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firm reliance of the soul, a living trust in God.

It was a faith which

obtained salvation; for by it " he had this testimony, that he pleased God." It was a faith which united him to God, and brought forth the fruits of habitual holiness; for he walked with God during three hundred years. It was a faith which secured so signal a manifestation of Divine approval, that he was translated, body and soul, to the skies.*

NOAH was another illustrious example of faith; yet in his day abounding impiety and a mysterious Providence put the patriarch's faith to a still severer test. For now more than fifteen hundred years had elapsed since the first promise was given; meanwhile, the power of the Arch Enemy to God and man had grown to almost universal dominion; for the Church as well as the world had become corrupt; faith was well nigh extinct, and the earth was filled with violence, erime, and contempt of God.t Why, then, amid this wide-spread revolt and ruin, was the promise of the Great Conqueror of Satan. and Restorer of Mankind still delayed? Why, seeing a perishing world so urgently needed the Saviour, was he not sent to accomplish his redeeming work, ere the last vestige of hope expire?

But now there comes another dispensation still more trying to the faith of Noah, and which seems to put the ancient promise of the Saviour in the greatest jeopardy; for the world, instead of being saved, is to be destroyed, and the patriarch and his family alone are to be preserved alive! But what if they too should perish in the deluge? Then the promise of the Saviour must utterly fail, for there would be no posterity left through which the "woman's seed" could come, the last of the human race being extinct. And what natural law, or what fact in physical science, was there to afford to Noah a rational guarantee that they should not perish with the rest of man kind? None at all. If the most powerful cities were submerged by the deluge, or torn from their foundations by the rushing torrents, when the fountains of the great deep were broken up, would not the impetuous billows of conflicting tides dash the frail ark into a thousand fragments? § Or, if saved from perishing by wreck, what should prevent the denizens of the ark from perishing by famine? For, lo! the waters of the deluge rise and spread until one vast ocean covers every part of the earth inhabited by man: it ascends yet higher and higher, and ascending deepens, until the summits of the highest mountains lie buried fifteen cubits beneath its surface.|| what physical agency known to Noah shall that vast and deep ocean be withdrawn or evaporated? Are there any agencies in Nature adequate to this? Or if there are, will it not require decades of years ere their influences can leave the earth habitable again? So human philosophy would say, and, in saying this, consign the solitary inmates of the ark to death by starvation; and by their death, cut off the possibility of the promise of the Saviour. Thus science seemed in conflict with Revelation, and neither experience, observation, nor inference from any known natural law, could afford the least support to Noah's faith. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, but

By

* Gen. v. 24; Heb. xi. 5.
$ Gen. vii. 11.

+ Gen. vi. 1-7.

Gen. vi. 5-21.

Gen. vii. 18 20.

the naked promise of God on which the patriarch could rely. But God had said it, and God's word was true. Moreover, the promise of the Saviour was involved in their safety. This was enough. God could not deny himself. Noah rested here: both faith and reason found repose in the truth and immutability of God. It mattered not what Nature said, so long as the God of Nature had uttered the promise. + Noah believed, and was safe-as safe amid the roaring cataracts and swelling billows of the deluge as if he had been caught up to the throne of God. You know the result. God's truth was honoured; Noah was preserved. Again he trod the green earth, beheld the radiant bow of the covenant span the brow of heaven, and saw successive golden harvests wave; he lived for three hundred and fifty summers more; he saw his posterity multiply around him; but he saw not the promised Saviour. § Yet he trusted on; though he saw not, he still believed; and in his expiring moments the aged patriarch rested on the ancient promise for the favour of God and everlasting life, for he died in faith. ||

**

ABRAHAM stands prominent as the father of the faithful and the pattern of believers. To him the ancient promise of the Saviour descended through the pious family of Shem, and was cordially embraced by Abraham to his personal salvation; and not only so: the promise was renewed and enlarged by additional revelations to himself. ¶ Yet never at any time was the promise of the covenant surrounded with greater difficulties, mysteries, and physical impossibilities than it was in the history and experience of this patriarch. God gave to him a new promise that he should have a son, with an express declaration that through that son the Saviour should come. But the promise of a son was postponed and delayed, until, through advanced age, the powers of procreation were exhausted; and thus the fulfilment of the promise became, in his own experience, a physical impossibility. And if the fulfilment of this promise was naturally impossible, equally so was the fulfilment of the original promise of the Saviour impossible, because the special covenant of God had restricted the descent of the Messiah to the promised son of Abraham.++ Here, then, was a dilemma in which the laws of human physiology and the promise of God were in direct antagonism; the very promise on which his eternal hopes were based was contradicted by the physiology of his own nature. Which side of the dilemma must the patriarch take? If guided by Nature, he must renounce Revelation; if guided by Revelation, he must renounce the constancy of the laws of Nature, and believe in spite of human philosophy. In this conflict the mind of Abraham rose to that sublime philosophy of faith which takes hold of higher truths than those of material Nature -the veracity and immutability of God. God had said it, and God was true. Nature was God's servant, and not his master, and would do his bidding, with law or without law, just as his wisdom might determine. "He hoped against hope." He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God." (Rom. iv. 18-21.)

* Gen. vi. 18.
Heb. xi. 13.

+ Heb. xi. 7.

** Gen. xviii.

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Gen. ix. 1-17. § Gen. ix. 28. Gen. xii. 1-3; and Gen. xvii. ++ Gen. xvii. 15-21; Gen. xviii. 11-14; Heb. xi. 11, 12.

His faith was honoured, and

Nor did Abraham believe in vain. God's word was verified. Isaac at length is given, given by miracle. But now there comes another trial greater than all, for the son of promise, now arrived at manhood, is commanded to be offered in sacrifice. What then becomes of the original promise of the Saviour through him? For now the fulfilment of that original promise is as much dependent upon Isaac's life, as before it was dependent upon Isaac's birth; but if Isaac is to be slain, and his bones calcined to ashes as a burnt-offering, how can the Saviour come through him, seeing as yet he has no offspring? And if the Saviour come not through Isaac, he cannot come at all; for the covenant expressly said, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called." And again, if the promise fail, there is no possibility of personal salvation to the patriarch himself, nor to the patriarchs before him, nor to any other devoted men who had died relying on that ancient promise. All these consequences were contingent upon Isaac's life, and now that life is commanded to be taken away, and to be taken away by the father's own hand. Here was another dilemma, and a dilemma more painful and trying than all— for it impinges on parental affection as well as on the laws of Nature. And not only so, but here were two revelations, and one seemed to contravene the other. In this perplexity neither the laws of Nature, nor the ordinary axioms of logic could avail; but there was the law of simple faith, which assured the soul that God was true, and if God was true, the promise could not fail. And this faith could elevate the reasoning faculty to a sublimer argument than secular logic-the argument that God, who gave Isaac by miracle, could also raise him from the dead by miracle, and thus harmonize the promise with the precept, and honour both his own veracity and the faith of his people. To this argument the faith of the patriarch rose, and he both believed the promise, and evinced his faith by advancing with steady step to obey the mysterious command. Regardless of what Nature said, Abraham believed only what God said, assured that God's word was unalterably true, that Nature was subordinate to his will and obedient to his purposes, and that he would sooner change or suspend the whole course of Nature, than allow one jot or tittle of his word to fail.†

The faith of ISAAC was the same simple, confiding trust, co-operating with the same sublime exercise of reason in apprehending the highest truths; for he knew his relation to the first promise, and, like his father, depended upon it for personal salvation; and depending thereon, was willing to give up life at God's command, and enter into eternity by a sudden and violent death, relying upon the promise of the Saviour, which had not yet been fulfilled, and which he knew could not be fulfilled except through his own life either preserved or restored. Here was a faith which ennobled reason while it honoured God. And Jehovah honoured both, and fully demonstrated his veracity. You know the result. When faith had culminated in the highest point of obedience, Jehovah interposed, Isaac was spared, the faithful father and son were blessed with new and more glorious revelations as the reward of their fidelity. They lived many years in happy union, they saw their children's children gather around them,

Gen. xvii. 19, 21; and Gen. xxi. 12.

+ Gen. xxii.; Heb. xi. 17-19.

but they saw not the promised Saviour. Yet, though seeing him not, they believed in him, and dying, rested on him for final salvation and eternal happiness. They "died in faith."*

For want of space we pass by the faith of JACOB, merely remarking that he believed and accepted the ancient promise of a Saviour, with the augmented revelations given to his forefathers; and not only so, but further revelations of the same gracious covenant were given to himself; for he prophesied that "the sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come." And though he saw not the Shiloh with his own eyes, he continued to believe the promise, and waited for his coming; for the exclamation he uttered in his dying moments reveals the believing and expectant attitude of his soul-"I have waited for thy salvation, O Jehovah." Jacob died in faith. (Gen. xlix. 10, 18; Heb. xi. 21.)

MOSES stands before us a bright example of faith. Though brought up at the court of Pharaoh, and educated in all the wisdom of Egypt; though surrounded by the seductions of sensual pleasure, and the pomp and pageantry of palatial honour, he believed and accepted the promise of the Messiah, by a faith that overcame the world, and rose superior to all the difficulties and natural improbabilities which environed that ancient revelation. Though two thousand five hundred years had passed away since the first promise was made, he believed it to be true. Though he saw idolatry enthroned, and the power of the old Adversary not "crushed," but everywhere dominant; though he beheld the children of the covenant downtrodden, oppressed, and enslaved; and though the cruel edict of Pharaoh to destroy all the male offspring of Israel, seemed to extinguish the last ray of hope that the promise of God could be fulfilled, yet he still believed in its veracity, and that with a vigour which pierced through the dark cloud of the present, and gazed on a brighter future; with a realizing vividness that recognized even then, in the very midst of the persecuted bond-slaves, the spiritual presence of the promised "CHRIST;" in the view of whom the splendour of Egyptian palaces grew dim, and the wealth of that mighty nation became as dung and dross; for "he endured, as seeing him who is invisible," and "had respect unto the recompense of the reward, esteeming the reproach of CHRIST greater riches than the treasures in Egypt"+ (Heb. xi. 23—27).

* Gen. xx. 15-18; Heb. xi. 13.

+ Here the word Christ or Messiah is distinctly named by the apostle as the object of the faith of Moses, a conclusive proof that Moses both embraced the ancient promise and understood it as a prediction of a personal Redeemer and Saviour. So respecting the other believers antecedent to Moses, there is sufficient evidence that their faith had special reference to the ancient promises respecting the Great Deliverer. The reader will find the texts referred to by us in support of this view placed as foot-notes. A full and formal demonstration of this might be set forth, if the limits of a sermon did not restrain our pen. It may be sufficient to draw attention to the following evidence. The distinction between the sacrifice of an animal victim by Abel and an offering of fruits by Cain; the acceptance of the former and the rejection of the latter; and the reason assigned by the apostle for this difference-namely, the faith of the one and the unbelief of the other. But faith implies something believed; and something believed implies something revealed. What, then, was revealed? The Great Deliverer, the woman's "SEED," who should come and bruise the serpent's head. If this was specially the revelation believed and accepted by Abel, it was the revelation rejected by Cain. Hence the different mode of their worship-different, because the worship of each sprang from opposite sentiments, the one of faith, the other unbelief: and hence the rejection of the one

Moses lived to the advanced age of one hundred and twenty years, and saw mighty wonders wrought by the power of God. He saw part of the promises to Abraham fulfilled; he saw Egypt ten times smitten by the rod of Jehovah's anger; he saw Israel leave the land of bondage, and the sea divided for their rescue; he saw daily miracles wrought for the sustentation of his people; and he saw the terrible grandeur of Jehovah's presence at Sinai; but he saw not the promised Saviour. He spoke of him in prophecy as the mighty Prophet who should come, and to whom the gathering of the people should be; but he died without the sight. Yet, when dying, leaning on the bosom of the Almighty, and his eyes glancing from Pisgah's summit on the fair land of Canaan stretching before him, his faith rested on the promise of the Redeemer, in whom he trusted for acceptance and eternal blessedness. Moses died in faith. (Exod. vii., viii., ix., x., xi., xiv.,

xix., and Deut. xxiv. 1-5.)

DAVID, the prophet-king of Israel, was a man of faith. To him the promises of the covenant descended as a precious heirloom, illumined by the instructive symbols of the ceremonial law, and in early life he embraced them to his personal salvation. The Psalms, those beautiful prophetic poems, those precious memorials of Jewish piety, show how faith wrought in the soul of David the experience of pardon, peace, communion with God, and joyous hope of everlasting life. The Psalms show also how new revelations brightened and expanded ancient truths, and how among these new revelations there shine some predictions of special lustre, which speak expressly of the promised "Seed" as the "Messiah," and declare that he should descend from the loins of the honoured Psalmist himself, and be called the Son of David.* Still, the fulfilment was a thing of the future, not of the present. The world was now growing old; three thousand years had passed since the first promise was given, and during all those ages,

and the acceptance of the other. For without faith it is impossible to please God. So in reference to Enoch, the same principle, faith, is recognized as the ground of his acceptance; but faith in what? In that which justifies the promise of the Saviour. And so clear is the evidence of the faith of Enoch in the first coming of the Saviour, that he prophesied even his second coming. (See Jude 14, 15.) So of Noah, in addressing whom God says expressly, "With thee will I establish my covenant" (Gen. vi. 18). What covenant? Emphatically "God's covenant"-the covenant of redemption given in the promise of the Saviour; and the fidelity of God in reference to this great covenant was involved in the safety of Noah in the ark, for his safety was made essential to its fulfilment. So, in addressing Abraham, how oft we hear reiterated the promise of a "SEED," which, the apostle tells us, meant "CHRIST." (See Gal. iii. 16.) And how oft, too, we hear the same solemn words reiterated to Abraham as had been uttered to Noah, "And I will establish my covenant between me and thee." And again, respecting his son, even before he was yet born, we have the same words, " But my covenant will I establish with Isaac." To Jacob the same covenant descended, with its promises of a "SEED," in whom and through whom all the families of the earth should be blessed. (Compare Gen. xv. 18; xvii. 7, 21; xxii. 18; xxviii. 13.) And in every instance, whatever promises are made to the patriarchs as to their having "SEED," the "SEED OF THE WOMAN' in the first promise was included-was, indeed, essentially implied as the kernel of the meaning, as the foundation truth, the covenant guarantee of the other promises; and the belief of this great truth was the ground of their justification and acceptance with God. Hence it is said of Abraham, when he had accepted this great promise," And Abraham believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteous. ness." The same faith in the same great truth was accepted by the other patriarchs, and each realized the same blessing, and each died in faith.

* Ps. ii. 2; lxxii. 1, 2, 15, 17; lxxxix. 3, 29, 35-37; cx. 1, 2; and compare with Luke i. 32, 33.

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