trial of his faith and obedience: and fo it is expreffed, Gen. xxii. 1. 2. where it is faid, that God did tempt Ab raham, and faid unto him, Take now thy fon, thine only fon.

Now, there are two difficulties concerning this matter. It seems contrary to fcripture, that God should tempt any man, and contrary to reafon; because God, who knows what every man will do, needed not to make trial of any man's faith and obedience.

1. It seems contrary to fcripture, which fays, God tempts no man. And it is moft true, that God tempts no man, with a defign to draw him into fin; but this doth not hinder, but he may try their faith and obedience with great difficulties, to make them the more illuftrious. Thus God tempted Abraham; and he permitted Job, and even our bleffed Saviour himself, to be thus tempted.

2. It seems contrary to reafon, that God, who knows what any man will do in any circumftances, fhould go to make trial of it. But God does not try men for his own information, but to give an illustrious proof and example to others of faith and obedience. And though, after this trial of Abraham, God fays to him, Now I know that thou loveft me, because thou haft not with-held thy fon, thine only fon from me; yet we are to understand this as fpoken after the manner of men; as God elsewhere speaks to Abraham concerning Sodom: I will go down now to fee whether they have done altogether according to the cry which is come up unto me;" and if not, I will know.

I proceed to the Second thing I propofed, the excellency of Abraham's faith and obedience upon this trial: By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Ifaac. God accepts of it as if he had done it; becaufe he had done it in part, and was ready to have performed the reft, if God had not countermanded him.

And this act of faith and obedience in Abraham will appear the more illuftrious, if we confider these three things.

1. The firmness and stedfastness of his faith, notwithstanding the objections against it.

2. The

2. The conftancy of his refolution, notwithstanding the difficulty of the thing.

3. The reasonablenefs of his faith, in that he gave fatisfaction to himself in fo hard and perplexed a cafe.

I. The firmness and ftedfaftnefs of his faith will appear, if we confider what objections there were in the cafe, enough to shake a very strong faith. There were three great objections against this command, and such as might in reafon make a wife and good man doubtful whether this command were from God.

The horrid nature of the thing commanded.

The grievous fcandal that might feem almost unavoidably to follow upon it.

And the horrible confequence of it, which feemed to make the former promife of God to Abraham void.

1. The horrid nature of the thing commanded; which was, for a father to kill his own child. This must needs appear very barbarous and unnatural, and look liker a facrifice to an idol, than to the true God.

It feemed to be againft the law of nature, and directly contrary to that kindnefs and affection which God himfelf had planted in the hearts of parents towards their children.

1

And there is no affection more natural and strong than this; for there are many perfons that would redeem the lives of their children with the hazard of their own. Now, that God hath planted fuch an affection in nature, is an argument that it is good; and therefore it could not but feem ftrange, that he should command any thing contrary to it. And, in this cafe, there were two circumstances that increafed the horror of the fact, that his fon was innocent, and that he was to flay him with his own hands.

Ift, That his fon was innocent. It would grieve the heart of any father, to give up his fon to death, though he were never fo undutiful and difobedient."

So paffionately was David affected with the death of his fon Abfalom, as to wifh he had died for him, though he died in the very act of rebellion, and though the faving of his life had been inconfiftent with the peace of his government.

How deep then must it sink into the heart of a father,

to

to give up his innocent fon to death? And fuch a fon was Ifaac, for any thing that appeared to the contrary, God himself gave him this teftimony, that he was the fon whom his father loved; and there is no intimation of any thing to the contrary. Now, this could not but appear strange to a good man, that God fhould command an innocent perfon to be put to death. But,

2dly, That a father fhould be commanded, not only to give up his fon to death, but to flay him with his own hands; not only to be a fpectator, but to be the actor in this tragedy; what father would not fhrink and start back at fuch a command? what good man, efpecially in fuch a cafe, and where nature was fo hard preffed, would not have been apt to have looked upon fuch a revelation as this, rather as the fuggestion and illufion of an evil fpirit, than a command of God? And yet Abraham's faith was not staggered, fo as to call this revelation of God in question.

2. The grievous scandal that might seem almost unavoidably to follow upon it, was another great objection against it. The report of fuch an action would in all appearance blemish the reputation, even of fo good a man, amongst all fober and confiderate perfons, who could hardly forbear to cenfure him, as a wicked and unnatural man.

And this was a hard cafe, for a man to be put to facrifice at once two of the deareft things in the world, his reputation and his fon: nor could he have easily defended himself from this imputation, by alledging an exprefs revelation and command of God for it; for who would give credit to it?

A revelation to another man is nothing to me, unlefs I be affured that he had fuch a revelation; which I cannot be, but either by another immediate revelation, or by fome miracle to confirm it.

The act had an appearance of fo much horror, that it was not eafily credible, that God fhould command it; and, if every man's confident pretence to revelation be admitted, the worst actions may plead this in their excufe. So that this pretence would have been fo far from excufing his fault, that it must rather have been

efteemed

esteemed an high aggravation of it, by adding the boldeft impiety to the most barbarous inhumanity.

But Abraham was not ftumbled at this, nor at the advantage which the enemies of his religion would make of fuch an occafion, who would be ready to fay, "Here "is your excellent good man, and likely to be a friend "of God, who was fo cruel an enemy to his own fon!" All this, it is probable, he might confider: but it did not move him, being refolved to obey God, and to leave it to his wifdom to provide against all the inconveniences that might follow upon it.

3. The strongest objection of all, was, the horrible confequence of the thing, which feemed to clash with former revelations, and to make void the promise which God had before made to Abraham, That in his feed all the nations of the earth fhould be blessed; which promise was exprefsly limited to Ifaac and his pofterity, who had then no fon.

And of this difficulty the Apostle takes express notice in the text, that he that had received the promifes, (that is, was perfuaded of the truth and faithfulness of them), offered up his only begotten fon: of whom it was faid, That in Ifaac fhall thy feed be called.

And this objection is really fo ftrong, that if Abraham could not have given himself fatisfaction about it, he might justly have questioned the truth of the revelation. For no man can poffibly entertain two contradictory revelations as from God, but he muft of neceffity question one or both of them: but fo ftrong was Abraham's faith, as not to be fhaken by the feeming contradiction of these two revelations.

II. We will confider the conftancy of his refolution to obey God, notwithstanding the harshness and difficulty of the thing. Though Abraham were firmly perfuaded, that this command to kill his fon was really from God; yet it is no eafy matter for a man to bring himself to obey God in fo difficult a cafe; and, out of mere reverence to the divine authority, to diveft himself of his nature, and to thwart the strongest inclinations of it: a man would be very apt to confer with flesh and blood in fuch a cafe. Let but any man that knows what it is to be a father, lay his hand upon his heart, and confi

der his own bowels, and he will be aftonished at Abraham's obedience, as well as his faith.

To take his fon, his only fon, his fon whom he loved, and in whom he placed all his hopes of a happy pofterity, and, with his own hands, to destroy him and all his hopes together! it must be a strong faith, that will engage a man to obedience in fo difficult an instance.

There is one circumftance more especially which renders Abraham's obedience very remarkable; the deliberateness of the action. It had not been fo much, if fo foon as he had received this command from God, he had upon a fudden impulfe and tranfport of zeal done this.

But that his obedience might be the more glorious, and have all the circumftances of advantage given to it, God would have it done deliberately, and upon full confideration; and therefore he bade him go to the mountain, three days journey from the place where he was, and there to offer up his fon.

It is in acts of virtue and obedience, as in acts of fin and vice; the more deliberate the fin is, and the more calm and fedate temper the man is in when he commits it, the greater is the fault; whereas, what is done by furprise, in the heat of temptation, or tranfport of paffion, hath fome excufe from the fuddennefs and undeliberateness of it.

So it is in acts of virtue and obedience, efpecially if they be attended with confiderable difficulty; the more deliberately they are done, the more virtuous they are, and the greater praife is due to them.

Now, that Abraham's obedience might want nothing to heighten it, God feems on purpose to have put fo long a space betwixt the command and the performance of it; he gives him time to cool upon it, to weigh the command, and to look on every fide of this difficult duty; he gives scope for his reafon to argue and debate the cafe, and opportunity for natural affection to play its part, and for flesh and blood to raife all its batteries against the resolution which he had taken up.

And now we may eafily imagine, what conflict this good man had within himself, during thofe three days that he was travelling to the mountain in Moriah; and how his heart was ready to be rent in pieces, betwixt VOL. IV.

C

his