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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter XV].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1></center>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page99"> </A>
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>G E N E S I S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XV.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter we have a solemn treaty between God and Abram
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concerning a covenant that was to be established between them.
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In the former chapter we had Abram in the field with kings;
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here we find him in the mount with God; and, though there he
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looked great, yet, methinks, here he looks much greater: that
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honour have the great men of the world, but "this honour have
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all the saints." The covenant to be settled between God and
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Abram was a covenant of promises; accordingly, here is,
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I. A general assurance of God's kindness and good-will to Abram,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:1">ver. 1</A>.
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II. A particular declaration of the purposes of his love
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concerning him, in two things:--
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1. That he would give him a
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numerous issue,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:2-6">ver. 2-6</A>.
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2. That he would give him Canaan
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for an inheritance,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:7-21">ver. 7-21</A>.
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Either an estate without an heir,
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or an heir without an estate, would have been but a half comfort
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to Abram. But God ensures both to him; and that which made
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these two, the promised seed and the promised land, comforts
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indeed to this great believer was that they were both typical of
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those two invaluable blessings, Christ and heaven; and so, we
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have reason to think, Abram eyed them.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge15_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>God's Covenant with Abram.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1913.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 After these things the word of
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto Abram in
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a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I
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<I>am</I> thy shield, <I>and</I> thy exceeding great
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reward.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Observe here,
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I. The time when God made
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this treaty with Abram: <I>After these things.</I>
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1. After that famous act of generous charity
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which Abram had done, in rescuing his
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friends and neighbours out of distress, and
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that, <I>not for price nor reward.</I> After this,
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God made him this gracious visit. Note,
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Those that show favour to men shall find
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favour with God.
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2. After that victory
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which he had obtained over four kings.
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Lest Abram should be too much elevated
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and pleased with that, God comes to him,
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to tell him he had better things in store for
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him. Note, A believing converse with spiritual
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blessings is an excellent means to
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keep us from being too much taken up with
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temporal enjoyments. The gifts of common
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providence are not comparable to those of
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covenant love.</P>
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<P>
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II. The manner in which God conversed
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with Abram: <I>The word of the Lord came
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unto Abram</I> (that is, God manifested himself
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and his will to Abram) <I>in a vision,</I> which
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supposes Abram awake, and some visible
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appearances of the Shechinah, or some sensible
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token of the presence of the divine glory.
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Note, The methods of divine revelation are
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adapted to our state in a world of sense.</P>
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<P>
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III. The gracious assurance God gave him
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of his favour to him.</P>
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<P>
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1. He called him by name--<I>Abram,</I> which
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was a great honour to him, and made his
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name great, and was also a great encouragement
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and assistance to his faith. Note,
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God's good word does us good when it is
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spoken by his Spirit to us in particular, and
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brought to our hearts. The word says, <I>Ho,
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every one</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+55:1">Isa. lv. 1</A>),
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the Spirit says, <I>Ho,
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such a one.</I></P>
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<P>
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2. He cautioned him against being disquieted
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and confounded: <I>Fear not, Abram.</I>
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Abram might fear lest the four kings he had
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routed should rally again, and fall upon him
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to his ruin: "No," says God, "<I>Fear not.</I>
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Fear not their revenges, nor thy neighbour's
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envy; I will take care of thee." Note,
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(1.) Where there is great faith, yet there may be
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many fears,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+7:5">2 Cor. vii. 5</A>.
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(2.) God takes
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cognizance of his people's fears though ever
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so secret, and <I>knows their souls,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:7">Ps. xxxi. 7</A>.
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(3.) It is the will of God that his people
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should not give way to prevailing fears,
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whatever happens. Let the sinners in Sion
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be afraid, but fear not, Abram.</P>
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<P>
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3. He assured him of safety and happiness,
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that he should for ever be,
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(1.) As safe
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as God himself could keep him: <I>I am thy
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shield,</I> or, somewhat more emphatically, <I>I
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am a shield to thee,</I> present with thee, actually
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caring for thee. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+17:24">1 Chron. xvii. 24</A>.
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Not only the God of Israel, but a God
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to Israel. Note, The consideration of this,
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that God himself is, and will be, a shield to
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his people to secure them from all destructive
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evils, a shield ready to them and a shield
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round about them, should be sufficient to
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silence all their perplexing tormenting fears.
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(2.) As happy as God himself could make him:
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I will be <I>thy exceedingly great reward;</I> not only
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thy rewarder, but thy reward. Abram had generously
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refused the rewards which the king
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of Sodom offered him, and here God comes,
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and tells him he shall be no loser by it. Note,
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[1.] The rewards of believing obedience and
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self-denial are exceedingly great,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+2:9">1 Cor. ii. 9</A>.
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[2.] God himself is the chosen and promised
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felicity of holy souls--chosen in this
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world, promised in a better. He is the <I>portion
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of their inheritance and their cup.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Ge15_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge15_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge15_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge15_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge15_6"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>2 And Abram said, Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>,
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what wilt thou give me, seeing I go
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childless, and the steward of my
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house <I>is</I> this Eliezer of Damascus?
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3 And Abram said, Behold, to me
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thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one
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born in my house is mine heir.
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4 And, behold, the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
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<I>came</I> unto him, saying, This shall not
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be thine heir; but he that shall come
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<A NAME="Page100"> </A>
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forth out of thine own bowels shall
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be thine heir.
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5 And he brought
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him forth abroad, and said, Look now
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toward heaven, and tell the stars, if
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thou be able to number them: and he
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said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
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6 And he believed in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; and he
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counted it to him for righteousness.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here the assurance given to
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Abram of a numerous offspring which should
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descend from him, in which observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. Abram's repeated complaint,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>.
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This was that which gave occasion to this
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promise. The great affliction that sat heavy
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upon Abram was the want of a child; and
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the complaint of this he here <I>pours out before
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the Lord, and shows before him his trouble,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+142:2">Ps. cxlii. 2</A>.
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Note, Though we must never
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complain of God, yet we have leave to complain
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to him, and to be large and particular
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in the statement of our grievances; and it is
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some ease to a burdened spirit to open its
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case to a faithful and compassionate friend:
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such a friend God is, whose ear is always
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open. Now his complaint is four-fold:--
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1. That he had no child
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Behold, to me
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thou hast given no seed;</I> not only no son, but
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<I>no seed;</I> if he had had a daughter, from her
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the promised Messiah might have come, who
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was to be the seed of the woman; but he
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had neither son nor daughter. He seems
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to lay an emphasis on that, <I>to me.</I> His
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neighbours were full of children, his servants
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had children born in his house. "But <I>to
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me,</I>" he complains, "thou hast given none;"
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and yet God had told him he should be a
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favourite above all. Note, Those that are
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written childless must see God writing them
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so. Again, God often withholds those temporal
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comforts from his own children which
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he gives plentifully to others that are
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strangers to him.
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2. That he was never
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likely to have any, intimated in that <I>I go,</I> or
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"<I>I am going, childless,</I> going into years,
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going down the hill apace; nay, I am going
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out of the world, going the way of all the
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earth. <I>I die childless,</I>" so the LXX. "I
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leave the world, and leave no child behind
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me."
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3. That his servants were for
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the present and were likely to be to him instead
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of sons. While he lived, <I>the steward of his
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house was Eliezer of Damascus;</I> to him he
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committed the care of his family and estate,
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who might be faithful, but only as a servant,
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not as a son. When he died, <I>one born in his
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house would be his heir,</I> and would bear rule
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over all that for which he had laboured,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+2:18,19,21">Eccl. ii. 18, 19, 21</A>.
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God had already told
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him that he would make of him <I>a great nation</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:2"><I>ch.</I> xii. 2</A>),
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and his <I>seed as the dust of the
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earth</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+13:16"><I>ch.</I> xiii. 16</A>);
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but he had left him in
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doubt whether it should be his seed begotten
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or his seed adopted, by a son of his loins or
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only a son of his house. "Now, Lord,"
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says Abram, "if it be only an adopted son,
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it must be one of my servants, which will
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reflect disgrace upon the promised seed, that
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is to descend from him." Note, While promised
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mercies are delayed our unbelief and
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impatience are apt to conclude them denied.
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4. That the want of a son was so great a
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trouble to him that it took away the comfort
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of all his enjoyments: "<I>Lord, what wilt thou
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give me?</I> All is nothing to me, if I have
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not a son." Now,
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(1.) If we suppose that
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Abram looked no further than a temporal
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comfort, this complaint was culpable. God
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had, by his providence, given him some
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good things, and more by his promise; and
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yet Abram makes no account of them, because
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he has not a son. It did very ill
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become the father of the faithful to say,
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<I>What wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless,</I>
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immediately after God had said, <I>I am thy
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shield, and thy exceedingly great reward.</I>
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Note, Those do not rightly value the advantages
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of their covenant-relation to God and
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interest in him who do not think them sufficient
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to balance the want of any creature-comfort
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whatever. But,
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(2.) If we suppose that
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Abram, herein, had a eye to the promised
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seed, the importunity of his desire was very
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commendable: all was nothing to him, if he
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had not the earnest of that great blessing,
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and an assurance of his relation to the Messiah,
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of which God had already encouraged
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him to maintain the expectation. He has
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wealth, and victory, and honour; but, while
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he is kept in the dark about the main matter,
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it is all nothing to him. Note, Till we
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have some comfortable evidence of our interest
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in Christ and the new covenant, we
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should not rest satisfied with any thing else.
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"This, and the other, I have; but what will
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|
all this avail me, if I go Christless?" Yet
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thus far the complaint was culpable, that
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there was some diffidence of the promise at
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the bottom of it, and a weariness of waiting
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God's time. Note, True believers sometimes
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find it hard to reconcile God's promises
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and his providences, when they seem
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to disagree.</P>
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<P>
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II. God's gracious answer to this complaint.
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To the first part of the complaint
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>)
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God gave no immediate answer, because
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there was something of fretfulness in
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it; but, when he renews his address somewhat
|
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more calmly
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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God answered him
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graciously. Note, If we continue instant in
|
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prayer, and yet pray with a humble submission
|
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to the divine will, we shall not seek in vain.
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1. God gave him an express promise
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of a son,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
|
|
This that is born in thy
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house <I>shall not be thy heir,</I> as thou fearest,
|
|
but one that shall <I>come forth out of thy
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|
own bowels shall be thy heir.</I> Note,
|
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(1.) God makes heirs; he says, "This shall not,
|
|
and this shall;" and whatever men devise and
|
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design, in settling their estates, God's
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|
counsel shall stand.
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(2.) God is often better
|
|
to us than our own fears, and gives the
|
|
mercy we had long despaired of. 2. To
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|
<A NAME="Page101"> </A>
|
|
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|
affect him the more with this promise, he
|
|
took him out, and showed him the stars (this
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|
vision being early in the morning, before
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day), and then tells him, <I>So shall thy seed be,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
|
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(1.) So numerous; the stars seem innumerable
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to a common eye: Abram feared
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he should have no child at all, but God assured
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him that the descendants from his
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loins should be so many as not to be numbered.
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(2.) So illustrious, resembling the
|
|
stars in splendour; for to <I>them pertained the
|
|
glory,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+9:4">Rom. ix. 4</A>.
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|
Abram's seed, according
|
|
to his flesh, were like the dust of the earth
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+13:16"><I>ch.</I> xiii. 16</A>),
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|
but his spiritual seed are like
|
|
the stars of heaven, not only numerous, but
|
|
glorious, and very precious.</P>
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|
<P>
|
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|
III. Abram's firm belief of the promise
|
|
God now made him, and God's favourable
|
|
acceptance of his faith,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
|
|
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1. He <I>believed
|
|
in the Lord,</I> that is, he believed the truth of
|
|
that promise which God had now made him,
|
|
resting upon the irresistible power and the
|
|
inviolable faithfulness of him that made it.
|
|
<I>Hath he spoken, and shall he not make it
|
|
good?</I> Note, Those who would have the
|
|
comfort of the promises must mix faith with
|
|
the promises. See how the apostle magnifies
|
|
this faith of Abram, and makes it a
|
|
standing example,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+4:19-21">Rom. iv. 19-21</A>.
|
|
<I>He was not weak in faith; he staggered not at
|
|
the promise;</I> he was <I>strong in faith; he was
|
|
fully persuaded.</I> The Lord work such a
|
|
faith in every one of us! Some think that
|
|
his believing in the Lord respected, not only
|
|
the Lord promising, but the Lord promised,
|
|
the Lord Jesus, the Mediator of the new
|
|
covenant. He <I>believed in him,</I> that is, received
|
|
and embraced the divine revelation
|
|
concerning him, and <I>rejoiced to see his day,</I>
|
|
though at so great a distance,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+8:56">John viii. 56</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. <I>God counted it to him for righteousness;</I>
|
|
that is, upon the score of this he was accepted
|
|
of God, and, as the rest of the patriarchs,
|
|
by faith he <I>obtained witness that he
|
|
was righteous,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:4">Heb. xi. 4</A>.
|
|
This is urged in
|
|
the New Testament to prove that we are
|
|
justified by faith without the works of the
|
|
law
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+4:4,Ga+3:6">Rom. iv. 3; Gal. iii. 6</A>);
|
|
for Abram was
|
|
so justified while he was yet uncircumcised.
|
|
If Abram, that was so rich in good works,
|
|
was not justified by them, but by his faith,
|
|
much less can we, that are so poor in them.
|
|
This faith, which was imputed to Abram for
|
|
righteousness, had lately struggled with unbelief
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
|
|
and, coming off a conqueror, it
|
|
was thus crowned, thus honoured. Note,
|
|
A fiducial practical acceptance of, and
|
|
dependence upon, God's promise of grace
|
|
and glory, in and through Christ, is that
|
|
which, according to the tenour of the new
|
|
covenant, gives us a right to all the blessings
|
|
contained in that promise. All believers are
|
|
justified as Abram was, and it was his faith
|
|
that was <I>counted to him for righteousness.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_7"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_8"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_9"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_11"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>7 And he said unto him, I <I>am</I> the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> that brought thee out of Ur of
|
|
the Chaldees, to give thee this land
|
|
to inherit it.
|
|
8 And he said, Lord
|
|
G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>, whereby shall I know that
|
|
I shall inherit it?
|
|
9 And he said
|
|
unto him, Take me an heifer of three
|
|
years old, and a she goat of three
|
|
years old, and a ram of three years
|
|
old, and a turtledove, and a young
|
|
pigeon.
|
|
10 And he took unto him
|
|
all these, and divided them in the
|
|
midst, and laid each piece one against
|
|
another: but the birds divided he not.
|
|
11 And when the fowls came down
|
|
upon the carcases, Abram drove them
|
|
away.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here the assurance given to
|
|
Abram of the land of Canaan for an inheritance.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. God declares his purpose concerning it,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
|
|
Observe here, Abram made no complaint
|
|
in this matter, as he had done for the
|
|
want of a child. Note, Those that are sure
|
|
of an interest in the promised seed will see
|
|
no reason to doubt of a title to the promised
|
|
land. If Christ is ours, heaven is
|
|
ours. Observe again, When he believed
|
|
the former promise
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>)
|
|
then God explained
|
|
and ratified this to him. Note, To him that
|
|
has (improves what he has) more shall be
|
|
given. Three things God here reminds
|
|
Abram of, for his encouragement concerning
|
|
the promise of this good land:--</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. What God is in himself: <I>I am the Lord</I>
|
|
Jehovah; and therefore,
|
|
|
|
(1.) "I may give it
|
|
to thee, for I am sovereign Lord of all, and
|
|
have a right to dispose of the whole earth."
|
|
|
|
(2.) "I can give it to thee, whatever opposition
|
|
may be made, though by the sons of
|
|
Anak." God never promises more than he
|
|
is able to perform, as men often do.
|
|
|
|
(3.) "I
|
|
will make good my promise to thee." Jehovah
|
|
is <I>not a man that he should lie.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. What he had done for Abram. He had
|
|
brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, <I>out
|
|
of the fire of the Chaldees,</I> so some, that is,
|
|
either from their idolatries (for the Chaldeans
|
|
worshipped the fire), or from their
|
|
persecutions. The Jewish writers have a
|
|
tradition that Abram was cast into a fiery
|
|
furnace for refusing to worship idols, and
|
|
was miraculously delivered. It is rather a
|
|
place of that name. Thence God brought
|
|
him by an effectual call, brought him with a
|
|
gracious violence, snatched him as a brand
|
|
out of the burning. This was,
|
|
|
|
(1.) A special
|
|
mercy: "I brought thee, and left others,
|
|
thousands, to perish there." <I>God called him
|
|
alone,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+51:2">Isa. li. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) A spiritual mercy, a
|
|
mercy to his soul, a deliverance from sin and
|
|
its fatal consequences. If God save our
|
|
souls, we shall want nothing that is good for
|
|
us.
|
|
|
|
(3.) A fresh mercy, lately bestowed,
|
|
and therefore should be the more affecting,
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page102"> </A>
|
|
|
|
as that in the preface to the commandments,
|
|
<I>I am the Lord that brought thee out of Egypt</I>
|
|
lately.
|
|
|
|
(4.) A foundation mercy, the beginning
|
|
of mercy, peculiar mercy to Abram,
|
|
and therefore a pledge and earnest of further
|
|
mercy,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+66:9">Isa. lxvi. 9</A>.
|
|
Observe how God speaks
|
|
of it as that which he gloried in: <I>I am the
|
|
Lord that brought thee out.</I> He glories in it
|
|
as an act both of power and grace; compare
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+29:22">Isa. xxix. 22</A>,
|
|
where he glories in it, long
|
|
afterwards. <I>Thus saith the Lord who redeemed</I>
|
|
Abraham, redeemed him from sin.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. What he intended to do yet further for
|
|
him: "<I>I brought thee</I> hither, on purpose <I>to
|
|
give thee this land to inherit it,</I> not only to
|
|
possess it, but to possess it as an inheritance,
|
|
which is the sweetest and surest title."
|
|
Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The providence of God has secret
|
|
but gracious designs in all its various dispensations
|
|
towards good people; we cannot conceive
|
|
the projects of Providence, till the event
|
|
shows them in all their mercy and glory.
|
|
(2.) The great thing God designs in all his
|
|
dealings with his people is to bring them
|
|
safely to heaven. They are <I>chosen to salvation</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+2:13">2 Thess. ii. 13</A>),
|
|
<I>called to the kingdom</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Th+2:12">1 Thess. ii. 12</A>),
|
|
<I>begotten to the inheritance</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:3,4">1 Pet. i. 3, 4</A>),
|
|
and by all <I>made meet</I> for it,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Col+1:12,13,2Co+4:17">Col. i. 12, 13; 2 Cor. iv. 17</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Abram desires a sign: <I>Whereby shall
|
|
I know that I shall inherit it?</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
|
|
This did not proceed from distrust of God's power
|
|
or promise, as that of Zacharias; but he
|
|
desired this,
|
|
|
|
1. For the strengthening and
|
|
confirming of his own faith; he believed
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
|
|
but here he prays, <I>Lord, help me</I>
|
|
against <I>my unbelief. Now</I> he believed, but
|
|
he desired a sign to be treasured up against
|
|
an hour of temptation, not knowing how his
|
|
faith might, by some event or other, be
|
|
shocked and tried. Note, We all need, and
|
|
should desire, helps from heaven for the confirming
|
|
of our faith, and should improve
|
|
sacraments, which are instituted signs, for
|
|
that purpose. See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+6:36-40,2Ki+20:8-10,Isa+7:11-12">Judg. vi. 36-40; 2 Kings xx. 8-10; Isa. vii. 11, 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. For
|
|
the ratifying of the promise to his posterity,
|
|
that they also might be brought to believe it.
|
|
Note, Those that are satisfied themselves
|
|
should desire that others also may be satisfied
|
|
of the truth of God's promises. John
|
|
sent his disciples to Christ, not so much for
|
|
his own satisfaction as for theirs,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+11:2,3">Matt. xi. 2, 3</A>.
|
|
Canaan was a type of heaven. Note,
|
|
It is a very desirable thing to know that we
|
|
shall inherit the heavenly Canaan, that is,
|
|
to be confirmed in our belief of the truth of
|
|
that happiness, and to have the evidences
|
|
of our title to it more and more cleared up
|
|
to us.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. God directs Abram to make preparations
|
|
for a sacrifice, intending by that to
|
|
give him a sign, and Abram makes preparation
|
|
accordingly
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:9-11"><I>v.</I> 9-11</A>):
|
|
<I>Take me a
|
|
heifer,</I> &c. Perhaps Abram expected some
|
|
extraordinary sign from heaven; but God
|
|
gives him a sign upon a sacrifice. Note,
|
|
Those that would receive the assurances of
|
|
God's favour, and would have their faith
|
|
confirmed, must attend instituted ordinances,
|
|
and expect to meet with God in them. Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. God appointed that each of the
|
|
beasts used for this service should be three
|
|
years old, because then they were at their
|
|
full growth and strength: God must be
|
|
served with the best we have, for he is the
|
|
best.
|
|
|
|
2. We do not read that God gave Abram
|
|
particular directions how to manage
|
|
these beasts and fowls, knowing that he
|
|
was so well versed in the law and custom of
|
|
sacrifices that he needed not any particular
|
|
directions; or perhaps instructions were
|
|
given him, which he carefully observed,
|
|
thought they are not recorded: at least it was
|
|
intimated to him that they must be prepared
|
|
for the solemnity of ratifying a covenant;
|
|
and he well knew the manner of
|
|
preparing them.
|
|
|
|
3. Abram took as God
|
|
appointed him, though as yet he knew not
|
|
how these things should become a sign to
|
|
him. This was not the first instance of
|
|
Abram's implicit obedience. He divided
|
|
the beasts in the midst, according to the
|
|
ceremony used in confirming covenants,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+34:18,19">Jer. xxxiv. 18, 19</A>,
|
|
where it is said, They
|
|
cut <I>the calf in twain, and passed between the
|
|
parts.</I>
|
|
|
|
4. Abram, having prepared according
|
|
to God's appointment, now set himself
|
|
to wait for the sign God might give him by
|
|
these, like the prophet upon his watch-tower,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hab+2:1">Hab. ii. 1</A>.
|
|
While God's appearing to own
|
|
his sacrifice was deferred, Abram continued
|
|
waiting, and his expectations were raised by
|
|
the delay; when <I>the fowls came down upon
|
|
the carcases</I> to prey upon them, as common
|
|
and neglected things, <I>Abram drove them
|
|
away</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
believing that the vision would,
|
|
at the end, <I>speak, and not lie.</I> Note, A very
|
|
watchful eye must be kept upon our spiritual
|
|
sacrifices, that nothing be suffered to prey
|
|
upon them and render them unfit for God's
|
|
acceptance. When vain thoughts, like these
|
|
fowls, come down upon our sacrifices, we
|
|
must drive them away, and not suffer them
|
|
to lodge within us, but <I>attend on God without
|
|
distraction.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_16"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>12 And when the sun was going
|
|
down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram;
|
|
and, lo, an horror of great darkness
|
|
fell upon him.
|
|
13 And he said unto
|
|
Abram, Know of a surety that thy
|
|
seed shall be a stranger in a land <I>that
|
|
is</I> not theirs, and shall serve them;
|
|
and they shall afflict them four hundred
|
|
years;
|
|
14 And also that nation,
|
|
whom they shall serve, will I
|
|
judge: and afterward shall they come
|
|
out with great substance.
|
|
15 And
|
|
thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace;
|
|
thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
|
|
16 But in the fourth generation
|
|
they shall come hither again: for the
|
|
iniquity of the Amorites <I>is</I> not yet full.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We have here a full and particular discovery
|
|
made to Abram of God's purposes
|
|
concerning his seed. Observe,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The time when God came to him with
|
|
this discovery: <I>When the sun was going down,</I>
|
|
or <I>declining,</I> about the time of the <I>evening
|
|
oblation,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+18:36,Da+9:21">1 Kings xviii. 36; Dan. ix. 21</A>.
|
|
Early in the morning, before day, while the
|
|
stars were yet to be seen, God had given
|
|
him orders concerning the sacrifices
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
|
|
and we may suppose it was, at least, his
|
|
morning's work to prepare them and set
|
|
them in order; when he had done this, he
|
|
abode by them, praying and waiting till
|
|
towards evening. Note, God often keeps
|
|
his people long in expectation of the comforts
|
|
he designs them, for the confirmation
|
|
of their faith; but though the answers of
|
|
prayer, and the performance of promises,
|
|
come slowly, yet they come surely. <I>At
|
|
evening time it shall be light.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The preparatives for this discovery.
|
|
|
|
1. <I>A deep sleep fell upon Abram,</I> not a common
|
|
sleep through weariness or carelessness, but
|
|
a divine ecstasy, like that which the <I>Lord
|
|
God caused to fall upon Adam</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+2:21"><I>ch.</I> ii. 21</A>),
|
|
that, being hereby wholly taken off from the
|
|
view of things sensible, he might be wholly
|
|
taken up with the contemplation of things
|
|
spiritual. The doors of the body were locked
|
|
up, that the soul might be private and retired,
|
|
and might act the more freely and
|
|
like itself.
|
|
|
|
2. With this sleep, <I>a horror of
|
|
great darkness fell upon him.</I> How sudden a
|
|
change! But just before we had him solacing
|
|
himself in the comforts of God's
|
|
covenant, and in communion with him;
|
|
and here a <I>horror of great darkness</I> falls upon
|
|
him. Note, The children of light do not
|
|
always walk in the light, but sometimes
|
|
clouds and darkness are round about them.
|
|
This great darkness, which brought horror
|
|
with it, was designed,
|
|
|
|
(1.) To strike an awe
|
|
upon the spirit of Abram, and to possess
|
|
him with a holy reverence, that the familiarity
|
|
to which God was pleased to admit
|
|
him might not breed contempt. Note, Holy
|
|
fear prepares the soul for holy joy; the
|
|
spirit of bondage makes way for the spirit of
|
|
adoption. God wounds first, and then heals;
|
|
humbles first, and then lifts up,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+6:5,6">Isa. vi. 5, 6</A>,
|
|
&c.
|
|
|
|
(2.) To be a specimen of the methods
|
|
of God's dealings with his seed. They must
|
|
first be in the horror and darkness of Egyptian
|
|
slavery, and then enter with joy into the
|
|
good land; and therefore he must have the
|
|
foretaste of their sufferings, before he had
|
|
the foresight of their happiness.
|
|
|
|
(3.) To be
|
|
an indication of the nature of that covenant
|
|
of peculiarity which God was now about
|
|
to make with Abram. The Old-Testament
|
|
dispensation, which was founded on that
|
|
covenant, was a dispensation,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Of darkness
|
|
and obscurity,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+3:13,14">2 Cor. iii. 13, 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Of dread and horror,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:18">Heb. xii. 18</A>,
|
|
&c.
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The prediction itself. Several things
|
|
are here foretold.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The suffering state of Abram's seed for a long time,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
Let not Abram flatter
|
|
himself with the hopes of nothing but
|
|
honour and prosperity in his family; no, he
|
|
must know, of a surety, that which he was
|
|
loth to believe, that the promised seed should
|
|
be a persecuted seed. Note, God sends the
|
|
worst first; we must first suffer, and then
|
|
reign. He also lets us know the worst before
|
|
it comes, that when it comes it may not be a
|
|
surprise to us,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+16:4">John xvi. 4</A>.
|
|
Now we have here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) The particulars of their sufferings.
|
|
|
|
[1.] They shall be strangers; so they were,
|
|
first in Canaan
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+105:12">Ps. cv. 12</A>)
|
|
and afterwards
|
|
in Egypt; before they were lords of
|
|
their own land they were strangers in a
|
|
strange land. The inconveniences of an unsettled
|
|
state make a happy settlement the
|
|
more welcome. Thus the heirs of heaven
|
|
are first strangers on earth, a land that is
|
|
not theirs.
|
|
|
|
[2.] They shall be servants; so
|
|
they were to the Egyptians,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+1:13">Exod. i. 13</A>.
|
|
See how that which was the doom of the
|
|
Canaanites
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:25"><I>ch.</I> ix. 25</A>),
|
|
proves the distress of
|
|
Abram's seed: they are made to serve, but
|
|
with this difference, the Canaanites serve
|
|
under a curse, the Hebrews under a blessing;
|
|
and the <I>upright shall have dominion in
|
|
the morning,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:14">Ps. xlix. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
[3.] They shall
|
|
be suffers. Those whom they serve shall
|
|
afflict them; see
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+1:11">Exod. i. 11</A>.
|
|
Note, Those
|
|
that are blessed and beloved of God are
|
|
often sorely afflicted by wicked men; and
|
|
God foresees it, and takes cognizance of it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The continuance of their sufferings--<I>four
|
|
hundred years.</I> This persecution began
|
|
with mocking, when Ishmael, the son of an
|
|
Egyptian, persecuted Isaac, who was <I>born
|
|
after the Spirit,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+21:9,Gal+4:29"><I>ch.</I> xxi. 9; Gal. iv. 29</A>.
|
|
It continued in loathing; for it was an abomination
|
|
to the Egyptians to eat bread with
|
|
the Hebrews,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+43:32"><I>ch.</I> xliii. 32</A>;
|
|
and it came at
|
|
last to murder, the basest of murders, that
|
|
of their new-born children; so that, more
|
|
or less, it continued 400 years, though, in
|
|
extremity, not so many. This was a long
|
|
time, but a limited time.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The judgment of the enemies of
|
|
Abram's seed: <I>That nation whom they shall
|
|
serve,</I> even the Egyptians, <I>will I judge,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
This points at the plagues of Egypt,
|
|
by which God not only constrained the
|
|
Egyptians to release Israel, but punished
|
|
them for all the hardships they had put upon
|
|
them. Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Though God may suffer
|
|
persecutors and oppressors to trample upon
|
|
his people a great while, yet he will certainly
|
|
reckon with them at last; for his <I>day is
|
|
coming,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:12,13">Ps. xxxvii. 12, 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The punishing
|
|
of persecutors is the judging of them:
|
|
it is a righteous thing with God, and a particular
|
|
act of justice, to recompense tribulations
|
|
to those that trouble his people. The
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page104"> </A>
|
|
|
|
judging of the church's enemies is God's
|
|
work: <I>I will judge.</I> God can do it, for he is
|
|
the Lord; he will do it, for he is his people's
|
|
God, and he has said, <I>Vengeance is mine, I
|
|
will repay.</I> To him therefore we must leave
|
|
it, to be done in his way and time.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. The deliverance of Abram's seed out of
|
|
Egypt. That great event is here foretold:
|
|
<I>Afterwards shall they come out with great
|
|
substance.</I> It is here promised,
|
|
|
|
(1.) That
|
|
they should be enlarged: <I>Afterwards they
|
|
shall come out;</I> that is, either after they have
|
|
been afflicted 400 years, when the days of
|
|
their servitude are fulfilled, or after the
|
|
Egyptians are judged and plagued, then they
|
|
may expect deliverance. Note, The destruction
|
|
of oppressors is the redemption of the
|
|
oppressed; they will not let God's people go
|
|
till they are forced to it.
|
|
|
|
(2.) That they
|
|
should be enriched: <I>They shall come out with
|
|
great substance;</I> this was fulfilled,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+12:35,36">Exod. xii. 35, 36</A>.
|
|
God took care they should have, not
|
|
only a good land to go to, but a good stock
|
|
to carry with them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. Their happy settlement in Canaan,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
They shall not only come out of Egypt, but
|
|
<I>they shall come hither again,</I> hither to the
|
|
land of Canaan, wherein thou now art. The
|
|
discontinuance of their possession shall be
|
|
no defeasance of their right: we must not
|
|
reckon those comforts lost for ever that are
|
|
intermitted for a time. The reason why they
|
|
must not have the land of promise in possession
|
|
till the fourth generation was because <I>the
|
|
iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full.</I>
|
|
Israel cannot be possessed of Canaan till the
|
|
Amorites be dispossessed; and they are not
|
|
yet ripe for ruin. The righteous God has
|
|
determined that they shall not be cut off till
|
|
they have persisted in sin so long, and arrived
|
|
at such a pitch of wickedness, that there
|
|
may appear some equitable proportion between
|
|
their sin and their ruin; and therefore,
|
|
till it come to that, the seed of Abram
|
|
must be kept out of possession. Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The measure of sin fills gradually. Those
|
|
that continue impenitent in wicked ways are
|
|
treasuring up unto themselves wrath.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Some people's measure of sin fills slowly.
|
|
The Sodomites, who were sinners before the
|
|
Lord exceedingly, soon filled their measure;
|
|
so did the Jews, who were, in profession,
|
|
near to God. But the iniquity of the Amorites
|
|
was long in the filling up.
|
|
|
|
(3.) That
|
|
this is the reason of the prosperity of wicked
|
|
people; the measure of their sins is not yet
|
|
full. The wicked <I>live, become old, and are
|
|
mighty in power,</I> while God is <I>laying up their
|
|
iniquity for their children,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+21:7,19">Job xxi. 7, 19</A>.
|
|
See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+23:32,De+32:34">Matt. xxiii. 32; Deut. xxxii. 34</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
5. Abram's peaceful quiet death and
|
|
burial, before these things should come to
|
|
pass,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
As he should not live to see
|
|
that good land in the possession of his family,
|
|
but must die, as he lived, a stranger in it,
|
|
so, to balance this, he should not live to see
|
|
the troubles that should come upon his seed,
|
|
much less to share in them. This is promised
|
|
to Josiah,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+22:20">2 Kings xxii. 20</A>.
|
|
Note,
|
|
Good men are sometimes greatly favoured
|
|
by being <I>taken away from the evil to come,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+57:1">Isa. lvii. 1</A>.
|
|
Let this satisfy Abram, that, for his part,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) He shall <I>go to his fathers in peace.</I>
|
|
Note,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Even the friends and favourites
|
|
of Heaven are not exempted from the stroke
|
|
of death. Are we greater than our father
|
|
Abram, who is dead?
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+8:53">John viii. 53</A>.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Good men die willingly; they are not fetched,
|
|
they are not forced, but they go; their soul is
|
|
not required, as the rich fool's
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+12:20">Luke xii. 20</A>),
|
|
but cheerfully resigned: they would not live
|
|
always.
|
|
|
|
[3.] At death we go to our fathers,
|
|
to all our fathers that have gone before us to
|
|
the state of the dead
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+21:32,33">Job xxi. 32, 33</A>),
|
|
to our
|
|
godly fathers that have gone before us to
|
|
the state of the blessed,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:23">Heb. xii. 23</A>.
|
|
The former thought helps to take off the terror of
|
|
death, the latter puts comfort into it.
|
|
|
|
[4.] Whenever a godly man dies, he dies in peace.
|
|
If the way be piety, the end is peace,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:37">Ps. xxxvii. 37</A>.
|
|
Outward peace, to the last, is
|
|
promised to Abram, peace and truth is his
|
|
days, whatever should come afterwards
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+20:19">2 Kings xx. 19</A>);
|
|
peace with God, and everlasting
|
|
peace, are sure to all the seed.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) He shall be <I>buried in a good old age.</I>
|
|
Perhaps mention is made of his burial here,
|
|
where the land of Canaan is promised him,
|
|
because a burying place was the first possession
|
|
he had in it. He shall not only die in
|
|
peace, but die in honour, die, and be buried
|
|
decently; not only die in peace, but die in
|
|
season,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+5:26">Job v. 26</A>.
|
|
Note,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Old age is a
|
|
blessing. It is promised in the fifth commandment;
|
|
it is pleasing to nature; and it affords a
|
|
great opportunity for usefulness.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Especially, if it be a good old age. Theirs may
|
|
be called a good old age, <I>First,</I> That are old
|
|
and healthful, not loaded with such distempers
|
|
as make them weary of life. <I>Secondly,</I>
|
|
That are old and holy, old disciples
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+21:16">Acts xxi. 16</A>),
|
|
whose hoary head is <I>found in
|
|
the way of righteousness</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+16:31">Prov. xvi. 31</A>),
|
|
old and useful, old and exemplary for godliness;
|
|
theirs is indeed a good old age.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge15_21"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>17 And it came to pass, that, when
|
|
the sun went down, and it was dark,
|
|
behold a smoking furnace, and a
|
|
burning lamp that passed between
|
|
those pieces.
|
|
18 In the same day the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> made a covenant with Abram,
|
|
saying, Unto thy seed have I given
|
|
this land, from the river of Egypt unto
|
|
the great river, the river Euphrates:
|
|
19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites,
|
|
and the Kadmonites,
|
|
20 And the
|
|
Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the
|
|
Rephaims,
|
|
21 And the Amorites, and
|
|
the Canaanites, and the Girgashites,
|
|
and the Jebusites.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is, I. The covenant ratified
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>);
|
|
the sign which Abram desired was given, at
|
|
length, when the sun had gone down, so
|
|
that it was dark; for that was a dark dispensation.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. The <I>smoking furnace</I> signified the affliction
|
|
of his seed in Egypt. They were there
|
|
in the <I>iron furnace</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+4:20">Deut. iv. 20</A>),
|
|
the <I>furnace
|
|
of affliction</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+48:10">Isa. xlviii. 10</A>),
|
|
labouring
|
|
in the very fire. They were there in the
|
|
smoke, their eyes darkened, that they could
|
|
not see to the end of their troubles, and
|
|
themselves at a loss to conceive what God
|
|
would do with them. Clouds and darkness
|
|
were round about them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The <I>burning lamp</I> denotes comfort in
|
|
this affliction; and this God showed to
|
|
Abram, at the same time that he showed
|
|
him the <I>smoking furnace.</I>
|
|
|
|
(1.) Light denotes
|
|
deliverance out of the furnace; their salvation
|
|
was as <I>a lamp that burneth,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+62:1">Isa. lxii. 1</A>.
|
|
When God came down to deliver them, he
|
|
appeared in a bush that <I>burned, and was not
|
|
consumed,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+3:2">Exod. iii. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The lamp denotes
|
|
direction in the smoke. God's word
|
|
was their lamp: this word to Abram was so,
|
|
it was a light shining in a dark place. Perhaps
|
|
this burning lamp prefigured the pillar
|
|
of cloud and fire, which led them out of
|
|
Egypt, in which God was.
|
|
|
|
(3.) The burning
|
|
lamp denotes the destruction of their enemies
|
|
who kept them so long in the furnace. See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:6">Zech. xii. 6</A>.
|
|
The same cloud that enlightened
|
|
the Israelites troubled and burned the Egyptians.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. The passing of these between the
|
|
pieces was the confirming of the covenant
|
|
God now made with him, that he might have
|
|
strong consolation, being fully persuaded
|
|
that what God promised he would certainly
|
|
perform. It is probable that the furnace
|
|
and lamp, which passed between the pieces,
|
|
burnt and consumed them, and so completed
|
|
the sacrifice, and testified God's acceptance
|
|
of it, as of Gideon's
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+6:21">Judg. vi. 21</A>),
|
|
Manoah's
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+13:19,20">Judg. xiii. 19, 20</A>),
|
|
and Solomon's,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+7:1">2 Chron. vii. 1</A>.
|
|
So it intimates,
|
|
|
|
(1.) That God's covenants
|
|
with man are made by sacrifice
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+50:5">Ps. l. 5</A>),
|
|
by Christ, the great sacrifice: no agreement
|
|
without atonement.
|
|
|
|
(2.) God's acceptance of
|
|
our spiritual sacrifices is a token for good
|
|
and an earnest of further favours. See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+13:23">Judg. xiii. 23</A>.
|
|
And by this we may know that he
|
|
accepts our sacrifices if he kindle in our
|
|
souls a holy fire of pious and devout affections
|
|
in them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The covenant repeated and explained:
|
|
<I>In that same day,</I> that day never to be forgotten,
|
|
<I>the Lord made a covenant with Abram,</I>
|
|
that is, gave a promise to Abram, saying, <I>Unto
|
|
thy seed have I given this land,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
Here is,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. A rehearsal of the grant. He had said
|
|
before, <I>To thy seed will I give this land,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:7,Ge+13:15"><I>ch.</I> xii. 7; xiii. 15</A>.
|
|
But here he says, <I>I have
|
|
given it;</I> that is,
|
|
|
|
(1.) I have given the promise
|
|
of it, the charter is sealed and delivered,
|
|
and cannot be disannulled. Note, God's
|
|
promises are God's gifts, and are so to be accounted.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The possession is as sure, in
|
|
due time, as if it were now actually delivered
|
|
to them. What God has promised is as sure
|
|
as if it were already done; hence, it is said,
|
|
<I>He that believes hath everlasting life</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+3:36">John iii. 36</A>),
|
|
for he shall as surely go to heaven as
|
|
if he were there already.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. A recital of the particulars granted,
|
|
such as is usual in the grants of lands. He
|
|
specifies the boundaries of the land intended
|
|
hereby to be granted,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
And then, for
|
|
the greater certainty, as is usual in such
|
|
cases, he mentions in whose tenure and occupation
|
|
these lands now were. Ten several
|
|
nations, or tribes, are here spoken of
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+15:19-21"><I>v.</I> 19-21</A>)
|
|
that must be cast out, to make
|
|
room for the <I>seed of Abram.</I> They were not
|
|
possessed of all these countries when God
|
|
brought them into Canaan. The bounds are
|
|
fixed much narrower,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+34:2-12">Num. xxxiv. 2, 3</A>.
|
|
&c. But,
|
|
|
|
(1.) In David's time, and Solomon's,
|
|
their jurisdiction extended to the utmost of
|
|
these limits,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+9:26">2 Chron. ix. 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It was
|
|
their own fault that they were not sooner
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and longer in possession of all these territories.
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They forfeited their right by their
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sins, and by their own sloth and cowardice
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kept themselves out of possession.
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(3.) The
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land granted is here described in its utmost
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extent because it was to be a type of the
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heavenly inheritance, where there is room
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enough: in our father's house are many
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mansions. The present occupants are named,
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because their number, and strength, and
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long prescription, should be no hindrance to
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the accomplishment of this promise in its
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season, and to magnify God's love to Abram
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and his seed, in giving to that one nation
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the possessions of many nations, so precious
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were they in his sight, and so honourable,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+43:4">Isa. xliii. 4</A>.</P>
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