CHAP. XVII. ΑΝ ND when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, * As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 'Walk before me, and be thou perfect.'-This was like saying, 'Have recourse to no more unbelieving expedients; keep thou the path of uprightness, and leave me to fulfil my promise in the time and manner that seem good to me.' What a lesson is here afforded us, never to use unlawful means under the pretence of being more useful, or promoting the cause of God! Our concern is to walk before Him and be upright, leaving Him to bring to pass His own designs in His own way.-A. Fuller. Christian labour to see the fulness that is in God, and the emptiness that is in the creature. If the Lord be all sufficient (as the word Almighty' here signifies), then let your heart be satisfied with Him alone. Let it be filled with Him. Let it be so bottomed upon Him, and so strengthened by Him, that you need not go out from Him to fetch in any comfort from any creature whatever.-Dr. Preston. Write it in letters of gold, that thy God is in covenant with thee, to love thee, to bless thee, and to save thee.-Rev. Isaac Ambrose. 'Kings shall come out of thee.'-This was true in a literal sense, but chiefly in a spiritual, in respect of the Messiah, who is King of kings.-Orton. 8 'And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. 13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circum cised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. neither male nor female in Christ, but all are one in Him. As we desire the blessings of this covenant, let us comply with the terms of it, which are faith and obedience. They who submitted to the circumcision were debtors to the whole law, to all the ceremonies and rites of the Jewish religion. So is every believer in Christ a debtor to the whole of what Christianity requires, viz., to baptism, the Lord's Supper, and all moral duties.-Orton. There is much of the Gospel in this covenant. Let us seek our own part in the blessings of it. They that are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.' Consider their value and extent. Submit cheerfully to the terms of the covenant; and ever remember that in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth anything, but a new creature.' God hath now changed the seal of the covenant into a more gentle administration, of which both sexes partake; there is 15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. 17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? 18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! 19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. 22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. Abraham said unto God (v. 18), ‘O that Ishmael might live before thee!' When God condescends to converse with us, when our souls are enlarged in devotion, then we have a good opportunity to put in a word for our friends and relations, to spread our own cases and theirs particularly be fore Him. Let parents, especially, be concerned for the souls of their children; pray for them that they may live; that they may live before God, holily and religiously, to His honour and the credit of their profession.Orton. 23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. 24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ish mael his son. 27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him. We should learn to obey God without delay so Abraham did,' the selfsame day.' This is twice remarked by the historian, to show us how readily we must serve God, even in painful A and difficult matters. Let us not confer with flesh and blood, but resolutely perform those duties which God has commanded.-Orton. CHAP. XVIII. 3 ND the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree : And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. 7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. 8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them To prepare cakes upon the hearth is a method employed in the East even to this day, the hearth being strongly heated with fire, the ashes swept off, and the paste laid down and under the tree, and they did eat. covered with embers, after having been first several times turned upon the clean stones. These cakes are very good to eat, and very savoury.David Collyer. And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. 10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? 18 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. 15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. said, Nay; but thou didst laugh. 14 And he Abraham heard the news brought by the angel and laughed; Sarah heard it and laughed. They did not more agree in their desire than differ in their affection. Abraham laughed for joy, Sarah for distrust. Abraham laughed because he believed it would be so; Sarah, because she believed it could not be. The same act varies in the manner of doing and the intention of the doer. Yet Sarah laughed but within herself, and is betrayed. How God can find us out in secret sins! How easily did she now think, 16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do ; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. V. 19. A master of a family is culpable if he permit any vices among his domestics, which he might restrain by due discipline and a proper interference.-Paley. 20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; Men are apt to suggest that God's way is not equal; but let them know that His judgments are the result of an eternal counsel, and are never rash or sudden resolves. He never pun and if not, I will know. ishes upon report, or common fame, or the information of others, but upon His own certain and infallible knowledge.-M. Henry. 22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went towards Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein ? 25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? V.25. On the truth and justice of God the universe is built, as a house upon a rock. Fiat justitia, ruat cœlum,' is an adage proverbially expressing the judgment of common sense concerning this subject: Let justice be done, although heaven itself should tumble into ruin.'-Dwight. Whether we adopt Leibnitz's definition of Justice, and regard it as a modification of Benevolence, or admit with Aristotle that in Justice is included every virtue, it is evident that we are very incompetent judges of what is 'right' in the government of God; for this will always depend, not upon the conformity of His conduct to any one of His perfections, but upon the agreement of such conduct with His whole character, or with all His perfections taken together. At the same time, our confidence in the Divine rectitude cannot but be clear and unlimited, when we reflect on the nature of those attributes of which the Divine character consists. And while here upon earth, as Dr. Clarke beautifully observes, 'governing according to law and reason, and governing according to will and pleasure, are two most opposite forms of government, it is most consoling to know that in heaven these are only two different names for one and the same thing.'-L. With the believing mind, the absolute rectitude of God-the perfect righteousness and wisdom of all His proceedings-is a fixed position; a first principle never to be questioned; a point from which all reasonings about God's dispensations must proceed, and to which they must return. -Binney. nipotence is possessed of a complete sufficieney for the accomplishment of all His pleasure, and thus rendered absolutely independent, it is evident that He must be infinitely removed from all fear on the one hand, and from all favouritism on the other. From the former of these considerations, it is certain that He cannot in any degree be deterred from the performance of any thing which is right and good; and from the other, that He cannot possibly be allured to the production of anything which is wrong or injurious to His creatures. To Him who is raised above all actual and possible want, who can do what He pleases, and has therefore everything in His possession, unchangeably and eternally, there can be no private, partial interest, no conceivable prejudice, no bias, no undue regard towards any being. His views and His conduct alike must be impartial, public, founded on the real state of things, and directed towards any beings according to their proper character and real desert. His creatures can plainly present no motive to Him to depart from that course of conduct, which in His view is wise and good. Here, then, in the character and circumstances of the Deity, an immovable foundation is laid for universal, perfect, and glorious rectitude.-Dwight. As God by His omniscience and om26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: 25 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. When the beggar sees the rich man putting his hand into his purse, he cries more earnestly. When thou seest God giving, it should embolden thee to ask, as Abraham, who, as God yielded, made his approaches closer.Gurnall. 29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. 30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. 81 And he said, Be |