Part 5 (1/2)

What a storm of doubt it must have raised in Abraham's mind! How unable he must have been to say whether that message came from a good or bad spirit, or commanded him to do a good action or a bad one; that the same G.o.d who had said, ”Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed;” who had forbidden murder as the very highest of crimes, should command him to shed the blood of his own son; that the same G.o.d who had promised him that in Isaac all the nations of the earth should be blessed, should command him to put to death that very son upon whom all his hopes depended! Fearful, indeed, must have been the struggle in Abraham's mind, but the good and the right thought conquered at last. His feeling was, no doubt, 'This G.o.d who has blessed me so long, who has guided me so long, whom I have obeyed so long, shall I not trust Him a little further yet? how can I believe that He will do wrong? how can I believe that He will lead me wrong? If it is really wrong that I should kill my son, He will not let me do it: if it really is His will that I should kill my son, I WILL DO IT. Whatever He says must be right; it is agony and misery to me, but what of that? Do I not owe Him a thousand daily and hourly blessings? Has He not led me hither, preserved me, guided me, taught me the knowledge of Himself,--chosen me to be the father of a great nation? Do I not owe Him everything?

and shall I not bear this sharp sorrow for His sake? I know, too, that if Isaac dies, all my hope, all my joy, will die with him; that I shall have nothing left to look for, nothing left to work for in this world. Nothing! shall I not have G.o.d left to me? When Isaac is dead will the Lord die? will the Lord change? will He grow weak?-- Never! Years ago did He declare to me that He was the Almighty G.o.d; I will believe that He will be always Almighty; I will believe that though I kill my son, my son will be still in G.o.d's hands, and I shall be still in G.o.d's hands, and that G.o.d is able to raise him again, even from the dead. G.o.d can give him back to me, and if He will NOT give him back to me, He can fulfil His promises in a thousand other ways. Ay, and He will fulfil His promises, for in Him is neither deceit, nor fickleness, nor weakness, nor unrighteousness of any kind; and, come what will, I will believe His promise and I will obey His will.'

Some such thoughts as these, I suppose, pa.s.sed through Abraham's mind. He could not have had a man's heart in him indeed, if not only those thoughts, but ten thousand more, sadder, and stranger, and more pitiful than my weak brain can imagine, did not sweep like a storm through his soul at that last and terrible temptation, but the Bible tells us nothing of them: why should the Bible tell us anything of them? the Bible sets forth Abraham as the faithful man, and therefore it simply tells us of his faith, without telling us of his doubts and struggles before he settled down into faith. It tells us, as it were, not how often the wind s.h.i.+fted and twisted about during the tempest, but in what quarter the wind settled when the tempest was over, and it began to blow steadily, and fixedly, and gently, and all was bright, and mild, and still in Abraham's bosom again, just as a man's mind will be bright, and gentle, and calm, even at the moment he is going to certain death or fearful misery, if he does but know that his suffering is his duty, and that his trial is his heavenly Father's will: and so all we read in the Old-Testament account is simply, ”And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his a.s.s, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which G.o.d had told him.

Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the a.s.s; and I and the lad will go yonder and wors.h.i.+p, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son: and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And 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, G.o.d will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt-offering. So they went both of them together. And they came to the place which G.o.d had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.”

Really if one is to consider the whole circ.u.mstances of Abraham's trials, they seem to have been infinite, more than mortal man could bear; more than he could have borne, no doubt, if the same G.o.d who tried had not rewarded his strength of mind by strengthening him still more, and rewarded his faith by increasing his faith; when we consider the struggle he must have had to keep the dreadful secret from the young man's mother, the tremendous effort of controlling himself, the long and frightful journey, the necessity, and yet the difficulty he seems to have felt of keeping the truth from his son, and yet of telling him the truth, which he did in those wonderful words, ”G.o.d shall provide Himself a lamb for a burnt-offering” (on which I shall have occasion to speak presently); and, last and worst of all, the perfect obedience and submission of his son; for Isaac was not a child then, he was a young man of nearly thirty years of age; strong and able enough, no doubt, to have resisted his aged father, if he had chosen. But the very excellence of Isaac seems to have been, that he did not resist, that he shewed the same perfect trust and obedience to Abraham that Abraham did towards G.o.d; for he was led ”as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth,” for we read, ”Abraham bound Isaac his son and laid him on the wood.” Surely that was the bitterest pang of all, to see the excellence of his son s.h.i.+ne forth just when it was too late for him to enjoy him--to find out what a perfect child he had, in simple trust and utter obedience, just at the very moment when he was going to lose him: ”And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son.”

At that point Abraham's trial finished. He had shewn the completeness of his faith by the completeness of his works, that is, by the completeness of his obedience. He had utterly given up all for G.o.d. He had submitted his will completely to G.o.d's will. He had said in heart, as our Blessed Lord said, ”Father, if it be possible, let this woe pa.s.s from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt;” and thus I say, he was justified by his works, by his actions; that is, by this faithful action he proved the faithfulness of his heart, as the Angel said to him, ”Now I know that thou fearest G.o.d, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me:” for as St. James says, ”Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou,” says he, ”how his faith wrought with his works;” how his works were the tool or instrument which his faith used; and by his works his faith was brought to perfection, as a tree is brought to perfection when it bears fruit. ”And so,” St.

James continues, ”the scripture was fulfilled, which says, Abraham believed G.o.d, and it was imputed to him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of G.o.d. Ye see then,” he says, ”how that by works a man is justified,” or shewn to be righteous and faithful, ”and not by faith only;” that is, not by the mere feeling of faith, for, as he says, ”as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” For what is the sign of a being dead?

It is its not being able to do anything, not being able to work; because there is no living and moving spirit in it. And what is the sign of a man's faith being dead? his faith not being able to WORK, because there is no living spirit in it, but it is a mere dead, empty sh.e.l.l and form of words,--a mere notion and thought about believing in a man's head, but not a living trust and loyalty to G.o.d in his heart. Therefore, says St. James, ”shew me thy faith without thy works,” if thou canst, ”and I will shew thee my faith by my works,” as Abraham did by offering up Isaac his son.

Oh! my friends, when people are talking about faith and works, and trying to reconcile St. Paul and St. James, as they call it, because St. Paul says Abraham was justified by faith, and St. James says Abraham was justified by works, if they would but pray for the simple, childlike heart, and the head of common sense, and look at their own children, who, every time they go on a message for them, settle, without knowing it, this mighty difference of man's making between faith and works. You tell a little child daily to do many things the meaning and use of which it cannot understand; and the child has faith in what you tell it; and, therefore, it does what you tell it, and so it shews its faith in you by obedience in working for you.

But to go on with the verses: ”And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-sh.o.r.e; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

Now, here remark two things; first, that it was Abraham's obedience in giving up all to G.o.d, which called forth from G.o.d this confirmation of G.o.d's promises to him; and next, that G.o.d here promised him nothing new; G.o.d did not say to him, 'Because thou hast obeyed me in this great matter, I will give thee some great reward over and above what I promised thee.' No; G.o.d merely promises him over again, but more solemnly than ever, what He had promised him many years before.

And so it will be with us, my friends, we must not expect to BUY G.o.d's favour by obeying Him,--we must not expect that the more we do for G.o.d, the more G.o.d will be bound to do for us, as the Papists do.

No; G.o.d has done for us all that He will do. He has promised us all that He will promise. He has provided us, as He provided Abraham, a lamb for the burnt-offering, the Lamb without blemish and without spot, which taketh away the sins of the world. We are His redeemed people--we HAVE a share in His promises--He bids us believe THAT, and shew that we believe it by living as redeemed men, not our own, but bought with a price, and created anew in Christ Jesus to do good works; not that we may buy forgiveness by them, but that we may shew by them that we believe that G.o.d HAS forgiven us already, and that when we have done all that is commanded us, we are still unprofitable servants; for though we should give up at G.o.d's bidding our children, our wives, and our own limbs and lives, and shew as utter faith in G.o.d, and complete obedience to G.o.d, as Abraham did, we should only have done just what it was already our duty to do.

SERMON XIV. OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN

1 JOHN, ii. 13.

”I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.”

I preached some time ago a sermon on the whole of these most deep and blessed verses of St. John.

I now wish to speak to those who are of age to be confirmed three separate sermons on three separate parts of these verses. First to those whom St. John calls little children; next, to those whom He calls grown men. To the first I will speak to-day; to the latter, by G.o.d's help, next Sunday. And may the Blessed One bring home my weak words to all your hearts!

Now for the meaning of ”little children.” There are those who will tell you that those words mean merely ”weak believers,” ”babes in grace,” and so on. They mean that, no doubt; but they mean much more. They mean, first of all, be sure, what they say. St. John would not have said ”little children,” if he had not meant little children. Surely G.o.d's apostle did not throw about his words at random, so as to leave them open to mistakes, and want some one to step in and tell us that they do not mean their plain, common-sense meaning, but something else. Holy Scripture is too wisely written, and too awful a matter, to be trifled with in that way, and cut and squared to suit our own fancies, and explained away, till its blessed promises are made to mean anything or nothing.

No! By little children, St. John means here children in age,--of course CHRISTIAN children and young people, for he was writing only to Christians. He speaks to those who have been christened, and brought up, more or less, as christened children should be. But, no doubt, when he says little children, he means also all Christian people, whether they be young or old, whose souls are still young, and weak, and unlearned. All, however old they may be, who have not been confirmed--I do not merely mean confirmed by the bishop, but confirmed by G.o.d's grace,--all those who have not yet come to a full knowledge of their own sins,--all who have not yet been converted, and turned to G.o.d with their whole hearts and wills, who have not yet made their full choice between G.o.d and sin,--all who have not yet fought for themselves the battle which no man or angel can fight for them--I mean the battle between their selfishness and their duty--the battle between their love of pleasure and their fear of sin--the battle, in short, between the devil and his temptations to darkness and shame, and G.o.d and His promises of light, and strength, and glory,--all who have not been converted to G.o.d, to them St. John speaks as little children--people who are not yet strong enough to stand alone, and do their duty on G.o.d's side against sin, the world, and the devil. And all of you here who have not yet made up your minds, who have not yet been confirmed in soul,--whether you were confirmed by the bishop or not,--to you I speak this day.

Now, first of all, consider this,--that though St. John calls you ”little children,” because you are still weak, and your souls have not grown to manhood, yet he does not speak to you as if you were heathens and knew nothing about G.o.d; he says, ”I have written unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.” Consider that; that was his reason for all that he had written to them before; that they had known the Father, the G.o.d who made heaven and earth--the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ--the Father of little children--my Father and your Father, my friends, little as we may behave like what we are, sons of the Almighty G.o.d. That was St.

John's reason for speaking to little children, because they had already known the Father. So he does not speak to them as if they were heathens; and I dare not speak to you, young people, as if you were heathens, however foolish and sinful some of you may be; I dare not do it, whatever many preachers may do nowadays; not because I should be unfair and hard upon you merely, but because I should lie, and deny the great grace and mercy which G.o.d has shewn you, and count the blood of the covenant, with which you were sprinkled at baptism, an unholy thing; and do despite to the spirit of grace which has been struggling in your hearts, trying to lead you out of sin into good, out of light into darkness, ever since you were born.

Therefore, as St. John said, I say, I preach this day to you, young people, because you have known your Father in heaven!

But some of you may say to me, 'You put a great honour on us; but we do not see that we have any right to it. You tell us that we have a very n.o.ble and awful knowledge--that we know the Father. We are afraid that we do not know Him; we do not even rightly understand of whom or what you preach.'

Well, my young friends, these are very awful words of St. John; such blessed and wonderful words, that if we did not find them in the Bible, it would be madness and insolence to G.o.d of us to say such a thing, not merely of little children, but even of the greatest, and wisest, and holiest man who ever lived; but there they are in the Bible--the blessed Lord Himself has told us all, ”When ye pray, say, Our Father in heaven;”--and I dare not keep them back because they sound strange. They may SOUND strange, but they ARE NOT strange.

Any one who has ever watched a young child's heart, and seen how naturally and at once the little innocent takes in the thought of his Father which is in heaven, knows that it is not a strange thought--that it comes to a little child almost by instinct--that his Father in heaven seems often to be just the thought which fills his heart most completely, has most power over him,--the thought which has been lying ready in his heart all the time, only waiting for some one to awaken it, and put it into words for him; that he will do right when you put him in mind of his Father above the skies sooner than he will for a hundred punishments. For truly says the poet,--

”Heaven lies about us in our infancy, Not in complete forgetfulness, Nor yet in utter nakedness, But trailing clouds of glory do we come, From G.o.d who is our home!”

And yet more truly said the Blessed One Himself, ”That children's angels always behold the face of our Father which is in heaven;” and that ”of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Yet you say, some of you, perhaps, 'Whatever knowledge of our Father in heaven we had, or ought to have had, when we were young, we have lost it now. We have forgotten what we learnt at school. We have been what you would call sinful; at all events, we have been thinking all our time about a great many things beside religion, and they have quite put out of our head the thought that G.o.d is our Father. So how have we known our Father in heaven?'