follow you all the days of your life.”

Those fears

little reliance "Why then

and apprehensions for the future, which you sometimes feel, shew but little faith, but upon the pastoral care of the Lord. are ye cast down, O our souls, and why are ye disquieted within us? Trust in God." Trust in him, christans; he will safely conduct you through this vale of tears, render you triumphant in death, and then receive you to that better world where your Shepherd "shall feed you and shall lead you unto living fountains of waters;" where he "shall wipe away all tears from your eyes."

SERMON XVI.

ABRAHAM OFFERING UP ISAAC.

GENESIS xxii. 1, 2.

"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: And he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."

MY brethren, the event related in the text is no less affecting and instructive than astonishing. I am not surprised that the worshippers of Moloch should offer their children in sacrifice to this pretended Deity; these worshippers were superstitious; this God was cruel. But that our merciful Father, who willeth only the happiness of his creatures, should impose such a trial as this upon a tender parent; that this parent should so overcome the strongest feelings of nature as to comply with it without murmuring; these are events which fill me with admiration, till I recollect on the one hand the wise ends which God hereby accomplished, and on the other the power and strength of that faith which upheld the

pious Abrahan. But, cold admiration is not the only sentiment which this history should excite; it is calculated to awaken the tenderest feeelings and to afford us the most useful lessons. I propose, that this purpose may be answered to review the circumstances of this event, and then to enquire what practical instructions may be derived from it.

God of Abraham and of Isaac, eternal Father of that Saviour whom Isaac weakly prefigured, let our meditations on this subject tend to increase our holiness, and to inspire us with that faith, which will make us victorious not only over the world and sin, but also over the improper indulgence of those powerful feelings of nature, which become criminal only through excess.

It is pleasing and useful to contemplate pious men, supported in the midst of difficulties and distresses by the consolations of religion, and the exercise of faith. From such examples we are taught more compendiously and forcibly than we could be by precept, the value of piety, the duty of submission to the will of God. Such instructions we may derive from this event in the life of the patriarch Abraham.

He had now arrived to an advanced old age, and living in strict communion with his God, hoped to descend in peace to the house of silence. He was sur

rounded by temporal enjoyments; he had received from the Almighty that noblest and most endearing of titles, the "friend of God;" he saw his memory about to be perpetuated, in a son dearly and deservedly beloved, a son given him by miracle, a son in whose seed the nations were to be blessed. But, human hopes, how fallacious are you! Earthly bliss, how easily art thou destroyed! God will not suffer his children to remain in this world without afflictions and sorrows, lest they should forget that this is not their abiding city, lest their desires after the heavenly inheritance should be cooled or ex. tinguished. It was thus that he acted towards Abraham: "And it came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham." The word, to tempt, is generally used in an ill sense, signifying to incite to sin; in this sense, God cannot as St. James asserts, tempt any man: when he is said to tempt his children, the meaning is, that he so orders events in his providence that their piety may be strongly attacked, and its warmth and sincerity attested by a victory over dangerous assaults. It would be better perhaps to translate the original word, did try ; which is its primitive signification. "did try Abraham, and said unto him Abraham; We are ignoand he said, Behold, here I am." rant in what precise manner the Lord revealed himself to this his faithful servant; he did it however in such a manner as to assure Abraham that he was

God then

t

addressed by God. It was a voice that was fa miliar and dear to the patriarch; he had often been blest by such intimate intercourse with his Mas ter; the most precious promises had in this manner been made to him; he listens to it now with eagerness, expecting perhaps new favours. What is it then which the Lord announces?" Take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest." Ah! when Abraham heard only these words, his attention became more fixed; he supposed doubtless that this dear object of his affection was about to partake of new mercies from his Lord, was to receive either new promises or to obtain the confirmation of those that had already been made to him. What a stroke was this order which follows! Take this son so dearly, so justly beloved by thee, "and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains that I shall tell thee of." Holy Abraham! what a trial was this; how great was that faith which could triumph over it!

It would have been much, had the pious patriarch merely been told that Isaac must die-it had been much to relinquish all those fond hopes which he had cherished, and which he had believed that he was authorized to entertain from the promises of God. But then his grief would be mitigated by watching around the sick bed of his son, by assuag