390 L SnORT VIEW OP SCRIPTURE HISTORY. 44. Q. Did Ishmael perish in the wilderness? A. The" angel of God appeared to llagar, and shewed her a spring of water when they were dying with thirst ; and Ishmael grew up to be a great man, and the father of a large nation ; Gen. xxi. 16-20. and xxv. 16. 45. Q. Who was Isaac's mother ? A. Isaac was the son of Abraham by Sarah his wife, according to the promise of Gód when they were both grown old ; Gen. xxi. 1 -8. Rom. ix. 7, 8. 46. Q. Why is Abraham called the father of the faith. ful, that is, of the believers ? A. Because he believed the pro- mises of God a_ainst all probable appearance, and was a pat- tern to other believers in all ages ; Gen. xv. 16. Rom, iv. 11, 12. 47. Q. What were the three chief promises which God gave Abraham ? A. 1. That he should have a son when he Was, a hundred years old. 2. That his children should possess the land of Canaan, when he had not ground enough to set his foot on there. And 3. That all the families of the earth should be blessed in him and his offspring, when he was but a private per- son ; Gen. xvii. 8, 16, 17. and xii. 3. Acts vii. 5. 48. Q. What did this last promise mean ? A. That Jesup Christ the Saviour of men should come from his family; Cal. iii. 8, 18. 49. Q. What did God appoint to Abraham for a token of these promises and this covenant, and of his own acceptance with God? A. He commanded him and all his sons to be circumcised in all generations; Gen. xvii. 7 -10. Rom. iv. 11. 50. Q. What was the religion of Abraham ? A. The same with the religion of Adam after the fall in Chapter I. Q. 30. and the religion of Noah under Chapter II. Q. 6. with the addition of circumcision, and the expectation of Canaan to bé given to his seed as a type of heaven, and a trust in the promise of the Saviour who should spring from him and bless all nations. Note. This was called the Abraltamical dispensation ; but it was confined to the family of Abraham in the literal sense of it, with those temporal precepts and promises of circumcision and the inheritanceof Canaan ; though in the spiritual sense of it, it reaches to every good man, and thus Abraham is their father; Rom. iv. 16, 17. 51. Q. How did Abraham further and most eminently shew his obedience to God? A. In his readiness to offer uphis son Isaac at God's command ; Gen. xxii. 12, 52. Q. And dici he o1l'cr him in sacrifice? A. No, God withheld his hand, and sent a ram to be sacrificed in his stead; tiien. sxii. 13. 33. Q. What further favours did Abraham receive from
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