The First Sermon

The First Sermon

Preached on Saturday, the first day of June, 1560 Genesis, chapter 21, at the end

Now Abraham planted a grove there, and called upon the name of the Eternal, the everlasting God, and dwelt as a stranger in the land of the

Philistines many days. Chapter 22

And it came to pass after these things that God tempted Abraham and said unto him, Abraham. And he answered, Here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, yea thine only son, whom thou singularly lovest, even Isaac, and go into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of

the mountains which I will tell thee of.

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e saw yesterday how Abraham, in order to discharge his duty toward the king of Gerar, had offered him tribute. Now Moses adds

W

further that, being now at rest, he solemnly called upon the name of God. We must therefore keep in mind, in sum, that Abraham willingly submitted himself to the one who held authority over that country: he did not wait to be forced or compelled to render the duty of a good and loyal subject, but did so without being asked. Yet at the same time we see, on the other hand, that this did not keep him from doing homage to God. And however odious a thing it might seem (as we have shown above) to hold a religion apart from, and separate from, that of those among whom he lived, he was nonetheless never willing to fail to make confession of his faith as God had commanded him. Thus we see that, both toward God and toward men, he conducted himself in such a way that he can be for us an example of true humility, teaching us how we ought to render submission to those to whom we owe it — while nevertheless God retains his sovereign dominion over all, and however much authority and pre-eminence men may have, this in no way detracts from the heavenly majesty, which ought to eclipse all human loftiness.

It is quite certain that if Abraham had wished to curry favour with his neighbours, he would have conformed himself to their ways, and would not have declared that he had a God whom he wished to worship, renouncing all the idolatries which then held sway and infected and polluted the whole earth. But whatever the case, he professes that he wishes to serve and worship God in purity. And for this reason, he has his altar, as we have seen, at which he pays solemn homage to God, and by this means renounces all the vices and corruptions found among his neighbours — as though he were condemning them, and showing that there is but one true service acceptable to God, just as there is but one living God, and that all the rest is nothing but false imagination and deceit. Although he had previously had no fixed abode, and had been driven here and there, he nevertheless never failed to call upon God wherever he went — that is, to show that he did not conform to all the errors which were then in fashion.

But here he has a special reason for calling upon God once more in this place, because he had more rest and comfort than before. For he had never dared to plant a tree, and now he plants several, seeing that he is permitted to remain there. And just as he does homage to the earthly king to whom the land belonged, he wishes also to show that he has not forgotten God, that he has not cooled the zeal he bore toward him, that he still holds him always as his sovereign Prince, humbles himself under him, and desires to remain in his protection. This, then, is why Moses expressly records that Abraham called upon the Name of the Lord. The law of dedicating houses was not yet written, but he did not fail to observe it — that is, he showed in effect that the place of his dwelling was a temple of God, just as every believer ought to think of keeping his house pure and clean from all pollution. It is true that today we no longer have this ceremony which God commanded the Jews, namely, that they should dedicate their houses before living in them; but the substance remains, and the end which God had in view — namely, that when we are lodged, it should not be a hiding-place shutting out the presence of God, that we should not permit ourselves license to walk according to our own appetites, but that, inasmuch as God has done us the good of giving us a house, we should — even if it be but a small corner of retreat — see that it is honoured there, and that the place be dedicated to his service. Now this is not a matter of walls and roof, but of the household: that is, that we be wholly his, and that we make an offering to him of our bodies and our souls, and take pains that everyone in the household conform to the same, and follow suit.

Now the father of a family ought to begin with his own person, yet he must also instruct his wife. If God has given him children or servants, let all of this be kept in the obedience of God. Such, then, is the way to dedicate houses, and consequently to call upon the Name of the Lord, as is here said of Abraham. Now this is a thing badly practiced today. For we see that everyone wishes to serve God after his own fashion, and meanwhile God counts for almost nothing. If masters and mistresses wring from their servants’ labour for their own profit and convenience, they are content with that. If God is blasphemed there, if he is despised there, if the household is profaned, so that there is neither zeal nor religion in it, that passes by and is let go. Yet it is certain that God will not thus forgo his right. Let us learn, then, to make such use of the houses in which we are lodged, that God may dwell there as our sovereign, and that small and great alike may be dedicated to him, and offer themselves to him not only in soul but also in body — even those who, for danger to their life, cannot openly honour God, are not for that excused, for the honour we owe him is too precious a thing.

Nor must it be alleged that it is not permitted us, and that we do not have the liberty. For whatever the case, what is here recorded of Abraham ought to serve us for instruction. For we know that he is the pattern of all the faithful, inasmuch as he is their father. Since this is so, then, even though we should find ourselves mingled among the enemies of God and of his truth, and persecution were imminent, we ought to make confession of our faith. For we must always prefer that which is chief above all else besides. This, then, is what we have to retain from this passage.

Now it is especially to be noted that he calls upon the Name of the Eternal — that is, the God of the age, the God of ever. Here Moses makes, as it were, a comparison of the changes and revolutions through which Abraham had passed, and of the firmness that he had in his faith, and of the constancy and steadfastness never to waver, whatever might come. Behold, then, Abraham, who has been driven this way and that: he has changed his dwelling, he has even been tossed about like straw before the wind. Yet for all that, he knew that he must remain firm in God, and that his faith was so well founded that nothing could shake it, and that there was in his own person no variableness at all. Thus, we see how Abraham has always followed the course to which God had brought him. And so he worships the eternal God, the God of the ages — even though it might seem that God played with him as with a ball, tossing him here and there.

Now it is also said that he sojourned in this country of the Philistines a long space of time; but the word Moses uses signifies to dwell as a stranger. And this too is well worth noting. For although he had permission to dwell there, and to live peaceably, and although the extortions and violence he had suffered were no longer inflicted upon him, yet he knew that he was not yet the possessor of that land. It is true that it had been given to him, and God had even then already ratified this gift several times. And yet it had been said to him, “Thy seed shall be a stranger in a land not theirs four hundred years” (Gen. 15:13). So Abraham must therefore practice this teaching continually — namely, that though he has rest, he is nevertheless there only as a stranger by sufferance, and that he must always have, as it were, one foot lifted: in short, that he must be like a bird upon the branch, as the saying goes. And this is precisely why he did homage to the king of Gerar. For he does not thereby renounce the gift that had been made to him by God; but because the time was not yet come to enjoy it and to enter into possession, he is content meanwhile to be a stranger there.

And this is why also, as we shall see further on, he will purchase the burial-place for his wife — showing all the more that he was not yet possessor even of a single foot of ground, and yet did not fail, by faith, to have received what had been given him. Thus we see that his hope extended beyond this present life. And meanwhile we see that it is not without cause that he says in the Psalm that God has been the dwelling-place of every generation to those who trust in him (Ps. 90). For Abraham was exposed both to wind and to rain and to every storm, dwelling among barbarous peoples full of cruelty; and yet God gave him shelter — yes, and this to such a degree that he preferred to leave the land and lift up his heart on high, rather than seek means to acquire lands and inheritances. He thus passed through this world in such a way that he never settled down in it. And so, in the end, God showed the fulfilment of this promise — not that Abraham saw it accomplished in his own lifetime, but, as we have said, his hope stretched further; and so we may say with the Apostle that he built no nest in this world, and had no fixed goal here (Heb. 11:13). For he might have returned to the country from which he had come, namely to the land of his birth, that is, to Chaldea; but he restrained himself there where he possessed nothing, where he had neither kinsfolk nor friends. Thus, we see that he looked higher than to this world.

Now if this had not been in him a doctrine so clear as we have it today by comparison — what excuse will there be, when our Lord Jesus Christ has once appeared, has conversed in this world, and then entered into the heavenly kingdom, and has opened to us the door there, and continually by his Gospel urges us to aspire on high? If we, I say, remain always wrapped up in these corruptible things, must not this ingratitude be all the more shameful? Let us learn, then, to be so lodged in this world, that we may enjoy the goods which God gives us here, while nevertheless professing with Saint Paul that our dwelling is truly in heaven, and that we are already citizens there, if only by hope (Phil. 3:20). And indeed, we ought to remember well what is said elsewhere: that although we are lodged in these mortal bodies, we ought to be, as it were, absent from God (2 Cor. 5:9). And we see clearly that we do not enjoy his presence, since our spiritual life is hidden (Col. 3:3); for otherwise we would enjoy it in fact, and there would be no more room for faith, since what one hopes for (as St. Paul says) is not yet seen (Rom. 8:24). Thus, let us learn that since God, by every means, seeks to draw us to himself, renouncing ourselves, and that the son who has been given to him should be taken away — as though he were saying, “Go, thou hast been nothing to me but a beast, since thou hast attended upon me and followed me, taking such pains to obey me. I promised thee a lineage, from which the salvation of the whole world would come; I have fulfilled my promise to thee in giving thee thy son Isaac: but now thou must go and cut his throat, to teach thee that this was nothing but simplicity and folly on thy part to trust in what I promised thee — that thou wouldst have a lineage, and that this lineage would be more precious than the whole world, yea a hundred thousand worlds. For it is a matter of the eternal salvation of thy soul and of the souls of all men, and now thou art about to erase it all.”

Now (as I have already said) it is impossible for us fully to comprehend these things, and however much we may be touched by them, we must nevertheless meditate upon them, for it is not in vain that they are written. So much, then, for the preface to this history. Now let us proceed to expound point by point what is here set down by Moses: “Take thy son, thine only son, Isaac, thy son whom thou lovest uniquely.” Here we see how God is not content merely to pierce Abraham's heart, as if he dealt him a single stab with a dagger, but holds him on the rack, as it were, in a manifold torture. It is as if, after having applied the rack to him once, he were to give him yet another kind of torment. For if he had simply commanded him to kill his son, would it not have been enough to say to him, “Go, and sacrifice thy son”? But instead, he says, “Take now thy son, yea thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest uniquely” — to show that all hope was to be cut off from Abraham. Now when it is said “thine only son whom thou lovest,” this was not merely a natural, fatherly love such as fathers commonly have for their children; but it was fitting that Abraham should love Isaac according to the value he placed upon the salvation of his own soul, and of the whole world — to be the companion of angels, and the heir of the whole world, and heir of the Kingdom of God. In sum, then, this is what is meant by the word “only son, and well-beloved.”

And then the name “Isaac” is set down here as if by way of reproach; for God himself had given this name to Isaac, who had had no part in the naming of himself according to men's fancy. It is God who names the child, and how? “Laughter” — that is, matter for joy. Now it seems that God mocks him now, as if to say, “Rejoice in Isaac, and let it seem to thee that there was nothing but matter for rejoicing.” Yet now it behoves thee to have a sorrow that pierces thy heart, that thou thyself be the executioner of this child whom thou lovest so dearly, that thou hold the drawn blade with lifted hand to cut his throat. Now after this, could Abraham not be reckoned a murderer, and by this means stir up the rage of all his neighbours against him, so that they would say, “How could this wretch go and kill his own son! Behold a madman, behold one possessed: must not this rage be more than diabolical?” Behold, then, how before God he has been confounded, and before the world detestable. But this is not yet enough: “Take thy son,” he says. “And what shall I do with him? Take him, and go and sacrifice him. And whither shall I lead him? Into some mountain that I will tell thee.” Now it is required that Abraham thus languish, and, beyond having to kill his son, that he be led by a long way, not knowing where, without any guidance — that God hold him there, not merely with his beak in the water, but in a torment so horrible that it is impossible for us to meditate upon it as we ought.

Are these not things surpassing all human sense? For as previously it had been said to him, on leaving the place of his birth, that he did not know where God would lead him — now the place has at least been assigned to him: “Thou shalt go into the land of Moriah.” He must depart from the place where he has lived to such an old age — for we have already seen that he was very old. “Go,” God says. “And when thou shalt be come there, then will I declare to thee where I wish thee to sacrifice thy son.” Here, then, we see how, in every way, God has so thoroughly tested the heart of his servant that all the trials we could ever gather up would amount to nothing by comparison; and when we have made every comparison, it will be nothing beside all that we may have to endure, in respect of what we see here. We see that God spares our infirmity wonderfully, when he does not bring us thus far. If it is a matter of some sickness we must endure, we will have some regrets, which will make us fret against God. If a husband dies, the wife will be so desolate that there will be nothing but murmuring and impatience. If God takes away someone's child — even though he has several others — there will be nothing but regrets and excessive weeping, to fret oneself over it. And what would it be if God brought us to the point of having to kill our own children? As it is here spoken of — that nothing should remain, and that the whole house should be swept entirely clean?

And even if it were so, that would still be nothing compared with Abraham. For the children God gives us today are not the foundation of our salvation; we shall not for that fail to have our Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, even though all human knowledge should perish. But let us acknowledge that God bears with us, having pity on our frailty, when he does not bring us to so severe and rigorous a trial as this, of which Moses here makes mention. Following this, then, let us be advised that if God tests us, we ought to bow the neck, and be content to be proved by him. And this, too, is the chief thing in our whole life: that we allow ourselves to be so mastered that God may dispose of us at his pleasure, and that we should not go about kicking against the goad, to say that he treats us in this way or that. This (I say) is the chief thing in our life.

It is true that it will amount to much when we can walk in integrity with our neighbours, when we do wrong to none, when we are chaste and upright, when we are temperate in our life, when we flee all drunkenness and excess, so that no blasphemy proceeds from our mouth, and other such things. And this indeed is great virtue — yet it is not the thing chiefly required of us, for that lies elsewhere, as I have already said, which is that in serving God, if we are assailed by many troubles, that the devil raises up ambushes for us, that men be so malicious and perverse that one pricks us, another strikes us, and yet another labours to ruin us; and on the other hand, that we drag our wings, that we hunger and thirst, that we are slandered and despised — when all this comes to pass, we must still bless the Name of God, and all our anguish and passions must be soothed, and we must be able to say continually, “Lord, thy will be done” — and that thou dealest with us according as thou wilt; and though it should be far worse, we are nonetheless quite ready to receive it all. When, therefore, we are thus patient, it is certain that this is the chief thing, toward which we must strive.

And above all, this history ought to be so much the more prized and meditated by us, seeing that our Lord willed to declare what we ought to grasp in the person of our father Abraham, so that we might follow his example. And as I have already said, when God led him there, it was that he and all that he had put into his hand should be dedicated to him. For if Abraham had not had this principle, it is certain that he would never have taken a single step, and he would even have drawn well back at the point of approaching God; but he held this as chief, that he was not his own, and that what God had given him he ought not to use at his own pleasure to retain it, but he kept his account thus: “Here I am” — as also he shows it. For when God calls him, “Abraham” — “Here I am, Lord,” Abraham answers — this answer declares that Abraham was there as one attentive to receive the commandments that God would give him, just as a servant will be watchful. For if his master walks, he will be at his heels, to say, “Does anything please you? If your master rests, he will be there, ready to hear what his master wishes to command him: 'Do this, go there.'“ Thus, then, Abraham shows that he has given himself over neither to himself nor to his own affections, but that he was so wholly dedicated to God that all he possessed was likewise God's. And he does not say this hypocritically, as many will say well with the mouth, “Here I am,” and yet do not fail to withdraw far from God. But when Abraham has said, “Here I am,” he protests thereby that he is here before God — and then further he protests that he has both feet and hands, both eyes and ears, and all his senses, and all the parts of his body and his soul, ready to serve God and to bend under his yoke, and to go wherever he shall be sent.

This, then, is what we have to retain concerning our father Abraham: and thereby we know that without this aim we shall do nothing but err our whole life long, as I have said. We might possess the finest virtues in the world, we might be esteemed as angels — yet all this will be nothing, unless we know that God sees us, and that he wills that we always bend toward him. And meanwhile, even when he causes us to be turned this way and that, and we must labour and grow weary to the utmost, we must not cease continually to hold ourselves in his obedience and submission, saying, “Lord, here I am,” whatever it may be — and that we despise all the obstacles that hinder and may delay us, all the difficulties, troubles, and combats that shall be raised against us; that we despise all this, I say, so that we may always pursue our way, until we shall have come to the goal to which God calls us: that is, that we may be delivered from all our conflicts, to enjoy the heavenly rest.

Then we shall prostrate ourselves before the majesty of our good God in acknowledgment of our faults, praying him so to make us feel them, that it may cause us to be displeased with ourselves for them, and to strip ourselves more and more that he may overturn and destroy the counsels, machinations, and enterprises of all his adversaries, to the end that his glory may shine forth everywhere, and that the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ may be increased and advanced more and more. We shall pray for all these things, even as our good Master and Lord Jesus Christ has taught us to pray, saying, Our Father, which art in heaven, etc.

We shall likewise pray this good God to grant us steadfast perseverance in his holy faith, to increase it in us day by day, of which we make confession, saying, I believe in God the Father, etc.

The blessing upon the people after the sermon

The grace of God the Father, and the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the communion of the Holy Spirit, abide with you evermore. Amen.