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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Genesis, Chapter XII].</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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[<A HREF="MHC01011.HTM">Previous</A>]
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[<A HREF="MHC01013.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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</TD></TR></TABLE>
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<HR>
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<A NAME="Page83"> </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. XII.</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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The pedigree and family of Abram we had an account of in the
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foregoing chapter; here the Holy Ghost enters upon his story, and
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henceforward Abram and his seed are almost the only subject of
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the sacred history. In this chapter we have,
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I. God's call of
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Abram to the land of Canaan,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
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II. Abram's obedience
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to this call,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:4,5">ver. 4, 5</A>.
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III. His welcome to the land of Canaan,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:6-9">ver. 6-9</A>.
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IV. His journey to Egypt, with an account of what
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happened to him there. Abram's flight and fault,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:10-13">ver. 10-13</A>.
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Sarai's danger and deliverance,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:14-20">ver. 14-20</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ge12_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge12_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ge12_3"> </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>The Call of Abram.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1921.</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 Now the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> had said unto
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Abram, Get thee out of thy
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country, and from thy kindred, and
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from thy father's house, unto a land
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that I will show thee:
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2 And I will
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make of thee a great nation, and I
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will bless thee, and make thy name
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great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
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3 And I will bless them that bless
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thee, and curse him that curseth
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thee: and in thee shall all families of
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the earth be blessed.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here the call by which Abram was
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removed out of the land of his nativity into
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the land of promise, which was designed
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both to try his faith and obedience and also
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to separate him and set him apart for God,
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and for special services and favours which
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were further designed. The circumstances
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of this call we may be somewhat helped to
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the knowledge of from Stephen's speech,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+7:2">Acts vii. 2</A>,
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where we are told,
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1. That the
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God of glory appeared to him to give him
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this call, appeared in such displays of his
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glory as left Abram no room to doubt the
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divine authority of this call. God spoke to
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him afterwards in divers manners; but this
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first time, when the correspondence was to
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be settled, he appeared to him as <I>the God of
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glory,</I> and spoke to him.
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2. That this call
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was given him in Mesopotamia, before he
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dwelt in Charran; therefore we rightly read
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it, <I>The Lord</I> had <I>said unto Abram,</I> namely,
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in Ur of the Chaldees; and, in obedience to
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this call, as Stephen further relates the story
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+7:4">Acts vii. 4</A>),
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<I>he came out of the land of the
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Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran, or Haran,
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about five years, and thence, when his father
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was dead,</I> by a fresh command, pursuant to
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the former, God removed him into the land
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of Canaan. Some think that Haran was in
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Chaldea, and so was still a part of Abram's
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country, or that Abram, having staid there
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five years, began to call it his country, and
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to take root there, till God let him know this
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was not the place he was intended for. Note,
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If God loves us, and has mercy in store for
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us, he will not suffer us to take up our rest
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any where short of Canaan, but will graciously
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repeat his calls, till the good work
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begun be performed, and our souls repose in
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<A NAME="Page84"> </A>
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God only. In the call itself we have a
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precept and a promise.</P>
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<P>
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I. A trying precept: <I>Get thee out of thy
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country,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Now,</P>
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<P>
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1. By this precept he was tried whether
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he loved his native soil and dearest friends,
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and whether he could willingly leave all, to
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go along with God. His country had become
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idolatrous, his kindred and his father's house
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were a constant temptation to him, and he
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could not continue with them without danger
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of being infected by them; therefore
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<I>Get thee out,</I> <B><I>lk-lk</I></B>--<I>Vade tibi, Get thee gone,</I>
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with all speed, <I>escape for thy life, look not behind
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thee,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+19:17"><I>ch.</I> xix. 17</A>.
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Note, Those that are in a
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sinful state are concerned to make all possible
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haste out of it. <I>Get out for thyself</I> (so some
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read it), that is, for thy own good. Note,
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Those who leave their sins, and turn to God,
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will themselves be unspeakable gainers by the
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change,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+9:12">Prov. ix. 12</A>.
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This command which
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God gave to Abram is much the same with
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the gospel call by which all the spiritual seed
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of faithful Abram are brought into covenant
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with God. For,
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(1.) Natural affection must
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give way to divine grace. Our country is
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dear to us, our kindred dearer, and our
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father's house dearest of all; and yet they
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must all be hated
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+14:26">Luke xiv. 26</A>),
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that is, we
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must love them less than Christ, hate them
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in comparison with him, and, whenever any
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of these come in competition with him, they
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must be postponed, and the preference given
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to the will and honour of the Lord Jesus.
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(2.) Sin, and all the occasions of it, must be
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forsaken, and particularly bad company; we
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must abandon all the idols of iniquity which
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have been set up in our hearts, and get out
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of the way of temptation, plucking out even
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a right eye that leads us to sin
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+5:29">Matt. v. 29</A>),
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willingly parting with that which is dearest
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to us, when we cannot keep it without hazard
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of our integrity. Those that resolve to keep
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the commandments of God must quit the
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society of evil doers,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:115,Ac+2:40">Ps. cxix. 115; Acts ii. 40</A>.
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(3.) The world, and all our enjoyments
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in it, must be looked upon with a holy indifference
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and contempt; we must no longer
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look upon it as our country, or home, but as
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our inn, and must accordingly sit loose to it
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and live above it, get out of it in affection.</P>
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<P>
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2. By this precept he was tried whether
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he could trust God further than he saw him;
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for he must leave his own country, to go to a
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<I>land that God would show him.</I> He does not
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say, "It is a land that I will give thee," but
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merely, "a land that I will show thee." Nor
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does he tell him what land it was, nor what
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kind of land; but he must follow God with
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an implicit faith, and take God's word for it,
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in the general, though he had no particular
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securities given him that he should be no
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loser by leaving his country, to follow God.
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Note, Those that will deal with God must
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deal upon trust; we must quit the things
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that are seen for things that are not seen,
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and submit to the sufferings of this present
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time in hopes of a glory that is yet to be
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revealed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+8:18">Rom. viii. 18</A>);
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for <I>it doth not yet
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appear what we shall be</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+3:2">1 John iii. 2</A>),
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any more
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than it did to Abram, when God called him to
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a land he would show him, so teaching him to
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live in a continual dependence upon his
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direction, and with his eye ever towards him.</P>
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<P>
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II. Here is an encouraging promise, nay,
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it is a complication of promises, many,
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and exceedingly great and precious. Note, All
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God's precepts are attended with promises to
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the obedient. When he makes himself
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known also as a rewarder: if we obey the
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command, God will not fail to perform the
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promise. Here are six promises:--</P>
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<P>
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1. <I>I will make of thee a great nation.</I> When
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God took him from his own people, he promised
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to make him the head of another; he
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cut him off from being the branch of a wild
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olive, to make him the root of a good olive.
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This promise was,
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(1.) A great relief to
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Abram's burden; for he had now no child.
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Note, God knows how to suit his favours to
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the wants and necessities of his children.
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He that has a plaster for every sore will provide
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one for that first which is most painful.
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(2.) A great trial to Abram's faith; for his
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wife had been long barren, so that, if he
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believe, it must be against hope, and his faith
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must build purely upon that power which
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<I>can out of stones raise up children unto Abraham,</I>
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and make them a great nation. Note,
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[1.] God makes nations: by him they are
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<I>born at once</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+66:8">Isa. lxvi. 8</A>),
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and he speaks, to
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build and plant them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+18:9">Jer. xviii. 9</A>.
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And,
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[2.] If a nation be made great in wealth
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and power, it is God that makes it great.
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[3.] God can raise great nations out of dry
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ground, and can make <I>a little one to be a
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thousand.</I></P>
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<P>
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2. <I>I will bless thee,</I> either particularly with
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the blessing of fruitfulness and increase, as
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he had blessed Adam and Noah, or, in general,
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"<I>I will bless thee</I> with all manner of
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blessings, both of the upper and the nether
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springs. Leave thy father's house, and I
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will give thee a father's blessing, better than
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that of they progenitors." Note, Obedient
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believers will be sure to inherit the blessing.</P>
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<P>
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3. <I>I will make thy name great.</I> By deserting
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his country, he lost his name there.
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"Care not for that," says God, "but trust
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me, and I will make thee a greater name
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than ever thou couldst have had there."
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Having no child, he feared he should have
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no name; but God will make him a great
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nation, and so make him a great name.
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Note,
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(1.) God is the fountain of honour,
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and from him promotion comes,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+2:8">1 Sam. ii. 8</A>.
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(2.) The name of obedient believers shall
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certainly be celebrated and made great. The
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best report is that which the elders obtained
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by faith,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:2">Heb. xi. 2</A>.</P>
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<P>
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4. <I>Thou shalt be a blessing;</I> that is, (1.)
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"Thy happiness shall be a sample of happiness,
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so that those who would bless their
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<A NAME="Page85"> </A>
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friends shall only pray that God would make
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them like Abram;" as
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+4:11">Ruth iv. 11</A>.
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Note,
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God's dealings with obedient believers are
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so kind and gracious that we need not desire
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for ourselves or our friends to be any better
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dealt with: to have God for our friend is
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blessedness enough.
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(2.) "Thy life shall be
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a blessing to the places where thou shalt
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sojourn." Note, Good men are the blessings
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of their country, and it is their unspeakable
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honour and happiness to be made so.</P>
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<P>
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5. <I>I will bless those that bless thee and
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curse him that curseth thee.</I> This made it a
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kind of a league, offensive and defensive,
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between God and Abram. Abram heartily
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espoused God's cause, and here God promises
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to interest himself in his.
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(1.) He promises
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to be a friend to his friends, to take kindnesses
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shown to him as done to himself, and
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to recompense them accordingly. God will
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take care that none be losers, in the long
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run, by any service done for his people; even
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a cup of cold water shall be rewarded.
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(2.) He promises to appear against his enemies.
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There were those that hated and cursed even
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Abram himself; but, while their causeless
|
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curses could not hurt Abram, God's righteous
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curse would certainly overtake and ruin
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them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+24:9">Num. xxiv. 9</A>.
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This is a good reason
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why we should bless those that curse us,
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because it is enough that God <I>will curse
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them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:13-15">Ps. xxxviii. 13-15</A>.</P>
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<P>
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6. <I>In thee shall all the families of the earth be
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blessed.</I> This was the promise that crowned
|
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all the rest; for it points at the Messiah, in
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whom <I>all the promises are yea and amen.</I>
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Note,
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(1.) Jesus Christ is the great blessing
|
|
of the world, the greatest that ever the world
|
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was blessed with. He is a family blessing,
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by him salvation is brought to the house
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+19:9">Luke xix. 9</A>);
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when we reckon up our family
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blessings, let us put Christ in the
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<I>imprimis--the first place,</I> as the blessing of
|
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blessings. But how are all the families of
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|
the earth blessed in Christ, when so many
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are strangers to him? <I>Answer,</I>
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[1.] All that
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are blessed are blessed in him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+4:12">Acts iv. 12</A>.
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[2.] All that believe, of what family soever
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they shall be, shall be blessed in him.
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[3.] Some
|
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of all the families of the earth are blessed in
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him.
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[4.] There are some blessings which
|
|
all the families of the earth are blessed with
|
|
in Christ; for the gospel salvation is a <I>common
|
|
salvation,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jude+1:3">Jude 3</A>.
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(2.) It is a great
|
|
honour to be related to Christ; this made
|
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Abram's name great, that the Messiah was
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|
to descend from his loins, much more than
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|
that he should be the father of many nations.
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|
It was Abram's honour to be his father by
|
|
nature; it will be ours to be his brethren by
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|
grace,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+12:50">Matt. xii. 50</A>.</P>
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|
<A NAME="Ge12_4"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_5"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Arrival of Abram in Canaan.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1920.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>4 So Abram departed, as the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
|
|
had spoken unto him; and Lot went
|
|
with him: and Abram <I>was</I> seventy
|
|
and five years old when he departed
|
|
out of Haran.
|
|
5 And Abram took
|
|
Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's
|
|
son, and all their substance that they
|
|
had gathered, and the souls that they
|
|
had gotten in Haran; and they went
|
|
forth to go into the land of Canaan;
|
|
and into the land of Canaan they came.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. Abraham's removal out of his
|
|
country, out of Ur first and afterwards out
|
|
of Haran, in compliance with the call of
|
|
God: <I>So Abram departed;</I> he was not disobedient
|
|
to the heavenly vision, but did as
|
|
he was bidden, not conferring with flesh and
|
|
blood,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+1:15,16">Gal. i. 15, 16</A>.
|
|
His obedience was
|
|
speedy and without delay, submissive and
|
|
without dispute; for he <I>went out, not knowing
|
|
whither he went</I>
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:8">Heb. xi. 8</A>),
|
|
but knowing
|
|
whom he followed and under whose direction
|
|
he went. Thus God <I>called him to his foot,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+41:2">Isa. xli. 2</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. His age when he removed: he was
|
|
<I>seventy-five years old,</I> an age when he should
|
|
rather have had rest and settlement; but, if
|
|
God will have him to begin the world again
|
|
now in his old age, he will submit. Here is
|
|
an instance of an old convert.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The company and cargo that he took
|
|
with him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. He took his wife, and his nephew Lot,
|
|
with him; not by force and against their
|
|
wills, but by persuasion. Sarai, his wife,
|
|
would be sure to go with him; God had
|
|
joined them together, and nothing should
|
|
put them asunder. If Abram leave all, to
|
|
follow God, Sarai will leave all, to follow
|
|
Abram, though neither of them knew whither.
|
|
And it was a mercy to Abram to have such
|
|
a companion in his travels, a help meet for
|
|
him. Note, It is very comfortable when
|
|
husband and wife agree to go together in
|
|
the way to heaven. Lot also, his kinsman, was
|
|
influenced by Abram's good example, who
|
|
was perhaps his guardian after the death of
|
|
his father, and he was willing to go along
|
|
with him too. Note, Those that go to
|
|
Canaan need not go alone; for, though few
|
|
find the strait gate, blessed be God, some do;
|
|
and it is our wisdom to go with those with
|
|
whom God is
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+8:23">Zech. viii. 23</A>),
|
|
wherever they go.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. They took all their effects with them--<I>all
|
|
their substance</I> and movable goods, <I>that
|
|
they had gathered.</I> For,
|
|
|
|
(1.) With themselves
|
|
they would give up their all, to be at God's
|
|
disposal, would keep back no part of the
|
|
price, but venture all in one bottom, knowing
|
|
it was a good bottom.
|
|
|
|
(2.) They would
|
|
furnish themselves with that which was requisite,
|
|
both for the service of God and the
|
|
supply of their family, in the country whither
|
|
they were going. To have thrown away his
|
|
substance, because God had promised to
|
|
bless him, would have been to tempt God,
|
|
not to trust him.
|
|
|
|
(3.) They would not be
|
|
under any temptation to return; therefore
|
|
they leave not a hoof behind, lest that should
|
|
make them <I>mindful of the country from
|
|
which they came out.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page86"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. They took with them the <I>souls that they
|
|
had gotten,</I> that is,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The servants they had
|
|
bought, which were part of their substance,
|
|
but are called <I>souls,</I> to remind masters that
|
|
their poor servants have souls, precious
|
|
souls, which they ought to take care of and
|
|
provide food convenient for.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The proselytes
|
|
they had made, and persuaded to
|
|
attend the worship of the true God, and to
|
|
go with them to Canaan: the souls which
|
|
(as one of the rabbin expresses it) they had
|
|
<I>gathered under the wings of the divine Majesty.</I>
|
|
Note, Those who serve and follow God
|
|
themselves should do all they can to bring
|
|
others to serve and follow him too. These
|
|
souls they are said to have <I>gained.</I> We
|
|
must reckon ourselves true gainers if we can
|
|
but win souls to Christ.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. Here is their happy arrival at their
|
|
journey's end: <I>They went forth to go into the
|
|
land of Canaan;</I> so they did before
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+11:31"><I>ch.</I> xi. 31</A>),
|
|
and then took up short, but now they
|
|
held on their way, and, by the good hand of
|
|
their God upon them, to the land of Canaan
|
|
they came, where by a fresh revelation they
|
|
were told that this was the land God promised
|
|
to show them. They were not discouraged
|
|
by the difficulties they met with in their
|
|
way, nor diverted by the delights they met
|
|
with, but <I>pressed forward.</I> Note,
|
|
|
|
1. Those
|
|
that set out for heaven must persevere to the
|
|
end, still reaching forth to those things that
|
|
are before.
|
|
|
|
2. That which we undertake in
|
|
obedience to God's command, and a humble
|
|
attendance upon his providence, will certainly
|
|
succeed, and end with comfort at
|
|
last.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_6"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_7"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_8"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_9"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Abram's Devotion.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1921.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>6 And Abram passed through the
|
|
land unto the place of Sichem, unto
|
|
the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite
|
|
<I>was</I> then in the land.
|
|
7 And
|
|
the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> appeared unto Abram, and
|
|
said, Unto thy seed will I give this
|
|
land: and there builded he an altar
|
|
unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, who appeared unto
|
|
him.
|
|
8 And he removed from thence
|
|
unto a mountain on the east of
|
|
Beth-el, and pitched his tent, <I>having</I>
|
|
Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the
|
|
east: and there he builded an altar unto
|
|
the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and called upon the name of
|
|
the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
9 And Abram journeyed,
|
|
going on still toward the south.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
One would have expected that Abram
|
|
having had such an extraordinary call to
|
|
Canaan some great event should have followed upon
|
|
his arrival there, that he should
|
|
have been introduced with all possible
|
|
marks of honour and respect, and that the
|
|
kings of Canaan should immediately have
|
|
surrendered their crowns to him, and done
|
|
him homage. But no; he comes not with
|
|
observation, little notice is taken of him, for
|
|
still God will have him to live by faith, and
|
|
to look upon Canaan, even when he was in
|
|
it, as a land of promise; therefore observe
|
|
here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. How little comfort he had in the land
|
|
he came to; for,
|
|
|
|
1. He had it not to himself:
|
|
<I>The Canaanite was then in the land.</I>
|
|
He found the country peopled and possessed
|
|
by Canaanites, who were likely to be but
|
|
bad neighbours and worse landlords; and,
|
|
for aught that appears, he could not have
|
|
ground to pitch his tent on but by their
|
|
permission. Thus the accursed Canaanites
|
|
seemed to be in better circumstances than
|
|
blessed Abram. Note, The children of this
|
|
world have commonly more of it than
|
|
God's children.
|
|
|
|
2. He had not a settlement
|
|
in it. He <I>passed through the land,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
|
|
He <I>removed to a mountain,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
|
|
He <I>journeyed,
|
|
going on still,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
Observe here,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Sometimes
|
|
it is the lot of good men to be unsettled,
|
|
and obliged often to remove their
|
|
habitation. Holy David had his wanderings,
|
|
his flittings,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+56:8">Ps. lvi. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Our removes
|
|
in this world are often into various conditions.
|
|
Abram sojourned, first in a plain
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>,
|
|
then in a mountain,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
|
|
God has set the one
|
|
over-against the other.
|
|
|
|
(3.) All good people
|
|
must look upon themselves as strangers and
|
|
sojourners in this world, and by faith sit
|
|
loose to it as a strange country. So Abram
|
|
did,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:8-14">Heb. xi. 8-14</A>.
|
|
|
|
(4.) While we are here
|
|
in this present state, we must be journeying,
|
|
and going on still from strength to strength,
|
|
as having not yet attained.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. How much comfort he had in the God
|
|
he followed; when he could have little satisfaction
|
|
in converse with the Canaanites whom
|
|
he found there, he had abundance of pleasure
|
|
in communion with that God who brought
|
|
him thither, and did not leave him. Communion
|
|
with God is kept up by the word and
|
|
by prayer, and by these, according to the
|
|
methods of that dispensation, Abram's communion
|
|
with God was kept up in the land
|
|
of his pilgrimage.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. God appeared to Abram, probably in a
|
|
vision, and spoke to him good words and
|
|
comfortable words: <I>Unto thy seed will I give
|
|
this land.</I> Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) No place nor condition
|
|
of life can shut us out from the comfort
|
|
of God's gracious visits. Abram is a sojourner,
|
|
unsettled among Canaanites; and yet here
|
|
also he meets with him that lives and sees
|
|
him. Enemies may part us and our tents,
|
|
us and our altars, but not us and our God.
|
|
Nay,
|
|
|
|
(2.) With respect to those that faithfully
|
|
follow God in a way of duty, though
|
|
he lead them from their friends, he will himself
|
|
make up that loss by his gracious appearances
|
|
to them.
|
|
|
|
(3.) God's promises are
|
|
sure and satisfying to all those who conscientiously
|
|
observe and obey his precepts;
|
|
and those who, in compliance with God's
|
|
call, leave or lose any thing that is dear to
|
|
them, shall be sure of something else abundantly
|
|
better in lieu of it. Abram had left
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page87"> </A>
|
|
|
|
the <I>land of his nativity:</I> "Well," says God,
|
|
"I will give thee this land,"
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+19:29">Matt. xix. 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
(4.) God reveals himself and his favours to
|
|
his people by degrees; before he had promised
|
|
to <I>show</I> him this land, now to <I>give</I> it to him:
|
|
as grace is growing, so is comfort.
|
|
|
|
(5.) It
|
|
is comfortable to have land of God's giving,
|
|
not by providence only, but by promise.
|
|
|
|
(6.) Mercies to the children are mercies to
|
|
the parents. "I will give it, not to thee,
|
|
but to thy seed;" it is a grant in reversion
|
|
to his seed, which yet, it should seem, Abram
|
|
understood also as a grant to himself of a
|
|
better land in reversion, of which this was a
|
|
type; for he looked for a heavenly country,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:16">Heb. xi. 16</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Abram attended on God in his instituted
|
|
ordinances. He <I>built an altar unto the Lord
|
|
who appeared to him, and called on the name
|
|
of the Lord,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:7,8"><I>v.</I> 7, 8</A>.
|
|
Now consider this,
|
|
|
|
(1.) As done upon a special occasion. When
|
|
God appeared to him, then and there he
|
|
built an altar, with an eye to the God who
|
|
appeared to him. Thus he returned God's
|
|
visit, and kept up his correspondence with
|
|
heaven, as one that resolved it should not
|
|
fail on his side; thus he acknowledged, with
|
|
thankfulness, God's kindness to him in
|
|
making him that gracious visit and promise;
|
|
and thus he testified his confidence in and
|
|
dependence upon the word which God had
|
|
spoken. Note, An active believer can heartily
|
|
bless God for a promise the performance of
|
|
which he does not yet see, and build an altar
|
|
to the honour of God who appears to him,
|
|
though he does not yet appear for him.
|
|
|
|
(2.) As his constant practice, whithersoever he
|
|
removed. As soon as Abram had got to
|
|
Canaan, though he was but a stranger and
|
|
sojourner there, yet he set up, and kept up,
|
|
the worship of God in his family; and wherever
|
|
he had a tent God had an altar, and that
|
|
an altar sanctified by prayer. For he not
|
|
only minded the ceremonial part of religion,
|
|
the offering of sacrifice, but made conscience
|
|
of the natural duty of seeking to his God,
|
|
and calling on his name, that spiritual sacrifice
|
|
with which God is well pleased. He
|
|
preached concerning the name of the Lord,
|
|
that is, he instructed his family and neighbours
|
|
in the knowledge of the true God and
|
|
his holy religion. The <I>souls he had gotten in
|
|
Haran,</I> being discipled, must be further
|
|
taught. Note, Those that would approve
|
|
themselves the children of faithful Abram,
|
|
and would inherit the blessing of Abram,
|
|
must make conscience of keeping up the
|
|
solemn worship of God, particularly in their
|
|
families, according to the example of Abram.
|
|
The way of family worship is a good old
|
|
way, is no novel invention, but the ancient
|
|
usage of all the saints. Abram was very
|
|
rich and had a numerous family, was now
|
|
unsettled and in the midst of enemies, and
|
|
yet, wherever he pitched his tent, he built
|
|
an altar. Wherever we go, let us not fail to
|
|
take our religion along with us.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_13"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Abram's Removal into Egypt.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1920.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>10 And there was a famine in the
|
|
land: and Abram went down into
|
|
Egypt to sojourn there; for the
|
|
famine <I>was</I> grievous in the land.
|
|
11 And it came to pass, when he was
|
|
come near to enter into Egypt, that
|
|
he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold
|
|
now, I know that thou <I>art</I> a fair
|
|
woman to look upon:
|
|
12 Therefore
|
|
it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians
|
|
shall see thee, that they shall
|
|
say, This <I>is</I> his wife: and they will
|
|
kill me, but they will save thee alive.
|
|
13 Say, I pray thee, thou <I>art</I> my
|
|
sister: that it may be well with me
|
|
for thy sake; and my soul shall live
|
|
because of thee.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. A famine in the land of Canaan,
|
|
<I>a grievous famine.</I> That fruitful land was
|
|
turned into barrenness, not only to punish
|
|
the iniquity of the Canaanites who dwelt
|
|
therein, but to exercise the faith of Abram
|
|
who sojourned therein; and a very sore trial
|
|
it was; it tried what he would think,
|
|
|
|
1. Of
|
|
God that brought him thither, whether he
|
|
would not be ready to say with his murmuring
|
|
seed that he was brought forth to be
|
|
<I>killed with hunger,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+16:3">Exod. xvi. 3</A>.
|
|
Nothing
|
|
short of a strong faith could keep up good
|
|
thoughts of God under such a providence.
|
|
|
|
2. Of the land of promise, whether he would
|
|
think the grant of it worth the accepting,
|
|
and a valuable consideration for the relinquishing
|
|
of his own country, when, for aught
|
|
that now appeared, it was a land that <I>ate up
|
|
the inhabitants.</I> Now he was tried whether
|
|
he could preserve an unshaken confidence
|
|
that the God who brought him to Canaan
|
|
would maintain him there, and whether he
|
|
could rejoice in him as the God of his salvation
|
|
when the fig-tree did not blossom,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Hab+3:17,18">Hab. iii. 17, 18</A>.
|
|
Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Strong faith is
|
|
commonly exercised with divers temptations,
|
|
that it may be <I>found to praise, and
|
|
honour, and glory,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+1:6,7">1 Pet. i. 6, 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It
|
|
pleases God sometimes to try those with
|
|
great afflictions who are but young beginners
|
|
in religion.
|
|
|
|
(3.) It is possible for a man
|
|
to be in the way of duty, and in the way to
|
|
happiness, and yet meet with great troubles
|
|
and disappointments.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Abram's removal into Egypt, upon
|
|
occasion of this famine. See how wisely
|
|
God provides that there should be plenty in
|
|
one place when there was scarcity in another,
|
|
that, as members of the great body, we may
|
|
not say to one another, <I>I have no need of
|
|
you.</I> God's providence took care there
|
|
should be a supply in Egypt, and Abram's
|
|
prudence made use of the opportunity; for
|
|
we tempt God, and do not trust him, if, in
|
|
the time of distress, we use not the means
|
|
he has graciously provided for our
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page88"> </A>
|
|
|
|
preservation: We must not expect needless miracles.
|
|
But that which is especially observable here,
|
|
to the praise of Abram, is that he did not
|
|
offer to return, upon this occasion, to the
|
|
country from which he came out, nor so much
|
|
as towards it. The land of his nativity lay
|
|
north-east from Canaan; and therefore, when
|
|
he must, for a time, quit Canaan, he chooses
|
|
to go to Egypt, which lay south-west, the
|
|
contrary way, that he might not so much as
|
|
seem to look back. See
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:15,16">Heb. xi. 15, 16</A>.
|
|
Further observe, When he went down into
|
|
Egypt, it was to sojourn there, not to dwell
|
|
there. Note,
|
|
|
|
1. Though Providence, for a
|
|
time, may cast us into bad places, yet we
|
|
ought to tarry there no longer than needs
|
|
must; we may <I>sojourn</I> where we may not
|
|
<I>settle.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. A good man, while he is on this
|
|
side heaven, wherever he is, is but a sojourner.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. A great fault which Abram was guilty
|
|
of, in denying his wife, and pretending that
|
|
she was his sister. The scripture is impartial
|
|
in relating the misdeeds of the most
|
|
celebrated saints, which are recorded, not for
|
|
our imitation, but for our admonition, that
|
|
he <I>who thinks he stands may take heed lest he
|
|
fall.</I>
|
|
|
|
1. His fault was dissembling his relation
|
|
to Sarai, equivocating concerning it,
|
|
and teaching his wife, and probably all his
|
|
attendants, to do so too. What he said was,
|
|
in a sense, true
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+20:12"><I>ch.</I> xx. 12</A>),
|
|
but with a purpose
|
|
to deceive; he so concealed a further
|
|
truth as in effect to deny it, and to expose
|
|
thereby both his wife and the Egyptians to
|
|
sin.
|
|
|
|
2. That which was at the bottom of it
|
|
was a jealous timorous fancy he had that
|
|
some of the Egyptians would be so charmed
|
|
with the beauty of Sarai (Egypt producing
|
|
few such beauties) that, if they should know
|
|
he was her husband, they would find some
|
|
way or other to take him off, that they might
|
|
marry her. He presumes they would rather
|
|
be guilty of murder than adultery, such
|
|
a heinous crime was it then accounted and
|
|
such a sacred regard was paid to the marriage
|
|
bond; hence he infers, without any good
|
|
reason, <I>They will kill me.</I> Note, The fear of
|
|
man brings a snare, and many are driven to
|
|
sin by the dread of death,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+12:4,5">Luke xii. 4, 5</A>.
|
|
The grace Abram was most eminent for was
|
|
faith; and yet he thus fell through unbelief
|
|
and distrust of the divine Providence, even
|
|
<I>after God had appeared to him twice.</I> Alas!
|
|
what will become of the willows, when the
|
|
cedars are thus shaken?</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ge12_20"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec5"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Abram's Denial of His Wife.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1920.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>14 And it came to pass, that, when
|
|
Abram was come into Egypt, the
|
|
Egyptians beheld the woman that she
|
|
<I>was</I> very fair.
|
|
15 The princes also
|
|
of Pharaoh saw her, and commended
|
|
her before Pharaoh: and the woman
|
|
was taken into Pharaoh's house.
|
|
16 And he entreated Abram well for
|
|
her sake: and he had sheep, and
|
|
oxen, and he asses, and menservants,
|
|
and maidservants, and she asses, and
|
|
camels.
|
|
17 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> plagued
|
|
Pharaoh and his house with great
|
|
plagues because of Sarai Abram's
|
|
wife.
|
|
18 And Pharaoh called Abram,
|
|
and said, What <I>is</I> this <I>that</I> thou hast
|
|
done unto me? why didst thou not
|
|
tell me that she <I>was</I> thy wife?
|
|
19 Why saidst thou, She <I>is</I> my sister?
|
|
so I might have taken her to me to
|
|
wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take
|
|
<I>her,</I> and go thy way.
|
|
20 And
|
|
Pharaoh commanded <I>his</I> men concerning
|
|
him: and they sent him away,
|
|
and his wife, and all that he had.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. The danger Sarai was in of
|
|
having her chastity violated by the king of
|
|
Egypt: and without doubt the peril of sin is
|
|
the greatest peril we can be in. <I>Pharaoh's
|
|
princes</I> (his pimps rather) <I>saw her, and,</I> observing
|
|
what a comely woman she was, they
|
|
<I>commended her before Pharaoh,</I> not for that
|
|
which was really her praise--her virtue and
|
|
modesty, her faith and piety (these were no
|
|
excellencies in their eyes), but for her beauty,
|
|
which they thought too good for the embraces
|
|
of a subject. They recommended her to the
|
|
king, and she was presently taken into Pharaoh's
|
|
house, as Esther into the seraglio of
|
|
Ahasuerus
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+2:8">Esth. ii. 8</A>),
|
|
in order to her being
|
|
taken into his bed. Now we must not look upon
|
|
Sarai as standing fair for preferment, but as
|
|
entering into temptation; and the occasions
|
|
of it were her own beauty (which is a snare
|
|
to many) and Abram's equivocation, which
|
|
is a sin that commonly is an inlet to much
|
|
sin. While Sarai was in this danger, Abram
|
|
fared the better for her sake. Pharaoh gave
|
|
him sheep, oxen, &c.
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
|
|
to gain his consent,
|
|
that he might the more readily prevail
|
|
with her whom he supposed to be his sister.
|
|
We cannot think that Abram expected this
|
|
when he came down into Egypt, much less
|
|
that he had an eye to it when he denied his
|
|
wife; but God brought good out of evil.
|
|
And thus the wealth of the sinner proves, in
|
|
some way or other, to be laid up for the just.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The deliverance of Sarai from this
|
|
danger. For if God did not deliver us, many
|
|
a time, by prerogative, out of those straits
|
|
and distresses which we bring ourselves into
|
|
by our own sin and folly, and which therefore
|
|
we could not expect any deliverance
|
|
from by promise, we should soon be ruined,
|
|
nay, we should have been ruined long before
|
|
this. He deals not with us according to our
|
|
deserts.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. God chastised Pharaoh, and so prevented
|
|
the progress of his sin. Note, Those are
|
|
happy chastisements that hinder us in a sinful
|
|
way, and effectually bring us to our duty,
|
|
and particularly to the duty of restoring that
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Page89"> </A>
|
|
|
|
which we have wrongfully taken and detained.
|
|
Observe, Not Pharaoh only, but his
|
|
house, was plagued, probably those princes
|
|
especially that had commended Sarai to Pharaoh.
|
|
Note, Partners in sin are justly made
|
|
partners in the punishment. Those that
|
|
serve others' lusts must expect to share
|
|
in their plagues. We are not told particularly
|
|
what these plagues were; but doubtless there
|
|
was something in the plagues themselves,
|
|
or some explication added to them, sufficient
|
|
to convince them that it was for Sarai's sake
|
|
that they were thus plagued.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Pharaoh reproved Abram, and then dismissed
|
|
him with respect.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) The reproof was calm, but very just:
|
|
<I>What is this that thou hast done?</I> What an
|
|
improper thing! How unbecoming a wise
|
|
and good man! Note, If those that profess
|
|
religion do that which is unfair and disingenuous,
|
|
especially if they say that which borders
|
|
upon a lie, they must expect to hear of
|
|
it, and have reason to thank those that will
|
|
tell them of it. We find a prophet of the
|
|
Lord justly reproved and upbraided by a
|
|
heathen ship-master,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jon+1:6">Jon. i. 6</A>.
|
|
Pharaoh
|
|
reasons with him: <I>Why didst thou not tell
|
|
me that she was thy wife?</I> intimating that,
|
|
if he had known this, he would not have
|
|
taken her into his house. Note, It is a fault
|
|
too common among good people to entertain
|
|
suspicions of others beyond what there is
|
|
cause for. We have often found more of
|
|
virtue, honour, and conscience, in some people
|
|
than we thought they possessed; and it
|
|
ought to be a pleasure to us to be thus disappointed,
|
|
as Abram was here, who found
|
|
Pharaoh to be a better man than he expected.
|
|
Charity teaches us to hope the best.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The dismission was kind and very
|
|
generous. He restored him his wife without
|
|
offering any injury to her honour: <I>Behold
|
|
thy wife, take her,</I>
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
Note, Those that
|
|
would prevent sin must remove the temptation,
|
|
or get out of the way of it. He also
|
|
sent him away in peace, and was so far from
|
|
any design to kill him, as he apprehended,
|
|
that he took particular care of him. Note,
|
|
We often perplex and ensnare ourselves with
|
|
fears which soon appear to have been altogether
|
|
groundless. We often fear where no
|
|
fear is. We fear the <I>fury of the oppressor,
|
|
as though he were ready to destroy,</I> when
|
|
really there is no danger,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+51:13">Isa. li. 13</A>.
|
|
It would have been more for Abram's credit
|
|
and comfort to have told the truth at first;
|
|
for, after all, <I>honesty is the best policy.</I> Nay,
|
|
it is said
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
|
|
<I>Pharaoh commanded his
|
|
men concerning him,</I> that is,
|
|
|
|
[1.] He charged
|
|
them not to injure him in any thing. Note,
|
|
It is not enough for those in authority to do
|
|
no hurt themselves, but they must restrain
|
|
their servants, and those about them, from
|
|
doing hurt. Or,
|
|
|
|
[2.] He appointed them,
|
|
when Abram was disposed to return home,
|
|
after the famine, to conduct him safely out
|
|
of the country, as his convoy. Probably he
|
|
was alarmed by the plagues
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
and inferred
|
|
from them that Abram was a particular
|
|
favourite of Heaven, and therefore,
|
|
through fear of their return, took special care
|
|
he should receive no injury in his country.
|
|
Note, God has often raised up friends for
|
|
his people, by making men know that it is
|
|
at their peril if they hurt them. It is a dangerous
|
|
thing to offend Christ's little ones.
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+18:6">Matt. xviii. 6</A>.
|
|
To this passage, among
|
|
others, the Psalmist refers,
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+105:13-15">Ps. cv. 13-15</A>,
|
|
<I>He reproved kings for their sakes, saying,
|
|
Touch not my anointed.</I> Perhaps if Pharaoh
|
|
had not <I>sent him away,</I> he would have been
|
|
tempted to stay in Egypt and to forget the
|
|
land of promise. Note, Sometimes God
|
|
makes use of the enemies of his people to
|
|
convince them, and remind them, that this
|
|
world is not their rest, but that they must
|
|
think of departing.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
<I>Lastly,</I> Observe a resemblance between
|
|
this deliverance of Abram out of Egypt and
|
|
the deliverance of his seed thence: 430
|
|
years after Abram went into Egypt on occasion
|
|
of a famine they went thither on occasion
|
|
of a famine also; he was fetched out with
|
|
great plagues on Pharaoh, so were they; as
|
|
Abram was dismissed by Pharaoh, and enriched
|
|
with the spoil of the Egyptians, so
|
|
were they. For God's care of his people is
|
|
the same <I>yesterday, to-day, and for ever.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
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