14 Ì heExcellency ofAbraham'sFaith andObedience. Vol. I. AridofthisDifficulty the Apoftle takes exprefs notice in the Text, that He that hadreceived the promifes (that is, was perfwaded of the Truth and Faithfulnefs of them) oferedup his only begotten Son, of whom. it was faid, That in Ifaac (hall thy Seedbe called. And this Obje&ion is really fo ftrong, that if Abraham could not have given himfelf fatisfadion about it, he might juftly have queftioned the Truth of the Revelation. For no Man can poffrbly entertain two contradictory Revelations as from God, but he mull of neceffity queftion one orboth of them : But fo ftrong was Abraham'sFaith, as not to be [haken by the feeming contradi&ion of thefe two Revelations. II. We will "confider the conftancy of his .Refolution to obey God, notwith- ftanding the harfhnefs and difficulty of the thing. Tho' Abraham were firmly perfwaded, that this Command tokill. his Son was really fromGod; yet it is no Bale matter for a Man to bring himfelfto obey God in fo difficult á cafe, and out, ofineer reverence to theDivine Authority, to diveft himfelf of his Nature, and to thwart the ftrongeft Inclinations of it ; a Man would be very apt to con- fer with Flefh and Blood in fuclt a Cafe. Let but any Man that knows what it is to be a Father, lay his hand upon his heart, and confider his own Bowels; and he will be aftonillted at Abraham's Obedience as well as his Faith. To take his Son, his only Son, his Son whom he loved, and in whom he pla= cod all his hopes of a happy Pofterity, and with his own hands to deftroy him and all his hopes together ! It muff be a ftrong Faith that will engage a Man to Obedience in fodifficult an Inftance. There is one Circumftance more efpecially, which renders .graham's-Obedi- ence veryremarkable ; the Deliberatenefs of the. Action. It had not been fo much; if fo foon as he had received this Command from God, he had upon a fudden impnlfe and tranfport of Zeal done this. But that his Obediencemight be the more glorious,and haveall 'theCiréùtnftan- tes ofadvantage given to it, God would have it done deliberately, and upon full confideration ; and therefore he bad him go tp the Mountain three days Journey from the place where he was, and there to offer up his Son. It is in Acts of Virtue and Obedience, as in Acts of Sin and Vice; the more deliberate the Sin is, and the more calm and fettote temper the Mai is in when he commits it, the greater is the Fault ; whereas what is done by furprize, in the heat of Temptation, or tranfport of Paffion, bath foie excufe from the fuddennefs and undeliberatenefs of it. So it is in Alls of Virtue and Obedience, efpecially if they be attended with confiderable difficulty, the more deliberately they are done, the more virtuous they are, and the greater praife is due to them. Now that Abraham's Obedience might want nothing to heighten it, God feems on purpofe to have put fo long a fpace betwixt the Command and the Perfor- mance of it ; he gives him time to cool upon it, to weigh the Command, and to look on every fide of this difficult Duty ; he gives Scope for his Reafon to ar- gue and debate the Cafe, and opportunity for Natural Affection to play its part, and forFlefh and Blood to raïfe all its Batteries againft the Refolution which he had taken up. And now we may eafily imagiti , what Conflill this good Man had within himfelf, during thofe three Days that he was travelling to the Mountain in.Mo- riah; andhow his Heart was ready to berent in pieces, betwixt this Duty to God, and his Affe&ion tohis Child ; fo that every ftep of this unwelcome and weari- fome Journey, he did as it were lay violent hands upon himfelf. He was to offer up his Son but once ; but he facrificed himfelf andhis own Will every Moment for three Days together; and when he came thither, and . all things were ready, the Altar, the Wood, and the Fire, and the Knife,. it muff needs be a ftabbing Queftion, and wound him to the Heart, which his In- nocent Son fo innocently askt hits, Where is the Lamb, for a Burnt-offering? It
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