the one hand that Abram had respect to the death
Rom. v. 17 19. P 2 Cor. v. 21. 1 Rom. fv. 23 25.
GENESIS, XV. 5, 6. [24.
and resurrection of Christ, it shews us, on the other hand, that
we must seek for justification, not by our works, but by faith
in Christ Jesus. For if so eminent a man as Abram, who had
forsaken his country and kindred, and sojourned willingly in a
strange land where he had not the smallest possession, and even
offered up his own son, at the command of God, if he was not
justified by his works, but by his faith in the promised Messiah,
then it must be madness indeed for us to dream of justification
by works, or to hope for acceptance in any other way than
through the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus.
It is worthy of observation also, that as his being justified by
his faith before lie had performed any of the good works for
which he was so eminent, proves that he was justified by faith
only ; so its being spoken of him after he had performed these
acts, proves that lie was justified by faith only from first to last.
This it is of great importance to notice : for it shews us, that
we also must be justified from first to last in the very same way.
It is true that God will reward our works ; but the reward will
be of grace, and not of debt: the only meritorious ground of
our acceptance from first to last must be the righteousness of
the Lord Jesus. We must exercise the faith of Abram, if we
would be numbered amongst his children 1 ".
It may be objected indeed that St. James says, " Abram
was justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon
the altar 8 ." But Abram was justified by faith twenty-five
years before Isaac was born 1 : which alone is an absolute
demonstration that St. James did not speak of the same justi
fication that St. Paul did, since that mentioned by St. Paul
had taken place at least fifty years before. The truth is, St.
James speaks of Abram s works as manifesting the truth and
excellence of his faith : for the whole scope of his argument is
to shew, that we are not saved by a dead faith, but by a living
and operative faith : in confirmation of which he observes, that
the perfection of Abram s faith was displayed by that consum
mate act of his obedience : and that it was this faith, and not
a dead faith, that was imputed to him for righteousness.
There is therefore no real opposition between the two apostles,
nor any argument to be derived from St. James that can in the
smallest degree invalidate the foregoing statement.
We recur then to what we have before said, and urge you
to believe in Christ for the salvation of your souls u .]
2. To be concerned about nothing so much as the
manifestation of Christ to your souls
[Nothing dwelt so much upon the mind of Abram as the
promise given to him relating to the Messiah : Nor could any
r Gal. iii. 7, 9. s Jam. ii. 21 . t See notes b and c . u Heb. x. 39.
25.] COVENANT CONFIRMED TO ABRAM. 125
thing that God himself could say to him allay the thirst which
he had after that unspeakable gift. His longing after Christ
arose, as we should think, even to impatience and ingratitude.
But God approved of it ; and instantly renewed his promises
to him in a more plain and express manner than before. And
thus will he do towards us, if we manifest the same holy ardour
after the knowledge and enjoyment of Christ. He will permit
us to say to him, What are all thy gifts to me, or all thy pro
mises, if I go Christless x , or have not assured hopes of an in
terest in him ! Yes, he would be pleased with such apparent
ingratitude ; and would speedily return unto us an answer of
peace. Let then every thing which you possess, appear as
nothing in your eyes in comparison of Christ : let nothing
comfort you while you are destitute of Christ : let it not satisfy
you to have embraced the promises which relate to Chsist ; but
endeavour to obtain brighter prospects of their approaching
accomplishment. Like the holy Patriarch of old, entreat of
God that you may not die till you have embraced Jesus in
your arms, and can confidently say, " Mine eyes have seen
his salvation y ." This is the boldness which Jacob exercised
when he wrestled with the angel 2 : and similar importunity
shall surely be crowned with similar success.]
x See ver. 2. y Luke ii. 28 30. z Gen. xxxii. 26.
XXV.
COVENANT CONFIRMED TO ABRAM.
Gen. xv. 8. And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know
that I shall inherit it ?
THE innumerable instances of God s condescen
sion which occur in the holy Scriptures, familiarize
the idea of it so much to our minds, that we cease to
wonder at it even on occasions the most stupendous.
In the history before us we are ready to conceive
of God as if he was a man like ourselves. His ap
pearances to Abram are so frequent, his intercourse
with him so intimate, his regard for him so tender
and affectionate, that we really lose sight of the Deity
in the Friend. Every fresh manifestation of himself
seems only introductory to still higher exercises
of his condescension and grace. In the preceding
verses God had been pleased to allay the fears of
126 GENESIS, XV. 8. [25.
Abram, and confirm his hopes of a numerous pos
terity : but, Abram being still desirous of receiving
stronger assurances respecting his possession of the
promised land, God graciously complied with his
request in this respect also, and confirmed his ex
pectations of it in a manner that deserves particular
attention.
Let us consider,
I. The inquiry which Abram made
We may perhaps be disposed to blame this inquiry,
as savouring of vain curiosity, or sinful distrust. To
obviate such misconceptions, we shall distinctly state,
1. Its nature
[The very same act may be good or evil, according to the
principle from which it proceeds. Had this inquiry arisen
from unbelief, it would have been decidedly sinful. It would
have resembled the question which Zacharias asked, when
the angel told him from God, that he should have a child;
" Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my
wife well stricken in years 11 :" for which unbelieving question
he was immediately struck dumb. If, on the other hand, it
expressed a wish to be informed more clearly respecting the
divine purposes, or to receive those superabundant testimonies
which God himself was willing to communicate, then it was
perfectly innocent, and consistent with the strongest faith. It
was for the purpose of instruction only that the blessed Virgin
inquired of the angel, how she should have a child, since she
was a Virgin b . The question did not materially differ from
that of Zacharias ; but the principle was different ; and there
fore the one received a gracious answer ; the other a severe
rebuke. Many instances are recorded where God has been
graciously pleased to give signs to his people for the confirma
tion of their faith, when there was not any doubt upon their
minds respecting either his faithfulness or power. When he
appeared to Gideon, and told him that he should deliver his
country from the yoke of Midian ; Gideon said, " If now I
have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou
talkest with me : " in answer to which, God caused fire to come
out of the rock, and consume the kid and cakes which Gideon
had prepared for him c : and presently afterwards, he gave him
another sign, making the dew to fall alternately on the fleece
and on the ground, while the other remained perfectly dry d .
a Luke i. 18. b Luke i. 34.
c Judg. vi. 14, 17, 21. A j u dg. vi. 3640.
25. J COVENANT CONFIRMED TO ABRAM. 127
In the same manner lie gave to Hezekiah a choice of signs,
offering to make the shadows on the sun-dial to go backward
or forward ten degrees, according as he should desire . From
hence it appears that the inquiries which proceed from faith,
are good and acceptable to God : and that Abram s was of this
nature is manifest; because his faith on this occasion was
specially commended by God himself.]
2. Its importance
[If we were to limit the inquiry to the mere circumstance
of Abram s inheriting Canaan in his own person, it would be
indeed of very little importance : for he never did possess (ex
cept the burying-ground which he purchased) one single foot
of ground in the country f , nor, as far as appears, had he any
expectation of gaining any permanent settlement in it. But,
viewed in its just extent, the inquiry comprised in it nothing
less than the happiness of Abram and of all mankind. We
are willing to allow that the prospect of having a posterity so
numerous and so renowned, must be gratifying to flesh and
blood: but that was, at best, but a very small part of Abram s
hope : he regarded the promised land as the scene of all those
wonderful transactions, where God should be honoured and
enjoyed by his posterity ; where the redemption of mankind
should be effected by the Messiah ; and where the final rest
of the redeemed should be typically exhibited : in the posses
sion of that, all his hopes centred ; yea, all his happiness in
time and in eternity was bound up. If by any means that
were prevented from taking place, the day of Christ, which he
had foreseen, would never arrive ; and consequently all his own
prospects of salvation, as also of the salvation of the whole
world, would be altogether annihilated. Canaan was in his
estimation the pledge and earnest of heaven s : and if he failed
of the one, both he and all mankind must fail of the other
also. Surely when so much depended on that event, the most
reiterated assurances respecting it were no more than what
it became him to desire.]
We shall be yet more fully convinced that Abram s
inquiry was proper, if we notice,
II. The way which God took to satisfy him respect
ing it-
God commanded Abram to take of every animal
that was proper to be offered in sacrifice,, whether
of beasts or birds ; each beast was to have attained
its full age and perfection (for nothing but an
e 2 Kings xx. 8 11. f Acts vii. 5. Heb. xi. 10, 13, 16.
128 GENESIS, XV. 8. [25.
absolutely perfect sacrifice could avail for ratifying
of God s covenant with man), and, after being slain,
their parts were to be divided and placed opposite to
each other, so that a sufficient space should be left
for a man to pass between them. Whether this way
of making covenants had obtained before, or whether
it was first suggested by God on this occasion, we
cannot tell : but we have notices of it in the heathen
world, both among the Greeks and Romans ; and it
was certainly practised by the Jews also h . But,
whatever was its origin, God appointed it now for
the purpose of satisfying Abram s mind. The sacri
fice being prepared, God accompanied it,
1. With significant emblems
[God designed to give Abram a just conception of the
manner in which the desired object should be accomplished ;
and by various emblems shewed him that it should be against
much opposition after many troubles and long delays.
The opposition was signified to Abram by "the fowls that
came down upon the carcases," and that were with difficulty
driven away. It is no uncommon thing for the enemies of
our salvation, whether men or devils, to be represented by this
figure 1 . And it was indeed verified by the efforts which the
Egyptians made to detain them in bondage, and the con
federacies which the nations of Canaan formed to obstruct
their entrance into the land, or to dispossess them of it when
they were there.
" The horror of great darkness that fell upon Abram when
he was in a deep sleep k ," denoted the heavy troubles that his
posterity should endure in Egypt ; such troubles as made them
groan for anguish of spirit, and. made " the soul of God himself
to be grieved for the misery of Israel 1 ." Perhaps too the
judgments inflicted on them through the various oppressions
of the Midianites and Philistines, the Assyrians and Chal
deans, might be represented to his mind.
The long interval of time that passed between the promise
and the ratification of it, even from the earliest dawn, while the
stars were yet shining bright, to the return of darkness after
the setting of the sun all this time had Abram to wait:
and though part of it would be consumed in the preparing
of the sacrifices, yet a considerable part was occupied in his
h Jer. xxxiv. 18, 19.
1 ver. 11. with Jer. xxxiv. 20. and Matt. xiii. 19.
k ver. 12. i Judg. x. 16.
25.1 COVENANT CONFIRMED TO ABRAM. 129
endeavours to drive away the fowls, and in the preternatural
sleep and horror that came upon him. This lapse of time, I say,
intimated the delay that should take place before the promise
should be fulfilled, or his wishes receive their final completion.
If in deciphering these emblems we seem to have gone be
yond the line of sober interpretation, let us turn to the expla
nation which God himself gives us of them, and we shall see
all these particulars distinctly enumerated ; the opposition
they should encounter, the troubles they should endure, and
the delay they should experience, even four hundred years" 1 .
And so far from exceeding the limits of sobriety, we are by
no means certain that much more is not intended under these
emblems, even to designate the trials and conflicts which the
children of Abraham shall experience in their way to the
promised land.]
2. With demonstrative attestations
[After the parts of the sacrifice were properly disposed, it
was customary for the parties who covenanted with each other,
to pass between them 11 ; intimating, if not expressing, their
willingness to be cut asunder in like manner, if they should
ever violate their engagements. God therefore, assuming the
appearance of a smoking furnace and a burning lamp, passed
visibly between the pieces that were placed opposite to each
other ; and thereby ratified the covenant on his part, as Abram,
in all probability, did on his part. Why God assumed these
diversified appearances, we cannot absolutely determine. But
at all times, if he did not assume the human or angelic shape,
he revealed himself in the likeness of fire. It was in a burning
bush that he was seen by Moses ; and in a burning mountain
by Israel?; and in a pillar of smoke and fire that he went
before his people in the wilderness q : from whence we are
disposed to think that, though the appearances were diverse,
the intent was one ; namely, to represent himself to Abram,
as he did to his descendants, as " the Glory and Defence " of all
his people 1 ". Under this character he shewed himself to Abram,
and, passing between the pieces of the sacrifice, pledged him
self for the accomplishment of all that he had promised.]
Let us LEARN from hence,
1. To make a similar inquiry relative to the inhe
ritance which we seek
[We profess to be looking for heaven and eternal glory.
Ought we not then, every one of us, to ask, " Whereby shall
I know that I shall inherit it ? " Surely the inquiry is as
m ver. 13. n Jer. xxxiv. 18, 19. Exod. iii. 2.
P Exod. xix. 18. with Heb. xii. 18.
q Exod. xiv. 19, 20. and xxiv. 17. r Isai. iv. 5.
VOL. I. K -
130 GENESIS, XV. 8. [25.
important to us, as Abram s was to him : and we have more
encouragement to ask the question, because God has provided
us with such ample means of solving it, As for any thing to
confirm the veracity of God, nothing can be added to what he
has already done : he has sent his only dear Son into the world
to die for us ; he has given his Holy Spirit to instruct us ; he
has already brought myriads, of Gentiles as well as Jews, to
the possession of the inheritance ; so that nothing remains but
to inquire into the marks whereby lie has taught us to judge
of our own character. Am I "poor in spirit?" Then is the
kingdom mine, and I shall surely inherit it s . Am I living
daily upon Christ, as the Israelites did upon the manna ? Then
I have, and shall have, everlasting life 1 . Am I "^keeping his
commandments diligently and without reserve ?" Then I
may know from hence my interest in his favour 11 . We are
not to expect visions, such as were vouchsafed to Abram :
" we have a more sure word of prophecy ; and to that it
behoves us to take heedV Let us then " examine ourselves
whether we be in the faith:" let us "prove our own selves > : :"
thus shall we "make our calling and election sure 55 ," and be
enabled to say with confidence, " I know that when the
earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dissolved, I have an
house, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens V]
2. To look forward to the full possession of our
inheritance without regarding any difficulties that \ve
may have to encounter in our way to it
[Abram was not discouraged cither with the difficulties
or delays which he was instructed to expect. He never once
regretted the losses he had sustained in leaving his native
country ; nor was he wearied with the inconveniences of a
pilgrim s life. He steadily pursued the path of duty in expec
tation of the promised blessings 13 . Let us then " walk in the
steps of our father Abraham." Let our prospect of the inhe
ritance reconcile us to the hardships of our pilgrimage ; and
our view of the prize animate us throughout the whole of our
course. If enemies oppose us, and troubles come upon us,
and our possession of the inheritance be delayed, it is no more
than what God has taught us to expect. But God has said,
" He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." Let
us therefore confide in that promise, and expect its accom
plishment to our souls. Let us not be weary in well-doing ;
" for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."]
s Matt. v. 3. John vi. 5358.
11 1 John iii. 24. with 1 Thess. i. 3, 4. * 2 Pet. i. 19.
> 2 Cor. xiii. 5. * 2 Pet. i. 10. a 2 Cor, v. 1.
b Heb. vi. 15.
26. J THE OMNISCIENCE OF GOD. 131
XXVI.
THE OMNISCIENCE OF GOD.
Gen. xvi. 13. She called the name of the Lord that spake
unto her, Thou God seest me.
AFFLICTIONS sanctified are amongst our great
est mercies. Hagar would have known less of her
self, and less of God, if she had not experienced
domestic trouble. She had indulged an exceeding
bad spirit in despising her mistress on account of her
barrenness ; and, when she had thereby provoked the
resentment of her mistress, she could not bear it ; but
fled away towards her own country. The gracious
and seasonable visit however which she received from
God, brought her to a better temper: it led her to
return to that station which she had left ; and to adore
that God, whom as yet she had altogether neglected.
The person that appeared to her is called " an
angel;" but he was " the Angel of the Covenant,"
the Lord Jesus Christ, under the semblance of an
angel. This appears from the promise which he gave
her, " I will multiply thy seed;" and, still more
clearly, from the discovery which was made to her,
that it was " the Lord Jehovah who spake to her ; "
and from the name by which she called him, " Thou
God seest me."
From this name of God we shall be naturally led to
speak of his Omniscience : but we will not occupy our
time with proofs that this attribute belongs to God,
or with uninteresting speculations respecting it : we
will rather endeavour to impress the consideration of
it upon our minds, and to mark its aspect upon the
different states and conditions of men.
The consideration then of the Omniscience of God
is suited to produce in us,
I. Conviction and sorrow
[Men commit iniquity under an idea that God does not
notice them a - Hence, though they know that they
have sinned, they are regardless of the consequences of their
a Ps. Ixxiii. 11. Job xxii. 13, 14.
132 GENESIS, XVI. 13. [26.
sm b But God lias indeed been privy to every one of
their most secret thoughts c - - And he has noticed them
in order that lie may bring them into judgment, and make
them the foundation of his own decisions at the last day d
- What a fearful thought is this ! and what a necessity
does it impose on every one to search out his iniquities, and
to humble himself for them in dust and ashes e ! - ]
II. Circumspection and fear
[" God will not judge according to appearance, but will
judge righteous judgment." If he saw only our outward
actions, we might hope perhaps to find a favourable accept
ance with him : but he discerns the motives and principles of
our actions f : he sees whether they now from a regard to his
authority ; whether they be done in the precise manner that
his word requires ; and whether, in doing them, we seek the
glory of his name. If we do the best things under the influ
ence of a corrupt principle, they are no better in his sight
than splendid sins s - What self-examination then is
requisite, to ascertain the secret springs of our actions, and
to guard against the delusions which w r e are so prone to
foster ! ]
III. Consolation and hope
[In seasons of temporal amiction, we may be ready to
think that our state is altogether desperate 11 . Under false
accusations especially, we may be incapable of establishing our
own innocence, and of vindicating our character from the vilest
aspersions 1 . But it is consoling to reflect, that "all things
are naked and open before God k :" and that he can, when
soever it shall seem good to him, extricate us from all the
miseries that we either feel or fear 1 .
Under spiritual trouble also, O how consolatory is it to
know, that God is thoroughly acquainted with the inmost
b They arc afraid of being detected by man, but not of being
judged by God, Job xxiv. 15 17. with Prov. xxx. 20.
c Jer. xxiii. 24. P^zek. xi. 5. This is not only asserted by God, but
acknowledged by men. Job xxxiv. 21, 22. and xlii. 2. Ps. cxxxix.
1 12. and exemplified in Achan, Gehazi, and Ananias.
d Jer. xvii. 10. e Ps. cxxxix. 23, 24.
f 1 Sam. xvi. 7. Ps. xi. 4. Job xxvi. 6. Prov. xvi. 2.
s Isai. i. 1115. and Ixvi. 3. Ezek. xxxiii. 31, 32. Matt. xii. 8.
h This was certainly the state of Hagar under the harsh treatment
of her mistress ; and was probably so when the angel appeared to her.
1 This was David s case, when fleeing from Saul, and accused by
him of treason. Ps. xxxv. 11 14, 22.
k Heb. iv. 12, 13. 1 Cor. iv. 35.
1 2 Chron. xvi. 9. Ps. xxxiii. 18, 19.
27.] CIRCUMCISION OF ABRAHAM. 133
desires of our souls : that if, on the one hand, he has seen our
corruptions, he has, 011 the other hand, beheld our conflicts,
and can bear witness to the ardour and sincerity of our exer
tions m ! - What a comfort is it to know, that he sees
us striving after universal holiness, and plunging daily and
hourly, as it were, into " the fountain that was opened for
sin," and relying, as the very chief of sinners, upon his cove
nanted mercy in Christ Jesus n ! - In this view, the most
desponding soul may cast itself at the foot of the cross, and
may say, "If I perish, I will perish here."]
ADDRESS
[Endeavour to realize the thought of God s presence with
you, wherever you are ; and to behold, as it were, the name of
God inscribed on every place, " Thou, God, seest me " -
Endeavour also to " set the Lord always before you," and to
order all your actions, words, and thoughts with a direct re
ference to his approbation in the future judgment ]
m He testified that there was some good thing in the heart of young
Ahijah ; 1 Kings xiv. 13. and will bear witness even for those who
only " think upon his name." Mai. iii. 10, 17.
n John i. 47, 48. Ps. xliv. 20, 21. with 1 Chron. xxviii. 9.
XXVII.
CIRCUMCISION OF ABRAHAM.
Gen. xvii. 9, 10. And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt
keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee,
in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall
keep between me and you, and thy seed after thee ; Every
man-child among you shall be circumcised.
TO a Jewish auditory the subject before us would
be so familiar,, that it might be treated without any
difficulty. But as it is otherwise with us, we shall
wave every thing relative to the right of circumcision,
and fix our attention upon the ends for which it was
instituted. The writings of the New Testament, as
well as of tbe Old, abound with references to this
ordinance : and a just knowledge of its original de
sign is necessary to a due understanding of the
corresponding ordinance under the Christian dispen
sation. Let us then state to you,
I. What were the great ends of circumcision
134 GENESIS, XVII. 9, 10. [27.
The importance attached to this rite under the
Jewish dispensation clearly shews, that it was not a
mere arbitrary imposition, but an ordinance fraught
with instruction. It was imposed on Abraham and
all his posterity,
1. As a seal of their privileges
[Abraham had from the first believed the promises which
God had given him relative to a numerous posterity, and to
" that seed in particular, in whom all the nations of the earth
were to be blessed : " and, in consequence of that faith,, he was
justified before God ; or, to use the expressive language of
Scripture, " his faith was counted to him for righteousness."
But when five and twenty years had elapsed, and it was more
distinctly made known to him that the promised seed was to
spring from Sarah, he had some pledges given him that God s
word, however improbable, should be fulfilled. His name was
changed from Abram, which means high father ; to Abraham,
the hiyh father of a multitude. His wife s name also was
changed, from Sarai, my princess, to Sarah, the princess of a
multitude*. Now also circumcision was enjoined on him and
all his posterity : and St. Paul expressly says, that it was " a
seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had being yet
uncircumcisedV To Abraham and his believing seed, this
seal assured the certain enjoyment of " God as their God" and
Portion for ever c : but as administered to infants, it assured
only that they should participate all the blessings of God s cove
nant, as soon as ever they exercised the faith of Abraham, and
" walked in his steps d ." But towards all, it had the same force
as a seal has when annexed to a covenant : it w^as God s seal
impressed on their flesh e , that he would fulfil to them all the
promises which he had given.]
2. A memorial of their engagements-
fin the verse following our text, God calls circumcision
" a token of the covenant between him and his people." It
was designed by God that his people should be separated from
all the world, and that they should be constantly reminded of
their engagements to him. When they submitted to that rite,
whether it were in infancy or at an adult age, they were no
longer to consider themselves as at their own disposal, but as
dedicated to the service of their God. St. Paul, in reference
to the scars and bruises with which his body had been covered
in the service of his Lord, said, " I bear in my body the marks
of the Lord Jesus f ." The same language might with propriety
a ver. v. 15. b Rom. iv. 11. c ver . 7, 8.
(l Rom. iv. 12. e s ee vcr> 13? latter part f Gal> yi< 17>
27.] CIRCUMCISION OF ABRAHAM. 135
be used by every Jew in reference to this sacred memorial :
for, having in his own person the appointed sign of his relation
to God, he must be continually reminded " whose he was, and
whom he was bound to serve."]
3. An emblem of their duties
[We cannot doubt but that this painful rite was intended
to represent the mortification of sin. The Scripture speaks-
much of the " putting off the whole body of sin ; " " the cruci
fying of the flesh with the affections and lusts ; " " the putting
off the old man, and putting on the new : " which expressions
exactly coincide with the chief intent of this ordinance : they
shew, that we bring a corrupt nature into the world with us ;
and that it must be the labour of our lives to put away sin,
both original and actual, both root and branch. Indeed St. Paul
explains the ordinance in this way, and calls it " a putting off
of the body of the sins of the flesh." But there are also other
expressions of Scripture which shew that this rite imported
the highest degrees of sanctification and holiness. Moses re
peatedly speaks of " the circumcising of the heart to love the
Lord with all our heart and all our soul g ." And the prophet
Jeremiah s language is singularly emphatic : " Circumcise your
selves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart,
lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can
quench it h ." From all these passages we learn, that the ordi
nance was figurative, and designed to instruct the Lord s people
in the nature and extent of their duties towards him.]
This rite however being dropped, it will be proper
to shew,
II. How those ends are attained under the Christian
dispensation
The rite of circumcision has been superseded by
the rite of baptism, just as the passover has given
way to the supper of our Lord. The dispensations
being changed, a change was made of the two great
ordinances which were adapted to Judaism; and
others were introduced more immediately suited to
Christianity. St. Paul, in reference to the ordinances
which we are now comparing, distinctly draws the
parallel; and shews that, though different in their
nature, they were of precisely the same import : " In
Christ," says he, " ye are circumcised with the cir
cumcision made without hands, in putting off the
s Deut. x. 16. and xxx. G. h Jer. iv. 4.
136 GENESIS, XVII. 9, 10. [27.
body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of
Christ : buried with him in baptism, wherein also
ye are risen with him through the faith of the ope
ration of God, who hath raised him from the dead 1 ."
Now in BAPTISM we have,
1. A seal of our privileges
[When Christianity was first preached, the ordinance was
principally administered to adults, because they alone were
capable of that instruction which the Apostles were sent to
convey. To them the baptismal rite was administered after
they had believed in Christ, and after " their faith had been
imputed to them for righteousness :" and to them it was, pre
cisely what circumcision had been to Abraham, " a seal of the
righteousness which they had being yet imbaptized." It
assured them, that they were " accepted in the Beloved;" that,
" they had redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness
of sins ; " that " grace and glory should be given them ; " and
that while the inheritance of heaven was kept for them, they
also should by the mighty power of God be preserved for it k .
But to their infant offspring the ordinance of baptism assured
nothing more than an external right to these blessings, and a
certainty of possessing them as soon as they believed. It w r as
of the unbelieving and impenitent Jews that St. Paul said,
" Theirs is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and
the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the pro
mises 1 ." This therefore must be understood of the title to
these things which they enjoyed by means of their admission
into covenant with God. The actual enjoyment of these things
they could not have, till they became obedient to the com
mands of God. It is exactly in the same manner that our
Church instructs children to say, that in their baptism they
were made " members of Christ, children of God, and heirs of
the kingdom of heaven." They have a title to these privileges,
as a woman has to the estate of her deceased husband, which
yet she cannot legally possess, till she take out administration:
so these cannot attain the actual enjoyment of their privileges,
till they sue them out by believing.]
2. A memorial of our engagements
[The effects of the baptismal water are not indeed long
visible upon the body ; but the name given to us at our bap
tism (emphatically called our Christian name) continues with
us until death : and the name of the society into which we are
introduced (that of Christians] is an indelible badge of our
1 Col. ii. 11, 12. k ! PeL i 4} 5> i Rom> ix> 4<
27.1 CIRCUMCISION OF ABRAHAM. 137
profession, and of the solemn engagements that we have entered
into. It is worthy of observation that, when the sacred histo
rian says, " They were called Christians first at Aiitioch," he
uses a word, which, with one only exception, always implies a
divine appointment , and in the passage that we except, it
may very properly be so interpreted". Now, in this view of
the subject, the divine appointment of the name Christian, to
those who had before no right or title to it, is exactly equiva
lent to the change of Abram s and of Sarai s names : and in
thus being brought to " name the name of Christ, we are taught
to depart from all iniquity." We can never recollect to w r hat
society we belong, or hear ourselves addressed by our Christian
name, but we have a striking memorial, that "we are not our
own ; and that, having been bought with a price, w r e are bound
to glorify God with our body and our spirit which are his ."]
3. An emblem of our duties
[In our Catechism we are told that baptism is "an out
ward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace : " nor
are we at any loss to declare what that grace is which it was
intended to represent : the symbol is clear enough of itself;
but it is explained by God himself ; who informs us, that it is
" not the putting off of the filth of the flesh, but the answer
of a good conscience towards God 1 ." In this, of course, the
cleansing of ourselves from outward pollutions is intended:
but there is also much more implied, even a life of entire de-
votedness to God : for thus it is said in another place; " We are
buried with Christ by baptism into death ; that like as Christ
was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even
so we also should walk in newness of life q ." While our blessed
Lord sojourned upon earth, he set us a perfect example of the
divine life : but in his resurrection and ascension to heaven he
left us, if I may so speak, a visible exhibition of our duty : he
shewed us that it consists in " a death unto sin, and a new
birth unto righteousness;" and in having "our conversation
henceforth, as much as possible, in heaven."]
The INSTRUCTION which we would further suggest as
arising from this subject, is comprised in two
things. We learn from it,
m It is used nine times in the New Testament ; Matt. ii. 12, 22.
Luke ii. 26. Acts x. 22. and xi. 26. Heb. viii. 5. and xi. 7. and
xii. 25. See also Rom. xi. 4.
n Rom. vii. 3. If it be considered that our Lord abolished the
polygamy which obtained by divine connivance, and in some cases,
as it should seem, by divine appointment, the excepted case will
perhaps he thought no exception at all.
1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. P 1 Pet. iii. 21. <J Rom. vi. 4.
138 GENESIS, XVII. 9, 10. [27.
1. Why infants ought to be baptized
[The great argument for not baptizing infants is, that they
are incapable of performing the duties of the Christian cove
nant, and therefore they ought not to have the seal of that cove
nant applied to them. Now if children had never been admitted
into covenant with God at all, this argument would have had
some weight. But under the Jewish dispensation they were
admitted into covenant with God at eight days old ; and the
seal of that covenant was applied to them. Moreover, this was
done by the absolute command of God; who ordered, that a
contemner of this ordinance should be cut off from his people.
This objection therefore can be of 110 validity under the Chris
tian dispensation. It is further objected, that God does not
particularly order children to be baptized. True, he does not ;
nor was it necessary that he should : for there was no change
of the persons who were to be admitted into covenant with
him, but only of the rite by which they were to be admitted.
If there was to be a change of the persons as well as of the
rite, we might well expect that he should have revealed his
will to us respecting it. But there is not one syllable in the
whole New Testament that will admit of any such construc
tion : and if God has not deprived children of the honour and
privilege of being admitted into covenant with him, who are
We, that we should take it away from them ? By thus robbing
them of their privileges, we represent Jesus Christ as less mer
ciful to children now, than he was to the children of Jewish
parents: and we put an almost insurmountable obstacle in the
way of the Jews; who, though convinced of the truth of Chris
tianity, might justly keep back from embracing it, on account
of their children ; seeing that, while they remain Jews, their
children are partakers of the covenant; but, when they become
Christians, their children are cut off from all interest in it.
Some indeed are superstitiously anxious about the early
administration of this ordinance to their children, as if their
salvation entirely depended upon it. That it should not be
needlessly delayed we grant : but the command to circumcise
the children on the eighth day sufficiently shews, that the chil
dren who died under that age, did not perish for the mere want
of that ordinance : and Christian parents may be equally
assured, that, if their infants die before they have been initiated
into the Christian covenant by baptism, the want of that ordi
nance will not at all affect their eternal welfare. It is the
avowed contempt of the ordinance, and not the providential
seclusion from it, that makes us objects of God s displeasure.]
2. How baptized persons ought to live
[Though this idea has been in part anticipated, it may very
properly be repeated in our practical application of the subject.
28.1 SARAH REPROVED FOR HER UNBELIEF. 139
The persons whom we address, have all been devoted to God
in their infancy. But have all remembered the obligations
which their baptism entailed upon them ? Have all experienced
" the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy
Ghost r ? " Are all walking worthy of Him into whose sacred
name they have been baptized? Are not many at this hour
still " uncircumcised in heart and ears ? " If we be not con
formed to the death and resurrection of Christ, to what purpose
are we called Christians ? We are told by St. Paul, that " lie
is not a Jew who is one outwardly ; neither is that circumcision
which is outw r ard in the flesh : but he is a Jew who is one
inwardly ; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit,
and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God s ."
All this is true in reference to those who have been baptized.
Our baptism is, in fact, no baptism*, if we be not washed
from our " filthiness, both of flesh and spirit." " Neither cir
cumcision nor uncircumcision is any thing ; but the keeping
of the commandments of God 11 ." St. Paul, in holy contempt
and indignation, calls the ungodly Jews, " the concision," as
being unworthy of the name by which the more pious among
them were designated x . Let us know then, that even the
heathen themselves are in a better state than we, if we "walk
not worthy of our high vocation y : " and that, if we would be
Christians indeed, we must answer to the character given of
them by the apostle; we must " worship God in the spirit, and
rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh 2 ."]
r Tit. iii. 5. s Rom. ii. 28, 29.
1 Rom. ii. 25. u 1 Cor. vii. 19. and Gal. v. (3.
x Phil. iii. 2. y Eph. iv. 1. z Phil. iii. 3.
XXVIII.
SARAH REPROVED FOR HER UNBELIEF.
Gen. xviii. 13, 14. And the Lord said unto Abraham, Where
fore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a
child, which am old ? Is any thing too hard for the Lord ?
At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to
the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
THERE is no time, no situation, no circumstance
wherein we are not in danger of falling into sin.
Whether we be in good company or in bad, we have
need to be on our guard against the influence of our
indwelling corruption. We may be engaged in the
most sacred duties, and yet be assaulted by the most
HO GENESIS, XVIII. 13, 14, [28.
horrible temptations: we may be performing the
kindest offices to others, or be receiving the most
important instructions from them; and the things
which in their own nature tended only to good, may
through the depravity of our hearts become occa
sions of sin.
Abraham and Sarah were occupied in a way truly
pleasing to God. The aged Patriarch, seeing three
strangers at a distance, ran and invited them to his
tent ; and having brought them thither, gave imme
diate directions for their hospitable entertainment.
He desired his wife to make ready some cakes ; and
ran himself and fetched a young calf from the herd ;
and, when it was dressed, he set it with butter and
milk before them. In this he is proposed as a pat
tern to us ; and we are told for our encouragement
that " he entertained angels unawares." No doubt,
Sarah also performed her part with as much alacrity
as Abraham himself : yet behold, the very kindness
with which her hospitality was rewarded, called forth
the latent evil of her heart ; and occasioned her to
commit a sin, which brought down upon her a
severe rebuke.
We propose to consider,
I. The reproof given to Sarah-
Sarah, occupied in her domestic engagements, was
not present while these illustrious strangers partook
of the refreshment provided for them : but, being
close at hand, she overheard the inquiries made after
her, and the assurance given to Abraham that she
should bear him a son. Not able to credit these
tidings, she " laughed within herself." But the Lord
(for he was one of the guests in human shape) knew
what passed in her heart, and testified his displeasure
on account of it. In his reproof, we notice,
1. A just expostulation
[Sin of every kind is unreasonable ; but unbelief in parti
cular : because it questions every perfection of the Deity, and
contradicts all the records both of his providence and grace.
However secret may be its actings, or however specious its
appearances, God will not fail to notice and reprove it. Sarah
28.] SARAH REPROVED FOR HER UNBELIEF. 141
might have said, that she had done nothing but what Abraham
himself had done, the very last time that the divine purpose
respecting a son had been announced to liim a : but though the
external act of laughing was the same both in her and in him,
the principle from which it sprang was widely different : Abra
ham s was a laugh of admiration and joy ; Sarah s was a laugh
of unbelief and distrust. But instead of attempting to exte
nuate her fault, she denied the fact altogether. Alas! how
awfully prolific is sin! it never comes alone: it generally brings
a multitude of others to justify or conceal it. But it is in vain
to cover our iniquities : God sees through the cobweb veil, and
will charge upon us the aggravated guilt which we thus fool
ishly contract. And sooner or later he will call every one of
us to account, Wherefore we did so or so ? and especially,
Wherefore we disbelieved his word ? ]
2. A convincing interrogatory
[Unbelief has not respect so much to the veracity, as to
the power of God. " He has given water indeed, but can he
give bread also ; can he provide flesh for his people ? " Even
Moses doubted how God could supply the Israelites with flesh
in the wilderness, since it would require all the flocks and herds
that they possessed, to feed them one single month b . But
God has given abundant evidence of his power, so that no
apparent impossibilities ought at all to shake the steadfastness
of our faith. Did he not form the universe out of nothing, by
a simple act of his will ? Did he not give laws to all the hea
venly bodies ; and does he not still preserve them in their
orbits ? Does he not also supply the wants of every living crea
ture upon earth ? Is he not moreover the true and proper
Father of all who are born into the world, and especially " the
Father of their spirits ? " How absurd then was it to suppose,
that her age, together with that of her husband, was any effec
tual obstacle to the accomplishment of God s word? " Can any
thing be too hard for the Lord ? " One moment s reflection on
his omnipotence should banish unbelief from the heart for ever.]
3. A reiterated assurance-
fit is most humiliating to think what a necessity our un
belief imposes upon God to repeat and renew his promises to
us : and the earnestness with which the promise so often given,
is here repeated, shews the just displeasure which Sarah s un
belief had excited in the bosom of her God. We cannot in
deed but be filled with amazement that he did not rather say,
* Since you treat my promises with profane derision, you shall
never be made a partaker of them. But God well knows the
weakness of the human heart ; and therefore, in condescension
a Gen. xvii. 17. b Numb. xi. 22.
142 GENESIS, XVIII. 13, 14. [28.
to it, he has confirmed his promise with an oath, that we
might have the fuller assurance, and the stronger consolation c .
It is thus that he tenderly reproved the church of old; " Why
sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, saying, My way
is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from
my God ? Hast thou not known ? hast thou not heard, that
the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the
earth, fainteth not, neither is weary ? there is no searching of
his understanding 01 ." Were he to suffer our unbelief to make
void His truth, no one of his promises would ever be fulfilled.
But he has assured us that this shall not be the case e . If any
thing will put to shame our unbelief, surely this must. Such
tenderness cannot but prevail upon us more forcibly than ten
thousand menaces.]
While we contemplate the reproof so long since
administered,, let us consider,
II. The instruction to be gathered from it
In truth, it sets before us many an instructive les
son. Amongst many others, it teaches us,
1. What need we have to guard against the work
ings of unbelief
[Sarah, fifteen years before, had betrayed her unbelief, in
giving her servant Hagar into Abraham s bosom, in order that
she might obtain through her the child which she despaired of
obtaining in her own person. She had waited ten years, and
began to think, that the promise would fail, if she did not
resort to such an expedient as this f . And though she had
been deservedly punished for her unbelief by the petulance
and contempt of Hagar, and by the workings of envy and
wrath in her own heart, yet she still yielded to the same evil
principle as soon as a fresh occasion for its exercise arose. It
is astonishing what deep root this malignant principle has
taken in our fallen nature. From the moment that our first
parents questioned the fulfilment of that word, " In the day
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," man has been
prone to doubt the veracity of God. There is not a promise
or a threatening, to which we do not find some objections,
and some fancied ground for doubting its accomplishment. If
we do not directly contradict the declarations of God, we still
entertain a secret suspicion, that they will not be verified.
But let us be on our guard : for though the sin of unbelief is
c Heb. vi. 17, 18. d isai. x i. 2 7, 28. Then see the
additional promises, 29 31. See also Isai. xlix. 13 16.
e Rom. iii. 3, 4. with 2 Tim. ii. 13.
f Similar to this was Rebekah s policy, Gen. xxvii. 6 10.
28.] SARAH REPROVED FOR HER UNBELIEF. 143
but small in human estimation, it is exceedingly offensive to
God, and will, if allowed to gain an entire ascendency over us,
assuredly exclude us from his heavenly kingdom 8 .]
2. How ready God is to mark the good that is in
our actions, while he casts a veil over the evil with
which it is accompanied
[At the very time that Sarah yielded to unbelief, she
exercised a reverential regard for her husband : and though
our duty to man is certainly inferior to our duty to God,
God has passed over in silence the unbelief she betrayed, and
recorded with peculiar approbation the terms in which she
spake of Abraham: " After I am waxed old, shall I have
pleasure, my Lord being old also?" St. Peter, I say, records
this, and proposes her as a pattern to all married women ;
saying, " In this manner in the old time the holy women who
trusted in God adorned themselves, being in subjection to
their own husbands ; even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling
him Lord" We see in the Scriptures many instances wherein
God has manifested the same condescension to his frail and
sinful creatures. In the reproof which our blessed Lord gave
to Peter, he acknowledged that he had a little faith, at the
very time that he had been yielding to unbelieving fears.
And because there was some good thing towards the Lord God
of Israel in the heart of young Abijah, God was pleased to
distinguish him from all the family of Jeroboam by giving to
him a peaceful death, and an honourable interment 11 . This is
a great encouragement to us amidst all the weakness that we
feel : and we may be assured that if, on the one hand, the
evils of our heart will be disclosed, so, on the other hand,
there is not a good purpose or inclination that shall not be
made manifest, in order that every one may have his due pro
portion of praise from God 1 .]
3. What a mercy it is to have our secret sins de
tected and reproved
[From this time we hear no more of Sarah s unbelief: on
the contrary, the reproof given her on this occasion was effec
tual for the confirming and establishing her faith. In the
account given of the most eminent Saints who were distin
guished for their faith, Sarah herself is mentioned ; and her
faith is said to have been instrumental to the accomplishment
of that very promise, which in the first instance she had dis
believed 151 . And how many have found similar reason to bless
God for the fidelity of their friends, or for the inward rebukes
g Heb. iii. 19. and iv. 11. h 1 Kings xiv. 13.
* 1 Cor. iv. 5. k Heb. xi. 11, 12.
144 GENESIS, XVIII. 19. [29.
of their own conscience ! Had their sin passed without notice,
they had lived and died under its dominion : but by a timely
discovery of it they have been led to repentance, and stirred
up to the exercise of the virtue they had overlooked. Let us
then " in any wise rebuke our brother, and not suffer sin
upon him." And let us be studious to improve the instruc
tions we receive, that we may be radically amended by them,
and " make our profiting appear unto all."]
4. How essential to our best interests is a right
knowledge of God
[Had Sarah duly adverted to the omnipotence of God,
she had escaped the shame and the reproof which her unbelief
drew down upon her. And what is it that is really at the root
of all our sin ? Is it not an ignorance of God ? If we duly
considered how great he is, should we not be afraid to provoke
his displeasure? If we reflected properly on his goodness,
should we not be shamed into a sense of our duty ? If we were
mindful of his truth and faithfulness, should we not expect the
certain completion of every word that he has ever spoken?
We are told, that the Jews " would not have crucified the
Lord of Glory if they had really known him :" in like manner
w r e may say of every sin we commit, We should not have com
mitted it, if we had known what a God we sinned against.
Let us then endeavour to obtain just views of God, and of all
his perfections. Let us not limit either his power or his
grace: but knowing him to be " God Almighty, let us walk
before him, and be perfect 1 ."]
1 Gen. xvii. 1.
XXIX.
ABRAHAM S CARE OF HIS FAMILY.
Gen. xviii. 19. I know him, that he will command his children
and his household after him, and they shall keep the may of
the Lord.
WONDERFUL is the condescension of Almighty
God. His attention to his own peculiar people sur
passes almost the bounds of credibility. Who would
think that He " whose ways are in the great deep"
should yet so far humble himself as to " do nothing
without first revealing his secret unto his servants
the prophets a !" He had in his righteous judgment
29.] ABRAHAM S CARE OF HIS FAMILY. 145
determined to take signal vengeance on Sodom and
Gomorrha for their horrible iniquities. But he had
a favoured servant who was particularly interested in
the fate of those cities ; and he knew not how to
proceed in the work of destruction until he had
apprised him of his intention, and given him an op
portunity of interceding for them : " The Lord said,
Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?"
No ; I will not : " for I know him," how faithful he
is in the discharge of all his duties to me : and since
he so delights to honour me, I also will delight to
honour him.
The duties, for the performance of which Abraham
was so highly commended, were of a domestic nature :
" I know him, that he will command his children and
his household after him, that they keep the way of
the Lord." He eminently excelled in the observance
of what may be called, family religion. And this
being of such incalculable importance to the main
tenance of piety in the world, I will propose him as
an example to you ; and with that view will shew,
I. The use we should make of influence-
Influence, of whatever kind it be, should be dili
gently improved;
1. To enforce the commands of God
[Nothing should be of importance in our eyes in com
parison of the honour of God. To uphold it should be our
chief aim. The power given us, of whatever kind it be, is
bestowed for this end. It is, in fact, God s own power, dele
gated to us ; and, so far as we possess it, we are responsible to
him for the use of it. Magistrates are invested with it by
him, and are therefore called " his Ministers " and Vicegerents
upon earth b . Masters in like manner bear his authority, and
are his Representatives in the exercise of it c . To encourage
virtue, to repress vice, to enforce the observance of "justice
and judgment," and to make men " keep the way of the Lord,"
this, I say, is the true end of authority, whether it be official
or personal, civil or religious. In particular, every thing that
dishonours God, no less than that which is injurious to society,
must be opposed with determined vigour. The violation of
b Rom. xiii. 1 6. c Col. iii. 24.
VOL. I. L
146 GENESIS, XVIII. 19. [29.
the Sabbath, and all kinds of profaneness, must be discoun
tenanced to the utmost : and all the maxims and habits of the
world, as far as they are contrary to the commands of God,
must be held up to decided reprehension. The Gospel too,
which above all things most exalts the honour of God, must be
patronized, inculcated, enforced. The utmost possible exer
tion should be made to diffuse the knowledge of a crucified
Saviour, " in whom all the fulness of the Godhead dwells," and
" in whose face all the glory of the Godhead shines." In a
word, the legitimate use of power is, so to exercise it " that
God in all things may be glorified through Christ Jesus d ."]
2. To promote the best interests of men
[Were this world our only state of existence, it would be
sufficient so to use our authority as most to subserve the pre
sent happiness of mankind. But men are immortal beings ;
and their chief concern in this life is to prepare for a better.
In this work then we should aid them to the utmost of our
power. To this should all our instructions and exhortations
tend. We should, as far as we are able, make known to them
" the way of the Lord," and especially the way in which they
may find acceptance with Him in the last day. With this
view we should enable, and indeed require, them to attend
upon the ordinances of religion. We should inquire from
time to time into their proficiency in divine knowledge, and
their progress in the heavenly road. This is not the duty of
Ministers only, but of all, according to their ability, and to the
measure of influence which they possess. Parents should pay
this attention to their children ; and Masters to their servants,
and apprentices. They should not be content to see those
whom God has committed to their care prospering in a worldly
view, but should be anxious for the good of their souls, praying
for them, and praying with them, and using every effort for
their eternal welfare. St. Paul speaks of his " power as given
to him for edification e :" and the same may be said of all influ
ence whatever : it is a talent committed to us for the benefit of
others : and we are not to hide it in a napkin, but to improve
it for the good of all around us. Of course, the nearer any
are to us, the stronger claim they have upon us for our exer
tions in their behalf: and hence our domestic duties are of
primary obligation. But we are not to say in reference to
any man, " Am I my brother s keeper ?" but to do him good
in every way that we can, and to the utmost extent of our
ability. As our blessed Lord did all imaginable good to the
bodies of men, yet did not neglect their souls, so in relation to
d 1 Pet. iv. 11. e 2 Cor. x. 8.
29. J ABRAHAM S CARE OF HIS FAMILY. 147
these more important duties we must say, " These ought we
to do, and not to leave the other undone."]
That we may be stirred up to exert our influence
in this way, let us consider,
II. The benefit of using it aright
This is great,
1. To those who exercise it
[So Abraham found it : he was approved of his God, and
had the most astonishing testimonies of Divine approbation
given to him. I know him, says God ; and he shall know
that I know him. Go, ye my angels, and make known to
him my purposes respecting Sodom and Gomorrha. He has
a zeal for my honour, and a love for his fellow-creatures :
go, give him an opportunity of exercising both. He has Rela
tions too in Sodom : go and deliver them. This holy man
shall never want a testimony of my love : I will fulfil to him
in their utmost extent all the promises of my covenant V
And shall any other person " give unto the Lord, and not be
recompensed again s ? " The ungodly have indeed said, " What
profit is there that we should serve him h ? " but he never gave
occasion for such an impious charge. Say, ye who have endea
voured to live for His glory, has he not favoured you with his
visits, and " lifted up upon you the light of his countenance ? "
Has he not shed abroad his love in your hearts, and "by the
witness of his Spirit enabled you to cry, Abba, Father ?" Yes,
his promise to you is this ; " Because he hath set his love upon
me, therefore will I deliver him : I will set him on high, be
cause he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and
I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble : I will deli
ver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him,
and shew him my salvation 1 ." This, I say, is his promise to
his faithful servants ; and the whole of it shall be fulfilled to
you in its season. " Faithful is He that hath called you ; who
also will do it k ."]
2. To those over whom it is exercised
[It is said, " Train up a child in the way he shall go, and
when he is old he will not depart from it 1 ." This is not to be
understood as an universal truth : for it is in many instances
contradicted by experience: but it is a general truth: and
there is ample ground to hope for its accomplishment. At all
events some benefit must accrue to those who are brought up
in the fear of God. Innumerable evils, which under a different
f ver. 20. g Rom. xi. 35. h Mai. iii. 14.
1 Ps. xci. 14 16. k 1 Thess. v. 24. 1 Prov. xxii. 6.
148 GENESIS, XVIII. 19. [29.
education would have been committed, are prevented; and
good habits are, for a time at least, induced. And though
afterwards the force of temptation may prevail to draw them
aside from the good way, yet in a season of trouble they may
be brought to reflection, and the seed long buried in the earth
may spring up, and bring forth fruit to their eternal welfare.
The prodigal son is no uncommon character. The advantages
of a father s house may be forgotten for a season ; but in a
day of adversity may be remembered, and be realized to an
extent greater perhaps in proportion as they were before
neglected and despised.]
That this subject may be more deeply impressed on
our minds, let us PURSUE it,,
1. In a way of inquiry
[Are we, Brethren, " walking in the steps of our father
Abraham?" Can God say respecting each of us, "I know
him:" * I know his principle: he regards all that he possesses,
his wisdom, his power, his wealth, his influence altogether,
as a talent committed to him by me, to be improved for the
good of others, and the glory of my name. I know liis
inclination : he has a zeal for my honour, and longs to be an
instrument of exalting and magnifying my name : he has
also a love to his fellow-creatures, and desires to benefit them
in every possible way to the utmost of his power. I know
his practice too: he calls his family together from day to day,
to unite in worshipping and serving me. He catechises his
children ; he instructs his servants ; he labours steadily and
affectionately to guide them all into the way of peace. His
heart is set upon these things : he enters into them as one
who feels his responsibility, and has no wish but to approve
himself to me, and to give up a good account of his steward
ship at last.
Say, Brethren, whether the heart-searching God can testify
these things respecting you ? Must he not rather, respecting
many of you say, " I know him," that he cares no more for
the souls committed to him than he does for his flocks and
herds, or for the cattle which are employed in his service ? If
only they are well, and subserve his interest, and do his work,
it is all he is concerned about. Even his very children are
not regarded by him as immortal beings : if they do but get
forward in their respective callings, and prosper in relation to
the present world, he is satisfied, and leaves all the rest to
" time and chance." Alas ! alas ! what an account will such
persons have to give at the judgment-seat of Christ, when
the Lord Jesus shall say to them, Is this the way in which
you dealt with the souls committed to you, the souls which I
purchased with my own blood? Beloved brethren, if ye are
29.] ABRAHAM S CARE OF HIS FAMILY. 149
so unlike to Abraham in this world, do you think that you
can be numbered amongst his children in the world to come ?
O judge yourselves, that ye may not be judged of the Lord
in that great and fearful day.]
2. In a way of reproof
[Surely this subject administers a severe reproof not only
to those who never employ their influence at all for God, but
those also who exert it only in a tame and timid ineffectual way.
Think, ye who have children, servants, apprentices, have ye
no responsibility on their account ? Has not God constituted
you watchmen to give them warning of their subtle enemy,
and to shew them how they are to escape from his assaults ?
And, if they perish through your neglect, shall not their blood
be required at your hands ? Did God intrust them to you
for your comfort and advancement only, and not at all for
their benefit ? And the many Sabbaths which he has given
you to be improved for them, shall not a fearful account be
given of them also ? Is it pleasing to Him, think you, that
you suffer the ordinances of divine worship to be neglected by
them, and the Sabbaths to be wasted in idle vanities, instead
of being employed by them and you for their welfare ?
But perhaps you will say, ( I do occasionally give them good
advice. What is that? Abraham did not satisfy himself
with giving good advice to his children and his household, but
" commanded them :" he maintained authority in his family,
and exercised that authority for God. And thus should you
do also. Eli could say to his sons, " Nay, my sons, this is no
good report that I hear of you : ye make the Lord s people to
transgress." He even went further, and reminded them of
the day of judgment : " If one man sin against another, the
judge shall judge him : but if a man sin against the Lord, who
shall entreat for him ?" But was this all that his situation
called for ? No : he should have " commanded them," and
have thrust them out from the priestly office, if they did not
obey his injunctions : and because he neglected to do this,
God sent him a message that " made the ears of all that heard
it to tingle." And some awful message shall you also have,
if you neglect to employ for God the authority you have re
ceived from God : for " them that honour him he will honour ;
and those who despise him shall be lightly esteemed" 1 ."]
3. In a way of encouragement
[True it is, that though you may command, you cannot
ensure obedience to your commands : and notwithstanding your
utmost care, there may be much amiss among those who are
under your control. In Abraham s family there was a mocking
m 1 Sam. ii. 22 3 .
150 GENESIS, XVIII. 32. [30.
Ishmael, in Isaac s a profane Esau, and in Jacob s many a sin
ful character. But still, if you fail in many instances, and
succeed in only one, will not one soul repay you for all your
trouble ? - The testimony of your own conscience too,
confirmed by the witness of God s Spirit is this no recompence?
Will not this amply repay every effort you can make, even
though you should never succeed in one single instance ? Re
flect too on the testimony which God himself will give you in
the last day : " I know him :" I know how he persevered under
the most discouraging circumstances : I know the battles he
fought for me : I know the contempt he endured for me : but
he was determined to persevere : and " he was faithful unto
death : and therefore I award to him a crown of life." Say,
Brethren, is there not enough in such a prospect as this to
carry you forward, though your difficulties were ten thousand
times greater than they are ? Say not, I am not able to con
duct family worship, and to instruct my family. If this be the
case, as doubtless in many instances it is, are there not helps
sufficient to be obtained from books of instruction and from
forms of prayer ? Do your best ; and beg of God to bless your
endeavours : and you shall not labour in vain nor run in vain :
for " out of the mouth of babes and sucklings God will ordain
strength, and perfect praise."]
XXX.
ABRAHAM S INTERCESSION FOR SODOM.
Gen. xviii. 32. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and
I will speak yet but this once : Peradventure ten shall be
found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for tens sake.
THE selection of this chapter as one of the Lessons
for this day* intimates, that the doctrine of a Trinity
of persons in the Godhead derives some confirmation
from it. That one of these strangers who visited
Abraham in the likeness of men, was God, cannot
admit of any doubt: for He is called The LORD,
that is Jehovah, above ten times in this and the fol
lowing chapter; and Abraham s address to him clearly
shews, that he knew him to be God. Moreover there
is reason to think that it was the Second Person in
the Trinity, who thus conversed with Abraham ; be
cause Abraham calls him " the Judge of all the earth."
* Trinity Sundav.
30.] ABRAHAM S INTERCESSION FOR SODOM. 151
Now " the Father judgeth no man; but hath com
mitted all judgment to the Son a :" and therefore we
conclude, that this was not God the Father, but God
the Son. But it is by no means clear that the other
two strangers were the other Persons in the Trinity.
Many of the ancients indeed thought they were so ;
and there is some foundation for their opinion : for
Lot addressed them in terms which seem more
properly applicable to God than to angels ; " Behold
now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight,
and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast
shewed unto me in saving my lifeV And one of
the angels (for so those two are called ) answered
him in language almost too exalted for a creature to
use, " See, I have accepted thee concerning this
thing d ." But if we consider the peculiar nature and
extent of their commission, we may account for the
use of this language without supposing either of them
to be God. And indeed there is clear evidence that
they were only angels, attendant on the Son of God,
and sent by him ; for they themselves say, <f The Lord
hath sent us to destroy Sodom 6 ." Nevertheless, if we
admit, as we must, that the person who is here so
frequently called Jehovah, was God the Son (for no
man hath seen the Father at any time f ), the chapter
clearly marks a plurality of persons in the Godhead ;
and therefore is properly read on this day, when the
Trinity in Unity is the peculiar subject to which our
attention is called.
To Him, even to our adorable Emmanuel, did
Abraham address his intercession on behalf of Sodom
and Gomorrha: an intercession the most instructive
of all that are recorded in the sacred volume. When
Abraham understood that this divine Person with his
attendant angels was come to destroy those wicked
cities, he entreated that, if fifty righteous persons
could be found in them, the wicked might be spared
for their sake. Having prevailed thus far, he in five
successive petitions reduced the number to ten, and
a John v. 22. b Gen. xix. 18, 19. c Gen. xix. 1.
d Gen. xix. 21. e Gen. xix. 13. f John i. 18.
152 GENESIS, XVIII. 32. [30.
obtained a promise that if only ten could be found,
the rest should be spared for their sake. What an
astonishing idea does this give us of GOD S REGARD
FOR HIS PEOPLE!
Let us observe,
I. How dear to Him are their persons!
We forbear to notice the honourable appellations
which he gives them (as his jewels, his peculiar trea
sure, &c.) or the great and precious promises made
to them, or the blessings of grace bestowed upon
them: we shall confine our attention solely to the
interpositions of his providence in their behalf: be
cause it is in that view only that they are noticed in
the text. But in marking God s kindness to them,
we shall notice it as manifested,
1. To them personally
[We cannot conceive any thing so great, but God has
actually done it for his people.
He has controlled the elements. The earth Has opened at
his command to maintain the authority of his chosen prophet,
and to swallow up his insolent competitors 8 . The air has
raised itself into tempests, and shot forth its lightnings, and
shaken the foundations of the earth, with its thunders, in
order to punish the enemies of his people 11 , or vindicate their
injured honour 1 . Fire also has suspended its destructive
energies, in order to defeat the persecuting rage of a tyrant,
and rescue from his hands the children of oppression k . Nor
has the water been backward to obey his will, when any signal
benefit was to be conveyed to his favourite people. It has
repeatedly stood as a wall, to open an avenue for them
through the rivers 1 , and through the sea m .
God has compelled all classes of the brute creation also to
consult their benefit. The birds, though of the most voracious
kind, have served up the stated meals of bread and meat to his
prophet in a time of dearth and necessity". The beasts, though
fierce and hunger-bitten, have shut their mouths before the
saint, whom they were invited to destroy . The fishes have
swallowed up a drowning prophet, to discharge him again in
safety upon the dry land p ; or taken into their mouth a bait
g Numb. xvi. 32. h Exod. ix. 2325.
1 1 Sam. xii. 1618. k Dan. iii. 27.
1 Josh. iii. 15, 16. 2 Kings ii. 8, 14. m Exod. xiv. 21, 22.
n 1 Kings xvii. 6. Dan. vi. 22. P Jonahii. 17.andiii.10.
30.] ABRAHAM S INTERCESSION FOR SODOM. 153
unsuited to their appetite, that the Saviour in his humiliation
might be enabled to pay his tax q . The insects too have united
their irresistible efforts to punish a proud and cruel nation,
and to assert the liberties of God s oppressed people 1 .
We may add also, that even the heavenly bodies have been
overruled by God for the purpose of aiding, or comforting, or
honouring those who were dear to him. The sun and moon
stood still for the space of a whole day, to witness the triumphs
of his chosen servants s . " The stars in their courses fought
against SiseraV And the shadow on the sun-dial of Ahaz
returned ten degrees, that a pious and afflicted monarch might
be assured of the deliverance which his soul desired u .
How dear to God must they be to whom the whole creation
is thus made subservient, and for whose benefit the govern
ment of the universe is administered !]
2. To others for their sake
[For their sakes blessings have been imparted to the unde
serving, said, judgments averted from the wicked. For Jacob s
sake God multiplied the flocks of Laban x ; and from respect
to Joseph he prospered the house of Potiphar y . If ten
righteous could have been found in Sodom, the impending
destruction would have been turned from all the cities of the
plain z : and notwithstanding the extreme wickedness of its
inhabitants, the city of Zoar was exempted from the common
fate, at the intercession of Lot a ; nor could the storm be
poured out upon Sodom, till Lot was placed beyond its reach b .
The mercy shewn to a whole ship s company on account of
Paul, deserves peculiar notice. There were 276 souls on
board : the storm was so violent that there was no hope left
for their preservation ; they were just ready to be swallowed
up in the tempestuous waves. But there was one saint on
board ; a saint, hated of men, but beloved of God : and for
his sake the whole were preserved from death, and not a hair
of their heads suffered to perish . When God was about to
send the Jews into captivity, he told them, that if they could
find one righteous man in Jerusalem, he would spare them all d :
and after he had inflicted his judgments upon them, he assigned
as his reason for it, that not one had been found to stand in
the gap, and to intercede for them e . After the murder of the
Messiah, the Jewish nation was devoted to utter destruction :
but when the days of vengeance came, " they were shortened for
<i Matt. xvii. 27. r Exod. viii. 17, 24. s Josh. x. 13.
* Judg. v. 20. u Isai. xxxviii. 6 8. x Gen. xxx. 27.
y Gen. xxxix. 5. z The text. a Gen. xix. 21.
b Gen. xix. 22. c Acts xxvii. 24, 34. d Jer. v. 1.
e Ezek. xxii. 30, 31.
154 GENESIS, XVIII. 32. [30.
the elect s sake ;" yea, it was out of respect to them alone that
there was not an utter excision of the whole human race f .
What stronger proofs can be given of God s love to his
chosen people ?]
But we shall have a further insight into this sub
ject, if we consider,
II. How acceptable are their prayers!
Who can contemplate one single individual inter
ceding, as Abraham did, for all the cities of the plain,
and not admire the condescension of God to his pray
ing people ? He has heard and answered them, for
whomsoever they made their supplications ; whether,
1. For themselves
[No limits whatever, except those which were necessarily
fixed by a concern for his own honour, have been assigned by
God to the exercise of his own grace in answer to his people s
prayers. God has said to them, " Open thy mouth wide, and
I will fill it :" " Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be
done unto you." Agreeably to these promises he has done for
them not only what they have asked, but exceeding abun
dantly above their most sanguine hopes. The prayer of Jonah
ascended up even from the bottom of the sea, and brought him
a deliverance unprecedented in the annals of the world. The
situation of the Canaanitish woman may be considered in
some respects still more desperate, because her request had
been repeatedly refused : but by persisting in her supplications
she obtained the desire of her heart g . No kind of blessing
has ever been denied to the prayer of faith. David sought
information whether the men of Keilah would betray him ; and
God told him that they would h . He desired direction, when
and in what manner he should attack the Philistine armies : and
God pointed out to him the precise time and place for making
his attack successfully 1 . Thus also when they have implored
mercy after the most heinous transgressions, God has shewn
the same readiness to hear and answer their requests k . " He
has never said to any of them, Seek ye my face in vain."]
2. For each other
^ [Mutual intercession is a duty which has been expressly
enjoined, and to which we have been encouraged by the most
signal tokens of God s acceptance. The deliverance vouch
safed to Peter deserves particular attention. He was secured
in prison with all the care that human foresight could devise.
f Matt. xxiv. 22. e Matt. xv. 2228. h 1 Sam. xxiii. 11, 12.
1 2 Sam. v. 19, 23, 24. * p s> xxxii 5> 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, 13.
30.] ABRAHAM S INTERCESSION FOR SODOM. 155
He was chained between two soldiers, and guarded by many
others. Prayer was made for him by the church ; but appa
rently to no purpose. The day appointed for his execution
was almost arrived. But at midnight God returned an answer ;
an answer which as much surprised the suppliants, as it con
founded their enemies : his chains fell off, the iron gates opened
to him of their own accord, and his adversaries were put to
shame l . It was from a full persuasion of the efficacy of inter
cession, that St. Paul was so earnest in requesting the prayers
of others for him m , and that he was so unwearied in his prayers
for them ". And it is particularly in reference to intercession
for the saints, that St. James says, " The effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much ."]
3. For the ungodly
[The iniquities of a nation may indeed arrive at such a
height, that if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, those holy
men should not prevail, except for the preservation of them
selves P. But the instances wherein God has heard prayer on
behalf of the ungodly are very numerous, and very encouraging.
How speedily did the supplications of Amos remove the
threatened judgment from his country q ! And how irresistible,
if we may so speak, were the intercessions of Moses ! God
had determined to execute vengeance on his people for making
and worshipping the golden calf. He therefore, fearing, as it
were, that Moses would interpose in their behalf, and prevent
the execution of his purpose, said to him, " Let me alone, that
my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may con
sume them ;" that is, If thou intercedest for them, thou wilt
bind my hands ; therefore let me alone, that I may inflict upon
them the judgments they have deserved. But Moses would
not " let him alone :" he instantly " besought the Lord," and,
as it were, prevailed against him : for " the Lord repented of
the evil which he had thought to do unto his people 1 ."
While in such instances as these we contemplate the con
descension of our God, we cannot fail to notice the love which
he bears to his chosen people, and the peculiar delight which
he feels in hearing and answering their prayers.]
OBSERVE,
1. What blessings are God s people in the places
where they live!
[Our blessed Lord represents them as " the lights of the
world," and " the salt of .the earth ;" because, without them,
1 Acts xii. 4 19. m Rom. xv. 30.
n 1 Thess. iii. 10. Phil. i. 4. Col. iv. 12. Jam. v. 16.
P Ezek. xiv. 14. 1 Amos vii. 1 6. r Exod. xxxii. 10, 11, 14.
156 GENESIS, XVIII. 32. [30.
the world would be immersed in total darkness, and speedily
become one mass of corruption. Little do the world think
how much they are indebted to the saints. They are ready to
traduce the characters of God s people, and to represent them
as " the troublers of Israel :" but, were they viewed aright,
they would be considered rather as "the shields of the earth,"
who ward off from it the judgments of the Almighty. Only
let us duly notice the tokens which God has given them of his
regard, and the mercy he has shewn to others for their sake,
and we shall know how to appreciate their value, and ardently
pray for their increase in the earth.]
2. What encouragement have the ungodly to pray
for themselves!
[Has God shewn himself so willing to hear the prayers of
a single individual in the behalf of populous cities, and will he
not hear the prayers of individuals for themselves ? Never from
the foundation of the world has he rejected the petitions of a
real penitent : nor, as we have before observed, has he pre
scribed any limits to our petitions for spiritual blessings. " The
Lord will not be angry," however frequently we renew, or how
ever largely we extend, our supplications : " If we ask, we
shall have ; if we seek, we shall find ; " yea, if we ask for all
the glory of heaven, it shall be given to us. O that men were
duly sensible of the privilege of prayer ! and that they would
plead for mercy while yet a throne of grace is open to them S]
3. How diligently should the godly improve their
interest in the behalf of others !
[We can scarcely conceive a person so obdurate, but that
if, by speaking to another, he could obtain health for the
sick, and relief for the indigent, he would avail himself of such
an opportunity to benefit his fellow-creatures. Yet is there
amongst us a lamentable backwardness to the work of inter
cession, notwithstanding our almighty Friend is at all times
accessible, and the blessings which he will bestow are infinitely
greater than w r ords can express. O let all of us stir up our
selves to this blessed work ! Let us consider how much we
ourselves need the prayers of others ; and let a sense of our
own necessities stimulate us to " labour fervently in prayer "
for others. We are sure at least that, if we prevail not for
them, we shall bring down a blessing upon our souls, and
" our prayer shall return into our own bosoms." Let us con
sider also that to neglect to pray for others, is to sin against
our God s ; and that, if we have no heart to sigh and cry for
the abominations or the miseries of others, we have great
reason to fear and tremble for ourselves 1 .]
1 1 Sam. xii. 23. * Ezek. ix. 4. with Amos vi. 6, 7.
31 J LOT DELIVERED OUT OF SODOM. 157
XXXI.
LOT DELIVERED OUT OF SODOM.
Gen. xix. 17. And it came to pass, when they had brought
them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look
not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape
to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
IT is extremely profitable to observe how ready
God is to honour those who honour him. Lot had
been a very distinguished character in Sodom. He
had seen and heard with much concern the iniquities
that were committed by those around him : " he had
vexed his righteous soul with their unlawful deeds
from day to day ; " and had set them a pattern of
piety and virtue. Nor was he inattentive to the
welfare of strangers: he was ready at all times to
exercise the rights of hospitality, and to shew to
others the same liberality which he would wish to
meet with at their hands. Indeed his sense of honour
in this respect carried him beyond the bounds of
prudence or propriety: for when he was protecting
his guests from the assaults of those who would have
injured them, he even preferred the sacrificing of his
daughters, to the suffering of the laws of hospitality
to be so grossly violated. That he erred in this
matter, we have no doubt ; because he had no right
to commit one sin in order to prevent another. But
he meant well: and probably was so agitated with
fear and horror, as scarcely to be aware of the im
propriety of his proposal. His zeal for God, and his
attention to his guests, were well rewarded. He was
informed that the persons whom he had received
under his roof were angels in human shape ; that
they were sent to destroy the cities of the plain ; and
that they were commissioned to rescue him and his
family from the common ruin. In what manner they
executed their commission, we may judge from the
urgent advice which they gave him in our text; and
which we shall consider,
I. As given to Lot
158 GENESIS, XIX. 17. [31.
If we consider the circumstances of Lot, the advice
given him was,
1. Most salutary
[The measure of this people s iniquities was now full : and
God had determined utterly to destroy them. This determi
nation had already been announced to Lot ; and he had been
sent to his friends and relatives to declare it to them ; though,
alas ! they had only treated his message with contempt and
derision. His own mind indeed was convinced that the wrath
of God would fall upon those devoted cities: but yet he was
disposed to linger, and defer his flight. Whether he felt regret
at leaving so many relatives behind him, or was grieved at the
thought of losing all his substance, or had an idea that some
time would elapse before the threatened judgments should be
inflicted, he was not sufficiently earnest to escape the impend
ing danger. The angels therefore took him and his wife and
daughters by the hand, and led them forth without the city ;
and gave them the counsel which is contained in the text.
The time for executing vengeance was just at hand There
was no safety but in night ; nor any refuge but that which God
had appointed A little longer delay would prove fatal to them
all Though they were out of Sodom, they were at a con
siderable distance from the mountain To reach it, required
their utmost exertions : it became them therefore to strain
every nerve in order to secure the proffered mercy
To promote this was the direct tendency of the advice : so
suited was it to their condition, and so conducive to their
welfare.]
2. Most benevolent
[It is obvious that the extreme earnestness expressed by
the angels, together with the whole tenour of their advice, was
exceedingly alarming. It was calculated to inspire Lot him
self with terror, and to extinguish in the weaker females all
the powers of reason and reflection. But shall we therefore
say that these divine Monitors were impertinently officious, or
needlessly severe ? Suppose that, having received a commission
to warn Lot, they had yielded to a mistaken tenderness, and
forborne to alarm his fears : suppose they had gently admo
nished him of his danger, and suggested the expediency of pro
viding against it : suppose that, when they saw him lingering,
and knew that one hour s delay would involve him and his
family in the common ruin, they had contented themselves
with hinting in a distant manner that more expedition would
be desirable : would such conduct have become them? Would
they have acted the part of friends? Yea, would they not have
been awfully responsible to God for their unfaithfulness, and
31.] LOT DELIVERED OUT OF SODOM. 159
been really chargeable with the death of all the family ? As
suredly, the more faithful and earnest they were in the dis
charge of their duty, the more real benevolence they exercised:
nor could they have displayed their love in any better way,
than by seizing hold of them to quicken their pace, and urging
them by the most powerful considerations to secure their own
safety.]
We shall not depart from the real scope of the
advice, if we regard it,
II. As applicable to ourselves
Our condition is certainly very similar to Lot s
[God has declared that he will destroy the whole world
of the ungodly, as soon as ever they shall have filled up the
measure of their iniquities : and the judgments that he will
execute upon them were typified by those that were inflicted
upon Sodom. " The cities of the plain were set forth for an
example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire a ." And it is
doubtless in reference to the destruction with which they were
visited, that the place of torment is described as " a lake that
burneth with fire and brimstone b ." But there is a place of
refuge provided for us ; a mountain where no storms can assail
us, no judgments ever hurt us. This refuge is the Lord Jesus
Christ ; " whose name is a strong tower, to which the righteous
runneth and is safe." On the other hand, there is no salva
tion for us, unless we flee to him. While we continue of the
world, we must take our portion with the world : we must
" come out of it, if we woulid not be partakers of its plagues ."
We must "bear our testimony against it, that its ways are
evil," and must in the whole of our spirit and conduct be
separate from it d .]
The same advice therefore is proper for us, as for
him
[Two things are indispensably necessary for us, if we would
enjoy the benefits which God has offered us in his Gospel; and
these are personal exertion and persevering diligence.
It had been declared to Lot, that the threatened destruction
could not be executed till he should have arrived at the place pro
vided for him 6 . But could he therefore say, I am in no danger ;
I may take my leisure ; I may leave myself in God s hands ?
Surely if he had acted in so presumptuous a manner, he would
have perished with the ungodly multitude. When he had come
out of Sodom, his exertions were no less necessary than before.
He must flee to the mountain : he must escape as for his life :
a Jude, ver. 7. b Rev. xx. 10. c Rev. xviii. 4.
d 2 Cor. vi. 17. e Gen. xix. 22.
160 GENESIS, XIX. 17. [31.
he must not delay a moment, lest he should be consumed.
Thus it is with us. We cannot say, God has sent his only
dear Son to save me, and therefore I have nothing to do : we
must rather say, God has offered to have mercy on me, and
therefore I must "work out my salvation with fear and trem
bling." To found our hopes upon the secret purposes of
God, would be to delude ourselves, and to ensure our eternal
ruin. We might as well hope to win a race without running,
or to gain a battle without fighting, as to get to heaven with
out personal exertion. We must seek ; yea not only seek,
but strive, to enter in at the strait gate, if ever we would find
admittance into it.
Nor will it avail us any thing to put forth our strength to
the uttermost, unless we maintain a constant, vigorous, perse
vering diligence in the course that we have begun. Lot s wife
was a partner of his flight, but not of his preservation : for
she looked back, and was therefore made a lasting monument
of God s displeasure f . And if Lot himself had remitted his
endeavours, he also would have perished in like manner. We
may " run well for a season, and yet be hindered :" we may
" begin in the spirit, and yet end in the flesh :" we may
" escape the pollutions of the world, and yet be again entan
gled therein, and overcome." We may come out of Egypt,
and yet never reach the promised land. It is not he who
begins well, but " he that endure th unto the end, that shall
be saved." " If we put our hand to the plough, and look
back, we are not fit for the kingdom of heaven."]
ADDRESS,
1. Those who are at ease in Sodom
[We would not willingly speak reproachful words, or ad
dress you in terms that are needlessly offensive : but we are
sanctioned by the prophet Isaiah in saying, " Hear the word
of the Lord, ye Rulers of Sodom, and ye people of Gomorrha g ."
We bless our God that the abomination referred to in the
context, is held in universal abhorrence; and that the very
thought of it excites as general indignation amongst us, as it
did in Sodom a general concurrence and approbation 11 . But
in all other respects those wicked cities are a glass wherein we
may behold ourselves. " This," says the prophet, " was the
iniquity of thy sister Sodom ; pride, fulness of bread, and
abundance of idleness was in her 1 ." And what can be
conceived more characteristic of our state ? Our pride, our
luxury, our love of ease are not a whit inferior to theirs.
Again, our Lord says, " As it was in the days of Lot ; they
did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they
f ver. 26. e Isai. i. 10. h ver. 4. * Ezek. xvi. 49.
31.1 LOT DELIVERED OUT OF SODOM. 161
builded ; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it
rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all ;
even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man shall be
revealed k :" and let me ask whether it is not so at this day?
We are attending to our temporal concerns, our cares and
pleasures, with avidity : but notwithstanding we are warned
continually of our guilt and danger, how backward are w r e to
flee from the wrath to come ! Know ye then that the wrath
of God is about to be poured out upon you : and that if ye
flee not with all earnestness to the Lord Jesus Christ, ye must
inevitably and eternally perish. Perhaps in warning you thus
we appear " as persons who mock 1 , or, at best, as needlessly
harsh and severe : but we affirm, that what we speak will soon
be found true ; and that in discharging our duty thus, we per
form an office worthy of an angel. We believe God s denun
ciations, and therefore we speak : and if we should " speak
smooth things to you, and prophesy deceits," we should prove
your bitterest enemies. In this urgent matter, concealment is
treachery, and fidelity is love. Arise then, every one of you ;
and " escape for your lives."]
2. Those who are lingering, and deferring then-
flight
[Many, we doubt not, are convinced of the necessity of
taking refuge in Christ, yet are so immersed in worldly cares
or pleasures that they know not how to commence their hea
venly course. They think that a more convenient season will
present itself; and that they shall carry their purposes into
effect before the day of vengeance shall arrive. But how many
have grown grey with age, while their convictions have led to
nothing but abortive wishes and ineffectual resolutions ! And
how many have been overtaken with the storm, while they
were thinking and intending to escape from it ! There are
indeed many, who have come out of Sodom so as no longer to
participate in its grosser abominations ; and are, in profession
at least, advancing to the place of refuge ; while yet in their
hearts they are attached to the things that they have renounced.
To such persons we would say, with our blessed Lord, " Re
member Lot s wife m ." She looked back, while she was fol
lowing her husband s steps. We inquire not what her motives
were ; it is sufficient, she looked back ; and for that she was
struck dead upon the spot ; for that she was made a monu
ment to all future ages, to assure us, that if our heart be in
Sodom, we shall perish like Sodom: whatever be our pro
fessions, or whatever our progress, if our heart be not right
with God, " we shall take our portion in the lake of fire and
k Luke xvii. 28 30. ] ver. 14. m Luke xvii. 32.
VOL. I. M
162 GENESIS, XIX. 17. [31.
brimstone, which is the second death 11 ." " Make haste then,
and delay not, to keep God s commandments ," and to " lay
hold on eternal life." Rest not in any purposes, professions,
or attainments. Turn not back even in thought : but " for
getting what is behind, press forward toward that which is
before." It will be time enough to " rest from your labours,"
when you are got safe to heaven.]
3. Those who are daily running in the way pre
scribed
[Faint not, dearly Beloved, " neither be weary in well
doing." For your encouragement you are told to regard Lot s
deliverance as a proof, that " God knoweth how to deliver the
godly out of temptations, as well as to reserve the ungodly for
punishment p ." Whatever difficulties therefore you have to
encounter, fear not. And do not unbelievingly wish that your
way were shorter than God has appointed it. This was Lot s
weakness and folly. God did indeed graciously condescend to
his request ; and spared Zoar for his sake : but his unbelief
was punished, not only in the fears which harassed him in
Zoar, but in the awful dereliction that he afterwards expe
rienced. From this time we hear nothing of him except his
drunkenness and incest : and, if St. Peter had not given us
reason to believe that he became truly penitent, we should
have had ground to apprehend that he was, after all, an outcast
from heaven. Plead not then for any other refuge, or for the
indulgence of any sin. Say not of any thing that God has
proscribed, "Is it not a little one?" A little one it may be
in comparison of others ; but, whether little or great, it must
be renounced : w r e must abandon for ever our connexion with
it, and let our regards terminate in God alone.
But let not those who are hastening towards heaven, be
contented to go alone : let them seek to take all they can
along with them. Let them exert their influence to the utter
most over all their friends and connexions, in order that they
may be instrumental to their salvation also. Let them espe
cially manifest their conjugal and parental affection in this way.
Yet if, after all, they be derided as visionaries by some, and
be forsaken in their progress by others, let them not for one
moment intermit their diligence in the preservation of their
own souls. If their labours prove effectual only to one or
two, it will be a rich consolation to them in the day of judg
ment, that, though many who were once dear to them have
reaped the fruits of their supineness, there are others for whom
they have "not laboured in vain, nor run in vain."]
n Rev. xxi. 8. Ps. cxix. GO. P 2 Pet. ii. 6 9.
32.] ABRAHAM REPROVED BY ABIMELECH. 163
XXXII.
ABRAHAM REPROVED FOR DENYING HIS WIFE.
Gen. xx. 9. Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto
him. What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended
thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great
sin ? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
WE admire the fidelity of Scripture history. There
is not a saint, however eminent, but his faults are
reported as faithfully as his virtues. And we are
constrained to acknowledge, that the best of men,
when they come into temptation, are weak and fal
lible as others, if they be not succoured from above.
We are habituated to behold Abraham as a burning
and shining light : but now we are called to view him
under an eclipse. We see the father of the faithful
drawing upon himself a just rebuke, and that too, not
for some slight defect in his obedience, but for a great "
and heinous transgression. It will afford us a salu
tary lesson to consider,
I. The offence which Abraham committed-
He was guilty of dissimulation in calling Sarah his
sister, when she was in reality his wife. It is true,
she was also his sister, in the same sense that Lot
was his brother ; she was his niece, the daughter of
Haran, who was his brother by the father s side.
But was there nothing wrong in this concealment ?
We do not hesitate to declare, that it was a very
grievous sin. Consider,
1. The principle from which it sprang
[He had been called out from his country to sojourn in a
strange land : and, depending upon God for direction and sup
port, " he went forth, not knowing whither he went." For the
space of twenty-five years he had experienced the faithfulness
and loving-kindness of his God. And he had recently received
the most express promises that he should have a son by Sarah,
who should be the progenitor of the Messiah. Yet behold,
when he comes to Gerar, a city of the Philistines, he is afraid
that the people will kill him, in order to gain possession of his
wife, who, though ninety years of age, still retained a consi
derable measure of her former beauty : and, in order to secure
M 2
164 GENESIS, XX. 9. [32.
himself, he has recourse to this expedient of denying his wife.
But was not God still able to protect him ? or could the Phi
listines touch an hair of his head without God s permission ?
In what had God failed him, that now at this time he should
bei>-in to doubt his faithfulness or power ? It was the limiting
of these perfections that in after ages brought down upon the
whole nation of Israel the heaviest judgments a : and it could
not but greatly aggravate the offence of Abraham in the
present instance.]
2. Its natural and necessary tendency
[We shudder while we contemplate the tendency of this
shameful expedient. It was calculated to ensnare the people
among whom he sojourned ; while it exposed the virtue of
Sarah to the extremest hazard. Had she been acknowledged
for Abraham s wife, every one would have known the unlaw
fulness of entertaining a desire after her, and would have
abstained from shewing her any undue attention, or from
cherishing in his bosom an inclination towards her. But when
she passed for an unmarried woman, every one was at liberty
to insinuate himself into her affections, and to seek to the
uttermost an honourable connexion with her. The event
indeed shews what might reasonably have been expected from
such a plot. What other catastrophe could well be looked
for? Terrible as it might have proved, both to her and to
Abimelech, it w r as no other than the natural consequence of
the deceit which was practised.
But what was its aspect and tendency with respect to the
Messiah ? We tremble to relate. Surely the whole human
race combined could not have devised or executed any thing
more injurious to his honour. It was but just before, per
haps a week or two, that God had promised to Abraham, that
within the year he should have a son by Sarah. Suppose then
that matters had proceeded according to Abimelech s inten
tion, and that God had not miraculously interposed to prevent
the execution of his purpose, it would have remained a doubt
at this moment whether the promises were ever fulfilled to
Abraham, and whether the Messiah did indeed descend from
his loins. Consequently, the covenant made with Abraham,
and all the promises made to him and his seed, would be
left in an awful uncertainty. If it would have been criminal in
Abraham and Sarah to concert such a plan under any circum
stances whatever, how much more criminal was it to do so
under the peculiar circumstances in which they then were !]
3. Its having been before practised by him,, and
reproved
* Ps. Ixxviii. 2022, 4042.
32.] ABRAHAM REPROVED BY ABIMELECH. 165
[Had the Philistines come suddenly upon Abraham, and
threatened to put him to death for his wife s sake, we should the
less have wondered that they were prevailed upon to conceal
their relation to each other. But he had committed this same
offence many years before ; and had thereby ensnared Pharaoh
king of Egypt ; nor was he then delivered without a divine
interposition, and a just rebuke from the injured monarch 1 .
Surely he ought to have profited by past experience: he
should have been sensible of the evil of such a proceeding ;
and, having been once rescued, as it were by a miracle, he
should never have subjected himself again to such danger,
reproach, and infamy. The repetition of so heinous a crime,
after such a warning and such a deliverance, increased its
malignity an hundred-fold.]
If we consider the offence of Abraham in this
complicated view, we shall not wonder at,
II. The rebuke given him on account of it
Abimelech, admonished by God in a dream to
restore Abraham his wife, sent for him, and reproved
him for the imposition he had practised. In this
rebuke we observe,
I. Much that was disgraceful to Abraham-
fit was no little disgrace that Abraham, a saint, a prophet
of the most high God, should be reproved at all by a heathen :
but, when we reflect how much occasion he had given for the
reproof, it was disgraceful indeed.
The uncharitableness which he had manifested was very
dishonourable to his character. He had indeed just heard of
the horrible impiety of Sodom; and he concluded perhaps,
that if a whole city so virulently assaulted Lot for the purpose
of gratifying their diabolical inclinations with the men that
were his guests, much more would some individual be found in
Gerar to destroy him, for the purpose of gaining access to a
female that was so renowned for her beauty. Glad should we
be to offer this excuse for him : but he had before acted in the
same manner without any such considerations to influence his
conduct ; and therefore we cannot lay any material stress on
this recent occurrence. But supposing he had been actuated
by such reflections, what right had he to judge so harshly of a
people whom he did not know ? Abimelech justly asked him,
" What sawest thou that thou hast done this thing ? " He had
110 other grounds than mere surmise : "I thought, Surely the
fear of God is not in this place." But why should he think so?
* Gen. xii. 1220.
166 GENESIS, XX. 9. [32.
Could not that God who had brought him out from an ido
latrous country, and preserved Lot and Melchizedec in the
midst of the most abandoned people, have some " hidden ones"
in Gerar also ? Or, supposing that there were none who truly
feared God, must they therefore be so impious as to murder
him in order to possess his wife ? It is a fact, that many who
are not truly religious, have as high a sense of honour, and as
great an abhorrence of atrocious crimes, as any converted man
can feel : and therefore the reproach which he so unjustifiably
cast on them, returned deservedly upon his own head.
In what a disgraceful manner too was his wife restored to
his hands ! How must he blush to be told, that he who should
have been her protector, had been her tempter ; that, in fact,
he had put a price upon her virtue ; and that, instead of being
willing, as he ought to have been, to die in her defence, he
had sacrificed her honour to his own groundless fears. It must
not be forgotten, that Sarah was actually given up to Abime-
lech, and that Abraham had forborne to claim her : so that he
was answerable, not only for the consequences that did ensue,
but for those also which, according to the common course of
things, were to be expected.
Further, in what light must he appeal to himself and all
around him, when he was informed, that he had brought on
Abirnelech and all his household some very severe judgments,
and had actually exposed them all to instantaneous death !
What Abirnelech had done, " he had done in the integrity of
his heart:" and, if he and all his family had died for it,
Abraham would have been the sole author of their ruin.
We need add no more to the humiliating picture that has
been exhibited. Me thinks we see Abraham before our eyes
ashamed to lift up his head, and with deepest penitence
accepting the punishment of his iniquity.]
2. Much that was honourable to Abimelech
[If we were to judge from this portion of sacred history,
we should be ready to think that Abraham had been the hea
then, and Abimelech the prophet of the Lord. In the reproof
this offended king administered, he was a most eminent
pattern of moderation, of equity, and of virtue.
Considering what injury he had sustained, it is truly won
derful that he should express himself with such mildness and
composure. The occasion would almost have justified the
bitterest reproaches: and it might well be expected that
Abimelech would cast reflections on his religion ; condemning
that as worthless, or him as hypocritical. But not one re
proachful word escaped his lips. The only word that has at
all that aspect, is the gentle sarcasm in his address to Sarah ;
" I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver ;"
32.~] ABRAHAM REPROVED BY ABIMELECH. 167
admonishing her thereby no more to call him by that deceitful
name.
On restoring Sarah to her husband, he endeavoured to make
all possible reparation for the evil which he had "unwittingly
committed. He loaded Abraham with presents, and permitted
him to dwell in any part of his dominions ; and gave him a
thousand pieces of silver to purchase veils for Sarah and her
attendants, that they might no longer tempt his subjects by
their beauty .
Finally, we cannot but admire the utter abhorrence which
this heathen prince expressed of a sin, which is too lightly
regarded by the generality of those who call themselves Chris
tians. It is observable that he never once complained of the
punishment which he and his family had suffered, nor of the
danger to which they had been exposed, but only of their
seduction into sin. He considered this as the greatest injury
that could have been done to him : and inquired what he had
done to provoke Abraham to the commission of it : " What
have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and my
kingdom a great sin ?" Surely a more striking refutation of
Abraham s sentiments concerning him it was not in the power
of language to express.]
On this subject we would found " a word of EXHOR
TATION "-
1. Shun every species of equivocation and decep
tion
[They are rarely to be found who will under all circum
stances rigidly adhere to truth. Many who would not choose
to utter a direct and palpable falsehood, will yet put such a
colour upon things as to convey an idea quite contrary to
truth. To magnify another s faults or to extenuate their own,
to raise or depreciate the value of some commodity, to avoid
persecution or obtain applause, are temptations which forcibly
operate to produce either exaggeration or concealment. In
disagreements especially, no person can be fully credited in
his own statement. But this is dishonourable to religion.
There is scarcely any thing that affords a greater triumph to
the enemies of religion, than to find instances of disingenuous-
ness in those who profess it. And it requires constant watch
fulness and self-command to speak the truth at all times. O
let us beg of God to " put truth in our inward parts :" and
let none of us think it beneath him to use that humiliating
prayer of David, "Remove from me the way of lying d ."]
c This seems to be the sense of ver. 16. " It (the silver) is to
thee, &c." a Ps. cxix. 29.
1G8 GENESIS, XX. 9. [32.
2. Guard against relapses into sin
[We may have repented of a sin, and for a long time for
saken it, and yet be in danger of falling into it again. Indeed
our besetting sin, however repented of, will generally continue
our besetting sin : and the power of divine grace will appear,
not so much in taking away all temptation to it, as in enabling
us to withstand and vanquish the temptation. The Spirit of
God may form the contrary grace in our hearts, and even
cause us to exercise it in a very eminent degree : but still we
are not beyond the reach and influence of temptation. If we
had all the strength of Abraham s faith, we might fall, like
him, through cowardice and unbelief. Let us then watch in
all things, but especially in those things wherein we have once
been overcome : and let our falls be constant monitors before
our eyes, to shew us our weakness, and to stimulate us to
prayer. More particularly, if we imagine that we have so
forsaken our sin as to be in no danger of committing it again,
let us beware : " let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed
lest he fall."]
3. Be thankful to God for his protecting and
preserving grace
[If God had taken no better care of us than we have done
of ourselves, how many times should we have dishonoured our
holy profession ! Who that knows any thing of his own heart,
is not conscious, that he has at some times tampered with sin ;
and laid such snares for his own feet, that nothing but God s
gracious and unlooked-for interference has preserved him? While
we were in our unconverted state, " God has withheld us" 011
many occasions, as he did Abimelech, " from sinning against
him." And since God has been pleased to call us by his grace,
we have frequently been rescued by his providence from
dangers, to which the folly and depravity of our own hearts
have exposed us. Let us then magnify the grace of God :
and, if we are enabled to maintain a holy and consistent con
duct, let us say with David, " My foot standeth fast ; in the
congregations will I praise the Lord."]
4. Strive to the uttermost to cancel the effects of
your transgressions
[Abraham by his prevarication had brought distress on
Abimelech and all his household. But when he was humbled
for his transgression, he prayed to God to remove his judg
ments from the persons whom he had so seduced. By this
means, as far as in him lay, he counteracted and reversed the
evil that he had done. It is but seldom that we can cancel in
any degree the evil that we have committed: but, if any way
whatever present itself to us, we should embrace it gladly, and
33.] HAGAR AND ISHMAEL CAST OUT. 169
pursue it eagerly. At all events, the measure adopted by
Abraham is open to us all. We may pray for those whom we
have injured. We may beg of God to obliterate from their
minds any bad impression, which either by our words or actions
we have made upon them. And, if we find in them a kind
forgiving spirit, we should so much the more redouble our
exertions, to obtain for them the blessings of salvation, which
will infinitely overbalance any evils which they may have
suffered through our means.]
XXXIII.
ABRAHAM CASTING OUT HAGAR AND ISHMAEL.
Gen. xxi. 9, 10. And Sarah saw the son of Hag ar the Egyp
tian, which she had borne unto Abraham, mocking. Where
fore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bond-woman and
her son : for the son of this bond-woman shall not be heir
with my son, even with Isaac.
SIN, even in this world, almost always brings its
own punishment along with it : and not unfrequently
the sin itself is marked in the punishment that follows
it. We can have no doubt but that Sarah erred when
she gave Hagar into Abraham s bosom, in hopes of
having the promised seed by her. And scarcely had
her device been carried into execution before she
began to suffer for it. As soon as Hagar had a prospect
of becoming a mother, she began to despise her mis
tress. Her contempt excited vehement indignation in
the breast of Sarah ; insomuch that she made Abraham
himself also a party in the quarrel, and accused him
of encouraging Hagar in her insolence. When Abra
ham, to vindicate himself, empowered her to use her
own discretion with respect to Hagar, she began to
retaliate on her contemptuous bond-maid, and to
treat her with excessive severity. Thus was domestic
harmony interrupted by those very means which
Sarah had adopted to increase her happiness. Hagar,
unable to bear the unkind treatment of her mistress,
fled from her face ; and returned to her only in con
sequence of being commanded to do so by an angel
of the Lord a . We cannot suppose that her forced
a Gen. xvi. 3 9.
170 GENESIS, XXL 9, 10. [33.
submission was attended with much comfort either
to herself or her mistress : where there was no love,
there would be found many occasions of vexation
and dispute. At last, after about eighteen years, a
quarrel arose, which determined Sarah to expel from
her family both Hagar and her son. This domestic
occurrence is replete with instruction: we propose
therefore to make some observations upon,
I. The history itself
The expulsion of Hagar and her son, who was now
about seventeen years of age, was a strong measure.
Let us inquire into,
1. The grounds and reasons of it
[Sarah had seen Ishmael mocking Isaac. From the reso
lution adopted by Sarah in consequence of it, we apprehend,
that Ishmael had derided the pretensions of Isaac to inherit
his father s suhstance. No doubt, Isaac was instructed as early
as possible to regard God as his God, and to expect both from
his earthly and his heavenly Father the accomplishment of all
that God had promised him. Ishmael, on the other hand,
would but ill brook the idea of being excluded from the birth
right ; and therefore would be ready to dispute Isaac s title to
it. Possibly too the very name Isaac, which signifies laughter,
would afford Ishmael many occasions of profane banter. Had
this " mocking " been nothing more than idle jest, attended with
a foolish pleasure in teazing her child, we take for granted that
Sarah would have deemed it sufficient to reprove the fault, and
to point out to Ishmael the impropriety of his conduct. But
she saw that it proceeded from profaneness ; that it argued a
rebellious spirit against God ; that it would become his daily
practice ; and that his mother encouraged him in it, glad to
avenge in that way the wrongs that she supposed herself to suffer.
On these accounts Sarah despaired of accomplishing her ends
by correction, and determined to prevent a recurrence of such
offences by an immediate and final expulsion of the offenders.]
2. The manner in which it was carried into exe
cution
[Sarah, though right in her judgment respecting the means
of obtaining domestic peace, seems to have been too precipitate,
and too peremptory in her demands for their expulsion : and
Abraham demurred about the carrying it into execution. He
indeed had different feelings from Sarah. Sarah s regards were
fixed exclusively on Isaac : she did not consider Ishmael as a
son, but rather as an intruder, and a rival. But Abraham,
33.] HAGAR AND ISHMAEL CAST OUT. 171
being the father of both, felt a paternal affection towards each
of them : nor was he indifferent towards Hagar, whom he had
considered, and lived with, as a legitimate wife. Perhaps too
he suspected that Sarah s proposal originated in an irritation of
temper, and that less severe measures would in a little time
satisfy her mind. He was grieved exceedingly at the thought
of proceeding to such extremities : but finding how resolutely
she was bent upon it, he committed the matter to Grod, and
sought direction from above. Grod directed him to acquiesce
in Sarah s wishes ; and reminded him, that her proposal, how
ever grievous it might be to him, accorded exactly with his
repeated declarations, that "in Isaac should his seed be called,"
and that all the blessings of the covenant exclusively belonged
to him 13 . The divine will being thus made known to him, he
deferred not to comply with it, but dismissed them early the
very next morning. The provision which he gave them for
their journey, was not such as might have been expected from
a person of his opulence ; but we can have no doubt but that he
acted in this by the divine direction, and that the mode of their
dismission, as well as their dismission itself, was intended for their
humiliation and punishment, and probably too for the shewing
unto us, that the natural man has no claim upon him for even
the most common blessings of his providence. That Hagar and
Ishmael were reduced to straits, was owing to their having
"wandered" out of their way in the wilderness of Beersheba:
had they prosecuted their journey in the direct path to Egypt,
where Hagar s friends were, we take for granted that they
would have found their provision adequate to their support.]
Hitherto we have seen nothing but a domestic
occurrence: we must next contemplate,
II. The mystery contained in it-
Here, as in multitudes of other passages, we are
entirely indebted to the New-Testament writers for
the insight which we have into the meaning of the
Old Testament. Here also we see the advantage that
is to be derived from the study of the Old-Testament
history: since in very many instances the incidents
that are recorded, are not mere memoirs of what has
passed, but types and shadows of better and more
important things. This family quarrel was designed
to instruct the whole world; and to shew us,
1. That the children of promise would always be
objects of hatred and contempt to the natural man
b Gen. xvii. 19, 21.
172 GENESIS, XXL 9, 10. [33.
[We should not have ventured to deduce such a position
as this from an altercation that took place between two chil
dren so many hundred years ago, if an inspired Apostle had
not put this very construction upon it. But the disagreements
of Cain and Abel, and of Ishmael and Isaac, are recorded on
purpose to shew us what is in the heart of man. The principles
upon which they acted are common to the whole human race ;
and will operate in a similar manner whenever circumstances
arise to call them forth into action. On this ground we might
have formed a reasonable conjecture, that every one who
resembled Ishmael, would be hostile to those who resembled
Isaac. But the Scriptures supersede all conjecture about the
matter : for they affirm, in reference to this very history, that
" as then he that was born after the flesh, persecuted him that
was born after the Spirit, even so it is noiv c ." Indeed the very
same things are grounds of offence to the carnal man in this
day, as were in the days of Ishmael. He cannot endure that
any persons should be marked by God as his favoured and
peculiar people. Our blessed Lord says, " Because ye are not
of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore
the world hateth you d ." The very name of "saints" and
"elect" is as offensive to the world, as that of Isaac was to
Ishmael, because it imports a preference in the Father s esti
mation of them. Some indeed will say, that there is no per
secution iii this day : but St. Paul expressly calls Ishmael s
conduct towards Isaac "persecution:" and let it be remem
bered, that to be mocked and despised by our relations and
friends is as bitter persecution, and as difficult to bear, as
almost any other injury that men can inflict. The Apostle
thought so when he numbered " mockings and scourgings with
bonds and imprisonment 6 ." And if those who profess religion
are not imprisoned and put to death for their adherence to
Christ, sure I am that they are mocked and derided as much
as in any age; and that, in this sense at least, "all who will
live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution f ."]
2. That they alone are members of the true
church
[St. Paul explains this whole history as an allegory e. He
tells us that Hagar, the bond-woman, typified the Mosaic
covenant entered into at Mount Sinai, which brought forth
children in a state of bondage : but Sarah, the free woman,
typified the Christian covenant, which brings forth children in
a state of liberty. The natural seed of the former represents
all who are born after the flesh : the spiritual seed of the latter,
that is, the child df promise, represents those who are born
c Gal. iv. 29. a John xv. 19. e Heb. xi. 36.
f 2 Tim. iii. 12. s Gal. iii. 2428.
33.] HAGAR AND ISHMAEL CAST OUT. 173
after the Spirit. Hence it appears that we must be children
of promise, in order to belong to the church of Christ. We
must have embraced the promise of life which is in Christ
Jesus ; we must, " by means of the promises, have been made
partakers of a divine nature h ;" and been led by them to
" purify ourselves from all nlthiness both of flesh and spirit 1 ."
These things are the inseparable attendants of a spiritual birth ;
and are therefore necessary to make us real members of the
church of Christ. The mere circumstance of being descended
from Christian parents, or having received the seal of the
Christian covenant, or making a profession of the Christian
faith, will not constitute us Christians. St. Paul, in reference
to this very history, makes this distinction, and leaves no doubt
respecting the truth or importance of it : " All," says he, " are
not Israel, who are of Israel : neither, because they are the
seed of Abraham, are they all children : but In Isaac shall
thy seed be called : that is, They who are the children of the
flesh, these are not the children of God ; but the children of
promise are counted for the seed^."~\
3. That they alone shall finally possess their
Father s inheritance
[Whether there was an undue mixture of warmth in
Sarah s spirit, or not, we are sure that, as far as respected the
words that she uttered, she spake by a divine impulse : for
St. Paul, quoting her words, says, " What saith the Scripture?
Cast out the bond-woman and her son ; for the son of the
bond-woman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman 1 ."
And this he declares to be a general sentence ; a sentence of
expulsion passed on all who remain under the covenant of
works, and an exclusive grant of heaven and happiness to the
children of promise. It is not the persecuting son only, but
the bond-woman herself, the mother, the whole Jewish Church,
the collective body of natural and unconverted men, wherever
they be, all must be " cast out :" no regard will be shewn
either to their privileges or professions : if they live and die
in their natural state, they can have no part or lot with the
children of God. They only who in this w r orld rested on the
promises as the one ground of their hope and joy, shall expe
rience their accomplishment in the world to come. Doubtless,
if we may so speak, it will be grievous to our heavenly Father
to disinherit so many of his professed children ; for he swears
that " he has no pleasure in the death of a sinner, but rather
that he turn from his wickedness and live:" but still his
decree is gone forth, and cannot be reversed: we must be
living members of Christ s church below, before we can inherit
his kingdom above.]
h 2 Pet. i. 4. * 2 Cor. vii. 1. k Rom. ix. 6 8. 1 Gal. iv. 30.
174 GENESIS, XXI. 9 5 10. [33.
From this subject we may gather some HINTS :
1. For the regulating of the conduct of earthly
parents
[It can scarcely be expected in this state of imperfection,
but that disagreements will arise between some individuals of
a large family. The imperiousness of a master or mistress, the
petulance or idleness of a servant ; the severity of a parent, or
the frowardness of a child ; the want of brotherly kindness in
children towards each other ; and especially the jealousies
which subsist, where either the husband or w r ife is called to
exercise authority over the children of the other by a former
marriage ; any of these things, I say, may soon produce dis
satisfaction, and turn our " laughter"" into an occasion of
sorrow: nor is this ever more likely to arise, than when a
husband and his wife differ in their judgment respecting the
mode of conducting themselves towards their children. But
in all cases it is desirable to avoid precipitancy and passion.
Authority must be maintained by those whose right it is to
govern : and when occasion calls for it, correction must be
administered. But it should always be grievous to us to pro
ceed to extremities : nor should we ever exercise very severe
discipline without having first spread the case before God, and
implored his direction and blessing. There is an excessive
lenity which is as injurious in its effects as the contrary ex
treme. We should inquire at all times, " What saith the
Scripture ?" And, when we have once ascertained the will
of God, we should neither come short of it through a foolish
fondness, nor exceed it through vehement irritation. There
is one thing which above all should be checked with a strong
hand ; I mean, profaneness. Parents in general are too
strongly impressed with things which relate to themselves, and
too little affected with what relates to God. But a scoffing at
religion, or impiety of any kind, ought to be an object of our
heaviest displeasure. And though nothing but the most
incorrigible impiety can warrant us to proceed to such ex
tremities as those which were enjoined in the instance before
us, yet we do not hesitate to say, that an incurable member
should rather suffer amputation, than that all the other mem
bers should be incessantly tormented, and the life itself en
dangered, by its union with the body. Nevertheless we say
again, No chastisement should ever be given " for our plea
sure," that is, for the gratification of our spleen or anger, but
solely "for the profit" of the individual chastised, and the
benefit of all connected with him.]
2. For the perpetuating of the regards of our
heavenly Parent
34.] ISAAC A TYPE OF CHRIST. 175
[Thanks be to God, we materially differ from Ishmael and
Isaac in this, that whereas Ishmael could not become a child
of promise, we may: for the Scripture says, " If ye be Christ s,
then are ye Abraham s seed, and heirs according to the pro
mise 111 ." Moreover, if we be indeed Christ s, then shall we
never be disinherited: for "he hateth putting away";" nor
will he suffer any to " pluck us out of his hands ," or to " sepa
rate us from his love p ." If we offend, he will chastise with
suitable severity : but he will not cast off his people q : whom
he loveth, he loveth to the end r . Behold then the way of
securing to yourselves the heavenly inheritance ; lay hold on
the promises, especially " the promise of life which is in Christ
Jesus 8 ." Rely on the promises; plead them at a throne of
grace ; take them as your portion and your heritage ; seek to
experience their renovating, cleansing efficacy 1 . Be not satis
fied with any outward privileges or professions ; but " live the
life which you now live in the flesh, entirely by faith on the
Son of God, as having loved you, and given himself for you u "
Thus, though " once ye were aliens, and strangers from the
covenants of promise, ye shall become fellow-citizens with the
saints, and of the household of God x ," and shall "inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world y ."]
m Gal. iii. 29. n Mai. ii. 16. John x. 28, 29.
P Rom. viii. 35 39. 1 Ps. Ixxxix. 30 35. r John xiii. 1.
s 2 Tim. i. 1. t See notes h and \ u Gal. ii. 20.
x Eph. ii. 19. y Matt. xxiv. 34.
XXXIV.
ISAAC A TYPE OF CHRIST.
Gen. xxii. 6 10. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-
ojfering, and laid it upon Isaac his son : and he took the fire
in his hand, and a knife : and they went both of them toge
ther. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said,
My father : and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said,
Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a
burnt-offering ? And Abraham said, My son, God will
provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering. So they tvent
both of them together. And they came to the place which
God had told him of: and Abraham built an altar there, and
laid the ivood in order ; and bound Isaac his son, and laid
him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched
forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
MANY and wonderful are the instances of faith and
obedience recorded in the Scriptures. But no action
176 GENESIS, XXII. 610. [34.
whatever (those only of our Lord himself excepted)
has at any time surpassed or equalled that related in
the text. It justly obtained for him who performed
it, the honourable title of The Father of the Faithful,
and, The Friend of God a . We shall find it profitable
to consider,
I. The history itself
Abraham had often enjoyed intimate and imme
diate communion with the Deity. But now he heard
the command which was of a most singular and
afflictive nature
[God in some way clearly intimated to Abraham his will :
nor left him to doubt one moment, whether it were his voice
or not. He commanded Abraham to take his only, his beloved
son, Isaac, and to offer him up as a burnt-offering in a place
that should afterwards be pointed out. How strange the
order ! How difficult to be complied with ! How well might
Abraham have said, " Would God I might die for thee, O
Isaac, my son, my son ! "]
Instantly, however, and without reluctance, he
arose to execute the will of God
[Had he presumed to reason with God, what specious
arguments might he have adduced for declining the way of
duty ! The certainty of his being reproached by Sarah. " A
bloody husband art thou to me b : " the offence that would be
taken by all the neighbouring nations against him, his religion,
and his God: the counteracting and defeating of all the pro
mises which had been made by God himself, and which were
to be accomplished solely in and through his son Isaac : all
this, with much more, might have been offered in excuse for
his backwardness, if indeed he had been backward, to accom
plish the will of God. But he conferred not with flesh and
blood d .]
Nor was he diverted from his purpose during the
whole of his journey
[Having prepared the wood, he proceeded instantly, with
Isaac and his servants, towards the place that God had pointed
out. Nor did he open his intentions to Sarah, lest she should
labour to dissuade him from his purpose. But what must
have been his thoughts every time that he looked on Isaac ?
Yet never for one moment did he relax his determination to
a Jam. ii. 21, 23. b Exod. iv. 25, 26.
c Gen. xvii. 19. a Gal. i. 16.
34, J ISAAC A TYPE OF CHRIST. 177
execute the divine command. Having come in sight of the
mountain, he ordered his servants to abide in their place, lest
they should officiously interpose to prevent the intended offer
ing. He put the wood on his son, and carried the fire and the
knife in his own hands. Affecting as these preparations must
have been to a father s heart, how must their poignancy have
been heightened by that pertinent question, which was put to
him by his son 6 ! His answer, like many other prophetical
expressions, conveyed more than he himself probably was
aware of at the moment. Without giving a premature disclo
sure of his intention, he declares the advent of Jesus, that Lamb
of God, who in due time should come to take away the sin of
the world f . Thus for three successive days did he maintain
his resolution firm and unshaken.]
Having arrived at the spot determined by God, he
with much firmness and composure proceeded to
execute his purpose
[He built the altar, and laid the wood upon it in due
order. Then with inexpressible tenderness announced to
Isaac the command of God. Doubtless he would remind his
son of his preternatural birth ; and declare to him God s right
to take away, in any manner he pleased, the gift he bestowed g .
He would exhort him to confide in God as a faithful and un
changeable God ; and to rest assured, that he should, in some
way or other, be restored, after he was reduced to ashes, and
have every promise fulfilled to him. Having thus gained the
consent of his son, he binds him hand and foot, and lays him
on the altar ; and, with a confidence unshaken, and obedience
unparalleled, holds up the knife to slay the victim. Whether
shall we more admire the resolution of the father, or the sub
mission of the son ? O that there were in all of us a similar
determination to sacrifice our dearest interests for God ; and
a similar readiness to yield up our very lives in obedience to
his will !]
Nothing but the interposition of God himself pre
vented the completion of this extraordinary sacrifice
[God had sufficiently tried the faith of his servant. He
therefore, by a voice from heaven, stopped him from giving
the fatal blow ; ordered him to substitute a ram in the place
of Isaac ; renewed to him with an oath his former promises ;
rendered him a pattern to all succeeding generations ; and, no
doubt, is at this instant rewarding him with a weight of glory,
proportioned to his exalted piety.]
e ver. 7. f ver. 8. John i. 29. e Job i. 21.
VOL. I. N
178 GENESIS, XXII. 610. [34.
Almost every circumstance in this narrative de
serves to be considered in,
II. Its typical reference-
Waving many less important points, we may
observe that Isaac was a type of Christ :
1. In his appointment to be a sacrifice
[Isaac was a child of promise, born in a preternatural way,
of a disposition eminently pious ; yet him did God require for
a burnt-offering : it must not be Abraham s cattle, or his son
Ishmael, but his beloved Isaac. Thus was Jesus also, the pro
mised seed, named, like Isaac, before he was conceived in the
womb : he was born, not after the manner of other men, but
of a pure virgin : He was that only, that beloved Son, in whom
the Father was well pleased : yet him did God appoint to be a
sacrifice. A body was given him for this very purpose 11 . He
was ordained from eternity to be a propitiation for sin 1 : nor
did the Father recede from his purpose for four thousand years.
Having set apart his Son for this end, he changed not : and
Jesus, at the appointed time, became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross k ."]
2. In the manner of being offered
[Isaac bore the wood on which he was afterwards to be
lifted up ; and voluntarily yielded up his body to be bound,
and his life to be destroyed in God s appointed way. Thus
did Jesus bear his cross to the place of his crucifixion ; and,
having been bound, was lifted up upon it. On the very spot
where Isaac had been laid upon the altar, was Jesus (most
probably) offered in sacrifice to God 1 . And by whose hand
was Isaac to bleed, but by that of his own Father ? By whom
too did Jesus suffer, but by Jehovah s sword m ? It was not man,
who made him so to agonize in the garden ; nor was it man,
that caused that bitter complaint upon the cross 11 . Neverthe
less it was with the perfect concurrence of his own will that
he died upon the cross; "He gave himself an offering and a
sacrifice to God, for a sweet smelling savour ."]
h Heb. x. 4, 5. i Rom. iii. 25. k Phil. ii. 8.
1 Mount Calvary was one of the mountains in that small tract of
country called the land of Moriah : and from ver. 2. it can scarcely
be doubted, but that it was the very spot pointed out by God. It
could not possibly be far from the spot ; and therefore, when the
place for the sacrifice of Isaac was so accurately marked, it can
scarcely be thought to be any other, than the very place where Jesus
was offered two thousand years afterwards.
m Zech. xiii. 7. Isai. liii. 10. n Luke xxii. 44. Mark xv. 34.
Eph. v. 2.
35.] IMPORTANCE OF EVIDENCES. 179
There is one point, however, wherein the resem
blance does not appear
[For Isaac was found a substitute ; for Jesus none.
Neither the cattle on a thousand hills, nor all the angels in
heaven, could have stood in his place. None but Jesus could
have made a full atonement for our sins. He therefore saved
not himself, because He was determined to save us.]
INFER
1. How marvellous is the love of God to man !
[We admire the obedience of Abraham : but God had a
right to demand it : and Abraham knew, that he was about to
give his son to his best and dearest friend. But what claim had
we on God ? Yet did he give up his Son for us, for us sinners,
rebels, enemies ; nor merely to a common death, but to the
agonies of crucifixion, and to endure the wrath due to our
iniquities p . What stupendous love ! Shall any soul be
affected with a pathetic story, and remain insensible of the
love of God ? Let every heart praise him, trust him, serve
him : and rest assured, that He, who delivered up his Son for
us, will never deny us any other thing that we can ask q .]
2. What an admirable grace is faith !
[The faith of Abraham certainly had respect to Christ,
the promised seed r . And, behold how it operated! So will
it operate in all who have it. It will keep us from staggering
at any promise, however dark or improbable ; and will lead us
to obey every precept, however difficult or self-denying. Let
us seek his faith : and, while we are justified by it from the
guilt of sin, let us manifest its excellence by a life of holiness.]
P Isai. liii. 6. Rom. viii. 32. r Heb. xi. 17 19.
XXXV.
IMPORTANCE OF EVIDENCES.
Gen. xxii. 12. Now I know that thou fear est God, seeing thou
hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.
THERE are in the Holy Scriptures many expres
sions, which, if taken in the strictest and most literal
sense, could convey to us very erroneous conceptions
of the Deity. God is often pleased to speak of him
self in terms accommodated to our feeble apprehen
sions, and properly applicable to man only. For
180 GENESIS, XXII. 12. [35.
instance; in the passage before us, he speaks as if
from Abraham s conduct he had acquired a knowledge
of something which he did not know before : whereas
he is omniscient : there is nothing past, present, or
future, which is not open before him, and distinctly
viewed by him in all its parts. Strictly speaking, he
needed not Abraham s obedience to discover to him
the state of Abraham s mind : he knew that Abraham
feared him, before he gave the trial to Abraham :
yea, he knew, from all eternity, that Abraham would
fear him. But it was for our sakes that he made
the discovery of Abraham s obedience a ground for
acknowledging the existence of the hidden principle
from which it sprang : for it is in this way that we
are to ascertain our own character, and the characters
of our fellow-men. And this is the point which it is
my intention chiefly to insist upon at this time. I
shall not enter upon the circumstances of the history,
but confine myself rather to the consideration of two
points ; namely,
I. The general importance of evidences for ascer
taining our state before God-
Many are ready to pour contempt on marks and
evidences, as though they were legal. They imagine
that the direct agency of the Spirit on the souls of
men is quite sufficient to satisfy our minds respecting
our real state. Now, though we deny not that there
is a direct agency of the Holy Spirit on the souls of
men, and that " God s Spirit does witness with our
spirits, that we are his V yet is this not of itself suffi
cient; because it may easily be mistaken, and can
never, except by its practical effects, be discovered
from the workings of our own imagination. Indeed,
the greater our confidence is, when independent of
evidences, the more questionable it is ; because there
is the more reason to suspect that Satan has made
the impression in order to deceive us. Evidences
in confirmation of this persuasion are necessary,
1. For the satisfaction of our own minds
a Rom. viii. ] 6.
35.1 IMPORTANCE OF EVIDENCES. 181
[The Scriptures suggest innumerable marks whereby to
discover our true character. St. John seems to have written
his First Epistle almost for the very purpose of informing us
on this head, that he might leave us altogether inexcusable if
we erred respecting it : " Hereby we do know that we know
God, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know
him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him : but whoso keepeth his word, in him
verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know w r e that
we are in him b ." (Some of the other passages referred to
may also be cited.) And St. Paul particularly exhorts us to
consult these marks and evidences, just as we would in the
assaying of gold : " Examine yourselves whether ye be in the
faith : prove your own selves."]
2. For the satisfaction of others
[What can others know of our state, any farther than it
is discoverable in our lives? Our blessed Lord teaches us to
bring all, even though they may call themselves prophets, to
this test : " Ye shall know them by their fruits : do men
gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? even so every good
tree bringeth forth good fruit ; but a corrupt tree bringeth
forth evil fruit. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know
them c ." And to this test must we ourselves be brought :
" By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye
have love one to another d ."]
3. For the honour of our God
[Men will judge of our principles by our practice. Now
the Gospel is represented as " a doctrine according to god
liness." But how shall men know it to be so ? Our mere
assertions will carry no conviction with them, if they be not
confirmed by manifest and substantial proofs. Men will natu
rally say to us, " Shew me your faith by your works :" and, if
our works be unworthy of our profession, " the name of God
and his doctrine will be blasphemed 6 ." It is by our w r orks that
we are to shine as lights in the world : and we are therefore
bidden to let our light shine before men, that they, seeing
our good works, may glorify our Father that is in heaven 1 "."]
From the text we learn,
II. What is that evidence which alone will prove
satisfactory to God or our own souls
b See 1 John ii. 3 5. and iii. 6 10. ib. 14, 15. ib. 18 21.
and iv. 13. ib. 20. and v. 1 4. ib. 10. ib. 18.
c Matt. vii. 15 20. d John xiii. 35.
e 1 Tim. vi. 1. f Matt. v. 16.
182 GENESIS, XXII. 12. [35.
Never was there a more glorious act of obedience
than that which Abraham performed in offering up
his son, his only son, Isaac. But it will be asked,
Is any thing like that required of us ? I answer,
1. A full equivalent to this is required of us
[True, indeed, we are not called to that very act of offer
ing up our own son : but we are expressly commanded to
" hate father and mother, and wife and children, and bre
thren and sisters, yea, and our own life also, in comparison of
Christ 8 :" and our blessed Lord declares, that "whosoever
cometh not after him, and forsaketh not all that he hath, he
cannot be his disciple h ." This may be deemed a hard saying ;
but so it is ; and the declaration is irreversible : and further
still, our blessed Lord has decreed, that " he who saveth his
life shall lose it ; and he only who loseth his life for his sake,
shall find it unto life eternal 1 ." There is no difference between
either persons or times : the same is true respecting all his
followers, in every age and place. On no lower terms will
any human being be acknowledged as a friend of Christ; nor
will any child of man that is unwilling to comply with them,
find acceptance with him in the day of judgment.]
2. Without a compliance with this, we in vain
pretend to have the fear of God
[" The fear of God " is the lowest of all graces : yet
must that, no less than the highest, be tried by this test. The
truth is, that the new creature, even in its lowest state, is
complete in all its parts. A little infant has all the parts of
an adult : there is nothing added to him even to his dying
hour : the only difference between him in the different periods
of his life is, that his parts are more matured by age, and
capable of greater exertion when he arrives at manhood than
they were in the earlier stages of his existence. The different
rays of light may be separated by a prism, and so be brought
under distinct and separate consideration : but it is the assem
blage of all the rays that constitutes light. In like manner,
we may separate in idea the graces of a Christian : but where
there is one truly operative, there is, and rnnst be, all. One
particular grace may shine more bright in one person, and
another in another; but when " Christ is formed in us k ," not
one of his graces can be absent. Hence then I say, that the
fear of God, no less than the love of him, must be tried by this
test: and by this alone will " God know that you fear him, if
you withhold not your son, your only son, from him."]
e Luke xiv. 26. h Luke xiv. 33.
1 Matt. xvi. 25. k Gal. iv. 19.
36.] JEHOVAH-.TIREH, THE LORD WILL PROVIDE. 183
Now, let me ASK, What testimony must God bear
respecting you ?
[He knows every one amongst you, and every secret of
your hearts: yet will he not proceed in judgment without
adducing the proofs which you had given of your true cha
racter. If he say to you, " Come, ye blessed," or, " Go, ye
cursed," he will assign his reasons for it, and thereby approve
the equity of his sentence before the whole universe \ Let me
ask, then, What sacrifices have you made for him ? and what
duties have you performed? Have you " plucked out the
right eye, and cut off the right hand, that has offended you ?"
If not, you know the sad alternative, that " your whole body
and soul will be cast into hell fire 111 ." Examine yourselves,
then, and inquire, whether God can bear this testimony re
specting you ? Must he not rather, with respect to the greater
part of you, say, I know you, that " you have not the fear of
God before your eyes 11 !" You have made no sacrifice for me ;
nor have you paid any attention to my commands. Abraham
consulted not even his own wife, lest she should prove a snare
to him : but you have been ready to follow any adviser that
would counsel you to disregard me. AVell, know of a surety
that the time is shortly coming, when God will call every one
of you into judgment, and when he will put an awful differ
ence between his friends and his enemies ; between those who
feared his name, and those who feared him not .]
1 Matt. xxv. 34 43. m Mark ix. 43 48. n Rom. iii. 18.
Mai. iii. 18.
XXXVI.
JEHOVAH-JIREH, THE LORD WILL PROVIDE.
Gen. xxii. 14. And Abraham called the name of that place,
Jehovah-jireh : as it is said to this day, In the mount of the
Lord it shall be seen.
THE Saints of old took special care to remember
the mercies of their God. Hence they scarcely ever
received any remarkable deliverance from evil, or
communication of good from him,, but they erected
some memorial of it, and gave either to the place or
to the memorial itself, some name, that should trans
mit to posterity a remembrance of the blessing vouch
safed unto them. Such was " Beth-el," where Jacob
184 GENESIS, XXII. 14. [36.
was favoured with a special vision a ; and " Peniel,"
where he wrestled with the angeP; and " Eben-ezer,"
the stone erected by Samuel in remembrance of
Israel s victory over the Philistines c . Frequently the
name of Jehovah himself was annexed to some word
expressive of the event commemorated; as, " Jehovah-
nissi, meaning, The Lord my banner ; " a name given
to an altar raised by Moses, to commemorate the total
discomfiture of the Amalekites d ; and " Jehovah-
shalom, The Lord send peace;" being the name
given to another altar, which Gideon erected in re
membrance of a special visit which he had received
from the Lord in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites e . The
Father of the Faithful set an example in this respect.
He had been ordered by God to sacrifice his son
Isaac; but in the very act of offering him up, God
had arrested his uplifted arm, and directed him to
offer in the stead of his son a ram caught in the
thicket which was close at hand. This was in fact
an accomplishment of what Abraham himself had a
little before unwittingly predicted. For, in answer
to Isaac s question, " My father, behold the fire and
the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offer
ing?" he replied, " My son, God will provide himself
a lamb for a burnt-offering." By this answer he
merely intended to satisfy his son s mind for the
present, till the time should arrive for making known
to him the command which he had received from
God ; in which command that provision was actually
made : but through the miraculous intervention of
Divine Providence and the substitution of the ram in
Isaac s place, it had now been literally verified in a
way which he himself had never contemplated. And
it was in reference to this expression which he had
used, that he called the name of the place, " Je-
hovah-jireh," which means, " The Lord will provide."
This circumstance, occurring on Mount Moriah at
the very instant when Abraham s hand was lifted up
to slay his son, passed immediately into a proverb,
a Gen. xxviii. 19. b Gen. xxxii. 30. c 1 Sam. vii. 12.
d Exod. xvii. 15. e Judg. vi. 24.
36.] JEHOVAH-JIREH, THE LORD WILL PROVIDE. 185
and has been handed down as a proverb through all
successive generations even to this very day: the
proverb is, " In the mount of the Lord it shall be
seen ; " or, as it should rather be translated, " In the
mount the Lord shall be seen." To enter fully into
this most instructive proverb, it will be proper to shew,
I. What it supposes
Much important truth lies concealed in it. It
supposes,
1. That God is the same in all ages
[It may be thought that this is a truth which no one will
controvert. I grant that no one will controvert it in theory :
but practically it is denied every day. The God who is re
vealed in the Scriptures is evidently a God of infinite conde
scension and grace ; as appears in all his mercies to the children
of men. He is also a God of inflexible justice and holiness ;
as appears by the awful judgments he has executed on account
of sin. But, if we now hold him forth in either of these points
of view, and inculcate the necessity of our regarding him with
hopes and fears suited to these perfections, we are considered
as either derogating from his Majesty on the one hand, or
from his goodness on the other hand. The notion, that " the
Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil," though not
openly avowed, is yet the secret persuasion of almost every
heart. But if there were any foundation for this Epicurean
sentiment, what room could there be for this proverb ? But
know assuredly, that "He changeth not;" "with Him is no
variableness neither shadow of turning:" "He is the same
yesterday, to-day, and for ever."]
2. That the privileges of his people in all ages are
the same
[To imagine this, is thought by many to be the height of
presumption. But what privilege had Enoch, or Noah, or
Abraham, or Moses, or any other of the children of men, which
we have not? No one of them enjoyed any thing which was
not contained in the covenant of grace. And what was the
great promise in that covenant? Was it not, "I will be their
God, and they shall be my people ? " Was there any thing that
was not comprehended in that ? or could any thing whatever
be added to it ? Yet behold, that covenant is as much in force
at this day as it was at any period of the world : and those who
lay hold on that covenant are as much entitled to its blessings,
as any ever were from the foundation of the world. Were
this not so, we should have been injured, rather than benefited,
186 GENESIS, XXII. 14. [36.
by the coming of Christ. But our interest in it is not only as
great as theirs was in the days of old, but, I had almost said,
greater : for in the mention of this part of the covenant in the
New Testament there is this remarkable difference: in the
Old Testament God says, " I will be their God ;" but in the
New Testament he says, " I will be a God unto them f ." This
seems to convey a stronger and more determinate idea to the
mind. We all know what it is to be a friend or a father to any
person : but oh ! what is it to be a God unto him ? This none
but God can tell : but the least it means is this ; that, what
ever situation a believer may be in, all that infinite wisdom,
unbounded love, and almighty power can effect, shall be
effected for him. Of the believer therefore now, no less than
in former days, it may be said, " All things are yours : whether
Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or
things present, or things to come ; all are yours ; and ye are
Christ s; and Christ is God s s."]
3. That whatsoever God at any time has done for
the most favoured of his saints, may be expected by
us now, as far as our necessities call for it
[Of all the circumstances related in the Old Testament,
scarcely any one was so particular and so exclusive as this
which we are considering. Who besides him was ever called
to sacrifice his own son ? Who besides him was ever stopped
by a voice from heaven in the execution of such a command,
and directed to another offering which God himself had pro
vided? Yet behold, this very event was made the foundation
of the proverb before us ; and from this, particular and exclu
sive as it was, all believers are taught to expect, that God will
interpose for them in like manner, in the hour of necessity !
If then we may expect such an interposition as this, what may
we not expect ?
But let us take some other events, to which nothing parallel
exists. The passage of Israel through the Red Sea ; the
striking of the rock, in order to supply them with water in
the wilderness ; and the feeding of them with daily supplies of
manna for forty years : can we expect any interpositions like
these ? Yes : and an express reference is made to these in
the Holy Scriptures in. order to raise our expectations to the
highest, and to assure us that we shall receive from God every
thing that our necessities may require. Were " the depths of
the sea made a way for the ransomed to pass over ? " With
similar triumph may all the " redeemed of the Lord hope to
return and come to ZionV What was done " in the ancient
f Hcb. viii. 10. e 1 Cor. iii. 21 23.
h Isai. li. 911. Cite the whole.
36.1 JEHOVAH-JIREH, THE LORD WILL PROVIDE. 187
days, in the generations of old," is there made the very pattern
of what shall be done for all the Lord s people. A similar
assurance is given in reference to the water that issued from
the rock; and we are told "not even to remember or con
sider the former things," since God will repeat them again and
again, doing them " anew," so that " every body shall know"
and observe it : "I will give waters in the wilderness, and rivers
in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen 1 ." As for
the manna, you all are taught by our blessed Lord to pray,
" Give us day by day our daily bread V The matter then is
plain : for, if such things as these are to be realized in our
experience, there is nothing which was ever done for mortal
man, which we are not authorized to expect, as far as our
necessities require it. Miracles indeed we are not to expect :
but what was formerly done by visible exercises of a miraculous
power, shall now, in effect, be done by the invisible agency of
God s providential care. The mode of effecting our deliverance
shall be varied ; but the deliverance itself shall be secured.]
Now we come to,
II. What it affirms
The proverb is express : " In the mount the Lord
shall be seen:" that is,
1. He will interpose for his people in the hour of
necessity
[This is its plain import: and to the same effect it is
elsewhere promised, " The Lord will judge his people, and
repent himself for his servants ; when he seeth that their power
is gone, and that there is none shut up or left 1 ." If it be
asked, In what way will he interpose ? I answer, This must
be left to him : he is not limited to any particular means : he
can work by means, or without them, as he seeth fit : the whole
creation is at his command: the wind shall divide the sea;
and the sea shall stand up as a wall on either hand, when he
is pleased to make a way through it for his people : and the
waters shall resume their wonted state, when he gives them a
commission to overwhelm his enemies : and both the one and
the other shall be done at the precise moment of Israel s neces
sity. If confederate armies come against his people, his
enemies shall defeat their own sanguinary purpose, and be the
executioners of God s vengeance on each other". Is the
destruction of a faithful servant menaced and expected by
blood-thirsty persecutors ? an angel becomes the willing agent
1 Isai. xliii. 18 20. Cite the whole. k Luke xi. 3. See the Greek,
^eut. xxxii. 36. m Exod. xiv. 10 14.
"2 Chron. xx. 1, 1013, 16, 17, 2224.
188 GENESIS, XXII. 14. [36.
of Jehovah for his deliverance . Sometimes he will defeat the
enterprises of his enemies by the very means which they use
to carry them into effect. This was the case with respect to
Joseph, whose exaltation sprang from the very means used by
various instruments for his destruction P. As for means, we
may safely leave them to God. Two things we certainly
know; namely, that he will interpose seasonably; and that
he will interpose effectually: for he is, and ever will be, a
very present help in trouble V]
2. We may confidently trust in Him in seasons of
the greatest darkness and distress
[God may not come to our help at the moment that our
impatient minds may desire. On the contrary, he may tarry,
till we are ready to cry, like the Church of old, " The Lord
hath forsaken us, and our God hath forgotten us r ." But he
has wise and gracious purposes to answer by such delays. He
makes use of them to stir us up to more earnest importunity 8 ;
to render us more simple and humble in our dependence upon
him*; to display more gloriously before our eyes the riches of
his power and grace 11 , and to teach both us and others to wait
his time x . Sometimes he suffers the enemy so far to prevail
as that to all human appearance our case shall be irremediable :
whilst yet those very enemies are instruments in his hands to
accomplish unwittingly the very ends which they are labouring
to defeat ; disappointing thus the devices of the crafty, and
taking the wise in their own craftiness y . The history of Joseph
will of necessity occur to every mind in illustration of this
point 2 . But what docs all this say to us? Its language is pre
cisely that of the prophet: " The vision is yet for an appointed
time ; but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry,
wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry a ."]
ADDRESS,
1. Those who have never yet been brought into
deep waters
[Do not imagine that because you have hitherto expe
rienced but little trouble, your path shall always be smooth
and easy. No : it is a thorny wilderness that you have to pass
through, and a troubled ocean that you have to navigate, ere
you can reach the desired haven. The mariner when scarcely
launched upon the deep does not expect that the breeze shall
be alike gentle to the end of his voyage : he prepares for
Acts xii. 4 10. P Gen. 1. 20. q Ps. xlvi. 1.
r Isai. xlix. 14. s Matt. xv. 22 27. * 2 Cor. i. 8 10.
u John xi. 6, 15, 40. x Ps. xl. 13. Luke xviii. 1.
y Actsxxiii. 1217. z Gen. 1. 20. * Hab. ii. 3.
36.] JEHOVAH-JIREH, THE LORD WILL PROVIDE. 189
storms, that he may be ready to meet them when they come.
In like manner you also will do well to prepare for seasons of
adversity and trial. The seaman takes with him his compass,
his chart, his quadrant ; and makes his daily observations, that
he may know where he is, and not be driven from his course.
So likewise do you take with you this proverb; which will
ever be of use to you in the most trying hour, and enable
you to steer your course with safety to the haven of rest.]
2. Those who are under any great and heavy
calamity
[The Lord s people are no more exempt from trouble than
others. When most in the path of duty, storms and tempests
may overtake you, and menace your very existence : yea, and
in the midst of all, your Lord and Saviour may seem regard
less of your trouble. But remember, that, embarked as you
are with him, you can never perish. In the fittest moment,
he will arise and rebuke the storm ; and both winds and waves
shall obey him b . Go forward, as Abraham did, in the path of
duty, and leave events to God. Do not be impatient because
God does not appear for you so soon as you could wish. Per
haps you have not gone above one day s journey yet in the path
assigned you : if so, you have another and another day yet to
go. Possibly you may have been long tried, and are got to
the very mount : but you are not yet got to the top of that
mount : much less have you bound your Isaac, and lifted up
your hand to slay him. If not, the time for the Lord s inter
position is not yet come. See how it was with David. He fled
from Saul The Ziphites came and informed Saul of the place
where he was hid Saul blessed them for the intelligence they
had brought him : and set out immediately and encompassed
with his army the very spot where David was. Alas ! David,
thy God hath forsaken thee ! No : not so : in that critical
moment, " a messenger comes to Saul, saying, Haste thee, and
come ; for the Philistines have invaded the land." And thus
was the snare broken, and the persecuted saint delivered c .
Thus also shall it be with you. Only stay till the critical
moment has arrived, and you shall find the proverb true : "In
the mount the Lord shall be found." Whatever you may
imagine, the Lord is not an inattentive observer of your state.
He may suffer you to be cast into the tempestuous ocean, and
to be swallowed up by a whale, and yet bring you up again
from the very depths of the sea, and advance his own glory the
more in proportion to the greatness of your deliverance 11 .
Trust then in the Lord, and let your mind be stayed 011 him.
* Mark iv. 3539. c 1 Sam. xxiii. 19, 21, 26, 27.
d Jon. ii. 1 9.
190 GENESIS, XXII. 18. [37.
This is the direction which he himself gives you : " Who is
among you that walketh in darkness, and hath no light ? Let
him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God e ."
And if the time for your deliverance seem to be utterly passed,
go with the Hebrew youths into the fiery furnace, taking God s
express promise with you f , and say with Job, " Though he
slay me, yet will I trust in him g ."]
e Isai. 1. 10. f Isai. xliii. 2, 3.
s Job xiii. 15. See the whole subject illustrated in Ps. xxx. 1 12.
XXXVII.
ABRAHAM S PROMISED SEED.
Gen. xxii. 18. In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed.
THERE is nothing in man which can merit the
divine favour: the promises of God to us are alto
gether free, resulting wholly from his sovereign grace :
yet does God frequently manifest his love towards us
in consequence of something done by us. Abraham,
it should seem, was an idolater, when God first made
himself known to him in his native land : and then
did the Almighty promise, that in him should all the
families of the earth be blessed. But, in the passage
before us, Abraham is recorded to have performed
the most extraordinary act of obedience that ever
was known from the foundation of the world: and
God takes occasion from that to renew his promise,
and, for his more abundant consolation, to confirm it
with an oath. To ascertain the full import of this
glorious prophecy, it will be proper to inquire,
I. Who is the seed here spoken of
It is not to all the natural descendants, or to that
part of them that composed the Jewish nation, or
even to the spiritual seed of Abraham, that these
words refer : they speak of one particular individual,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. To him all the types direct our attention
[The temple with all its utensils, the priests with all their
habits and services, the sacrifices and oblations of every kind,
37;] ABRAHAM S PROMISED SEED. 191
all shadowed forth his work and offices. The principal events
in the Jewish history, together with the great persons engaged
in them, their lawgiver, their commanders, judges, kings, and
prophets, prefigured him in different points of view, and, as so
many lines, meet in him as their common centre. On this
account we have reason to think that the prophecy before us
relates to him.]
2. In him all the prophecies receive their accom
plishment
[However some of the prophecies might be partially ful
filled in Solomon or others, it is certain that all of them together
were never accomplished in any one but Jesus. They were
intended to designate HIM, that, when he should arrive, there
might be 110 doubt of his being the very person fore-ordained
of God to be the Saviour of the world. The minute descrip
tion of the promised Messiah, together with the marvellous
combination of circumstances that marked Jesus as the person
foretold, lead us further to believe that the text had particular
respect to him.]
3. To him exclusively the text is applied by God
himself
[St. Paul tells us that the blessing of Abraham was to come
on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ a ; and that the words of
the text related, not to others, but to Christ alone 1 .]
This point being ascertained, let us inquire,
II. In what respect all nations are blessed in him
The full accomplishment of the text will not take
place till that glorious period when the knowledge
of the Lord shall cover the earth, as the waters
cover the sea. Yet, in a limited sense, all nations
have experienced the truth of this prophecy already.
1. They are reconciled to God through him
[Christ died not for one nation only ; he was a propitiation
for the sins of the whole world. Many of all nations have
already believed in his name, and rejoiced in his salvation :
and in every place they who believe in him shall find accept
ance with their God c .]
2. They are united in one body in him
[He has broken down the middle wall of partition that
divided the Jewish and Gentile world, and, having reconciled
both unto God in one body by the cross, he has slain the
a Gal. iii. 14. l > Gal. iii. 16. c Col. i. 2022.
192 GENESIS, XXII. 18. [37.
enmity thereby d . All mankind are now brought into one
family, and are taught to regard each other as brethren : and
in proportion as the religion of Jesus gains the ascendant over
our hearts, we are united in love to every member of his
mystical body.]
3. They are blessed with all spiritual blessings
[There is not any thing that can conduce to our present
or future happiness which Jesus will not bestow on his
believing people. Adoption into his family, peace in our
consciences, holiness in our hearts, and an eternity of glory in
the Father s presence, are the certain portion of all his faithful
followers. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile ;
all are admitted to the same privileges, and all shall participate
the same enjoyments.]
INFER,
1. The antiquity of the Gospel
[The sum and substance of the Gospel is, that Christ is the
only source of all spiritual and eternal blessings. Wherever
this truth is strongly urged, men are ready to cry out against
it as a new doctrine. But we can trace it, not only to the
Reformers of our church, but to the Apostles, yea to Abra
ham also : for St. Paul declares, that when God spake the
words to Abraham, he "preached the Gospel to him" even that
very Gospel whereby he and all the nations of the earth must
be saved. 6 Let this truth then 110 longer be reviled as novel,
but be received as the one ground of all our hopes.]
2. The importance of faith
[Abraham s faith in this Gospel was imputed to him for
righteousness f ; and by believing the same divine record we
also must be justified g . No doctrine whatever is more
explicitly declared in Scripture than this. Let us then ac
knowledge the necessity of faith, and look to the Lord Jesus
Christ as that promised seed, through whom alone the blessings
of Abraham can flow down upon us.]
3. The connexion between faith and works
[Faith was that principle which produced in Abraham
such exemplary obedience 11 : and the same root will bear
similar fruits wheresoever it exists 1 . Indeed the pardon of
past sins would be utterly insufficient to make us happy, if
it were not accompanied with the renovation of our natures.
To this effect St. Peter expounded, as it were, the very words
of the text, declaring to the Jews, that conversion from sin
a Eph. ii. 1410. <> Gal. iii. 8. f Gal. iii. 6.
e Gal. iii. 7, 9. h Heb. xi. 17. Acts xv. 9.
38.] ABRAHAM S BURYING-PLACE IN CANAAN. 193
was one of the first blessings which the Lord Jesus was sent
to bestow k . Let us then not consider faith and works as
opposed to each other, but as possessing distinct offices, the
one to justify our souls, the other to honour God, and to
manifest the sincerity of our faith.]
k Acts iii. 25, 26.
XXXVIII.
ABRAHAM PURCHASING A BURYING-PLACE IN CANAAN.
Gen. xxiii. 17, 18. And the field of Ephron, ivhich ivas in
Machpelah, ivhich ivas before Mainre, the field, and the cave
ivhich ivas therein, and all the trees that were in the field,
that were in all the borders round about, were made sure unto
Abraham for a possession, in the presence of the children of
Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.
THERE is something in a holy life which wonder
fully conciliates the minds of men. At first indeed,
like a strong influx of light, it offends their eyes ; and
the beholders, unable to bear the effulgence of its
beams, turn away from it, or perhaps desire its utter
extinction. But when it has shone for a long time
before them, and they have had sufficient opportunity
to contemplate its worth, they are constrained to
acknowledge, that " the righteous is more excellent
than his neighbour :" and they begin to venerate the
character, whose virtues at first were occasions of
offence. We have a striking instance of this in the
chapter before us. The children of Heth were not
acquainted with Abraham s principles : but they had
seen his exemplary deportment for many years : and
when the death of his wife necessitated him to ask
a favour at their hands, they were as glad to confer
it, as he could possibly be to receive it. The purchase
of a burying-place does not indeed appear at first
sight to be an incident worthy of notice : but in the
present instance there is much that deserves atten
tion. We would make some remarks upon,
I. The manner in which the agreement was made
No records, human or divine, afford us a more
VOL. i. o
194 GENESIS, XXIII. 17, 18. [38.
admirable pattern for transacting the common busi
ness of life than the history before us. All parties
seemed to be penetrated with the same spirit : they
vied with each other in all that was amiable and
praiseworthy. We may notice in particular,,
1. Their courteousness
[Abraham, in his address to the chief persons of the city,
testified all the respect due to their character, " standing up be
fore them, and bowing to them :" and they, on the other hand,
addressed him as " a mighty prince," whom they were forward
and happy to oblige. It were well if, in all our intercourse
with mankind, we were careful to maintain a similar deport
ment. But there are many Christians wiio seem almost to
forget that God has said unto them, "Be courteous a ." They
are arrogant and assuming towards their superiors ; they are
haughty and imperious towards their inferiors ; they are ready
to claim as their right what they ought to ask as a favour ;
and, if they grant a favour, they confer it in so ungracious a
way, as to destroy all sense of obligation in him who receives
it. Some allowance indeed must be made for natural dis
position, and for defects of education : yet, after all, the
Christian ought to be the most polite of men, because he
ought to feel in his heart all that others express in their con
duct: he should "esteem others better than himself V and
" prefer them in honour before himself ," and make himself
the servant of all for his Master s sake d . He should have in
subjection all that pride and selfishness, that stimulates to
contention 6 ; and maintain in exercise that divine philan
thropy, which is the foundation and cement of all civilized
society f . " Whatsoever is lovely and of good report," he should
revolve it in his thoughts, and manifest it in his actions g .]
2. Their equity
[Gladly would Ephron have given to Abraham both the
sepulchre which he desired, and the field in which it was con
tained : but Abraham entreated that he might be permitted to
pay for it a valuable consideration. Accordingly the price was
fixed on the one part with perfect equity, and paid, on the
other, with perfect cheerfulness. Would to God that all men
would adopt this mode of dealing, and buy and sell according
to this pattern ! Would to God that even professed Chris
tians would copy after this example ! How much falsehood,
how much imposition, would then be avoided ! Solomon has
drawn to the life the characters of many, who depreciate every
a 1 Pet. iii. 8. b Phil. ii. 3. c Rom. xii. 10. d 1 Cor. ix. 19.
e Eph. iv.31, 32. f Col. iii. 1214. g Phil. iv. 8.
38.] ABRAHAM S BURYING-PLACE IN CANAAN. 195
thing which they wish to buy, and then go away boasting of
the advantageous bargains they have made ; " It is naught, it
is naught, saith the buyer ; and when he is gone his way, he
boastethV But this is beneath the character of a good man.
We should not wish to obtain more, or to pay less, for a
thing, than it is worth. We should not advance the price on
account of the purchaser s necessity, or refuse what is right on
account of the necessity of the seller : but, whether we buy or
sell, should act towards our neighbour as we in a change of
circumstances would have him do to us.]
3. Their prudence
[To Abraham especially it was of importance that the
purchase should be known and ratified. Had he accepted
the sepulchre as a present, or bought it in a private way, his
title to it might at some future period have been disputed, and
his descendants been deprived of that which he was desirous
of securing to them. But all fears of this kind were effec
tually prevented by the publicity of the transaction. The chief
persons of the city were not only witnesses of it, but agents,
by whose mediation Ephron was induced to conclude the bar
gain 1 . Moreover, all who went in or out of the gate of the
city, were witnesses ; so that, after possession was once taken,
no doubt could ever arise respecting the transfer of the pro
perty, or the title of Abraham s descendants to possess it.
How unlike to Abraham are many who call themselves his
children ! They embark in business, and enter into contracts,
without due consideration : they transact their affairs without
order, and leave them in confusion : and thus by their indiscreet
conduct they involve their names in disgrace, and their fami
lies in ruin. Let us learn from him : let us act with caution :
let not even affliction itself render us inattentive to the welfare
of our posterity : let us conduct ourselves conformably to that
sage advice of Solomon, " Prepare thy work without, and
make it fit for thyself in the field ; and afterwards build thine
house k ." In other words, Let deliberation and foresight so
regulate our conduct, that they who succeed us may applaud
our wisdom, and reap the benefit of our care.]
If the manner of forming this agreement is pro
fitable, much more shall we find it profitable to
consider,
II. The ends for which it was made
There was much more in the mind of Abraham
than was known to the people among whom he
sojourned. Besides the immediate and ostensible
h Prov. xx. 14. ! ver. 8. k Prov. xxiv. 27.
196 GENESIS, XXIII. 17, 18. [38.
reason of making that purchase, he had others that
were no less important. We shall mention them in
their order. He hought the field,
1. To hury his wife
[Sarah had lived with him to a good old age. But the
dearest relatives, how long soever their union may continue,
must part at last 1 . And when the time of separation is come,
the most beloved object ceases to please. The soul having
taken its flight, the body hastens to putrefaction ; and we are
as glad to have it removed out of our sight, as ever we were to
enjoy communion with it. To give it a decent interment, and
drop a tear over it at the grave, is the last office of love which
we are able to shew to our dearest friend : and he who lives
the longest, has only to perform this painful office the more
frequently, till he sees himself, as it were, forsaken by all, and
left desolate, unknowing, and unknown. O that we could all
bear this in mind ! We are born to die : the moment we drew
our breath, we had one breath less to draw. Every hour we
live, we approach nearer and nearer to our grave. If w T e con
tinue our course, like the sun, from its rise to the meridian,
and from its meridian to the close of day, still every moment
shortens our duration ; and while we are speaking to you now,
we are hastening to the chambers of death. Let husbands
and wives, parents and children, and friends who are to each
other as their own soul, remember this. Let them sit loose
to each other ; and let the time that they enjoy the society of
their friends, be regarded by them as the interval allotted to
prepare for their interment.]
2. To express his confidence in the divine promise
[God had promised to him and to his seed the land wherein
he sojourned. But Abraham had continued there above sixty
years without gaining in it so much as one foot of land m . But
was the promise therefore to be doubted ? No. It was not
possible that that could fail. Abraham was as much assured
that the promise should be fulfilled, as if he had seen its actual
accomplishment. Under this conviction, he purchased the
field as a pledge and earnest of his future inheritance. In the
prophecies of Jeremiah we have a similar compact made with
precisely the same view. The prophet had foretold the speedy
desolation of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and the restora
tion of the Jews to their own land after a captivity of seventy
years. His uncle s son, alarmed, as it should seem, by the
1 This idea is judiciously put into the mouths of both the parties
at the time they betroth themselves to each other at the altar ; " Till
death us do part." m Acts vii. 5.
38. J ABRAHAM S BURYING-PLACE IN CANAAN. 197
approach of the Chaldean army, determined to sell his estate ;
and offered it to Jeremiah first, because the right of redemp
tion belonged to him. By God s command Jeremiah bought
the inheritance ; and had the transfer signed and scaled in a
public manner ; and buried the writings in an earthen vessel ;
that, being preserved to the expiration of the Babylonish cap
tivity, they might be an evidence of his title to the estate.
This was done, not that the prophet, or his heirs, might be
enriched by the purchase, but that his conviction of the truth
of his own prophecies might be made manifest 11 .]
3. That he might perpetuate among his posterity
the expectation of the promised land-
fit was to be four hundred years before his seed were to
possess the land of Canaan. In that length of time it was
probable that the promise itself would be forgotten ; and more
especially during their Egyptian bondage. But their having
a burying-place in Canaan, where their bones were to be laid
with the bones of their father Abraham, was the most likely
means of keeping alive in. every succeeding generation the
hope of ultimately possessing the whole land. Accordingly
we find, it did produce this very effect : for as Abraham and
Sarah were buried in that cave, so Isaac and Rebekah were,
and Jacob and Leah, notwithstanding Jacob died in Egypt .
And Joseph also, though buried in Egypt, gave commandment,
that when the Israelites should depart out of Egypt to possess
the land of Canaan, they should carry up his bones with them,
and bury them in the sepulchre of his progenitors p .]
ADDRESS
1. Let us seek an union that shall never be dis
solved
[All earthly connexions must sooner or later be dissolved :
and when once they are broken by death, they are terminated
for ever. But an union formed with the Lord Jesus Christ
shall never cease. If we are grafted into him as the living
vine, we shall never be broken off: if we are made living
members of his body, he will suffer nothing to separate us
from him. Death, so far from destroying that union, shall
confirm it, and bring us into a more intimate enjoyment of it.
Let us then seek that union which is effected by faith in the
Lord Jesus. If we consider only the present happiness arising
from it, it infinitely transcends all other : but if we regard its
continuance, the longest and dearest connexions upon earth
are not worthy a thought in comparison of it.]
n Jer. xxxii. 6 16, 42 44.
Gen. xxv. 9, 10. and xlv. 29, 30. andxlix. 30 32. and 1. 13.
P Gen. 1. 24, 25. with Heb. xi. 22.
198 GENESIS, XXIV. 24. [39.
2. Let us look forward to the possession of the
heavenly Canaan
[There is "a promise left us of entering into rest," even
into " that rest which remaineth for the people of God." But
we may experience many difficulties and trials in our way
thither. Nevertheless " the promise is sure to all the seed :"
and " our Forerunner is already entered" into heaven, to take
possession of it for us. Nay more, he has given us his " Holy
Spirit to be a pledge and earnest of our inheritance." Let us
then be contented to live as pilgrims and sojourners in this
world ; and make it our chief labour to keep our title to that
inheritance clear. Let us be anticipating the time when the
promise shall bring forth, and all the seed of Abraham rejoice
together in its full accomplishment.]
3. Let all our intercourse with men be worthy of
our professions and expectations
[If we have indeed been chosen of God to an eternal inhe
ritance, we should shew a deadness to the things of this world,
and an amiableness in the whole of our deportment. It is a
shame to be outdone by heathens in any thing. We should
excel in courteousness and generosity, in prudence and equity,
as well as in heavenly-mindedness and devotion. In short, we
should endeavour in all things to "walk worthy of our high
calling," and to " shew forth the virtues, as well as the praises,
of him who hath called us to his kingdom and glory." Such
behaviour will go far towards conciliating our enemies. It
will " put to silence the ignorance of foolish men ;" and " make
those ashamed, who falsely accuse our good conversation in
Christ : " and, our light shining thus with uniform and en
gaging splendour, will constrain many to " glorify our Father
that is in heaven."]
XXXIX.
MARRIAGE OF ISAAC.
Gen. xxiv. 2 4. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of
his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee,
thy hand under my thigh : and I ivill make thee swear by
the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that
thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of
the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; but thou shalt go
unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto
my son Isaac.
THE great events which take place in the world,
such as the rise and overthrow of kingdoms, are dis
regarded by God as unworthy of notice ; whilst the
39. J MARRIAGE OF ISAAC. 199
most trivial things that appertain to his church and
people, are recorded with the minutest exactness.
The whole chapter from whence our text is taken
relates to the marriage of Isaac. We are introduced
into the most private scenes, and made acquainted
with the whole rise, progress, and consummation of
a matter, which might as well, to all appearance,
have been narrated in a few words. But nothing is
unimportant in God s eyes, that can illustrate the
operations of his grace, or tend to the edification of
his church. In discoursing on this part of sacred
history we shall notice,
I. Its peculiar incidents-
Abraham commissioned his servant to go and seek
a wife for his son Isaac
[That holy man could not endure the thought of his son
forming a connexion with the Canaanites, who would be likely
to draw him aside from the worship of the true God. He there
fore ordered his old and faithful servant, Eliezer a , to go to the
country where his father s relations lived, and where, though
idolatry obtained in part, Jehovah was still known and wor
shipped, to bring for his son a wife from thence. As Isaac was
forty years of age, it might have seemed more proper for him
to go himself: but Abraham had been called out from thence,
and would on no account either go back thither himself, or
suffer his son to go, lest he should appear weary of his pilgrim
age, or countenance his descendants in going back to the world
from whence they have been brought forth. On this account,
when his servant asked whether, in the event of the woman,
whom he should fix upon, being unwilling to accompany him,
he should take Isaac thither to see her, Abraham in the most
peremptory manner imaginable forbade any such step ; and
declared his confidence, that while he was thus jealous for the
honour of his God, God would overrule the mind of any person
who should be selected as a partner for his son b . But not
contented with charging him in this manner, he imposed an
oath upon him, and bound him by the most solemn obligations
to execute his commission with fidelity and care .
a It is not absolutely said that this was the servant ; but the con
fidence placed in him sixty years before, renders it most probable.
Gen. xv. 2. ^ ver. 6 8.
c The more customary mode of swearing was by lifting up the
hand to heaven (Gen.xiv. 22.) : but here it was by putting his hand
under Abraham s thigh ; which was afterwards required by Jacob for
the same purpose of his son Joseph. Gen. xlvii. 29.
200 GENESIS, XXIV. 24. [39.
How admirable a pattern is this for parents, in reference to
the forming of matrimonial connexions for their children! The
generality are influenced chiefly by the family and fortune of
those with whom they seek to be allied : and even professors
of godliness are too often swayed by considerations like these,
without adverting sufficiently to the interest of their immortal
souls. But surely the religious character of a person ought
to operate upon our minds beyond any other consideration
whatever. To what purpose has God told us, that the believer
can have no communion with an unbeliever, any more than
light with darkness, or Christ with Belial d ? To what purpose
has he enjoined us to marry " only in the Lord e " if we are
still at liberty to follow our carnal inclinations and our worldly
interests, without any regard to our eternal welfare ? Let the
example of Abraham and of Isaac have its due weight on all,
whether parents or children : and let a concern for God s
honour regulate our conduct, as well in choosing connexions
for ourselves, as in sanctioning the choice of others.]
The servant executed his commission with fidelity
and dispatch
[Never was there a brighter pattern of a servant than that
which this history sets before us. In every step that Abraham s
servant took, he shewed how worthy he was to be intrusted
with so important a mission. In his first setting-out he acted
with great prudence : for, if he had gone alone without any
evidences of his master s wealth, he could not expect that he
should obtain credit for his assertions. Therefore, without any
specific directions from his master, he took ten camels richly
laden, and, with them, a proper number of attendants; who,
while they evinced the opulence of his master, would be wit
nesses also of his own conduct. His dependence indeed was
upon God, and not on any devices of his own : nevertheless he
rightly judged that a dependence upon God was not to super
sede the exercise of wisdom and discretion.
Having reached the place of his destination, he earnestly
implored direction and blessing from God : and in order that
he might ascertain the will of God, he entreated that the
woman designed for him might of her own accord offer to water
all his camels. A better sign he could not well have asked :
because such an offer, freely made to a stranger, would indicate
a most amiable disposition : it would demonstrate at once the
humility, the industry, the affability, the extreme kindness of
the female ; and would be a pledge, that she who could be
so courteous and obliging to a stranger, would certainly con
duct herself well in the relation of a wife. Scarcely had he
d 2 Cor. vi. 14, 15. * 1 Cor. vii. 39.
39.1 MARRIAGE OF ISAAC. 201
presented his silent ejaculations to God, when Rebekah came,
according to the custom of those times, to draw water ; and,
on being requested to favour him with a draught of water, made
the very reply which he had just specified as the sign that was
to mark the divine appointment. And no sooner had she made
the offer, than she set herself (though it was no inconsiderable
labour) to perform it. Amazed at the merciful interposition
of his God, he stood wondering, and adoring God for the
mercy vouchsafed unto him : nor did he suffer any of the in
ferior servants to assist her ; that, by leaving her to complete
the work alone, he might see more clearly the hand of God
ordering and overruling the whole matter. "When she had
finished, he inquired her name and family : and finding that
they were his master s nearest relations, he made her a present
of some valuable ornaments ; and proposed, if her father could
accommodate him, to spend the night at his house. She went
home immediately to inform her friends, who came to the well,
and invited him to return with them. Having brought him
to their house, and shewn him the greatest hospitality, he
refused to partake of any refreshment till he had made known
to them the design of his coming. He then began to relate
the wish of Abraham his master, the oath that he had imposed
upon him, the prayer which he himself had silently offered to
God, and the miraculous answer he had received to it; in
forming them at the same time of the opulence of Abraham,
and that Isaac, on whose behalf he was come, was to be his
sole heir. Immediately they all agreed, that the matter pro
ceeded from the Lord ; and they testified their willingness to
accede to the proposal. They wished however for a few days
delay; but the servant, having succeeded in the object of his
mission, was impatient to be gone, and to deliver his master
from the suspense in which he must of necessity have been
kept. And Rebekah declaring her readiness to proceed with
him, he took her and her nurse (after having given presents
to all her relations, and thereby increased their esteem for his
master), and brought her in safety to Isaac ; who gladly re
ceived her as a present from the Lord, and was thenceforth
united to her with the most affectionate regard.
In all this transaction we cannot but admire, on the one
hand, the wisdom, the zeal, and the piety of the servant ; and,
on the other hand, the condescension and goodness of Jehovah.
And though we are not warranted by this history to expect
precisely the same interposition in our behalf, yet we are
warranted to confide in God, and to expect his direction and
blessing in all the things which we humbly commit to him.]
As a mere history, this is replete with instruction ;
but it is still more so, if considered in,
202 GENESIS, XXIV. 24. [39.
II. Its emblematic import-
Fearful as we would be, exceeding fearful, of im
posing any sense upon the Holy Scriptures, which God
himself has not plainly sanctioned,, we will not take
upon ourselves absolutely to affirm that the marriage
of Isaac was allegorical : but when we consider that
some of the most striking parts of Isaac s history
are explained by the inspired writers as emblematical
of some mystery ; that as the promised seed, born
in a preternatural way, he was certainly a type of
Christ ; and that, as being the heir in opposition to
Ishmael, he shadowed forth that spiritual seed who
should inherit the promises ; when we consider too
the marvellous circumstances attending his marriage ;
we cannot reasonably doubt, but that it was a figure
or emblem of some mysterious truth. If this ground
of interpretation be admitted, we do not then hesi
tate to say, what that point is which it was intended
to prefigure : it was certainly the marriage of God s
only dear Son to his bride, the church.
1. God, like Abraham, sends forth his servants to
obtain a bride for his Son
[The object nearest to the heart of our heavenly Father
is to bring souls into connexion with his dear Son. This con
nexion is often represented under the idea of a marriage. Not
to mention the innumerable places in the Old Testament where
this image is used, we would only observe, that Jesus Christ
is expressly called "the Bridegroom;" that his servants are
called " the friends of the bridegroom, who hear his voice, and
rejoice" in his prosperity f ; and that the church is called "the
Lamb s wife g ." Ministers are sent forth to prevail on persons
to unite themselves to him by faith, so as to become one flesh,
and one spirit 11 , with him. And when they are successful in
any instances, " they espouse their converts to one husband,
that they may present them as a chaste virgin to Christ 1 ." To
this office they are sworn in the most solemn manner: they
are warned, that they shall be called to an account for their
discharge of it ; that if any through their neglect remain unim
pressed with his overtures of mercy, their souls shall be required
f John iii. 29. e Rev. xxi. 9. h Ep h. v. 30. 1 Cor. vi. 15, 17.
1 2 Cor. xi. 2. Who that weighs these words, can doubt the
propriety of interpreting Isaac s marriage as emblematical of Christ s
union with the Church ?
39.] MARRIAGE OF ISAAC. 203
at the hands of him who neglected them. At the same time
they are informed, that if their want of success is not owing to
their own negligence, but to the obstinacy of the people to whom
they are sent, it shall not be imputed to them; but "they
shall receive arecompence according to their own labour k ," and
"be glorious in God s eyes though Israel be not gathered 1 ."]
2. His servants execute their commission in the
very way that Abraham s servant did
[They look unto God for his direction and blessing ; know
ing assuredly, that, though " Paul should plant and Apollos
water, God alone can give the increase." They endeavour to
render the leadings of his providence subservient to their great
end. They watch carefully for any signs which may appear of
God s intention to render their message effectual ; and they
are forward to set forth the unsearchable riches of Christ,
together with his suitableness and sufficiency for his church s
happiness. They declare that He is " appointed heir of all
things ; " and that out of His fulness all the wants of his people
shall be abundantly supplied. They exhibit in their own per
sons somewhat of that " salvation wherewith he will beautify
the meek ; " and to every soul that expresses a willingness to
be united to him, they are desirous to impart pledges and
earnests of his future love. And if in any instance God
blesses their endeavours, they labour to accelerate that perfect
union which is the consummation of all their wishes. To any
thing that would divert their attention or retard their progress,
they say, " Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered
my way m ."]
3. Their labours are crowned with similar success
[No faithful servant labours altogether in vain n . Some
doubtless are far more successful than others ; but all who en
deavour earnestly to " win souls to Christ," have the happiness
of seeing some who obey the call, and cheerfully " forsake all
to follow him." These are to them now their richest recom-
pence ; and in the last day will also be " their joy and crown
of rejoicing:" for "when the marriage of the Lamb is come,
and his wife hath made herself ready," then shall they also be
" called to the marriage supper of the Lamb," and be eter
nally blessed in his presence. " These are the true sayings
of God ."]
To make a suitable IMPROVEMENT of this history,
1. Let us have respect to God in all our temporal
concerns
k 1 Cor. iii. 8. Isai. xlix. 5. with ver. 41.
m ver. 56. n Jer. xxiii. 22. Rev. xix. 7 9.
204 GENESIS, XXIV. 24. [39.
[We have seen how simply and entirely God was regarded
by all the parties concerned in this affair ; by Abraham who
gave the commission, by Isaac who acquiesced in it, by the
servant who executed it, by Rebekah s friends who submitted
to the proposal as proceeding from God, and by Rebekah her
self, who willingly accompanied the servant to his master s
house. Happy would it be if all masters, children, servants,
families, were actuated by such a spirit ! We need not limit
our thoughts to the idea of marriage ; for we are told that
" in all our ways we should acknowledge God, and that he
will direct our paths." There is not a concern, whether per
sonal or domestic, which we ought not to commit to him. And
if all our "works were begun, continued, and ended in him," we
should find that God would " prosper the work of our hands
upon us : " " being in his way, he would most assuredly lead
us" to a happy and successful issue 1 .]
2. Let us execute with fidelity every trust reposed
in us
[It is the privilege both of masters and servants to know,
that " they have a Master in heaven;" who accepts at their
hands the most common offices of life, provided his authority
is acknowledged, his honour consulted, and his will obeyed, in
the execution of them. This is God s own direction to them:
" Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters accord
ing to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your
heart, as unto Christ ; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers ;
but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the
heart ; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to
men : knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the
same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
And, ye masters, do the same things unto them q ." Whatever
be our particular calling, it is that to which God himself has
called us, and which ought to be exercised with a view to him,
and as in his immediate sight. O that when we come into the
presence of our Lord in the last day, we may be able to give as
good an account of ourselves to him, as this servant did to his
master Abraham !]
3. Let us accept the offers which are sent to vis
in Jesus name
[The great concern typified in the history before us, is
that in which we are this moment engaged. We are the ser
vants of the most high God ; and you are the people to whom
we are sent. We are ambassadors from him; and we beseech
you, in Christ s stead, to be reconciled to him, and to accept
P ver. 27. <i Eph. vi. 59.
40.] JACOB PREFERRED BEFORE ESAU. 205
his overtures of love and mercy. We declare to you, that now
he will adorn you with a robe of righteousness and the graces
of his Spirit, which were but faintly shadowed forth by the
raiment and the jewels that were given to Rebekah r . You
shall be " all glorious within, and your raiment of wrought
gold 8 ." O let us not go away ashamed: let us not return and
say, that those whom we have solicited, " refuse to come with
us." This is the message which he has sent to every one of
you : " Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine
ear ; forget also thine own people and thy father s house ; so
shall the King have pleasure in thy beauty 1 ." May God of
his mercy incline you to accept his invitation, and make you
willing in the day of his power !]
r ver. 53. s Ps. xlv. 13. * Ps. xlv. 10, 11.
XL.
JACOB PREFERRED BEFORE ESAU.
Gren. xxv. 23. The elder shall serve the younger.
THE common gifts of Providence are bestowed in
such a regular and ordinary way, that the hand of God
is scarcely seen or acknowledged in them. They are
considered as resulting from a settled order of things,
and are placed to the account of an imaginary cause,
called Nature. But it pleases God sometimes to mark
his dispensations in so plain a manner, that his agency
cannot be overlooked. He withheld from Abraham
the promised seed, till there was not the most remote
hope of a child being born to him of his wife, Sarah,
according to the common course of nature ; and thus
evinced, beyond a possibility of doubt, that the child
was a special and miraculous gift from him. In the
same manner he kept Isaac also twenty years child
less ; and then at last condescended to his repeated
supplications, and granted him the desire of his heart.
On that occasion God further manifested, that, as
" children are a fruit and heritage that cometh of
the Lord," so all that relates to them, even to the
remotest period of time, is ordered by him. Rebekah,
who had been twenty years barren, at last found in
herself symptoms of a very extraordinary kind ; and
206 GENESIS, XXV. 23. [49.
being unable to account for them, consulted the
Lord. God answered her, that twins were in her ;
womb; that they should be fathers of two distinct
nations ; that their characters, as also that of their j
descendants, should be extremely different ; that they
should contend with each other for the superiority ;
that the younger should be victorious ; and that
" the elder should serve the younger." This was not
fulfilled in the children themselves ; for Esau was
stronger than Jacob ; being at the head of a warlike
band a while Jacob was only a poor shepherd, and
having many generations of great and powerful men,
while Jacob s posterity were oppressed with the sorest
bondage. But in the time of David the prophecy
began to be accomplished 13 (we may indeed consider
Jacob s obtaining of the birthright as a partial fulfil
ment of it), and in after ages it was fulfilled in its
utmost extent ; Edom being made a desolation, while
the kingdom of Judah was yet strong and flourishing .
We must not however imagine that this is all that is
contained in the words of our text. This prophecy
is referred to by the inspired writers both of the Old
and New Testament ; and that too in such a way, as
to shew that it is of singular importance. The
prophet Malachi adduces it in proof of God s par
tiality towards the Jewish nation d : and St. Paul
quotes it, to confirm the idea he has suggested of
God s determination to reject the Jews, who were the
elder part of his family ; and to receive the Gentiles,
who were the younger 6 . The whole train of the
Apostle s argumentation in that chapter shews, that
he had even an ulterior view, which was, to vindicate
the sovereignty of God in the disposal of his favours,
whether temporal or spiritual ; and to make every one
sensible that he was altogether indebted to the free
grace of God for his hopes of mercy and salvation.
To confirm the words in this view, we may observe,
I. That God has a right to dispense his blessings
according to his own sovereign will
a Gen.xxxvi. 1} 2 Sam. viii. 14. c Qbad. 6 10, 17, 18;
Ezek. xxv. 1214. d Mai. i. 2, 3. R om> j x . 10 13.
40.1 JACOB PREFERRED BEFORE ESAU. 207
God, as the Creator of all things, has an unlimited
right over all-
fit was of his own good pleasure that he created the world
at all : there was nothing that had any claim upon him to call
it into existence. When he had formed the chaos, no part of
matter had any claim above the rest : that which was left inert
had no reason to complain that it was not endued with vegeta
tive power; nor vegetables, that they were not enriched with
animal life ; nor animals, that they were not possessed of
reason ; nor our first parents, that they were created inferior
to angels. Nothing had any claim upon its Maker. He had
the same right over all as " the potter has over the clay, to
make one vessel to honour, and another to dishonour ;" nor
could any presume to say, "Why hast thou made me thus f ?"
If this then be true, what claim can man have upon his Maker
now ? If he had none when innocent, has he acquired any by
his fall? Does a loyal subject acquire new rights by rising in
rebellion against his prince ?]
As the Lord and Governor of all things too, he
may dispose of them as he sees fit
[An earthly monarch does not consider himself account
able to his subjects for disposing of that which is properly, and
in all respects, his own. He obliges those who are the objects
of his favour, but does no injury to those who participate his
bounty only in a less degree. Indeed every individual thinks
himself at liberty to bestow or withhold his gifts, according as
his inclination or judgment may dictate. And shall we deny
to God what we concede to men? Shall we bind Him by a
law from which we ourselves are free ? If any one were to
blame us for using our own discretion in conferring obligations,
we should ask without hesitation, "Is it not lawful for me to
do what I will with mine own g ?" Shall we then presume to
negative that question when put to us by the Governor of the
Universe ?
Let this idea be well fixed in our minds, that God has a
right to bestow his blessing on whom he will ; and it will root
out that arrogance which is the characteristic of fallen man :
it will bring us to the footstool of the Deity, and constrain us
to say, " Let him do what seemeth him good : " "I was dumb,
because thou didst it."]
We cannot doubt but that God possesses this right,
since it is clear,
II. That he actually exercises it
f Rom. ix. 20, 21. e Matt. xx. 15.
208 GENESIS, XXV. 23. [40.
We may daily see this,
1 . In the dealings of his providence
[He consulted not any of his creatures how long a space of
time he should occupy in completing the work of creation ;
or how many orders of creatures he should form. He could as
easily have perfected the whole at once, as in six days ; or have
endued every thing with a rational or angelic nature, as he
could diversify their endowments in the marvellous way that
he has done. But he acted in all things " according to the
counsel of his own will." When it pleased him to destroy the
works of his hands on account of their multiplied iniquities,
why did he preserve a wicked Ham, when millions no worse
than he were overwhelmed in the mighty waters? But to
speak of things that have passed since the deluge Who has
ordered the rise and fall of nations ? Who has raised or de
pressed the families of men ? Who has given to individuals
their measure of bodily or intellectual strength, or ordered the
number of their days on earth ? Is not this the Lord ? Who
is it that gives us fruitful seasons, or causes drought and
pestilence and famine to oppress the world? " Is there either
good or evil in the city, and the Lord hath not done it ?"
If it be thought that these different events are regulated
according to the moral state of mankind, and that therefore
they exemplify rather the equity than the sovereignty of God ;
we would ask, What was the foundation of the distinction put
between Esau and Jacob, together with their respective fami
lies ? St. Paul particularly notices, that, when the prophecy
in our text was delivered, " they were not yet born, nor had
done any species of good or evil ; " and that the decree was
delivered at that time, in order " that the purpose of God
according to election might stand, not of works, but of him
that callethV It is clear therefore and indisputable that
" he doeth according to his will in the armies of heaven, and
among the inhabitants of the earth, and that none can stay his
hand, or say unto him, What doest thou i ? "]
2. In the dispensations of his grace
[In the call of Abraham, and the separation of his seed for
a peculiar people ; in distinguishing between his immediate
sons, Ishmael and Isaac, as also between Isaac s sons, Esau and
Jacob ; in giving to their posterity the revelation of his will,
while the whole world were left to walk in their own ways; in
making yet further distinctions at this present moment, sending
the light of his Gospel to a few of the Gentile nations, while
all the rest are permitted to sit in darkness and the shadow of
h Rom. ix. 11. i Dan. iv. 35.
40.] JACOB PREFERRED BEFORE ESAU. 209
death ; in all this, I say, has not God clearly shewn, that " he
will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and that whom
he will he hardeneth, or giveth over to the blindness and obdu
racy of their own hearts k ?" But, as among Abraham s seed
" all were not Israel who were of Israel," so it is now in the
Christian world : there is a great and visible distinction made
between the different hearers of the Gospel : some have " their
hearts opened," like Lydia s of old, to receive and embrace the
truth, or, like Saul, are arrested in their mad career of sin,
and made distinguished monuments of grace ; whilst thousands
around them find " the \vord, not a savour of life unto life,
but of death unto death." " Who is it that makes these per
sons to differ 1 ?" To whom is it owing that " the deaf hear,
the blind see, the lepers are cleansed, the dead are raised ? "
We answer, It is all of God : " It is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy m . "
The favoured objects * are born, not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God". "]
The existence of this right being thus incontro-
vertibly manifest, we observe,
III. That all in whose favour it is exercised, are
bound to acknowledge it with most ardent
gratitude-
Impious indeed would it be to arrogate the glory
to ourselves
[We have not of ourselves a sufficiency for the smallest
thing, even for the forming of a good thought : what folly then
is it to suppose that we can create ourselves anew, and reno
vate our souls after the divine image ! This is the work of God
alone. If then we have any reason to hope that God has
wrought this great work within us, what base ingratitude is it
to rob him of his glory ! Is it for this end that he has shewn to
us such unmerited regard ? or is it such an use that we ought
to make of his distinguishing mercy? Surely, what he has
done, he has done " for the praise of the glory of his own
grace :" and if we have been made partakers of his grace,
we should strive to the uttermost to answer the ends for which
he has bestowed it.]
Those who have been the most highly favoured by
God, have always been most forward to acknowledge
their obligations to him
k Rom. ix. 18. i 1 Cor. iv. 7. m Rom. ix. 16.
n John i. 13. Eph. i. 6.
VOL. 1. P
210 GENESIS, XXV. 23. [40.
[Ask of St. Paul, To whom he owed his eminent attain
ments? and he will answer, "By the. grace of God I am what
I am p ." Ask him, To whom all Christians are indebted for
every grace they possess? he will answer, " He that hath wrought
us for the self-same thing is God q ." Ascend to the highest
heavens, and inquire of the saints in glory : you will find them
all casting their crowns at their Redeemer s feet, and singing,
" Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his
own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and
our Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever."
To imitate them is both our duty and happiness. Our daily
song therefore should be, " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
but unto Thy name be the praise:" "Salvation to our God
which sittetli upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever."]
To guard this deep subject against the abuses to
which it is liable, and to render it conducive to its
proper and legitimate ends, we shall add a word,
1. Of caution
[If, as the Apostle says, " there is a remnant according to
the election of grace 1 "," we are ready to suppose that those who
are not of that number are not accountable for their sins, and
that their final ruin is to be imputed rather to God s decrees
than to their own fault. But this is a perversion of the doc
trine. It is a consequence which our proud reason, is prone to
draw from the decrees of God : but it is a consequence which
the inspired volume totally disavows. There is not in the
whole sacred writings one single word that fairly admits of
such a construction. The glory of man s salvation is invariably
ascribed to the free, the sovereign, the efficacious grace of God :
but the condemnation of men is invariably charged upon their
own wilful sins and obstinate impenitence. If, because we
know not how to reconcile these things, men will controvert
and deny them, we shall content ourselves with the answer
which St. Paul himself made to all such cavillers and objectors ;
" Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God s ?"
And if neither the truth nor the authority of God will awe
them into submission, we can only say with the fore-mentioned
apostle, " If any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant 1 ." As
for those, if such are to be found, who acknowledge the sove
reignty of God, and take occasion from it to live in sin, we
would warn them with all possible earnestness to cease from
their fatal delusions. In comparison of such characters, the
people who deny the sovereignty of God are innocent. We
P 1 Cor. xv. 10. ( i 2 Cor. v. 5. r Rom. xi. 5.
s Rom. ix. If), 20. t i Cor. xiv. 38.
41.] THE CHRISTIAN S BIRTHRIGHT. 211
believe there are many persons in other respects excellent,
who, from not being able to separate the idea of absolute
reprobation from the doctrine of unconditional election, are
led to reject both together: but what excellence can he have,
who " turns the very grace of God into licentiousness," and
" continues in sin that grace may abound? A man that can
justify such a procedure, is beyond the reach of argument : we
must leave him, as St. Paul does, with that awful warning,
" His damnation is just 11 ."]
2. Of encouragement
[To one who feels his utter unworthiness of mercy, we
know not any richer source of encouragement than the sove
reignty of God. For, if he may dispense his blessings to
whomsoever he will, then the very chief of sinners has no
need to despair : the person who is most remote from having
in himself any ground to expect the birthright, may be made
a monument of God s grace ; while the person who by nature
seems to have had fairer prospects, may be left, like the rich
youth, to perish in his iniquities. The obstacles which appear
to stand in the way of his acceptance may even be turned into
grounds of hope ; because the more unworthy he feels himself
to be, the more he may hope that God will glorify the riches
of his grace in shewing mercy towards him. We do not mean
that any person should rush into wickedness in order to in
crease his prospects of salvation ; for, abstractedly considered,
the more sinful any man is, the greater prospect there is of his
perishing for ever : we only mean to say, that, in the view of
God s sovereignty, that which would otherwise have been a
ground of despondency, may be turned into a ground of hope.
Let the subject then be thus improved: and while some
dispute against it, and others abuse it, let us take occasion
from it to make our supplication to God, saying with David,
" Be merciful unto my sin, for it is great !"]
u Rom. in. 8.
XLI.
THE BIRTHRIGHT TYPICAL OF THE CHRISTIAN S PORTION.
Gen. xxv. 32. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to
die : and what profit shall this birthright do to me ?
IT may be considered as a general rule, that no
man abstains from any thing which he has purposed
to do, for want of some excuse of expedience or
212 GENESIS, XXV. 32. [41.
necessity to justify it. A melancholy instance of
infatuation we have in the history before us ; an in
stance singular indeed as to the immediate act, but
common, and almost universal,, as to the spirit mani
fested in it. Esau, having come home from hunting
unusually oppressed with fatigue and hunger, set his
heart upon his brother s pottage ; and not only agreed
to sell his birthright for it, but confirmed with an
oath the alienation of that inheritance, to which, by
primogeniture, he was entitled. To justify his con
duct he offered this vain and false apology, " Behold,
I am at the point to die ; and what profit shall this
birthright do to me ? " But the fact is, as the historian
informs us, he " despised his birthright."
Let us then consider,
I. Esau s contempt of his birthright-
There were many important privileges attached to
primogeniture among the Jews
[The first-born was by God s appointment to have domi
nion over his brethren a , and to enjoy a double portion of his
father s inheritance b . But besides these civil, there were
also some sacred privileges, which he possessed. The Messiah,
of whom he was to be a type, and who, in reference to the
ordinances of birthright, is called " the first-born among many
brethren c ," was to spring from his loins d . Yea, in some sense,
the firstborn had a better prospect even of heaven itself, than
the rest of his brethren ; because the expectation of the Mes
siah, who was to descend from him, would naturally cause him
to look forward to that great event, and to inquire into the
office and character which the promised seed should sustain.]
But these privileges Esau despised
[He accounted them of no more value than a mess of pot
tage : nor did he speedily repent of his folly and wickedness.
If he had seen the evil of his conduct, he would surely have
endeavoured to get the agreement cancelled ; and if his bro
ther Jacob had refused to reverse it, he should have entreated
a Gen. xxvii. 29, 37. and xlix. 3.
b This was not optional with the parent in any case. Deut.xxi. 15, 17.
c Rom. viii. 29.
d In one instance this privilege was separated from the foregoing
one ; and both were alienated from the first-born ; the former being-
given to Joseph, and the latter to Judah, as a punishment of Reuben s
iniquity in lying with his father s concubine. 1 Chron. v. 1,2.
41.1 THE CHRISTIAN S BIRTHRIGHT. 213
the mediation of his father, that so he might be reinstated in
his natural rights. But we read not of any such endeavours :
on the contrary, we are told, " He did eat and drink, and rose
up, and w r ent his way ; " so little did he value, or rather, so
utterly did he " despise, his birthright." On this account is
he stigmatized by the Apostle, as a profane person 6 : had he
disregarded only temporal benefits, he had been guilty of folly ;
but his contempt of spiritual blessings argued profanenessJ]
Jacob s conduct indeed in this matter was exceed
ing base : but Esau s was inexpressibly vile. Yet will
he be found to have many followers, if we examine,
II. The analogy between his conduct and our own
The birthright was typical of the Christian s
portion
[The true Christian has not indeed any temporal advan
tages similar to those enjoyed by right of primogeniture : but
he is made an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ. He
has a distinguished interest in the Saviour, and an indisputable
title to the inheritance of heaven. And hence they who have
attained the full possession of their inheritance are called,
" The general assembly and Church of the first-born f ."]
But the generality are like Esau, having,
1 . The same indifference about spiritual blessings
[Some excuse may be offered for Esau, because he knew
not what a Saviour, or what an inheritance, he despised. But
we have had the Saviour fully revealed to us ; and know what
a glorious place the heavenly Canaan is. Yet too many of us
think as lightly of Christ and of heaven, as if neither he nor it
were worth our attention: yea, we are ready at any time to
barter them away for the most trifling gratification : and what
is this, but to imitate the profaneness of Esau ?]
2. The same insatiable thirst after earthly and
sensual indulgence
[Though Esau pretended that he was near to die, it was
only an excuse for his profane conduct ; for it cannot be con
ceived, but that, in the house of an opulent man like Isaac,
there either was, or might easily be procured, something to
satisfy the cravings of nature. But he was bent upon having
his brother s pottage, whatever it might cost &. And is it not
e Heb. xii. 16. f Heb. xii. 23.
g His extreme eagerness may be seen in his words, " Give me
that red, red." Being captivated with the colour, he determined to
get it, whatever it might be, and whatever it might cost : and from
thence the name Edom, which signifies red, was given him. ver. 30.
214 GENESIS, XXV. 32, [41.
so with those who yield to uncleanness, intemperance, or any
base passion? Do they not sacrifice their health, their repu
tation, yea, their very souls, for a momentary indulgence?
Do they not say, in fact, ( Give me the indulgence of my
lust ; I must and will have it, whatever be the consequence :
if I cannot have it without the loss of my birthright, be it so;
let my hope in Christ be destroyed; let my prospects of
heaven be for ever darkened; let my soul perish; welcome
hell; welcome damnation; only give me the indulgence which
my soul longs after. This sounds harsh in words ; but is it
not realized in the lives and actions of the generality ? Yes ;
as the wild ass, when seeking her mate, defies all endeavours
to catch and detain her, so these persist in spite of all the
means that may be used to stop their course ; no persuasions,
no promises, no threatenings, no consequences, temporal or
eternal, can divert them from their purpose 11 .]
3. The same want of remorse for having sold their
birthright for a thing of nought
[Never did Esau discover any remorse for w T hat he had
done: for though, when the birthright was actually given
to Jacob, he " cried with an exceeding bitter cry, Bless
me, even me also, O my father 1 ," yet he never humbled
himself for his iniquity, never prayed to God for mercy, nor
endured patiently the consequences of his profaneness : on
the contrary, he comforted himself with the thought, that
he would murder his brother, as soon as ever his father
should be dead k . And is it not thus also with the generality ?
They go on, none saying, What have I done ? Instead of con
fessing and bewailing their guilt and folly, they extenuate to
the utmost, or perhaps even presume to justify, their impieties.
Instead of crying day and night to God for mercy, they never
bow their knee before him, or do it only in a cold and formal
manner. And, instead of submitting to the rebukes of Pro
vidence, and kissing the rod, they are rather like a wild bull
in a net, determining to add sin to sin. Even Judas himself
had greater penitence than they. Alas ! alas ! what a resem
blance does almost every one around us bear to this worthless
wretch, this monster of profaneness !]
ADDRESS,
1. Those who are still despising their birthright
[Reflect a moment on your folly and your danger. Place
yourselves a moment on a death-bed, and say, I am at the
point to die ; and what profit do my past lusts and pleasures
now do me ? Will ye then justify yourselves as ye now do,
11 Jor. ii. 20, 24. 5 Gen. xxvii. 34. k Gen. xxvii. 41, 42.
42.] JACOB OBTAINING THE BLESSING. 215
or congratulate yourselves on having so often gratified your
vicious inclinations? Suppose on the other hand that ye were
dying, like Isaac, in the faith of Christ ; would ye then say,
What profit shall my birthright do to me? Would it then
appear a trifling matter to have an interest in the Saviour, and
a title to heaven? Consider further, how probable it is that
you may one day, like Esau, seek earnestly the inheritance you
have sold, and yet find no place of repentance in your Father s
bosom ! We mean not to say that any true penitent will be
rejected: but the Apostle intimates, what daily experience
proves true, that, as Esau could not obtain a revocation of his
father s word, though he sought it carefully with tears, so we
may cry with great bitterness and anguish on account of the
loss we have sustained, and yet never so repent as to regain
our forfeited inheritance 1 . At all events, if we obtain not a
title to heaven while we are here, we may come to the door
and knock, like the foolish virgins, and be dismissed with scorn
and contempt. Having " sown the wind, we shall reap the
whirlwind." Let us then " seek the Lord while he may be
found, and call upon him while he is near."]
2. Those who value their birthright above every
thing else
[Amidst the multitudes who pour contempt on spiritual
blessings, there are some who know their value and taste their
sweetness. But how often will temptations arise, that divert
our attention from these great concerns, and impel us, with
almost irresistible energy, to the commission of sin ! And how
may we do in one moment, what we shall have occasion to
bewail to all eternity ! Let us then watch and pray that we
enter not into temptation : and, however firm we may imagine
our title to heaven, let us beware lest our subtle adversary
deprive us of it : Let us fear, lest a promise being left us of
entering into the heavenly rest, any of us should seem to come
short of it m .]
1 Heb. xii. 17. m Hcb. iv. 1.
XLII.
JACOB OBTAINING THE BLESSING.
Gren. xxvii. 35. And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty,
and hath taken away thy blessing.
IT is not within the reach of our limited capacity
to conceive how many and how great events depend
upon causes apparently unimportant. We can have
216 GENESIS, XXVII. 35. [42.
no doubt but that parents so pious as Isaac and
Rebekah, and who excelled all the patriarchs in the
conjugal relation, endeavoured to discharge their
duty towards their children in a becoming manner.
But each of them felt a partiality for one of their
children in preference to the other. Esau, the first
born, who was " a cunning huntsman," and supplied
his father with venison, was Isaac s favourite : Jacob,
on the other hand, who was of a more domestic turn,
and had from the womb been designated by God him
self as the inheritor of the birthright, was the favourite
of Rebekah. To this circumstance, as it should seem,
we must refer all the most important events of Jacob s
life. Isaac, in his partiality for Esau, had either mis
construed the intimations which God had given him
respecting the birthright, or perhaps had forgotten
them. He therefore, when he apprehended himself
to be near death, told Esau to go out and bring him
some venison, and to receive from his hands the
blessings of primogeniture. Rebekah, alive to the
interests of Jacob, and afraid that her wishes, as well
as the counsels of the Deity, would be thwarted, sug
gested an expedient to Jacob, which, though adopted
with reluctance, was conducted with art, and crowned
with the desired success. She bade him fetch her
two kids, which she dressed so that they might appear
like venison. She moreover clothed him in an odo
riferous garment belonging to his elder brother, and
put the skins of the kids upon his hands and neck,
in order that he might as nearly as possible resemble
Esau. And then she sent him in to deceive his
aged father, and, by personating Esau, to obtain the
blessing. Jacob acted his part with more skill and
confidence than could have been expected from a
person unaccustomed to deceit : he hesitated not to
accumulate falsehoods in support of his claim, and
even to represent God himself as having interposed
to expedite his wishes. His greatest difficulty was
to imitate the voice of Esau. Isaac was blind ; and
therefore no discovery was dreaded from the differ
ence which there must have been in their appearance.
42.] JACOB OBTAINING THE BLESSING. 217
The taste of Isaac, as well as his sight, was easily
deceived. His ear however was more capable of
discernment, and excited strong suspicions, that the
person who addressed him was not the person he
professed to be, but Jacob in disguise. To satisfy
his mind, he determined to call in the evidence of
his other senses : and by these, as w r ell as by the
firmness of Jacob s asseverations, he was deceived.
He smelt the rich odours of Esau s garment (which
probably was preserved in the family as the distin
guishing property of the eldest son), and he felt, as
he thought, the roughness of Esau s hands and neck ;
and therefore imputing his suspicions to his own in
firmities, he proceeded without further hesitation to
bestow his benediction, together with all the privi
leges of the birthright, on this treacherous impostor.
When Esau, who had been thus defrauded, came to
him, the unhappy father found out the treachery that
had been practised upon him, and announced to his
bereaved son the melancholy tidings ; " Thy brother
came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing."
Much is to be learned from this extraordinary por
tion of Holy Writ. Let us consider,
I. The event referred to
The circumstances being so universally known,
we need not go particularly into them. The fraud
practised in order to obtain the birthright is that
which more immediately calls for our attention
1. In reference to the end, it was unnecessary-
fit is certainly true, that God had, while Esau and Jacob
were yet in the womb, promised the birthright to Jacob the
younger son: and no doubt, the birthright was a blessing
greatly to be desired. It was also true that Isaac, either
through forgetfulness or partiality for his favourite son, was
about to bestow the birthright upon Esau. But \vere there
no other means to be used in order to the accomplishment of
the divine counsels? Why could they not have reminded Isaac
of the promise which God had made, which, as it had been made
seventy-six years before, might now well be supposed to have
been forgotten by him, especially in his present infirm and
dying state? Isaac was a pious man, and would not have
dared knowingly and intentionally to thwart the revealed pur
poses of his God. But supposing, what indeed cannot be
218 GENESIS, XXVII. 35. [42.
reasonably supposed, that this holy man could have so far
declined from God as to set himself in deliberate and deter
mined opposition to his will, was not God able to overrule his
actions, and to constrain him, as he afterwards did Jacob him
self, to cross his hands, and, even against his will, to transfer
the blessing to him for whom it was designed a ? At all events,
if they could see no means of preventing the dreaded event,
was God unable to effect it ? and might not he be safely left
with the execution of his own purposes ? Was it necessary
for them to resort to fraud and lying, in order to prevent his
decrees from being superseded and defeated ?]
2. As means,, it was most unjustifiable and base
[We are perfectly astonished when we see a person of
Rebekah s exemplary character devising such a plot, and a
plain man like Jacob executing it in such a determined way; a
plot to deceive a holy and aged man, a husband, a parent, in
the very hour of his expected decease, and in reference to a
point of such importance. We know from the whole of their
lives that this was not their ordinary mode of acting: but from
the address they shewed throughout the whole of it, we should
have thought them the greatest proficients in the arts of dissi
mulation and fraud. Every difficulty seems to have been fore
seen and guarded against with consummate skill: and where
Rebekah s experience had not suggested a precaution, the sub
til ty of Jacob supplied a ready remedy. Lies, when once begun,
were multiplied without fear or shame: and because they were
not sufficient, God himself was called in as aiding the decep
tion. It was in vain to think that the circumstance of God s
having made known his will respecting the birthright could
sanction any such means as these ; or that they were at liberty
to do evil in order that good might come. The whole trans
action was vile and hateful in the extreme : and, as long as
fraud, and lying, and hypocrisy before God, and uncharitable-
ness and undutifulness to man, are odious, so long must this
action merit the execration and abhorrence of all mankind.]
But that we may have a more complete view of
this event, let us consider,
II. The reflections it suggests
Truly profitable is it to the contemplative mind.
Methinks, the most superficial observer cannot but
remark from hence,
1. How mysterious are the ways by which God
accomplishes his own purposes!
a Gen. xlviii. 820.
42.] JACOB OBTAINING THE BLESSING. 219
[He had determined that Jacob should have the blessing :
but who could have thought that he should ever confer it in
such a way ? Who would have thought that he should employ
all this treachery and deceit and falsehood in the bestowment
of it ? Let not any one however imagine, that the divine
conduct is vitiated by overruling thus the wickedness of men ;
or that Jacob s conduct was justified by accomplishing thus
the purposes of Heaven. Evil ceases not to be evil because God
overrules it for good : for, if it did, then would the crucifiers
and murderers of the Lord of glory be innocent, because by
their instrumentality God accomplished the redemption of the
world. But as it was " with wicked hands that the Jews
crucified and slew Jesus, notwithstanding he was delivered
into their hands by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God b ," so were Jacob and Rebekah most criminal, whilst
God, who wrought by them, was holy, and just, and good.
We must say respecting all the ways of men, of whatever kind
they be, they shall eventually " praise God ;" and, however
contrary to his commands, shall assuredly both accomplish his
will and glorify his name .]
2. How weak are the best of men when they come
into temptation !
[It is not to be supposed that either Jacob or Rebekah
would have acted thus on any common occasion : but the im
portance of the occasion seemed to them to justify the expe
dients they used. Thus are even good men sometimes betrayed
into the commission of evil. They are not aware how much they
may be biassed by interest or passion. They have an object to
attain: that object is in itself desirable and good : how to attain
it in a direct way, they know not. Therefore they incline to an
indirect way, conceiving that the end will justify the means.
It was thus that Peter brought upon him the rebuke of Paul.
He doubtless wished to soften the prejudices of his Jewish
brethren ; and he thought that a little sacrifice of liberty on
the part of the Gentiles might well be made for so good an
end. Hence he required the Gentiles to make the sacrifice :
and so plausible were his reasonings on the occasion, that even
Barnabas was drawn away by his dissimulation. What wonder
then if even good men be sometimes deceived by the specious
reasonings of others, or of their own minds, especially when
there is some great interest to serve, and when our tempters
are those on whose judgment we rely ? Let every man then
stand on his guard, and beware how he be drawn by any
authority whatever to the commission of evil. It will be of
little avail to say, My adviser was my father or my mother :
there is a plain path, from which no authority under heaven
b Acts ii. 23. c Ps. Ixxvi. 10.
GENESIS, XXVII. 35. [42.
should induce us to deviate. We must walk always as in the
immediate presence of God. We must not for a moment allow
ourselves in guile of any kind. Little do we know whither
we may be drawn, if once we depart from the path of truth
and honesty. Who would have thought that Jacob should
have been drawn from dissimulation and falsehood to the most
horrid blasphemy, even that of making God himself his con
federate in sin; and that Rebekah should go farther still,
even to the very braving of the curse and wrath of God d ?
Beware then of evil in its very first approaches. Pray to God
that you may not be led into temptation of any kind. " Cease
from man ;" and learn not to follow him, any further than he
follows Christ. If Satan can assume the form of " an angel
of light," and " his ministers appear as ministers of righteous
ness," so may our relations and friends appear. Not that this
consideration should induce us to disregard good advice ; but
it should lead us to try all counsels by the word and testimony
of God : for " if men speak not according to the written word,
there is no light in them."]
3. How vain is it to hope for happiness in the ways
of sin!
[Jacob was successful in his impious device. But what
fruit had lie of his success? " He sowed the wind, and he
reaped the whirlwind." Soon was he forced to flee from Ids
brother s wrath : and years of trouble followed his departure
from his father s house. Similar measure too was meted out
to him both by Laban and his own children. Say, Jacob,
what didst thou not suffer from the thought that thy beloved
Joseph was devoured of wild beasts : yet was that only a
deception of thine own sons for the purpose of gaining thy
favour to themselves. Nearly did they bring thy grey hairs
with sorrow to the grave ; and thou deservedst it all, for thy
treachery to thy father, and thy cruelty to thy brother. And
let all know, that the sin which they roll as a sweet morsel
under their tongue, shall prove gall in their stomach. Thou
didst succeed, Gehazi ; and thoughtest thyself exceeding rich
when thou hadst deposited thine ill-gotten wealth in the house.
But what was thy gain at last? or who envies thee thy newly-
acquired wealth ? So it will be with all who seek their happi
ness in the ways of sin. They behold, and covet, the bait :
but ere long they shall feel the hook. Jacob for the space of
twenty years was still under alarm and terror for the conse
quences of his deceit. In the first instance he was forced to
flee in haste, and to go, unprovided, and unprotected, a journey
of four hundred miles ; and, when he got there, was doomed to
d ver. 13.
42.] JACOB OBTAINING THE BLESSING. 221
experience evils to which in his father s house he was an utter
stranger. But where will your evils end, if you live and die
impenitent and unrenewed? Consider this, Brethren, ere it
be too late : and beg of God to keep your feet in the ways
of holiness and peace.]
ADDRESS,
1. Those who despise their Birthright
[Esau had despised his birthright, and sold it for a mess
of pottage: and now " he could not recover it, though he
sought it carefully with tears e ." Nor was it any mitigation of
his grief that he had been defrauded of it. So neither will it
be any comfort to the sinners of mankind that Satan has
beguiled them, or that they have been brought to ruin by the
fraudulence of others. Dear brethren, what will it avail you
to say, My mother, and my brother, were the instruments of my
destruction ? the loss is still your own, and must be your own
to all eternity. If you duly value your Birthright, God will
watch over you, and will preserve both it for you, and you for
it f But, if you make light of God s promised blessings,
whatever may be the immediate means of your privation, you
shall never enjoy them, nor ever so much as taste the banquet
which your Lord and Saviour has prepared g .]
2. Those who desire the Birthright
[Seek it in a humble simple dependence upon God. In
this both Jacob and Rebekah failed : they could not leave God*
to accomplish his promises in his own time and way. Hence
they resorted to such unworthy expedients. But as Abraham
felt assured, that, though the promised seed should be slain
and reduced to ashes, the promises should yet be verified in
him, so should we expect assuredly the fulfilment of God s
promises to us. Happy had it been for Jacob if he had thus
believed: he might have enjoyed the birthright without any
of the subsequent afflictions. Let us then guard against an
unbelieving and impatient spirit. Let us commit our every
concern to God, and expect, that in the mount of difficulty
his interposition shall be seen. This is our wisdom and our
happiness : for " His counsel shall stand, and he will do all his
will," even though earth and hell should be confederate against
him. Let us comply with that important precept, " He that
believeth shall not make haste 11 ," and we shall secure beyond
the possibility of failure the blessing we seek after: for "he
that believeth in God shall not be ashamed or confounded
world without end."]
e ver. 38. with Heb. xii. 16, 17. f 1 Pet. i. 4, 5.
e Luke xiv. 18, 24. h Isai. xxviii. 16.
822 GENESIS, XXVIII. 12, 13. [43.
XLIII.
JACOB S VISION A TYPE OF THE MINISTRATION OF ANGELS
TO CHRIST.
Gen. xxviii. 12, 13. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder
set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven : and
behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
And, behold, the Lord stood above it.
NOW that God has given to the world a complete
revelation of his mind and will, we are no longer to
expect any extraordinary and personal communica
tions with him : but, in former days, he frequently
instructed his more favoured servants by dreams
and visions. The particular vision recorded in the
passage before us is almost universally considered as
typical, though few, if any, have given any satisfac
tory account wherein the type consists. We shall
endeavour therefore to put the subject in a just point
of view ; and for that purpose shall consider,
I. The immediate end of the vision
When so remarkable a revelation is vouchsafed to
man, we may conclude that some end, worthy of the
divine interposition, is to be answered by it. The
intent of the vision here given to Jacob, seems to be,
1. To dispel his fears of merited evils
[Jacob could not but be conscious that he had acted a
base and treacherous part : and that therefore he had incurred
the divine displeasure, at the same time that he had excited a
murderous rancour in the breast of his injured brother. He
was now fleeing to avoid the eifects of his brother s wrath,
and had but too much reason to dread some righteous judg
ment from the hand of God. But God, who is altogether
sovereign in the distribution of his favours, and frequently
bestows them at seasons, when, according to our conceptions,
they could be the least expected, appeared to him, with ex
pressions of love and mercy. He assured the unhappy fugi
tive, that he was reconciled towards him, and would give his
angels charge over him to keep him in all his way, to protect
him from all danger, and to supply his every want a . Thus
were all his apprehensions at once removed, and his mind
restored to perfect peace.]
a ver. 15.
43.] JACOB S VISION.
2. To confirm his hope of promised blessings
[He had received a promise of the birthright, while yet
he lay in his mother s womb; and doubtless he had expected
its accomplishment. But when he saw his father dying, and
knew that the rights of primogeniture were about to be con
firmed to his elder brother, his faith failed him ; and, instead
of waiting like David for the throne of Saul, he yielded to the
solicitations of his mother, and sought to obtain by craft, what,
if he had waited God s time, he would have received in a fair
and honourable way. And now he had good reason to doubt,
whether he had not forfeited his interest in God s promise,
and entailed a curse upon himself instead of a blessing. But
God, on this occasion, renewed his promise to him, almost in
the very terms, in which, but a few hours before, it had been
declared by his father b ; and thus assured to him, not only a
numerous seed, and the inheritance of Canaan, but (which
was infinitely the dearest right of primogeniture) the descent
of Christ from his loins. From henceforth therefore we behold
him walking steadfastly in the faith of Abraham, looking for
ward with joy to the day of Christ, and maintaining a conduct
suitable to his profession.]
While the vision was replete with personal benefit to
Jacob, it conveyed instruction also to the Church, by,
II. Its typical reference-
Instead of supposing, with all writers upon this sub
ject, that the ladder was a type of Christ in his divine
and human nature mediating between heaven and
earth (which is fanciful, and without any warrant from
Scripture), we rather think that the vision itself was
the type (if it was indeed a type), and that it prefigured,
1. The testimony which angels were to give to
Christ
[Our Lord himself has cast the true light on this passage.
In his conversation with Nathanael, he tells the young con
vert, that he should one day see that realized in him, which
had been sliadoived forth in Jacob s vision c . Accordingly we
find that as, from the first conception of Christ in the womb
to that very hour, the angels had deeply interested themselves
in every thing that related to him, so they continued on all
occasions to wait upon him, to soothe his sorrows, to animate
his courage, to fulfil his will, and to bear testimony on his
behalf d . More than twelve legions of them would have come
b Compare ver. 13, 14. with ver. 3, 4. c John i. 51.
d Matt. iv. 11. Luke xxii. 43. and xxiv. 4, 5, 6, 7, 23.
224* GENESIS, XXVIII. 12, 13. [43.
to his succour if he had desired their aid 6 . Here then is a
correspondence between the type and antitype : Jesus was a
man of sorrows, and cast out by his brethren, who said, " This
is the heir, come let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be
ours f ." But God would not leave his beloved Son without
witness, or without support ; and therefore opened a commu
nication between heaven and earth, that the angels might
have continual access to him, whilst " he himself stood, as it
were, at the top of the ladder" to direct their operations.]
2. The confirmation which his people s faith was
to receive from that testimony
[The circumstances of Nathanael and his other disciples,
to whom this ocular demonstration was to be given, were not
unlike to those of Jacob, to whom the vision was vouchsafed.
They had believed in Jesus ; but their faith was to be sorely
tried, so that they should be reduced almost to despair. There
was however a seasonable support to be afforded them by the
intervention and agency of angels. It was the repeated testi
mony of angels that first inspired them with hope g , and that,
afterwards, at the time of Christ s ascension into heaven, filled
them all with a pleasing expectation, that they should one day
see him come again in power and great glory h . In conse
quence of their declarations, no less than of the declarations
of Christ himself, " they returned to Jerusalem with great
joy," and waited for the promised effusion of the Holy Ghost,
" knowing in whom they had believed, and assured, that
he would keep that which they had committed to him."
Thus in this respect also did the type receive a suitable
accomplishment.]
For our further IMPROVEMENT of this history, we may
observe,
1. There is no person so guilty,, but God is willing
and desirous to shew mercy to him
[We cannot but admire the extent and freeness of that
mercy with which God revealed himself to this guilty fugitive.
We have a similar instance in the mercy shewn to Saul, at
the very instant he was " breathing out threatenings and
slaughter against the disciples of Christ 1 ." And, has not the
Apostle told us, that he was intended of God to be in this
respect a monument of God s long-suffering, and a pattern to
those who should hereafter believe on him k ?" Let none then
despair; but, whatever evils they have brought upon them
selves by their iniquities, and \vhatever reason they may have
e Matt. xxvi. 53. f Luke xx. 14. g John xx. 12.
h Acts i. 11. * Acts ix. 16. k 1 Tim. i. 16.
44.1 HOW GOD DISPENSES HIS FAVOURS. 225
to dread the wrath, either of God or man, let them call to
mind the example before us ; and turn unto him, who has
promised " that he will in no wise cast them out."]
2. There is no distress so great, but God is able
and willing to deliver us from it
[God has thousands of angels at his command, and has
appointed them to " minister unto those who shall be heirs of
salvation 1 ." These he orders to " encamp round about his
people, and deliver them m ." Let us then suppose ourselves
as destitute as Jacob himself, having only the earth for our
bed, a stone for our pillow, and no other canopy than the
heavens ; still, a vision of God, with the ministry of his angels,
shall render our situation both comfortable and happy ; yea,
shall make it appear to us as " the very house of God, the
gate of heaven n ." And such a confirmation will these " visions
of the Almighty" give to our faith and hope, that we shall be
fitted for all future trials, and be enabled to testify on God s
behalf, that " he will never leave his people, till he has ful
filled to them his promises in their utmost extent ."]
1 Heb. i. 14. m Ps. xxxiv. 7. n ver. 17. ver. 15.
XLIV.
THE MANNER IN WHICH GOD DISPENSES HIS FAVOURS.
Gen. xxviii. 15. Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee
in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again
into this land: for I tvill not leave thee, until I have done
that which I have spoken to thee of.
THE study of profane history is exceeding pro
fitable, inasmuch as it brings us into an acquaintance
with human nature in all its diversified forms, and
thereby qualifies us to discharge all our own duties
with more wisdom and propriety. But sacred history,
besides that it sets before us incomparably brighter
examples of virtue, has this peculiar advantage, that it
brings God himself to our view, and exhibits him to us
in all the dispensations of his providence and grace.
The account which is here given us of his intercourse
with Jacob, will serve to shew us, in a very striking
point of view, in what manner he dispenses his favours.
I. He bestows them sovereignly
VOL. I. Q
226 GENESIS, XXVITI. 15. [44.
[Jacob had grievously sinned both against God and man,
in personating his brother, in imposing on his father, in blas
phemously ascribing to God what was the fruit of his own
device, and in fraudulently obtaining his brother s birthright.
Having incensed his injured brother, he was now fleeing, to
avoid the effects of his indignation. And in what manner
should we suppose that God would meet him, if indeed he
should deign to notice such a miscreant ? Would he not say
to him, as he afterwards did to the fugitive prophet, " What
dost thou here, Elijah?" Or rather, instead of noticing him at
all, may we not suppose that he would send a lion to destroy
him a ? But behold, for the displaying of the riches of his
own grace, he revealed himself to him in a most instructive
vision ; he confirmed to him all the promises that had been
made to Abraham and to Isaac ; and even extended beyond
all former bounds the manifestations of his favour.
A similar instance we have in the Apostle Paul ; whom, at
the very instant that he was labouring to extirpate the fol
lowers of Christ, God was pleased to stop, not, as might have
been expected, with some signal judgment, but with singular
expressions of his regard, conferring on him the highest
honours, and communicating to him the richest blessings.
And may not we also admire the sovereignty of God in the
exercise of his mercy towards ourselves ? Wherefore is it that
we are favoured with the light of his Gospel, when so many
myriads of our fellow-sinners are left in darkness and the
shadow of death ? If we have experienced in our souls the
efficacy of divine grace, may we not look back with wonder
to the period of our conversion, when we were either drinking
iniquity with greediness, or proudly establishing our own
righteousness in opposition to the righteousness of Christ?
Let us deliberately consider our state when God first caused
a ray of light to shine into our minds, and implanted his grace
in our hearts, and we shall esteem ourselves no less indebted
to the electing love of God, than Jacob, or Saul, or any other
whom he has ever chosen b .]
II. He times them seasonably
[The fugitive patriarch w T as now in a very desolate and
forlorn condition, wearied in body c , and distressed in mind.
Probably his conscience now smote him, and he was saying
with himself, as Joseph s brethren afterwards did, " I am verily
guilty concerning my brother d ." How welcome then must
the tokens of God s regard be to him at that season ! What
a 1 Kings xiii. 24. b 2 Tim. i. 9.
c From Beersheba to Beth-el was about forty miles.
d Gen. xlii. 21.
44.1 HOW GOD DISPENSES HIS FAVOURS.
a support under his present trials ! what an antidote against
any future calamities !
Thus it is that God interposes on the behalf of his people,
and " repents himself for them, when their strength is gone,
and there is none shut up or left 6 ." When the contrite soul
is bowed down under a sense of guilt, and ready to say, There
is no hope ; then does God speak peace unto it, saying, " Be
of good cheer, I am thy salvation." Just as, in Hagar s ex
tremity, God sent his angel to point out to her a spring,
whereby the life of her child was unexpectedly preserved, so
in ten thousand instances he appears for us, when we are ready
to despair of help : and though his interpositions on our behalf
are less visible than these, yet every one of us has reason to
acknowledge the truth of that proverb, " In the mount of the
Lord it shall be seen f ." Let us but review our lives, and call
to mind the aids of his Spirit under temptations, trials, diffi
culties ; let us see how marvellously we have been upheld when
conflicting with sin and Satan, and we shall confess indeed,
that " he is a present, a very present, help in trouble."]
III. He imparts them suitably-
fit is probable that Jacob s reply to the advice of his
mother was now, in his apprehension, about to be verified ;
and that he expected a curse rather than a blessing. His evil
conscience now might well suggest to him such thoughts as
these : God has forsaken me, and some great evil will come
upon me. I can never hope to return again to my father s
house in peace, or to enjoy the blessing which I have so
treacherously gained. To remove these apprehensions, God
vouchsafed to him exactly such tokens of his regard, as were
best calculated to allay his fears. In the vision, God shewed
to him both his providential care, and his redeeming love : for
doubtless, while he discovered to him the ministry of angels
who were commissioned to protect him, he also shewed him
that promised Seed, who was in due time to spring from him,
and whom at that very instant he typically represented g . In
the promise, he assured him, that his presence should follow
him ; that his power should preserve him ; that he would bring
him back again to that very land ; and that not one of all the
promises that had been ever made to him, should fail of
accomplishment.
In this respect also we may trace the tender mercies of our
God towards all his people. His manifestations of himself to
them, and his application of promises to their souls, are won
derfully suited to their several necessities. We cannot indeed
e Deut. xxxii. 36. f Gen, xxii. 14.
s This is more fully opened in the preceding Discourse.
228 GENESIS, XXVIII. 15. [44.
justify those, who open the sacred records, and expect that
the portion of Scripture, on which they cast their eye, shall be
a kind of literal direction to them ; (a most unwarranted and
delusive method of ascertaining the mind of God !) but this
we must affirm, that, whatever we want, whether wisdom, or
strength, or grace of any kind, it shall be given us, if we ask
in faith. And the experience of all the saints attests the
truth of that promise, " Ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you."]
IV. He continues them faithfully
[God had given promises, not to Abraham only and to
Isaac, but to Jacob also, while he was yet in his mother s
womb. But instead of fulfilling them to him after this flagrant
instance of misconduct, he might well have said to him, as he
did to his unbelieving posterity, " Thou shalt know my breach
of promise 11 :" " I said indeed, that thy house and the house
of thy father should walk before me for ever : but now it shall
be far from me : for them that honour me I will honour ; and
they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed 1 ." But he had
spoken, and would not go back : for his word s sake he would
not cast oft 1 his offending child, or even suffer one jot or tittle
of his promises to fail.
Thus to his descendants in future ages did God manifest his
fidelity ; insomuch that Joshua, after eighty years experience,
could appeal to the whole nation, saying, " Ye know in all
your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath
failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake
concerning you ; all are come to pass unto you, and not one
thing hath failed thereof k ."
To us also will he approve himself faithful. " He will not
cast off* his people, because it hath pleased him to make us
his people 1 ." He has said, I will never leave thee, I will
never, never forsake thee m . " He may indeed hide his face
from us for a moment ; but with everlasting kindness will he
have mercy on us : the mountains may depart, and the hills
be removed ; but the covenant of my peace," says he, " shall
not be removed : for like as I have sworn that the waters of
Noah shall no more cover the earth, so have I sworn that I
would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke theeV]
IMPROVEMENT
1. For caution
[We have seen that Jacob inherited the blessing which he
had gained by treachery ; and that, where sin had abounded,
h Numb. xiii. 34. i 1 Sam. ii. 30. k Josh, xxiii. 14.
1 1 Sam. xii. 22. Heb, xiii. 5. Isa. liv. 710.
45.1 JACOB S PILLAR AT BETH-EL. 229
grace did much more abound. But shall we do evil that good
may come ; or commit sin that grace may abound ? God
forbid. We must never expect the blessing of God but in
the way of duty.]
2. For encouragement
[If through temptation we have fallen into sin, let us not
flee from God, like Adam, but go to him in humble hope that
he will magnify his mercy towards the chief of sinners.]
XLV.
JACOB S PILLAR AT BETH-EL.
Gen. xxviii. 16 19. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep ; and
he said, Surely the Lord is in this place ; and I knew it not.
And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place!
this is none other but the house of God ; and this is the gate
of heaven. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and
took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up
for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he
called the name of that place Beth-el : but the name of that
city was called Luz at the first. *
ON whatever side we look, we see abundant evi
dence that " God s ways are not as our ways, nor
his thoughts as our thoughts." With us, there are
laws of equity prescribed for the regulation of our
conduct in the whole of our intercourse with men ;
and on our strict observance of them the welfare
of society depends. But God is not restrained by
any such rules in his government of the world : men
having no claims whatever upon him, he has a right
to dispose of them, and of all that pertains unto
them, according to his own sovereign will and plea
sure. This right too he exercises in a way, which,
though inexplicable to us, is manifest to all. In the
conversion of St. Paul we see this in as striking a
point of view as it can possibly be placed. St. Paul,
* Preached at the chapel erected and endowed by the Rev. Lewis
Way, in Stansted Park (Sussex), on the day previous to the conse
cration of it by the Right Rev. Lord Bishop of St. David s, and the
Hon. and Right Rev. Lord Bishop of Gloucester, on January 24th,
1819 : the day on which is annually commemorated the Conversion
of St. Paul.
230 GENESIS, XXVIII. 1619. [45.
even to the very moment of his conversion, was
breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the
disciples of our Lord, having voluntarily enlisted
himself in the service of the high-priest to execute
against them his cruel decrees. He was, as he him
self tells us, " a blasphemer, and injurious, and a
persecutor ;" nor had so much as one penitential
pang, till he was arrested by the grace of God, and
favoured with a sight of that very Jesus, whose in
terests he was labouring to destroy. Somewhat of
a similar display of God s grace may be seen in the
history before us. Jacob had been guilty of base
deceit in relation to his brother s birthright. He
had even represented God himself as confederate
with him in that wicked act, and as facilitating by an
extraordinary exercise of divine power the attain
ment of his object. By this treacherous conduct he
had greatly incensed his brother against him, and
rendered any longer continuance under his father s
roof unsafe. Rebekah, who had instigated him to
this wickedness, recommended him to flee : and, to
reconcile Isaac to his departure, proposed that he
should go to his uncle Laban, and take a wife from
amongst his own relatives, and not connect himself
with any of the daughters of Canaan, as his brother
Esau had done. This however was a mere pretext :
the true reason of his departure was, that he feared
the wrath of Esau, and fled to avoid the effects of
his merited indignation. Thus circumstanced, it
could not fail but that he must at this time be in a
state of much disquietude, not only as being driven
from his family at the very time that his pious and
aged father was supposed to be dying, but as having
brought this evil on himself by his own base and
treacherous conduct, and as having provoked God
to anger, as well as man, by his impiety. Wearied
with fatigue of body and anxiety of mind, he laid
himself down to rest under the open canopy of
heaven, with nothing but the bare ground for his
bed, and a stone for his pillow. If it be asked, why
he did not go into the adjacent city to seek a more
45.] JACOB S PILLAR AT BETH-EL. 231
comfortable lodging there ; I answer, that it was
altogether owing to the state of his mind : and his
conduct in this respect was perfectly natural ; the
pain of a guilty conscience uniformly indisposing
men, not only for society, but even for any corporeal
indulgence.
Who would have thought that under such circum
stances he should so speedily be honoured with one
of the most wonderful manifestations of God s love
that ever were vouchsafed to mortal man ? Yet
on this very night did God draw nigh to him as a
reconciled God, and pour into his bosom all the
consolations which his soul could desire.
Well might Jacob express surprise at this mar
vellous display of God s love and mercy : and I pray
God that somewhat of the same holy feelings may
be engendered in us, whilst we consider,
I. His unexpected discovery, and
II. The grateful acknowledgments which it drew from
him.
I. We notice his unexpected discovery-
There were two things with which Jacob was
favoured on this occasion ; a vision, and a voice.
In the vision, he saw a ladder reaching from earth to
heaven, and angels ascending and descending upon
it, whilst God himself stood above it to regulate
their motions. This imported, that, however desti
tute Jacob at this time was, there was a God, who
ordered every thing both in heaven and earth, and
who by means of ministering angels would effect
in behalf of his believing people whatsoever their
diversified necessities might require. By the voice,
he was informed, that all which had been promised
to Abraham and to Isaac, respecting the possession
of Canaan by their posterity, and the salvation of
the world by the promised Seed, should be fulfilled,
partially in his own person, and completely in his pos
terity. Thus did God exhibit himself to him on this
occasion as a God of providence and of grace, and,
under both characters, as his God for ever and ever.
232 GENESIS, XXVIII. 1619. [45.
Such a revelation, at such a time, and such a place,
a place where the grossest idolatry prevailed to the
utter exclusion of the only true God, astonished him
beyond measure, and constrained him to exclaim,
" Surely the Lord is in this place ; and I knew it
not." He now saw that God was not confined to
any place or country; and that wherever he should
reveal himself to man, there was " the house of God,
and there the gate of heaven," through which the
vilest sinner in the universe might gain access to him.
To prosecute this subject further in reference to
Jacob is unnecessary. It is of more importance to
consider its bearing on ourselves. Know ye then,
that, though the vision and the voice had a special
respect to Jacob, and the circumstances in which he
was more immediately interested, they are eminently
instructive to us also, and that, not merely as pro
phecies that have been fulfilled, but as illustrations
of the way in which God will yet magnify the riches
of his grace towards his believing people.
How wonderful on many occasions have been the
dispensations of his providence ! Circumstances as
much unlocked for as Jacob s possession of the land
of Canaan, have not unfrequently occurred ; and,
though perhaps small in themselves, have led to
results, which have been of the utmost importance
through our whole lives. Had we been more ob
servant of the leadings of providence, and marked
with more precision the time and the manner in
which the different events of our lives have occurred,
we should be no less struck with wonder and amaze
ment than Jacob himself. And how extraordinary
have been the communications of his grace ! Perhaps
when we have been surrounded on every side by men
immersed in the cares and vanities of this world,
ourselves also destitute of all holy principles, and
under the guilt of all our past sins, we have been
brought to hear the word of God, and to feel its
power, yea and to taste its sweetness also, through
the manifestations of the Saviour s love to our souls.
Possibly, even the enormity of some particular sin
45.] JACOB S PILLAR AT BETH-EL. 233
has, as in the case of Onesimus, been the very means
which God has made use of for bringing us to re
pentance, and for converting our souls to him. It
may be that, like Zaccheus, we have gone to some
place, where we contemplated nothing but the grati
fication of our curiosity ; and have been penetrated
beyond all expectation by a voice from heaven, saying,
" Come down, Zaccheus ; for this day is salvation
come to thy soul." Perhaps some heavy affliction
has been made the means of awakening us to a sense
of our lost estate ; and through a manifestation of
Christ to our souls we have found a heaven, where
we anticipated nothing but accumulated and aug
mented sorrow. Yes verily, there are witnesses with
out number, at this present day, that God still acts
in a sovereign way in dispensing blessings to mankind ;
and that those words are yet verified as much as ever,
" I am found of them that sought me not; I am made
manifest to them that asked not after me a !"
And now let me ask, Whether the effect of such
manifestations be not the same as ever ? Have we
not on such occasions been ready to exclaim, " This
is the house of God! this is the gate of heaven?"
Yes : it is not in the power of outward circumstances,
however calamitous, to counterbalance such joys as
these. Even the terrors of a guilty conscience are
dissipated in a moment ; and peace flows in upon the
soul like a river.
The practical effects upon the life which will result
from this experience may be seen in,
II. The grateful acknowledgments which it drew
from Jacob.
" He rose up early in the morning, and took the
stone which he had put for his pillows, and set it up
for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And
he called the name of that place Beth-el ; but the
name of the city was called Luz at the first." He
determined to erect a memorial of the stupendous
mercy that had been vouchsafed to him, and to serve
a Rom. x. 20.
234 GENESIS, XXVIII. 1619. [45.
his God in that very place which had been so com
mended to him by the providence and grace of God.
Accordingly he took the stone on which he had re
clined his head, and erected it for a pillar, and poured
oil upon it, in order to consecrate it to the special
service of his God. We have no account of any ex
press command from God that oil should be applied
to this purpose by him : but in after-ages it was parti
cularly enjoined to Moses to be used in consecrating
the tabernacle, together with all the holy vessels and
instruments that were employed in God s service b ;
as also to be used in all the peace-offerings that were
presented to the Lord : " This is the law of the sacri
fice of peace-offerings, which he shall offer unto the
Lord. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall
offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened
cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed
with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried ."
Thus not only under the law, but long before the law,
we behold the solemn rite of consecration performed
by one of God s most highly-favoured servants ; and
a place that was common before, rendered holy to
the Lord by the administration of this ordinance.
And how acceptable to God this service was, may
be judged from hence, that, twenty years afterwards,
God again appeared to Jacob, and reminded him of
this very circumstance, saying, " I am the God of
Beth-el, where thou- anoint edst the pillar, and where
thou vowedst a vow unto ine d ." " Arise, and go up
to Beth-el, and dwell there ; and make there an altar
unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest
from the face of Esau thy brother 6 ." And in obedience
to this command, we are told, " Jacob came to Luz,
that is, Beth-el, and built an altar there, and called
the place El-beth-el, because God there appeared unto
him, when he fled from the face of his brother f ."
Do we not then see in this record how we also
should mark the interpositions of God in our behalf ?
Does it not become us to remember them, and to
b Numb. vii. 1. c Lev. vii. 11, 12. d Gen. xxxi. 13.
e Gen. xxxv. 1. f Gen. xxxv. 6, 7.
45.1 JACOB S PILLAR AT BETH-EL. 235
perpetuate the remembrance of them for the instruc
tion and encouragement of others ? Should not the
honour of God be dear to us ; and, if the place which
God has signalized in so remarkable a way, have
hitherto been distinguished by the name of Luz (a
place of almonds, and of carnal delights), should we
not labour to convert it to a Beth-el, and to render
it to all future generations a house of God, and, if
possible, the very gate of heaven ? Let the idea be
derided as it may by them that know not God, this
is an action worthy of a child of Abraham, a service
acceptable and well-pleasing unto God.
In the verses following my text we have the vow
of Jacob respecting this place recorded: " This stone,
which I have set for a pillar, shall be God s house ;
and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give
the tenth unto thee." Thus, whilst he consecrated
here an altar to the Lord, he provided for the service
of that altar by an actual endowment. What might
be his circumstances, or the circumstances of his
family, in future life, he knew not : yet he bound
himself by this solemn and irrevocable vow. What
any ignorant and ungodly man might think of this, it
is easy to imagine : but I find not in all the inspired
volume one single word that discountenances such a
conduct. I find, on the contrary, the whole people of
Israel contributing according to their power towards
the erection of the tabernacle, and stripping them
selves of their ornaments in order to furnish it with
vessels for the service of their God I find David, the
man after God s own heart, even when not permitted
to build the temple himself, devoting not less than
eighteen millions of money to the preparing of mate
rials for it I find similar exertions made by others,
at a subsequent period, for the rebuilding of the
temple and I find a poor widow, who had but one
farthing in the world, commended for casting it into
the treasury, to be expended for the Lord. In what
ever light then the lovers of this world may view such
an appropriation of wealth, I have no hesitation in
saying, that it will never be condemned by our God.
236 GENESIS, XXVIII. 1619. [45.
What if, by means of it, God s salvation be made
known, and his name be glorified? What if many who
have immortal souls, now sunk in ignorance and sin,
" be turned by means of it from darkness to light, and
from the power of Satan unto God ?" What if, by the
erection of an altar here, there be in this place some
what effected towards the accomplishment of that
promise, " In that day shall there be an altar to the
Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar
at the border thereof to the Lord : and it shall be for
a sign and for a witness to the Lord in the land of
Egypt ; for they shall cry unto the Lord because of
the oppressors, and he shall send them A SAVIOUR,
and A GREAT ONE, and he shall deliver them g ?"
Should God so honour this place, and so testify his
acceptance of the sacrifices that shall here be offered,
how will they bless him, who have been born to God
in this place ! and how will they bless him, who have
been his honoured instruments of erecting an altar
here, and of consecrating it to his service !
What now remains, but that I endeavour to im
prove this joyful occasion for the benefit of those
who hear me ?
Are there any here who are bowed down under a
sense of sin ? Peradventure, though you may have
come hither only to witness a novelty, God has
brought you hither to speak peace unto your souls,
and to anoint you to the possession of a kingdom,
when you have no more contemplated such an event
than Saul did, when he was in the pursuit of his
father s asses. Know ye of a truth, that God is in this
place, though ye may not be aware of it. Know,
that he is a God of love and mercy, as much as ever
he was in the days of old. Know that he has still
the same right to dispense his blessings to whom
soever he will, even to the very chief of sinners.
Know that he has not only the same communication
with men as ever through the instrumentality of
angels, but that he has access to the souls of men by
his Holy Spirit, who is ready to impart unto you all
s Isai. xix. 19, 20.
45.] JACOB S PILLAR AT BETH-EL. 237
the blessings of grace and glory. Know that the
Seed promised to Jacob has come into the world,,
even the Lord Jesus Christ ; and that he has fulfilled
all that is necessary for our salvation. He has expi
ated our guilt by his own blood upon the cross ; and
has made reconciliation for us with our offended
God ; so that through Him all manner of sin shall be
forgiven unto men, and " all who believe in him shall
be justified from all things." O Beloved, only look
unto Him, and whatever were the load of guilt under
which you groaned, you should find rest and peace
unto your souls : " Where sin had abounded, His
grace should much more abound :" and " though
your sins were as scarlet, they should be as wool ;
though they were red like crimson, they should be
white as snow."
It may be that some one may have come hither,
who, though not particularly bowed down with a
sense of guilt, is oppressed with a weight of personal or
domestic troubles. Who can tell ? God may have
brought such an one hither this day, in order to fill
his soul with heavenly consolations. O that, if such
an one be here, God may now appear unto him as a
reconciled God, and " say unto him, I am thy sal
vation ! " O that by the word now spoken in God s
name, there may this day be " given unto him beauty
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the gar
ment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ; that he
may become a tree of righteousness, the planting of
the Lord, and that God may be glorified ! " You have
done well that you have come hither; for it is in the
house of prayer that God pours out more abundantly
upon men the blessings of grace and peace : " He
loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings
of Jacob." Thousands and millions of afflicted souls
have found in God s house such discoveries of his
love, and such communications of his grace, as they
before had no conception of: and you at this hour,
if you will lift up your soul to God in earnest prayer,
and cast all your burthens upon him, shall say before
you go hence, " This is the house of God : this is
238 GENESIS, XXVIII. 1619. [45.
the gate of heaven." Know of a truth, that one ray
of the Sun of Righteousness is sufficient to dispel
all the gloom and darkness of the most afflicted soul :
and,, if only you will direct your eyes to Him, how
ever your afflictions may have abounded, your con
solations shall much more abound.
I trust there are not wanting here some who can
bear testimony to the truth of these things by their
own experience ; and who, from the discoveries
which they have received of the Saviour s love, " are
filled with peace and joy in believing." To such then
will I say, Bless and magnify your God with all the
powers of your souls : " let the children of Zion be
joyful in their King ;" let them " rejoice in the Lord
alway ;" " let them " rejoice in Him with joy unspeak
able and full of glory." At the same time, even
whilst they are, as it were, " at the very gate of
heaven," let me particularly caution them against
that kind of joy which is tumultuous, and that kind
of confidence which borders on presumption. There
is a holy fear, which is rather increased than dissi
pated by heavenly joy ; and a solemn awe, that
always accompanies the manifestations of God to the
soul. Observe the state of Jacob s mind on this
occasion : " He was afraid ; and said, How dreadful
is this place ! this is none other but the house of
God ; this is the gate of heaven." Thus blended in
its nature, thus tempered in its exercise, thus chas
tised in all its actings, should our joy be. It is of
great importance that we should all remember this :
for there is amongst the professors of religion much
joy that is spurious, much confidence that is unhal
lowed. We may have great enlargement of heart ;
but we must " fear and be enlarged :" we may pos
sess much joy; but we must " rejoice with trembling."
Even in heaven itself the glorified saints, yea, and
the angels too, though they have never sinned, fall
upon their faces before the throne, whilst they sing
praises to God and to the Lamb. Let such then
be your joy, and such your sacrifices of praise and
thanksgiving.
46.] JACOB S vow. 239
But let not all your gratitude evaporate in unsub
stantial, though acceptable, emotions. Think with
yourselves what you can do for Him, who has done
so much for you. Say with yourselves, " What
shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits?"
Think how you may improve your mercies for the
good of your fellow-creatures, and the honour of your
God. Of Jacob it is said, " He rose up early in the
morning, and took the stone and raised it for a pillar."
Let it be thus with you also : lose no time in honour
ing your God to the utmost of your power. Account
all you have, whether of wealth or influence, as given
to you for that end. Determine that those who are
around you shall have before them the evidences of
true piety, and such memorials as shall, if possible,
lead them to the knowledge of the true God. Jacob
had it not in his power at that time to do all that his
heart desired : but he did what he could ; and twenty
years afterwards, when his means of honouring God
were enlarged, he executed all his projects, and per
formed the vows which he had made. Thus let your
desires be expanded to the uttermost ; and then
fulfil them according to your ability. So shall you
have within yourselves an evidence that God is with
you of a truth ; and having been faithful in a few
things, you shall be rulers over many things in the
kingdom of your God.
XLVI.
JACOB S vow.
Gen. xxviii. 20 22. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God
will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and
will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I
come again to my fathers house in peace ; then shall the Lord
be my God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar,
shall be God s house : and of all that thou shall qive me, I
will surely give the tenth unto thee.
IT is thought by many, that it is wrong to make
any kind of vows. But the propriety of making them
depends on the manner in which they are made. If,
240 GENESIS, XXVIII. 20 22. [46.
for instance, we make them in our own strength ; or
hope that by them we can induce God to do for us
what he is otherwise unwilling to perform ; or imagine
that the services which we stipulate to render unto
God will be any compensation to him for the mercies
he vouchsafes to us ; we are guilty of very great pre
sumption and folly. Vows are not intended to have
the force of a bargain or compact, so as to involve the
Deity in obligations of any kind ; but merely to bind
ourselves to the performance of something which was
before indifferent,, or to impress our minds more
strongly with the necessity of executing some acknow
ledged duty. Of the former kind was Hannah s vow,
that if God would graciously give unto her a man-
child, she would dedicate him entirely, and for ever,
to his immediate service a . Independently of her vow,
there was no necessity that she should consecrate
him to the service of the tabernacle : but she greatly
desired to bear a son ; and determined, that if God
heard her prayer, she would testify her gratitude to
him in that way. Of the latter kind was the vow
which Israel made to destroy both the Canaanites
and their cities, if God would but deliver them into
their hands b . God had before enjoined them to do
this ; and therefore it was their bounden duty to do
it : and their vow was only a solemn engagement to
execute that command; which however they could
not execute, unless he should be pleased to prosper
their endeavours. That such vows were not dis
pleasing to God, we are sure ; because God himself
gave special directions relative to the making of them,
and the rites to be observed in carrying them into
execution . Even under the New-Testament dispen
sation we find Aquila vowing a vow in Cenchrea d ;
and St. Paul himself uniting with others in the ser
vices, which the law prescribed to those who had the
vows of Nazariteship upon them 6 .
The first vow of which we read, is that contained in
our text : and extremely instructive it is. It shews us,
a 1 Sam. i. 11. i> Numb. xxi. 2. c Numb. vi. 2, 21.
d Acts xviii. 18. e Acts xxi. 23, 24.
46.] JACOB S vow. 241
I. Our legitimate desires-
Man, as compounded of soul and body, has wants
and necessities that are proper to both : and whatso
ever is necessary for them both, he may reasonably
and lawfully desire. We may desire,
1. The presence and protection of God
[The Israelites in their journeys from Egypt to the pro
mised land passed through a " great and terrible wilderness,
wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where
there was no water f :" and such is this world wherein we
sojourn. Dangers encompass us all around: and, if left to
ourselves, we never can reach in safety the land to which we
go. Well therefore may we adopt the language of Moses,
when Jehovah threatened to withdraw from Israel his own
immediate guardianship, and to commit them to the superin
tendence of an angel; " If thou go not up with us, carry us
not up hence g ." " It is not in man that walketh to direct his
own steps 11 :" nor will any created aid suffice for him: " his
help is, and must be, in God alone." If God guide us not,
we must err ; if He uphold us not, we must fall ; if He keep
us not, we must perish. We may therefore desire God s pre
sence with us, and so desire it, as never to rest satisfied one
moment without it. " As the hart panteth after the water-
brooks," says David, " so panteth my soul after Thee, O God.
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God 1 ." And, when
he had reason to doubt whether God was with him or not, his
anguish was extreme: " I will say unto God my rock, Why
hast thou forgotten me ? As with a sword in my bones, mine
enemies reproach me, while they daily say unto me, Where is
thy God k ? " This was the language of the man after God s
own heart ; and it should be the language also of our souls.]
2. A competent measure of earthly comforts
[These also are necessary in this vale of tears. Food we
must have to nourish our bodies, and raiment to cover us from
the inclemencies of the weather : these therefore we may ask
of God: beyond these we should have no desire: " Having
food and raiment we should be therewith content 1 ." To wish
for more than these is neither wise m , nor lawful n . Nor even
for these should we be over-anxious. We should rather, like
the fowls of the air, subsist on the providence of God, and leave
it to Him to supply our wants in the way and measure that he
f Deut. viii. 15. K Exod. xxxiii. 1 3, 12 15.
h Jer. x. 23. > Ps. xlii. 1,2. k Ps. xlii. 9, 10.
1 1 Tim. vi. 8. m Prov. xxx. 8, 9. n Jer. xlv. 5.
VOL. I. R.
242 GENESIS, XXVIII. 2022. [46.
shall see fit . Yet it is proper that we make it a part of our
daily supplications ; " Give us this day our daily bread."]
3. The final possession of the promised land
[Canaan was desired by Jacob not merely as an earthly
inheritance, but chiefly as an earnest of that better land which
it shadowed forth. None of the patriarchs regarded it as their
home : " they dwelt in it as sojourners, and looked for a city
which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God p ."
There is for us also " a rest" which that land typified i, and
to which we should look as the end of all our labours r , and the
consummation of all our hopes 8 . It is "the inheritance to
which we are begotten V and " the grace which shall surely
be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ u ." To be
waiting for it with an assured confidence, and an eager desire x ,
is the attainment to which we should continually aspire; yea,
we should be " looking for it and hasting to it " with a kind
of holy impatience y , " groaning within ourselves for it, and
travailing as it were in pain," till the period for our complete
possession of it shall arrive 2 .]
All these things God had previously promised to
Jacob a : and he could not err, whilst making God s
promises the rule and measure of his desires. The
engagement which he entered into,, and to which he
bound himself in this vow, shews us further,
II. Our bounden duties
Though the particular engagement then made by
Jacob is not binding upon us, yet the spirit of it is of
universal obligation
1. We must acknowledge God as our God
[" Other lords have had dominion over us:" but they are
all to be cast down as usurpers ; and God alone is to be seated
on the throne of our hearts b . No rival is to be suffered to
remain within us : idols, of whatever kind they be, are to be
" cast to the moles and to the bats." We must avouch the
Lord to be our only, our rightful, Sovereign, whom we are to
love and serve with all our heart, and all our mind, and all
our soul, and all our strength. Nor is it sufficient to submit
to him merely as a Being whom we are unable to oppose : we
must claim him with holy triumph as our God and portion,
Matt. vi. 25, 26. P Heb. xi. 9, 10, 13 1C. q Heb. iv. 8, 9.
r Heb. xi. 2(5. s 2 Tim. iv. 8. t i p e t. i. 3, 4.
11 1 Pet. i. 13. x 1 Cor. i. 8. Phil. i. 23. y 2 Pet. iii. 12.
z Rom. viii. 22, 23. a ver. 15. i> Isai.xxvi. 13.
46.1 JACOB S vow. 243
saying with David, " O God, thou art my God; early will I
seek thee c ." It is remarkable that this very state of mind,
which was yet more conspicuous in Jacob in his dying hour,
is represented as characterizing the people of God under the
Christian dispensation : " It shall be said in that day, Lo, this
is our God ; we have waited for him, and he will save us : this
is the Lord; we have waited for him ; we will rejoice and be
glad in his salvation d ."]
2. To glorify him as God
[The two particulars which Jacob mentions, namely, the
building of an altar to the Lord on that very spot where God had
visited him, and the consecrating to his especial service a tenth
of all that God in his providence should give unto him, were
optional, till he by this vow had made them his bounden duty.
With those particulars we have nothing to do : but there are
duties of a similar nature incumbent 011 us all. We must
maintain in our families, and promote to the utmost in the
world, the worship of God; and must regard our property as
his, and, after we have "laboured with all our might" to serve
him with it, must say, " All things come of Thee, and of
Thine own have we given thee e ." There must be one ques
tion ever uppermost in the mind ; What can I do for God ;
and " what can I render to him for all the benefits that he
hath done unto me?" Can I call the attention of others to
him, so as to make him better known in the world? If I can,
it shall be no obstacle to me that I am surrounded with
heathens; nor will I be intimidated because I stand almost
alone in the world : I will confess him openly before men : I
will " follow my Lord and Saviour without the camp, bearing
his reproach : " I will " esteem the reproach of Christ greater
riches than all the treasures of Egypt : " whether called to for
sake all for him, or to give all to him, I will do it with alacrity,
assured, that his presence in time, and his glory in eternity,
will be an ample recompence for all that I can ever do or suffer
for his sake. He has bought me with the inestimable price of
his own blood ; and therefore, God helping me, I will hence
forth " glorify him with my body and my spirit, which are his f ."]
ADDRESS
1. To those who are just entering upon the world
[Be moderate in your desires after earthly things. You
can at present have no conception how little they will contri
bute to your real happiness. Beyond food and raiment you
can have nothing that is worth a thought. Solomon, who
c Ps. Ixiii. 1. d Isai. xxv. 9. with Gen. xlix. 18.
e 1 Chron. xxix. 2, 14. f 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20.
244 GENESIS, XXVIII. 2022. [40.
possessed more than any other man ever did, has pronounced
it all to be vanity ; and not vanity only, but vexation of spirit
also. And, whilst it is so incapable of adding any thing to
your happiness, it subjects you to innumerable temptations g ,
impedes in a very great degree your progress heaven-ward 11 ,
and greatly endangers your everlasting welfare j . " Love not
the world then, nor any thing that is in it k :" but " set your
affections altogether on things above." In your attachment
to them there can be no excess. In your desire after God
you cannot be too ardent : for " in his presence is life, and
his loving-kindness is better than life itself." Set before you
the prize of your high calling, and keep it ever in view : and
be assured that, when you have attained it, you will never
regret any trials you sustained, or any efforts you put forth,
in the pursuit of it. One hour spent in " your Father s
house " will richly repay them all.]
2. To those whohave been delivered from trouble-
fit is common with persons in the season of deep affliction
to make vows unto the Lord, and especially when drawing
nigh to the borders of the grave. Now you perhaps in the
hour of worldly trouble or of spiritual distress regretted that
you had wasted so many precious hours in the pursuit of
earthly cares and pleasures, and determined, if God should
accomplish for you the wished-for deliverance, you would de
vote yourselves henceforth entirely to his service. But, when
delivered from your sorrows, you have, like metal taken from
the furnace, returned to your wonted hardness, and forgotten
all the vows which were upon you. Even " Hezekiah ren
dered not to God according to the benefits conferred upon
him," and by his ingratitude brought on his whole kingdom
the heaviest judgments, which would have fallen upon himself
also, had he not deeply " humbled himself for the pride of his
heart 1 ." Do ye then, Brethren, beware of trifling with Al
mighty God in matters of such infinite concern: "it were better
never to vow, than to vow and not pay m ." God forgets not
your vows, whether you remember them or not. At the
distance of twenty years he reminded Jacob of his vows ; and
then accepted him in the performance of them n . O beg of him
to bring yours also to your remembrance ! and then " defer not
to pay them," in a total surrender of yourselves to him, and a
willing consecration of all that you possess to his service .]
3. To those whom God has prospered
[In how many is that saying verified, " Jeshurun waxed
K 1 Tim. vi. 9. h Hab. ii. 6. i Matt. xix. 23, 24.
k 1 John ii. 15, 16. l 2 Chron. xxxii. 25. m Eccl. v. 4, 5.
11 Gen. xxxv. 1, 3, 6, 7, 9 12. Rom. xii. 1. 1 Cor. viii. 3 5.
47.] JACOB PLEADING WITH GOD. 215
fat and kicked." But, Beloved, let it not be so with you. It
were better far that you were spoiled of every thing that you
possess, and driven an exile into a foreign land, than that you
should " forget God who has done so great things for you,"
and rest in any portion short of that which God has prepared
for them that love him. Who can tell? your prosperity may
be only fattening you as sheep for the slaughter: and at the
very moment you are saying, " Soul, thou hast much goods
laid up for many years ; eat, drink, and be merry ; " God may
be saying, " Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of
thee." Know that every thing which thou hast is a talent to
be improved for thy God. Hast thou wealth, or power, or
influence of any kind, employ it for the honour of thy God,
and for the enlargement and establishment of the Redeemer s
kingdom. Then shalt thou be honoured with the approbation
of tliy God ; even with the sweetest manifestations of his love
in this world, and the everlasting enjoyment of his glory in
the world to come.]
XLVII.
JACOB PLEADING WITH GOD.
Gen. xxxii. 26. And he said, I will not let thee go, except
thou bless me.
SOME have thought that the circumstances here
recorded were a mere vision ; and others a reality :
but they seem to have been neither the one nor the
other ; but a real transaction under a figurative re
presentation. The " wrestling" was not a corporeal
trial of strength between two men, but a spiritual
exercise of Jacob with his God under the form of an
angel or a man. That it was not a mere man who
withstood Jacob, is clear, from his being expressly
called " God/ and from his taking upon him offices
which none but God could perform a . And that it
was a spiritual, and not a corporeal, exercise on the
part of Jacob, is evident, from what the prophet
Hosea says respecting it ; " By his strength Jacob
had power with God ; yea, he had power over the
Angel, and prevailed : he wept, and made supplication
unto him*." Such manifestations of God under the
a ver. 29, 30. b Hos. xii. 3, 4.
246 GENESIS, XXXII. 26. [47.
angelic or human form were not uncommon in the
earlier parts of the Jewish history: and it is generally
thought, that the Lord Jesus Christ was the person
who assumed these appearances ; and that he did so
in order to prepare his people for his actual assump
tion of our nature at the time appointed of the
Father. His appearance to Jacob at this time was
for the purpose of comforting him under the distress
ing apprehensions which he felt on account of his
brother Esau, who was " coming with four hundred
men" to destroy him c . Jacob used the best means
he could devise to pacify his brother, and to preserve
as many as he could of his family, in case a part of
them should be slain. But he was not satisfied with
any expedients which he could vise. He well knew,
that none but God could afford him any effectual
succour: he therefore "remained alone" all the night,
that he might spread his wants and fears before God,
and implore help from him. On this occasion God
appeared to him in the shape and form of a man, and
apparently withstood him till the break of day. Then
the person would have departed from him : but Jacob
would not suffer him ; but held him fast, as it were,
saying, " I will not let thee go, except thou bless me."
From these words I shall take occasion to shew,
I. The constituents of acceptable prayer
These are beautifully displayed in the prayer of
Jacob :
1. A renunciation of all dependence on ourselves
[With this acknowledgment Jacob began his prayer: " O
God of my father Abraham, I am not worthy of the least of all
the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast shewed unto
thy servant d ." And such is the feeling that must Influence our
hearts whensoever we attempt to draw nigh to God. If we
think ourselves deserving of the divine favour, not one word
can we utter with becoming humility ; nor have we the smallest
prospect of acceptance with God : " The hungry he will fill
with good things; but the rich he will send empty away 6 ." It
is " he who humbleth himself, and he alone, that shall ever be
exalted." In this respect the returning prodigal is a pattern
c ver. 6, 7. d ver. 10. e Luke i. 53.
JACOB PLEADING WITH GOD. 247
47.]
for us all. He takes nothing but shame to himself, and casts
himself wholly on the mercy of his father. O that there were
in us also such a heart ! for not the Pharisee who commends
himself, but the Publican who smites on his breast and cries
for mercy, shall obtain the blessings of grace and glory.]
2. A simple reliance on the promises of God
[Jacob puts God in remembrance of the promise which
had been made to him twenty years before ; " Thou saidst, I
will surely do thee good f ." And this is the true ground on
which alone we can venture to ask any thing of God. He has
" given us exceeding great and precious promises g ," which he
has also " confirmed with an oath, on purpose that we may
have consolation" in our souls h , and be encouraged to spread
before him all our wants. Behold how David laid hold of the
promises, and pleaded them before God in prayer : " O Lord
God, thou hast promised this goodness to thy servant : do as
thou hast spoken; do as thou hast said 1 " - Again, and
again, and again does he in this passage remind God of the
promises he had made; and declares, that on them all his
prayers, and all his hopes, were founded. In this manner then
are we also to come before him ; " Put me in remembrance,"
says God : "let us plead together : declare thou, that thou
mayest be justified k ." Are we anxious to obtain the forgive
ness of our sins? we should take with us such promises as these;
" Whosoever cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out:"
" Though your sins be as crimson, they shall be as white as
snow." Do we want deliverance from some grievous tempta
tion? we should remind the Lord, Hast thou not said, " There
shall be no temptation without a way to escape, that thou
mayest be able to bear it?" So, whatever our want be, we
should take a promise suited to it, (for what trial is there that
is not provided for amongst the promises of God ?) and plead
it, and rest upon it, and expect the accomplishment of it to
our souls.]
3. A determination to persevere till we have ob
tained the desired blessing
[This is the particular point mentioned in our text. And
it is that without which we never can prevail. Jacob, though
lamed by his antagonist, still held him fast. And thus must
we do also : we must " pray, and not faint." A parable was
delivered by our blessed Lord for the express purpose of
teaching us this invaluable lesson 1 . It should be a settled
point in our minds, that " God cannot lie," and " will not
f ver. 12. g 2 Pet. i. 4. h Heb. vi. 17, 18,
1 2 Sam. vii. 25 29. k Isai. xliii. 26. ] Lukexviii. 1 8.
248 GENESIS, XXXII. 26. [47.
deny himself." He has said, " Ask, and ye shall have ; seek,
and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."
He has not determined any thing indeed with respect to the
time or manner of answering our petitions : but answer them
he will, in the best manner and the fittest time. He may not
grant the particular thing which we ask for, because he may
see that the continuance of the trial will answer a more valuable
end than the removal of it : but in that case he will give us,
as he did to Paul, what is far better 111 . In the confidence of
this we should wait for him. " If the vision tarry, still we
must wait for it, assured that it will come at last"." And if at
any time our soul feel discouraged by the delay, we must chide
it, as David did : " Why art thou cast down, O my soul ; and
why art thou disquieted within me ? Hope thou in God ; for
I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance,
and my God ." In a word, we must hold fast our blessed
Lord, though under the greatest discouragements p , and must
say, " I will never let thee go, except thou bless me."]
Where such prayer is offered up before God, no
tongue can tell,
II. The blessings it will bring down into the soul
It will ensure to us,
1. The effectual care of God s providence
[The danger to which Jacob was exposed was imminent :
but his prayer averted it, so that the brother whom he feared
as an enemy, was turned into a friend. And what interpo
sitions will not persevering prayer, when offered with humility
and faith, obtain? It matters not what situation we are in,
if God be our God. We may have seas of difficulty in our
way ; but they shall open before us : we may be destitute of
food ; but the clouds shall send us bread, and the rocks gush
out with water for our use. Even though we were at the
bottom of the sea, from thence should our prayers ascend, and
thither should they bring to us effectual help. We read of
such things in the days of old : but we are ready to think that
no such things are to be expected now. But has God ceased
to govern the earth? or is he changed in any respect, having
" his hand shortened, that he cannot save, or his ear heavy,
that he cannot hear ?" What if God do not repeat his former
miracles now, has he no other way of accomplishing his will,
and of fulfilling his gracious promises ? If our hairs are all
numbered, and not so much as a sparrow falls to the ground
without him, shall it be in vain for us to call upon him ? No :
he is still " a God that heareth prayer :" and " whatsoever we
m 2 Cor. xii. 8, 9. n Hab. ii. 3. Ps. xlii. 11. P Cant. iii. 4.
47.1 JACOB PLEADING WITH GOD. 249
shall ask of him, believing, he will do :" yea, " we may ask
what we will, and it shall be done unto us."]
2. The yet richer blessings of his grace
[The new name which God gave to Jacob was a standing
memorial of God s love q , and a pledge of all that should be
necessary for his spiritual welfare. And what will he withhold
from us, if we seek him with our whole hearts ? Recount all
the necessities of your soul : express in words all your wants :
and when you have exhausted all the powers of language,
stretch out your thoughts to grasp in all the ineffable blessings
of his grace ; all that the promises of Grod have engaged ; all
that the covenant itself contains ; and all that an almighty and
all-gracious God is able to bestow : and, when you have done
this, we will not only assure it all to you, but declare that
" he will do for you, not this only, but exceeding abundantly
above all that ye can ask or think 1 ." However " wide you
open your mouth, he will fill it." Make what attainments ye
will, ye shall still find, that " he giveth more grace." And,
whatever difficulties ye may have to encounter, you shall find
" that grace sufficient for you." Only " continue instant in
prayer," and God will give you, not a new name only (for
that also will he give, even a name better than of sons and of
daughters 8 ,) but a new nature also, like unto his own 1 , that
shall progressively transform you into his perfect image " in
righteousness and true holiness. u "]
3. The full possession of his glory
[The answer which God gave to Jacob s prayer is more
fully recorded in a subsequent chapter. There, after declaring
plainly who he was, " I AM GOD ALMIGHTY," he promises,
" The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I
give it, and to thy seed after thee x ." This was typical of that
better inheritance, to which all the Lord s Israel are begotten,
and for which they are reserved y . And thither shall the
prayer of faith carry us : for " God will never leave us, till he
has done all for us that he has spoken to us of z ," and brought
us to " his presence, where there is fulness of joy, and to his
right hand, where there are pleasures for evermore 8 ." Hear
the dying thief preferring his petitions ; " Lord, remember me
when thou comest into thy kingdom !" And now hear the
Saviour s answer ; " To-day shalt thou be with me in Para
dise 1 ." Thus he speaks also to all who seek him in humility
<i ver. 28. with Hos. xii. 5. r Eph. iii. 20.
s Isai. Ixii. 2, 12. and Ivi. 5. * 2 Pet. i. 4.
u Eph. iv. 24. 2 Cor. iii. 18. x Gen. xxxv. 11, 12.
y Heb. xi. 16. 1 Pet. i. 3 5. z Gen. xxviii. 15.
a Ps. xvi. 11. b Luke xxiii. 42, 43.
250 GENESIS, XXXII. 26. [47.
and faith. It is curious to observe how often, without any
apparent necessity, he repeats this promise to us. After
saying, " He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he
that believeth on me shall never thirst," he repeats no less
than four times, " I will raise him up at the last day ;" and
repeatedly also adds, " He shall have everlasting life ; he shall
not die; he shall live for ever ." And whence is all this but
to assure us, that, " Whatsoever we ask in prayer, believing,
we shall receive d ;" yea, that he will " give us, not to the half,
but to the whole, of his kingdom 6 ?"]
Let me ADD in conclusion,
1. A word of inquiry
[What resemblance do we bear to Jacob in this particular?
I ask not whether we have ever spent a whole night in prayer,
but whether we have ever wrestled with God at all ; and whe
ther, on the contrary, our prayers have not for the most part
been cold, formal, hypocritical ; and whether we have not by
the very mode of offering our prayers rather mocked and
insulted God, than presented to him any acceptable sacrifice ?
Say whether there be not too much reason for that complaint,
" There is none that calleth upon Thy name, that stirreth up
himself to lay hold of Thee f ?" Dear Brethren, I know nothing
which so strongly marks our departure from God as this. To
an earthly friend we can go, and tell our complaints, till we
have even wearied him with them ; and in the prosecution of
earthly things we can put forth all the energy of our minds :
but when we go to God in prayer, we are straitened, and have
scarcely a word to say ; and our thoughts rove to the very
ends of the earth. The prophet Hosea well describes this :
" They have not cried unto me with their heart. They return,
but not to the Most High : they are like a deceitful bow g ,"
which, when it promises to send the arrow to the mark, causes
it to fall at our very feet. O let us not fancy that we are of
the true Israel, whilst we so little resemble Him whose name
we bear, and bear as a memorial of importunity in prayer.
The character of the true Israel ever has been, and ever will
continue to be, that they are " a people near unto their God h ."]
2. A word of caution
[On two points we are very liable to err ; first, in relation
to the fervour that we exercise in prayer ; and next, in relation
to the confidence that we maintain. Many, because they are
ardent in mind, and fluent in expression, imagine that they are
offering to God a spiritual service ; when, in fact, their devotion
c John vi. 3558. a Matt. xxi. 22. e Mark vi. 23.
f Isai. Ixiv. 7. s Hos. vii. 14, 1C. h Ps. cxlviii. 14.
48.1 RECONCILIATION OF ESAU AND JACOB. 251
is little else than a bodily exercise. Whoever has made his
observations on the way in which both social and public wor
ship is often performed, will have seen abundant cause for
this caution. In like manner, the confidence of many savours
far more of bold presumption, than of humble affiance. But
let it never be forgotten, that tenderness of spirit is abso
lutely inseparable from a spiritual frame. When our blessed
Lord prayed, it was "with strong crying and tears 1 :" and
when Jacob wrestled, " he wept, and made supplication." This
then is the state of mind which we must aspire after. Our
fervour must be a humble fervour; and our confidence, a humble
confidence. And whilst we look to God to accomplish all
things for us, we must at the same time use all proper means
for the attainment of them. Jacob, though he relied on God
to deliver him from his brother s wrath, did not omit to use all
prudent precautions, and the most sagacious efforts for the
attainment of that end k . So likewise must we " labour for the
meat which the Son of man will give us 1 ," and "keep our
selves in the love of God m ," in order to our being " kept by
the power of God through faith unto salvation 11 ."]
3. A word of encouragement
[It is said of Jacob, that " God blessed him there , 1 even
in the very place where he lamed him. Thus shall you also
find that your greatest discouragements are only a prelude to
your most complete deliverance. To his people of old he said,
" Thou shalt go even to Babylon : there shalt thou be delivered :
there shall the Lord redeem thee from the hand of thine ene
mies p ." Go on, therefore, fully expecting that God will inter
pose in due season, and that your darkest hours shall be only
a prelude to the brighter day q .]
* Heb. v. 7. k ver. 3 8. * John vi. 27.
m Jude, ver. 21. n 1 Pet. i. 5. ver. 29.
P Mic. iv. 10. Jer. xxx. 7. q Isai. liv. 7, 8. Ps. xxx. 5.
XL VIII.
RECONCILIATION OF ESAU AND JACOB.
Gen. xxxiii. 4. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him,
and fell on his neck, and kissed him : and they ivept.
SUCH are the dispositions of men in general, that
they cannot pass any considerable time without feeling
in themselves, and exciting in others, some malignant
tempers. The more nearly men come in contact with
252 GENESIS, XXXIII. 4, [48.
each other, the more do they disagree. Nations are
most inveterate against those who are most in their
vicinity. Societies are for the most part distracted by
opposing interests. Families are rarely to be found,
where the demon of Discord has not raised his throne :
yea, even the dearest friends and relatives are too
often filled with animosity against each other. Happy
would it be, if disagreements were found only among
the ungodly : but they not unfrequently enter into the
very church of God, and kindle even in good men
a most unhallowed fire. Paul and Barnabas were a
lamentable instance of human weakness in this re
spect. But on the present occasion we are called
to consider, not a quarrel, but a reconciliation. The
quarrel indeed had been rancorous in the extreme ;
but the reconciliation,, as described in the text, was
most cordial and most affecting.
We would call your attention to a few observations
arising from the circumstances before us
I. The resentments of brethren are usually exceeding
deep
[If a stranger injure us in any respect, the irritation pro
duced by the offence is, for the most part, of very short dura
tion. But if a brother, or a friend, and more especially a
person with whom we have been united in the bonds of the
Spirit, provoke us to anger, the wound is more severe, and the
impression more lasting. In many cases the difficulty of effect
ing a reconciliation is so great, as almost to preclude a hope of
restoring the former amity. One who was thoroughly conver
sant with human nature, has told us, that " a brother offended
is harder to be won than a strong city." We should be ready to
imagine that in proportion as the previous union was close and
affectionate, the restoration of that union would be easy ; and
that the spirits which had suffered a momentary separation,
would, like the flesh \vhich has been lacerated, join together
again readily, and, as it were, of their own accord. But the
reverse of this is true : nor is it difficult to be accounted
for. The disappointment of the two parties is greater. From
strangers we expect nothing : and if we find rudeness or self
ishness or any other evil quality, though we may be offended
at it, we are not disappointed. But from friends, and especially
religious friends, we expect all that is kind and amiable ; and
therefore we are the more keenly affected when any thing of a
contrary aspect occurs. Moreover the aggravating circumstances
48.1 RECONCILIATION OF ESAU AND JACOB. 253
are more numerous. Between friends there are a thousand
little circumstances taken into the account, which could find
no place among strangers, and which, in fact, often operate
more forcibly on the mind than the more immediate subject in
dispute. Above all, the foundations of their regard are over
thrown. Each thinks himself in the right. Each thought
highly of the honour, the integrity, the friendship, or perhaps
the piety of the other: and behold, each imagines that the
other s conduct towards him has violated all these principles,
and given him reason to fear, that he was deceived in his judg
ment of the other ; or at least, that he was not deserving of
that high opinion which he had entertained of him.
From some such considerations as these, the alienation of
the parties from each other, if not more fierce and violent, is
usually more fixed and settled, in proportion to their previous
intimacy and connexion.]
But,
II. However deep the resentment of any one may be,
we may hope by proper means to overcome it
We cannot have a better pattern in this respect
than that which Jacob set before us. The means
we should use, are,
1. Prayer to God
[God has access to the hearts of men, and " can turn them
whithersoever he will." The instances wherein he has exerted
his influence upon them, to induce them either to relieve his
friends, or to punish his enemies, are innumerable. By prayer
his aid is obtained. It was by prayer that Jacob prevailed.
He had experienced the seasonable and effectual interposition
of the Deity when Laban pursued him with such wrath and
bitterness : he therefore again applied to the same almighty
Friend, and again found him " ready to save." Prayer, if
fervent and believing, shall be as effectual as ever : there is
nothing for the obtaining of which it shall not prevail. To
this then we should have recourse in the first instance. Nothing
should be undertaken without this. We should not neglect
other means ; but our chief dependence should be placed on
this ; because nothing but the blessing of God can give success
to any means we use.]
2. A conciliatory conduct to man
[Nothing could be more conciliatory, nothing more inge
nious, than the device of Jacob, in sending so many presents
to his brother, in so many distinct and separate parts, and with
the same information so humbly and so continually repeated
254 GENESIS, XXXIII. 4, [48.
in his ears. Vehement as Esau s anger was, it could not
withstand all this kindness, humility, and gentleness. The
submission of his brother perfectly disarmed him : and " the
gift in his bosom pacified his strong wrath a ."
Thus we may hope to " overcome evil with goodV As
stones are melted by being subjected to the action of intense
heat, so are the hardest of men melted by love : it " heaps coals
of fire upon their head c ," and turns their rancorous hostilities
into self-condemning accusations 1 . We say not indeed that
the victory shall be certain and uniform in all cases ; for even
the Saviour s meekness did not prevail to assuage the malice
of his enemies : but, as a means, we may reasonably expect it
to conduce to that end. As a proud, distant, and vindictive
carriage serves to confirm the hatred of an adversary, so, on
the other hand, a kind, gentle, and submissive deportment has
a direct tendency to effect a reconciliation with him.]
Not that a short and transient care will suffice :
on the contrary,
III. When once a reconciliation is effected, extreme
caution is necessary to preserve and maintain it
A wound that has been lately closed, may easily
be rent open again: and friendship that has been
dissolved by any means, does not speedily regain its
former stability. To cement affection, much atten
tion is required. We must aim at it,
1. By mutual kindnesses and endearments
[Exceeding tender was the interview between the bro
thers, after their long absence, and alienation from each other.
Nor should we deem it beneath us to yield thus to the emo
tions of love, or to express our regards by salutations and
tears. These may possibly be counterfeited by a consummate
hypocrite : but, in general, they are the involuntary effusions
of a loving heart. And as denoting cordiality, they have the
strongest tendency to unite discordant minds, and to efface
from the memory all painful recollections.]
2. By abstaining from all mention of past grie
vances
[The revival of things which have been matters in dispute,
generally revive the feelings which the dispute occasioned.
And, as few are ever found to acknowledge that the fault or
error has been wholly on their own side, recriminations will
a Prov. xxi. 14. b Rom. xii. 21.
c Rom. xii. 20. d 1 Sam. xxiv. 16, 17.
48. J RECONCILIATION OF ESAU AND JACOB. 255
arise from accusations, and the breach perhaps be made wider
than ever. To bury matters in oblivion is the readiest way to
the maintenance of peace. In this respect the reconciled bro
thers acted wisely : explanations would only have led to evil
consequences; and therefore they avoided them altogether.
And we in similar circumstances shall do well to follow their
example.]
3. By guarding against that kind or degree of in
tercourse that may rekindle animosities
[There are some whose dispositions are so opposite, that
they cannot long move in harmony with each other : " not
being agreed, they cannot \valk comfortably together." It is
thus particularly with those whose spiritual views are dif
ferent : for, " what communion hath light with darkness, or
Christ with Belial ? " It was prudent in Jacob to decline the
proffered civilities of Esau, when he saw the mutual sacrifices
that would be necessary in order to carry them into effect : it
was prudent that Esau with his four hundred armed men
should prosecute their journey without needless incumbrances
and delays ; and that Jacob should be left at liberty to con
sult the comfort of his children, and the benefit of his flocks.
Had the two endeavoured to make concessions, and to accom
modate themselves to each other, neither would have been
happy ; and their renewed amity would have been endan
gered. Thus, where the dispositions and habits are so dis
similar as to bid defiance, as it were, to mutual concessions,
the best way to preserve peace is to interfere with each other
as little as possible.]
APPLICATION
[Are there any who are involved in disputes and quarrels?
Follow after peace : and be forbearing and forgiving to others,
if ever you would that God should be so to you 6 . Are there
any who desire reconciliation with an offended friend? Be
willing rather to make, than to exact, submission: and let
generosity and kindness be exercised to the uttermost, to
soften the resentments which have been harboured against you.
And lastly, are there any who have an opportunity of promoting
peace ? Embrace it gladly, and exert yourselves with impar
tiality. And instead of widening a breach, by carrying tales,
endeavour to heal it by all possible offices of love. Let the
quarrels of brethren be regarded as a fire, which it is every
one s duty and desire to extinguish. Thus shall you yourselves
have the blessing promised to peace-makers, and be numbered
among the children of God f .]
e Matt, xviii. 35. f Matt. v. 9.
256 GENESIS, XXXIV. 31. [49.
XLTX.
SLAUGHTER OF THE SHECHEMITES.
Gen. xxxiv. 31. And tliey said, Should he deal with our sister
as with an harlot?
THE life of man is continually exposed to trouble;
and not unfrequently waves follow waves with little
intermission. It was thus in Jacob s case, who,, from
the time that he fled from the face of Esau, met
with a continued series of difficulties and distresses.
Having terminated his hard service under Laban, and
miraculously escaped the vindictive assaults both of
Laban and of Esau, he seemed to have obtained a
respite. But his peace was of very short duration ;
for his own children, to whom he looked for comfort
in his declining years, became to him a source of
the most poignant sorrows. It appears indeed, from
various circumstances in this short history, that he
did not maintain sufficient authority over his own
house. Had he taken the direction of matters into
his own hands, instead of waiting to consult his young,
inexperienced, and headstrong sons, he had prevented
those horrible crimes which they perpetrated without
fear, and vindicated without remorse.
In considering the petulant answer which they
made to his reproofs, we shall be led to notice,
I. The provocation they had received
We apprehend that Leah herself was in part ac
cessary to the evils that befell her daughter
[Dinah, like other young people, wished to see, and be
seen ; and on some festive occasion went to visit the daughters
of the land of Canaan. She would probably have been dis
pleased, if her mother had imposed restraints upon her. But
it was her parent s duty to consult, not so much her incli
nation, as her safety : and it was highly blameable in Leah to
suffer her daughter, scarcely fifteen years of age, to go into
scenes of gaiety and dissipation unprotected and unwatched.
Perhaps by this calamity Leah herself was punished for the
prostitution of herself (for what else can it be called ?) in com
pliance with her father s wishes. Personating her sister Rachel,
49. J SLAUGHTER OF THE SHECHEMITES. 257
she had yielded to what might be justly termed, an incestuous
commerce : and now she lives to see the humiliation and
defilement of her only daughter.]
But, whatever degree of blame attached either to
Dinah or her mother, the provocation given by She-
chem was doubtless exceeding great
[To take advantage of a thoughtless unprotected female
was exceedingly base : and the distress brought by it upon her
whole family was most deplorable. Ah ! little do the gay and
dissipated think, what sacrifices they require for the grati
fication of their lusts. Here was the happiness, not of an
individual only, but of a whole family, destroyed. That her
seducer endeavoured afterwards to repair the injury, is true : and
in this he differed from the generality, who, as soon as they
have accomplished their vile purposes, have their love turned
into indifference or aversion : but the injury was absolutely
irreparable ; and therefore we do not wonder that it excited a
deep resentment in the breasts of her dishonoured relatives.]
But though her brothers were justly indignant at
the treatment she had received, they were by no
means justified in,
II. The manner in which they resented it
Shechem, though a prince among the Hivites, in
stantly made application to Dinah s father to give her
to him in marriage. Though he had humbled her, he
did not wish to perpetuate her disgrace, but sought,
as much as possible, to obliterate it for ever. The
terms he proposed were dictated not only by a sense
of honour, but by the most tender affection. Happy
would it have been if Jacob s sons had been actuated
by principles equally honourable and praiseworthy!
But they, alas! intent only on revenge, contrived a
plot as wicked and diabolical as ever entered into
the heart of man. They formed a design to murder,
not only the person who had given them the offence,
but all the men of his city together with him. In
the execution of their purpose they employed,
1. Hypocrisy
[They pretended to have scruples of conscience about con
necting themselves with persons who were uncircmncised. We
may admit for a moment, that this did really operate on their
minds as an objection to the projected union ; and that this
VOL. I. S
058 GENESIS, XXXIV. 31. [49.
objection was sufficient to weigh down every other consideration:
still what regard had they for conscience when they could de
liberately contrive a plan for murdering the whole city ? This
was indeed to " strain at a gnat, and to swallow a camel."]
2. Profaneness
[They knew that both the prince and his people were
altogether ignorant of Jehovah, and destitute of the smallest
wish to be interested in the Covenant which God had made with
Abraham: and yet they proposed that all the males should
receive the seal of God s covenant in circumcision ; and that
too, not in order to obtain any spiritual benefit, but solely
with a view to carnal gratification. What a profanation was
this of God s holy ordinance ! and what impiety was there in
recommending to them such a method of attaining their ends !]
3. Cruelty-
[One would scarcely have conceived that such cruelty
could have existed in the human heart. That a spirit of
revenge should excite in the minds of these men the thought
of murdering the person who was more immediately impli
cated in the offence, was possible enough : but that it should
prompt them to involve a multitude of innocent persons in the
same ruin ; and at a time when those persons were making
very great sacrifices in order to conciliate their favour ; and
that it should induce them to make use of religion as a cloak
for the more easy accomplishment of their execrable purpose ;
this almost exceeds belief: yet such was their inhuman plot,
which too successfully they carried into effect. And though
their brethren did not join them in destroying the lives of any,
yet they so far participated in the crime, as to take captive
the defenceless women, and to seize upon all the cattle and
property for a prey.]
There is nothing so iniquitous, but the perpetrators
of it will justify it. This appears from,
III. Their vindication of their conduct-
In their answer to their father s reproof we behold
nothing but,
1. Offended pride
[They would not have felt any displeasure against She-
chem, if he had dealt with any other female, or any number of
them, as harlots ; but that he should offer such an indignity
to " their sister," this was the offence, an offence that could
not be expiated by any thing less than the blood of all that
were even in the most distant way connected with him. We
are surprised and shocked at the relation of this event : and yet
49.1 SLAUGHTER OF THE SHECHEMITES. 259
is it very similar to what occurs continually before our eyes.
Is an injury done, or an affront offered to us? we feel our
selves called upon by a regard for our own honour to seek the
life of the offender. Is a slight encroachment made on the
rights of a nation ? it is deemed a just cause of war ; and the
lives of thousands are sacrificed in order to avenge it. But
Jacob formed a just estimate of his children s conduct, when
he said, " Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce ; and their
wrath, for it was cruel."]
2. Invincible obduracy
[We might well expect that, after a moment s reflection,
these bloody murderers should relent, and be filled with re
morse. But all sense of guilt, yea, and all regard for their
own and their father s safety, seemed to be totally banished
from their minds. Instead of regretting that they had acted
so treacherous and cruel a part, they vindicate themselves
without hesitation, and even tacitly condemn their father, as
manifesting less concern for his daughter than they had shewn
for their sister. We can scarcely conceive a more awful in
stance than this of the powder of sin to blind the understanding
and to harden the heart. But daily experience shews, that,
when once the conscience is seared, there is no evil which we
will not palliate, no iniquity which we will not justify.]
INFER,
1. How astonishingly may the judgment of men
be warped by partiality and self-love !
[These men could see evil in the conduct of Shechem, and
yet justify their own; though theirs was beyond all compa
rison more vile and horrible than his. And is it not thus with
us ? If the world behold any thing amiss in the conduct of a
person professing religion, with what severity will they condemn
it, even though they themselves are living in the unrestrained
commission of ten thousand sins ! And even professors of reli
gion too are apt to be officious in pulling out a mote from their
brother s eye, while they are inattentive to the beam that is in
their own eye. But let us learn rather to exercise forbearance
towards the faults of others, and severity towards our own.]
2. How certainly will there be a day of future
retribution !
[Here we behold a whole city of innocent men put to
death, and their murderers going away unpunished. But let
us not on this account arraign the dispensations of Providence.
In the last day all these apparent inequalities will be rectified.
It will then infallibly go well with the righteous, and ill with
the wicked. The excuses which men now make, will be of
260 GENESIS, XXXVII. 4. [50.
no avail : but every transaction shall appear in its proper
colours ; and every man receive according to what he has done
in the body, whether it be good or evil.]
L.
JOSEPH ENVIED BY HIS BRETHREN.
Gen. xxxvii. 4. When Ms brethren saw that his father loved
him more than all his brethren, they hated him,, and could
not speak peaceably unto him.
WE are not expressly told in Scripture that the
events of Joseph s life were intended to prefigure
those which should afterwards be accomplished in
the Messiah : but the humiliation and exaltation of
each,, together with the means whereby both the one
and the other were effected, are so much alike,, that
we can scarcely view them in any other light than as
a typical prophecy fulfilled in the Antitype. It is
not however our intention to prosecute the history
of Joseph in this view: we shall rather notice some
of the most striking particulars as tending to elucidate
the passions by which mankind in general are actuated,
and the changes to which they are exposed. The words
of our text describe the dispositions of his brethren
towards him ; and will lead us to consider,,
I. The occasions of his brethren s hatred-
Joseph was pre-eminently marked as the object of
his father s love
[That his father should love him above all his brethren is
not to be wondered at : Joseph was horn to him of his beloved
Rachel ; and in him, Rachel, though dead, might he said to
live. He was also imbued with early piety, whilst his brethren
were addicted to all manner of evil ; insomuch that he himself
was forced to report their wickedness to his father, in order
that they might be corrected and restrained by his parental
authority. It is probable also that he stayed at home to mini
ster to his aged father, whilst they were occupied in their pas
toral cares ; and that he won the affections of his parent by his
dutiful and incessant assiduities.
As a general principle, we highly disapprove of partiality in
parents towards their children; though we think it justified,
50.] JOSEPH ENVIED BY HIS BRETHREN. 261
when it is founded on a great and manifest difference in their
moral character; inasmuch as it is a parent s duty to mark his
approbation of religion and morals. But in no case ought
that partiality to be shewn by such vain distinctions as Jacob
adopted. Joseph s " coat of many colours" was calculated to
generate nothing but vanity in the possessor, and envy in those
who thought themselves equally entitled to their parent s
favour: and indeed this very distinction proved a source of
all the calamities which afterwards befell him.]
God himself also was pleased to point him out as
destined to far higher honours
[God revealed to him in dreams that all his family should
one day make obeisance to him. The dreams were doubled,
as Pharaoh s afterwards were a , to shew that his exaltation
above all his family, and their humblest submission to him,
should surely come to pass. These dreams being divulged by
Joseph, he became more than ever an object of most inveterate
hatred to his brethren. They could not endure that even God
himself should exercise his sovereign will towards him. They
considered every favour shewn to him (whether by God or
man) as an injury done to themselves ; and the more he was
honoured, the more were they offended at him. They did not
consider, that he was not to be blamed for his father s par
tiality, nor to be condemned for those destinies which he
could neither procure nor prevent. Blinded by envy, they
could see nothing in him that was good and commendable,
but made every thing which he either said or did, an occasion
of blame.]
To set his brethren s conduct in its true light, we
will endeavour to shew,
II. The evil of that principle by which they were
actuated
Envy is one of the most hateful passions in the
human heart:
1. It is most unreasonable in itself
[It is called forth by the honour or advantages which
another enjoys above ourselves. Now if those advantages be
merited, why should we grudge the person the possession of
them? If they be not acquired by merit, still they are given
to him by the unerring providence of God, who " has a right
to do what he will with his own. Is our eye then to be evil
because he is good b ?" Besides, the things which we envy a
person the possession of, are often snares, wluch we should
a Gen. xli. 32. * Matt. xx. 15.
262 GENESIS, XXXVII. 4. [50.
rather fear than covet : and, at best, they are only talents, of
which he must soon give an awful account to God. If there
fore we are sensible how little improvement we have made of
the talents already committed to us, we shall see at once
how little reason we have to envy others their increased
responsibility.]
2. It is extremely injurious both to ourselves and
others
[Nothing can be more destructive of a person s own hap
piness than to yield to this hateful passion. It causes him to
derive pain from those things which ought to afford him
pleasure ; and to have his enmity augmented by those very
qualities which ought rather to conciliate his regard. It is
justly declared to be " the rottenness of the bones c ." It
corrodes our inmost souls, so that we can enjoy no comfort
whatever, while we are under its malignant influence. And
there is nothing so spiteful, nothing so murderous, which we
shall not both devise and execute, when we are subject to its
power d . Behold Cain, when envying Abel the testimonies of
God s approbation : behold Saul, when he heard David cele
brated as a greater warrior than himself: how downcast their
looks ! what wrathful and vindictive purposes did they form !
how were they changed into incarnate fiends! Thus it was
also with Joseph s brethren, who could be satisfied with no
thing but the utter destruction of the envied object.]
3. It renders us as unlike to God as possible
[See how our God and Saviour acted towards us in our
fallen state : instead of rejoicing in our misery, he sought to
redeem us from it, and sacrificed his own happiness and glory
to re-establish us in the state from which we had fallen.
What a contrast to this does the envious person exhibit ! He
repines at the happiness of others, whilst God is grieved at
their misery: he seeks the destruction of others, whilst God
labours for their welfare : he breaks through every restraint to
effect their ruin, though with the loss of his own soul; whilst
God takes upon him all the pains of hell, in order to exalt us
to the blessedness of heaven. He is thus hostile to those who
have never injured him, whilst God loads with his benefits
those who have lived in a constant scene of rebellion against
him. What can set the passion of envy in a more hateful
light than this ?]
4. It transforms us into the very image of the
devil
c Prov. xiv. 30. d Jam. iii. 16.
50.] JOSEPH ENVIED BY HIS BRETHREN. 263
[Satan was once an angel of light, as happy as any that
are now before the throne : but he kept not his first estate :
he sinned; and thereby brought upon himself the wrath of
Almighty God. It pleased God afterwards to form another
order of beings, who were designed to fill up, as it were, the
seats from which the fallen spirits had been driven. But this
envious spirit strove to turn them from their allegiance. He
knew well enough that he could not thereby mitigate his own
misery : but he could not endure to see others happy, whilst
he himself was miserable : yea, he was willing even to aug
ment his own guilt and misery, provided he might destroy the
happiness of man. With the same view he afterwards strove
to set God against his servant Job, in order that he might
deprive that holy man of his integrity and bliss. In this mirror
let the envious man behold himself, and he will discern every
lineament of his own hateful image. Well did Jesus say of
such persons, " Ye are of your father, the devil, and the lusts
of your father ye will do 6 ."]
By way of IMPROVING the subject, let us INQUIRE,
1. Whence it is that persons are so unconscious of
this principle within them ?
[It is not surely, because they have not this principle in
their hearts ; for, " Hath the Scripture said in vain, The spirit
that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy f ?" No : all are more or
less actuated by it, till it has been conquered by divine grace.
But it is confessedly a mean principle, and therefore men are
averse to acknowledge its existence in them. It is also a
principle easily concealed by specious coverings. Its effects
are ascribed to just indignation against sin ; and the most
eminent virtues of a person are blackened by the most oppro
brious names, in order to justify the resentment which it
excites in the bosom. Other strong passions, as lust and
anger, are more determinate in their actings, and therefore
less capable of being hid from our own view ; but envy, like
avarice, is of so doubtful a character, and admits of so many
plausible excuses, that those who are most subject to it are
unconscious of its existence and operation within them.]
2. How it may be discerned?
[Envy is not excited, except where the advancement or
happiness of another appears within our own reach. To dis
cern its workings therefore, we must watch the actings of our
mind towards persons whose situation and circumstances nearly
accord with our own. The principle is then most strongly
operative, when there is a degree of rivalry or competition
e John viii. 44. f Jam. iv. 5.
264 GENESIS, XXXIX. 9. [51.
existing. People do not like to be excelled in that line
wherein they themselves affect distinction. The female that
courts admiration, the tradesman that values himself upon the
superiority of his goods, the scholar that is a candidate for
fame, the statesman that is ambitious of honour, must con
sider how he feels, when he sees himself outstripped in his
course; whether he would not be glad to hear that his suc
cessful competitor had failed in his expectations ; whether his
ear is not open to any thing that may reduce his rival to a
level with himself; whether, in short, the fine coat and pro
mised elevation of Joseph do not grieve him ? Let persons be
attentive to the motions of their hearts on such occasions as
these, and they will find that this accursed principle is exceed
ing strong within them ; and that they need to watch and
pray against it continually, if they would gain the mastery
over it in any measure.]
3. How it may be subdued?
[Doubtless many things might be prescribed which would
conduce to this end. We content ourselves however with
specifying only two. First, Let us endeavour to get a know
ledge of our own vileness. When we have thoroughly learned
that we deserve God s wrath and indignation, we shall account
it a mercy that we are out of hell. We shall not then be
grieved at any preference shewn to others. We shall see that
we have already far more than we deserve ; and we shall be
willing that others should enjoy what God has given them,
when we see how mercifully he has dealt with us.
Next, Let us get our hearts filled with love to our fellow-
creatures. We do not envy those whom we love : the more we
love any person, the more we rejoice in his advancement. The
Apostle justly says, " Charity envieth not." Let us beg of
God then to implant this better principle in our hearts. Then
shall our selfish passions be mortified and subdued ; and we
shall be made like unto him, whose name is Love g .]
s 1 John iv. 8.
LI.
THE NEED OF FLEEING FROM SIN WITH ABHORRENCE.
Gen. xxxix. 9. How can I do this great wickedness, and sin
against God?
THE grace of God is equally necessary for us in
every situation of life ; in adversity, to support us ;
and in prosperity, to keep us We should have been
51.] THE NEED OF FLEEING FROM SIN. 265
ready indeed to congratulate Joseph on his advance
ment in the house of Potiphar, as though his trials
had been ended : but we see that, if his former path
was strewed with thorns, his present station was slip
pery, and replete with danger His history is well
known, and need not be insisted on : suffice it to say,
that when tempted by his mistress, and importuned
from day to day to commit sin with her, he resisted
her solicitations with unshaken constancy, and re
jected her proposals with indignation and abhor
rence The reply, which through the grace of God
he was enabled to make, leads us to observe that,
I. Sin is no light evil
The world in general imagine sin to be of very
little moment
[Sin universally prevails, and, except where it greatly
interferes with the welfare of society, is countenanced and
approved The customs of the world sanction the practice of
it to a certain extent in every one, whether male or female ;
though the greater latitude of indulgence is allowed to men
The very education that is given both to our sons and daugh
ters, tends only to foster in them pride and vanity, wantonness
and sensuality, worldliness and profaneness : let but these dis
positions assume the names of ease, elegance, and gaiety, and
they instantly lose all their malignant qualities ; and, instead
of exciting our abhorrence, endear to us the persons by whom
they are indulged Too many indeed will not submit to any
restraints, but will even justify the grossest immoralities
They impose upon their excesses some specious appellation ;
they call drunkenness, conviviality ; and whoredom, youthful
indiscretion Thus they commit sin without fear, persist
in it without remorse, and even glory in their shame, when,
through age and infirmity, they can no longer follow their
former courses
But, if viewed aright, it will appear a dreadful evil
[Can that be light or venial which cast myriads of angels
from their height of glory into the bottomless abyss of hell ?
Is that of trifling importance which in one moment ruined the
whole race of man, and subjected them to an everlasting curse ?
But if these effects be not sufficient to convince us, let us
behold the Saviour in the garden of Gethsemane, or on the
hill of Calvary : let us behold the Lord of glory bathed in
blood, and expiring under the curse which our sins have
266 GENESIS, XXXIX. 9.
merited; and we shall instantly confess with Solomon, that
they are " fools, who make a mock of sin" ]
Not however to insist on this general view of sin,
we observe that,
II. Considered as an offence against God, its enormity
is exceeding great
This is the particular light in which it struck the
mind of Joseph Though the iniquity to which he
was tempted, would have been a defiling of his own
body, and an irreparable injury to Potiphar his
master, yet every other consideration seemed to be
swallowed up in that of the offence it would give to
God a Sin is levelled more immediately against God
himself It is,
1. A defiance of his authority
[God commands us to keep his law ; and enforces his
commands with the most awful and encouraging sanctions
But sin says, like Pharaoh, " Who is the Lord, that I should
regard him ? I know not the Lord, neither will I obey his
voice b " And is it a light matter for a servant thus to insult
his master, a child his parent, a creature his Creator ? ]
2. A denial of his justice
[God threatens that " the wicked shall not be unpunished"
But what does sin reply? It says like them of old, " God
will not do good, neither will he do evil c " And shall it be
thought a trifling matter to rob the Deity thus of his most
essential perfections ? ]
3. An abuse of his goodness-
fit is altogether owing to the goodness of God that we
are even capable of sinning against him It is from him that
we receive the bounties which administer to our excess, and
the strength whereby we provoke the eyes of his glory And
can any thing be conceived more vile than to make his good
ness to us the very means and occasion of insulting him to his
face ? ]
4. A rejection of his mercy
[God is continually calling us to accept of mercy through
the Son of his love But sin " tramples under foot the Son
of God ;" it even " crucifies him afresh, and puts him to an
a David viewed his sin in this light, Ps. li. 4.
b Exod. v. 2. See also Ps. xii. 4. and Jer. xliv. 16.
c Zeph. i. 12.
51.] THE NEED OF FLEEING FROM SIN. 267
open shame " It proclaims aloud, that the glory of heaven is
not to be compared with the gratification of our lusts; and
that it is better to perish by self-indulgence, than to obtain
salvation in the exercise of self-denial What terms then can
sufficiently express the enormity of that, which so blinds and
infatuates its wretched votaries ? ]
It is not possible to behold sin in this light, without
acknowledging that,
III. We ought to flee from it with indignation and
abhorrence
Instead of tampering with it we should flee from it
[Sin is of so fascinating a nature that it soon bewitches
us, and leads us astray As " a man cannot take fire into his
bosom without being burnt," so neither can he harbour sin in
his heart without being vitiated and corrupted by it Had
Achan fled from the wedge of gold as soon as ever he found a
desire after it springing up in his heart ; and David turned
away his eyes the very instant he saw Bathsheba, how much
shame and misery would they have escaped ! But the breach,
which might easily have been stopped at the first, presently
defied the efforts of an accusing conscience ; and a flood of
iniquity soon carried them away with irresistible impetuosity
Thus also it will be with us ; if we parley with the tempter,
he will surely overcome us : we must resist sin at the first,
if we would oppose it with success ]
Instead of loving it, we should utterly abhor it
[The grace of God enabled Joseph to reject with abhor
rence the offers proposed to him ; and to prefer a dungeon
with a good conscience before the indulgence of a criminal
passion, or the favour of a seducing mistress Thus should we
turn with indignation from the allurements of sin We should
" make a covenant with our eyes," yea, with our very hearts,
that we may close, as much as possible, every avenue of ill
Instead of palliating sin, we should view it in all its aggrava
tions ; and especially as an offence against a just and holy, a
merciful and gracious, God Nor should we ever forget, that,
though it be " rolled as a sweet morsel under the tongue, it
will prove gall in the stomach ;" and though it flatter us with
its innocence, " it will bite as a serpent, and sting like an
adder " ]
ADDRESS,
1. Those who think lightly of sin
[We well know that the generality of men have much to
say in extenuation of their guilt ; and, if they had been in the
situation of Joseph, would have accounted the greatness of the
268 GENESIS, XXXIX. 9.
temptation a sufficient excuse for their compliance with it
But to what purpose shall we palliate our guilt, unless we can
prevail on the Judge of quick and dead to view it with our
eyes ? We may indeed weaken our present convictions, but we
shall only secure thereby, and enhance, our eternal condemna
tion Let us remember that " fleshly lusts war against the
soul 1 ;" and that either we must mortify and subdue them, or
they will enslave and destroy us e : for, even though the whole
universe should combine to justify the commission of sin, not
one who yields to its solicitations, shall ever pass unpunished ]
2. Those who begin to see the evil of it-
fit is an unspeakable mercy to have any view of the ma
lignity of sin To see how much we have deserved the wrath
and indignation of God, is the very first step towards repent
ance and salvation Let not any then turn away from this
sight too hastily, or think they have discovered the evil of sin
in its full extent This is a lesson we are to be learning all
our days ; and it is only in proportion as we advance in this
humiliating knowledge, that we shall be qualified to receive and
enjoy the Saviour It is necessary indeed that, while we look
at sin, we look also at Him who made atonement for it; for
otherwise, we shall be led to despair of mercy ; but, if we keep
our eyes fixed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and see the infinite
extent of his merits, we need never be afraid of entertaining
too bitter a remembrance of sin The more we lotlie our
selves for past iniquities, the more shall we be fortified against
temptations to commit them in future, and the more will God
himself be ready to preserve and bless us ]
3. Those who, like Joseph, are enabled to with
stand it
[Blessed be God, there are many living witnesses to
prove, that the grace of God is as sufficient at this day, as ever
it was, to purify the heart, and to " keep the feet of his
saints" Let those then who are enabled to hold fast their
integrity, give glory to him, by whom they are strengthened
and upheld But let them remember, that they are never
beyond the reach of temptation, nor ever so likely to fall, as
when they are saying, " My mountain stands strong; I shall
not be moved" Let us then continue to watch against the
renewed assaults of our great adversary Never let him find
us off our guard, or draw us to a parley with him Let us
suspect him, and he shall not deceive us ; let us resist him,
and he shall flee from us : and the very assaults that he shall
make upon us, shall terminate in our honour and his own
confusion ]
d 1 Pet. ii. 11. e Rom. viii. 13.
52.] INGRATITUDE OF PHARAOH S BUTLER. 269
LII.
INGRATITUDE OF PHARAOH s BUTLER.
Gen. xl. 23. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph,
but forgat him.
IT was a wise and prudent choice which David
made, " Let me fall into the hands of God, and not
into the hands of man." Man, when intent on evil,
knows no bounds, except those which are prescribed
by his ability to execute his wishes. He is easily in
censed, but with difficulty appeased. The ties of
blood and relationship are not sufficient to bind per
sons in amity with each other, when once any ground
of discord arises between them. It might have been
hoped that in such a family as Jacob s, love and har
mony would prevail : but to such a degree had envy
inflamed his whole family against their younger
brother, that they conspired against his life, and only
adopted the milder alternative of selling him for a
slave, through a horror which they felt at the thought
of shedding his blood. Nor will the most amiable
conduct always ensure regard, or protect a person
from the most cruel injuries. The holy, chaste, and
conscientious deportment of Joseph should have ex
alted his character in the eyes of his mistress : but
when she failed in her attempts to ensnare his virtue,
her passionate desire after him was converted into
rage ; and she procured the imprisonment of him
whom she had just before solicited to be her par
amour. During his confinement, he had opportuni
ties of shewing kindness to his fellow-prisoners. To
two of them he interpreted their dreams, which proved
to be prophetic intimations of their respective fates.
Of Pharaoh s chief butler, whose speedy restoration
he foretold, he made a most reasonable request : he
told him, that he had been stolen out of the land of
the Hebrews ; and that there existed no just cause
for his imprisonment : and he entreated, that he would
make known his case to Pharaoh, and intercede for
his deliverance. In making this request, he never
270 GENESIS, XL. 23. [52.
once criminated either his brethren who had sold him,
or his mistress who had falsely accused him : he cast
a veil of love over their faults, and sought for nothing
but the liberty of which he had been unjustly deprived.
Who would conceive that so reasonable a request, pre
sented to one who had such opportunities of knowing
his excellent character, to one too on whom he had
conferred such great obligations, should fail ? Lord,
what is man ? how base, how selfish, how ungrate
ful ! Let us fix our attention upon this incident in
the history of Joseph, and make some suitable reflec
tions upon it
We observe then,
I. That gratitude is but a feeble principle in the
human mind
[Corrupt and sinful principles are, alas ! too strong in the
heart of man ; but those which are more worthy of cultivation,
are weak indeed. To what a degree are men actuated by
pride ambition covetousness envy wrath revenge !
To what exertions will they not be stimulated by hope or
fear! -But the motions of gratitude are exceeding
faint : in the general, they are scarcely perceptible : and though
on some extraordinary occasions, like that of Israel s deliver
ance at the Red Sea, the heart may glow with a sense of the
mercies vouchsafed unto us, we soon forget them, even as
the Israelites did, and return to our former coldness and
indifference.]
II. That its operations are rather weakened than
promoted by prosperity
[Pharaoh s butler, when restored to his master s service,
thought no more of the friend whom he had left in prison.
This is the general effect of prosperity, which steels the heart
against the wants and miseries of others, and indisposes it for
the exercise of sympathy and compassion. It is usually found
too that the more we abound in temporal blessings, the more
unmindful we are of Him who gave them. That is a true
description of us all ; " Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked." On
the other hand, adversity tends to bring us to consideration:
when we have suffered bereavements of any kind, we begin to
feel the value of the things we have lost ; and to regret, that
we were not more thankful for them while they were con
tinued to us. The loss of a part of our blessings often renders
us more thankful for those that remain: and it is no un
common sight to behold a sick person more thankful for an
52.] INGRATITUDE OF PHARAOH S BUTLER. 271
hour s sleep, or a small intermission of pain, or the services of
his attendants, than he ever was for all the ease and sleep that
he enjoyed, or the services that were rendered him, in the days
of his health. We have a very striking instance of the dif
ferent effects of prosperity and adversity in the history of Heze-
kiah. In his sickness he exclaimed, " The living, the living,
he shall praise thee, as I do this day : " but when restored to
health, he forgat his Benefactor, and " rendered not again
according to the benefits that had been done unto him." In
this, I say, he is an example of the ingratitude which obtains
in the world at large; for we are told, that " God left him to
try him, and that he might know all that was in his heart."]
III. That the want of it is hateful in proportion to
the obligations conferred upon us
[We suppose that no man ever read attentively the words
of our text without exclaiming (in thought at least, if not in
words), What base ingratitude was this ! Whether we con
sider his obligations to Joseph, who had been to him a mes
senger of such glad tidings, or his obligations to God, who had
overruled the heart of Pharaoh to restore him to his place, he
surely was bound to render that small service to his fellow-
prisoner, and to interpose in behalf of oppressed innocence.
And we cannot but feel a detestation of his character on
account of his unfeeling and ungrateful conduct. Indeed it is
thus that we are invariably affected towards all persons ; and
more especially those who have received favours at our hands.
If we receive an injury or an insult, or are treated with
neglect by persons whom we have greatly benefited, we fix
immediately on their ingratitude, as the most aggravating
circumstance of their guilt : it is that which pains us, and which
makes them appear most odious in our eyes. And though this
sentiment may be easily carried to excess, yet, if kept within
due bounds, it forms a just criterion of the enormity of any
offence that is committed against us. It was this which in
God s estimation so greatly aggravated the guilt of the Jewish
nation ; " They forgat God who had done so great things for
them a ." And we shall do well to bear it in mind, as the
means of awakening in our own minds a just sense of our
condition before God: for ingratitude, above all things, sub
jects us to his displeasure b .]
This subject may be fitly IMPROVED
1. To fill us with shame and confusion before God
[If we think of our temporal mercies only, they call for
incessant songs of praise and thanksgiving : but what do we
a Ps. cvi. 7, 13, 21.
b Rom. i. 21. 2 Tim. iii. 2. Isai. i. 3. Dcut. xxviii. 45, 47.
272 GENESIS, XL. 23. [52.
owe to God for the gift of his dear Son and of his Holy
Spirit and of a preached Gospel ? What do we owe to God
if he has rendered his word in any measure effectual for the
enlightening of our minds, and the quickening of our souls ?
" What manner of persons then ought we to be ? " How should
our hearts glow with love, and our mouths be filled with his
praise ! Let us prosecute these thoughts, and we shall soon
blush and be confounded before God, and lie low before him
in dust and ashes.]
2. To keep us from putting our trust in man
[Many years had Joseph been confined in prison, and now
he thought he should have an advocate at court, who would
speedily liberate him from his confinement. But God would
not let him owe his deliverance to an arm of flesh : yea, he left
him two years longer in prison, that he might learn to put his
trust in God only : and then he wrought his deliverance by his
own arm. " Till his time was come, the word of the Lord
tried him." At last, God suggested to Pharaoh dreams, which
no magicians could expound ; and thus brought to the butler s
recollection the oppressed youth who had interpreted his dreams,
and who was the only person that could render similar service
to the affrighted monarch. Now we also, like Joseph, are but
too apt to lean on an arm of flesh, instead of looking simply to
the Lord our God : but we shall always find in the issue, that
the creature is only a broken reed, which will pierce the hand
that leans upon it ; and that none but God can render us
any effectual assistance. Let us then trust in him only, and
with all our heart, and then we shall never be confounded.]
3. To make us admire and adore the Lord Jesus
[That blessed Saviour is not less mindful of us in his
exalted state, than he was in the days of his flesh. Yea, though
not at all indebted to us, though, on the contrary, he has all
possible reas-oii to abandon us for ever, yet is he mindful of us
day and night ; he makes intercession for us continually at the
right hand of God; he considers this as the very end of his
exaltation ; and he improves every moment in protecting, com
forting, and strengthening those who depend upon him. We
challenge any one to say, When did the blessed Saviour forget
him ? We may have been ready to say indeed, " He hath for
saken and forgotten us ;" but " He can 110 more forget us than
a woman can forget her sucking child." Let us then bless
his name, and magnify it with thanksgiving. And let us from
time to time offer to Him the petition of the dying thief,
" Lord, remember me now thou art in thy kingdom : " and not
all the glory and felicity of heaven shall divert his attention
from us for a single moment.]
53.1 JOSEPH S ADVANCEMENT.
LIII.
JOSEPH S ADVANCEMENT.
Gen. xli. 41. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set
thee over all the land of Egypt.
IN the eventful life of Joseph we are particularly
struck with the suddenness and greatness of the
changes he experienced. One day he was his father s
favourite; the next he was menaced with death and
sold as a slave : one day at the head of Potiphar s
household ; the next immured in a prison and laden
with fetters of iron. From that state also he was
called in a moment by the singular providence of
God, and exalted to the government of the first
nation upon earth. Of this we are informed in the
text; from whence we take occasion to observe,
I. That we can be in no state, however desperate,
from whence God cannot speedily deliver us
[The state of Joseph, though considerably ameliorated by
the indulgence of the keeper of his prison, was very hopeless.
He had been many years in prison ; and had no means of
redress afforded him. His cause being never fairly tried, his
innocence could not be cleared : and there was every reason to
apprehend that his confinement would terminate only with his
life. The hopes he had entertained from the kind offices of
Pharaoh s butler had completely failed : and God had suffered
him to be thus disappointed, in order that, "having the sentence
of death in himself, he might not trust in himself, but in God
that raiseth the dead." But when God s time was come, every
difficulty vanished, and his elevation was as great as it was
sudden and unexpected.
It would be well if we bore in mind the ability of God to
help us. People when brought into great trials by loss of dear
friends, by embarrassed circumstances, or by some other cala
mitous event, are apt to think, that, because they see no way
for their escape, their state is hopeless ; and, from indulging
despair, they are ready to say with Job, " I am weary of life," and
" my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life a ."
But we should remember that there is " a God with whom
nothing is impossible :" though human help may fail us, " his
arm is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor is his ear heavy,
a Job vii. 15.
VOL. I. T
274 GENESIS, XLL 41. [53.
that it cannot hear :" yea rather he would glorify himself, as
he did in rescuing Israel at the Red Sea, if we would call
upon him ; and our extremity should be the opportunity he
would seize for his effectual interpositions: " In the mount,
the Lord would be seen."
We may apply the same observations to those who seem to
have cast off all fear of God, and to have sinned beyond a hope
of recovery. But while the conversion of Saul, and the deli
verance of Peter from prison, stand on record, we shall see
that there is nothing too great for God to effect, and nothing
too good for him to give, in answer to the prayer of faith.]
II. That God is never at a loss for means whereby
to effect his gracious purposes
[He had decreed the elevation of Joseph to the highest
dignity in the land of Egypt. To accomplish this, he causes
Pharaoh to be disturbed by two significant dreams, which none
of his magicians could interpret. The solicitude of Pharaoh
to understand the purport of his dreams leads his butler to
" confess his fault" in having so long neglected the youth who
had, two years before, interpreted his dreams ; and to recom
mend him as the only person capable of satisfying the mind of
Pharaoh. Instantly Joseph is sent for (not from a sense of
justice to an injured person, but from a desire for the informa
tion which he alone could give) ; and, upon his interpreting
the dreams of Pharaoh, and giving suitable advice respecting
the steps that should be taken to meet the future distress, he
is invested with supreme authority, that he may carry his own
plans into execution. Thus God, by suggesting dreams to
Pharaoh, and to Joseph the interpretation of them, effects in
an hour what, humanly speaking, all the power of Pharaoh
could not otherwise have accomplished.
If we were duly observant of the works of Providence, we
should see, in many instances relating to ourselves, how won
derfully God has brought to pass the most unlooked-for events.
Tilings the most strange have been made to subserve his gra
cious purposes, and to accomplish what no human foresight
could have effected for us. In relation to the concerns of our
souls this may perhaps be more visible than in any temporal
matters. The history of God s people, if it were fully known,
would furnish thousands of instances, not less wonderful than
that before us, of persons " raised" by the most unexpected
and apparently trivial means " from the dust or a dunghill, to
be set among princes, and to inherit a throne of glory." We
are far from recommending any one to trust in dreams, or to
pay any attention to them whatever : for " in the multitude of
dreams are divers vanities." But we dare not say that God
never makes use of dreams to forward his own inscrutable
53.] JOSEPH S ADVANCEMENT. 275
designs : on the contrary, we believe that he has often made a
dream about death or judgment the occasion of stirring up a
person to seek after salvation; and that he has afterwards
answered the prayers, which originated in that apparently
trifling and accidental occurrence. At all events, there are a
multitude of little circumstances which tend to fix the bounds
of our habitation, or to bring us into conversation with this or
that person, by whom we are ultimately led to the knowledge
of the truth. So that we should commit our every way to
God, and look to him to order every thing for us according to
the counsel of his own gracious will.]
III. We are never in a fairer way for exaltation to
happiness than when we are waiting God s time,
and suffering his will
[We hear nothing respecting Joseph but what strongly
impresses us with a belief that he was perfectly resigned to the
will of God. It is most probable indeed that he had formed
some expectation from an arm of flesh : but two years expe
rience of human ingratitude had taught him that his help must
be in God alone. At last, his recompence is bestowed, and
ample compensation is given him for all that he endured.
With his prison garments, he puts off his sorrows ; and, from
a state of oppression and ignominy, he is made the Benefactor
and the Saviour of a whole nation.
Happy would it be for us if we could leave ourselves in God s
hands, and submit ourselves in all things to his wise disposal !
We are persuaded, that our want of submission to Divine
Providence is that which so often necessitates God to afflict
us ; and that if we could more cordially say, " Thy will be
done," we should much sooner and much oftener be favoured
with the desire of our own hearts. Have we an husband, a wife,
a child in sick and dying circumstances ? our rebellious mur-
murings may provoke God to inflict the threatened stroke, and
to take away the idol which we are so averse to part with :
whereas, if we were once brought to make a cordial surrender
of our will to His, he would in many instances arrest the
uplifted arm, and restore our Isaac to our bosom. At all
events, he would compensate by spiritual communications
whatever we might lose or suffer by a temporal bereavement.]
We may yet further LEARN from this subject,
1. To submit with cheerfulness to all the dispen
sations of Providence
[We may, like Joseph, have accumulated and long-con
tinued trials; the end of which we may not be able to foresee.
But, as in his instance, and in that of Job, " we have seen the
end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender
276 GENESIS, XLIL 21. [54.
mercy," so we may be sure that our trials shall terminate well ;
and that however great or long-continued they may be, our
future recompence, either in this world or the next, will leave
us no reason to complain.]
2. To be thankful to God for the Governors whom
he has been pleased to set over us
[It is " by God that kings reign, and princes decree jus
tice." Sometimes, " for the punishment of a land, children
(that is, persons weak and incompetent) are placed over it,"
that their infatuated counsels or projects may bring upon it
his heavy judgments. We, blessed be God ! have been highly
favoured in this respect. By his gracious providence, we have
for a long series of years had persons exalted to posts of
honour, who, like Joseph, have sought the welfare of the
nation, and have promoted it by their wise counsels and inde
fatigable exertions. Let us thankfully acknowledge God in
them, and endeavour to shew ourselves worthy of this mercy,
by the peaceableness of our demeanour, and the cheerfulness
of our submission to them.]
3. To be thankful, above all, for our adorable
Emmanuel
[" Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a
Prince and a Saviour." " To Him hath he given a name that
is above every name ; that at the name of Jesus every knee
should boiv^." To Him doth our almighty King direct us,
saying to every famished soul, " Go to Jesus c ." In Him
there is all fulness treasured up : to Him all the nations of the
earth may go for the bread of life : nor shall any of them 1;
sent empty away. They shall receive it too " without money
and without price." O what do we owe to God for raising us
up such a Saviour! and what do we owe to Jesus, who has
voluntarily undertaken this office, and who submitted to im
prisonment in the grave as the appointed step to this glorious
elevation ! Let us thankfully bow the knee to him ; and go to
him continually for our daily supplies of grace and peace.]
b Compare ver. 43. with Phil. ii. 9 11. c ver. 55.
LIV.
THE POWER OF CONSCIENCE.
Gen. xlii. 21. And they said one to another, We are verily
guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of
his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear ; there
fore is this distress come upon us.
54.] THE POWER OF CONSCIENCE. 277
THE history of Joseph appears rather like a well-
concerted fiction than a reality. In it is found all
that gives beauty to the finest drama ; a perfect unity
of design ; a richness and variety of incident, involving
the plot in obscurity,, yet gradually drawing it to its
destined end ; and the whole issuing happily, to the
rewarding of virtue and discouraging of vice. The
point to which all tends,, is, the fulfilment of Joseph s
dreams in the submission of his whole family to him.
And here we find his dreams realized through the
very means which were used to counteract their
accomplishment. Already had his brethren bowed
themselves down with their faces to the earth: but
this was only the commencement of their subjection to
him : they must be brought far lower yet, and be made
to feel the guilt they had contracted by their cruelty
towards him. With this view Joseph forbears to
reveal himself to them, but deals roughly with them,
imprisoning them as spies, and menacing them with
death if they do not clear themselves from that charge.
They had formerly cast him into a pit, and sold him
as a slave ; and now they are cast into prison and
bound : they once were deaf to his cries and entreaties ;
and now the governor of Egypt is deaf to theirs.
This brings to their remembrance their former con
duct ; and they trace the hand of an avenging God in
their sufferings. Their conscience, which had been
so long dormant, now wakes, and performs its office.
This is the incident mentioned in our text : and,
confining our attention to it, we shall shew,
I. The general office of conscience
To enter into any philosophical discussion re
specting that faculty which we call conscience, would
be altogether beside our purpose, and unsuited to the
present occasion. It will be sufficient to take the
word in its popular sense, as importing that natural
faculty whereby we judge both of our actions and
the consequences of them. It is given to us by God,
to operate as,
1. A guide
278 GENESIS, XLII. 21. [54.
[Of itself indeed it cannot guide, but only according to
rules which before exist in the mind. It does not so much
tell us what is right or wrong, as whether our actions corre
spond with our apprehensions of right and wrong. But as we
are apt to be biassed by interest or passion to violate our
acknowledged obligations, conscience is intended to act as a
guide or monitor, warning us against the commission of evil,
and inciting us to the performance of what is good. True it
is indeed that it often stimulates to evil under the notion of
good : for St. Paul followed its dictates in persecuting the
Christians, when " he thought he ought to do many things
contrary to the name of Jesus a :" and our blessed Lord informs
us, that many who would kill his disciples would do it under
an idea that they were rendering unto God an acceptable ser
vice b . The fault of these persons consists not in following the
dictates of their conscience, but in not taking care to have
their conscience better informed. A thing which is evil in
itself cannot be made good by any erroneous conceptions of
ours respecting it : but things which are of themselves inno
cent, become evil, if they be done contrary to the convictions
of our own minds : for we ought to be fully persuaded of the
propriety of a thing before we do it d ; and "whatsoever is not
of faith is sin e ."]
2. A judge
[Conscience is God s vicegerent in the soul, and autho
ritatively pronounces in the soul the judgment which God
himself will pass on our actions f . It takes cognizance not of
our actions only, but of our principles and motives, and brings
into its estimate every thing that will form the basis of God s
judgment. Of course, in this, as well as in its suggestions, it
may err : for, if it form a wrong judgment of the qualities of
our actions, its judgment must be wrong also as to the conse
quences of them. It may promise us God s approbation upon
grounds that are very erroneous: but when its apprehensions
of our duty are themselves just, its award respecting our per
formance of it is a prelude of God s final judgment : for St.
John says, " If our heart condemn us, God is greater than
our heart, and knoweth all things : " but " if our heart con
demn us not, then have we confidence toward God g ."]
But, as its operations are by no means uniform, we
proceed to mark,,
II. Its insensibility, when dormant
a Acts xxvi. 9. b John xvi. 2. c Rom. xiv. 14.
d Rom. xiv. 5. e Rom. xiv. 23. f Rom. ii. 15.
s 1 John iii. 20, 21.
54.1 THE POWER OF CONSCIENCE. 279
Wonderful was its insensibility in the sons of Jacob
[When they conspired against their brother Joseph, and
cast him into the pit, that he might perish with hunger, they
regarded not the cries and entreaties of the youth, but pro
ceeded in their murderous career without remorse. But the
seasonable appearance of a company of Ishmaelites suggested
to them somewhat of an easier method of ridding themselves
of him. At the suggestion of Judah, " What profit is it if we
slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us
sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him ;
for he is our brother, and our flesh ; " they acceded to it, and
" were content." In the first instance, after putting him into
the pit, " they sat down to eat bread," evidently without any
compunction : but now they were quite " content" applauding
themselves for their humanity, instead of condemning them
selves for their injustice and cruelty 11 .
View next their mode of deceiving their aged father. They
took Joseph s coat, and dipped it in the blood of a kid which
they killed for the purpose ; and brought it to their father, in
order that he might conclude, that an evil beast had devoured
his son. (How far God might design this as a just retribution
for the deceit which Jacob himself had practised towards his
aged father, when he, by assuming Esau s coat, stole away the
blessing that belonged to Esau, we stay not to notice : with
this the sons of Jacob had nothing to do.) They behold their
aged parent overwhelmed with grief, and absolutely incon
solable for the loss of his son : and these detestable hypocrites
" rise up to comfort him i ." Where is conscience all this time ?
Has it no voice ? Is there not one amongst them all that has
any compunctious visitings? not one amongst all the ten?
Does no heart relent at the sight of the anguish of an aged
and pious parent, sitting from day to day and from month to
month " with sackcloth on his loins," and " going down
mourning to the grave ?" No ; not one of them all, as far as
we know, ever " repented, saying, What have I done ?" For
the space of two and twenty years they all continued in im
penitent obduracy ; and were not made even at last to feel the
guilt they had contracted in selling their brother, till they
themselves were brought into somewhat similar circumstances
with him, and constrained to read their own crime in their
punishment. Such was conscience in them /]
Yet this is in reality what we may see in ourselves
and in all around us
[Behold the profane, who have not God in all their
thoughts, and who never utter the name of God but to blas-
h Gen. xxxvii. 23 28. { Gen. xxxvii. 31 35.
280 GENESIS, XL1I. 21. [54.
pheme it : they can go on for years and years, and yet never
imagine that they have once offended God. Behold the sensual,
who revel in all manner of uncleanness : they " wipe their
mouth, like the adulteress, and say, I have done no wicked
ness k ." Behold the worldly, who have no cares whatever
beyond the things of time and sense : their idolatrous love to
the creature raises no doubts or fears in their minds : yea,
rather, they bless themselves as wise, prudent, diligent, and
think that they have done all that is required of them. Behold
the self-righteous, who, from an overweening conceit of their
own goodness, will not submit to the righteousness of God :
they can make light of all the invitations of the Gospel, and
pour contempt upon its gracious overtures, and yet never once
suspect themselves to be enemies of Christ. Behold the pro
fessors of religion who " confess Christ with their lips but in
their works deny him :" they will spend a whole life in such
self-deceit, and never entertain a doubt but that he will ac
knowledge them as his in the day of judgment. And whence
is this ? Is it not that conscience is asleep ? If it performed
in any measure its office, could it be thus ? Yet thus it is
sometimes even with those who are well instructed in religion.
The sins of David are well known : yet even he, who at one
time was smitten with grief and shame at having cut oft" the
skirt of a man who sought his life, now kills the very man who
was daily hazarding his life for him, and feels no remorse : yea,
after having seduced the wife of his friend, and then murdered
him, he continues at least nine months as obdurate as the most
profligate of the human race : to such a degree was his " con
science seared as with a hot iron 1 , and to such a degree may our
"hearts also be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin m ."]
But the text leads us to contemplate more par
ticularly,
III. Its power when awake-
God has various ways of awakening a drowsy
conscience. Sometimes he does it through some
afflictive dispensation, as in the case before us :
sometimes through the conversation of a friend":
sometimes by the public ministry of the word : some
times by an occurrence arising out of men s wicked
ness 5 , or in some way connected with it q . But by
whatever means it is called into activity, it will make
us hear when it speaks to us.
k Prov. xxx. 20. i 1 Tim. iv. 2. Heb. iii. 13.
n 2 Sam. xii. 7. Acts xxiv. 25. P 2 Sam. xxiv. 10.
n Dan. v. 5, 6. Matt. xiv. 1, 2.
54.] THE POWER OF CONSCIENCE. 281
Some it inspires only with terror
[Thus it wrought on these : they saw their guilt, and the
wrath of God upon them on account of it : " We are verily
guilty concerning our brother," said they, " and behold his
blood is required of us r ." Thus it wrought also on the un
happy Judas, who, when he saw what he had done, could no
longer endure his very existence s . And on how many does it
produce no other effect than this ! They see how grievously
they have offended God : and, not having the grace of repent
ance given to them, they sink into despondency. Life now
becomes a burthen to them : and they choose rather to rush
into an unknown state than to endure the stings of an accusing
conscience. Hence the suicides that are so frequent in the
world. Men live in sin, imagining that no painful conse
quences shall ever ensue : but at last " their sin finds them
out ;" and they seek in suicide a refuge from the torments of
a guilty mind. But where a sense of guilt does not drive men
to this extremity, it makes them tremble, as Felix did ; and
imbitters to them their whole existence, so that they are utter
strangers to peace, according as it is written, " There is no
peace, saith my God, to the wicked."]
On others it operates with a more genial influence
[Thus it wrought on Manasseh, when he was taken among
the thorns*. And thus on Peter also, when he " went out,
and wept bitterly u ." Happy, happy they, on whom it pro
duces such effects as these ! They will have no reason to re
pine at any afflictions that are productive of such a blessing x .
What if the intermediate trials be severe? we shall have
reason to bless God for them to all eternity, if they lead to
this end^; and shall have cause to say with David, " It is
good for me that I have been afflicted."]
On all, its testimony is as the voice of God himself
[It speaks with authority. The stoutest man in the uni
verse cannot endure its reproaches : and the most afflicted man
in the universe is made happy by its testimony in his behalf 2 .
We should therefore keep it tender, and be ever attentive to
its voice. On no occasion should we violate its dictates : for
though we may silence its voice for a time, or drown it in
vanity and dissipation, it will speak at last, and constrain us
to hear all that it has recorded concerning us. And when
once it does speak, then we may say concerning it, that " he
whom it blesses, is blessed ; and he whom it curses, is cursed."]
ADVICE
r ver. 22. s Matt, xxvii. 3 5. * 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11 13.
u Luke xxii. 61, 62. x Job xxxvi. 8, 9. y Ps. xxxii. 3 6.
z 2 Cor. i. 12.
GENESIS, XLII. 36. [55.
1. Seek to maintain a good conscience before God
[Let your minds be well instructed in the written word,
and your lives be regulated by its dictates. To have always a
conscience void of offence towards both God and man is no
easy matter : but it is worth the utmost labour and vigilance
that you can bestow upon it.]
2. Do not however rest too confidently in testi
monies of its approbation-
fit will not always speak the same language that it does
when blinded by prejudice or passion. At the time of com
mitting this great evil, the sons of Jacob " ivere content ;" and
they applauded themselves for their forbearance towards their
ill-fated brother. But at a subsequent period, how different
were their views of the very same action! So will it be with
us. We may now approve and applaud our own conduct:
but we must not conclude that we shall therefore always do so.
We are now too apt to be partial in our own favour ; but at a
future period we shall judge righteous judgment, even as God
himself will do : and we are no longer certain that our judg
ment of our own state is correct, than when it manifestly
accords with the word of God.]
3. Look forward to the future judgment
[That will certainly be correct : for God knoweth our
hearts, and will bring every secret thing into judgment,
whether it be good or evil. But oh ! how painful will be the
review in that day, if then for the first time we are made
sensible of our sins ! What a bitter reflection will it be, I
did so and so ; and therefore all this is come upon me : I have
procured it all unto myself. On the other hand, how delight
ful will it be to look back, and be able to appeal to God and
say, " I have walked before thee with a perfect heart !" True
it is, this will afford us no ground for boasting: but, if we
walk before God in all good conscience now, we shall have its
approving testimony in a dying hour, and the approbation of
our God in the day of judgment a .]
a Isai. xxxviii. 3.
LV.
JACOB S UNBELIEVING FEARS.
Gen. xlii. 36. All these things are against me !
THE best of men are weak when they come into
temptation. The trials of Jacob were indeed heavy :
and, if we suppose that he had any idea that his sons
55.] JACOB S UNBELIEVING FEARS. 283
had been active agents in bereaving him of his beloved
Joseph, his grief must have been poignant beyond all
expression. Not having been able to bring home to
them any proof of such a conspiracy, he seems never
to have dropped any hint to them before respecting it ;
and possibly he did not even now mean to charge it
home upon them,, but only to say, that he had been
bereaved in some measure through them : neverthe
less his words seem to betray a lurking suspicion, that
they had been accessary to Joseph s death ; " Me ye
have bereaved ; Joseph is not :" and this might well
make him averse to trust Benjamin in their hands.
But in the complaint he uttered respecting the ulti
mate end of his trials, he was manifestly wrong. We
say not, that we should have shewn more constancy
than he : it is more than probable that none of us in
his circumstances would have acted better : but from
his language on the occasion we may learn, how we do
act in trying circumstances, and how we ought to act.
I. How we do act
" We are born to trouble as the sparks fly upward:"
none therefore can hope to escape it ; and least of all
they, who, like Jacob, have large families. While our
trials are light, we can bear them with composure ;
but if they become heavy and accumulated, we are
then apt to indulge,
1. Murmuring complaints
[Whether Jacob meant to reflect on his sons or not, he
certainly meant to complain of his afflictions ; which was, in
fact, to complain of God, who, in his all-wise providence, had
appointed them. It was thus with his posterity during their
sojourning in the wilderness : they always murmured against
Moses, and against God, whenever they were involved in any
difficulty or distress ; and, when they were discouraged by the
report of the spies respecting the land of Canaan and its inha
bitants, they even proposed to make a Captain over them, and
to return unto Egypt a . And how many such "murmurers
and complainers" are there amongst ourselves! Some will ex
pressly declare, that they think God deals hardly with them :
others content themselves with venting their spleen against the
instruments of their calamities : but all, in one way or other,
a Numb, xiv. 4.
284 GENESIS, XLII. 36. [55.
are apt to " charge God foolishly," as if he were unmerciful,
if not unrighteous also, in his dispensations towards them.]
2. Desponding fears
[So filled was Jacob with a sense of his present calamities,
that he could not indulge a hope of a favourable issue from
them : he thought of nothing but increasing troubles, which
should " bring down his grey hairs with sorrow to the grave."
Thus also his descendants, whom we have before alluded to :
they had seen bread given them from heaven, and water out of
the stony rock ; but they doubted whether God were able to
provide flesh also for their sustenance : and when they were
brought to the very borders of Canaan, they doubted whether it
were possible for them ever to conquer the inhabitants, and
take their fenced cities. And are not we also ready to say, on
some occasions, " Our hope is lost ; we are cut off for our
parts ? " Are we not ready to ask with David, whether his
"mercy be not come utterly to an end?" Yes ; in temporal
things we too often sink under our troubles as absolutely irre
mediable ; and in spiritual matters, we doubt almost the ability,
and at all events the willingness, of Christ to save us.]
While we condemn the unbelief of this afflicted
patriarch,, we acknowledge, in fact,
II. How we ought to act-
However dark may be the dispensations of God
towards us, we should,
1. Wait his time
[We are not to be impatient because relief does not come
at the first moment that we ask for it. There must be a time
for the dispensations of God to produce their proper effects
upon our hearts. We do not expect that a medical prescrip
tion shall effect in one moment all for which it was adminis
tered ; we expect its operation to be unpleasant ; and we are
contented to submit to pain for a season, that we may after
wards enjoy the blessings of health. Now we know that our
heavenly Physician prescribes with unerring wisdom, and
consults our greatest good : whatever time therefore the
accomplishment of his designs may occupy, we should wait
with patience, assured that the intended benefits shall ulti
mately be enjoyed. We should give him credit, if we may so
speak, for his wisdom and love ; and leave him to display them
in his own way : " He that believeth, shall not make haste."]
2. Rest on his promises
[The promises of God to his people, respecting the issue
of their trials, are exceeding great and precious. He declares,
that we shall have " no temptation without a way to escape;"
55.] JACOB S UNBELIEVING FEARS. 285
that " all things shall work together for our good," and " work
out for us a more exceeding weight of glory." Surely such
promises as these should reconcile us to trials, however great.
What can we wish for more ? And how can we dare to say,
" All these things are against me," when God tells us positively
that they are working for us ? Did we ever know that one
of God s promises failed? Why then should we doubt the
accomplishment of these, when they have already been ful
filled in so many thousand instances ? Let it satisfy us, that
God has promised; and that "what he has promised, he is
able also to perform."]
3. Hope against hope
[This was Abraham s conduct under far heavier trials than
we have ever experienced b . What though we cannot see how
God can effect our deliverance ? Is HE also at a loss ? The
darker our state, the more simple should be our affiance. We
should say with Job, " Though he slay me, yet will I trust in
him." How was Jacob reproved at last, when he saw the
issue of those things which in his haste he had so deplored !
Let us remember that there is the same gracious, almighty
God at this time ; and that " they who trust in Him shall
never be confounded."]
We may further LEARN from this subject,,
1. What an excellent grace faith is
[Faith beholds nothing but paternal love in the heaviest
chastisements. Faith " brings meat out of the eater," and
tastes sweetness in the bitterest cup. Faith looks to the end
of things, and sees them, in a measure, as God sees them. It
is the great and sovereign antidote to troubles of every kind.
If Jacob had exercised faith as Abraham did, the trials of
which he complained would scarcely have been felt at all.
But God is pleased to try us on purpose that we may learn to
trust in him. In this world " we are to walk by faith, and
not by sight." Let us therefore cultivate continually this
divine principle, which, while it honours God, tends exceed
ingly to the advancement of our own happiness.]
2. How blessed a state heaven will be
[Here God has wisely and graciously hid futurity from
our view. But when we are arrived at the heavenly mansions,
we shall see all the merciful designs of God developed, and the
wisdom of his dispensations clearly displayed. We shall then
see that the trials of which we once complained, were not only
salutary, but absolutely necessary for us ; and that, if they had
been withheld from us, there would have been wanting a link
b Rom. iv. 18. with Heb. xi. 1719.
286 GENESIS, XLV. 8. [56.
in that chain, by which we were to be brought in safety to
heaven. Who will there adopt the language of the text?
Who will utter it in reference to any one trial of his life?
Who will not rather say, " He hath done all things well?"
Let us then look forward to that time, and not pass our judg
ment on present things, till we see and understand the design
of God in them.]
LVI.
GOD VIEWED IN JOSEPH^ ADVANCEMENT.
Gen. xlv. 8. So now, it was not you that sent me hither, but God.
BY looking through second causes to the first Cause
of all, we learn to trace events to an all-wise Being,
who " worketh all things after the counsel of his own
will," and whose prerogative it is to bring good out
of evil, and order out of confusion. To this view of
things we are directed, and in this we are greatly
assisted, by the Holy Scriptures ; which draw aside
the veil of mystery that is on the ways of God, and
set before our eyes the most hidden secrets of divine
providence. The history before us more especially
affords a beautiful illustration of those ways, in which
the Governor of the Universe accomplishes his own
designs: he surfers, in many instances, such adverse
circumstances to occur, as apparently to preclude
almost a possibility of their terminating according to
his original purpose : yet does he wonderfully inter
pose in such a manner as to bring them easily, and,
as it were, naturally, to their destined issue. If in
any thing his intentions could be frustrated, we should
have found them fail in reference to the predicted
elevation of Joseph above his brethren : yet that
event took place at last, and that too through those
very means which were used to defeat it: and Joseph,
after the event was actually accomplished, referred
the whole dispensation to God, as its primary Author
and infallible Director.
To elucidate this subject, we shall shew,
I. What part God takes in the actions of wicked men-
Though God cannot be a partaker in the wickedness
of men, yet he may, and certainly does, bear a part
56ol GOD VIEWED IN JOSEPH S ADVANCEMENT. 287
in those actions which wicked men perform. We need
go no further than the text, to^confirm and establish
this truth. That the conduct of Joseph s brethren,
notwithstanding it was ultimately instrumental to his
advancement, was deeply criminal, can admit of no
doubt: yet says Joseph, " It was not you that sent
me hither, but God." The question is then, What
is that part which God takes in the actions of wicked
men ? To this we answer,
1. He affords them opportunities of perpetrating
what is in their hearts
[The brethren of Joseph were full of envy and malice against
him : but while he was under his father s wing, they could not
give full scope to their hatred, because they were afraid of their
father s displeasure. To remove this difficulty, God so ordered
matters that Joseph should be sent to inquire after the health of
his brethren when they were at a distance from home. This
gave them an opportunity of executing all that was in their
hearts. But as the executing of their first intention would
have defeated the plans of Providence, it was so appointed
that certain Ishmaelite merchants should be passing that way,
and that he should be sold to them for a slave instead of being
put to death.
That we do not err in tracing these minuter incidents to
divine providence, is manifest ; for the elevation of Pharaoh
to the throne of Egypt is expressly said to have been effected
by God for that very purpose, that he might be an instrument
on whom the divine power should be exerted, and in whose
destruction God himself should be glorified a .
But in thus facilitating the execution of evil, God does not
make himself a partner in the crime : he only affords men
power and opportunity to do what their own wicked disposi
tions prompt them to : and this he does, as in the instances
before referred to, so also in every crime that is committed in
the world. What our blessed Lord said to his judge who
boasted of having power to release or condemn him, we may
say to every criminal in the universe, " Thou couldst have no
power at all to commit thy crimes, except it were given thee
from above."]
2. He suffers Satan to instigate them to evil
[" Satan is always going about as a roaring lion, seeking
whom he may devour : " but he cannot act without divine per
mission : he could not tempt Job, or even enter into the herd
a Rom. ix. 17.
288 GENESIS, XLV. 8. [56.
of swine, till he had first obtained leave of God. For the most
part, God imposes a restraint on this our inveterate enemy;
or, if left to himself, he would soon " sift us all as wheat," and
reduce us all to the lowest ebb of wickedness and misery : but
at times he leaves the fiend somewhat more at liberty, and
permits him to exercise his power over his wretched vassals.
On these occasions Satan operates upon their minds with more
than usual violence, and not only leads them captive at his
will, but instigates them to the commission of the most heinous
crimes. Of these acts God is frequently represented as the
author, whilst in other parts of Scripture their origin is
referred to Satan. We are told that Satan moved David to
number the people ; and that he sent forth lying Spirits into
all the prophets of Baal, that they might induce Ahab to go
up to Ramoth-gilead to battle, where he was sure to fall. But
both these things are also said to have been done by God b .
The fact is, that God did these things through the agency of
Satan ; that is, he permitted Satan to act according to the
impulse of his own mind, and left the persons whom he assaulted
to comply with his temptations.]
3. He withdraws from them his restraining grace
[Man needs nothing more than to have the preventing
grace of God withheld, and he will as surely fall, as a stone,
cast out of the hand, will gravitate to the earth. Now it is in
this \vay that God often punishes the sins of men : he leaves
them to put forth the depravity of their own hearts : he with
holds those mercies which he sees they despised, and gives
them up to follow their own vile propensities without restraint.
To this effect, it is often said in Scripture, " So I gave them
up ; " " So I gave them up." Yea, the sacred records speak
yet more strongly, and represent God as " blinding the eyes
of men," and "hardening their hearts ." But we must not
imagine that God ever actively concurs in the production of
sin : in fact, there is no occasion for any active exertion on his
part ; nothing further is necessary than for him to withdraw
his preventing grace ; and evil will blaze forth, as fire will to
consume the stubble, when no counteracting influence is used
to extinguish the flames.]
To remove all objection against his participating in
the actions of wicked men,, we proceed to point out,,
II. The benefit arising from acknowledging Him in
them
b 2 Sam.xxiv. 1. with 1 Chron. xxi. 1. and 2 Chron. xviii. 20 22.
c Exocl. vii. 3, 13. Isai. vi. 9, 10, which is quoted six times in
the New Testament.
56.1 GOD VIEWED IN JOSEPH S ADVANCEMENT. 289
It may be thought that such an acknowledgment,,
if it did not make God a minister of sin, would at
least represent him in a very unamiable light ; and
that it would tend to justify men in their iniquities.
But we affirm,, on the contrary, that such an acknow
ledgment is calculated rather to bring good to man,
and honour to our God.
1. It affords us sweet consolation under our
troubles
[Were we to look no further than to second causes, we
should be grieved beyond measure at the instruments of our
affliction, and be filled with apprehensions at their malevolent
desires. But when we reflect that our enemies are no more
than the sword in our Father s hand, and the rod with which
he corrects us; when we consider that his design in correcting
us is widely different from theirs d , and that after he has made
use of them for our good, he will cast them into the fire e , and
receive us to his bosom in an improved state f , our minds are
pacified, and we say, " It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth
him good." What a source of comfort was this to Job, when
the Sabeans and Chaldeans slew his servants and his cattle !
" The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be
the name of the Lord ! " It is thus with all the sons and
daughters of affliction, when once they can view the hand of
God in their trials : they adopt the language of the Psalmist ;
" I was dumb, and opened not my mouth, because Thou didst
it.-]
2. It disposes us to a ready forgiveness of those
who injure us
[It does not incline us to palliate their faults, as if they
were mere unconscious instruments impelled by the force of
Him who made use of them ; (for in all that they do, they act
as freely as if God bare no part at all in their actions :) but it
inclines us to pity, to forgive, and pray for them, as slaves to
their own passions, enemies to their own welfare, and real,
though unwitting, benefactors to our souls. This effect is
strongly exemplified in our text : Joseph saw the hand of God
overruling the designs of his brethren ; and from that consi
deration, he not only readily forgave them, but entreated them
" not to be grieved or angry with themselves ; " since, what
ever had been their intentions, God had made use of their
counsels for the accomplishment of his own gracious purposes :
yea, thrice does he repeat this idea as a ground whereon he
d Isai. x. 46. e Isai. x. 12, 16. f Isai. x. 2427.
VOL. I. U
290 GENESIS, XLV. 8. [56.
would have them satisfied with the dispensation, as he himself
also was g . We have also a similar effect mentioned in the
history of David. Shimei, in the hour of David s adversity,
loaded him with execrations ; and Abishai, eager to avenge
the insult offered to his master, desired permission to go and
kill him : but David forbade it, saying, " Let him curse, because
the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David : let him alone, and
let him curse ; for the Lord hath bidden him : it may be that
the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day h ."
Thus shall we also mortify all vindictive feelings, when once
we discern that our enemies are agents for Him : we shall
say with Stephen and our blessed Lord ; " Lay not this sin
to their charge:" " Father, forgive them ; for they know not
what they do."]
3. It fills us with an admiration of the divine
wisdom-
fit is impossible to trace all the parts of this history, and
not adore the wisdom, whereby the various incidents in Joseph s
life were made to concur to the production of one great event,
the preservation of Jacob and all his family. If we contem
plate the still greater diversity of circumstances, whereby Jesus
was made to fulfil the Scriptures, and to effect the redemption
of the world ; or the astonishingly mysterious designs of God
relating to the excision of the Jews, as the means of engrafting
the Gentiles into their stock ; and the restoration of the Jews,
as the means of bringing in all the fulness of the Gentiles ; I
say, if we contemplate these things, we are necessitated to
exclaim with the Apostle, " O the depths of the riches both
of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable
are his judgments, and his ways past finding out 1 !" In like
manner, the more we are habituated to trace the mercies of
God in our own personal experience, and the numberless
instances wherein he has made " the wrath of men " and devils
" to praise him," the more heartily shall we join in the
adoring language of Moses, " Who is like unto Thee among
the gods ? Who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in
praises, doing wonders k ?"]
In prosecuting this subject, we cannot but be struck
with the following REFLECTIONS
1. How happy is the Christian in this world!
[Those that know not God, have no refuge to flee unto ;
no consolation under the trials they endure, no security against
the evils they dread. But the true Christian is persuaded,
8 ver. 58. h 2 Sam. xvi. 512.
Rom. xi. 33. k Exod. xv. 11.
57.] JACOB S RESOLUTION TO VISIT JOSEPH. 291
that, though he navigates a tempestuous ocean, he has an all-
wise, almighty Pilot at the helm : and " therefore he will not
fear though the waves thereof roar, and the mountains be
carried into the midst of the sea." He knows not indeed what
will be the precise issue of impending calamities ; but he knows
that it shall be precisely such as his heavenly Father sees to
be best for him ; and with that assurance he is satisfied. Thus
is he kept in perfect peace, because he " trusts in God."]
2. How happy will he be in the future world !
[Here " he walks by faith, and not by sight." He be
lieves that things are working for his good, because God has
said that they shall do so. But in heaven he will have a per
fect discovery of all the links in that chain of providences,
whereby he has been brought to glory. He will see the im
portance of those things which once appeared most trifling,
and the necessity of those things which once were most dis
tressing, and the perfect harmony of those things which once
were involved in the most impenetrable darkness and confusion.
What cause will he then see to bless and adore his God!
What views will he then have of the unsearchable depths of
wisdom, which ordered every thing for his good ! Well may
he leave himself at God s disposal now, when such shall be his
recompence at last ! Let us then commit ourselves entirely to
God, and be satisfied with all his dealings towards us : and
" what we know not now, we shall know hereafter."]
LVIL
JACOB S RESOLUTION TO VISIT JOSEPH IN EGYPT.
Gen. xlv. 27, 28. And they told him all the words of Joseph,
which he had said unto them : and when he saw the waggons
which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their
father revived: and Israel said. It is enough ; Joseph my
son is yet alive : I will go and see him before I die.
IT is of very g % reat importance to exercise sound
wisdom and discretion in interpreting the Holy Scrip
tures, lest, by imposing on them a forced or fanciful
meaning, we bring the sacred oracles themselves into
contempt. Yet is there a certain latitude allowed us,
provided we do not set forth the subordinate and ac
commodated sense as if it were the true and primary
import of the passage. The Apostles themselves
frequently take this liberty. The prophet, speaking
of the Babylonish captivity, says, " A voice was heard
in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping : Rachel,
u2
292 GENESIS, XLV. 27, 28. [57.
weeping for her children, refused to be comforted for
her children,, because they were not a ." This passage
St. Matthew applies to the slaughter of the children
in Bethlehem, to which, in its primary sense, it had
no reference b : nevertheless, the citation of it was just,
and the accommodation beautiful. A similar use the
same evangelist makes of a passage primarily referring
to the atonement which Christ should offer for the
sins of mankind : he applies it to his miraculously
healing their bodily disorders . These examples,
and others which might be adduced, would justify a
considerably greater latitude of observation than we
propose to adopt on the present occasion. In con
sidering this portion of sacred history, we do not
found upon it any doctrine relating to the Gospel:
we do not even insinuate that it was originally intended
to illustrate any of the peculiar doctrines of Chris
tianity : we shall merely take occasion front it to in
troduce to your notice some useful observations, with
which indeed it has no immediate connexion, but with
which it has a very striking correspondence.
Joseph having made known himself to his brethren,
and cautioned them against " falling out by the way,"
(an event too probable in their circumstances,) sends
them back to their father, with orders to inform him
of all that they had seen and heard, and to bring him
and their respective families down to Egypt. Jacob,
when first he received the information, could not
credit it : but upon further conversation with his
sons he was convinced of the truth of their report,
and determined to accept the invitation which his
beloved Joseph had sent him.
Now we propose to notice,
I. The grounds of his doubts-
There seem to have been two reasons for his ques
tioning the truth of the information he received ;
1. The report contradicted all that he had before
received for truth
a Jer. xxxi. 15. & Matt. ii. 17, 18.
c Compare I sai. liii. 4. with Matt. viii. 16 18.
57.1 JACOB S RESOLUTION TO VISIT JOSEPH. 293
[ He had above twenty years before had reason to believe
that his son Joseph had been torn in pieces by a wild beast ;
he had even seen his son s coat torn and drenched in blood ;
nor had the lapse of so many years brought him any other
information : how then could this son be the person that pre
sided over the kingdom of Egypt at this time ? There might be
some one that resembled him in name ; but it could not possibly
be his darling son : had Joseph been alive, he must long since
have heard of him : whoever therefore the person might be, or
whatever he might profess to be, he could not be the long-lost
son of his beloved Rachel. Such were Jacob s arguments,
and such his reasons for rejecting the testimony of his sons.
And do we not here see one ground on which the testimony
of those who preach the Gospel is rejected? We find men
rooted in certain sentiments, which, in their opinion, they have
adopted on very sufficient grounds. The general acceptance
which those sentiments meet with, and the confirmation of
them during a long course of years, concur to render them, as
it were, fixed principles in their minds. But the doctrines
of the Gospel are directly the reverse of those which pass
current in the world. The extreme depravity of human
nature, the desert and danger of all mankind, the insufficiency
of any good works to recommend us to God, the necessity
of seeking justification by faith alone, the nature and extent
of true holiness, and the impossibility of being saved without
an entire consecration of "ourselves to the service of God, are
as opposite to the doctrines and sentiments of the world, as
light is to darkness: and on this account they are rejected by
the generality with scorn and contempt. It was on this ground
that Nicodemus rejected the doctrine of the new birth ; " How
can these things be ?" I have never held this sentiment ;
therefore it cannot be true. And on the same grounds it is,
that the preaching of the Gospel is at this time, no less than
in former ages, accounted foolishness.]
2. The tidings were too good to be true
[There is a proneness in the human mind to believe evil
reports more easily than those which are favourable. Jacob
instantly acceded to the idea that his son Joseph had been
torn in pieces, notwithstanding, if he had considered the spirit
and temper of his brethren towards him, there was very
abundant reason to doubt the fact. But, when he is told that
Joseph is alive, and at the head of the Egyptian kingdom, he
cannot entertain the thought one moment: " his heart even
faints " at the mention of the fact, (not because he believed it,
but) because he believed it not.
Here again we trace the workings of the human mind in re
lation to higher things. If we come and tell persons that they
294 GENESIS, XLV. 27, 28. [57.
must make their peace with God by a long course of repentance
and good works, they will believe us readily enough ; though, if
they duly considered the nature of such tidings, they would
have evidence enough of their falsehood. But if we declare to
them, that Christ has made a full atonement for our sins ; that
a free and full salvation is offered them through Him; that
they may partake of it " without money and without price,"
that is, without any thing on their part to merit it; and that
their former guilt, however great and aggravated, is no bar to
their acceptance with God, provided they simply and un-
feignedly believe in Christ ; all this seems too good to be
true : it can never be, that the way to heaven should be so
easy. This is the argument used by all the train of self-
righteous Pharisees, who, " being whole, feel no need of a
physician ; " and by multitudes also of repenting " Publicans,
who dare not lift up their eyes to heaven," or entertain a
hope, that " grace should ever so abound towards them, in
whom sin has so greatly abounded 1 ."]
Having canvassed thus his doubts, we proceed to
notice,
II. The means of their removal
Of these we are minutely informed in the words of
our text. They were,
1. A fuller recital of Joseph s words
[Jacob s sons had told him of Joseph s elevation ; but not
obtaining credit, proceeded to " tell him all the words that
Joseph had said unto them." Now their testimony became so
circumstantial and convincing, that he could resist no longer:
his incredulity was borne down by a weight of evidence that
could not be withstood.
Thus also it is that the Gospel forces its way into the hearts
of thousands, to whom, at its first statement, it appeared no
better than an idle tale. Ministers set forth innumerable
declarations which Jesus has made respecting us : they report
his gracious invitations, his precious promises, his tender
expostulations ; all of which evince such a perfect knowledge
of our state, and are so suited to our necessities, that we can
not any longer doubt from whom they come. They shame us
out of our doubts, and constrain us to exclaim, " Lord, I
believe; help thou my unbelief!"]
2. An actual sight of the tokens of his love
[A view of the waggons which Joseph had sent, stored
with every thing requisite for his accommodation in his journey,
d See Isai. xlix. 24, 25.
57.] JACOB S RESOLUTION TO VISIT JOSEPH. 295
completed his conviction. All the patriarch s doubts were dis
sipated, and his " spirit instantly revived."
And what will not give way before the sensible manifesta
tions of (rod s love to the soul? Let " His love be shed abroad
in the heart by the Holy Ghost ; " let the promises be applied
with power to the soul ; let " the Spirit of God once witness
with our spirit that we are God s;" and no fears will then
remain respecting the truth of the Gospel or the power and
grace of Christ: we shall then "have the witness in ourselves,"
that " Jesus is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour," and that
he is " able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God
by him."]
With the removal of his doubts there was an in
stantaneous change in his determinations. This will
appear while we consider,
III. The effect which their removal produced upon
him
He had been hitherto reluctant to leave his home ;
but now,
1. He desired nothing so much as to see the one
object of his affections
[Joseph was now more dear to him than ever ; and if he
might but live to enjoy a sight of him, he should consider him
self as having attained all for which he wished to live: " It is
enough ; Joseph my son is yet alive ; I will go and see him
before I die."
And let us once be persuaded that Jesus is set at God s right
hand, far above all principalities and powers, and that he has
all heaven at his disposal, and has sent to invite us to come
unto him, and has made ample provision for us by the way,
and prepared mansions for us at the end of our journey, and
engaged that we shall dwell in his immediate presence for ever
and ever; let us be persuaded of this, and shall we feel no
disposition to visit him? Will it not, on the contrary, be the
first desire of our hearts ? Shall we not say, " Whom have I
in heaven but Thee ; and there is none upon earth that I
desire in comparison of Thee ? " Will not the attainment of
this object appear to be the only thing worth living for? And
having an assured prospect of this, shall we not say, " Now
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace ? " Yes ; this desire
will swallow up, as it were, every other; and to secure this
happiness will be the only end for which we shall wish to live.]
2. He disregarded all the difficulties he might
encounter in the way to him
296 GENESIS, XLV. 27, 28. [57.
[It was not a pleasing thing for an infirm old man, who
was one hundred and thirty years of age, to leave his home,
and set out upon so long a journey : but the mountains be
came a plain, when such an object was to be attained.
Nor is it pleasing for flesh and blood to encounter the diffi
culties which we must meet with in our journey heaven-ward.
But who that loves our exalted Jesus will regard them ? who
will not welcome reproach, and take up with cheerfulness
whatever cross may lie in his way to that blessed kingdom ?
Suppose that we must suffer the loss of our worldly interests
and accommodations; who will not account them mere " stuff,"
that is unworthy of one moment s notice ? who will not readily
exchange them for the fulness of the heavenly land, and for
the enjoyment of the Saviour s presence? Difficulties become
no difficulties, and sacrifices no sacrifices, when by faith we
behold the Saviour s glory, and have an assured hope of par
ticipating it for ever.]
REFLECTIONS
1. How amiable is the exercise of unfeigned love!
[Joseph, for peculiar reasons, had imposed a restraint upon
his feelings, till the proper time arrived to give them vent :
but when he was no longer under any necessity to conceal them,
they burst forth in a torrent of affection, as waters that have
broken down the dam by which they had been confined. He
retained no anger against his murderous brethren, but fell on
their necks and kissed them. His charge to them " not to fall
out by the way," shewed how ardently he desired that they
might maintain, with each other as well as with himself, the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And how animated
w r as his message to his dear aged father ! " Haste you, and go
up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph ;
God hath made me lord of all Egypt : come down to me ;
tarry not : and tliou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen ; and
thou shalt be near unto me, thou and thy children, and thy
children s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that
thou hast : and there will I nourish thee ! " Nor was the aged
patriarch s affection less ardent, when once he was persuaded
that his Joseph was yet alive. His whole soul was wrapt up
in his darling son : and, in his determination to visit him, he
lost sight of all his temporal interests : the thought of enjoying
plenty in Egypt seems not to have entered into his mind : all
that he cared for was a sight of Joseph ; and beyond that he
had no wish in life.
Would to God it were thus in every church, and every family !
Thus indeed it will be, wherever the grace of God reigns in
the heart. Instead of " rendering evil for evil," we shall " heap
coals of fire on the heads " of those who injure us, to melt them
58.] JACOB S INTERVIEW WITH PHARAOH. 297
into love. Instead of harbouring envy, or hatred, or a selfish
indifference in our hearts, we shall feel the sublimest happi
ness in the exercise of love : parents will love their children,
and children seek to requite their parents, and " brethren
delight to dwell together in unity." O let us cultivate such
a spirit, which shall be the best evidence, both to ourselves
and others, that we are Christ s disciples.]
2. How delightful will be our interview with Christ
in heaven!
[If we had beheld the meeting of this aged patriarch with
his beloved Joseph, who amongst us could have refrained from
tears ? But what must be the meeting of the soul with
Jesus, on its first admission into his presence ? Who can con
ceive the tender endearments of the Saviour s love, or the
admiration, gratitude, and joy with which the soul shall be
overwhelmed in his embrace? Surely such an interview is
worth the longest and most arduous journey. Well may we
account every thing as dung and dross, to obtain it ; more espe
cially because it shall not be transient, like that which Jacob
enjoyed, but permanent and everlasting. Behold then, we
invite you all to a participation of it. He has said respecting
you, " Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me may
be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which
thou hast given me." And is there one amongst you that will
not add his Amen to that petition ? Make haste then, tarry
not: " Mind not your stuff" but commence your journey in
stantly : and soon shall death transport you into his presence ;
and " then shall you be for ever with the Lord. Comfort ye
one another with these words."]
LVIIL
JACOB S INTERVIEW WITH PHARAOH.
Gen. xlvii. 7 10. And Joseph brought in Jacob his father,
and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou ? And Jacob
said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage
are an hundred and thirty years : few and evil have the days
of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the
days of the years of the life of my fathers, in the days of
their pilgrimage. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out
from before Pharaoh.
TO acknowledge God in all our ways, and to
commit our way to him, secures to us, as we are told,
his gracious interposition for the direction of cm-
paths, and the accomplishment of our desires. It is
298 GENESIS, XLVII. 710. [58.
possible that Jacob, after he had set out towards
Egypt in the waggons that Joseph had sent for him,
felt some doubts about the propriety of leaving the
promised land, when, at his advanced age, he could
have no reasonable prospect of returning thither
with his family. But, knowing from experience the
efficacy of prayer, he betook himself to that never-
failing remedy : he stopped at Beersheba, and offered
sacrifices to the Lord. That very night God vouch
safed to appear to him in a vision, and to dissipate
his fears, by an express command to proceed on his
journey, and by a promise that he should in due
time be brought back again*. He then prosecuted
his journey in safety, and had a most affecting inter
view with his beloved Joseph. Soon after his arrival,
five of his sons were introduced to Pharaoh ; and
afterwards he himself. It is this introduction of the
aged patriarch to Pharaoh that we are now more
particularly to consider. In the account given us of
the interview, we notice,
I. The question which Pharaoh put to Jacob-
fit could not be expected that persons so remote from each
other in their station, their views, and habits of life, should
have many topics in common with each other whereon to
maintain a long and interesting conversation. The interview
seems to have been very short, and of course the conversation
short also. All that is related concerning it contains only one
short question. This, as far as it related to Jacob, was a mere
expression of kindness and respect on the part of Pharaoh.
To have questioned him about matters which he did not
understand, w r ould have been embarrassing to Jacob, and pain
ful to his feelings : and to have asked him about any thing in
which neither party was at all interested, would have betrayed
a great want of judgment in Pharaoh. The topic selected by
Pharaoh was liable to no such objection : for it is always grati
fying to a person advanced in years to mention his age, because
the " hoary head, especially if found in the way of righteous
ness, is always considered as a crown of glory V
As a general question, independent of the history, it cannot
fail of suggesting many important thoughts to all to whom it
is addressed. " How old art thou ? " Art thou far advanced
in life ? how much then of thine allotted time is gone, and how
a Gen. xlvi. 1 4. b Prov. xvi. 31. Lev. xix. 32.
58.] JACOB S INTERVIEW WITH PHARAOH. 299
little remains for the finishing of the work that is required of
thee ! how diligently therefore shouldst tliou redeem every hour
that is now added to thine expiring term ! Art thou, on the
contrary, but just setting out in the world? how little dost
thou know of its snares, temptations, sorrows ! what disap
pointments and troubles hast thou to experience ! and ho v
deeply art thou concerned to have thy views rectified, and thv
conduct regulated by the word of God ! Whatever be thine
age, thou shouldst consider every return of thy birth-day
rather as a call to weep and mourn, than as an occasion of
festivity and joy : for it is the knell of a departed year; a year
that might, in all probability, have been far better improved ; a
year in which many sins have been committed, which are inde
libly recorded in the book of God s remembrance, and of which
you must shortly give a strict account at his judgment-seat.]
We notice,
II. Jacob s answer to it
[The patriarch s mind was fraught with zeal for God ; and
therefore not contenting himself with a plain short answer, he
framed his reply in words calculated to make a deep impression on
the mind of Pharaoh, without giving him the smallest offence.
He insinuates, and repeats the idea, that life is but a "pil
grimage" that we are merely sojourners in a foreign land, and
that our home and our inheritance is in a better country. This
part of his speech is particularly noticed in the Epistle to the
Hebrews, as being an open acknowledgment of his principles as
a worshipper of Jehovah, and of his expectations in a better
world . He intimates also that his years, though they had been
an hundred and thirty, ivere feiv. This age might appear great
to Pharaoh ; but it was not near equal to that of Jacob s pro
genitors d . On a retrospect, every person s days appear to have
been but few. Various incidents of former life seem to have
been but recently transacted ; the intervening time being lost,
as it were, like valleys intercepted by adjacent hills. He
further declares, that these years of his had been replete witli evil.
Certainly his life, from the time that he fled from the face of
his brother Esau to that hour, had been a scene of great afflic
tions. His fourteen years servitude to Laban, the disgrace
brought on him and his family by Dinah his only daughter,
the murderous cruelty of his vindictive sons, the jealousies of
all his children on account of his partiality to Joseph, the
sudden loss of Joseph, and all his recent trials, had greatly
embittered life to him, and made it appear like a sea of troubles,
where wave followed wave in endless succession. And who
c Heb. xi. 13, 14, 16.
d Terah was 205 years old; Abraham 175; Isaac 180.
300 GENESIS, XLVIII. 15, 16. [59.
is there that does not find, (especially in more advanced life,)
that the evil, on the whole, outweighs the good?
These hints, offered in so delicate a manner to a potent
monarch, with whom he had only one short interview, afford a
beautiful pattern for our imitation, at the same time that they
convey important instruction to our minds.]
We CONCLUDE with commending to your imitation the
whole of Jacob s conduct towards Pharaoh
[At his first admission into Pharaoh s presence, and again
at his departure from him, this holy patriarch blessed him.
We do not suppose that he pronounced his benediction in
a formal and authoritative manner, as Melchizedec did to
Abraham ; but that he rendered him his most grateful acknow
ledgments for the favours he had conferred, and invoked the
blessing of God upon him and upon his kingdom on account
of them. Such a mode of testifying his gratitude became a
servant of Jehovah, and tended to lead the monarch s thoughts
to the contemplation of the only true God. And well may it
put to shame the greater part of the Christian world, who
systematically exclude religion from their social converse,
under the idea that the introduction of it would destroy all the
comfort of society True Christians, however, should
learn from this instance not to be ashamed of their religion ;
but, as inoffensively as possible, to lead men to the knowledge
of it ; and to make the diffusion of it a very essential part of
all their intercourse with each other - More especially
w r e should embrace every opportunity of impressing on our
own minds and on the minds of others the true end of life;
that we may thereby secure that rest which remaineth for us
after our short but weary pilgrimage.]
LIX.
JACOB BLESSING THE SONS OF JOSEPH.
Gen. xlviii. 15, 16. And lie blessed Joseph, and said, God,
before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the
God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel
which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads !
THERE are not any more profitable scenes than
those which we behold in the chambers of dying
saints. There religion is exhibited in the most lively
colours, and evinces itself to be, not a visionary phan
tom, but a real and substantial good. We are bidden
to " mark the perfect man, and to behold the up
right, because the end of that man is peace." Some
59.1 JACOB BLESSING THE SONS OF JOSEPH. 301
instances there are, where persons on their death-bed
are transported with unutterable joy: they seem to
breathe the very atmosphere of heaven, while they
are yet in the body. But it is more frequent to behold
them waiting for their dissolution with a peaceful
dignified composure ; and improving their precious
moments for the benefit of their surviving friends.
Such was the closing scene of Jacob. We read not
of any particular ecstasies that he enjoyed ; but we
see him with a hope full of immortality,, and an affec
tionate attention to the welfare of all his children.
It seems indeed that several of the patriarchs were on
these occasions endued with a spirit of prophecy, and
directed to pronounce blessings on those, for whom
God, of his own sovereign will, had reserved them.
They were not left to their own caprice or judgment
in this matter ; but were overruled, sometimes con
trary to their own intentions to convey the blessings
of primogeniture to the younger branches of the
family in preference to the elder. Thus Isaac, having
unwillingly given the blessing to Jacob, was con
strained to confirm it to him, notwithstanding Esau
laboured with tears to prevail upon him to recall his
word. Somewhat similar to that was the transfer of
the blessing to the younger of Joseph s sons in pre
ference to the elder. Joseph brought his sons to his
dying parent, and placed them so that Manasseh, his
first-born, should have the right hand of Jacob placed
upon his head: but the dying patriarch was inspired
of God to counteract the wish of Joseph in this par
ticular, and, by crossing his hands, to convey the
principal blessing to Ephraim, who was the younger
son. We might remark upon this subject, that God
often, if we may so speak, crosses his hands in be
stowing his blessings, since he gives them to those,
who, in our eyes, are least worthy of them, and least
likely to receive them. But our object at present is
rather to inculcate the necessity of attending to the
spiritual interests of young people, and especially of
those who by the ties of consanguinity are connected
with us.
302 GENESIS, XLVIII. 15, 16, [59.
In prosecuting this subject, we observe,, that,
I. We should feel a concern for the spiritual welfare
of the rising generation
We should by no means be indifferent to the souls
of any : on the contrary, the conveying of religious
instruction to children is an occupation well worthy
the attention of all, who have leisure and ability to
engage in it a . But we are more especially bound to
instruct those who are related to us and dependent
on us: indeed they may justly claim this service at
our hands
1. Their spiritual welfare is incomparably more
important than their temporal
[All persons feel it incumbent on them to consult the
temporal welfare of their children, and account themselves
happy, if they can bequeath them an inheritance, that shall
make them independent of the world ; or give them such an
education, as shall enable them to make a comfortable pro
vision for themselves. But how much richer is a child that
possesses a saving knowledge of Christ, however low he be in
outward circumstances, than the heir of a kingdom would be,
if destitute of that knowledge ! Shall we then be
diligent in promoting the temporal prosperity of our relations,
and shew no regard for their eternal interests ? God forbid !
Let rather our care be most bestowed on those things which
most of all deserve our care - ]
2. Their spiritual welfare greatly depends on us
[Who is to instruct our children, if we do not ? or how
can they gain knowledge without instruction ? We provide
for their bodies, because nature, as well as custom, tells us
that it is our duty to do so. But is it not equally our duty
to provide for their souls ? If we educate them in ignorance,
what can be expected but that they should grow up in sin ?
and how can it be thought that they should bestow any pains
in cultivating divine knowledge for themselves, when they see
us, whom they suppose to have formed a right estimate of
things, indifferent whether they possess it or not ? On the con
trary, if we conscientiously discharge our duty to them in this
respect, we have reason to hope, that God will bless our en
deavours, and make us instruments of good to their souls.
a If this were the subject of a sermon for the support of charity, or
Sunday Schools, the idea of relationship should be dropped, and the
sentiments a little varied.
59.] JACOB BLESSING THE SONS OF JOSEPH. 303
For though the best efforts may not universally succeed, we
may assume it as a general truth, that " if we bring up a child
in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart
from it."]
3. Their souls will be required at our hands
[This is a truth acknowledged in reference to Ministers :
all agree that they must give account of the souls committed
to their charge. Why then should not this be the case with
those who have the care of children ? Methinks every parent,
as soon as ever a child is born, should receive it as it were
from the hands of God, with this charge, " Bring this child up
for me b ." As for the attention which a parent bestows on the
temporal advancement of his children, it will not only not
excuse his neglect of their better interests, but \vill be a fearful
aggravation of it. The Judge will say to them as he once did
to the hypocritical Pharisees, These things ought ye to have
done, and not to leave the other undone.]
If we should feel this concern at all times for the
rising generation,
II. We should express it more especially in a dying
hour
Every word acquires weight from the circumstance
of its being uttered at the approach of death. We
should avail ourselves therefore of that advantage,
to impress the minds of young people with a concern
for their souls. Two things in particular we should do :
1. We should commend God to them
[This Jacob did : and \ve cannot do better than follow his
example.
Young people are ready to think, that religion is a new
thing, and that the exhortations of their parents are the effects
of needless preciseness, or of superstitious fear. On this ac
count, it is well to shew them, that all those eminent charac
ters of old, whom they profess to reverence, were devoted to
the service of their God : and that, in recommending religion
to them, we recommend only what all the wise and good in all
ages have approved ; that, if God is our God, he was " the
God also, before whom Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob walked."
Moreover, though it is not always expedient to be talking of
our own experience, yet, at such a season, we may do it to
good effect. We may declare to others what we have known
of God, both as a God of providence and of grace. It is of
great importance to make them entertain right sentiments
304 GENESIS, XLVIII. 15,16. [59.
respecting the providence of God, and to make them know,
that whether they become rich by industry or by inheritance,
it is " God who feeds them all their life long." It is also in
dispensably necessary to direct their attention to that "Angel,"
Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ, " the Angel of the Covenant ,"
through whom alone we have redemption, either from the
moral evil of sin, or from the penal evil of damnation. It is
" He that redeems us from all evil," temporal, spiritual, and
eternal. If we can from our own experience bear testimony
to Christ in this view, it will avail more than a thousand lec
tures given in a time of health : for then the surrounding
relatives will see, the sting of death is taken away, and that
" they are indeed blessed who put their trust in Christ."]
2. We should pray to God for them
[The prayer of Jacob is short, but sententious. The
expression, " God bless you!" is often uttered iiT a dying
hour, but without any just ideas affixed to the petition. But
we, in imploring the blessing of God upon our children, should
distinctly inform them wherein that blessing consists. We
should inform them, that, to enjoy God in the dispensations of
his providence, and Christ in the riches of his grace, and to
walk before God in Christ, as our God and Saviour, in all holy
obedience, is to be truly blessed ; and that we are then indeed
blessed, when God by his Spirit enables us thus to enjoy and
to serve him. Having these things in our own minds, and
conveying them to the minds of those whom we desire to
instruct, we need not multiply words in prayer : while we
entreat of God to bless those for whose welfare we are par
ticularly concerned, we shall find acceptance with God, and
obtain mercies for them.
It is recorded of Jacob, that in this prayer of his he exer
cised faith d . Now we have not precisely the same grounds
for faith that he had ; because he was inspired to pronounce
over the youths the blessings which God had before deter
mined to bestow : but the more we are enabled to believe in
God as a prayer-hearing and promise-keeping God, the more
reason we have to hope that our prayers shall be answered,
whether for ourselves or others.]
ADDRESS
1. To those who are advanced in life
[You see before you the composure of a dying saint.
Seek to obtain such for yourselves. And that you may " die
c The same Person is spoken of as in the former members of the
text : nor would Jacob have prayed to him, if he had not been God.
Compare Gen. xxxii. 24, 28, 30. with Hos. xii. 3 5. and Mal.iii. 1.
* Heb. xi. 21.
60.] CHRIST THE TRUE SHILOII. 30,5
the death of the righteous," be diligent to live his life. If your
own business be not already transacted with God, (so to
speak,) you will have little disposition either to speak to others
in a dying hour, or to pray for them : but if your own calling
and election be made sure, then will your dying exhortations
be delivered with ease, and received with benefit.]
2. To those who are coming forward into life
[You are apt to slight the instructions of your parents,
under the idea that they are unnecessary or unsuitable to your
state. But you see what has always occupied the minds of dying
saints. You know that Jacob s example is commended by God
himself. Be thankful then, if you have friends or relatives who
walk in the steps of Jacob : and let that, which they above all
things desire for you, be your chief desire for yourselves.]
LX.
CHRIST THE TRUE SIIILOH.
Gen. xlix. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Jndah, nor a
lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come: and unto
him shall the gathering of the people be.
THERE was a series of predictions relative to the
Messiah from the very beginning of the world ; and,
as the time for the accomplishment of the prophecies
drew near, the predictions concerning him were more
particular and minute. About seventeen hundred
years before his appearance, the time of his coming was
fixed with great accuracy and precision. At the very
first moment that the sons of Jacob were made heads
of different tribes, it was foretold, that the continuance
of Judah s power should extend beyond that of the
other tribes, and that the Messiah should arrive before
its expiration. In explaining this prophecy we shall
of necessity be led to speak of,
I. The time of his advent
This, according to the text, was to precede the
departure of Judah s sceptre
[Judah is here represented as a lion gorged with his prey,
and couching in his den with a sceptre between his feet; a
sceptre, which none should ever wrest from him, until he should
come, whose right it was a . " The sceptre" does not import
dominion over the other tribes, but only the same kind of
a ver. 9.
VOL. i. x
306 GENESIS, XLIX. 10. [GO.
separate and independent jurisdiction which was vested in
Dan, and in all the other tribes b . Nor does the term " law
giver" mean a person who should enact laws; but rather, one
who should execute and enforce them. Moses was the only
lawgiver of the Jews; and even the kings were required to
write a copy of his law, and to obey it in all things. Now it
was here foretold, that this particular power should remain
with Judah after that the other tribes should have been de
prived of theirs ; and that it should continue vested in persons
belonging to that tribe till the Messiah should come. The
precise import of the term " Shiloh" is not certainly known;
but it is thought by most to mean, The Peacemaker. All
however are agreed that it is a name for the Messiah, whose
advent was to precede the dissolution of the Jewish polity.]
The event exactly corresponded with the prediction
[The ten tribes were spoiled of their power when they
were carried captive to Assyria. But the tribe of Judah re
tained both their ecclesiastical and civil polity even in Babylon.
If they did not exercise it to the same extent as before, they
had by no means wholly lost it. As they had possessed it in
Egypt, and retained it the whole time of their Egyptian
bondage , so they still nominated their chiefs and elders, yea
and appointed fasts and feasts, while they were oppressed
with the Chaldean yoke d . Their bondage in Babylon was
indeed, on the whole, exceeding heavy; but many of them
were suffered to build houses and plant gardens, and to live
rather as a colony than as slaves e . On their return from
Babylon, their own chiefs and elders were appointed to super
intend the execution of Cyrus decree f ; and, after that period,
they continued to enjoy their privileges till the time of our
Lord s advent. Soon after that, they were reduced to the state
of a Roman province; but still exercised the same powers,
only in a more limited manner 8 . But, forty years after the
death of Christ, when his Gospel had been fully preached, and
people of all nations had been gathered to him, their city and
temple were utterly destroyed ; and they themselves were dis
persed into all lands. From that time their sceptre has utterly
departed from them; nor can the smallest vestige of their former
power be traced. They are therefore living proofs throughout
the whole world that their Messiah is indeed come.]
b ver. 16. c Exod. xxxiv. 31, 32.
d Moses and Aaron were sent to the elders of the people, Exod.
iii. 16. and iv. 29; and these were heads of houses, Exod. vi. 14; and
rulers of the congregation, Exod. xvi. 22. Compare Numb. i. 3, 16.
SJG Sherlock s third Dissertation, pp. 342, 346, 6th edition.
e Jer. xxix. 5, 7. f Ezra i. 5, 8.
s Compare John xviii. 3, and 31.
(30. ] CHRIST THE TRUE SHILOH. 307
The time of Christ s advent being thus clearly
ascertained, let us consider,
II. The consequences of it
The last clause of the text is by some applied to
Judah, to whom the tribe of Benjamin was attached,
and the few of the other ten tribes, who returned
after their dispersion by the Assyrians, were gathered 11 .
But the sense of that clause is both more clear, and
infinitely more important, as applied to Shiloh. And,
if it be understood, as it may well be, as a further
limitation of the time beyond which Judah should not
retain this power, it will mark, with most astonishing
accuracy, the precise period at which his sceptre was
to depart.
But, taking it according to its general acceptation,
it declares the calling of the Gentiles to the knowledge
of Christ
[The Scriptures speak much upon this glorious subject.
Without noticing the innumerable passages that declare God s
intention to convert the Gentiles, we will confine our attention
to two or three that speak of it almost in the very same terms
as those in the text. Isaiah, representing Christ as standing
for an ensign to the people, says, " To him shall the Gentiles
seek, and his rest shall be glorious ! ." There was a remarkable
prophecy to the same effect unwittingly uttered by Caiaphas
the high-priest. While he designed nothing more than to in
stigate the Jews to destroy Jesus, God overruled his mind to
declare that Jesus should die for the whole w r orld, and should
gather together in one the children of God that w r ere scattered
abroad k . Our Lord himself also, foretelling the same glorious
event, said, " I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me 1 ."
Nor is only the mere circumstance of their conversion declared
in the text ; the manner also of their coming to him is strongly
intimated. They " shall be a willing people in the day of
God s power," and as the prophet describes at large, shall fly
to him as a cloud, or as doves to their windows 111 .]
This part of the prediction also has received, and
is daily receiving, its accomplishment
[No sooner had our Lord given up the Ghost, than the
centurion, the first fruits of the Gentiles, w r as led to acknow-
ledge him as the Son of God. Presently, not Judea only, but
h 1 Chron. ix. 3. { Isai. xi. 10. k John xi. 52.
1 John xii. 32. m Isai. Ix. 38.
308 GENESIS, XLIX. 10. [60.
the whole Roman empire, was filled with those who were ga
thered unto him. And, at this moment, " all who are taught
of God come unto him" as the one foundation of all their
hopes, and the only fountain of all their blessings. There is
a period still future, when this prophecy shall be fulfilled in
its utmost extent ; when " all kings shall bow down before
him, and all nations shall serve him." Blessed period ! may
" God hasten it in its time!" may his " Gospel run and be
glorified," and " his glory fill the whole earth ! "]
Let us now ADDRESS a few words,
1. To those who are yet dispersed, and at a distance
from the Lord
[We need not here turn our eyes to Jews, but reflect
how many are there even in this Christian land, who have no
more fellowship with Jesus than if he had never come into the
world ! But what account will they give to him when they
shall stand at his tribunal in the last day ? Are not the words
of our text a direction, as well as a prophecy ? Are they not
equivalent to an express command ? Has not Christ himself
enforced this command by repeated invitations and promises,
" Look unto me, and be ye saved ;" " Come unto me, and ye
shall find rest unto your souls ? " Has he not even sworn that
all shall come to him, or perish for their neglect n ? Why then
should we not all gather ourselves around him as in the days
of his flesh ? Why should not the blind, the lame, the leprous,
the possessed, come to him for deliverance ? Why should not
the poor trembling sinner press through the crowd, and "touch
the hem of his garment? " Surely none should find it in vain
to come unto him ; " Virtue should go forth from him to heal
them all." O let the prophecy then receive a fresh accom
plishment this day; and may God so "draw us by his Spirit
that we may run after him," and abide with him for ever!]
2. Those who, through grace, have been gathered
to him
[The sceptre is now passed into the hands of Jesus. He
is the true lion of the tribe of Judah , to whom all power in
heaven and in earth has been committed. What then have ye
to fear, who are under his protection? Who shall ever pluck
you from his hands P? When, or to whom shall his sceptre
ever be transferred ? His mediatorial kingdom will indeed be
put down, when there shall be no more occasion for it q . But
though he will cease to mediate between God and man, his
n Isai. xlv. 22 25. Rev. v. 5. P John x. 28.
q 1 Cor. xv. 24. This relates to the peculiar mode of administer
ing; the affairs of his kingdom as oar Mediator.
61;1 JOSEPH A TYPE OF CHRIST. 309
sovereign dominion shall exist to all eternity; " Thy throne,
O God, is for ever and ever; of thy kingdom there shall be
no end r ." Rejoice then, believers, in your Lord; "let the;
children of Zion be joyful in their king." Cherish his attrac
tive influences: gather yourselves around him yet daily and
hourly : spread before him your every want : commune with
him on every occasion : consult him ; listen to him ; obey him :
cleave to him with full purpose of heart : so will he keep you
stead fast unto the end, and admit you to the richer fruition of
his presence in his kingdom above.]
r Isai. ix. 7. Dan. ii. 44. Heb. i. 8.
LXI.
JOSEPH A TYPE OF CHRIST.
Gen. xlix. 22 2\. Joseph -is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful
bough by a well; whose branches run over the ivall. The
archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated
him. But his boiv abode in strength, and the arms of his
hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of
Jacob: from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel.
PECULIAR care is to be used in unfolding the
types, lest, by indulging our own imagination,, we
bring the very truth of God itself into contempt.
Where the Scriptures themselves have marked the
typical reference, we may proceed without fear ; but
when once they cease to guide us, we should not
venture one step but w T ith fear and trembling. This
observation is peculiarly applicable to the subject
before us. It does not appear that Joseph is any
where declared to be a type of Christ, notwithstand
ing the circumstances wherein they resemble each
other are as numerous and remarkable, as in almost
any other instance whatever. We forbear therefore
to assert any thing on this subject with confidence;
while, in compliance with the opinion of the most
judicious commentators, and indeed with the almost
irresistible conviction of our own mind, we proceed
to trace the resemblance of Joseph to Christ, in,
I. His distinguishing character-
Joseph is represented as "a fruitful bough "-
[Every tribe is distinguished by something characteristic,
either of the patriarchs themselves, or of their descendants.
310 GENESIS, XL1X. 2224. [61.
The distinction assigned to Joseph, is that of peculiar fruit-
fulness : and to him it eminently belonged. All his brethren
indeed were honoured with being heads of distinct tribes : but
Joseph had both his sons chosen of God, and appointed to be
heads of separate tribes; and thus two tribes sprang from him,
while one tribe only sprang from any of his brethren.]
To our Lord also is a similar title frequently
ascribed
[Jesus was that " beautiful and glorious BRANCH," which
was in due time to spring from the stem of Jesse a , the fruit
whereof was to fill the whole earth b . It was not one tribe
only, or two, that was to acknowledge him as their head,
but all the tribes ; yea, Gentiles as well as Jews, even all the
ends of the earth : his fruit was to shake like the woods of
Lebanon, and they, who should spring from him, were to be
numerous as the piles of grass c , the stars of heaven d , and the
sands upon the sea-shore e . And so abundantly has this pre
diction been already verified, that we may say of this Branch
as the Psalmist did of that which typically represented it, " It
has taken deep root, and filled the land : the hills are covered
with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof are like the
goodly cedars ; it has sent forth its boughs unto the sea, and
its branches unto the river f ."]
But the resemblance will more fully appear, while
we consider,
II. His grievous sufferings-
Joseph was for many years very grievously afflicted
[He was eminently the beloved of his father g ; and,
being utterly averse to sin himself, he would reprove, and lay
before his father, the misconduct of his brethren 11 : he also,
unreservedly, communicated to them all the repeated intima
tions, which he had had in dreams, respecting his future
exaltation above his whole family *. For these reasons he was
envied, hated, and persecuted by his brethren k . And when
he came to them from his father, upon an errand of love, they
conspired against him to kill him 1 . An opportunity offering
at the moment, they sold him into the hands of strangers for
twenty pieces of silver 111 . After that, he was accused of a crime
he utterly abhorred, and, without any one to plead his cause,
was cast into prison 11 , where, for a time at least, " he was laid
a Isai. iv. 2. and xi. 1. b Isai. xxvii. 6. c Ps. Ixxii. 16.
d Gen. xv. 5. e Gen.xxii. 17. f Ps. Ixxx. 911.
s Gen. xxxvii. 3. h Gen. xxxvii. 2. ! Gen. xxxvii, 5, 9.
k Gen. xxxvii. 4, 11. l Gen. xxxvii. 18 20.
m Gen. xxxvii. 28. " Gen. xxxix. 12 20.
61. J JOSEPH A TYPE OF CHRIST. 311
in irons," and galled with heavy fetters ; so " sorely did the
archers grieve him, and shoot at him, arid hate him."]
And can we err in tracing here the sufferings of
our Lord ?
[Jesus was, infinitely above all others, the well-be.loved
of his Father p ; and, while he faithfully reproved the sins of
his brethren, declared to them his future exaltation and glory q .
Filled with envy and wrath against him, they said, as it were
in malignant triumph, "This is the heir; come, let us kill
him r ;" so cruelly " did they reward him evil for good, and
hatred for his love 8 ." When he was come to them from his
Father with the most benevolent design, behold, one of his
own disciples sold him, and that to strangers too, for thirty
pieces of silver*. He was accused of blasphemy against God,
and of rebellion against his king ; and, without any one
appearing to speak on his behalf 11 , was instantly condemned ;
and thus, though " none could convince him of sin," " was
numbered with the transgressors." Could there have been
such a coincidence of circumstances between his lot and
Joseph s, at least is it probable there would have been, if it
had not been particularly ordained of God ?]
We may pursue the comparison yet further, in,
III. His unshaken constancy-
Joseph was marvellously upheld under all his trials
[Though he besought his brethren with cries and tears,
we read not of any reproachful language that he used : when
he entreated Pharaoh s butler to intercede for him, he did not
so much as mention either his brethren, who had sold him,
or his mistress, who had falsely accused him x : nor, while he
was enduring his hard lot, did he once murmur or repine at
the providence of God: through the whole of his trial he
possessed his soul in patience : nor, when he had it in his
power to revenge himself, did he render any thing but love
for hatred, and good for evil. The apparent unkindness of his
deportment, which he adopted for a time, was a violence done
to his own feelings, in order that he might discern the real
state of their minds, and reveal himself to them afterwards to
better effect y . When the proper season was arrived, he fully
evinced the tenderness of his heart, and the delight he took in
the exercise of mercy ; and, so far from upbraiding his brethren,
he said all he could to extenuate their crime, and referred
Ps. cv. 18. P Matt. iii. 17. ^ John vii.7.and Matt.xxvi.f>4.
r Matt. xxi. 38. * Ps. cix. 35. * Matt. xxvi. 15, 16.
u Isai.liii. 8. See Bp. Lowth s translation and note, andPs.lxix. 20.
x Gen. xl. 14, 15. y Gen. xlii. 7, 9, 12.
GENESIS, XLIX. 2224. [61.
the whole event to the overruling providence of God z . So
effectually were " his hands strengthened by the mighty God
of Jacob," that in no instance was he " overcome of evil, but
at all times overcame evil with good."]
Our blessed Lord also shone like him, only with
infinitely brighter lustre
[Never did an inadvertent word drop from the lips of
Jesus under all his persecutions : " When he was reviled, he
reviled not again ; when he suffered, threatened not ; but
committed himself to him that judgeth righteously a ." "As a
sheep before her shearers is dumb, so opened he not his mouth b "
either in menaces, or complaints. His meekness was uniform,
his fortitude undaunted, his patience invincible. He sought
nothing but the good of those who were daily conspiring
against his life : he wept over them, when they resisted all his
overtures of mercy c : he even prayed for them, and apologized
for their crimes, when they were in the very act of putting
him to death d : and, after his resurrection, commanded that
the offers of salvation through his blood should be made j#n
to the very people who had so lately shed it e .]
There is yet one more feature of resemblance to
be noticed, in,,
IV. His glorious advancement
After all his trials Joseph was exalted to a throne
[Through the good providence of God, Joseph was enabled
to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh, and was, on that account,
brought from the dungeon, and made, next to Pharaoh, ,the
supreme governor of the Egyptian kingdom f : all were ordered
to bow the knee to Joseph g ; and all, who came for a supply
of corn, received this direction, Go to Joseph 11 . Thus did
God exalt him to be both " the shepherd and the stone of
Israel," that he might not only provide for Egypt and the
neighbouring kingdoms, but be an effectual support to all his
kindred, and preserve the lives of those very persons who had
sought his destruction.]
Can we reasonably doubt but that in this he was a
type of Jesus ?
[Jesus was raised from the prison of the grave by the
effectual working of God s power : "he was highly exalted ;
and had a name given him above every name, that at the
z Gen. xlv. 5. a 1 Pet. ii. 23. b Isai. liii. 7.
c Luke xix. 41. d Luke xpdii. 34. e Luke xxiv. 47.
f Gen. xli. 14, 15, 41. e Gen. xli. 43. h Gen. xli. 55.
61.] JOSEPH A TYPE OF CHRIST. 313
name of Jesus every knee should bow 1 : " " all power was com
mitted to him in heaven and in earth ; and all things were put
under him, HE only excepted, who did put all things under
him k ." Whatever we want for our souls, we must receive it
all out of his fulness 1 : the direction given to every living
creature is, Go to Jesus, Look to Jesus 111 . And how does he
exercise his power? Behold, he calls his sinful brethren from
a land of want and misery, and brings them to his own land
of peace and plenty. There he nourishes them with the bread
of life, and " reigns over the house of Jacob for ever and ever."
Thus, as " the great Shepherd of the sheep," he both feeds
and rules his flock, while as "the foundation" and " corner-
sto ne " he supports and connects, confirms and dignifies, all
the "Israel" of God".]
By way of IMPROVEMENT we observe,
1. The purposes of God,, whatever may be done to
frustrate them, shall surely be accomplished
[We are amazed at the variety of incidents, that seemed
to put the elevation of Joseph, and of Christ, almost beyond
the reach of Omnipotence itself. Yet God s purposes were
accomplished by the very means used to defeat them. Thus
shall it be with us also, if we confide in the word of God.
Whatever means Satan, or the world, may use to " separate
us from God," they shall not prevail. " What God has pro
mised, he is able also to perform." Let us therefore trust in
him ; for He will work, and who shall let it ? He hath pur
posed, and who shall disannul it ? His counsel shall stand ;
and he will do all his pleasure .]
2. God s dearest children must expect many trials
in their way to glory
[Joseph, and Christ, endured much before their exalta
tion. And we also " through much tribulation shall enter
into the kingdom." The number and weight of our trials are
no grounds of concluding ourselves to be objects of God s dis
pleasure : they should rather, especially if they be sanctified
to us, be considered as tokens of his love p . As the Captain of
our salvation was, so also must we be, made perfect through
sufferings . J^et us then "arm ourselves with the mind that
was in Christ." We shall surely have no reason to regret
the difficulties of the way, when we have attained the rest
prepared for us.]
1 Phil. ii. 911. Ps.lxxii. 8,9, 11. MCor.xv.27. 1 John i. 16.
m Isai. xlv. 22. John vii. 37. " Hob. xiii. 20. 1 Pet. ii. (>.
Isai. xliii. 13. and xiv. 27. and xlvi. 10. i> Heb. xii. 6.
1 Heb. ii. 10.
314 GENESIS, L. 1517. [62.
3. We should not labour to control events, but
study rather to accommodate ourselves to the cir
cumstances in which God has placed us
[How often might Joseph have escaped from the house of
Potiphar, or sent to his brethren the news of his exaltation in
Egypt ! But he left all in the hands of God, endeavouring
only to fulfil his duty, whether as a slave or a steward, whether
as a jailor or a prince. Thus did our Lord also, when he
could in ten thousand ways have changed the course of events.
Let us do likewise. Whatever be our circumstances or con
dition in life, let us be more desirous of glorifying God under
them, than of contriving, by any means, to alter them. God s
time and manner of accomplishing his own ends will be found
infinitely better in the issue, than any we can devise 1 ". Let us
then tarry his leisure, and leave ourselves wholly to his disposal,
and approve ourselves to him as faithful, and obedient children.]
r Isai. Iv. 8, 9.
LXII.
JOSEPH S BRETHREN FULFILLING THE PROPHECY RESPECTING
THEM.
Gen. 1. 15 17. And when Josejrfi s brethren saw that their
father was dead, they said, Joseph will per adventure hate us,
and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto
him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy
father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say
unto Joseph; Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy
brethren, and their sin ; for they did unto thee evil : and
now, ive pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the
God of tliij father. And Joseph ivept when they spake unto him.
THE heart of man by nature is vindictive. It was
a just observation of Saul to David, " If a man find
his enemy, will he let him go well away a ?" Hence,
when men have injured any person, they hate him,
because they think he must of necessity have become
their enemy : and, if they are within the reach of his
power, they fear him, because they conclude that he
will avail himself of any favourable opportunity to
revenge himself upon them. It was thus with Jo
seph s brethren. Their father being dead, and they
being entirely at the mercy of their brother whom
they had sold into Egypt, they concluded, that " he
a 1 Sam. xxiv. 19.
62.] JOSEPH S BRETHREN FULFIL THE PROPHECY. 315
would requite them all the evil which they had for
merly done unto him." It is probable that this ap
prehension was strengthened by a recollection of what
their father Jacob had suffered from the vindictive
spirit of Esau : " The days of mourning for my father
are at hand ; then will I slay my brother Jacob." Full
of fear, they sent to Joseph to implore his forgive
ness : which, as will be seen, they readily obtained.
The points to which we would direct your attention
are,
I. The means they used to conciliate his favour
These were certainly well adapted to the end pro
posed.
1. They plead the dying request of their revered
father
[What more cogent argument could be used with a pious
mind than this? The dying request of a friend is sacred: and
how much more of a parent, a parent of such consummate
piety as Jacob ! A request too so reasonable in itself, and so
conducive to the welfare of his whole family ! It is probable
indeed that the representation which they gave of their father s
request was not altogether correct. We cannot conceive that
Jacob should have entertained any suspicions about the sub
sequent conduct of Joseph ; or that, if he had, he would have
left a posthumous request to be made through his other chil
dren, when he could have urged it himself with so much more
effect in his lifetime. The probability is, that he enjoined
them to act in a submissive spirit towards Joseph, and not by
any refractory conduct to bring upon themselves his displea
sure. But, however this might be, the plea was very power
ful, and could not fail of obtaining for them the favour they
implored. True indeed it is, that persons of a headstrong dis
position frequently forget, and that at no distant period, the
dying advices of their parents but it was not probable
that Joseph should do so, after having so long evinced a dispo
sition most contrary to that of which he was suspected.]
2. They unite with it their own most humble and
earnest entreaties
[However strong may be our propensity to revenge, the
entreaties of a penitent offender will disarm us. It is scarcely
possible for a man to revenge himself on one who lies prostrate
at his feet. But there is a very peculiar delicacy in this
address which they make to Joseph : in speaking to him of
Jacob, they do not designate him as their father, but as his ;
316 GENESIS, L. 1517. [62.
" Thy father did command." And when they speak to him of
themselves, they do not designate themselves either as Jacob s
sons, or as Joseph s brethren, but as " the servants of the God
of thy father ; " thus keeping out of view every thing which
might appear presumptuous, and calling to their aid Joseph s
love to his parent, and his duty to his God. If this was the
result of ingenuity, we admire it ; but if of real humility, we
greatly applaud it : for there is a delicacy in humility, a beau
tiful and lovely delicacy, which, though in words it amount to
little, as indicating the spirit by which a man is actuated, is
extremely valuable. The true point to be aimed at in asking
forgiveness is humility : to be open and ingenuous in our con
fessions, to take shame to ourselves for what we have done
amiss, and to make all the reparation in our power, this is the
spirit we should cultivate ; and it is pleasing to see these long-
obdurate men brought at last to a measure of this experience.]
Reserving for a while our further observations on
this part of our subject, we pass on to notice,
II. The effect produced on Joseph s mind-
Considering how long they had forborne to humble
themselves aright, he might well have upbraided them,
both with their former cruelty, and their subsequent
impenitence: or he might have imposed conditions
upon them, as Solomon afterwards did on Shimei: or
he might have pardoned them in kind and conde
scending terms. But the way in which he expressed
his forgiveness was more eloquent and convincing than
any words which human ingenuity could ever have
devised : " Joseph wept when they spake unto him."
His weeping was from mixed emotions in his mind.
The human heart is susceptible of greatly diversified
impressions even at the same moment. The two
Marys, when they had ascertained beyond a doubt
the resurrection of their Lord, " departed from the
sepulchre with fear and great joyV Thus in the
breast of Joseph, we apprehend, there was a mixture
both of grief and joy:
1. Of grief-
fit must have been inexpressibly painful to him to have
such suspicions entertained respecting him, especially after he
had for the space of seventeen years manifested such uniform
kindness towards them. A man possessed of a generous mind
b Matt, xxviii. 8.
62.] JOSEPH S BRETHREN FULFIL THE PROPHECY. 317
cannot endure that all the love he exercises should be construed
as a mere hypocritical pretence, covering a rooted enmity that
will break forth as soon as an opportunity shall enable him to
manifest it with effect : yea, the more conscious a man feels of
his own integrity, the more deeply will he feel such unfounded
suspicions. If jealousy is painful to him who harbours it, it is
no less painful to him who is undeservedly the object of it.
This avowal therefore of their secret fears could not but inflict
a deep wound on his tender spirit.
At the same time it must be distressing to Joseph to see,
that, after all they had witnessed of piety in their father Jacob,
and all the reason they had to believe he was possessed of
the same divine principle, they should betray such ignorance
of religion, as to suppose, that, where the lowest degrees of it
existed, a vindictive spirit could be indulged. If indeed they
thought him a determined hypocrite, they might suppose him
capable of harbouring such resentment : but, if he had any
hope of forgiveness from God himself, he never could suffer
such feelings to rankle in his breast. Whilst therefore they
doubted the influence of true religion in him, they shewed,
that they were in a very great degree strangers to it them
selves : and this discovery must have been painful to him, in
proportion to the love he bore them, and the desire he felt for
their eternal welfare. Hence that expression of his, " Am I in
the place of God," to whom exclusively " vengeance belongs,"
and whose prerogative, if I avenged myself, I should usurp ?]
2. Of joy-
[Whilst they thus betrayed an ignorance of genuine reli
gion, they gave by their voluntary humiliation some reason to
hope that the seeds of true piety \vere springing up in their
souls. And this hope doubtless filled him with holy joy. Say,
any of you, who have w r ept over an abandoned child, or the
impiety of a friend or brother, what joy has not sprung up in
your bosom when you have first seen the obdurate heart to
relent, and the tears of penitential sorrow to flow down, so as
to justify a hope that a work of grace was begun in the soul !
How have you secretly lifted up your heart to God in devout
aspirations, to entreat, that he would confirm the rising pur
pose, and perfect in their souls the work he had begun!
Doubtless then, in such a pious mind as Joseph s, the very
first dawn of piety in his obdurate brethren could not but
cause the tear of love and gratitude to start from his eyes.
Another thought too, that could not fail of rushing into his
mind, and filling him with adoring gratitude to God, was, that
in this act of humiliation his brethren had voluntarily fulfilled
those dreams which they had before accomplished only from
< Rom. xii. 19. with Gen. 1. 19.
GENESIS, L. 1517. [62.
necessity and constraint. To trace the ways of Providence,
and especially to see how mysteriously God has dealt with us,
and made all things to work together for our good, is one of
the sublimes t enjoyments that we can experience on earth;
and I doubt not but that it will constitute in no small degree
the blessedness of heaven. Well therefore might Joseph now
weep for joy, more especially as the exaltation which all his
previous trials had led to, enabled him now to requite, not
evil for evil, as they feared, but good for evil, and to " over
come evil with good d ."]
From hence then we may LEARN,,
1. To ask forgiveness of those whom we have
injured
[This is a hard task to an unhumbled spirit : but it is in
dispensably necessary: nor can any man be upright before
God, who will not submit to it. To approach the table of the
Lord without first endeavouring to conciliate our offended
brother is directly to oppose the command of God, who says,
" Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way:" " Go
thy way : first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and
offer thy gift 6 ." Many will be the excuses which we shall be
ready to offer for our neglect of this duty; but the
command of God is plain and express ; and a compliance with
it is indispensable, to prove that our penitence is sincere : nor
can we ever obtain forgiveness from God, if we are too proud
to solicit forgiveness from man.]
2. To forgive those who have injured us
[This is a far easier duty than the other ; because, whilst a
compliance with the other humbles us, the performance of this
elevates and exalts us. Is it asked, " How often shall I forgive
an offending brother? till seven times? " I answer, Yes, and
" till seventy times seven f ." Nor is our forgiveness to be merely
negative, such as consists in a forbearance from retaliation : no ;
it must be real, cordial, permanent : for in the parable of the
unforgiving servant who is represented as cast into prison till
he shall have paid the uttermost farthing, we are warned, " So
also shall your heavenly Father do unto you, if ye from your
hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses g ." Let
not any one then say, I cannot forgive, or, Though I forgive,
I cannot forget : for we must, in the mercy which we extend
towards man, resemble that which we ourselves hope to re
ceive from God ; and must " forgive our brother as completely
and cordially as God for Christ s sake hath forgiven us h ."]
d Rom. xii. 20, 21. e Matt. v. 23, 24. f Matt, xviii. 21, 22.
K Matt, xviii. 35. h Eph. iv. 32.
EXODUS.
LXIII.
THE BURNING BUSH.
Exod. iii. 2, 3. The angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
aflame offlre out of the midst of a bush : and he looked, and,
behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not con
sumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this
great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
IF God have on some occasions revealed himself
to persons, when, like Saul, they have been in the
very act of committing the most heinous sins a , he
has more generally favoured them when they have
been occupied, like the shepherds, in their proper
calling b . Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his
father-in-law, when God appeared to him in a burning
bush, and gave him a commission to deliver Israel
from their bondage in Egypt. By this extraordinary
appearance God not merely awakened the curiosity
of Moses, but conveyed to him some very important
instruction; to elucidate which we shall,
I. Shew what was intended by the burning bush-
It was intended to represent the state and con
dition
1. Of the Israelites in Egypt
[They were cruelly oppressed, and every effort was made
to destroy them c . Nor had they in themselves any more
ability to withstand their enemies, than a thorny bush has to
resist the action of fire. Yet not only were they preserved
from destruction, but they even multiplied in proportion as
means were used to prevent their increase.]
2. Of the church of God in the world
[The church, whose state was typified by that of Israel,
has at all times suffered by persecution, though it has enjoyed
a Acts ix. 4. i> Luke ii. 8, 9. c Exod. i. 922.
320 EXODUS, III. 2, 3. [63.
some intervals of comparative rest. And, considering that all
the powers of the world have been confederate against it, we
may well be amazed that it has not been utterly consumed.
But it has endured the fiery trial to this hour, and still defies
the impotent attacks of all its adversaries.]
3. Of every individual in the church
[The declaration that " all who would live godly in Christ
Jesus should suffer persecution," has been verified in every
place and every age : " the third part are, and ever will be,
brought through the fire." And it is no less than a miracle,
that, when the believer has so many enemies, both without and
within, he does not " make shipwreck of faith and of a good
conscience." But the furnace, instead of destroying, purifies
and refines him ; and his very graces are perfected by the trials
that endanger their existence d .]
Having pointed out both the primary and more
remote signification of this phenomenon, we shall,
II. Account for the miracle which it exhibited
Well might the sight of a bush burning, but not
consumed, excite the astonishment of Moses : but
his wonder would cease when he found that God was
in the bush.
The person here called "the angel of the Lord"
was Christ
[The angel expressly called himself " The God of Abra
ham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ;" which
sufficiently proves that he could not be a created angel, seeing
that it would be the most daring blasphemy in any creature
to assume that incommunicable title of Jehovah : yet it was
not God the Father: for St. Stephen, recording this history,
informs us, that " God sent Moses by the hand of the angel e :"
consequently the angel was God the Son, and not God the
Father. Indeed Christ, who is elsewhere called " The angel
of the covenant," was the person, who, in all the appearances
of God to man, assumed the human or angelic shape ; thereby
preparing the world for the fuller manifestation of himself in
his incarnate state. And it is on this account that he is called
" The image of the invisible God f ."]
It was his presence with the Israelites that pre
vented their destruction
[He was in the bush, and therefore the bush was not con
sumed : so he was in the midst of his oppressed people ; and
d Rom. v. , 35. e Acts vii. 3035. f Col. i. 15.
63 J THE BURNING BUSH. 321
therefore the Egyptians could not prevail against them. Christ
was among them before he gave them any symbol of his
presence; for it was he who rendered the assistance of the
midwives unnecessary, and emboldened them to withstand the
commands of Pharaoh. He was afterwards with them in the
pillar and the cloud, protecting them from the Egyptian hosts,
and stopping the progress of their enemies till they were over
whelmed in the sea. When, for the punishment of their sins,
he refused to go with them, they were sure to be overpowered g :
but whenever he returned in mercy to them, they prospered
and prevailed.]
It is that same presence that preserves the church
and every member of it
[Christ has said, " Lo, I am with you alway, even to the
end of the world ;" and hence it is that " the gates of hell
have never prevailed against the church ;" yea, we are assured,
they never shall prevail. We are also told that " he dwelleth
in the hearts" of all his people 11 , and is " their life 1 ;" and
that, whereinsoever they live and act, it is not so much they,
as Christ in them k . It is by this consideration that he en
courages them to " go through fire and water," persuaded that
no evil shall happen to them 1 . And to his continued inter
position and support they must ascribe their preservation in
every danger, and their deliverance from every enemy m .]
Let us now "turn aside and behold this great sight" (let
us turn from every worldly thought, and inspect
this wonderful appearance, not with curiosity, but
profoundest reverence) ; let us OBSERVE herein,
1. To what state God s most favoured people may
be reduced
[Your afflictions may be heavy. But are any discouraged
by reason of their great trials ? Be it known that tribulation
is the way to the kingdom; and all, who arrive there, have
trodden the same path n . Nor need we be alarmed at any fire
that is kindled for us, since Christ will be with us in the midst
of it , and "bring us out of it purified as gold."]
2. What they may expect at God s hands-
fin seasons of great trial we are tempted to think that
God has forsaken us : but he never was more immediately
present with the Hebrew youths, than when they were cast
into the furnace ; nor did he ever feel more love to his own
g Numb. xiv. 42 45. Josh. vii. 4, 5. h Eph. iii. 17.
1 Col. iii. 4. k Gal. ii. 20. 1 Ps. xlvi. 5.
m Ps. cxxiv. 1 5. n Acts xiv. 22. Rev. vii. 14. Isai. xli. 10.
VOL. I. Y
322 EXODUS, III. 12. [64.
Son, than in the hour when he cried, " My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me ? " Let us then learn to trust God,
and expect that, when we walk through the fire, we shall not
be burned 5 .]
3. What in the midst of all their trials should be
their chief concern
[Moses in his valedictory address to the twelve tribes,
congratulates Joseph on " the good-will of Him ivho dwelt in
the bush* 1 " And most truly are they blessed who are thus
interested in the divine favour. To them God is " a wall of
fire" for their protection 1 : but to others he is "a consuming
fire " for their destruction s . Alas ! alas ! in what a fearful
state are they, who shall be " cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone," into " a fire that never shall be quenched," and in
which they shall continue unconsumed to all eternity ! Oh !
" who can dwell with everlasting burnings * ? " But, if we are
reconciled to him in the Son of his love, we have nothing to
fear : we have nothing to fear either in time or eternity : for,
however painful our state in this world may be, he will sup
port us with his presence ; and in the world to come, we shall
be for ever beyond the reach of harm, even in " his immediate
presence, where is the fulness of joy for evermore." Seek then
his favour ; yea, seek it with your whole hearts - ]
P Isai. xliii. 2. <i Deut. xxxiii. 16. r Zech. ii. 5.
8 Heb. xii. 29. t l sa i. xxxiii. 14.
LXIV.
GOD S PRESENCE WITH HIS PEOPLE.
Exod. iii. 12. And lie said, Certainly I will be with thee.
THERE is nothing more amiable in the character
of a saint than true and genuine humility. Without
that virtue, all graces are defective,, and all attain
ments worthless in the sight of God. But it is no
uncommon thing to see other dispositions assuming
the garb of humility, and claiming an excellence
which they do not possess. The Prophet Jeremiah,
when called to the prophetic office, declined it under
an idea that he was " a child, and unable to speak."
But God said to him, " Say not, I am a child : for
thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and what
soever I shall command thee thou shalt speak a ." His
a Jer. i. 4 7.
(34.1 GOD S PRESENCE WITH HIS PEOPLE. 323
pretended insufficiency for the work was, in reality,
no other than a cover for his dread of the dangers
to which it would expose him : and therefore God,
in order to remove the impediment,, replied, " Be not
afraid of their faces ; for I am with thee, to deliver
theeV Thus Moses, when God said to him, " Come
now, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou
inayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel,
out of Egypt ;" replied, " Who am I, that I should
go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the
children of Israel out of Egypt ?" This was specious
enough, and had the semblance of true humility ;
but it was only a pretext, and a cover to his fears
and unbelief. He had, forty years before, exerted
himself with great vigour in behalf of that people,
and had even slain an Egyptian who was contending
with them : but they had thrust him from them,
saying, " Who made thee a ruler and a judge over
us?" and Pharaoh had sought his life, as forfeited
to the laws of the land. Now, therefore, he was
afraid that the people would shew the same disregard
of his efforts, and that his slaughter of the Egyptian
would be visited with the punishment which the laws
of the land denounced against him. This, indeed,
did not at first sight appear to be his real motive :
but his numerous refusals of the office delegated to
him, repeated as they were under a variety of pre
texts, clearly discovered at last what was in his heart,
and justly excited the displeasure of God against
him d . But the very first answer of God should have
been quite sufficient to remove every apprehension.
God said to him, " Certainly I will be with thee : "
and, having that assurance, he should without hesi
tation have gone forth to his destined labours.
Let us consider,
I. The extent of the promise-
As relating to him, it comprehended all that he
could wish
[True, his work was arduous, and to unassisted man
b Jer. i. 8. c Exod. iii. 10, 11. d Exod. iv. 13, 14, 19.
Y 2
SPA EXODUS, III. 12. [64.
impracticable: but, if God was with him, what could he have
to fear? He would be guided by a wisdom that could not
err, and be aided by a power which could not be overcome.
With such an assurance, what had he to do with discourage
ments ? Could Pharaoh hurt him, whilst he was under such
protection ; or the Israelites withstand his solicitations, when
enforced by such powerful energy on their minds? Every
difficulty should have vanished from his mind ; and he should
have leaped for joy at the prospect of effecting so great and
good a work.]
But it relates to us also, and pledges God to an
equal extent in our behalf
[A similar promise was given to Joshua, on an occasion
precisely similar 6 : and that is quoted by the Apostle Paul as
applicable to every true believer : " God hath said, I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee : so that WE may boldly say, The
Lord is MY helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto
me f ." Here the very promise made to Moses, is renewed to
Joshua, and declared to belong to us also. Whatever difficulties,
therefore, we may have to encounter in the discharge of our
duty to God, we need not fear : his promised presence shall be
with us in our efforts, and his almighty power secure to us a
successful issue.]
The more minute consideration of the subject will
fall under the next head of my discourse,, whilst I
endeavour to shew,
II. The encouragement it affords to us
We may properly view it, in the first place, as
applicable to Ministers
[Ministers have, if I may so speak, the very same office
delegated to them as was assigned to Moses: they are sent to
bring men out of spiritual thraldom, and to deliver them from
a bondage far more terrible than that of Egypt. The power
that opposes them is far stronger than that of Pharaoh ; and
the unhappy captives are in love with their chains : they are
themselves as averse to leave their hard taskmaster, as he is
to lose their services. Were we to go in our own strength,
we should soon desert our post; as Moses did, when, in re
liance on his own arm, he prematurely proffered to the people
his assistance. But with the promise of God s presence, a
promise specifically given to us by our Divine Master for our
encouragement g , we go forth with confidence; and to every
obstacle that is in our way, we say, " Who art thou, O great
e Josh. i. 5. f Heb. xiii. 5, 6. e Matt, xxviii. 18.
64.] GOD S PRESENCE WITH HIS PEOPLE. 325
mountain? Before Zembbabel thou shalt become a plain h ."
We know that the persons to whom we speak are as incapable
of hearing our words, as dry bones scattered upon the face of
the earth: yet do we not despond, or even doubt the efficacy of
our ministrations for those to whom we are sent: and, in de
pendence on this word, we hope and believe, that the word
which we speak shall prove " the power of God to the salva
tion" of those who hear it. We are not unmindful of the ques
tion put by the Apostle, " Who is sufficient for these things? "
but, if the rod of Moses wrought effectually in his hand for the
deliverance of Israel, we have 110 fear but that the word of God,
by whomsoever administered, shall be alike effectual for all the
ends for which it is sent. It is " the rod of God s strength;"
and not all the powers of darkness shall be able to withstand it.]
But it is also applicable to God s people generally
throughout the world
[To this extent, as we have before observed, St. Paul
applies it : and every believer needs it for his support. Every
one is engaged in a great work, for which no finite power is
sufficient : every one, therefore, needs to be encouraged with
an assurance, that God will be with him in all his endeavours
to perform it, and will secure to him the desired success. Be
liever, hast thou much to do for God, even so much as thou
couldest have no hope of effecting without the arm of Omni
potence exerted in thy behalf? Hear what God has said for
thine encouragement: " Fear thou not, for I am with thee ; be
not dismayed, for I am thy God : I will strengthen thee ; yea,
I will help thee ; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness i ." See here, how God, in every successive part of
these promises, accommodates himself to thy weakness and thy
fears. When he says, " I am with thee," a thought may per
haps arise, that he will be with thee only to witness thy defeat :
he therefore adds, " I will be thy God." Does a sense of thy
weakness press upon thee ? he further says, " I will strengthen
thee." Art thou still discouraged, because the work is left to
thee ? he adds, " I will help thee." Art thou still dejected,
through an apprehension of thy failure at last? he takes the
whole responsibility on himself, and declares, for thy comfort, " I
will altogether uphold thee with the right hand of my righteous
ness." This may serve to shew (what we forbore to specify
under the former head) the extent to which this promise goes,
in relation to every thing which our necessities may require.
Again ; Hast thou also much to suffer for God in thy Chris
tian course ? Doubtless thou must have some cross to bear,
else thou couldest not be conformed fully to thy Saviour s
image. But, whether thy trials be more or less severe, the
h Zech. iv. 7. Isai. xli. 10.
326 EXODUS, III. 12. [64.
promise in my text secures to thee an effectual help, and a
sure deliverance. For thus saith the Lord : " When thou
passest through the waters, I will be with thee ; and through
the rivers, they shall not overflow thee : when thou walkest
through the fire, thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the
flame kindle upon thee : for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy
One of Israel, thy Saviour k ." Here again the extent of the
promise clearly appears, and its perfect sufficiency for every
trial to which thou canst be exposed.
Is there yet a lurking apprehension that in the extremity of
death thy heart will fail ? At this season, also, shall the pre
sence of thy God afford thee effectual support : " Though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil ; for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff they comfort
me 1 ." Now, though the valley of this shadow of death may
comprehend the whole of the present life as beset \vith snares
and difficulties, yet it must include the closing scenes of life,
as well as those that have preceded it; and, consequently, when
our flesh and heart fail, we may be assured that " God will be
the strength of our heart, and our portion for ever 111 ."]
LEARN from hence
1. To undertake nothing but in dependence on
God-
[Wlieii God vouchsafed his assistance to Israel, no man
could stand before them : but when they went up against the
Canaanites in dependence on an arm of flesh, they were put to
flight and slain 11 . So it will be with us, if we presume to
engage in any thing without first asking counsel, and implor
ing help, from him. God is jealous of his own honour : and
if we place our reliance on any thing but him, we must expect
a curse, and not a blessing, on all our labours .]
2. To shrink from nothing to which he calls us
[If Moses was forbidden to shrink from the duties im
posed on him, what shall we not willingly and confidently
undertake for God? We must not contemplate human means,
when the path of duty is clear ; but must expect him to " per
fect his own strength in our weakness." With him it is alike
" easy to save by many or by few:" nor need we doubt a
moment, but that " through Christ strengthening us we can do
all things." " If God be for us, who can be against us ? "]
3. To despair of nothing which we undertake at
his command
[We may be in the path of duty, and yet find many dif-
k Isai. xliii. 2, 3. 1 Ps. xxiii. 4. Ps. Ixxiii. 26.
n Numb. xiv. 43 45. Jer. xvii. 5, 6.
65.] SELF-EXISTENCE AND IMMUTABILITY OF GOD. 327
ficulties, even such as may appear utterly insuperable. Moses
himself was so discouraged by his want of success, that he
complained of God as having disappointed and deceived him.
But he succeeded at last : and the very difficulties which had
discouraged him served but the more to illustrate the power
and grace of God. So may we find it for a season : but we
should bear in mind, that his word, which he has pledged to
us, is immutable, and that his counsel shall stand, though earth
and hell should combine to defeat it. Let us then " commit
our everyway to him;" and, with a holy confidence, advance,
" strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might."]
LXV.
THE SELF-EXISTENCE AND IMMUTABILITY OF GOD.
Exod. iii. 14. And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM :
and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,
I AM hath sent me unto you.
IT is of great importance that Ministers should be
considered as ambassadors of God. And that they
should deliver nothing which they cannot enforce
with, Thus saith the Lord. Without this, their word
can have but little weight. But ministrations thus
supported will produce the happiest effects. Moses
was commissioned to offer deliverance to the op
pressed Israelites. But he rightly judged that they
would ask, from whence he had his authority. He
therefore inquired of God, what answer he should
return. And received from God the direction recorded
in the text.
To understand the words aright, we must consider,
I. The title God assumed
The Deity had hitherto revealed himself to man
by the name of God Almighty. Though he had been
called JEHOVAH, he was not fully known by that
name, even to his most highly-favoured servants 3 .
He now was pleased to assume a title similar to that ;
but, if possible, of still plainer import
The name, I AM THAT I AM, represents him
to be,
1. Self-existent
a Exod. vi. 3.
328 EXODUS, III. 14. [65.
[Creatures have only a derived, and therefore a dependent,
existence. They are now what they once were not, and may
again cease to be. But God from all eternity was precisely
what he now is. To him therefore this august title may be
properly applied. Nor are there wanting other similar descrip
tions of him to confirm it b .]
2. Immutable
[Every creature in earth and heaven is liable to change.
But " with God there is no variableness, neither shadow of
turning." He himself claims immutability as his own peculiar
prerogative c . And in this view, the title assumed in the text
must ever belong to him.]
3. Incomprehensible
[No words can convey, or imagination conceive, an ade
quate idea of God d . Hence God does not endeavour to ex
plain his nature to Moses. But, by declaring himself to be
what he is, intimates, that he is what can neither be compre
hended nor expressed. His answer, in effect, was similar to
that which he afterwards gave to Manoah 6 .]
The title thus explained, it will be proper to
consider,
II. For what end he assumed it
The Israelites were extremely debased by means
of their long bondage. It was necessary therefore
to prepare their minds for the intended deliverance
[Though they groaned under their oppression, they were
too much reconciled to their yoke. They rather affected a
mitigation of trouble, than the attainment of liberty. Though
the promises made to their fathers were not wholly forgotten,
the accomplishment of them was not cordially desired. Indeed,
they scarcely conceived it possible that their emancipation
should be effected. Hence it was necessary to stimulate their
desires, renew their hopes, and confirm their expectations, of
a better country.]
The title which God assumed was admirably
adapted to this end
[If God was so incomprehensible a Being, he could easily
devise means of executing his own sovereign will and pleasure.
If he was the one self-existent, independent Creator of the
universe, all creatures must be wholly subject to his control.
And if he were absolutely immutable, he could not recede
l) Ps. cii. 27. Rev. i. 4. c Mai. iii. 6.
d Job xi. 7. 1 Tim. vi. 1C. Judg. xiii. 17, 18.
65. J SELF-EXISTENCE AND IMMUTABILITY OF GOD. 329
from the covenant entered into with their fathers. He there
fore could not want either inclination or power to deliver them.
Yea, He could not but deliver them for his own great name s
sake. He could not be I AM, if his promised interposition
should be either withheld or defeated. Thus the declaration
of his name must inspire them with confidence, and induce
them willingly to put themselves under the direction of Moses.]
INFER,
1. What a solemn attention does the Gospel de
mand!
[The Gospel is a message of mercy to those who are in
bondage to sin. And they who preach it are ambassadors from
the great I AM. Jesus, who sends them forth, assumes to
himself this very title f . To the same effect also his character
is drawn in the Epistle to the Hebrews s . He has commis
sioned his servants to go forth into all the world 11 ; and pro
mised (as God did to Moses) to be always with them 1 . Shall
we then make light of the mercy which He offers to us ; or
doubt his power and willingness to fulfil his promises? Shall
we thrust away his servants, saying, Why dost thou interfere
with us k ? Let us remember who it is that speaks to us in
the Gospel 1 . Every faithful Minister may say, I AM hath
sent me unto you. Nor, though miracles have ceased, shall
signs be wanting to confirm the word : the deaf shall hear,
the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers be cleansed. And
blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended at the Redeemer s
voice" 1 .]
2. What encouragement is here afforded to those
who are groaning under spiritual bondage !
[God brought out his people safely, notwithstanding all
their difficulties; and in due time put them into possession
of the promised land. Shall the spiritual redemption offered
by him be less effectual ? Are not his power and faithfulness
the same as in former ages n ? Will he not remove our ob
stacles, supply our wants, and destroy our enemies ? Surely
there are none so weak but they shall be made to triumph .
Nor shall the Prince of Darkness oppose with more success
than Pharaoh P. Behold, then, I AM hath sent me to proclaim
these glad tidings. Let all arise, and cast off their yoke, and
burst their bands asunder. Let not unbelief represent the
obstacles as insurmountable; nor fear induce you to comply
f John viii. 58. e Heb. xiii. 8. h Mark xvi. 15.
1 Matt, xxviii. 20. k Acts vii. 27. l Luke x. 16.
m Matt. xi. 5, 6. n Isai. lix. 1. Isai. xlix. 24, 25.
P Rom. xvi. 20.
330 EXODUS, IV. 1014. [66.
with the imperious dictates of the world* 1 . Behold! the Pillar
and the Cloud are ready to conduct your path. The great
I AM is for you : who then can be against you ? Go forth ;
and universal nature shall applaud your steps r .]
Q Pharaoh, after many successive plagues, agreed first that they
should sacrifice to God in the land, but not in the wilderness; then
that they should go into the wilderness, but not far; then that the
men should go, but without the women or children ; then that the women
and children, but not the Jiocks. Exod. viii. 25, 28. and x. 11, 24.
Thus the world would prescribe limits to the service we shall pay
to God. r Isai. Iv. 12.
LXVI.
MOSES DECLINING THE COMMISSION GIVEN HIM.
Exod. iv. 10 14. And Moses said unto the Lord, my Lord,
I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast
spoken unto thy servant : but I am sloiv of speech, and of a
slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made
mans mouth ? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the
seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? Now therefore
go; and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou
shall say. And he said, my Lord, send, I pray thee, by
the hand of him whom thou unit send. And the anger of the
Lord was kindled against Moses.
THAT iniquity should prevail among the blind and
ignorant., is no more than might reasonably be ex
pected : but when we behold it in the most eminent
saints, we are ready to exclaim,, " Lord, what is man,
that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man,
that thou so regardest him ?" It should seem indeed
that God has determined to stain the pride of human
glory, by recording the faults of his most favoured
servants. It is remarkable that those who are most
noted in Scripture for their piety, not only fell, but
manifested their weakness in those very graces for
which they were most distinguished. Abraham yielded
to unbelief, Job to impatience, Moses to anger, Peter
to fear. The circumstances here related concerning
Moses, clearly shew, not only what Moses was, but
what human nature is, when put to the trial. The fol
lowing observations therefore, while they elucidate the
text, will lead us to behold our own faces as in a glass.
66. J MOSES DECLINING GOD s COMMISSION. 331
I. There is in man a backwardness to engage in
God s service
[Who was this man ? Moses, in some respects the most
pious of mankind. What was the service to which he was called?
The most honourable and beneficial that could possibly be
assigned him Yet, with a pertinacity truly surprising,
he persisted in declining it, and desired that any one might be
employed in it rather than he a .
We, it is true, are called to no such service. But is there no
work committed to us ? Has not God appeared to us in his
word, and commanded us to devote ourselves to his service ?
Has not the Saviour bidden us to " deny ourselves, and take
up our cross daily, and follow him ? " And have we not shewn
an utter aversion to obey his call ? Glorious as his service is,
have we not declined it ; and, like Moses, been more studious
of our own ease than either of God s honour or the benefit of
our fellow-creatures ? Because we have foreseen difficulties,
we have been unwilling to embark in the cause of God and of
our own souls; when we ought rather to have gloried in
enduring hardships for God, and closed with the proposal at
once, saying, " Here am I, Lord; send meV]
II. We are prone to cloke this backwardness with
vain excuses
[Moses would not in plain terms refuse to obey his God;
but he tried by every method to excuse himself from under
taking the office assigned him. He first pretends to decline
through modesty c : and we might have given him credit for
real humility, if his subsequent refusals had not shewn that
he was actuated by a far different principle. When God has
obviated all objections arising from his unworthiness, then, in
direct opposition to God s promise, he objects, that the people
will not believe his message d . To remove all apprehensions
on this ground, God works three miracles before him, and
commissions him to perform the same in the sight of Pharaoh
and the people of Israel e . Still averse to engage in this work,
he pleads his want of eloquence, and his consequent unfitness
for such an undertaking f . To obviate this, God asks him,
" Who made man s mouth ;" and whether He, who had given
him the faculty of speech, was not able to give effect to his
endeavours ? Yea, he promises to " be with him, and to teach
him what he shall say." And does not all this overcome his
reluctance ? No : he still declines the service, and begs that
God would employ any other person rather than himself.
Now we say that these were vain excuses : for the real
a ver. 13. b Isai. vi. 8. c Exod. iii. 11.
d Comp. Exod. iii. 18. with iv. 1. e ver. 2 9. f The text.
332 EXODUS, IV. 1014. [66.
principles by which he was actuated, were unbelief and
cowardice. He had failed in this attempt forty years before,
when he had run unsent, and acted in his own strength, and
striven for the victory with no other than carnal weapons ; and
now he is apprehensive of another failure, when expressly
sent, and furnished with a wonder-working rod, and assured
of success by a God of almighty power and unimpeachable
veracity. Moreover, as on the former occasion Pharaoh sought
his life, he is afraid to put himself within his reach, lest he
should execute his threats upon him g .
And what are the pleas whereby we attempt to justify or
extenuate our neglect of God ? Have they any solidity ? yea,
have they any foundation in truth ? Are they not mere
excuses ? and is not an aversion to the service to which we are
called, the true reason of our declining to engage in it? We
will not say in plain words, I hate God ; I hate religion ; I
am determined never to follow the Saviour s steps : but we
pretend that this is not a convenient season, or that the work
to which we are called is impracticable. Yes ; if we will only
suffer our own consciences to speak, they will tell us that our
pleas are mere excuses, and that, in fact, we are hypocrites,
and dissemblers with God.]
III. However satisfactory our excuses may appear to
ourselves, they will only bring upon us the divine
displeasure
[Possibly Moses was unable to discern the true workings
of his own heart : but did not God spy them out ? and was not
God s anger kindled against him ? How God manifested his
anger, we know not : it is sufficient to know God s " judgment
was according to truth."
Who then are we, that we should think to impose upon God,
or to hide from him the motives by which we are actuated ?
Has he not cautioned us sufficiently against such fatal mistakes,
saying, " Be not deceived ; God is not mocked: whatsoever a
man soweth, that shall he also reap ? " Has he not warned
us, that we shall certainly incur his displeasure, if we suffer
any thing to keep us back from his service? He has men
tioned the excuses made by those whom he invited to his feast :
one had bought a piece of ground ; and another a yoke of oxen
which he wanted to see; another had married a wife, and
therefore could not come. Now these were as weighty excuses
for not going to an entertainment, as any that you can urge
for not serving your God : and yet he declared that none of
them should ever taste of his supper h . If this was the doom
of those who were invited but once, do you think that you
g ver. 19. ii Luke xiv. 1824.
66.] MOSES DECLINING GOD S COMMISSION. 333
shall sit down at his supper, who have rejected ten thousand
invitations ? No : you may excuse your supmeness by saying,
" There is a lion in the way; there is a lion in the streets ;"
but he will say, " Thou wicked and slothful servant ! " " Cast
the unprofitable servant into outer darkness." The spies
thought they had reason enough for postponing the invasion
of the promised land : but they were all excluded from it ; as
were all others who yielded to their pernicious counsels.]
ADVICE
1. Beware of self-deception
[The heart is deceitful above all things : and we have a
subtle adversary, who will not fail to help forward the most fatal
delusions. We see how others are biassed, and how empty the
pleas are by which they often justify their conduct. Let us
see in them an image of ourselves ; and learn to suspect the
treachery of our own hearts. Let us remember that we cannot
deceive our God ; and that the time is coming when we shall
be judged, not by our professions, but by our practice.]
2. Learn what are the duties to which you are
called
[With respect to particular steps in life, it may be ex
tremely difficult to judge 1 : but about a life of devotedness to
God there can be no doubt. Endeavour then to ascertain what
the Scriptures require of you ; and set yourselves instantly to
fulfil it. Do not invent excuses to shift off your duty; but
look up to God to direct you in his way, and to strengthen
you for the performance of all his will.]
3. Yield not to any discouragements in the way of
duty-
fit is not to be expected that you should meet with no
difficulties. You must doubtless have conflicts, and many of
them severe: but "greater is He that is in you than he that is
in the world." You may not improperly, in a view of your
own weakness, say, "Who is sufficient for these things?" but
you must never forget who has said, " My grace is sufficient
for you." Go on then, expecting assuredly that " your strength
shall be according to your day of trial ; " that the weaker you
are in yourselves, the more shall " Jehovah s strength be mag
nified in your weakness;" and that " you shall at last be more
than conquerors through Him that loved you."]
1 For instance, whether one should go to such or such a station ;
whether one should undertake the office of a Missionary, &c.
334 EXODUS, V. 2. [67.
LXVII.
PHARAOH S IMPIETY.
Excel, v. 2. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should
obey his voice, to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither
will I let Israel go.
MANY of the characters in the Old Testament are
" set forth to us as examples ;" and their history is
recorded tf for our admonition,, upon whom the ends
of the world are come*." Amongst these, Pharaoh
holds a very conspicuous place. When he persisted
in his rebellion against God, Moses was inspired to
declare to him what a monument of God s indigna
tion he should he made to all future generations, and
that God had raised him up to his exalted station for
that express purpose. Not that God had infused any
evil disposition into his mind; but by investing him
with regal authority, and continuing him in the exer
cise of that authority notwithstanding his impious
abuse of it, he enabled Pharaoh to display more
conspicuously the wickedness of his heart, and to
involve himself and his whole kingdom in more awful
judgments than he could have done if he had moved
in the situation of a private man. St. Paul quotes
this declaration, in order to shew, that God disposes
of men according to his sovereign will and pleasure,
either converting them unto himself, or permitting
them to proceed in their wickedness, in such a way
as shall ultimately conduce most to the honour of his
own name, and to the accomplishment of his own
eternal purposes b . In this view, the passage before
us is commended to us, as of singular importance.
It shews us, not only what Pharaoh was, but what
human nature itself is, if left to manifest its disposi
tions without restraint. I shall take occasion from
it, therefore, to shew,
I. The impiety of Pharaoh
I will bring it before you in a brief but compre
hensive way. Mark,
a 1 Cor. x. 6, 1 1. b Compare Exod. ix. 16. with Rom. ix. 15 18.
67.] PHARAOH S IMPIETY. 335
1. Its source
[It arose from pride and ignorance. Because there was no
man of greater eminence than himself on earth, this unhappy
monarch imagined that there was none above him even in
heaven. Poor foolish worm ! swelling with his own importance,
whilst the plagues inflicted on him shewed how impotent he
was to repel the assaults of the meanest insects. What insuf
ferable arrogance was there in that question, " Who is the
Lord, that I should obey his voice?" And w r hat horrible
impiety in that declaration, " I know not the Lord; neither
will I let Israel go ! " True, thou son of Belial, thou hast un
wittingly assigned the real cause of thine obstinacy: " I know
not the Lord ." As St. Paul says of the Jews, " Had they
known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory d ," so
say I to tliee: Hadst thou known what a great and holy Being
thou wast resisting, thou wouldst not have dared to withstand
him thus. No: thou wouldst have bowed before him, and
submitted instantly to his commands. Thy profaneness was
proof enough of thine ignorance.]
2. Its operation
[His obstinacy was irreclaimable, whether by judgments or
by mercies. Nine successive plagues, and the removal of them
all at thy request, were insufficient to subdue the pride and
haughtiness of thy spirit. Not even the tenth, the greatest
and heaviest of them all, prevailed on thee to desist from
fighting against God. Thy relentings were only momentary :
thy hardness returned the very instant thou wast out of the
furnace : thine own consent thou didst recall ; and follow with
murderous rage those thou liadst permitted to go forth from
thy land. How blinded wast thou by the wickedness of thine
own heart! Thou wast alike insensible to the evil and the
danger of thy ways. And in this thou hast shewn what is, in
every place and in every age, the sad effect of sin.]
3. Its issue
[Whither did it lead this devoted monarch, but to shame
and ruin? Thou saidst, " Neither will I let Israel go." But
when that Jehovah whom thou defiedst put forth his hand
against thee, thou didst thrust them forth from thy land : and
.so anxious were thy whole people to get rid of them, that they
loaded them with all their most valuable jewels, and with every
thing that could be desired to speed their way.
But when they seemed to be entangled in the land, and an
opportunity was afforded thee, as thou thoughtest, for their
destruction, thou couldst not forbear: thou wouldst seize
the occasion, and summon all thine hosts, and execute upon
c 1 Sam. ii. 12. d 1 Cor. ii. 8.
336 EXODUS, V. 2. [67.
them thy vengeance to the uttermost. Thou sawest the sea
opening for them a way: but hadst thou yet to learn that God
would put a difference between the Israelites and Egyptians?
Presumptuous wretch ! thou wouldst follow them even through
the sea itself, and lead on in passion thine infatuated hosts. I
see thee enter within the watery walls which Omnipotence had
raised: but there thou hastenest to thy destruction. Now
escape from the snare into which thine impiety has led thee.
Thou canst not: thy chariot wheels are broken; and too late
dost thou find that Jehovah fights for Israel. Of all that
followed this infuriated monarch, not one escaped; the sea
came upon them, and overwhelmed them all; not so much as one
was left, to report to Egypt the calamity they had sustained.]
But, not to dwell any longer on the impiety of
Pharaoh, I shall proceed to that which is of more
immediate interest to ourselves; namely, to shew,
II. To what an extent a similar spirit prevails
amongst us
To you the messages of heaven are sent
[We, Brethren, are ambassadors of God to you, and in
his sacred name do we bring you the counsels which we offer ;
and every word that is so delivered, in accordance with his
mind and will, must be received, " not as the word of man,
but as the word of God himself." To every different class
of hearers have we a message suited to their state. We call
upon the licentious to forsake their evil ways ; the worldling
to seek for better things than this world can give ; the formal
and self-righteous to renounce their self-dependence, and to
make the Lord Jesus Christ the ground of all their hopes.]
But who amongst you can be prevailed upon to
obey the word ?
[The same spirit by which Pharaoh was actuated, per
vades the great mass of mankind ; every one displaying it in a
way suited to his own particular state. Some will openly say,
with Pharaoh, " Who is the Lord, that I should obey his
voice ?" Others, who would not altogether express themselves
in such impious terms, will yet in effect maintain the same lan
guage, and practically follow the same ungodly course. The
inspired writers give this precise view of the ungodly world.
Job speaks of them, as saying to God in his day, " Depart
from us ; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What
is the Almighty, that we should serve him ? and what profit
should we have, if we pray unto him e ?" David gives a similar
representation of them in his day : " They have said, With
e Job xxi. 14, 15.
67 J PHARAOH S IMIMKTY. 337
our tongues shall we prevail : our lips are our own : who is
Lord over us f ?" The Prophet Jeremiah gives exactly the
same character of those in his age : all classes of the com
munity said to his very face, in answer to the messages he
delivered to them from the Lord, " As for the word that thou
hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not
hearken unto thee : but we will certainly do whatsoever thing
goeth forth out of our own mouth, or cometh into our own
hearts 8 ." Now from these testimonies it is evident that 1 am
not putting an undue construction on the \vords of Pharaoh,
or pressing them too far, when I represent them as character
izing the spirit of the present day. It is clear that men do at
this day " reject the word of the Lord," and " cast it behind
them," and, in effect, say as he did, " Who is the Lord, that I
should obey his voice?" It is obvious, too, that they do this
in the midst of all the judgments and mercies with which God
is pleased to visit them. There may be in many an occasional
relenting, or purpose to amend: but all endeavour to low^er
the commands of God to the standard that is agreeable to
their own minds ; nor do any, except those who have been
savingly converted to God, through Christ, ever surrender up
themselves to God, or yield an unreserved obedience to his
commands.]
And in what must your disobedience issue ?
[Ask of persons in their career of sin, and they will tell
you that they have nothing to fear. The confidence of Pha
raoh and all his host exactly represents their state. Behold
that whole army : onward they go, in prosecution of their
bloody purpose : but little do they think how soon they will
rue their folly, and how irretrievable will their ruin be in the
space of a few moments. See them pressing forward : how
little do they apprehend the fate that awaits them ! So be
hold the various classes of ungodly men : how little do they
dream of the destruction to which they are hastening ! Wait
but a few short moments, and they will all sink into everlasting
perdition. But will not their confidence deliver them ? No :
the greater their confidence, the more certain is their ruin.
But surely we may hope that their numbers will be some
protection ? No : of the whole Egyptian army, not one soul
escaped : nor, if the unconverted world were a million times
more numerous than they are, should one single soul escape
the wrath of God. They are willingly and determinately
treasuring up wrath to themselves against the day of wrath :
and at the appointed season it shall come upon them to the
uttermost. Then they will know who that Lord is, whom
f Ps. xii. 4. K Jer. xliv. 10, 17. with xxiii. 17.
VOL. I. Z
338 EXODUS, V. 2. [67.
now they so despise : and they shall find, to their cost, that
" those who walk in pride he is able to abase V]
SEE then, from hence,
1. How great is the folly of ungodly men!
[Were a child to contend in battle with a man, who would
not upbraid him for his folly and presumption in entering
into so unequal a contest? But what shall we say of those
who set themselves in array against the Majesty of heaven?
Truly, a contest of briers and thorns against a devouring fire
would not be more absurd. And this is the very comparison
which is made by God himself: " Who would set briers and
thorns against me in battle ? I would go through them, and
burn them up together 1 ." I pray you, Brethren, remember
against whom it is that you fight. It is against Him, who by
a word spake the universe into existence, and by a word could
reduce it in an instant to absolute nonentity. Look at the
fallen angels, and see the consequence of rebelling against God !
Look at the antediluvian world, and say, whether it be not an
evil and bitter thing to sin against him, and to provoke his
displeasure. Were it possible for you to withstand his power
or to elude his search, you might have some excuse for casting
off his light and easy yoke : but indeed you must, ere long, be
summoned to his tribunal, and receive at his hands a doom
which can never be reversed. And " will ye be strong in the
day that he shall deal with you, or will ye thunder with a
voice like his ? " I pray you, lay down the weapons of your
rebellion without delay, and implore mercy at the Saviour s
hands, whilst yet " the day of salvation lasts, and the accepted
time is continued to you."]
2. How greatly are they to be pitied!
[See how secure they are in their own apprehensions, and
how confidently they expect a successful termination of their
conflicts ! Unhappy men ! Methinks I see you in the agonies
of death, and behold you at the instant of your entrance into
the presence of your God. Oh! could we but conceive your
terrors, and hear your cries, and witness your unavailing lamen
tations, how should we pity you! Could we further behold
the triumphant exultations of that cruel fiend, who was once
your tempter, and will then be your tormentor to all eternity,
how should we weep over you ! And lastly, if we could behold
you suffering the vengeance of eternal fire, under the wrath of
Almighty God, methinks it would be too much for us to
endure : the very sight would overwhelm us, even though we
had no fears for ourselves. Verily, it was with good reason that
h Dan. iv. 37. l Isai. xxvii. 4.
08. J OPPOSITION MADE TO RELIGION. 339
the Saviour wept over the devoted city of Jerusalem: and we
would that " our eyes also were a fountain of tears, to run
down day and night" on account of your present obduracy, and
on account of the miseries that await you in the eternal world !]
3. How desirable is the knowledge of God, as
revealed in the Gospel!
[Never was there one who sought the face of God in
vain. No : however long ye may have rebelled against God,
there is mercy for you, if you turn to him with your whole
hearts. Think how many of those who crucified the Lord of
glory obtained mercy at his hands : and so shall you also, if you
will humble yourselves before him, and seek for mercy through
his atoning blood. " Not so much as one of you should perish,
if you would but go to him." No truly, "there is no condem
nation to them that are in Christ Jesus." " All that believe
in him shall be justified from all things." " Acquaint, then,
yourselves with God, and be at peace." Seek " that know
ledge of him which is life eternal." And know, that, whilst
" they who know him not, and obey not his Gospel, shall be
banished from the presence of his glory," his believing and
obedient servants shall both serve him, and be served by him,
in his kingdom and glory, for ever and ever.]
LXVIII.
THE OPPOSITION THAT IS MADE TO RELIGION.
Exod. v. 17, 18. But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle; there
fore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord. Go
therefore now and work.
MAN prides himself upon his reason : but let him
be under the influence of passion or interest, and
nothing can be found more unreasonable : his eyes
are blinded, his heart is hardened, his conscience is
seared, and his actions are nearer to those of a
maniac, than of a rational being. Nor is his madness
ever carried to a greater extent, than when religion
is concerned. Look at the persecutors of God s
people, from Cain to this present moment : what have
they been, but agents of the devil, fighting against
God, and murdering their fellow-creatures with insa
tiable cruelty ? A just specimen of their conduct we
have in the history before us. Moses and Aaron
were sent of God, to require that the Hebrew nation,
who were then in Egypt, should go and offer sacrifices
340 EXODUS, V. 17, 18. [68.
to him in the wilderness ; where they might serve him
without any fear of offending, or of being interrupted
by,, the people amongst whom they dwelt. Pharaoh
not only refused his permission, but proudly defied
Jehovah, and ordered immediately that such burthens
should be laid upon the people as it was impossible
for them to bear. On their complaining to him of
the oppression which they suffered, and of the un
merited punishment that was inflicted on them, he
relaxed nothing of his unrighteous decree, but exulted
in their miseries, and dismissed them with invectives :
" Ye are idle, ye are idle/ &c.
In discoursing on these words, it will be profitable
to us to consider,
I. What is that sacrifice which God requires at our
hands
We, as well as the Hebrews, are called to sacrifice
unto our God.
But is it our flocks and our herds that he requires?
No a : this is the message which he has sent us ;
" My son, give me thy heart V The sacrifice that he
demands, is,
1. An humble heart--
[Every child of man must, at his peril, present this to
God - And every one that presents it to him, shall
certainly be accepted ]
2. A believing heart
["Without faith it is impossible to please God d ." It is
faith that renders every other offering pleasing and acceptable
to him 6 . This he considers as a sacrifice - It was not
sufficient, that penitents under the law confessed their sins, or
that they brought their sin-offering to be presented by the
priest: they must lay their hands upon the head of their
offering, and thereby profess their faith in that atonement,
which in due time was to be made for the sins of the whole
world f . In like manner we also must not only " acknowledge
a Ps. 1. 815. and li. 16. b Prov. xxiii. 26. c Ps. li. 17.
* Heb. xi. 6. Heb. xi. 4.
f Phil. ii. 17. The lamb that was offered every morning and
evening, was to have a meat-offering of fine flour mingled with oil,
and a drink-offering of wine poured upon it : and all was to be con
sumed together : Exod. xxix. 40. St. Paul, referring to this, calls
68.1 OPPOSITION MADE TO RELIGION. 341
our iniquity," but must by faith transfer it to the sacred head
of Jesus, who atoned for it on the cross, and through whom
alone we can ever find acceptance with God g .]
3. A thankful heart
[This is a tribute most justly due to Him, who has loaded
us with so many benefits, but, above all, has redeemed us by
the blood of his only-begotten Son. The command given us
is, " Rejoice evermore ;" " Rejoice in the Lord alway, and
again I say, rejoice." This is a sacrifice peculiarly pleasing to
God h and " the very stones will cry out against us,"
if we should refuse to offer it 1 .]
4. An obedient heart
[This is the crown of all. It is the end of all. For this
we repent ; for this we believe ; for this we give thanks to
God : all without this were only a solemn mockery. It is in
order to this that God has vouchsafed to us so many mercies k
And we may be well assured, that every act of obe
dience, however small, if only it proceed from an humble,
believing, and thankful heart, shall be accepted of him 1 .]
Reasonable as such a sacrifice is,, we are shocked
to see,
II. In what light it is regarded by an ungodly world
Did Pharaoh contemptuously resist the divine
mandate ; did he treat the request of the Hebrews
as a pretext for idleness ; and did he make it an
occasion for the most cruel oppression ? Here we
may see a true picture of the world at this day : it is
precisely thus that religion is now opposed ;
1. With contempt
[Pharaoh regarded the proposal of Moses as unworthy of
notice. He saw no necessity for either himself or others to
obey the commands of God ; nor did he believe that any evil
consequences would ensue from disobedience 111 . And how are
the requisitions, which are now made to us in Jehovah s name,
attended to amongst us ? Is not this the universal cry; There
is no need of so much religion ; we shall do very well without
their faith the sacrifice ; and says, that he should rejoice in offering
(in pouring out as a libation) his own blood, to be presented to God
together with it.
s John i. 29. h Heb. xiii. 15. Ps. cvii. 22. and cxvi. 17.
1 Luke xix. 40. k Rom. xii. 1. ] Heb. xiii. 16.
m ver. 3, 9. He calls the menaces with which God s command
was enforced, " vain words."
342 EXODUS, V. 17, 18. [68.
it ; we have nothing to fear, though we live in the neglect of
it ? Yes : all our exhortations to serve God with your whole
hearts are, by many, considered in no better view than as weak,
though well-intentioned, effusions of a heated imagination.]
2. With calumny
[Men who choose not to obey the calls of God will always
revile those who do. They will impute their zeal to hypocrisy,
or idleness, or conceit, and vanity. They will presume to judge
the motives of religious people, with as much confidence as if
they could see the heart. Pharaoh had certainly no reason to
ascribe to idleness the request that had been made to him : yet
with a malignant triumph he professes to have seen through
their motives, which he was determined to counteract. So, at
this time, the enemies of true religion will represent the pro
fessors of it as heretical and seditious, and the Ministers of it
as people that " turn the world upside down."]
3. With oppression-
fit is happy for us that all possess not the power of Pha
raoh; and that the law has affixed bounds to the tyranny of
man. Were it not so, we should still see, that the natural
enmity of man against his God is as fierce as ever. Civilization
has altered our habits, but made no change at all in our hearts.
Husbands, parents, masters, in numberless instances, obstruct
the progress of religion in the hearts of those over whom they
have influence ; either requiring services that shall interfere with
their religious duties, or laying snares to divert their attention
from them. And when complaint is made by their injured de
pendents, they will shew no regard to their consciences, but will
exult in tyrannizing over them with their imperious mandate.]
ADDRESS
1. The opposers of true religion
[Many who in themselves are serious and devout, are as
bitter enemies to spiritual religion as the most abandoned pro
fligate can be. When the Jews wanted to expel Paul and
Barnabas from Antioch, they could find no better, or more
willing, agents than " devout and honourable women ." But
it were better for any one to have a millstone about his neck,
and to be cast into the sea, than to be found among the opposers
of vital godliness . " Their Redeemer is mighty ; " and he will
avenge their cause. Instead therefore of setting yourselves
against them, and calumniating them, inquire what is the
reason that you yourselves are not religious. May not your
own words be retorted upon you ; " Ye are idle, ye are idle ;
therefore ye say, Let us not sacrifice unto the Lord?" Yes; it
n Acts xiii. 50. Matt, xviii. 6.
69. ] THE DESPONDENCY OF ISRAEL. 343
is no calumny to affirm this : " Go therefore now, and work."
Go ; and instead of obstructing the sacrifices of others, present
to God the sacrifice that he demands of you.~\
2. Those who meet with persecution for righteous
ness sake
[" All who will live godly in Christ Jesus are taught to
expect persecution : " therefore think it not strange that you
are called to suffer ; but rather " rejoice that you are counted
worthy to suffer for Christ s sake." Are you discouraged,
because the relief you have sought for is withheld, and your
troubles seem to increase ? It was thus that God dealt with
the Hebrews in the instance before us ; and he not unfrequently
deals thus with his people, in order that he may be the more
glorified in their ultimate deliverance. If therefore the shadows
of the night be still lengthened, you need not despair ; for " at
evening-time it shall be light ;" and in the hour of your deepest
distress God will surely interpose for your succour and relief p .
Take care however that the enemies of religion have no cause
to find fault with you for neglecting the duties of your station.
It is no little stumbling-block in their way, when you give
them occasion to adopt the language of the text. See to it
then, that you be active and diligent in every work to which
God, in his providence, has called you. The direction given
you by God himself combines worldly activity with spiritual
fervour, and represents each of them, in its place, as truly
acceptable to him ; " Be not slothful in business, but fervent
in spirit, serving the Lord q ."]
P Deut. xxxii. 36. <i Rom. xii. 11.
LXIX.
THE DESPONDENCY OF ISRAEL.
Exod. vi. 9. And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel:
but they hearkened not unto Moses, for anguish of spirit,
and for cruel bondage.
" AS face answers to face in a glass, so does the
heart of man to man." We are apt, indeed, to ima
gine that the Jews were a people of more than ordi
nary depravity : but it is found that mankind almost
universally act precisely as they did, under similar
circumstances. We have here a remarkable instance
of despondency. The Hebrews had been long groan
ing under a most cruel oppression : and God had sent
his servant, Moses, to deliver them from it. But the
effect of his interposition hitherto had been only to
344 EXODUS, VI. 9. [69,
augment their troubles. Of this they had bitterly
complained,, as indeed had Moses himself also : and
now, for their comfort,, God sent them by Moses a
most consolatory message,, assuring them, that, how
ever gloomy their prospects might appear to be, a
most perfect deliverance was at hand. But they, we
are told, " hearkened not unto Moses, for anguish of
spirit, and for cruel bondage."
Let us consider,
I. Their conduct on this occasion
The testimony of Moses was in every respect
worthy of credit
[He had wrought before the people the miracles which
God had commissioned him to work, in confirmation of his
divine mission a : and hitherto, if he had not yet succeeded in
his embassy, he had executed his office with fidelity and cou
rage. It might be supposed, indeed, that if Moses himself
had fainted under the discouragement which they had expe
rienced, much more might they. But, on the other hand, if
God had renewed his commission to Moses, and expressly
authorized him to assure them of a speedy and certain deliver
ance, so that his mind was left without any doubt of ultimate
success, they might well receive his testimony, and rest upon
it with composure.]
Nor could any thing be conceived more suited to
their necessities
[They were under the most "cruel bondage." But Moses
declared, that God had entered into covenant with their fore
fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to deliver them : that he
had confirmed this covenant with an oath : that, from compas
sion to them, he was about to fulfil the engagements he had
entered into : that he not only would deliver them from their
sore bondage, but would, by the judgments w T hich he would
inflict on Pharaoh, make him more anxious to rid himself of
them than ever he had been to detain them ; and would con
strain him, in fact, to " drive them out from his land b ." He
further declared, that God would bring them safely into Canaan,
\vherein their forefathers had sojourned as pilgrims and strangers,
and give it them for their inheritance; and would " take them
to him as his peculiar people, and be unto them a God," yea,
and " their God."
In reporting to them these " great and precious promises, *
he was careful particularly to make known to them the grounds
a Exod. iv. 30. t> ver. 1.
69.] THE DESPONDENCY OF ISRAEL. 345
on which they might be received with the most implicit affi
ance; for that God had repeatedly pledged his power and
veracity for the performance of them. Thrice had God renewed
that solemn declaration, " I am Jehovah," the eternal, self-
existent, and immutable Jehovah : and, times almost without
number, he had undertaken to execute, with his own irresist
ible arm, the whole that he had promised : " / will bring you
out ; I will rid you ; / ivill redeem you ; I will bring you into
the land; / will give it you; / will take you to me for a
people, and I will be your God c ."]
Yet would not the people receive, or even " hearken
to," his words
[Their minds were so wholly occupied with their present
troubles, that they could think of nothing else: they were
altogether overwhelmed with " anguish of spirit:" and so utterly
did they despair of relief, that they desired to be left to live
and die under their present servitude, rather than run the
risk of augmenting their afflictions by any further application
to Pharaoh in their behalf d .]
Without dwelling any longer on their conduct, I
beg leave to call your attention to,
II. The instruction to be derived from it
We may notice from hence,
1. The weakness of the human mind
[It has been justly said, that " oppression will make a
wise man mad 6 :" and the common experience of all is, that
" hope deferred maketh the heart sick f ." In my text, we see
both the one and the other strongly exemplified. And, in
truth, where afflictions are great and of long continuance, the
mind of every man is apt to faint : nor can any thing but divine
frace adequately sustain it. Even David, when hunted by
aul as a partridge upon the mountains, forgat for a season
the power and fidelity of his Protector, and in a fit of despon
dency exclaimed, " I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul."
So, under various circumstances, the Church of old complained,
" My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed
over from my God:" yea, " the Lord hath forsaken me, and
my God hath forgotten me." Sometimes her despair has been
so entire, that she has even made the justice of it a ground of
appeal both to God and man : " Shall the prey be taken from
the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered ? " But this expe
rience, in whomsoever it be found, is decidedly contrary to the
mind and will of God. We are never to limit the power of
c ver> 2 8. d Gen. xiv. 11,12. e Eccl. vii. 7- f Prov. xiii. 12.
346 EXODUS, VI. 9. [69.
God, or to doubt his veracity. We are not to suppose, that,
because we see not how deliverance can come, God is at any
loss for means whereby to effect it. It is well to " have the
sentence of death in ourselves, that we may not trust in our
selves, but in God who raiseth the dead," and has promised to
"judge his people and repent himself for his servants, when
he seeth that their power is gone, and that there is none shut
up or lefts."]
2. The proper office of faith
[Faith is to look, above all created things, to God ; and to
realize, under every dispensation, the presence of him that is
invisible. It is to lay hold on God s word, and to rest upon it,
and to expect its accomplishment, in defiance of men or devils.
It is to hope, even " against hope." Its legitimate exercise
may be seen in Abraham, when he was commanded to offer up
his son : "I have no fear but that God will fulfil his promise
in Isaac : even though I should reduce him to ashes upon an
altar, God can raise him up again, yea, and will raise him up
again, rather than suffer one jot or tittle of his word to fail."
" Being strong in faith, and giving glory to God," he both
formed, and acted upon, this assured expectation : and in pro
portion to the strength of our faith will be our confidence in
God, even under the most discouraging circumstances. We
shall say, " Though the fig-tree should not blossom, neither
shall fruit be in the vines ; the labour of the olive shall fail, and
the fields shall yield no meat ; the flock shall be cut off from
the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet I will
rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation 11 ."
Had Israel on this occasion been able to confide in God,
how sweetly composed had their minds been in the midst of
all their troubles ! Let us learn to exercise this grace of
faith, and under the darkest dispensations to say, " Though
he slay me, yet will I trust in him."]
3. The excellency of the Gospel dispensation
[What Moses said to Israel, we are authorized and com
missioned to declare to you. You are under a bondage far
more cruel than that which Israel experienced: but in the
name of Almighty God we come to you, and proclaim, that he
has entered into covenant with his Son for your redemption ;
that he has confirmed that covenant with an oath ; that he will
bring you out from the power of sin and Satan, and conduct
you in safety to the heavenly Canaan. For the fulfilment of
all this he pledges to you his word, saying, in relation to every
part of the work, J, the immutable Jehovah, will do it for
you: /will work; and who shall hinder? Only believe in
g Deut. xxxii. 36. h Hab. iii. 17, 18.
70.] GOD HARDENING PHARAOH^ HEART. 347
him : believe that " what he has promised he is able also to
perform." You have seen what he did for Israel, notwith
standing their unbelief: what then shall he not do for you,
if you will truly believe in Christ as your appointed Saviour ?
He will not only bring you forth out of the land of your cap
tivity, but will preserve you throughout the whole of this dreary
wilderness, and introduce you finally to the full possession of
your glorious inheritance. Yes, Brethren, these tilings we
declare unto you in the name of Almighty God : and if, with
Caleb and Joshua, you will " follow the Lord fully," like them
you shall have your portion assuredly in the realms of bliss.]
LXX.
GOD HARDENING PHARAOH^ HEART.
Exod. vii. 3. / tvill harden Pharaoh s heart.
AS there are in the works of creation many things
which exceed the narrow limits of human under
standing, so are there many things incomprehensible
to us both in the works of providence and of grace.
It is not however necessary that, because we cannot
fully comprehend these mysteries,, we should never
fix our attention at all upon them : as far as they are
revealed, the consideration of them is highly proper :
only, where we are so liable to err, our steps must
be proportionably cautious, and our inquiries be con
ducted with the greater humility. In particular, the
deepest reverence becomes us, while we contemplate
the subject before us. We ought not, on the one
hand, to indulge a proud and captious spirit that shall
banish the subject altogether, nor, on the other hand,
to make our assertions upon it with a bold, unhallowed
confidence. Desirous of avoiding either extreme, we
shall endeavour to explain and vindicate the conduct
of God, as it is stated in the text.
I. To explain it
We are not to imagine that God infused any evil
principle into the heart of Pharaoh: this God never
did, nor ever will do, to any of his creatures a . What
he did, may be comprehended in three particulars
1. He left Pharaoh to the influence of his own
corruptions
a Jam. i. 13.
318 EXODUS, VII. 3. [70.
[Pharaoh was a proud and haughty monarch : and, while
he exercised a most arbitrary and oppressive power over his
subjects, he disdained to respect the authority of Jehovah, who
was " King of kings, and Lord of lords."
God, if he had seen fit, might have prevented him from mani
festing these corruptions. He might have struck him dead
upon the spot ; or intimidated him by a dream or vision ; or
have converted him, as he did the persecuting Saul, in the midst
of all his malignant projects : but he left him to himself, pre
cisely as he does other men when they commit iniquity ; and
suffered him to manifest all the evil dispositions of his heart.
This is no other conduct than what God has pursued from
the beginning. When men have obstinately " rebelled against
the light," he has " given them up to follow their own hearts
lusts b :" and we have reason to expect that he will deal thus
with us, if we continue to resist his will .]
2. He suffered such events to concur as should
give scope for the exercise of those corruptions
[He raised Pharaoh to the throne of Egypt, and thereby
invested him with power to oppress d . By multiplying the Jews,
he made their services of great importance to the Egyptian
empire. The labours of six hundred thousand slaves could not
easily be dispensed with; and therefore the temptation to retain
them in bondage was exceeding great. Besides, the request
made of going to serve their God in the wilderness must appear
to him frivolous and absurd ; for, w T hy should they not be con
tent to serve him in the land ? Moreover, the success of his
magicians in imitating the miracles of Moses, would seem to
justify the idea, that Moses was no more than a magician, only
perhaps of a more intelligent order than those employed by him.
The frequent and speedy removal of the judgments that were
inflicted on him, would yet further tend to harden him, by
making him think light of those judgments. Thus the unrea
sonableness of his opposition would be hid from him ; and he
would persist in his rebellion without compunction or fear.]
3. He gave Satan permission to exert his influence
over him
[Satan is a powerful being ; and, when the restraints which
God has imposed upon him are withdrawn, can do great things.
He cannot indeed force any man to sin against his will : but he
can bring him into such circumstances, as shall have a strong
tendency to ensnare his soul. We know from the history of
Job, how great things he can effect for the distressing of a most
b Rom. i. 24, 26, 28. Ps. Ixxxi. 11, 12. 2 Thess. ii. 1012.
c Gen. vi. 3. Lev. xxvi. 27, 28. Prov. i. 24 30.
d Rom. ix. 17.
GOD HARDENING PHARAOIl s HEART. 349
70.]
eminent saint : much more therefore may we suppose him to
prevail over one, who is his blind and willing vassal 6 . We do
not indeed know, from any express declarations, that Satan
interfered in this work of hardening Pharaoh : but, when we
recollect how he instigated David to number the people ; how
he prevailed on Peter to deny, and Judas to betray, his Lord;
how he filled the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira that they
might lie unto God ; and finally, how expressly we are told
that " he works in all the children of disobedience ; " we can
have no doubt respecting his agency in the heart of Pharaoh.
Thus, as far as respects a withholding of that grace which
might have softened Pharaoh s heart, and a giving him an
opportunity to shew his malignant dispositions, and a per
mitting of Satan to exert his influence, God hardened Pha
raoh s heart : but as being a perfectly free agent, Pharaoh
hardened his own heart : and this is repeatedly affirmed in the
subsequent parts of this history.]
When once we have learned what was the true na
ture of God s agency, and how far it was concerned in
the hardening of Pharaoh s heart, we shall beat no loss,
II. To vindicate it
We must never forget that "God s ways and thoughts
are infinitely above ours;" and that, whether we ap
prove of them or not, " he will never give account
of them to us:" yet, constituted as we are, we feel a
satisfaction in being able to discern their suitableness
to the divine character. Of the dispensation then
which we are considering, we may say,
1. It was righteous, as it respected the individual
himself
[It was perfectly righteous that Pharaoh should be left to
himself. What injury would God have done, if he had acted
towards the whole human race precisely as he did towards the
fallen angels ? What reason can be assigned why man, who had
imitated their wickedness, should not be a partaker of their
punishment ? If then none had any claim upon God for the
exercise of his grace, how much less could Pharaoh have a title
to it, after having so proudly defied God, and so obstinately
withstood his most express commands? If there was any thing*
unjust in abandoning Pharaoh to the corrupt affections of his
heart, all other sinners in the universe have reason to make the
same complaint, that God is unrighteous in his dealings with
them. In that case, God could not, consistently with his own
e 2 Cor. iv. 4. 2 Tim. ii. 26.
350 EXODUS, VII. 3. [70.
justice, permit sin at all : he must impose an irresistible restraint
on all, and cease to deal with us as persons in a state of probation.
Again, it was righteous in God to suffer such a concurrence
of circumstances as should give scope for the exercise of his cor
ruptions. God is no more bound to destroy man s free agency
by his providence, than he is by his grace. Was it unrighteous
in him to let Cain have an opportunity of executing his mur
derous project against his brother Abel ? or has he been unjust,
as often as he has permitted others to accomplish their wicked
purposes ? Doubtless he has interposed, by his providence, to
prevent the execution of many evils that have been conceived
in our minds f : but he is not bound to do so for any one ; nor
could he do it universally, without changing the nature of his
government, and the whole course of the world.
Moreover, it was righteous to give Satan liberty to exert his
influence over Pharaoh. Pharaoh chose to believe the agents of
Satan rather than the servants of the Most High God ; and to
obey their counsels rather than his. Why then should God
continue to restrain Satan, when Pharaoh desired nothing so
much as to yield to his temptations ? When Ahab sent for all
his lying prophets to counsel him and to foster his delusions,
God permitted " Satan to be a lying spirit in the mouth of all
those prophets," that they might all concur in the same fatal
advice g . Was this unjust? Was it not agreeable to Ahab s own
wish; and was not the contrary counsel of the Lord s prophet
rejected by him with disdain? Pharaoh wished to be deceived;
and God permitted it to be according to his own heart s desire.
On the whole then, if men are to be left to their own free
agency, instead of being dealt with as mere machines; and if
God have ordered the general course of his providence agree
ably to this rule, resisting the proud while he gives grace to the
humble; then was he fully justified in suffering this impious
monarch to harden his already proud and obdurate heart 11 .]
2. It was merciful, as it respected the universe at
large
[We form erroneous conceptions of the divine government,
because we view it on too contracted a scale. God, in his deal
ings with mankind, consults, not the benefit of an individual
merely, but the good of the whole. Now this conduct towards
Pharaoh was calculated exceedingly to promote the welfare of
all succeeding generations. It has given us lessons of instruc
tion that are of the greatest value.
It has shewn us the extreme depravity of the human heart.
Who would have conceived that a man, warned as Pharaoh was
f Hos. ii. 6. s\ Kings xxii. 21 23.
ll Compare Dcut. ii. 30. and Josh. xi. 20.
70.] GOD HARDENING PHARAOH S HEART. 351
by so many tremendous plagues, should continue, to the last,
to set himself against the God of heaven and earth ? But in
him we see what men will do, when their pride, their passions,
and their interests have gained an ascendant over them : they
will defy God to his face ; and, if softened for a moment by the
severity of his judgments, they will soon, like metal from the
furnace, return to their wonted hardness.
It has shewn us our need of divine grace. Widely as men
differ from each other in their constitutional frame both of body
and mind, they all agree in this, that " they have a carnal
mind, which is enmity against God ; and which neither is, nor
can be, subject to his law 1 ." We may all see in Pharaoh a
striking portrait of ourselves : and if one be enabled to mortify
the evils of his heart, whilst others continue in bondage to their
lusts, he must say, " By the grace of God I am what I am."
If we have no more grace than Pharaoh in our hearts, we shall
have no more holiness in our lives.
It has shewn us the danger of fighting against God k . " Fools
make a mock at sin," and "puff at the threatened judgments"
of God. But let any one see in Pharaoh the danger of being
given over to a reprobate mind : let any one see in what our
hardness of heart may issue : and he will tremble lest God should
say respecting him, " He is joined to idols; let him alone."
It has shewn us the obligations we lie under to God for the
long -suffering he has already exercised towards us. We read
the history of Pharaoh : happy is it for us, that we have not
been left, like him, to be a warning to others. No tongue can
utter the thanks that are due to him on this account. If we
know any thing of our own hearts, we shall be ready to think
ourselves the greatest monuments of mercy that ever were
rescued from perdition.
Now these lessons are invaluable : and every one that reads
the history of this unhappy monarch, must see them written in
it as with the pen of a diamond.]
ADDRESS
[We are told to " remember Lot s wife:" and it will be
well also to remember Pharaoh. Let none of us trifle with our
convictions, or follow carnal policy in preference to the com
mands of God Let the messages of God be received
with reverence, and obeyed with cheerfulness - Let us
be afraid of hardening our own hearts, lest God should give us
over to final obduracy 1 . If God withdraw from us, Satan will
quickly come m : and if we are left to Satan s agency, better were
it for us that we had never been born. Seek of God the
influences of the Holy Ghost, who will " take away the heart
of stone, and give you an heart of flesh."]
1 Rom. viii. 7. k Isai. xlv. 9. J Job ix. 4. m 1 Sam. xvi. 14.
352 EXODUS, IX. 16. [71.
LXXI.
PHARAOH S ELEVATION TO THE THRONE OF EGYPT.
Exod. ix. 16. In very deed, for this cause have I raised thee
up, for to shew in thee my power, and that my name may be
declared throughout all the earth.
IT is justly said, in reference to evidence, that it
is strong in proportion as it arises out of incidental
points, which had no necessary connexion with the
fact to be established. The same I may say in rela
tion to the doctrines of our holy religion, especially
those doctrines which are most controverted, and
most stand in need of evidence for their support.
Of this kind is the doctrine of election ; which, being
extremely opposed to the pride of human nature,
meets with strong opposition from the carnal mind.
I am far from saying that that doctrine is not ex
tremely objectionable, if viewed as its adversaries,
and not a few of its advocates also, are wont to state
it ; but, if viewed in its true light, and as the Scrip
tures themselves state it, I conceive that it cannot
reasonably be doubted.
In the passage before us, there was no particular
intention to establish that doctrine. Moses had
laboured in vain to induce Pharaoh to let the people
of Israel go to worship Jehovah in the wilderness.
He had, as God s appointed instrument, inflicted
many plagues on the land of Egypt, and removed
them again by his intercessions ; and yet neither by
the judgments nor the mercies had he prevailed on
Pharaoh, who still continued to harden his heart
against God. He now assumed a bolder tone ; and
declared, that not only should the Egyptians be
smitten with pestilence, but that Pharaoh himself also
" should be cut off from the earth," for his obstinate
resistance to God s express commands. And then he
delivers to him, from God himself, this awful declara
tion : " In very deed, for this cause have I raised thee
up, for to shew in thee my power, and that my name
may be declared throughout all the earth."
71.] PHARAOH S ELEVATION TO THE THRONE. 353
This declaration it is my intention, in the present
discourse,
I. To explain
God here asserts, that he had raised up Pharaoh
for a special purpose, with which his own glory was
intimately connected. He had determined to bring
forth his people from Egypt, in such a way as should
display most remarkably his own power, and should
bring glory to his name throughout all the earth.
Some, by the expression " raised up," understand
restoring him to health from the disorder inflicted on
him in common with his people and the magicians.
But it does not appear that Pharaoh had been visited
with that disorder: and the threatening in the verse
before our text, " I will smite thee," rather seems to
shew, that he had not yet been smitten in his own
person: but, whether we understand the words as
relating to his elevation to the throne, or to a re
storation to health, the main object of the declaration
will be the same ; namely, that God, knowing what
would assuredly be the result of a further trial of his
obedience, had determined so to try him, in order
that by the issue of the contest God s glory might
be displayed throughout all the earth.
The substance of the declaration, then, may be
considered as expressing the following truths
1. That God allots to every man his station in life
[Nothing can be more clear, than that the time and place
of every man s entrance into life is fixed by God. That we are
born in this age and country has in no respect depended on
ourselves : we might as well, if God had so ordained, been born
of Heathen or Mahometan parents, or never have been per
mitted to see the light, and perished in our mother s \vomb.
We might have been brought into the world from parents either
of the highest or lowest rank, and been doomed to occupy a
place in society widely different from that which we at present
fill. All this was true of Pharaoh, and it is equally true of
every child of man. " Our times are in God s hands a ," and
" he determines the bounds of our habitation 13 ."]
2. That he foreknows how every man will act in
the situation to which he is called
a Ps. xxxi. 15. b Actsxvii. 26.
VOL. I. A A
354 EXODUS, IX. 16. [71.
[He foresaw infallibly how Pharaoh \vould act in resisting
all the means that should be used to bring him to a compliance
with the divine command. Nor is there any thing hid from
his all-seeing eye : if there were, it would be impossible for
him to foretell, as he has done by his Prophets, the minutest
circumstances that could occur, and at the distance of many
hundred years. The prophecies relating to the death of our
blessed Lord specify what should be said, as well as done, by
persons w r ho were least of all aware that they were fulfilling
any prediction, and who would rather, if it had been possible,
have prevented its accomplishment. We may be sure, there
fore, that that testimony respecting him is true, " Known unto
him are all things, from the beginning of the world ."]
3. That, whilst he leaves to every man the free
exercise of his will, he overrules the actions of all for
the accomplishment of his own eternal purposes
[God, as we have observed, had decreed to magnify him
self in his mode of bringing forth his people from Egypt.
But, in order to this, it was necessary that his will should be
opposed, and that occasion should be given for the executing
of his judgments upon the oppressors of his people. He knew
what Pharaoh would do under such circumstances : and he
both preserved him in life, and elevated him to the throne, that
he might have an opportunity of manifesting what was in his
heart, and be able to carry into effect the dictates of his own
depravity. In all that he did, he was perfectly a free agent :
for though it is said, that " God hardened Pharaoh s heart,"
he did so, not by infusing any evil principle into him, but by
giving him up to the impulse of his own inveterate corruptions.
God foresaw how those corruptions would operate, and that
they would lead to the accomplishment of his own eternal
purpose : and he needed only to leave Pharaoh to the dictates
of his own mind, to secure the final execution of all that he
himself had ordained. God had determined every thing
respecting the crucifixion of our blessed Lord : but he needed
not to inspire the Jewish rulers with envy, or the Roman
governor with timidity, or Judas with covetousness, or the
populace with cruelty: it was sufficient to give them up
respectively to the dominion of their own lusts ; and they all
infallibly concurred to " do what his hand and his counsel had
determined before to be done d ." It is precisely in the same
way that we are to account for all that is done, w T hether it be
good or evil ; except that, in the effecting of what is good, he
puts the desire to effect it into the heart of the agent, whilst
in the perpetration of evil he merely gives up the person to
c Acts xv. 18. d Acts iv. 28.
71.] PHARAOH S ELEVATION TO THE THRONE. 355
the influence of his own lusts. In either case, the agent is
perfectly free, and follows what is the bent of his own heart :
only, in the one case, the heart is renewed, and in the other
it is left under the power of its own depravity. Josiah and
Cyrus both fulfilled the counsels of Heaven ; the one by burning
men s bones on the altar which Jeroboam had raised, and the
other by liberating the Jews from Babylon. Both these events
were foretold hundreds of years before they came to pass ; and
the very names of the agents were declared hundreds of years
before any persons of their name were known in the world.
Sennacherib also fulfilled the will of Heaven, in punishing God s
offending people : " Howbeit he meant not so, neither did his
heart think so ; it was in his heart only to aggrandize himself
at the expense of other nations 6 ." But God, by all, accom
plished "the counsel of his own will f :" and in all things
" shall his counsel stand, and he will do all his will 8 ."]
4. That by all, whatever their conduct be, he will
eventually be glorified
[That God will be glorified in the obedience of the right
eous, is a truth which needs not to be confirmed : whatever
they do, it is " to the praise of the glory of his grace :" and at
the last day the Lord Jesus will come "to be glorified in his
saints, and to be admired in all them that believe." But will he
be glorified in the ungodly also ? Yes. He declared that he
would " get himself honour upon Pharaoh and all his hosts 11 :"
and this he did by overwhelming them in the sea : and so he
will do, also, in the destruction of the wicked, at the last day:
he will then make known the inflexibility of his justice, and
" the power of his wrath :" and the whole universe shall be
constrained to say, " Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and
righteous are thy judgments 1 ."]
Having thus explained the declaration in my text,
I proceed,
II. To improve it-
All Scripture is said to be " profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in
righteousness," or, in other words, for the establish
ment of sound doctrine, and for the enforcing of a
holy practice. For these two ends I will endeavour
to improve the subject before us. And,
1. For the establishment of sound doctrine
[The doctrine which I hinted at, in the commencement of
e Isai. x. 7. f Eph. i. 11 e Isai. xlvi. 10.
h Exod. xiv. 17. { Rev. xvi. 6, 7. and xix. 2.
A A2
356 EXODUS, IX. 16. [71.
tliis discourse, is strongly insisted on by the Apostle Paul ; and
the words of my text are adduced by him in confirmation of his
statement. He is shewing that God, in the exercise of his
mercy to the Jewish nation, had acted altogether in a way of
grace, according to his own sovereign will and pleasure : that
he had entailed his blessings on Isaac and his seed, instead of
imparting them to Ishmael and his posterity ; and, in like
manner, had again limited them to Jacob, the younger son of
Isaac, and withheld them from Esau, the elder son. This had
God done " in order that his purpose according to election
might stand, not of works, but of him that called." Then,
knowing that the proud heart of man would rise against this
doctrine, and accuse it as " imputing unrighteousness to God,"
he further confirms his statement by express declarations of
God to Moses : " He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on
whom I will have mercy ; and I will have compassion on whom
I will have compassion :" and from thence he draws this con
clusion ; " So, then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." To this decla
ration he adds another of a similar tendency, addressed to
Pharaoh, even the very words of my text : " For this same
purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in
thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the
earth:" from which words he draws again this remarkable con
clusion ; " Therefore hath God mercy on whom he will have
mercy; and whom he will, he hardenethV
Now here the doctrine of election is stated in the strongest
and most unequivocal terms. But let not any one imagine that
the doctrine of reprobation is therefore true. God has not
said in my text, " I have brought thee into the world on piir-
pose to damn thee, and to get glory to myself in thine ever
lasting destruction :" no, there is no such assertion as that in
all the Holy Scriptures. There is, in the Epistle of St. Peter,
an expression which in sound has that aspect ; but, when pro
perly explained, it has no such meaning. It is said by him,
" These stumble at the word, being disobedient ; whereunto
also they were appointed 1 ." But to what were they appointed ?
to disobedience ? No : but to make that word, which they
would not obey, an occasion of falling. God has ordained, that
" they who will do his will, shall know of the doctrine, whe
ther it be of God :" but that those who will not do his will,
shall stumble at his word, and find the Lord Jesus Christ, as
revealed in it, " a rock of offence, yea, a gin also and a snare 11 ."
This will throw the true light upon our text : God did not
k Rom. ix. 7 18. ] 1 Pet. ii. 8. m John vii. 17.
n Isai. viii. 14, 15, compared with the fore-cited passage from
St. Peter.
71.1 PHARAOH S ELEVATION TO THE THRONE. 357
bring Pharaoh into the world on purpose to destroy him : but,
foreseeing the inveterate pride and obstinacy of his heart, he
raised him to the throne, where he would have an opportunity
of displaying with effect those malignant dispositions, and
would thereby give occasion for God to glorify himself, in an
extraordinary display of his justice and his power, in the
punishment of sin.
Here, then, we see the electing grace of God. God chose
Moses, who had been in rank and authority the second person
in the kingdom of Egypt, to be the deliverer of his people.
Moses, when called to the work, declined it again and again;
and might well have been left to reap the bitter fruit of his
folly. But God, by his Spirit, overcame his reluctance, and
upheld him in the performance of his duty. To Pharaoh he
gave not this grace ; but left him to the power of his own lusts.
In making this distinction, God did no injury to Pharaoh.
Neither Pharaoh nor Moses had any claim upon God. If,
when Moses declined the honour which was offered him, God
had transferred that honour to Pharaoh, and given up Moses
to the evil of his own heart, he would have done no injury to
Moses : Moses would have brought the punishment upon him
self, by his own wickedness : and God had a right to bestow
his grace on whomsoever he pleased: and consequently, in
leaving Pharaoh to harden his own heart and to perish in his
sins, whilst he shewed mercy to Moses, and made him an
honoured instrument of good to the Jewish nation, God did no
injury to Pharaoh or to any one else: in the exercise of mercy,
he acted as an Almighty Sovereign; and in the exercise of
judgment, he acted as a righteous Judge, in perfect consistency
with justice and with equity. We see at all events the fact,
that " God did, after much long-suffering, make known on one
his wrath, as on a vessel of wrath that had fitted itself for
destruction;" and that toward another " he made known the
riches of his glory, as on a vessel of mercy which he himself had
prepared unto glory ." The exercise of his mercy w T as gra
tuitous and without desert ; but the exercise of his displeasure
was merited and judicial.
Now what is there here to be offended with? The fact is
undeniable: and, if God was at liberty to exercise his sove
reignty in such a way then, he is at liberty to do it still : and if
he may justly do it in any case, as that of Ishmael and Isaac,
or of Esau and Jacob, or of Pharaoh and Moses, he may with
equal justice do it in every case. Let us, then, not ignorantly
and proudly deny to him a right, which all of us claim for our
selves even that of dispensing our favours to whom we will.
If no one has a claim on him, no one has a right to complain
Rom. ix, 22, 23. See the Greek.
358 EXODUS, IX. 20, 21. [73.
if a favour which he despises is withheld from him : on the other
hand, the person on whom that special favour is conferred,
must to all eternity adore the sovereign grace that has dispensed
it to him.]
2. For the enforcement of a holy practice
[All of us, whether high or low, rich or poor, are in the
station, which God, in his infinite wisdom and goodness, has
allotted to us. The rich therefore have no reason to boast;
nor have the poor any reason to repine. The different mem
bers of our own body have not all the same office : but God
has " placed each member in the body, as it has pleased him;"
and for purposes which each is destined to accomplish. One
great duty is common to us all ; namely, that of discharging
to the utmost of our power our respective offices, and of
bringing to God that measure of glory of which he has made
us capable. God is, in reality, as much glorified in the sub
mission of the poor, as in the activity of the rich. The eye,
and the foot, equally subserve the interests of the body, whilst
discharging their respective functions ; and equally display
the goodness of our Creator, in so administering to our wants.
Let us then simply inquire, what that service is which w r e are
most fitted by capacity and situation to perform ; and let us
address ourselves to it with all diligence. If placed, like Pha
raoh, in a post of great dignity and power, let us improve our
influence for God, and account it our honour and happiness to
advance his glory. If called, like Moses, to labour for the de
liverance of God s people from their spiritual bondage, let us
execute our office with fidelity, and never rest till we have
" finished the work which God has given us to do p ." Thus
shall we acceptably fulfil the ends of our creation ; and God
will be glorified in us, both in time and in eternity.]
P If there were occasion to speak more fully to Ministers) here
the subject might be amplified to advantage.
LXXII.
THE DANGER OF DISREGARDING THE WORD OF GOD.
Exod. ix. 20, 21. He that feared the word of the Lord among
the servants of Pharaoh, made his servants and his cattle
flee into the houses : and he that regarded not the word of
the Lord, left his servants and his cattle in the field.
THE word of God in every age has met with a
very different reception from different people : from
the antediluvian scoffers to the present moment, the
generality have deemed it unworthy of their attention,
72.1 DANGER OF DISREGARDING GOD s WORD. 359
while a few have regarded it with reverence and
godly fear. Never had any declaration a better title
to belief than that to which the text alludes : Moses
had already, in the space of a few days, foretold many
judgments, which were instantly inflicted or removed
according to his predictions ; and since they had not
been effectual to subdue the stubborn heart of Pha
raoh, he announced the determination of God to
send another judgment on the land of Egypt, even a
storm of hail and lightning, which should destroy
every man and beast that should be exposed to its
fury. There were many however who despised the
threatening, and disdained to send their servants and
cattle to a place of shelter ; but others, who had
profited by past experience, used with eagerness the
precaution suggested to them
From this circumstance we are led to shew,
I. How a regard for God s word will influence men
here
in all temporal concerns men are affected by any
report in proportion to its credibility and importance
[If they hear of any great good that is placed within their
reach, they feel a desire after it springing up in their minds :
if there be some considerable probability of their attaining it,
their hopes are excited, and their endeavours multiplied in
order to secure it. If the possession of it appear near and
certain, they already congratulate themselves on the expected
acquisition, though not without a mixture of anxious suspense.
On the other hand, do they hear of any great evil that may
come upon them? they begin to be disquieted: does it approach
nearer and nearer ? they think how they may avoid it, and use
every precaution that prudence can suggest : does it appear
imminent and almost unavoidable ? their fears and anxieties
are proportionably increased. Nor are these effects peculiar
to any times, places, or persons : they will be found on exami
nation to be invariable and universal.]
Thus it must also of necessity be with respect to
men s spiritual concerns, in proportion as what God
has spoken concerning them is believed and felt
[Suppose a person to be thoroughly persuaded that,
" except he repent he must eternally perish ;" that, " except
he be born again of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the king
dom of heaven;" and that, " he that hath the Son hath life,
360 EXODUS, IX. 20, 21. [72.
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life ; " what
erFectmust such momentous truths produce upon Ms mind? Must
he not of necessity begin to inquire into the meaning of these
expressions, and feel a solicitude to have these questions satis
factorily determined : Am I a real penitent ? Am I born again ?
Have I the Son of God ? If he doubt the truth of these tilings,
and think they maybe taken in a lower sense, he will of course be
less concerned to attain the experience of them ; or, if other
things appear to him of superior importance, he will attend to
those things in preference. But let him have that faith which
gives a present subsistence to things future, and a demonstrable
reality to things invisible a , and it will be impossible for him to
trine with such solemn declarations. It is true, he may sin
against the convictions of conscience ; but if he continue so to
do, it is evident that his convictions are not proportioned in
any degree, to the importance of eternal things, and that he
cherishes a secret hope of escaping by some means or other
the judgments denounced against him. Let him hut feel the
worth of his soul in a degree proportioned to its value; let him
estimate that as men estimate the worth of their natural life,
and he could no more resist habitually the convictions of his
mind, than he could sit composed, while his house and family
were ready to be destroyed by iire : he would surely resemble
those Egyptians who sought shelter for their servants and
cattle ; he would " flee from the wrath to come, and lay hold on
eternal life."]
Such a practical attention will be given to the word
of God by all who truly believe it, because they know,
II. How it will affect their state hereafter
The distinction put between the believing and un
believing Egyptians related merely to this present life :
but the Scriptures authorize us to declare that a
similar distinction will be made between believers and
unbelievers in the day of judgment. Yes assuredly,
1. They who have sought the appointed refuge
shall be saved
[Christ is that hiding-place to which all are enjoined to
flee : every other covert will be found " a refuge of lies, which
the hail shall sweep away b :" but Christ is a sure refuge,
" to which whosoever runneth shall be safe." Whatever we
may have been, and whatever we may have done in past times,
we have nothing to apprehend from the wrath of God, provided
we be found in Christ." " Believing in him, we are justified
from all things," and shall unite for ever with the murderous
a Heb. xi. 1. in the Greek. b Isai. xxviii. 17.
72.1 DANGER OF DISREGARDING GOD s WORD. 361
Manasseh, the adulterous David, the filthy Magdalen, and the
persecuting Saul, in singing " Salvation to God and the Lamb!"
We must not however be understood to say, that an attention
to the faith of the Gospel will save us, while we neglect its
practical injunctions : far from it : but this we do say, that
the vilest of sinners may find " acceptance in the Beloved;"
and that " all who put their trust in him may be quiet from
the fear of evil." The declaration of God himself is, " There
is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus."]
2. They, on the contrary, who have despised the
offers of mercy, shall perish
[" Whatsoever men sow, that shall they also reap :" and
though God s vengeance may be long delayed, it shall surely
come at last. What if we see no symptoms of it now ? There
was no appearance of a deluge when Noah warned the old
world ; nor were the fire and brimstone visible, when Lot
entreated his sons-in-law to escape with him from Sodom ; yet
were the predictions relative to these events exactly fulfilled :
he who built the ark, and he who fled from the devoted city,
were preserved ; while they who took not warning, were de
stroyed. So also shall it be in the last day : " the unbelief of
men shall not make the faith of God of none effect." (( Their
covenant with death shall be disannulled, and their agreement
with hell made void : when the overflowing scourge shall pass
through, they shall be beaten down by it c ." Nor shall the
excuses, which they now urge with so much confidence, avail
them. It is probable that many of the Egyptians might expose
themselves to danger in consequence of urgent business, or from
what they judged a necessary obedience to the commands of
their masters; but they perished notwithstanding. So shall
that word be verified in spite of all excuses, " Whoso despiseth
the word shall be destroyed ; but he that feareth the command
ment, shall be rewarded* 1 ."]
ADDRESS,
1. Those that disregard the word of the Lord
[There are, alas ! too many who " stumble at the word,
being disobedient:" their language is, " As for the word that
thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not
hearken unto thee e ." If they do not avowedly reject the word,
they shew by their conduct, that they consider its doctrines as
fanatical, its precepts as harsh, its promises as illusory, and its
threatenings as vain. But, while " they thus practically reject
the word of the Lord, what wisdom is in them f ?" Doubtless
if they who were in the midst of the storm saw any of their
neighbours housed, they would cast a wishful look at them :
c Isai. xxviii. 18. d Prov. xiii. 13. e Jer. xliv. 16. f Jer. viii. 9.
362 EXODUS, X. 3. [73.
and will not their lot be envied in the last day, who shall have
taken refuge in Christ, and found protection from the wrath
of God ? Let then the remembrance of what took place in
Egypt operate powerfully on our hearts. Let us " search the
Scriptures, and make them our meditation day and night."
Let us take them " as a light to our feet and a lantern to our
paths." Let us " treasure them up in our hearts," and labour
to follow the directions they give us. Let us " receive the
word with meekness," " not as the word of men, but as it is
in truth, the word of God." Let us beg of God that it may be
" quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing to our inmost souls, and discovering to us the very
thoughts and intents of our hearts." Let God s blessed word
regulate our hearts and lives : then will God look upon us
with favourable acceptance 5 , and acknowledge us as " his in
the day that he shall make up his jewels 11 ."]
2. Those who fear the word of the Lord
[Some there are amongst us, we trust, who having once,
like good Josiah, wept on account of the denunciations of God s
wrath, now, like holy Job, " esteem God s word more than their
necessary food." There is not a threatening in it which they
dare to despise, or a promise which they do not desire to enjoy,
or a precept which they do not labour to obey. They desire
nothing so much as to be " cast into the mould of the Gospel,"
and to be " sanctified by means of it in body, soul, and spirit."
To all of this character I say, Happy are ye ; for if " ye tremble
at the word" of God, ye have no reason to tremble at any
thing else. Ye may look at death with complacency, and at
hell itself without terror, since ye are screened under the
shadow of your Redeemer s wings. Envy not then the liberty,
and the thoughtlessness of sinners ; neither let their revilings
deter you from your purpose. The time is quickly coming when
your God will appear to their shame and to your joy 1 . Then
the wisdom of your conduct will be seen in its true colours :
and you shall understand the full import of that question,
" Doth not my word do good to him that walketh uprightly k ?"]
e Isai. Ixv. 2. h Mai. iii. 17. [ Isai. Ixv. o. k Mic. ii. 7.
LXXIII.
ON DELAYING OUR REPENTANCE.
Exod. x. 3. Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How
long wilt tJwu refuse to humble thyself before me ?
IT cannot be denied that Pharaoh was a remarkable
character, raised up by God himself to be a monument
73.] ON DELAYING OUR REPENTANCE. 363
of God s power throughout all generations 1 . Yet
we mistake if we think that the dispositions which
he exercised were peculiar to him : the occasions that
called them forth into exercise, were peculiar ; but the
dispositions themselves were the common fruits of our
corrupt nature, visible in all the human race. The
command given to Pharaoh to permit all the Hebrews
to go into the wilderness to offer sacrifice to their
God, he chose not to comply with : and all the judg
ments inflicted on him, and the mercies vouchsafed to
him, were ineffectual for the subduing of his rebellious
spirit, and for the reducing of him to a willing obedi
ence. And every one who reads the history of these
events stands amazed at the pride and obduracy of his
heart. But if we would look inward, and see how we
have withstood the commands of God, and how little
effect either his judgments or his mercies have pro
duced on us, we should find little occasion to exult
over Pharaoh: w r e should see, that, however circum
stances then elicited and rendered more conspicuous
the evils of his heart, the very same corruptions, which
he manifested, are in us also, and that every individual
amongst us has the same need as he of the expostula
tion in the text ; " How long wilt thou refuse to humble
thyself before me ?" And it is remarkable that this very
account of Pharaoh was ordered to be transmitted to
the latest posterity, in order that the children of all
succeeding generations might see in it what his ene
mies are to expect at His hands, and what his friends 1 *.
That we may render this subject the more generally
useful, we will,
I. Shew wherein true humiliation consists
A full and abstract investigation of this point would
lead us too far : we shall therefore confine ourselves
to such particulars as the context more immediately
suggests. True humiliation then consists in,
1. A deep and ingenuous sorrow for sin, as con
trasted with forced acknowledgments
[If confessions extorted by sufferings or by fear were
a Exod. ix. 10. b ver. 1, 2,
364 EXODUS, X. 3. [73.
sufficient evidences of humility, Pharaoh would never have
received the reproof in our text : for on the plague of hail
being inflicted, he sent for Moses and said, " I have sinned
this time. The Lord is righteous ; and I and my people are
wicked ." But notwithstanding this, in God s estimation he
still, as the text expresses it, " refused to humble himself be
fore God." Yet is this the only humiliation which many
amongst ourselves have ever experienced. In a time of sick
ness perhaps, or under any great and accumulated afflictions,
we have been constrained to confess our desert of God s judg
ments. We have seen, that He has been contending with us ;
and that yet heavier judgments awaited us, if we did not hum
ble ourselves before him. We have trembled perhaps at the
prospect of approaching dissolution, and at the thought of
appearing in an unprepared state at the tribunal of our Judge.
Hence have arisen some forced acknowledgments of our sin-
fulness, w T hilst yet we neither hated our sins, nor lothed our
selves on account of them : and hence, on our restoration to
health, we have returned, like fused metal from the furnace, to
our wonted hardness and obduracy.
True humiliation is widely different from this. It implies a
deep and ingenuous sorrow for sin, not only on account of the
judgments it will bring upon us, but on account of its own.
intrinsic hatefulness and deformity. It leads us to smite on
our breasts with conscious shame ; and fills us with self-lothing
and self-abhorrence : and this it does not only before we have
obtained mercy, but afterwards ; yea, and so much the more
because God is pacified towards us d .
We readily acknowledge that tears are no certain sign of
penitence ; and that the sensibility that produces them depends
rather on the constitutional habit, than on the convictions of
the mind. Yet whilst we read so much in the Scriptures
respecting men sowing in tears, and going on their way weep
ing, and whilst we behold the Saviour himself weeping over
Jerusalem, and pouring out his soul before God with strong
crying and tears, we cannot but think, that those who have
never yet wept for sin, have never felt its bitterness : and there
is just occasion for us to weep over all who have not yet wept
for themselves. It is scarcely to be conceived that any man
has a truly broken and contrite spirit, whose sighs and groans
have not often entered into the ears of the omnipresent God,
and whose tears have not been often treasured up in his vials.]
2. An unreserved obedience to God,, as contrasted
with partial compliances
[Pharaoh, under the pressure of his successive calamities,
c Exod. ix. 27. d Job xlii, 6. with Ezek. xvi. 63.
73.] ON DELAYING OUR REPENTANCE. 365
yielded in part to the commands of God : he resisted altogether
at the first; but gradually receded from his determinations, and
permitted the Hebrews to offer their sacrifices in Egypt ; then
to go into the wilderness, provided they did not go very far into
it : then he would let the men go : then at last the women and
children also : but he would not suffer them to take away their
cattle : those he w r as determined to keep, as a pledge of their
return. In all this there was nothing but pride and stoutness
of heart. He held every thing fast, till it was wrested from
him by some fresh judgment, and conceded nothing but from
absolute compulsion. And thus it is that many amongst our
selves part with their sins. They would retain them all, and
gladly too, if the indulgence of them would consist with their
hope from heaven. If they part with any, they do it as a
mariner who casts his goods overboard to lighten his ship and
keep it from sinking : but it is with reluctance that he parts
with them; and he wishes for them all again, the very instant
he is safe on shore. From the same motive flows his per
formance of certain duties : he engages not in them from any
delight that he lias in them, but from a self-righteous desire of
purchasing heaven by these sacrifices.
But in all this there is nothing of true humiliation, nothing of
real piety. The sinner, when his heart is right with God, desires
to fulfil all the commandments of his God: "not one of them
is grievous unto him:" he would not wish to be allowed to vio
late any one of them; but desires to " stand perfect and com
plete in all the will of God." He would not retain a right eye
or a right hand, that should be an occasion of offence to his
God and Saviour. As it is his prayer that " God s will may be
done by him on earth as it is in heaven," so is it his daily
endeavour to carry it into effect : and, could he but have the de
sire of his soul, he would be " pure as Christ himself is pure,"
and " perfect as his Father which is in heaven is perfect."
This union of deep sorrow for the past, and of unreserved
obedience for the future, is marked by God himself as consti
tuting that state of mind which alone will prove effectual for
our acceptance with him.]
Having explained the nature of true humiliation,
we proceed to,
II. Expostulate with those in whom it is not yet
wrought
There is but too much reason for this expostulation
wheresoever we look
[Their need of humiliation, none, I apprehend, will
venture to deny. Let us only look back and see how we
have acted towards God, as our Creator, our Governor, our
366 EXODUS, X. 3. [73.
Benefactor - Let us mark our past conduct also towards
the Lord Jesus Christ, \vho assumed our nature, and died upon
the cross to save us - Let us yet further call to mind all
the resistance which we have given to the motions of the Holy
Spirit within us and we shall find ground enough for
our humiliation before God.
Yet who has humbled himself aright ? Who has sought the
Lord from day to day " with strong crying and tears ? "
Who has given up himself wholly and unreservedly to God, de
termining through grace to have no other will but his ?
Does not conscience testify against us in relation to these
matters, and warn us that there is yet much, very much wanting,
to perfect our humiliation before God ? ]
We beg leave then,, in the name of the Most High
God, to expostulate with all whose consciences now
testify against them
[" How long will ye refuse to humble yourselves before
God ? " Have ye ever fixed a time in your minds ? Do ye fix
upon old age ? What certainty have ye of living to old age ?
Do ye fix upon a time of sickness and of death ? HOW T know ye
that ye shall have space then given for repentance, or that the
Spirit of God, whom ye now resist, shall be imparted to you
for the producing of true repentance ? How know ye, that if
you do then repent, your repentance will proceed any further,
or be more effectual for your salvation than Pharaoh s was ?
Consider, I pray you, the guilt, the folly, and the danger
of delaying your humiliation before God. Will you make the
very forbearance of God which should lead you to repentance,
the ground and occasion of protracting your rebellion against
him ? - Think ye that God will not overcome at the
last ? Will ye set briers and thorns in battle against the de
vouring fire ? or did ye ever hear of one who hardened himself
against God and prospered? Will not sin harden you in
proportion as it is indulged? And " will the Spirit strive with
you for ever? " Have you not reason to fear, that, if you continue
impenitent under your present circumstances, God will give
you up to judicial hardness, and a reprobate mind?
Beloved Brethren, I entreat you to fix some time when you
will cast down the w r eapons of your rebellion, and humble
yourselves in truth before God ]
Two ENCOURAGEMENTS I would set before you:
1. It is never too late
[At " the eleventh hour" those who give themselves up to
Him shall be received. Let not the aged, or the sick, say,
There is no hope. Let not the vilest of the human race
indulge despair. A Manasseh holds forth to every child of
74. J DISTINGUISHING PRIVILEGES OF GODS PEOPLE. 367
man the richest encouragement and an assurance that
of those who come to Christ in penitence and faith, " not one
shall ever be cast out 6 "
2. It is never too soon-
fit was not the men only, but the children also, yea, even
" the little ones," whom God required to go forth into the wil
derness to offer sacrifice to him f : and in the New Testament
our blessed Lord says, " Suffer the little children to come unto
me, and forbid them not ; for of such is the kingdom of hea
ven." O that young people did but know the blessedness of
serving God ! Who ever yet regretted that he had begun to re
pent too soon ? Who ever yet made it a matter of sorrow that he
" had served the Lord from his youth ? " " Remember then, my
Brethren, your Creator in the days of your youth." Let not
Satan have the best of your time ; and the mere dregs be re
served for God : but " to-day, whilst it is called to-day," begin
that life, which is the truest source of happiness in this world,
and the most certain pledge of glory in the world to come.]
e 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, 13. f ver. 9, 10.
LXXIV.
DISTINGUISHING PRIVILEGES OF THE LORD S PEOPLE.
Exod. x. 23. But all the children of Israel had light in their
dwellings.
OF all the plagues which in rapid succession were
inflicted upon Egypt, not so much as one fell upon
the children of Israel : their cattle, and every thing
belonging to them, enjoyed the same exemption as
themselves. And this distinction was well calcu
lated to convince Pharaoh, that Israel s God was the
only true God, and that the idols of the heathen were
vanity a . But, whilst we admit that this was the
primary end of all the judgments, and of the plague
of darkness amongst the rest, we cannot but think
that this particular plague had something in it more
than ordinarily instructive ; inasmuch as it served to
shew, that between the Lord s people and others
there is at all times as great a difference, as there
then was between Goshen and the rest of Egypt.
We say not, indeed, that this particular application
of the subject is anywhere suggested by the inspired
writers ; but we do say, that it may well be so applied,
a Exod. viii. 22.
368 EXODUS, X. 23. [74.
in a way of accommodation at least, to the eluci
dation of this most important point.
I will take occasion from it then to shew,
I. The difference which God has put between his
own people and others
In their state, and nature, in their relation to God
and to each other, in their prospects also, and in
their end, the two descriptions of persons are widely
different from each other : the one are quickened
from the dead, and partakers of a divine nature ;
united to Christ and to each other in one body and
by one spirit ; with an heavenly inheritance before
them, which they are speedily and for ever to pos
sess ; whilst the others are yet " children of the
wicked one," with no other prospect than that of a
banishment from the divine presence, and an ever
lasting participation with the fallen angels in their
unhappy lot. But without entering into this large
view of the subject, I will endeavour to shew what
light the children of Israel are privileged to enjoy in,
1. Things temporal
[In appearance, "all things come alike to all;" or, if
there be any particular difference in relation to temporal
things, it is rather in favour of the ungodly. But the godly,
whether they possess more or less of this world, have an enjoy
ment of it, of which the world at large are destitute, and in
their present state incapable. They taste God s love in every
thing; and have a more vivid apprehension of the smallest
blessings, than an ungodly man has of the greatest. The
"blessings" of the ungodly are, in fact, "cursed to them:"
" their table is a snare to them ;" and even their bodily health
and strength are made occasions of more flagrant transgres
sions against their God. To God s Israel, on the contrary,
their severest afflictions are made sources of good ; insomuch
that they can "glory in their tribulations b ," and "take plea
sure in their sorest infirmities ." Whatever trials assault
them, they "all work together for their good d ;" yea, "light
and momentary as they are, they work out for them a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory 6 ." The very best
portion of the wicked is lighter than vanity ; whilst the worst
of a good man s lot is received by him not only with "patience
b Rom. v. 3. c 2 Cor. xii. 10. d Rom. viii. 25. e 2 Cor. iv. 17.
74.1 DISTINGUISHING PRIVILEGES OF GOD s PEOPLE. 369
and long-suffering, but with joy and thankfulness f ." Though
he be the poorest of mankind, he does in effect " inherit the
earth ; " yea, he " inherits all things."]
2. Things spiritual
[The ungodly man is truly in darkness with respect to
every thing that is of a spiritual nature. He neither does,
nor can, comprehend any thing of that kind, for want of a
spiritual discernment. But God s highly favoured people
" have light in their dwellings," whereby they can discern
things invisible to mortal eyes. The evil of sin, the beauty of
holiness, the glory of Christ, the blessedness of heaven, are open
to their view, and are contemplated by them with a zest
which can be conceived by those only who actually experience
it in their souls. What shall I say of " the light of God s coun
tenance lifted up upon them," or of " the love of God shed
abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost ? " What shall I say
of the Holy Spirit dwelling in them as " a Spirit of adoption,"
" witnessing with their spirits that they are God s children,"
and " sealing them unto the day of redemption," and being
" an earnest of heaven itself" in their souls ? To attempt to
describe these things would be only to " darken counsel by
words without knowledge." If we should in vain attempt to
convey to one immured in a dungeon a just conception of the
lustre and influence of the meridian sun ; much more must we
fail, if we would attempt to give to a natural man a just ap
prehension of" the things of the Spirit:" for neither have we
any language whereby adequately to express them, nor have
they any faculties whereby duly to apprehend them.]
3. Things eternal
[What can an ungodly man see beyond the grave ?
Truly in relation to the future world he is in darkness, even
in " a darkness that may be felt." If he reflect at all, he can
feel nothing but " a certain fearful looking-for of judgment
and fiery indignation to consume him," and have no prospect
but that of " the blackness of darkness for ever." But in
reference to eternity, the child of God is seen to the greatest
advantage. O, what prospects are open to his view ! What
crowns, what kingdoms, await him ! Truly he stands as on
Mount Pisgah, and surveys the Promised Land in all its length
and breadth. He joins already with the heavenly hosts in
all their songs of praise, and, according to the measure of the
grace bestowed upon him, anticipates " the pleasures which
are at God s right hand for evermore."]
But, that I may not tantalize you with joys which
you can never taste, let me proceed to shew you,
f Col. i. 11, 12.
VOL. I. B B
370 EXODUS, X, 23. [74.
II. How we may secure to ourselves their happy lot-
Can an Egyptian become an Israelite ? Yes, he
may
[An Israelite is a descendant of Abraham, in the line of
Jacob. But how then can this relation be transferred to a
foreigner ? After the flesh indeed, an Edomite must remain
an Edomite ; an Egyptian must continue an Egyptian. But
after the Spirit, the transition may be made by all, of what
ever nation, provided only they earnestly desire it. Through
faith in that blessed Saviour in whom Abraham believed, we
may be brought to a participation of all the blessings which
were conferred on him. Hear what the Scripture saith :
" Know ye, that they who are of faith, the same are the chil
dren of Abraham :" the same, too, are " blessed with faithful
Abraham;" yea, "the blessing of Abraham comes on them
through Jesus Christ:" "if we be Christ s, then are we Abra
hams seed, and heirs according to the promise 8 ."]
And, under this character, we shall be exempted
from all the Egyptian plagues, and entitled to all the
distinctions that ever were conferred on God s chosen
people
[Truly, however gross the darkness which may have
covered us in past times, we shall have " light in our dwell
ings ; " yea, we shall be brought out of darkness into God s
marvellous light ; and not only " be turned from darkness
unto light, but from the power of Satan unto God." Say,
Brethren, whether this does not accord with the experience of
some amongst you? Say, whether the brightest hours of your
former life are comparable even with your darkest now? I
well know that in this present life there will be clouds that
will occasionally intercept the full radiance of the Sun of Right
eousness, and induce a transient gloom over your horizon : but
I ask with confidence, whether at such a season you would
exchange your portion for that of the happiest worldling upon
earth? No: you well know, that though your "darkness
may continue for a night, joy will come in the morning 11 :" and
even in the darkest night some gleams of light are wont to
shine into your soul, according to that sure promise, " Unto
the godly there ariseth up light in the darkness 1 ." True it is,
that sin will bring darkness upon the soul : and true it is, also,
that bodily disease may sometimes operate unfavourably in
this respect : but, if we be upright before God, " when we
walk in darkness, the Lord will be a light unto us k ;" and, in
e Gal. iii. 7, 9, 14, 29. h Ps. xxx. 5.
* Ps. cxii. 4. k Mic. vii. 8.
75.] G OD DISTINGUISHES HIS PEOPLE. 371
due season, " our light shall shine in obscurity, and our dark
ness be as the noonday 1 ."]
ADDRESS
1. Those who are walking in the light of their own
carnal enjoyments
[Truly it is but a taper that ye possess, whilst ye are
regardless of the radiance of the noonday sun And
what does God say to you ? " Behold, all ye that kindle a
fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks ; walk in the
light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled :
but this shall ye have of mine hand at last, ye shall lie down
in sorrow" 1 ." " Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall
be hungry : behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be
thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be
ashamed : behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but
ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation
of spirit"."]
2. Those who, though Israelites indeed, are yet
walking in somewhat of a gloomy frame
[We have before said, that such seasons may occur : but
the direction given you by God himself is that which must be
your consolation and support: " Who is among you that feareth
the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, and yet walk-
eth in darkness and hath no light ? Let him trust in the name
of the Lord, and stay upon his God ." There may be reasons
for the withdrawment of light from your souls, reasons of
which you at present have no conception. Peradventure God
has seen that you have not duly improved the former manifes
tations of his love ; or he may see that an uninterrupted con
tinuance of them might give advantage to Satan to puff you
up with pride. But, whether you can trace these suspensions
of the divine favour to any particular cause or not, learn at all
events to justify God in them, and to improve them for the
deeper humiliation of your souls : and look forward to that
blessed period when you shall " dwell in the light as God is
in the light," and enjoy a day that shall never end p .]
1 Isai. Iviii. 10. m Isai. 1. 11. Isai. Ixv. 13, 14.
Isai. 1. 10. Pi John i. 7. Rev. xxi. 23. and xxii. 5.
LXXV.
GOD PUTS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIS PEOPLE AND OTHERS.
Exod. xi. 7. Know, hoiv that the Lord doth put a difference
between the Egyptians and Israel.
B B2
372 EXODUS, XI. 7. [75.
A PRINCIPAL intent of God in the various dis
pensations of his providence is, to make himself known
unto the world. By some of his works he makes
known his natural perfections of wisdom and power ;
by others, his moral perfections of goodness and truth.
In his dealings with Pharaoh in particular, we are
expressly told that he had this end in view a . The
exercise of his sovereignty was in that instance in
tended to he displayed 11 ; as also in the whole of " the
difference which he put between the Israelites and the
Egyptians:" but if we consider these two nations as
types or representatives of the friends and enemies of
God, we shall be rather led to contemplate the equity of
all his dispensations towards them. It is in this light
that we propose to dwell upon the words before us.
" Know ye then that the Lord doth put a difference
between his own people and others"-
I. He did so from the beginning
[Go back to the antediluvian world c Consult the
patriarchal age d Look at the history before us e
Search the records of all succeeding ages f -The annals
of the whole world conspire to establish this important truth.]
II. He does so at this present hour
[If we have been attentive observers of what passes around
us, or within our own hearts, we shall not need to be told that
God does at this time, no less than in former ages, distinguish
his people from others. He does so in the dispensations^
a Exod. x. 1, 2. b R om . j x> 17_20.
c How different his conduct towards the two first men that were
born into the world ! Gen. iv. 3 5. What singular honour did he
confer on Enoch ! Heb. xi. 5. What distinguished mercy did he
vouchsafe to Noah ! Gen. vi. 9 13.
d How different his regards to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, from
any that he shewed to those amongst whom they dwelt !
e From the latter plagues, the flies, the murrain, the darkness, and
the slaughter of the first-born, the Israelites were exempt. The
cloud also was dark to one, but light to the other : and the sea was
both a passage and a grave.
f It is impossible to read the history of David or Elijah in the Old
Testament, or of the Apostles in the New, and not see this written
as with a sunbeam.
s He not unfrequently interposes to screen them from calamities,
(Job v. 19 24.) and always to sanctify the calamities he sends.
Rom. viii. 28. His very presence with them in trouble is equivalent
75. J REDEMPTION CELEBRATED. 373
of his providence and in the communications of his
grace h ]
III. He will do so to all eternity
[If we would know the full extent of that difference which
he will put hetween his people and others, w r e must go up to
heaven, and taste all the glories of it and go down to
hell, and experience all its miseries - Never till then
shall we be adequate judges of this momentous subject.]
QUESTIONS
1 . Do you believe this truth ?
[Many think that " God will not do good or evil," and
that he will neither reward nor punish. Whether they be con
scious of such infidelity or not, their life too plainly proves its
dominion over them - Beware of such atheistical senti
ments ; and seek that, whatever becomes of others, ye may be
monuments of his love and favour - ]
2. Do you live under the influence of it ?
[Happy were it for us, if we could always bear in mind this
solemn truth ! How importunate w r ould be our prayers, how
ardent our praises, how indefatigable our exertions !
Let us contemplate the separation which God will make in
the day of judgment 1 ; and labour incessantly, that we may be
numbered amongst his most favoured saints k ]
to a deliverance from it. Ps. xxxi. 20. ( Tlie full import of that verse
will, when discovered, richly repay our meditations upon it.)
h Whence is it that the Lord s people are enabled to triumph, as
they do, over the world, the flesh, and the devil ? Is it not that they
are strengthened by Christ, (Phil. iv. 13.) and that "his grace is
sufficient for them ?"
i Mai. iii. 18. Matt. xxv. 33, 46. k Mai. iii. 10, 17.
LXXVI.
REDEMPTION CELEBRATED.
Exod. xii. 41, 42. It came to pass at the end of four hundred
and thirty years, even the self-same day it came to pass, that
all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.
It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord, for bringing
them out from the land of Egypt : this is that night of the
Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their
generations.
THE Lord, for wise and gracious reasons, often
delays the execution of his promises ; till we, in our
impatience, are almost ready to think he has forgotten
374- EXODUS, XII. 41, 42. [76.
them. But, however long he may appear to neglect
us, " he is not slack concerning his promises,, as some
men count slackness a ." He has fixed a time, beyond
which there shall be no delay b : and at the appointed
hour he will shew himself " mighty to save."
To Abraham and his seed God promised to give
the land of Canaan. But behold, no less than four
hundred and thirty years were ordained of him to
pass, and a great portion of that time in extreme
suffering, before his seed were permitted to see the
long-wished-for period. But at the time fixed from
the beginning in the divine counsels, " even the self
same day it came to pass," that all the hosts of Israel
were brought forth out of Egypt ; and God s promises
to them were fulfilled.
In like manner it was promised to Adam that "the
seed of the woman should bruise the serpent s head."
But four thousand years were suffered to elapse
before that promised Seed was sent into the world.
"When, however, the fulness of time was come, God
sent him, made of a woman, made under the Law, to
redeem them that were under the Law, that we might
receive the adoption of sons c ." In effecting this great
work, the Messiah was to die d . But "he was not
to see corruption e ." On the third day he was to rise
again f . To prevent this, every expedient was resorted
to, that human ingenuity could contrive. But at the
appointed moment the Saviour rose; and thus com
pleted the deliverance of a ruined world.
These two events are referred to in the text; the
one, historically ; the other, typically.
To these events I will first call your attention-
Great was the deliverance of Israel from Egypt
[Sore, beyond conception, was the bondage of the children
of Israel; insomuch, that " God himself was grieved at it."
But, through the judgments executed on their oppressors,
Pharaoh was at last prevailed on to dismiss them. The last
great judgment that was inflicted on their enemies was the de
struction of their first-born throughout all the land of Egypt ;
a 2 Pet. iii. 9. b Heb. ii. 3. Gal. iv. 4, 5.
d Heb.ii. 14, 15. e Ps. xvi. 10. f Matt. xii. 40.
76.1 REDEMPTION CELEBRATED. 375
from which the Israelites were protected by the blood of the
paschal lamb sprinkled on their dwellings. This was altogether
a wonderful deliverance, such as never had been vouchsafed to
any other nation under heaven 8 .
The end of that deliverance rendered it yet more glorious ;
because they were now consecrated to the Lord as " a special
people above all people upon the face of the earth :" and they
were led forth under the immediate guidance and protection
of God himself, to " a land flowing with milk and honey,"
" a land that was the glory of all lands."
This was a redemption which might well be remembered
by them, in all future ages, with wonder, and gratitude, and
praise.]
But infinitely greater is the deliverance that has
been vouchsafed to us
From how much sorer bondage are we rescued, even from
the bonds of sin and Satan, death and hell ! And how
much more wonderful is the means of our preservation, even
the blood of God s only dear Son, once shed on Calvary, and
now sprinkled on our souls ! - To how much higher a
state too are we raised, not nominally, but really, the sons of
God, and the inheritors of the kingdom of heaven !
What shall we say of this ? It surpasses the utmost concep
tion both of men and angels ; and has a height and depth, and
length and breadth, that is utterly incomprehensible.]
Let me next commend to your special observance
this 11 day, on which these great events are
commemorated
They deserve well to be commemorated by the
whole human race
[The deliverance from Egypt will be a standing memorial
of God s power and grace to the very end of time. But what
shall we say of the redemption which that event typified?
Should not that be held in remembrance by us? Should not
that be annually commemorated with the devoutest acknow
ledgments ? Verily, "it is a day much to be observed unto
the Lord," even unto the latest generations.
And here I cannot but regret that the stated remembrance
of these wonderful events is by a great multitude of religious
professors utterly disregarded. Under an idea of avoiding
Popish superstition, many have run to an opposite extreme,
and cast off the very semblance of gratitude, and put from
them the most effectual means of exciting it in the soul. That
such memorials may degenerate into form, I readily acknow
ledge ; but that they may be subservient to the greatest
B Deut. iv. 32 34. h Preached on Easter Day.
376 EXODUS XII. 41, 42. [76.
spiritual elevation, I have no doubt: and I cannot but lament,
that, through a licentious zeal for what they call liberty, many
deprive themselves of most invaluable blessings. To us of the
Established Church, I thank God, these privileges are pre
served : and I would recommend to every one of you a con
scientious and devout improvement of them. Nor can I
doubt, but that as the memorial of our Lord s death continued
to us in the Sacramental Supper is found a blessing, so will
the stated remembrance of our Lord s birth, and death, and
resurrection, on the days on which they are commemorated,
prove a blessing to all who will consecrate the time to a special
consideration of those stupendous mercies.]
The way in which they should he observed may
he learned from the history before us
[The Israelites, to their latest generations, were on that
day to eat of the paschal lamb, and to renew their dedication
of themselves to him as his peculiar people. And in this way
should we employ this holy day.
Let us this day keep a feast unto the Lord 1 . Let us eat of
the Paschal Lamb, and feed on that adorable Saviour who shed
his blood for us, to redeem our souls from death - But
let us " eat it with the bitter herbs" of penitential sorrow, and
" with the unleavened bread." of sincerity and truth k . Nor is
this a suggestion of man ; but of the Lord himself, who has
given us this very command 1 . Mark well, I pray you, these
peculiar circumstances, which alone will ensure a favourable
acceptance of your services before God : for without deep peni
tence and guileless sincerity your services will be only an
abomination to the Lord
Let us also dedicate ourselves to him as his peculiar people.
We are not our own : we are bought with a price : we should
therefore glorify our God with our bodies, and our spirits, which
are his". Remember how entirely the people of Israel were
now separated from the world, and how completely they were
made dependent on their God. Remember too, that they had
but one object in view, namely, the attainment of the promised
land. Thus in spirit should we be : in spirit, I say ; because we
have offices to perform, which preclude a possibility of entire
separation from the world. But if, whilst we fulfil the duties
of our respective stations in the world, we attain in heart what
the external situation of Israel was designed to represent, we
shall do well. This should from henceforth be our one labour.
Behold them, and God himself at their head he theirs, and
they his! So let us consecrate ourselves this day to him, that
" we may be his people, and he our God, for ever and ever."]
1 ver. 14. k ver. 8. with Dent. xvi. 1 4. ] 1 Cor. v. 7, 8.
m Exod. xiii. 2. with Numb. viii. 17. n 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20.
77.J THE PASSOVER. 377
LXXVII.
THE PASSOVER.
Exod. xii. 3 11. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel,
saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them
every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a
lamb for an house : and if the household be too little for the
lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it,
according to the number of the souls : every man according to
his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb
shall be without blemish, a male of the first year : ye shall
take it out from the sheep, or from the goats. And ye shall
keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month ; and
the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it
in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike
it on the two side-posts, and on the upper door-post of the
houses wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh
in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with
bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden
at all with tvater, but roast with fire ; his head ivith his legs,
and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing
of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of
it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall
ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet,
and your staff in your hand: and ye shall eat it in haste;
it is the Lord s passover.
THE mercies promised to the Lord s people shall
be fulfilled to them in due season. Their trials may
be long continued, and may increase when the time
of their termination is near at hand : but God will not
forget his promises, or delay the execution of them
beyond the proper time. He had foretold to Abraham
that his posterity should be ill treated in Egypt to a
certain period ; but that they should then be brought
out of it with great substance. The appointed period,
foretold four hundred and thirty years before, was
arrived, and yet the condition of the Israelites was as
distressed as ever : but at its conclusion, " even on the
self-same day" the promised deliverance was vouch
safed; and an ordinance was appointed to keep up the
remembrance of it to all future generations.
From the words of our text we shall be led to notice,
I. The ordinance itself
378 EXODUS, XII. 3 11. [77.
This was,
1 . C ommemorati ve
[The deliverance of Israel from the sword of the destroying
angel, and from their bondage in Egypt, was great a , and unpa
ralleled from the foundation of the world b . And, in the com
memoration of it, God appointed that in all future ages one of
the junior members of each family should ask the reason of
the institution, and the head of the family should relate what
God had done for their nation in passing over the houses of the
Israelites when he slew the Egyptians, and in bringing them
out of their cruel bondage c . To this the Apostle refers, when
he speaks of the Lord s Supper as an ordinance appointed for
" the shewing forth of the Lord s death, till he come" again at
the end of the world to judgment d .]
2. Typical-
[Every the minutest particular in this ordinance seems to
have been intended to typify the redemption of the world by
the death of Christ. " The lamb," which was to be " under
a year old," denotes Christ, " the Lamb of God," in a state
of perfect purity 6 . It was to be " a male, 1 as being the most
perfect of its kind, and " without blemish," in order to repre
sent the perfect manhood of Christ, who was indeed " a lamb
without blemish and without spot f ." It was to be set apart four
days before it was slain ; not only to mark God s eternal desig
nation of Christ to be a sacrifice, but to foreshew that Christ,
during the four last days of his life, (from his entrance into
Jerusalem to his death,) should be examined at different tri
bunals, to ascertain whether there were the smallest flaw in his
character ; that so his bitterest enemies might all be constrained
to attest his innocence, and thereby unwittingly to declare, that
he -was fit to be a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. The
precise hour of the day wherein Jesus was to die, is thought to
have been predicted by the time appointed for the slaying of the
paschal lamb, which was " between the two evenings," or soon
after three o clock in the afternoon : and it was ordered to be
slain by all the congregation ; to shew that all ranks and orders
of men, both of Jews and Gentiles, should concur in his death.
Itsblood was to be sprinkled on the door-posts and lintels, to shew
that the blood of Christ must be sprinkled upon our hearts and
consciences, if we would not fall a prey to the destroying angel :
but it was not to be sprinkled on the threshold, because the
blood of Christ is not to be trodden under foot, or counted by
a Deut. xxvi. 8. b Deut. iv. 34. c ver. 25 27. d 1 Cor. xi. 26.
e This seems more suited to its tender age than the explanation
generally given, of Christ being cut off in the midst of his years.
t 1 Pet. i. 19.
77.] THE PASSOVER. 379
any as an unholy thing g . Its flesh was to be roasted, (not to
be eaten raw or boiled,) that the extremity of our Saviour s
sufferings from the fire of God s wrath might be more fitly
depicted. It was to be eaten by all; because none can ever be
saved, unless they eat of Christ s flesh, and receive him into
their hearts by faith. It was to be eaten ivhole, and not a
bone of it to be broken h ; probably to intimate, that we must
receive Christ in all his offices and in all his benefits ; and cer
tainly to foreshew, that he should be exempt from the common
fate of all who died his death, and be marked out thereby with
the most undoubted evidence, as the true Messiah. And none
of it was to be left till the morning, lest it should be treated
contemptuously by the profane, or become an occasion of
idolatry or superstition to mistaken zealots ; and to guard us
also against similar abuses in the supper of our Lord.]
Some other particulars worthy of observation will
occur, while we consider,,
II. The manner of its celebration
In this also was the ordinance both commemorative
and typical. The bitter herbs and unleavened bread
were intended to keep up a remembrance of the bitter
sorrows which they endured, and the bread of affliction
which they ate, in Egypt 1 ; and their standing, with
their loins girt, and shoes on their feet, and staves in
their hands, denoted the haste with which they were
driven out of the land, as it were, by the Egyptians
themselves. As types, these things declared in what
manner we should feed upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
We know that it is possible enough to strain types
and metaphors too far : but in interpreting the import
of the paschal sacrifice, though in some smaller
matters we may not be able to speak with certainty,
the great outlines are drawn by an inspired Apostle ;
who says, "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us k ."
Taking him then for our guide, we say that we may
learn even from the manner in which the passover
was celebrated, how w r e are to feast upon the Lamb
of God that has been slain for us. We are to do it,
1. With humble penitence
[The bitter herbs reminded the Israelites of the misery
they had endured : but we must further reflect upon the guilt
Heb. x. 29. h John xix. 36. * Deut. xvi. 4. k 1 Cor. v. 7, 8.
380 EXODUS, XII. o 11. [77.
we have contracted. Their bondage was the effect of force and
constraint ; ours has been altogether voluntary ; and therefore
has involved us in the deepest guilt - When we eat of
Christ s flesh, we must recollect that his sufferings were the
punishment of our iniquities ; and we must " look on him
whom we have pierced, and mourn ; yea, we must mourn for
him as one mourneth for his only son 1 ." And the more
assured we are of our deliverance from wrath through him, the
more must we abhor ourselves for all our iniquities, and for all
our abominations" 1 ]
2. With unfeigned sincerity
[This is expressly declared by the Apostle to have been
intended by the unleavened bread 11 . Sin is a leaven, the
smallest portion of which will leaven and defile our whole souls.
It must therefore be purged out with all possible care and
diligence. If we retain knowingly and wilfully the smallest
measure of it, we have nothing to expect but an everlasting
separation from God and his people - Let us then search
and try our own hearts ; and beg of God also to " search and
try us, to see if there be any wicked way in us, and to lead us in
the way everlasting"- -We must be " Israelites indeed
and without guile," if we would enjoy the full benefits of the
body and blood of Christ.]
3. With active zeal
[We are in a strange land, wherein "we have no con
tinuing city ; but we seek one to come, even a city that hath
foundations, whose builder and maker is God." We are not
to take up our rest in this world, but, as pilgrims, with our loins
girt, our shoes on our feet, and our staff in our hand, to be
always ready to proceed on our journey to the heavenly Canaan.
In this state and habit of mind we should feed upon Christ
from day to day ; commemorating the redemption he has
wrought out for us, and receiving from him renewed strength
for our journey - This weanedness from every thing in
this world, and readiness to depart out of it at any moment that
our Lord shall call us, constitutes the perfection of a Christian s
character, and the summit of his felicity ]
APPLICATION
[Whether we be Israelites feeding on the Paschal Lamb,
or Egyptians lying on our beds in thoughtless security, let us
remember, that the hour is fast approaching, when God will
Eit a difference between the Israelites and the Egyptians,
et the one rejoice in the safety which they enjoy under the
blood sprinkled on their hearts ; and let the other tremble at
1 Zech. xii. 10. m Ezek. xvi. 63. n 1 Cor. v. 7, 8.
78. I THE DELIVERANCE OF THE PASSOVER. 381
their impending danger from the sword of the destroying angel :
and let all endeavour to realize the unavailing cries of God s
enemies, and the joyful exultations of his redeemed people.
O terrible judgment ! O glorious deliverance ! May God keep
us all from hardening our own hearts, and stir us up to an im
mediate compliance with the directions given us in the Gospel !]
LXXVIII.
DELIVERANCE OF THE ISRAELITES FROM THE DESTROYING
ANGEL.
Exod. xii. 21 23. Then Moses called for all the elders of
Israel, and said unto them, Draw out, and take you a lamb
according to your families, and kill the passover. And ye
shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is
in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side-posts with
the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out
at the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will
pass through to smite the Egyptians : and when he seeth the
blood upon the lintel and on the two side-posts, the Lord will
pass over the door ; and will not suffer the destroyer to come
in unto your houses to smite you.
THE office of a Minister is to declare to the people
what he himself has received from God to deliver to
them 3 . Nothing should be added by him; nothing
should be withheld 1 ". The direction given to Moses,
" See thou make all things according to the pattern
shewed to thee in the mount ," is that to which all
the servants of God should be conformed in all their
ministrations. In this consists fidelity. " If we add
any thing to the word of God, the plagues contained
in it shall be added unto us : if we take away from
it, our names shall be taken out of the book of life d ."
It is spoken to the honour of Moses, that " he was
faithful in all his house :" and we find invariably, that
the messages which he delivered to the people, and
the ordinances which he established among them,
accorded with the commission which he himself had
received from God. In the words before us, he de
livers to them a message of terror and of mercy:
he informs them of the judgment about to be inflicted
on the Egyptian first-born; and of the means which
a 1 Cor. xv. 3. b Acts xx. 27. c Heh. viii. 5. d Rev. xxii, 18, 19.
382 EXODUS, XII. 2123. [78.
God in his mercy had appointed for exempting them
from the general calamity.
We propose to consider,
I. The means prescribed-
God might have preserved his people without any
particular means; as he did when he sent forth an
angel to destroy almost the whole Assyrian army.
But he intended this deliverance as a type of a far
greater deliverance, which he should afterwards effect
through the incarnation and death of his own Son;
and therefore he appointed certain observances which
should lead their minds to that great event
1. They must kill the paschal lamb
[Though the passover differed from all other sacrifices,
inasmuch as 110 part of it was burnt upon the altar, yet it is
expressly called a sacrifice ; and it was ordered to be repre
sented under that character to all succeeding generations f : and
St. Paid himself speaks of it as prefiguring, in that particular
vieiv, the death of Christ".
Here then it is most instructive to us, as it teaches us, that,
without a sacrifice offered unto God for us, we cannot obtain
favour in his sight, or escape the judgments which our sins have
merited. We do not presume to say, absolutely, w r hat God
might, or might not, have done ; because we know nothing of
God except as he is pleased to reveal himself to us : but, as
far as the revelation he has given us enables us to judge, we
are persuaded that a vicarious sacrifice was necessary ; and that,
without such a sacrifice, God could not have been " just, and
at the same time the justifier" of sinful man h ]
2. They must sprinkle its blood
[The destroying angel might have been instructed to
discern between the Israelites and the Egyptians without any
external sign upon the walls : but God ordered that the blood
of the lamb should be sprinkled on the lintel, and side-posts
of the doors, in order to shew us yet further, that the blood of
Christ must be sprinkled on our souls. The blood of the lamb
did not save the Israelites by being shed, but by being sprinkled :
and, in the same manner, it is not the blood of Christ as shed
on Calvary, but as sprinkled on the soul, that saves us from
the wrath to come. Hence the Scripture so often speaks of
our being " come to the blood of sprinkling, w T hich speaketh
better things than the blood of Abel 1 ." We must, as it were,
e Deut. xvi. 4. f ver. 26, 27. s I Cor. v. 7.
h Rom. iii. 25, 26. J Heb. xii. 24. and 1 Pet. i. 2.
78. J THE DELIVERANCE OF THE PASSOVER. 383
dip the hyssop in the blood, and by faith apply it to our own
hearts and consciences, or else we can have no benefit from it,
no interest in it ]
3. They must abide in their houses
[This was appointed, that they might know to what alone
they owed their safety, namely, to the blood sprinkled on their
houses. If, presuming upon their descent from Abraham, or
upon their having killed the passover, any of them had ventured
abroad before the morning, they would, in all probability, have
perished, as Lot s wife did after her departure from Sodom, or
as Shimei afterwards did by going without the walls of Jeru
salem k . The injunction given to them, teaches us, that we
must " abide in Christ 1 ;" and that, to venture for one moment
from under the shadow of his wings, will involve us in the most
imminent danger, if not in utter ruin. We have no protection
from the pursuer of blood any longer than we continue within
the walls of the city of refuge m ]
Let us now take a view of,
II. The deliverance vouchsafed
The deliverance itself was truly wonderful
[Throughout all the land of Egypt, the first-born of every
person, from the king on his throne to the captive in the dun
geon, was slain by an invisible agent. By whatever means the
various families were awakened, whether by any sudden im
pression on their minds, or by the groans of their first-born
smitten by the destroying angel, there was at the same hour
throughout all the kingdom a cry of lamentation and of terror ;
of lamentation for their deceased relatives, and of terror on their
own account, lest a similar judgment should be inflicted on
them also. What dreadful consternation must have prevailed,
the instant that the extent of this calamity was seen ; when
every one, going for relief and comfort to his neighbour, saw
him also overwhelmed with similar anguish ! But though the
first-born of men and cattle was destroyed amongst all the
Gentiles, not one, either of men or cattle, suffered amongst
the Israelites. How must the whole Jewish nation be struck
with wonder at this astonishing display of God s mercy towards
them !
But a greater deliverance than this was shadowed forth.
There is a day coming when God will put a more awful differ
ence between his friends and enemies ; when his enemies,
k 1 Kings ii. 4146.
1 John xv. 4 7. N.B. Five times in four verses is this truth
repeated.
m Numb. xxxv. 26 28.
384 EXODUS, XII. 2123. [78.
without exception, shall be smitten with the second death,
and his friends be exalted to eternal glory and felicity. What
terror will be seen in that day ! what weeping, and wailing,
and gnashing of teeth among the objects of his displeasure! and
what exultation and triumph amongst those who shall be the
monuments of his distinguishing favour ! That deliverance will
be indeed wonderful ; and eternity will be too short to explore
the unsearchable riches of grace and love contained in it.]
The manner in which it was effected also deserves
particular attention
[There w r as not one agent only in this transaction, but
two: a destroying angel, that went forth to execute judgment
indiscriminately on one in every house; and God, who attended
him, as it were, to intercept his stroke, and ward off the blow
wherever the blood was sprinkled on the houses. This is
clearly intimated in the text ; and it is as clearly referred to
by the Prophet Isaiah, who combines this image with that of a
bird darting between her offspring and the bird of prey, in
order to protect them from their voracious enemy 11 . Indeed
the very name given to the ordinance which w r as appointed to
commemorate this event, was taken from the circumstance of
God s leaping forward, and thus obliging the angel to pass over
every house where the blood appeared.
In reflecting on this, we take comfort from the thought,
that, whoever may menace the Lord s people, God himself is
their protector; and that, " while he is for them, none can be
effectually against them." If all the angels in heaven, yea and
all the devils in hell too, were employed to execute vengeance
on the earth, we need not fear ; since God is omniscient to
discern, and almighty to protect, the least and meanest of his
believing people.]
We may LEARN from hence,
1. The use and excellence of faith-
fit was " by faith that Moses kept the passover, and the
sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the first-born should
touch them ." It is by faith also, and by faith alone, that we
can obtain an interest in the Lord Jesus. In what other way
can we present to God his sacrifice ? In what other way can
we sprinkle our hearts with his atoning blood ? In what other
way can we " abide in him till the morning" of the resurrec
tion ? This is not done by repentance, or love, or any other
grace, but by faith only. Other graces are good, and neces
sary in their place ; but it is faith only that apprehends Christ,
and obtains for us all the benefits of his passion. Let us then
n Isai. xxxi. 5. Heb. xi. 28.
79.1 REDEMPTION OF THE FIRST-BORN. 385
" believe in him," and " live upon him," and " dwell in him,"
as our sure and only deliverer from the wrath to come.]
2. The importance of inquiring into our state
before God
[The generality go to their rest as securely as the Egyp
tians did, unawed by the threatenings of Almighty God, and
unconscious of the danger to which they were exposed. But
how many wake in eternity, and find their error when it is too
late ! Let me then entreat you to inquire whether you have
ever dreaded the stroke of God s avenging arm ? whether you
have been made sensible that God has appointed one way, and
one way only, for your escape ? whether you have regarded
" Christ as your passover that has been sacrificed for you ?"
whether you have fed upon him, with the bitter herbs of peni
tence and contrition ? Have you dipped the hyssop, as it were,
in his blood, and sprinkled your souls with it ? And do you
feel that it would be at the peril of your souls, if you were to
venture for one moment from your place of refuge ? Make
these inquiries ; and be not satisfied till you are assured, on
scriptural grounds, that you are out of the reach of the de
stroying angel. Till then, adopt the prayer of David ; " Purge
me with hyssop, and I shall be clean ; wash me, and I shall be
whiter than snow."]
LXXIX.
REDEMPTION OF THE FIRST-BORN.
Exod. xiii. 14 16. And it shall be, when thy son asketh thee
in time to come, saying, What is this ? that thou shalt say
unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from
Egypt, from the house of bondage. And it came to pass,
when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all
the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man,
and the first-born of beast : therefore I sacrifice to the Lord
all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the first
born of my children I redeem. And it shall be for a token
upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes : for
by strength of hand the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt.
THE works of God deserve to be had in continual
remembrance. His interpositions on behalf of our
forefathers ought not to be forgotten by us ; for we
ourselves are greatly affected by them. The whole
nation of the Jews at this day, and to the remotest
period of time, are deeply interested in the mercy
shewn to their ancestors when the Egyptian first-
VOL. i. c c
386 EXODUS, XIII. 1416. [79.
born were slain. If we reckon that every Israelite
had two sons, as well as daughters, (which, consi
dering the care that had been taken to destroy all the
male children, may be taken as a fair average,) and
one out of those sons had been slain, we may calcu
late, that not above one third of that nation would
ever have come into existence. On account of the
distinguished greatness of that deliverance, God ap
pointed that it should be kept in remembrance, by
means of a variety of ordinances instituted for that
purpose. Some of these institutions were to be
annually observed, (as the Passover and the feast of
unleavened bread,) and others were designed as daily
memorials of it. Such was the redemption of the
first-born, mentioned in our text. In consequence of
the preservation of the first-born, both of men and
beasts, among the Jews, God claimed all their future
first-born, both of men and beasts, as his property :
the clean beasts were to be sacrificed to him ; the
unclean were to be exchanged for a lamb, which
was to be sacrificed ; and the first-born children were
to be redeemed at the price of five shekels, which
sum was devoted to the service of the sanctuary.
This ordinance the Jews, to the latest generations,
were bound to observe,
I. As a memorial of God s mercy
In this view, the end of the appointment is re
peatedly mentioned in the text. Every time that the
redemption-price was paid for the first-born, either of
man or beast, it was to be like " a token upon their
hands, or a frontlet, or memorial, between their eyes a ,"
to bring this deliverance to their remembrance.
Now the deliverance vouchsafed to us, infinitely
exceeds theirs
[Theirs was great, whether we consider the state from
which they were brought (a sore bondage), or the means by
which they were delivered (the slaughter of the Egyptian first
born), or the state to w T hich they were raised (the service and
enjoyment of God, both in the wilderness and in the land of
Canaan). But compare ours in these respects, the guilt and
a See ver. 9.
79.1 REDEMPTION OF THE FIRST-BORN. 387
misery from which we are redeemed the death, not of
a few enemies, but of God s only dear Son, by which that
redemption is effected and the blessedness to which,
both in this world and the next, we are brought forth
and all comparison fails : their mercy in comparison of ours is
only as the light of a glow-worm to the meridian sun.]
Every thing therefore should serve to bring it to
our remembrance
[God has instituted some things for this express purpose,
namely, baptism and the Lord s supper. But why should not
the same improvement be made of other things? Why may not
the sight of a first-born, whether of man or beast, suggest the
same reflections to our minds, that the redemption of them did
to the Jews? Why should not the revolutions of days, months,
and years, remind us of the darkness and misery from which we
are brought through the bright shining of the Sun of Right
eousness ? What is a recovery from sickness, but an image of
the mercy vouchsafed to our souls ? As for the Scriptures, I
had almost said that we should literally imitate the mistaken
piety of the Jews, who wore certain portions of them as brace
lets and frontlets ; but, if not, we should have them so much in
our hands and before our eyes, that the blessed subject of our
redemption by Christ should never be long out of our minds.]
But the redemption of the first-born was to be
observed also,,
II. As an acknowledgment of their duty-
God, in addition to the claim which he has over all
his creatures as their Maker, has a peculiar claim to
those whom he has redeemed. In this view he called
upon the Jews, and he calls upon us also,
1. To consecrate ourselves to him
[The Jewish first-born of beasts (as has been observed) were
sacrificed to God; and his right to the first-born of men was ac
knowledged by a redemption-price paid for them b . The same
price too was paid by all (five shekels, or about twelve shillings),
to shew that every man s soul was of equal value in the sight of
God. With us, there are some important points of difference.
All of us, whether male or female, and whether first or last in
order of nativity, are accounted as the first-born c : nor can any
price whatever exempt us from a personal consecration of our
selves to the service of the Lord. The Levites were afterwards
substituted in the place of the first-born d : but for us no sub
stitute can be admitted. " We are not our own, we are bought
* Numb. iii. 46, 47. c Heb. xii. 23. d Numb. iii. 4450.
c c2
388 EXODUS, XIII. 1416. [79.
with a price," says the Apostle : from whence his inference is,
" Therefore we must glorify God with our body and our spirit,
which are his 6 ." And in another place he expresses the same
idea in terms still more accommodated to the language of our
text ; " I beseech you," says he, " by the mercies of God, that
ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God, which is your reasonable service f ."]
2. To serve him with the best of all that we have
[The poorest among the Israelites, whose cow had enlarged
his little stock, must immediately devote that little acquisition
in sacrifice to God. If it were an horse or an ass that had pro
duced him a foal, he must redeem the foal with a lamb, or
" break its neck g ;" God having decreed, that his people shall
derive no comfort or advantage from any thing, with which they
are unable, or unwilling, to honour him.
Thus are we bound to " honour God with our substance, and
with the first-fruits of all our increase." We must not stay till
we have got in our harvest, and then spare to him a pittance
out of our abundance ; but we must devote to him a portion of
what he has already bestowed, and trust him to supply our re
maining wants. Strange will it be indeed, if, when " he has not
spared his own Son, but delivered him up for us all," we can
grudge him any thing that is in the power of our hands to do.]
ADDRESS
1. Inquire into the nature and ends of God s ordi
nances
[The rites of baptism and the Lord s supper are very little
understood amongst us : whereas, if we would inquire into the
reason of these institutions, we should find them lead us imme
diately to the great work of redemption : in the former of them
we are dedicated to Him who has redeemed us from the bondage
of corruption ; and in the latter, we renew to him, as it were,
our baptismal vows, and derive strength from him for the per
formance of them. In the common ordinances of divine worship
we should see the care which God has taken to make known to
us the way of salvation, and to display to us the exceeding riches
of his grace in Christ Jesus. If we duly considered God s de
sign in appointing an order of men to minister in his sanctuary,
we should not complain that we heard so much of Christ ; but
rather, we should go up to his house hungering and thirsting
after him, as the bread of life and the water of life.
2. Devote yourselves to the service of your God
[The names of the first-born, and of them only, " are
written in heaven 11 ." If therefore we w r ould partake of the
e 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. f Rom. xii. 1. e ver. 13. h Note c .
80.^] GOD S CONDESCENSION TO HIS PEOPLE. 389
heavenly inheritance, we must regard ourselves as " an holy
nation, and a peculiar people." What the Levites were exter
nally, that must we be in the inward devotion of our souls. We
are not loaded, like them, with the observance of many bur-
thensome ceremonies ; but the sacrifices of prayer and praise
we ought to offer unto God continually ; and, in this respect,
we are to emulate, as it were, the saints in heaven, who rest
not day and night in ascribing glory " to Him who loved them,
and washed them from their sins in his own blood." We
should distinctly consider ourselves as " his purchased posses
sion," and account it our highest happiness and honour to be
in every thing at his disposal 1 .]
3. Endeavour to instruct others in the great work
of redemption
[On all the different occasions it was appointed, that chil
dren should make inquiries into the reasons of the various insti
tutions which they saw k ; and that such explanations should
be given them, as should tend to perpetuate divine knowledge
to the remotest generations. Such inquiries w r e should encou
rage amongst our children : and we should cheerfully embrace
every opportunity that is afforded us, of instructing them in the
things belonging to their eternal peace. If such catechetical
instructions were given in our different families, to how much
greater advantage would the word of life be dispensed ! Our
hearers then, being habituated to the consideration of divine
truths, would enter more easily into the various subjects that
are set before them. They would attend both with pleasure
and profit, more especially when they were arrived at years of
discretion ; whereas now, the greater part of our auditories hear
as if they heard not, and continue years under the ministry of
the Gospel without ever understanding its fundamental truths.
Let this attention then be paid by all parents and masters to
their respective families ; yea, let the ignorant in general,
whether children or adults, be the objects of our affectionate
regard : and let us all, in our respective spheres, contribute, as
we are able, to impart the knowledge of Christ to others, that
they also may behold the salvation of God.]
1 Rev. xiv. 4. The redeemed are to "follow the Lamb whither
soever he goeth."
k Exod. xii. 26. and xiii. 8. and Josh. iv. 6, 7.
LXXX.
GOD S CONDESCENSION TO HIS PEOPLE S WEAKNESS.
Exod. xiii. 17, 18. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let
the people go, that God led them not through the way of the
390 EXODUS, XIII. 17, 18. [80.
land of the Philistines, although that was near ; for God said,
Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and
they return to Egypt : but God led the people about, through
the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea.
IN whatever light we view God, whether as a God
of power or of love, we are constrained to say, " Who
is like unto thee, O Lord ! " Behold the issue of his
contest with the haughty Pharaoh : the very instant
that the full time is arrived, the time predicted four
hundred and thirty years before, the proud monarch
not only consents to the departure of Israel, but urges
them to go with all possible expedition ; and the
whole land of Egypt is become so anxious for their
departure, that every person is glad to give his most
valuable raiment, together with his jewels or vessels,
of silver or of gold, to any Israelitish woman that
asks them of him a . Yet, though thrust out by the
inhabitants, the Israelites do not go out as by flight,
but, in an orderly manner, " harnessed," that is,
arranged as an army, in five different divisions 1 ";
yea in a triumphant manner also, laden with the
spoils of their vanquished enemies : " nor was there
one feeble person among their tribes;" not one was
left behind; nor was one single person unfit to un
dertake the journey. Thus was the power of Jehovah
magnified in the completest victory that can possibly
be imagined ; a victory, not over their arms merely,
but over their proud, obstinate, rebellious hearts.
But we are no less called to admire the kindness
of God to his people, than his power over his enemies.
He knew, that his people were dispirited through their
long and cruel bondage ; and that, if he led them the
a Exod. iii. 21, 22. and xi. 2, 3. and xii. 35, 36. The Israelites
did not borrow them with any promise of returning them ; but asked
for them, and required them : and the people, partly through fear, and
partly through a temporary willingness to compensate for the injuries
they had sustained, hastily gave them whatever they desired.
b The marginal reading in the Bible says, Jive in a rank : but
this, allowing three feet between each rank, and two thousand ranks
in a mile, would make the van and rear to be sixty miles apart: for
there were no less than six hundred thousand men, besides women
and children.
80.] GOD S CONDESCENSION TO HIS PEOPLE. 31)1
near way to Canaan through the land of the Philis
tines, (which was at most only a journey of eight or
ten days ,) they would be intimidated by the hostile
appearance of the Philistines, and be ready to return
to Egypt, rather than enter on a warfare for which
they were unprepared. He therefore condescended
to their weakness, and led them another way. This
may appear an unimportant circumstance in this
astonishing history ; but we think it will afford us
some useful hints, while we call your attention to the
following observations :
I. As long as we are in this world, successive trials
must be expected
[The trials of the Israelites did not cease when they came
out of Egypt : whichever way they had proceeded, they would
have met with difficulties. Thus it is with those who are re
deemed from spiritual bondage : they come not into a state of
rest, but of conflict. The fluctuating state of the world cannot
but place many difficulties in their way And Satan, even
if he knew that he could not finally prevail against them, would
not cease to harass them to the utmost of his power
And their own hearts, if they had no other enemy to encounter,
would afford them many occasions for labour and sorrow
To every person that is desirous of reaching the promised land,
this life is a state of warfare : and if he would gain the victory,
he must " put on the whole armour of God," and " endure
hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ," and " fight the
good fight of faith."]
For these conflicts God fits his people : but,
II. Whatever deliverances we may have experienced
in past times, we are ever liable to faint under
future trials
[One would have thought that persons who had so recently
seen the irresistible pow r er of Jehovah engaged for them, would
not have feared any enemies they might be called to encounter.
But God knew that the appearance of new difficulties would
soon efface from their minds the remembrance of past deli
verances. How just his estimate of them was, appeared, as
soon as ever they knew that they were pursued by the Egyptian
armies. They instantly murmured against Moses and against
God for bringing them out of Egypt ; and regretted that they
had ever left the land of their captivity d . And when they had
c Gen. xliii. 2, 10. d Exod. xiv. 11, 12. and xvi. 3.
392 EXODUS, XIII. 17, 18. [go.
actually reached the borders of the promised land, so terrified
were they at the report of their spies respecting the stature of
the Canaanites, and the strength of their fortresses, that they
proposed even there to appoint a captain over them, to conduct
them back again to the land of Egypt 6 . This principle of
unbelief is so deeply rooted in our hearts, that even the most
eminent saints have yielded to its influence under severe trials :
David, notwithstanding God had promised him the throne of
Israel, thought he should one day perish by the hands of Saul f ;
Elijah, who had so boldly withstood Ahab, fled from his post
through fear of Jezebel s ; and the Apostles, who had seen on
numberless occasions the almighty power of Jesus, expected
nothing but death, even while He was in the vessel together
with them 11 . No wonder then if ive find " our spirits fail" in
seasons of extraordinary difficulty or danger. Indeed, who
amongst us is so firm, that he can enter into a cloud, and not
be afraid 1 ? Who, when a cloud is ready to burst over his
head, can say at all times, " I know whom I have believed, and
that He is able to keep that which I have committed to him k ,"
and will overrule these troubles for my eternal good 1 ? Under
great temptations more especially, and under the hidings of
God s face, it is not uncommon for truly upright persons to
doubt, whether they shall ever get safe to Canaan; and almost
to regret, that they have ever turned their backs on Egypt.]
Not that we shall be really and finally deserted : for,
III. God, in condescension to his people s weakness,
proportions their trials to their strength
[What he did to the Israelites on this occasion, he did to
the Christian Church in its infancy : the Apostles were screened
from persecution till " they had received more power from on
high:" and, for a considerable time after the day of Pentecost,
they alone w r ere noticed by the ruling powers: opposition, till
the death of Stephen, was limited almost exclusively to them;
and very little affected the Church at large. In the experience
of individuals, the tender mercy of God is often very conspi
cuous at this day. Whilst they are yet young and feeble, he
is pleased to screen them from that fierce opposition, which, at
a more advanced period, they will have to encounter : and
oftentimes their very corruptions appear to be almost extinct,
when, in fact, they are only dormant : their joys also in the
Lord are made to abound in such a manner, that they are
ready to think they shall never more be called to conflict with
sin or sorrow. These are mercies to them from the Lord, to
strengthen their resolution, and animate their exertions. God
e Numb. xiv. 2 4. f 1 Sam. xxvii. 1. R 1 Kings xix. 1 3.
h Mark iv. 38. 5 Lukeix. 34. * 2 Tim.i. 12. J Rom.viii. 28.
80.] GOD S CONDESCENSION TO HIS PEOPLE. 393
is graciously pleased to hide from them at the present the trials
which they will hereafter sustain, well knowing that they would
be too much discouraged by a sight of them, and perhaps be
tempted to despair. " He does not put new wine into old
bottles," but only into vessels capable of enduring the expan
sive efforts of fermentation 1 ". He will not overdrive the lambs,
lest they die of fatigue". In the mean time he expressly
assures us, that he will not suffer us to be tempted above that
we are able, but will, with the temptation, also make a way to
escape, that we maybe able to bear it ; " and that as our day
of temptation is, so shall also our strength be p ."]
On these truths we would ground a word of EXHOR
TATION
1. Fear nothing in the way of duty
[Had the Israelites considered what God had already done
for them, they would not have been afraid of any armies that
could be brought against them : for, could not the angel that
destroyed the Egyptian first-born destroy them also ? And what
have w r e to fear when once we are enlisted under the banners of
Christ ? Is not " the Captain of our salvation " at hand to fight
for us q ? and " if He be for us, who can be against us r ? " Let
us not then be afraid, even though earth and hell should com
bine against us: "let us not cry, A confederacy, a confederacy,
or fear like other people; but sanctify the Lord of Hosts him
self; and let him be our fear, and let him be our dread 8 ."
" The waves of the sea may rage horribly ; but He that sitteth
on high is mightier 1 :" " therefore we should not fear, though
the earth were removed, and the mountains cast into the depths
of the sea u ." It is a fixed unalterable truth, sanctioned and
confirmed by the experience of millions, that " none can harm
us, if we be followers of that which is good x ." If we be weak
as " worms," yet shall \ve " thresh the mountains," and make
them as the dust of the summer threshing-floor y .]
2. Commit yourselves to the divine guidance and
direction
[God is the same now that he was in the days of old.
What he did for Israel in a visible and external manner, he will
do invisibly and internally for his Church at this time. Only
" acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will direct your
paths 2 ." We say not that he will guide you by visions, or
voices, or revelations ; but he will by his word and Spirit : in
m Markii. 22. n Gen. xxxiii. 13, 14. 1 Cor. x. 13.
P Deut. xxxiii. 25. 1 Josh. v. 14. r Rom. viii. 31.
s Isai. viii. 12, 13. * Ps. xciii. 3, 4. u Ps. xlvi. 2, 3.
x 1 Pet. iii. 13. y Isai. xli. 10 16. z Prov. iii. 6.
394 EXODUS, XIII. 21, 22. [81.
reference to them we may say, " You shall hear a voice behind
you, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to
the right hand or turn to the left a ." If your situation be pain
ful at the present, or even contrary to what you have expected,
do not hastily conclude that God has forsaken you. The way
in which the Israelites were led was circuitous ; but it was
" the right way V Commit yourselves then to Him, and he
shall accomplish for you that which shall ultimately be best for
you c . " He will lead you by a way that you know not ; He
will make darkness light before you, and crooked things
straight. These things will he do unto you, and not forsake
you d ." He will guide you by his counsel; " even to hoar hairs
he will carry you 6 ;" and after that " receive you to glory V]
3 Isai. xxx. 21. b Ps. cvii. 7. c Ps. xxxvii. 5.
d Isai. xlii. 16. c Isai. xlvi. 4. f Ps. Ixxiii. 24.
LXXXI.
THE PILLAR AND THE CLOUD.
Exod. xiii. 21, 22. And the Lord went before them by day in
a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way ; and by night in a
pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night. He
took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar
of fire by nigJit, from before the people.
IN reading the Holy Scriptures, we cannot but be
struck with the suitableness and seasonableness of the
divine interpositions. It might be thought indeed
that the Israelites at their departure out of Egypt,
amounting to six hundred thousand fighting men,
without one single invalid amongst them, would be
irresistible : but if we consider, that they were with
out discipline, without arms, without stores either of
clothing or provision, and without any knowledge of
the way through " a great and terrible wilderness,"
and without any possibility of obtaining even so much
as bread or water for their sustenance, we shall see,
that they needed only to be left to themselves,, and
they must all quickly perish in the wilderness. But
in the hour of need, God came down in a pillar of a
cloud by day and of fire by night to guide them in
their way, and never left them till they arrived at the
promised land. This mercy, and the continuance of
it, are the two points to which at present we would
call your attention.
81.1 THE PILLAR AND THE CLOUD. 395
I. The mercy vouchsafed to them
This was,
1. Most signal
[Never was there any thing like it from the foundation of
the world. God had revealed himself to several in dreams and
visions, and under the appearances of men and angels: but
never in a visible stationary form, like that before us. By
this cloud he guided them in the way. Without such a direc
tion they could not have found their way through that trackless
desert : but by it they proceeded without fear of erring : and all
their motions were regulated by it, whether by day or night a .
By this cloud also they were protected. Though this use of
the cloud is not noticed in the text, 
