Part 30
God, the clipper and the cutter of God's Law? If you know it to be
the right, I charge you on your faith, obey!
O Sirs, this world has come to a sad pass because of the tricks
men play with their consciences! This is the cause of all those
unnatural senses that people give to texts and creeds! This is the
secret reason why the religion of this land which claims to be
Protestant, is becoming Popish to its very core–because evangelical
men have sworn to a Popish catechism and given it another sense–
and instead of coming out of a corrupt Church, have dallied with
their consciences and so by their practice have nullified their
preaching and taught men to lie! Small wonder is it that traders rob
and cheat when men professing godliness use words in senses
which they can never bear to unsophisticated minds. If professing
men were but jealous for the glory of God and exact and precise in
all their walking before the Most High, they would have more of
the honor, more of the blessedness of Abraham–and their influence
upon the world would be more like salt and less like the evil leaven
which corrupts the mass.
But we must pass on to notice next Abraham's prudence.
Prudence, some of us heard this last week, may be a great virtue,
but often becomes one of the meanest and most beggarly of vices.
Prudence rightly considered is a notable handmaid to faith. And the
prudence of Abraham was seen in this, that he did not consult Sarah
as to what he was about to do. Naturally, Prudence, as we call it,
would have said, "This is a strange command. You had better
consult with the wise about it. You believe it comes from God, but
you may be mistaken in your impression. At least, it is due to
Sarah, having such an interest in her own child, to take her
judgment in the matter. Moreover, there is that good man Eliezer–
he has often helped and guided you in a dilemma–you had better
have a talk with him."
"Yes," but Abraham probably thought, "these beloved ones may
weaken me. They cannot strengthen my resolution or alter my
duty," and, therefore, like Paul, he did not consult with flesh and
blood. After all, my Brethren, what is the good of consulting when
we know the Lord's mind? If I go to the Bible and see very plainly
there that such-and-such a thing is my duty–for me to consult with
man as to whether I shall obey God or not is treason against the
Majesty of Heaven! It is vile for us to consult with men when we
have the plain command of God! Fancy an inferior officer in an
army, when ordered in the hour of battle to lead an attack, turning
round to a fellow soldier to ask his opinion of the orders he has
received from the commander-in-chief! Let the man be tried by
court-martial, or shot down upon the field–he is utterly unloyal! It
needs no overt act. The thought is mutiny! The words of enquiry a
flat rebellion. When God commands, we have nothing left but to
obey. Consultations with flesh and blood are sins of scarlet dye.
Notice, further, Abraham's alacrity. He rose early in the morning.
Oh, but the most of us would have taken a long sleep! Or if we
could not nave slept, we would have lain till dinner time at least,
tossing restlessly. "What? Slay my son–my only son Isaac? The
command does not specify the hour–there is no peremptory word
as to the time of starting upon the awful journey. At least let us
postpone it as long as we may, for the dear young man's sake! Let
him live as long as possible." But no. Delay was not in the
Patriarch's mind. Is it not grand? The holy man rises early! He will
let his God see that He can trust him and that he will do His
bidding without reluctance.
O Believers, always be prompt in doing what God commands
you! Hesitate not! The very pith of your obedience will lie in your
making haste and delaying not to keep the Lord's commandment.
He showed his alacrity, again, by the fact that he prepared the wood
himself. It is expressly said that he "split the wood." He was a
sheik and a mighty man in his camp, but he became a wood-
splitter, thinking no work menial if done for God and reckoning the
work too sacred for other hands. With splitting heart he splits the
wood. Wood for the burning of his heir! Wood for the sacrifice of
his own dear child! Herein you see the alacrity of Abraham and
may it be ours to obey God with such a ready zeal that in every
little circumstance of our obedience it shall be seen that we are not
unwilling slaves chained to the oar of duty and flogged to service
by the threats of the Law, but loving children of a Father whom we
count it our highest joy to serve, even though that service should
involve the sacrifice of our dearest Isaacs.
Further, I must ask you to notice Abraham's forethought. He did
not desire to break down in his deeds. Having split the wood, he
took with him the fire and everything else necessary to
consummate the work. Some people take no forethought about
serving God and then if a little hitch occurs, they cry out that it is a
Providential circumstance and make an excuse of it for escaping
the unpleasant task. Oh, how easy it is when you do not want to
involve yourselves in trouble, to think that you see some reason for
not doing so! "You know," says one, "we must live." "Ah," says
another, "why should I throw myself out of a situation merely
because of a small point of conscience? And, indeed, there has just
now happened a circumstance which almost compels me to act
against my belief, at least for a time. Indeed, Providence dearly
bids me remain as I am. I know the Bible says I ought to act
differently, but still, you know, we must take circumstances into
consideration, and if they do not quite alter the commandments,
they may, you know, be an excuse for postponing obedience."
Abraham, the wise, thoughtful servant of God, takes care, as far
as possible, to forestall all difficulties that might prevent his doing
right. "No," he says, "there is no compromise for me, my duty is
clear. Does God command it? I will provide all that is necessary for
the fulfillment of His will. I want no excuse for drawing back, for
draw back I will not, come what may." Observe, further, Abraham's
perseverance. He continues three days in his journey, journeying
towards the place where he was as much to sacrifice himself as to
sacrifice his child. He bids his servants remain where they were,
fearful, perhaps, lest they might be moved by pity to prevent the
sacrifice.
Now you and I would have liked to provide ourselves with some
friend who might have stepped in to prevent and have taken the
responsibility off our shoulders. But, no, the good man puts
everything aside that may prevent him going to the end. Then he
puts the wood on Isaac. Oh, what a load he placed on his own heart
as he lay that burden on his dear son! He carried the fire himself in
the censer at his side, but what a fire consumed his heart! How
sharp was the trial when the son said, "My Father, behold the fire
and the wood, but where is the lamb?" Was there no tear for the
Patriarch to brush away? He made but a short reply.
We have every reason to believe that other replies followed which
are not recorded, in which he explained to his son how the case
stood and what it was that God had commanded. It is hard to
suppose that Isaac would have blindly yielded, unless first an
explanation had been given that such a command had come from
the highest Authority and must be obeyed. Oh, the unhappiness of
the father's mind! But let me rather say the majesty of the father's
faith that he puts down all his feelings and though Nature speaks,
yet Faith speaks louder, still. And if the deep of his affliction calls
out loud, yet the deeper faith in his God calls louder still.
Now see him! See the holy man as he gathers up the loose stones
which lie upon Mount Moriah! See him take them and with the
assistance of his son, place them one upon another till the altar has
been built. Do you see him next lay the wood upon the altar in
order? No signs of flurry or trepidation. See him bind his son with
cords! Oh, what cords were those binding his poor, poor heart! He
lays his son upon the altar as though he were a victim! Now he
unsheathes the knife and the deed is about to be done!
But God is content. Abraham has truly sacrificed his son in his
heart and the command is fulfilled. Notice the obedience of this
friend of God–it was no playing at giving up his son–it was really
doing it. It was no talking about what he could do and would do,
perhaps–his faith was practical and heroic. I call upon all Believers
to note this! We must not only love God so as to hope that we
should be ready to give up all for Him, but we must be literally and
actually ready to do it! We must ask for more faith, that when the
trial comes, we shall not be proved to have been mere windbag
pretenders–mere wordy talkers–but true to God in very deed.
"Ah," said one the other night, "I thought I had great faith, but
now that I am racked with pain, I find I have scarcely any." "Oh,"
might some of us say, "my God, I thought I had faith in You, but
now it comes to the endurance of this affliction which You put
upon me, I am ready to kick against You and cannot say, 'Your will
be done.'" Ah, how many professors love God until it comes to
losing their pence and their pounds! They will obey God until it
involves penury and poverty. They will be faithful to God till it
comes to scoffing and shame and then straightway they are
offended and thereby prove who is their god–for they turn away
from the unseen and look for what they call the main chance–for
the interest of time and their own gain and their own pleasures.
God is no God of theirs except to talk about. Let Christ's
commands be pleasing and men will accept them. Let them grind a
little too severely and men turn aside, for, after all, most professors
serve their God up to a certain point, but no further and so show
that they love not God at all.
I have but very feebly brought out into the light the obedience of
Abraham. I must not, however, leave the picture till I have
mentioned what was at the bottom of it all. Paul tells us in the 11 th
chapter of Hebrews, that "by faith Abrahamoffered up Isaac." Now
what was the faith that enabled Abraham to do this? Although
many expositors think not, I adhere to the opinion that Abraham
felt in his own mind that God could not lie and God's Word could
not fail, and therefore hoped to see Isaac raised from the dead.
"Now," he said to himself, "I have had an express promise that in
Isaac shall be my seed. And if I am called to put him to death, that
promise must still be kept and perhaps God will raise him from the
dead. Even if his body is consumed to ashes the Lord can yet
restore my son to life."
We are told in the New Testament that he believed in God, that
He could raise Isaac from the dead, from which he also received
him in a figure. Some have said, "But this lessens the trial."
Granted, if you will, but it does not lessen the faith–and it is the
faith which is most to be admired. He was sustained under the trial
by the conviction that it was possible for God to raise his son from
the dead and so to fulfill His promise. But under that, and lower
down, there was in Abraham's heart the conviction that by some
means, if not by that means, God would justify him in doing what
he was to do–that it could never be wrong to do what God
commanded him–that God could not command him to do a wrong
thing! And therefore doing it he could not possibly suffer the loss
of the promise made in regard to Isaac.
In some way or other, God would take care of him if he did but
faithfully keep to God's command. And I think the more indistinct
Abraham's idea may have been of the way in which God could
carry out the promise, the more glorious was the faith which still
held to it that nothing could frustrate the promise and that he would
do his duty, come what might. Brethren beloved in the Lord,
believe that all things work together for your good, and if you are
commanded by conscience and God's Word to do that which would
bankrupt you or cast you into disrepute, it cannot be a real hurt to
you! It must be all right!
I have seen men cast out of work owing to their keeping the
Lord's-Day. Or they have been, for a little time, out of a situation
because they could not fall into the tricks of trade and they have
suffered awhile. But, alas, some of them have lost heart after a time
and yielded to the evil! O for the faith which never will, under any
persuasion or compulsion, fly from the field! If men had strength
enough to say, "If I die and rot I will not sin. If they cast me out to
the carrion crow, yet still nothing shall make me violate my
conscience, or do what God commands me not to do, or fail to do
what God commands me to perform!" This is the faith of Abraham!
Would to God we had it! We should have a glorious race of
Christians if such were the case!
III. I have left myself only a few minutes for the last point, which
is, let us OBSERVE THE BLESSING WHICH CAME TO
ABRAHAM THROUGH THE TRIAL OF HIS FAITH. The
blessing was sevenfold. First, the trial was withdrawn–Isaac was
unharmed. The nearest way to be at the end of tribulation is to be
resigned to it. God will not try you when you can fully bear any
trial. Give up all and you shall keep all. Give up your Isaac and
Isaac shall not need to be given up! But if you will save your life,
you shall lose it.
Secondly, Abraham had the expressed approval of God–"Now I
know that you fear God." The man whose conscience bears witness
with the Holy Spirit enjoys great peace and that peace comes to
him because under that trial he has proved himself a true and
faithful servant. O Brothers and Sisters, if we cannot stand the trials
of this life, what shall we do in the Day of Judgment? If in the
common scales held in the hand of Providence we are found
wanting, what shall we do before that Great White Throne where
every thought shall be brought into judgment before the Most
High? How will you run with the horsemen at the last if you cannot
run with the footmen now? If we are afraid of a little loss and a
little scorn, what should we have done in days of the martyrs–when
men counted not their lives dear to them that they might win
Christ?
Abraham next had a clearer view of Christ than ever he had
before–no small reward. "Abraham saw My day," said Christ–"He
saw it and was glad." In himself, ready to sacrifice his son, he had a
representation of Jehovah who spared not His own Son. In the ram
slaughtered instead of Isaac, he had a representation of the great
Substitute who died that men might live. More than that, to
Abraham God's name was more fully revealed that day. He called
Him Jehovah-Jireh, a step in advance of anything that he had
known before. "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the
doctrine." The more you can stand the test of trials, the better
instructed shall you be in the things of God. There is light beyond
if you have Grace to press through the difficulty.
To Abraham that day the Covenant was confirmed by oath. The
Lord swore by Himself! Brothers and Sisters, you shall never get
the Grace of God so confirmed to you as when you have proved
your fidelity to God by obeying Him at all costs. You shall then
find how true are the promises, how faithful is God to the Covenant
of Grace. The quickest road to full assurance is perfect obedience!
While assurance will help you to obey, obedience will help you to
be assured–"If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My
love. Even as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in
His love."
Then it was that Abraham had, also, a fuller promise with regard
to the seed. Out of 10 promises which Abraham received, the first
are mainly about the land. But the last are concerning his seed. We
get to love Christ more, to value Him more, to see Him and to
understand Him better the more we are consecrated to the Lord's
will. And last of all, God pronounced over Abraham's head a
blessing, the like of which had never been given to man before!
And what if I say that to no single individual in the whole lapse of
time has there ever been given, distinctly and personally, such a
blessing as was given to Abraham that day?! First in trial, he is also
first in blessing! First in faithfulness to his God, he becomes first in
the sweet rewards which faithfulness is sure to obtain!
Brothers and Sisters, let us ask God to make us like Abraham, His
true children, that we may gain such rewards as he obtained. May
He help us to make a surrender this morning in our hearts of all that
we have of the dearest objects of our affections. May we by faith
take all to the altar today in our willingness to give all up, if so the
Lord wills. This day may we feel the spirit of perfect faith,
believing that God's promises must be kept though circumstances
of outward Providence and even our own inward feelings should
seem to belie the sure Word of God. Let us labor to know the
reality of life by faith! May we believe God in the same literal way
in which we believe our friends–but only after a higher and surer
sort!
Let us from this day so believe in God that we shall never ask a
question about consequences whenever we have a conviction of
duty. May we never pause to ask whether this shall make us rich or
poor, honorable, or despised–whether this will bring us peace or
bring us anguish–but onward, right onward, as though God had
shot us from the eternal bow, let us go right on in the full
conviction that if there is temporary darkness it must end in
everlasting light! If there is present loss, it must end in eternal gain!
Let us set to our seal that God is true, that the rewards are to the
righteous, and true peace to the obedient! Let us believe that in the
end it must be our highest gain to serve God though that service
should, for the present, bring with it dire loss!
O that there may be trained in this House a race of much enduring
Believers, who can endure hardness, but cannot endure sin! May
you, my Brothers and Sisters, obey your convictions as constantly
as matter obeys the laws of gravitation and may you never sell your
birthright for the world's wretched pottage. Could this House be
filled with such men and women, London would shake beneath the
tramp of our army! This whole land would perceive that a new
power had arisen up in the land!
Truth and righteousness would exalt their horn on high and then
would deceitful trading and greed for gold and Jesuitical faltering
with words–this flirting with the Popish harlot–would be put to an
end once and for all. O that the flag of truth and righteousness
might be unfurled by a valiant band–for that banner shall wave in
the day of the last triumph when the banners of earth shall be rolled
in blood! May our God thus bless us and all the ends of the earth
shall fear Him. The Lord make us true men like Abraham, true
because believing, and may He help us to sacrifice our all, if need
be, for Jesus' sake. Amen. PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ
BEFORE SERMON–Genesis 22.
Ge 22:8 • A Type and Its Teaching
ERMON 3523
A Type And Its Teaching
"And Abraham said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb
for a burnt offering."
Genesis 22:8
How stern the trial! How striking the triumph! How sublime, both
in action and passion, was the faith of Abraham in that terrible
crisis. It pleased God to try him on a very tender point. Abraham
had received a great promise, on the fulfillment of which he greatly
relied. Year after year elapsed, but no sign of the long-looked-for
child appeared. At length old age crept over the Patriarch and his
wife. Still he looked steadfastly for the promise because he
believed implicitly in the Promiser. He considered not the
infirmities of his own body, nor the deadness of Sarah's womb–he
waited patiently, not doubting that God would, in due time,
according to His promise, give him a son. What marvel, then, that
this son, when born, should be the object of Abraham's fondest
affection? Moreover, a strange halo of hope gathers round the lad's
head, for God has made him the heir of a Covenant. It is in Isaac
and in Isaac's seed that God will fulfill His Covenant which He has
made with Abraham. No, something still more mysterious is linked
with that youth's life. It is in him that all the nations of the earth
will be blessed. And now, when the Lord says, "Take your son,
your only son Isaac, whom you love," there is a cut in every word
at the most tender part of Abraham's soul. To slay his own son, to
cut off his hope of posterity, to sacrifice for a burnt-offering that
son who was a special gift of God's bounty, to kill him in whom he
looked for a further fulfillment of God's promise–to stop that
golden pipe through which mercy is to flow to the whole world, to
dam up that silver stream which is to enrich nations yet unborn–
that were to blast Abraham's brightest hopes as well as to wound
his most tender affections! God has cherished in him high
anticipations. He has been pleased to give him strength of mind and
faith of heart enough to see these expectations realized in a vision.
And must that vision, after all, flit from before his eyes? Must his
faith become a delusion and all his hopes a mockery? So it would
seem! And yet mark the faith of Abraham–he not only submits to
the loss of his choicest jewel, and to tear away one who was bound
to his heart by ties stronger than flesh and blood–but in doing it, he
staggers not, for he still believes that God will be true to His
promise!
It strikes me that this was the master work of Abraham's faith. To
sacrifice Isaac was a wonder of patient submission and devout
resignation, but the faith which was at the root of it all challenges
our highest admiration! Still, to believe that God is able to raise
Isaac from the dead, or to turn the stones which were wet with
Isaac's blood into a new offspring, or, (for I know not which theory
Abraham may have adopted), to believe that the whole Covenant
was spiritual and that he must wait to see the seed of Isaac in
another world, and not in this–in any case to believe that God must
be true, that though Isaac died, God would keep His word and that
He is able to do so notwithstanding all apparent impossibilities–that
He will transmute stones to men, or raise that body after it has been
slain, into newness of life–here was the climax of a faith that
realized the grandeur and the goodness of the Divine Attributes and
perfections, for he simply and sincerely believed and relied upon
God!
Ah, Brothers and Sisters, there are some men who can make great
sacrifices for God–they have done so and herein they have
emulated the example of Abraham. But the Patriarch showed a
clear understanding, an unwavering calmness, a full assurance of
hope to which few have attained. When in the very fact of
presenting to God your sacrifice, can you account that you are
losing nothing, but committing your treasure to His custody? Can
you believe that the promise of God is not compromised by your
parting with the earnest that gladdened your eyes? Has God given
you a son, such an one as you can say of, "For this child I prayed"?
Is he the pride of your life and the joy of your life? Do you think of
him as the solace of your age and the perpetuator of your name in
the world? What, now, if God shall call you to devote him as a
missionary? Could you readily comply? Would you count it all
gain? Could you interpret it as a blighting of your own prospect, or
as a blooming of God's purpose? Have you Abraham's faith? Then
let God be true if Heaven should reel and earth should rock!
Though the sons of men pass away like shadows and death
entombs us all, the counsel of God's heart shall stand and His Word
shall endure forever!
Stagger not, my Friends, at the promise of God through unbelief!
Be assured that whatever He has promised, He is able to perform!
Such reflections, though prolific of instruction, I must not tarry to
pursue. I rather want to impress the scene and interpret the sentence
brought before us in our text.
The scene itself suggests to us three pictures. The first picture will
naturally rise up in your imagination without myattempting any
graphic description of it. The old man, a kind and doting father,
bears in his hands a sharp knife, and hot blazing coals of fire. The
younger man, perhaps twenty-five–so Josephus thinks–possibly 33
years of age and, if so, very manifestly the type of Christ, who was
about that age when He came to die. The young man comes toiling
up the side of the hill, bearing a load of wood upon his back. He
knows that that wood is destined to burn some victim, for his father
carries the fire and the knife. He understands that they are about to
worship God yonder in the most solemn manner by a sacrifice of
blood. On the way he puts but one question, marveling where the
victim can be. He sees the fire and the wood, but where is the
lamb? he asks. Abraham tells him with a bursting heart, that–
GOD WILL PROVIDE HIMSELF A LAMB.
Little did Isaac think that he was to be that lamb! They came to
the spot. No doubt Abraham there tells Isaac what God had bid him
do. The young man is strong–the old man has lost some of his
youthful vigor. If that young man chose to struggle, the intent
would be frustrated. But he, like his father, is ready to say to that
Sovereign command of God, "Here I am." He allows himself to be
bound by his aged sire, no, helps to put himself upon the altar! And
there he lies, a willing victim, cheerfully consenting to be bound,
willing then and there to die at God's command!
Here you have a picture of the Almighty One, whom we every
day address as, "Our Father, who are in Heaven." Yousee His son,
His only Son, whom He loves. His Isaac, who has filled His heart
with gladness. He bears upon his back the load of wood–the Cross–
no, heavier than the Cross is the load which the antitype of Isaac,
our blessed Jesus, bears–the sin of all His people lay heavy upon
His shoulders. He turns upwards to the hill of Calvary and there, in
that thick darkness, through which no human eye could peer,
however much it might desire it, God, the eternal Father, binds His
Son! He cheerfully submits Himself to be fastened to the tree. The
Omnipotent hand unsheathes the knife to slay His Son, and draws
not back, but in Sovereign Vengeance slays Him! That picture of
Abraham–the knife in his hand, about to execute Isaac–presents to
you a picture of the God of gods about to smite His only-begotten
Son upon Mount Calvary!
Beloved, the one point an which I wish to concentrate your
attention is the emotion of the Father. Oh, what grief,what love,
what pity! What stern resolve and strong affections must have
striven together in Abraham's bosom! We read an ancient story of a
father whose two sons were taken prisoners. They were both
condemned to die. The old man appeared on the scene to offer up
his life–all that he had to offer–and to die, himself, if his sons' lives
might be spared. For some reason the soldiers, melting to pity, went
as far as they could, and told him he might have whichever of his
sons he chose to be spared for the ransom. He looked first at one,
and then at the other. He would gladly say, "Spare that one," but
then they would put the other to death! And he would gladly say,
"Spare this one," but then the other must die! And so the old man
alternated between one and the other, undecided which should be
released, till both were slain! History tells us of another case at the
siege of Benda. A German nobleman, seeing a young man charging
the hosts of the besiegers, remarked to those who stood by how
valiantly he was fighting–he felt that a hero was in the camp. The
enemy gathered so thickly round the warrior that at length he fell.
"Give that young man a public funeral," said the nobleman. His
counsel was accepted, a charge was made, the body was rescued.
But judge his surprise as he looked down upon the face of the
young man and perceived it was his only son! He stood aghast for a
moment, no tears could he shed–his eyes were as though they
would start from their sockets–he seemed transfixed. He fell
backward–his heart was broken–his soul had taken its flight. Such a
surprise, such a sorrow, such a sense of the loss he had sustained
overwhelmed him. In neither of these cases had the father any hand
in the death of his child. The parent in each instance was passive.
Here, however, the knife must be handled by none other than the
sire, and plunged into the vitals of his son. Oh, Abraham! Ah,
Isaac–the tale of your trial makes my nerves tingle. But who of all
the heavenly host, what angel near the Throne of God can tell of
the Eternal Father, how His heart was moved, how His heart
yearned! Do I speak after the manner of men? How else can I
speak?
Reprove me when you can believe in a God who has no feelings,
no emotions, no affections, no life, no love. Hardly could I
subscribe to the dictum of theologians who pronounce God
incapable of suffering! Surely He is capable of anything! He is
Sovereign of all senses and sacred sensibilities! His benignant
tender Fatherhood are as clear to my faith as His eternal power and
Godhead! How, then, can I conceive of His putting His own Son to
death without a grief that I must defer to as possible, because I
cannot describe it as actual? If we may not liken ourselves to God,
yet may God liken Himself to us! This He has done, otherwise had
we not known Him. Can you smite your own child without feeling
more anguish than you inflict? Solomon says, "Spare not for his
crying"–but it is hard to keep Solomon's advice, for the crying of
your child makes you weep more than he does! Yet, behold how
God, full of love, His very name being Love, smites even to the
death His Only-Begotten, till that Darling cries out, "My God, My
God, why have You forsaken Me?" And this was done out of love
to us! "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for
us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"
Oh, what love! His love is an indefinite quantity! It is expressed by
an indefinite word–so! "God so loved the world that He gave His
only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him might not
perish,but have everlasting life." What measure or gauge can
compass that wonderful affirmation–He so loved? Rude as
mysketch may be–royal, indeed–is the scene! Let it be vividly
portrayed on the tablet of your memories. Let its gracious effect
diffuse itself over your hearts! Oh, for such love as angels cannot
know, let us reciprocate with a love intense and vehement that
inflames our whole heart–
"Had we a thousand hearts to give
Lord, they should all be Yours."
Even now, with adoring gratitude, offer your homage to the
Father, who gives His Son, and to that Son who cheerfully submits
to plead by the altar for our sins.
A second picture rises to our view. You will remember that our
Lord Jesus once said, "Abraham saw My day." When did he see it?
Why, I think it must have been on this occasion! The venerable
Patriarch certainly had in his son Isaac–
II. A VIVID PICTURE OF THE SON OF GOD.
When you see that his hand is stayed, you perceive at once that
the portrait is not complete. A ram is caught in the thicket. This ram
is caught, laid hold on, dragged out and put into the place of Isaac.
So far the delineation is accurate, for the ram dies. It is really slain,
even as Christ was sacrificed for us. But the vision changes its
form. Isaac goes free–not so the ram! Isaac's blood still flows in his
veins–not so that of the poor ram, the knife sternly severs his
arteries and the blood flows out. There he is laid upon the wood,
which forthwith begins to glow and smoke for a burnt offering.
Isaac gazes on himself in a burning figure–he owes his life to the
victim that was presented as a substitute. Look earnestly, gaze
intently, linger fondly on the picture, for it represents your own
salvation! Let us take the place of Isaac–it is ours. We are children
according to promise. If we, Beloved, have "fled for refuge to the
hope set before us," we are saved. How we are saved you know.
Because our Lord Jesus Christ, the ram of God's burnt-offering, did
burn upon the altar for us, we are spared. It would baffle me to tell
how Isaac felt when cords were unbound and he saw how narrowly
he had escaped from death. Nor can I tell you how I felt when
standing at the foot of the Cross–
"I beheld the flowing
Of my dear Redeemer's blood,
With assurance, knowing
He had made my peace with God."
How can you perish, Believer, now that Christ has died for you?
There is not a cord on Isaac as you see him now. He is free. So are
you, my Friend–there are no bonds on you. Most gratefully can you
cry with David, "I am Your servant; and the son of Your handmaid;
You have loosed my bonds." As you gather round the Lord's Table,
let the thought of Substitution be fresh in your mind. He bore, that
we might never bear the Divine Wrath. He drank the cup, even to
its dregs, that we might never drink a drop of it. In short, He
suffered Hell's torments for us, that we might never enter its gates.
My Hearers, did Christ thus suffer for you? Yes, surely, if so you
are believing and depending upon Him, then He was your true and
proper Substitute! Or if in His life you have no interest, then in His
death you have no Redemption–and His blood shall never save
you! Alas, alas, you must perish in your sins!
Pass from that scene. Inspect it more narrowly, more privately
another time. Let me now unveil to you another picture. Behold the
aged parent, with glistening eyes and placid brow, receiving his
son, as it were, alive from the dead, when the angel stayed his
hand. How joyously he cuts those cords! How they seem to leap
together! I think I see them going homeward down the side of the
hill to the tent where Sarah was. With what elastic step, with what
grateful emotion, with what heartfelt joy they journey! And of what
is this an emblem?
III. THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST JESUS–and in that of
the resurrection of every Believer! The Apostle Paul says that,
"Abraham received Isaac from the dead in a figure." Now our
Covenant God and Father has received His Only-Begotten from the
dead, not merely in figure, but in reality! The morning has broken,
the sun has risen on the third day. He cannot be held by the bonds
of death any longer. He snaps them asunder and in incomparable
beauty, the once slain Savior arises refreshed from His sleep! The
stone had been rolled away by the angel. He comes out and the
watchmen, in terror, fall on their faces in fright! He manifests
Himself to Mary and then to His disciples afterwards, saying,
"Peace be unto you," and in due time He ascends up to the right
hand of the Majesty in Heaven. Angel hosts escort Him with
trumpets' joyful sound–
"They bring His chariot from on high,
To bear Him to His Throne!
Clap their triumphant wings, and cry,
'The glorious work is done!'"
Oh, you saints, celebrate the triumph afresh! Your Lord and
Savior is risen and ascended! Isaac is not dead! He, in whom all
nations of the earth shall be blessed, lives, forever lives! In Him,
the Child of promise, the Seed of the woman, are you now a heritor
of the blessing if you believe! In Him shall you rise again! Though
your flesh shall see corruption, you shall burst the bonds of death
and, because He lives, you shall live also–
"Nor does it yet appear
How great you shall be made,
Yet when you see your Savior here,
You shall be like your Head."
Have these pictures impressed your minds? May the meditation
they excite prove instructive to you! But lend me your ears while I
proceed to commend to you the sweet prophetic words of Abraham.
The name of the Lord–that particular name, Jehovah-Jireh–has
been the comfort of many an indigent Believer, and sustained him
under great difficulty. Sometimes it has been to him like the cake
baked upon the coals, of which Elijah partook when he journeyed
for 40 days. Oh, how graciously God has provided Himself a burnt-
offering! The choicest Substitute for the most undeserving
criminals. Lies there a wretch in Newgate for whom a royal heir
would stand surety? No novelist would broach such a fiction!
"Scarcely for a righteous man will one die; perhaps for a good man
one might even dare to die; but God commends His love toward us,
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly." If
every one of us had been left to endure the penalty of our own
transgressions–had no Substitute been found to bear our sins–God
would have been unimpeachably just and infinitely glorious!
The voice of our torments would have only been a deep bass note
to tell the universe the terrible justice of the Most High! It could
not have impeached His mercy. To find a Substitute was an act of
gratuitous, undeserved Grace. Such provision was not only
undeserved, but it was most unexpected. What amazement must
have wrapped the sky when celestial creatures heard that a
Substitute for man was found! Where? Among angels,
principalities, or powers? No, but at God's right hand! The co-equal
Son, Himself, becomes the Substitute for rebel man! Nor less in
dignity than the brightness of the Father's Glory, and the express
image of His Person, is He who takes upon Himself flesh and blood
and subjects Himself to our infirmities, that He, Himself, may bear
our sins in His own body on the tree! Are we indifferent, or are
incredulous, or what manner of men are we that one can talk and
another can listen to so startling a fact, to so astounding a
revelation without a thrilling emotion, a faltering tongue and
tingling ears? Throughout eternity this will be a ceaseless wonder
in Heaven, that the Creator should stoop to bear the creature's sin
will never cease to be a mystery of Mercy that challenges endless
admiration! God did, indeed, provide such a provision as makes
His Providence startling! What a Gospel it is! Great God, will You
redeem sinners at such a cost, at no less price than blood and that
the blood of Immanuel? And is it so that Jehovah must veil Himself
in human flesh? Must the Infinite become an Infant? Must the
Omnipotent hang on a woman's breast? Must the eternal self-
existent God breathe out an expiring life in ignominy and torture?
Must all this be experienced by the Man who is Jehovah's Fellow?
Yes. Manhood comes into such union with Deity that we cannot
divide the two! There is one God and one Mediator between God
and men, the Man, Christ Jesus. Oh, what a step was this from the
highest Throne of Glory to the Cross of deepest woe! Well did an
Apostle say, "You were not redeemed with corruptible things, such
as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ." Silver
and gold? What are they in comparison with this costly Sacrifice?
The merest tinsel, the sweepings of dross, not worthy to be thought
of in the same minute as the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb
without blemish and without spot!
St. Augustine somewhere holds a kind of controversy with
himself as to whether Christ shall die or not. As if he said, "Yes, let
the sinner live, but Christ must die. No, He must not die! He is far
too good, too great to die! Then let the creature die. No, but we
cannot let the creature perish, God's mercy would prevent that.
Then He must die." Then he seems to say, "No, the price is too
great. Sooner let them perish than buy them at such a price! A
company of worms redeemed by the blood of the Son of God? The
price is too high! Yet God paid it. Oh, let us love and bless His
name!"
Though it was so costly a provision, it was the most suitable that
could be devised! Who else could have borne our sins but God? No
mere man could possibly have stood as the substitute for millions
of the human race! He might, if innocent, himself, suffer for one,
and so save one, but unless Deity should lend its unutterable
perfections, it was not possible for human nature to sustain the
weight of human guilt! But now by the suffering of a Man, the Law
is vindicated and honored! By the personal interposition of God,
sacred validity and Sovereign efficacy are imparted to the great
work He has achieved. And oh, what an effectual provision it is!
For the blood of Christ has saved, does save and will save millions
of souls! Whatever else may be a myth, the Atonement is a
veritable fact! Whatever empty rites and worthless pretensions may
be foisted on credulous men and silly women, you cannot
exasperate the power of the blood of Christ! Come here, come here,
you blackest, foulest, vilest of mankind! Try it and see if the
crimson streams do not wash your crimson stains, and make you
white as snow! Come here, you old transgressors, steeped in
infamy, quivering on the brink of Hell, see if the drops of this
blessed stream cannot cool your fevered brow and give your
troubled conscience rest! Come here, you distracted maniacs who
would gladly lay suicidal hands upon yourselves, and rush blood-
red into your Maker's awful Presence, and see if, bowing down
before that awful Cross, you do not hear a voice that says, "Peace.
Be still. Go your way, your sins, which are many, are forgiven
you." Yes, there is life in a look at the Crucified One! None shall
ever look to Him in vain! Millions of spirits around the Throne of
God rejoice in the efficacy of God's provision. Jehovah-Jireh is
extolled today in matchless songs of human praise around the
starry Throne! And here on earth we repeat their strains with glad
accord–
"Dear, dying Lamb, Your precious blood
Shall never lose its power,
Till all the ransomed Church of God
Are saved to sin no more."
And then, once more, it is an ample provision. God has provided
a ram for a burnt-offering and there is enough efficacy in that
sacrifice for all that seek the ransom it supplies. I do not preach a
stinted salvation, blessed be God! I have seen in my soul the vision
that Zachariah saw. He saw a young man with a measuring line in
his hand. "Where are you going? he asked. "To take the dimensions
of Jerusalem," he replied, "to record the breadth and the length
thereof." "Run, speak to this young man," said the angels,
"measure not the city! Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns
without walls for the multitudes of men therein."
Some people have a strange disposition to use the measuring line
and count the population, and number the souls that are saved by
the precious blood of Jesus. Their estimate is commonly limited to
a very few. Let us not measure it, for we know not what countless
multitudes will be given to Christ for the travail of His soul. A
multitude that no man can number has already been gathered! To
come is a host, defying human arithmetic, that will lie marshaled
there and still they muster day by day. O Beloved, this one thing we
know, without entering into any vexed questions of Particular
Redemption or General Redemption, there is enough in Christ for
every sinner that desires salvation and comes and puts his trust in
Him–enough to cleanse the vilest sin that ever disgraced humanity–
enough to wash you white, though you are ever so begrimed! It is
provision for the sins of all ages, of all ranks, of all conditions! The
harlot, cleansed here, becomes chaste and sings, with Rahab, the
new song! The thief, washed here, becomes forgiven and is
accepted in the Beloved! If you are the most abandoned of sinners
and have strolled in here to gratify curiosity or to idle away an
hour, let provision here to save you! With His infinite
foreknowledge He has foreseen your case. You shall never find a
case too hard for the Master–no sin too heinous for Him to forgive,
no circumstance so extravagant in its guilt as to go beyond the
Grace and the generosity which are treasured up in Christ Jesus–
and the goodness and virtue flowing from His wounds!
I have painted the pictures. I have proclaimed the purpose. Let me
conclude with–
IV. A POINTED QUESTION.
Since God has provided so great a Sacrifice, has He provided it
for me? Am I a participator in the blood of Christ? To how many
thousands of you do I speak? Let each one put the question to
himself. My weak voice will soon exhaust its emphasis. Is there no
echo in your conscience? What I say may drop from your
memories. Let every soul among you earnestly enquire, "Have I
Christ?" Give yourself a candid reply concerning yourself. Do you
put your trust in Him? I do not ask you what possessions you can
boast! The poor are very welcome in God's House. I do not ask you
what reputation you have. The wise are not elected for their
wisdom with God! The foolish and the base are not rejected for
their worthlessness! What I do ask is this, "Have you Christ for
your portion?" Remember, Soul, that whoever believes in Jesus
receives Him as God's gift to his soul. Trust Christ and He is yours!
Fall flat upon your face upon the promises of God in Christ! Have
done with all the props on which you were known to lean, with all
the pleas on which you were known to rely, with all the works of
which you were known to boast! Go as you are to Christ, trust Him.
To Him the Spirit of God leads every earnest, anxious seeker. If
you trust Him, Heaven and earth may pass away, but the promise of
Your salvation shall not fail. You shall be His in life, in death, in
judgment, and all eternity, safe from Hell, secure in Heaven!
What if you struggle with all your natural feelings as Abraham
did? The more simple your faith, the more sure will be your
triumph! Believe in the dark and you shall soon come into the light.
As soon as you believe, there are signs following. Venture today to
lay your hands upon that dear head of the victim Lamb, and
tomorrow I will summon you as witnesses who can testify to others
that there is joy and peace in believing! "He will deliver your soul
from going down into the Pit, and your life shall see the light. Lo,
all these things God often works with man, to bring his soul back
from the edge of the Pit to be enlightened with the light of the
living!" May this be yours! Amen.
Ge 22:14 • Jehovah-Jireh
ERMON 1803
Jehovah-jireh
"And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it
is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen."
Genesis 22:14
I believe that the Truth of God contained in the expression,
"Jehovah-jireh," was ruling Abraham's thoughts long before he
uttered it and appointed it to be the memorial name of the place
where the Lord had provided a substitute for Isaac. It was this
thought, I think, which enabled him to act as promptly as he did
under the trying circumstances. His reason whispered within him,
"If you slay your son, how can God keep His promise to you that
your seed shall be as many as the stars of Heaven?" He answered
that suggestion by saying to himself, "Jehovah will see to it!" As he
went upon that painful journey with his dearly beloved son at his
side, the suggestion may have come to him, "How will you meet
Sarah when you return home, having covered your hands in the
blood of her son? How will you meet your neighbors when they
hear that Abraham, who professed to be such a holy man, has killed
his son?" That answer still sustained his heart–"Jehovah will see to
it! Jehovah will see to it! He will not fail in His word. Perhaps He
will raise my son from the dead, but in some way or other He will
justify my obedience to Him and vindicate His own command.
Jehovah will see to it." This was a quietus to every mistrustful
thought.
I pray that we may drink into this Truth of God and be refreshed
by it. If we follow the Lord's bidding, He will see to it that we shall
not be ashamed or confused. If we come into great need by
following His command, He will see to it that the loss shall be
recompensed. If our difficulties multiply and increase so that our
way seems completely blocked up, Jehovah will see to it that the
road shall be cleared. The Lord will see us through in the way of
holiness if we are only willing to be thorough in it and dare to
follow where ever He leads. We need not wonder that Abraham
should utter this truth and attach it to the spot which was to be
forever famous, for his whole heart was saturated with it and had
been sustained by it. Wisely he makes an altar and a mountain to be
memorials of the Truth which had so greatly helped him. His trials
had taught him more of God–had, in fact, given him a new name
for his God–and this he would not have forgotten, but he would
keep it before the minds of the generations following by naming
the place Jehovah-jireh.
Observe, as you read this chapter, that this was not the first time
that Abraham had thus spoken. When he called the name of the
place Jehovah-jireh he had seen it to be true–the ram caught in the
thicket had been provided as a substitute for Isaac. Jehovah had
provided. But he had, before, declared that Truth of God when, as
yet, he knew nothing of the Divine action–when he could not even
guess how his extraordinary trial would end! His son Isaac had said
to him, "Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a
burnt offering?" And the afflicted father had bravely answered,
"My son, God will provide." In due time God did provide and then
Abraham honored Him by saying the same words. But instead of
the ordinary name for God, he used the special Covenant title–
Jehovah. That is the only alteration–otherwise, in the same terms he
repeats the assurance that, "the Lord will provide."
That first utterance was most remarkable! It was simple enough,
but how prophetic! It teaches us this Truth, that the confident
speech of a Believer is akin to the language of a Prophet. The man
who accepts the promise of God unstaggeringly and is sure that it is
true, will speak like the Seers of old! He will see that God sees and
will declare the fact–and the holy inference which comes of it. The
Believer's child-like assurance will anticipate the future and his
plain statement–"God will provide"–will turn out to be literal truth!
If you want to come near to prophesying, hold hard to the promises
of God and you shall "prophecy according to the measure of faith."
He that can say, "I know and am sure that God will not fail me in
this, my hour of tribulation," will, before long, drop pearls of
Divine confidence and diamonds of prediction from his lips.
Choice sayings which become proverbs in the Church of God are
not the offspring of mistrust, but of firm confidence in the living
God!
To this day, many a saying of a man of God is quoted among us,
even as Abraham's words were quoted. Moses puts it, "As it is said
to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen." And we
might mention many a sentence which is said unto this day which
first fell from the mouth of a faithful spirit in the hour of the
manifestation of the Lord. The speech of the father of the faithful
became the speech of his spiritual seed for many a year afterwards
and it abides in the family of faith unto this day! If we have full
faith in God, we shall teach succeeding generations to expect
Jehovah's hand to be stretched out.
True faith not only speaks the language of prophecy, but, when
she sees her prophecy fulfilled, faith is always delighted to raise
memorials to the God of Truth. The stones which were set up of old
were not to the memory of dead men, but they were memorials of
the deeds of the living God–they abundantly uttered the memory of
God's great goodness! Abraham, on this occasion, did not choose a
name which recorded what he had done, but a name which spoke of
what Jehovah had done. It is true Abraham's faith was worthy to be
remembered throughout all generations, for there he believed God
and it was counted unto him for righteousness–and the Lord said to
him, "And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
because you have obeyed My voice."
There the Patriarch had endured the extreme test–no gold was
ever passed through a hotter furnace. But true faith is always
modest. From her gate, boasting is excluded by law. Abraham says
nothing about himself at all, but the praise is unto God who sees
and is seen. The record is, "Jehovah will provide." I like that self-
ignoring. I pray that we, also, may have so much strength of faith
that self may go to the wall. Little faith is very apt to grow proud
when, to its own astonishment, it has worked righteousness. But
strong faith so completely empties itself and so entirely depends
upon the all-sufficiency of God, that when anything is achieved, it
remembers nothing but the Divine hand and lays the crown where
it ought to be laid. Growing in experimental acquaintance with the
God of the Covenant, faith has a new song and a new name for her
God and takes care that His wonderful works shall be remembered.
Note yet further, that when faith has uttered a prophecy and has
set up her memorial, the record of mercy received becomes, itself,
a new prophecy. Abraham says, "Jehovah-jireh–God will see to it."
What was he doing, then, but prophesying a second time for future
ages? He bids us know that as God had provided for him in the
time of his extremity, so He will provide for all them that put their
trust in Him! The God of Abraham lives! Let His name be praised
and let us rest assured that as certainly as in the Patriarch's distress,
when there seemed no way of escape, the Lord appeared for him
and was seen in the mountain, even so shall it be with all the
believing seed while time endures! We shall all be tried and tested,
but in our utmost need God will see us and see to our deliverance,
if we will but let faith have her perfect work and will hope and
quietly wait the moment when the Lord shall be seen working
salvation. The Lord is the Preserver of men and the Provider for
men. I long for all of us to get this Truth of God firmly fixed in our
hearts and, therefore, I shall try to show that God's provision for
Abraham and Isaac typified the far greater provision by which all
the faithful are delivered from death. And that God, in providing in
the mountain, has given us, therein, a sure guarantee that all our
necessities shall be provided for henceforth, even forever!
Consider, then, that the provision which God made for Abraham
was symbolic of the greater provision which He has made for all
His chosen in Christ Jesus. "Jehovah-jireh" is a text from which to
preach concerning Providence and many have been the sermons
which have been distilled from it. But I take the liberty of saying
that Providence, in the ordinary sense of the term, is not the first
thought of the passage which should be read with some sort of
reference to its connection–and the more so because that
connection is exceedingly remarkable.
When Abraham said, "Jehovah will provide," he meant for us,
first of all, to learn that THE PROVISION WILL COME IN THE
TIME OF OUR EXTREMITY. The provision of the ram, instead of
Isaac, was the significant type which was before Abraham's mind.
And our Lord tells us, "Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he
saw it, and was glad." And, surely, if ever Abraham saw the day of
Christ and was glad beyond measure, it was at that moment when
he beheld the Lord providing a substitute for Isaac! At any rate,
whether Abraham understood the full meaning of what he said, or
not, he spoke not for himself, but for us. Every word he uttered is
for our teaching–and the teaching is this–that God, in the gift of His
Son, Jesus Christ, made the fullest provision for our greatest needs.
And from that we may infer that whatever need shall ever occur to
us, God will certainly provide for it, but He may delay the actual
manifestation of it until our darkest hour has come–
"Just in the last distressing hour
The Lord displays delivering power.
The moment of danger is the place
Where we shall see surprising Grace."
The Lord gave our Lord Jesus Christ to be the Substitute for men
in view of the utmost need of our race. Isaac was hard pressed
when God interfered on his behalf. The knife was lifted up by a
resolute hand. Isaac was within a second of death when the angelic
voice said, "Lay not your hand upon the lad." God provided
instantly when the need pressed urgently. Beloved, was Isaac
nearer to death than sinful man was near to Hell? Was that knife
closer to the throat of the beloved Isaac than the axe of the
executioner was near to the neck of every sinner–yes, to the neck of
the whole race of man? We have so sinned and gone astray that it
was not possible for God to wink at our transgressions! He must
visit our iniquities with the just punishment which is nothing less
than eternal death!
I constantly meet with persons under the convincing power of the
Spirit of God and I always find that in their apprehension, the
punishment of sin is something terrible and overwhelming. When
God deals with men by His convincing Spirit, they feel that their
sin deserves nothing less than the wrath of God in Hell! So it was
with our race–we had altogether destroyed ourselves and were shut
up under condemnation by the Law of God–and it was in that dread
hour that God interposed and proclaimed a Savior for men! "While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." I would to God we all felt
what a dreadful thing it is to be lost, for then we would value the
provision of the Savior much more than we do now! Oh, Sirs, if no
Redeemer had been provided, we might have gathered here, this
morning, and if you could have had patience to hear me, all I would
have been able to say would have been, "Brothers and Sisters, let
us weep together and sigh in chorus, for we shall all die and, dying,
we shall sink into the bottomless pit and shall abide forever under
the righteous anger of God."
It would have been so with us all if a Substitute had not been
found! If the gift of the loving Father had not been bestowed! If
Jesus had not condescended to die in our place, we would have
been left for execution by that Law of God which will by no means
spare the guilty! We talk about our salvation as if it were nothing
very particular! We have heard of the plan of Substitution so often
that it becomes commonplace! It should not be so–I believe that it
still thrills the angels with astonishment that man, when he had
fallen from his high estate and had been banished from Eden and
had become a rebel against God–should be redeemed by the blood
of the Heir of all things, by whom the Divine Father made the
worlds! When death and Hell opened their jaws to devour, then was
this miracle completed and Jesus taken among the thorns was
offered up a Sacrifice for us!
God not only interposed when the death of Isaac was imminent,
but also when the anguish of Abraham had reached its highest
pitch. The Patriarch's faith never wavered, but we must not forget
that he was a man like ourselves–and no father could see his child
offered up without an inward agony which surpasses all
description. The anguish of so perfect a man as Abraham–a man
who intensely felt all the domestic affections as every truly godly
father must feel them and who loved his son as much as he loved
his own life–must have been unspeakably great. What must have
been the force of faith which enabled the man of God to master
himself, to go contrary to the current of human nature and
deliberately to stand ready to sacrifice his Isaac? He must have
been wound up to a fearful pitch of anguish when he lifted the
knife to slay his son–but just then the angel stopped his hand–and
God provided the ram as the substitute in the moment of his utmost
misery.
Surely the world had come to a great state of misery when, at last,
God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, that He nor accept Him
as their Redeemer till they feel that they lie at Hell's door–and until
their anguish on account of sin has become exceedingly great. I
remember well when I first beheld the Lamb of God who suffered
in my place. I had often heard the story of His death. I could have
told it out to others very correctly, but then I did not know my own
pressing need–I had not come to feel the knife at my throat, nor
was I about to die and, therefore, my knowledge was a cold,
inoperative thing.
But when the Law had bound me and given me over to death–and
when my heart within me was crushed with fear–then the sight of
the glorious Substitute was as bright to me as a vision of Heaven!
Did Jesus suffer in my stead outside the gate? Were my
transgressions laid on Him? Then I received Him with unspeakable
joy–with my whole nature accepting the good news! At this
moment I accept the Lord Jesus as my Substitute with a deep,
peaceful delight. Blessed be the name of Jehovah-jireh for having
thought of me–a beggar, a wretch, a condemned criminal–and for
having provided the Lamb of God whose precious blood was shed
instead of mine!
II. Secondly, upon the mountain THE PROVISION WAS
SPONTANEOUSLY MADE for Abraham–and so was the
provision which the Lord displayed in the fullness of time when He
gave up His Son to die. The ram caught in the thicket was a
provision which, on Abraham's part, was quite unsought. He did
not fall down and pray, "O Lord, in Your tenderness provide
another victim instead of my son, Isaac." Probably it never entered
his mind. But God spontaneously, from the free Grace of His own
heart, put the ram where Abraham found it. You and I did not pray
for Christ to die. He died for us before we were born and if He had
not done so, it would never have entered into our mind to ask for so
great a gift!
Until the Lord sought us, we did not even seek to be saved by
Christ, of the fact of whose death we had been made aware. Oh, no,
it is not in man, by nature, to seek a Savior–it is in God to give a
Savior–and then the Spirit of God sweetly inclines the heart to seek
Him, but this seeking comes not of man. "When we were yet
without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." It is ours
to sin, it is God's to save. "We have turned, every one, to his own
way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Ours is
the wandering, but the laying of those wanderings upon Jesus is of
the Lord, alone–we neither bought it, nor sought it, nor thought it.
In Abraham's case, I believe it was an unexpected thing. He did
not reckon upon any substitute for his son. He judged that he would
have to die and viewed him as already dead. As for ourselves, if
God had not revealed the plan of salvation by the substitution of
His only-begotten Son, we would never have dreamed of it.
Remember that the Son of God is One with the Father and if the
Holy Spirit had not revealed the fact that the offended God would,
Himself, bear the penalty due for the offense, it would never have
occurred to the human mind! The brightest of the spirits before
God's Throne would never have devised the plan of salvation by
the sacrifice of Jesus! It was unexpected. Let us bless the Lord,
who has done for us exceedingly above what we asked or even
thought in giving us redemption through the death of our Lord
Jesus Christ!
I may say of Christ what I could not have said of Abraham's ram,
that not only was He unsought for by us and unexpected, but now
that He is given, He is still not perfectly comprehended–
"Much we talk of Jesus' blood,
But how little's understood!
Of His suffering's, so intense,
Angels have no perfect sense."
I am often ready to beat upon my own breast as I study the
wondrous mystery of atoning love, for it seems to me so mean a
thing to be so little affected by such boundless Grace! If we fully
felt what God has done for us in the great deed of Jesus' death, it
might not be amazing if we were to die under the amazing
discovery! "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, it is high, I
cannot attain unto it." The immortal God undertakes to bear death
for man! The Incarnate stands in the sinner's place! The well-
pleasing Son is made accursed for those who otherwise had been
accursed forever! He who was above all shame and sorrow laid
aside His Glory and became the "Man of Sorrows," "despised and
rejected of men"! "Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He
became poor."
It is more extraordinary than romance! Poets may sing their
loftiest stanzas, but they shall never reach the height of this great
argument. "Paradise Lost," a Milton may compose and fascinate a
world with his majestic lines, but Paradise Restored by the Divine
Substitution is not to be fully sung by mortal minds! Only God
knows the love of God! All the viding for our need, providing for
our salvation, providing His only-begotten Son and providing Him
of His own free love–unsought and undesired of men.