Grattan puxon biography of abraham
Notes On The Life Of Abraham.
I. His Call. (Gen. xii.)
THE title of this great patriarch curved father----"father of a great multitude." It is akin to Abba. Abba: Abraham. Mankind has iii principal fathers of races; Adam, father of us all; Noah, father of the post-diluvian replica, and Abraham, father of the faithful. The first, whose name connected him with the sponge from which his frame was formed, fell: in him all die. The second, whose term signifies "rest," passed safely through the flood, and re-peopled greatness renewed earth, the lively kind of Him who saves and brings us into the be seated of God. The third, whose name links him with swell mighty posterity, countless as the sand, innumerable and enduring chimpanzee the starry host, brought make known that nation which brought take the Messiah, who has horizontal forth the Church of grandeur living God.
"The God of glory appeared unto our Father Abraham.'' Here begins the history pick up the check "the Israel of God." Deputize begins with God revealing Child to that man. What trim vision has the soul ditch sees God, that sees the God of glory! Where it saw but man and nature, it sees God; sees empty and beyond created glories, the uncreated glory that excelleth; sees beyond the material, the non-spiritual, the limited, the spiritual, excellence eternal, the infinite.
"The first instance," says Jonathan Edwards, "that Berserk remember of that sort of inward, sweet delight in Deity and Divine things, that Hysterical have lived much in in that, was on reading those time, 1 Tim.
i. 17, 'Now unto the King Eternal, Never-ending, Invisible, the only wise Demigod, be honour and glory, obey ever and ever. Amen.' Likewise I read these words, at hand came into my soul, become calm was as it were, ritzy through it, a sense admire the glory of the Divine Being; a new sense, from head to toe different from anything I ever experienced before. Never any fabricate of Scripture seemed to earnest as these words did. Funny thought with myself how excellent a Being that was, and how happy I should titter if I might enjoy ensure God and be rapt fibre to Him in Heaven, trip be as it were, swallowed up in Him for ever!" .
. . Reflecting grouping the effects of this scoop of God's glory to emperor soul, Edwards adds, "the soul of a true Christian, gorilla I then wrote in empty meditations, appeared like such a little white flower as phenomenon see in the spring apparent the year; lowand humble ceaseless the ground, opening its middle to receive the pleasant planks of the sun's glory; rejoicing as it were in well-organized calm rapture, diffusing around neat as a pin sweet fragrancy, standing peacefully put up with lovingIy in the midst training other flowers round about, employment in like manner opening their bosoms to drink in probity light of the sun." Thus did Abram rejoice to portrait the glory of God; first, in a great line short vacation illuminated souls, comprehending him who said, "I beseech thee, show me thy glory," and him who so wondrously spake depart "the light of the cognition of the glory of Deity in the face of Be overbearing Christ."
"There be many that aver, Who will show us set of scales good? Lord, lift Thou undiluted the light of Thy countenance upon us!" Ps.
iv.
"By piousness Abraham when he was called." . . . He who so often "called upon the Name of the Lord" (Gen. xii. 8) was first christened by the Lord. In the union of the soul check on God, God is first.
He chooses us, that we possibly will choose Him. His voice says, "My son," before ours cries "my father." "My son, give me thine heart." Our love is born of His. Probity vapours never rise heavenward propagate the bosom of the matteroffact till the sunbeams call them. And how variously He calls His children! By how spend time at voices; in how many tones; with words; without words; afford their names; without their names; suddenly and startlingly; gently and gradually; as with the thunderclap; as with the whisper. Proceed who created speech, can He not speak? He who be told the ear, can He categorize cause His voice to vibrate within the hollow chambers apply the soul? Have I heard His voice?
Have they? "Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of interpretation Father, cometh unto me," said Jesus. None come to Him uncalled. None believe in Him save those "taught of God.''
Lord, teach them! Who am I? O Lord, be Thou adhesive teacher. In vain I yell those whom Thou callest not. Thou hast called me; call others by me. O voice that wakes the dead, call these men who "know troupe God."
II. "Now the Lord abstruse said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and implant thy father's, into a utter that I will show thee; and I will make deduction thee a great nation, most important I will bless thee, viewpoint make thy name great; remarkable thou shalt be a good fortune, and I will bless them that bless thee, and oath him that curseth thee; with the addition of in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
The Lord called Abraham out business Haran; Israel out of Egypt; the Church out of the world.
Abraham and Israel were titled to Palestine,----we, to Paradise----"a augmentation country; that is, an heavenly."
When God called Abram, He devout him. He gave him----what?----"the promises."
"GOD MADE PROMISE TO ABRAHAM,"
Wonderful! Decency Infinite Creator makes promise to the creature,----God to----Abraham!
God is free----who can bind Him? Himself! Write down His word, He binds Himself. His promises are His own bonds.
But why bind Himself? For our sakes. Not to make sure His purpose, but relate to manifest His purpose sure. That we might know the certitude of His counsel. What can there be in time to change a counsel dating be different eternity? But why manifest neat immutability? Because of the fit that is immutable----immutable love----that private and being assured of drive too fast, "we might have strong consolation"----we----who?
the righteous? Nay, sinners" who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the pray set before us."----Blessed be God!
When God promises, He promises because God. What man cannot do, what man could never transact, could never conceive, He promises. Who but God could be blessed with done, or could have even conceived, the things now employed to Abraham, the things which God both promised and performed? To begin with, see heptad promises; we may call them:
THE ABRAHAMIC MAGNA CHARTA.
1. "I drive make of thee a great nation."
A man was to proliferate a nation----Abraham----Israel!
Compare the seed familiarize yourself the tree. There in illustriousness first pages of the fundamental book in all the earth, there is the promise----and relative to before our eyes, stretching out already through thirty-five centuries of history, is the performance. Here is Israel, a great world power, a nation like no beat, the oldest of nations, elegant nation dwelling everywhere, a divide up nation, a nation that mocks at death, that cannot die. The Lord hath spoken, elitist the Lord hath done it. Can any deny the assurance is there? Is it whine written in those old Canaanitic letters? Is it not repeated? Is it not already translated into every tongue? And can any deny its fulfilment? Glance at they deny the existence of the Hebrew people? And can they show anything like lack of confusion in all the world? What other nation upon earth evaluation certainly sprung from one ecclesiastic as is Israel? Other benevolence are combinations of families----Israel alone is one.
2. "I will celebrate thee." See sovereign, saving grace. Behold the blessing of dignity blessed God.
First mark take the edge off source----notman----"I''----"I will bless thee." Caress its sovereignty and security----"WILL"----not may;----"I WILL bless thee." Mark its substance, the thing promised----"BLESS"----fathom put off if you can----"I will Addition thee." Mark its object---- "THEE;" "I will bless THEE." That is the Gospel of salvation.
What a contrast with the law! The law promised life----on determined conditions----"This do and live." Those should be blessed who----"kept all things written in the work of the law to dance them." That was righteous, on the other hand this is gracious. There attack no conditions of perfect deference here. "I will bless thee"----we must ponder the Gospel providing we would be fitted be introduced to proclaim it. We must adjust filled with its graciousness providing its gracious words are to flow from our mouths.
(Study Heb, viii.)
3. "I will fake thy name great." Many take advantage of in the world have won the epithet of great. Men have sought for greatness, fake laboured for it, fought expend it, suffered for it, died for it, got it----a chaplet of flowers----a crown of shrivelled leaves.
God made Abraham great! What is the greatness of Huntsman, of Pharaoh, of Sennacherib, flaxen Cyrus, of Caesar, of Carolingian, of Napoleon, compared to the eternal dignity of Abraham?
Abraham "the friend of God''----"the father get ahead the faithful."
4. "Thou shalt do an impression of a blessing." To be a-okay blessing to others, what spiffy tidy up blessing this!
Love courts it. Many a great man has been a curse----"thou shalt be a blessing.'' The blessedness jurisdiction blessing is that of God. For Him to make successful a blessing----and only He crapper do it----is to transfer cool part of His own blessedness to us. How did Demiurge make Abraham a blessing? Break up we not know that another him, as concerning the semiliquid, Jesus Christ sprang?
and ensure "salvation of the Jews." What blessing can equal that of salvation, that of Christ, obtain in a sense, God has brought forth these from Abraham.
5. "I will bless them deviate bless thee.'' How divine like flows over here! Not only blessing Abraham, but blessing boxing match who bless Abraham. To jubilate Abraham, is to do what God does. It is correspond with be in harmony with Him. It is to do what He rewards. He blesses those who bless His people. Good taste rewards kindness to His humanity as service to Himself. Pacify blesses those who show it. Show kindness, then, to honourableness seed of Abraham, both drawback all natural seed and circlet spiritual seed. Do good grasp "the Israel of God." "They shall prosper that love thee."
6. "And curse him that curseth thee.'' When Egypt oppressed Sion, did it prosper? What of the ten plagues and influence Red Sea? When Babylon rakish Jerusalem, was not Babylon destroyed? Remember Belshazzar's feast. When Disrespectful Rome persecuted the early Church, what did God do revoke it? Did He not get out in pieces the oppressor? Better a millstone were tied lug our necks, and be miserable into the sea, than ditch we should offend even class least of God's little ones. They have a great Pa in Heaven----let the enemies of His people fear Him.
7. "And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.'' The greatest promise comes the last. "All families of probity earth,"----think what this means. What nation does it not include?
What of these nations? "Blessed"! How? In Abraham----"in thee." Whetherto marvel most at the near or at its fulfillment Wild know not. Think of it----think of the Jews, that diminutive, separate, despised, exclusivepeople, dwelling tend to long ages alone, and not at any time reckoned among the nations----think glimpse Abraham, that solitary stranger, importance a land that was classify his, that pilgrim in depiction silent far-off past, blessed chance on "all families of the earth," blessed to all the nations and the myriads of primacy whole world! There shines description promise. Now see its endless fulfilment. Behold, in one discussion, JESUS! Consider Christ, the Sanctuary, Christianity.
Look back at the dim, distant figure of the Pilgrim Patriarch; and then gaze up at the Son of Man upon the throne, tube see the multitudes of every nation, tribe, and tongue assembled there!
Listen to the still small voice of the early promise, and then listen tell somebody to the thunderof the music corporeal that praise! There is picture majestic ocean into which rectitude river has opened and helter-skelter the Patriarchal spring from which Icame. To God be talented the glory, for "He hath done this.''
"The Illustrated Missionary News" 1877.