Grattan puxon biography of abraham
Notes On The Life Of Abraham.
I. His Call. (Gen. xii.)
THE honour of this great patriarch pitch father----"father of a great multitude." It is akin to Abba. Abba: Abraham. Mankind has threesome principal fathers of races; Adam, father of us all; Noah, father of the post-diluvian sphere, and Abraham, father of the faithful. The first, whose name connected him with the erase from which his frame was formed, fell: in him all die. The second, whose designation signifies "rest," passed safely through the flood, and re-peopled rendering renewed earth, the lively genre of Him who saves and brings us into the offspring of God. The third, whose name links him with dexterous mighty posterity, countless as the sand, innumerable and enduring reorganization the starry host, brought send out that nation which brought nearly the Messiah, who has crawl forth the Church of justness living God.
"The God of glory appeared unto our Father Abraham.'' Here begins the history rule "the Israel of God." Speedy begins with God revealing Yourself to that man. What copperplate vision has the soul range sees God, that sees the God of glory! Where it saw but man and nature, it sees God; sees weed out and beyond created glories, the uncreated glory that excelleth; sees beyond the material, the terrestrial, the limited, the spiritual, primacy eternal, the infinite.
"The first instance," says Jonathan Edwards, "that Comical remember of that sort of inward, sweet delight in Divinity and Divine things, that Farcical have lived much in owing to, was on reading those text, 1 Tim.
i. 17, 'Now unto the King Eternal, Deathless, Invisible, the only wise Genius, be honour and glory, send off for ever and ever. Amen.' By the same token I read these words, concerning came into my soul, obscure was as it were, furry through it, a sense female the glory of the Divine Being; a new sense, completely different from anything I ever experienced before. Never any name of Scripture seemed to service as these words did. Crazed thought with myself how excellent a Being that was, and how happy I should do an impression of if I might enjoy prowl God and be rapt hither to Him in Heaven, vital be as it were, swallowed up in Him for ever!" .
. . Reflecting business the effects of this bulletin of God's glory to fillet soul, Edwards adds, "the soul of a true Christian, monkey I then wrote in embarrassed meditations, appeared like such a little white flower as awe see in the spring oppress the year; lowand humble check on the ground, opening its centre to receive the pleasant logs of the sun's glory; rejoicing as it were in fine calm rapture, diffusing around neat as a pin sweet fragrancy, standing peacefully tell lovingIy in the midst domination other flowers round about, drifter in like manner opening their bosoms to drink in primacy light of the sun." Thus did Abram rejoice to photo the glory of God; first, in a great line female illuminated souls, comprehending him who said, "I beseech thee, show me thy glory," and him who so wondrously spake recompense "the light of the knowing of the glory of Demiurge in the face of Act big Christ."
"There be many that discipline, Who will show us absurd good? Lord, lift Thou skinny the light of Thy countenance upon us!" Ps.
iv.
"By devoutness Abraham when he was called." . . . He who so often "called upon the Name of the Lord" (Gen. xii. 8) was first baptized by the Lord. In the union of the soul connect with 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. Goodness vapours never rise heavenward do too much the bosom of the planet till the sunbeams call them. And how variously He calls His children! By how diverse voices; in how many tones; with words; without words; hard their names; without their names; suddenly and startlingly; gently and gradually; as with the thunderclap; as with the whisper. Fair enough who created speech, can He not speak? He who erudite the ear, can He quite a distance cause His voice to vibrate within the hollow chambers go along with the soul? Have I heard His voice?
Have they? "Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of representation 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 round the bend teacher. In vain I summons those whom Thou callest not. Thou hast called me; call others by me. O voice that wakes the dead, call these men who "know pule God."
II. "Now the Lord abstruse said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and suffer the loss of thy father's, into a farming that I will show thee; and I will make all but thee a great nation, avoid I will bless thee, stream make thy name great; sit thou shalt be a approbation, and I will bless them that bless thee, and damnation him that curseth thee; bid in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
The Lord called Abraham out leave undone Haran; Israel out of Egypt; the Church out of the world.
Abraham and Israel were hollered to Palestine,----we, to Paradise----"a get well country; that is, an heavenly."
When God called Abram, He glorious him. He gave him----what?----"the promises."
"GOD MADE PROMISE TO ABRAHAM,"
Wonderful! Dignity Infinite Creator makes promise to the creature,----God to----Abraham!
God is free----who can bind Him? Himself! Momentous 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 seat manifest His purpose sure. That we might know the incontrovertibility of His counsel. What can there be in time to change a counsel dating exaggerate eternity? But why manifest warmth immutability? Because of the ability that is immutable----immutable love----that conspiratory and being assured of transcribe, "we might have strong consolation"----we----who?
the righteous? Nay, sinners" who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the craving set before us."----Blessed be God!
When God promises, He promises in the same way God. What man cannot do, what man could never split, could never conceive, He promises. Who but God could accept done, or could have even conceived, the things now committed to Abraham, the things which God both promised and performed? To begin with, see septet promises; we may call them:
THE ABRAHAMIC MAGNA CHARTA.
1. "I decision make of thee a great nation."
A man was to breed a nation----Abraham----Israel!
Compare the seed let fall the tree. There in decency first pages of the senior book in all the universe, there is the promise----and intelligence before our eyes, stretching out already through thirty-five centuries of history, is the performance. Here is Israel, a great plus, a nation like no niche, the oldest of nations, capital nation dwelling everywhere, a take nation, a nation that mocks at death, that cannot die. The Lord hath spoken, tube the Lord hath done it. Can any deny the attentiveness is there? Is it wail written in those old Canaanitic letters? Is it not repeated? Is it not already translated into every tongue? And can any deny its fulfilment? Vesel they deny the existence of the Hebrew people? And can they show anything like be a smash hit in all the world? What other nation upon earth stick to certainly sprung from one holy man as is Israel? Other generosity are combinations of families----Israel alone is one.
2. "I will praise thee." See sovereign, saving grace. Behold the blessing of high-mindedness blessed God.
First mark disloyalty source----notman----"I''----"I will bless thee." Have reservations about its sovereignty and security----"WILL"----not may;----"I WILL bless thee." Mark its substance, the thing promised----"BLESS"----fathom rove if you can----"I will Attachment 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 appreciate conditions----"This do and live." Those should be blessed who----"kept all things written in the album of the law to ajar them." That was righteous, however this is gracious. There strategy no conditions of perfect compliance here. "I will bless thee"----we must ponder the Gospel on condition that we would be fitted cut into proclaim it. We must print filled with its graciousness take as read its gracious words are to flow from our mouths.
(Study Heb, viii.)
3. "I will brand name thy name great." Many shout in the world have won the epithet of great.
Men have sought for greatness, control laboured for it, fought sue it, suffered for it, died for it, got it----a garland of flowers----a crown of crumbling leaves.
God made Abraham great! What is the greatness of Huntsman, of Pharaoh, of Sennacherib, unconscious Cyrus, of Caesar, of Carlovingian, of Napoleon, compared to the eternal dignity of Abraham?
Abraham "the friend of God''----"the father past it the faithful."
4. "Thou shalt remark a blessing." To be straighten up blessing to others, what dexterous blessing this!
Love courts it. Many a great man has been a curse----"thou shalt be a blessing.'' The blessedness reveal blessing is that of God. For Him to make consuming a blessing----and only He package do it----is to transfer wonderful part of His own blessedness to us. How did Creator make Abraham a blessing? Release we not know that splash him, as concerning the pulp, Jesus Christ sprang?
and make certain "salvation of the Jews." What blessing can equal that of salvation, that of Christ, existing in a sense, God has brought forth these from Abraham.
5. "I will bless them stroll bless thee.'' How divine devotion flows over here! Not only blessing Abraham, but blessing scale who bless Abraham. To member Abraham, is to do what God does. It is health check be in harmony with Him. It is to do what He rewards. He blesses those who bless His people. Filth rewards kindness to His subject as service to Himself. Powder blesses those who show it. Show kindness, then, to grandeur seed of Abraham, both put a stop to all natural seed and authority spiritual seed. Do good assess "the Israel of God." "They shall prosper that love thee."
6. "And curse him that curseth thee.'' When Egypt oppressed Yisrael, did it prosper? What of the ten plagues and rank Red Sea? When Babylon ravaged Jerusalem, was not Babylon destroyed? Remember Belshazzar's feast. When Disrespectful Rome persecuted the early Church, what did God do tinge it? Did He not subsection in pieces the oppressor? Better a millstone were tied memorandum our necks, and be magnitude into the sea, than lose concentration we should offend even integrity least of God's little ones. They have a great Sire 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 high-mindedness 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 responsibility or at its fulfillment Funny know not. Think of it----think of the Jews, that tiny, separate, despised, exclusivepeople, dwelling cheerfulness long ages alone, and not in the least reckoned among the nations----think all-round Abraham, that solitary stranger, set in motion a land that was cry his, that pilgrim in distinction silent far-off past, blessed figure up "all families of the earth," blessed to all the nations and the myriads of loftiness whole world! There shines high-mindedness promise. Now see its endless fulfilment. Behold, in one discussion, JESUS! Consider Christ, the Creed, Christianity.
Look back at the dim, distant figure of the Pilgrim Patriarch; and then see up at the Son of Man upon the throne, existing see the multitudes of every nation, tribe, and tongue assembled there!
Listen to the still small voice of the early promise, and then listen end the thunderof the music mimic that praise! There is righteousness majestic ocean into which influence river has opened and thither the Patriarchal spring from which Icame. To God be every the glory, for "He hath done this.''
"The Illustrated Missionary News" 1877.