The Second Sermon

The Second Sermon

Preached on Monday, the tenth day of June, 1560 Genesis, chapter 22

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went unto the place which God had told him of. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. And he said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; I and the lad will go yonder to worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son, and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father. And he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went both of them together.

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e have seen that this was the chief and the hardest combat that ever Abraham sustained in the whole of his life — that of going up into

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the mountain to offer his son as a burnt offering, for it was first required that he slay him with his own hand. Now upon this we have already shown that in our father God has declared to us that we must surmount every affection of nature, to such a degree that his honour must be preferred above all else besides. If a husband loves his wife, a father his children, all this must be trodden underfoot when it is a question of the service of God, for that is too precious a thing. We have also declared that Abraham was tempted not only in that God commanded him to slay his son, but in that it seemed indeed that all the promises he had received were as good as abolished, for they all depended upon this — that we had seen the blessed seed was to be raised up in Isaac. It seems, then, that God meant to frustrate Abraham. Now, however one might judge according to human sense that God contradicts himself, and that this command laid upon him was to break and bring to nothing all that he had heard before, Abraham nevertheless has this constancy — simply to obey God, without inquiring further.

Now at first sight it might seem that what he does is not founded upon true faith, for faith rests upon the promises. Yet, as we have touched upon, Abraham could hope for nothing from God except by means of Isaac; for it is said that in Jesus Christ all the promises of salvation have their firmness, and are ratified so as to be Yea and Amen (2 Cor. 1:20). Our Lord Jesus Christ was to come of the race of Isaac, and it was truly the seed that had been promised to him. How, then, could Abraham reconcile this — that Isaac his son should die, and yet that the promises of God should remain in their full force and execution? Now the Apostle says that Abraham offered up his son by faith. And thus he signifies to us that Abraham, whatever the case, held fast and stood firm to what God had pronounced to him with his own mouth. And as for the seeming contradiction between this command that was laid upon him and the promises that had been given him, here is how the Apostle replies: that Abraham believed that God was able enough to raise up seed even from the ashes of Isaac, once his body had been wholly burnt — that he could raise up again this seed that had been promised to him.

Now this is an article that will be profitable to us, provided we understand it well; for we are hereby admonished to believe in God to such a degree that we surmount the world, and all that we can perceive, and all that we comprehend by our own reason and understanding. For if faith rested upon what we can contemplate, what would that be? The power of God would be too much diminished. And moreover, we must note what is said by the Apostle, that faith is a sight of things invisible, and an assurance of things not present (Heb. 11:1). This answers to what Saint Paul says in the eighth chapter of Romans: that we do not hope for things that are plain and evident to us, but for things that are far removed from us, things that seem even impossible. Since, then, it is so that the promises of God do not bring before our very eyes what they contain, we must (as I have already said) mount above the world when it is a question of believing. And what does that mean? That we should not measure the power of God, which is infinite, by such means as present themselves and as we can comprehend. But when these thoughts come into our fancy — that the thing cannot be done, that there is, as it were, a contradiction — then we must conclude: Be it so or not, God will accomplish what he has said. And how? Oh, it is not for us to judge. Here we must take captive all our senses, and give God this honour, that he is faithful; though we do not know by what means he will find a way out where it seems to us that everything is closed and stopped up. This, then, is what we are to retain from what is taught us here by the Apostle.

Now if Abraham had argued by human reason, he would have said, God is not contrary to himself: now has he not declared to me that I should have seed in Isaac, and that from thence the Saviour of the world should come? I must hold to that. Now it is commanded me at this hour to kill Isaac: there is no consistency in it, for what I have already received must remain. This is how Abraham might have excused himself, to the point of being rebellious toward God under colour of obeying him. But what does he do? He considers that God is powerful enough to accomplish what he has promised him touching Isaac. And yet, but when he shall be dead, what shall become of it? Yes, as if God were no longer the Lord of death. Behold, then, the true combat of Abraham's faith — that death presents itself before his eyes, and this was to confound him; but he lifts up the power of God higher, and says, God will surmount, even in this very point. And how? Oh, it is not for man to be judge or arbiter here, nor to let loose the rein to his own opinion, nor to measure the power of God; but he must close his eyes, and hold himself there, so as to say, God will find a way in such fashion that I must be astonished at it — but for the present it is not for me to inquire why, nor how he means thus to go about it: I must be as one bound, until God declares to me what was previously unknown to me. And this we shall see presently more clearly in that word with which Abraham answers his son, My son, God will provide. Now we see, then, how we are to honour God when it is a question of accepting his promises, and of holding fast to them, and of making a firm resolve to follow wherever he calls us — that is to say, that we should know that the issues of death are in his hand, as it is said in the Psalm; and when we shall see nothing before us but abysses, and it shall seem that they must swallow us up, nevertheless we should walk on where God calls us.

It is expressly said that Abraham had saddled his ass, that he had laid the wood upon it together with the provisions, and that he set out with two servants and his son. Here Moses specifies more particularly what has already been touched upon above — namely, that God tested Abraham's faith to the very end, holding him thus in suspense. It would have been enough that Abraham should cut the wood, and that he should march forth carrying only some bowshot's distance to kill his son; but he must set out on the way, not knowing where he is to go, and then night comes, which always brings with it more vexation and grief. When we already have some sadness and some anxiety, it is certain that the trouble redoubles by night. Now Abraham must endure this too, and be agitated on every side. And well — does he rise early in the morning? It is only to begin all over again. By day he sees his poor son, whom he must presently kill; and always these fantasies return to confront him: How? — that I should be the murderer of my own offspring, and that before God and before men I should commit an act that might be reckoned the most detestable that could be imagined? For it is a monstrous thing, and one to make every man's hair stand on end throughout the world. But be that as it may, Abraham must nevertheless force himself onward, and must remain a second night, until the third day, when God shows him the mountain of Moriah, which is the place where Jerusalem was afterward built.

This, then, is what we have to retain — namely, that to fight well against every temptation, it is not enough that we have some sudden warmth of faith, but such perseverance that we do not fail, however much God prolongs the combat, and however little deliverance we obtain at the first stroke. And this is a point altogether necessary; for those who will show a great and singular affection to obey God will often have but gusts of it, which pass quickly away, as we experience only too well. And thus we should find it nothing strange if God does not deliver us at once, when we shall have been assailed by some conflict, and our faith must be tested; if we do not surmount it on the first day, but must continue — let us not think that God goes beyond measure, but rather let us follow the example of our father Abraham in this respect.

Now it is said at the same time that he had commanded his servants to remain there, and that he had laid upon his son Isaac the burden of the wood to make the sacrifice. For it was not merely a matter of killing Isaac, but he must also burn him, and reduce his body to ashes. He therefore loads Isaac with wood, and commands his servants to remain there — for he sees well that his servants would never have permitted such an act; rather they would have judged him a poor, doting old man carried away by some madness that had seized him. He protests that he has this command from God; but is it possible that God should have commanded so cruel a thing? They would not have failed to take care to judge that such obedience could never have been a service of God, but they would have held him for a man enraged and out of his senses. Abraham knew this, and it is a circumstance we ought carefully to note — namely, that he foresaw the infamy and reproach that would come upon him, and that everyone would think he had done this out of frenzy, and that God would never have held such a service acceptable; and yet, knowing this, it did not trouble him at all — he cared nothing for all the ignominy that was prepared for him among men, in doing a thing that was against nature, and that was a cruelty so enormous and so detestable as none could be more so, and nevertheless he did not resist at all.

Let us learn from his example that when, in serving God, we shall be reviled by the world, when men spit in our face, and we are condemned instead of being esteemed, we should not cease for that to go always forward. For if we have not such steadfastness, it is certain that we shall be serving our own ambition, and shall be seeking our own wages, as our Lord Jesus Christ says: when men shall have applauded us, and shall find all that we have done good, and we shall be well content to be praised here — let us look for nothing in heaven, for already we shall have looked too much upon the world. But when we shall be able to be patient to this point, that though men turn to evil what we do to obey God, this does not for all that hinder our course nor delay it — thus shall we show in truth that it is God whom we seek to please. In short, if we do not despise all human judgments, and bear patiently all the reproaches, disgraces, and slanders that may be brought against us, it is certain that our faith will not declare itself as it ought.

And this too is why Saint Paul exhorts us, by his own example, to walk through evil report as through good report, and to do well though we be ill spoken of (2 Cor. 6:8) — that is to say, that when we shall have had an upright intention, and God shall bear us witness that we have desired to conform ourselves to his will, though men slander us, and even charge us falsely with crimes, let us be content that God accepts and approves us. Now today we have need of this doctrine as much as ever; for in general, if we make profession of Christianity, we must be esteemed as heretics, as dogs, and the world reckons that we seek nothing but trouble, that we are rebels, that we have forsaken God, that we are, in short, worse than apostates. Thus do the Papists today speak of us.

Now if we are so delicate, and have ears so ticklish, as we see many have, who wish to be kept in their good reputation, it is certain that here we must all be flattened, and it will seem that God is as good as abandoned. So much the more, then, must we meditate upon this doctrine — namely, that it should not matter to us in what reputation we stand before men, provided that God approves us. Now there is also this in particular: if a man walks in simplicity, one will mock him, another will call him a hypocrite, and yet another will say that he does it all for his own profit. And this is how the devil, by such wiles, seeks to debauch us. We must learn, then, to have all our senses so fixed upon God that though men wrongfully slander us, we should not for all that be turned aside, but should always look to the way that is set before us.

This, too, is what we have to gather — what virtue there was in the faith of Abraham, in that he was so composed, having premeditated these things as if he had been quite at ease. If we have some passion, even though we mean well, how often do we wander, and are so bewildered that we know not where to begin, nor what order to keep. We see this in the very men who are most magnanimous — that even in perplexity they will not go about it so soberly as would be required. Now Abraham needed to have a mind settled amid all the fancies that came before him, which might have said: Behold my servants, who could hinder me in this act, for they will think I am carried out of my wits; I must, instead of binding my son, be bound myself, and they will bring me back home in spite of myself, and hold me there as a wild beast, as though God had utterly condemned me. Abraham foresaw all this. Thus, we may judge by this, that in the midst of these shadows he was so enlightened by the Spirit of God that he ever had both counsel and discretion, according as he had need of them. Now by his example we are advised, that when we shall have great passions which might astonish us, so that we should not know which way to turn, we should pray God that it may please him to direct us; and if there be confusions as touching our natural sense, that the light of the faith given to us may so surmount them, that we may know what way we have to hold.

Now upon this Moses relates that God sent yet a torture more bitter by far to his servant Abraham than the others. For when he walks with his son Isaac, the boy says to him, My father. Let us not think that this escaped from Isaac's mouth by mere chance; but God willed thus to try Abraham's faith, as if he would pierce his very heart. There is nothing that could bring so keen an anguish to Abraham as this word, so full of tenderness — My father. Behold, then, as it were a sword to wound Abraham mortally; and all this (as I have said) comes from the counsel of God, who here willed to give us a pattern and a mirror of such constancy, that when we shall have to do battle against all the temptations of the world, we should know that we shall scarcely have endured the hundredth part of what our father endured, and overcame. Abraham answers, My son, here I am. The boy then says to him, Behold the wood and the fire, but there is no beast, he says, to sacrifice. Isaac is already well aware that they are going to make an offering to God, and he does not know what that offering will be — he asks.

Was it possible that Abraham should be tormented to this degree, and that he should bear it? But (as I have said) God spared him in nothing, so that we might take all the more courage when it is a question of surmounting all that might debauch us, and might make us stray from the right way. This, then, is what we have to retain. It is true that Moses makes a very plain narration; and when we read these things without thinking why they are written, it is certain that it would pass by quite coldly, and we should not be greatly moved by it. But when we shall have well considered in what state Abraham could be, and what distress he already suffered in his heart, and when thereupon we come to weigh what is here added anew — what anguish must have been his when his son said to him, My father — behold Abraham, who on the one hand beholds the simplicity of his child, and then he may think, Alas, thou knowest not for what thou art prepared. For if a poor man is led to death, and knows nothing of it, though it touch not us at all, and we ought not to be present, yet if only we have this apprehension of it, it is certain that the mere thought will make the tears fall from our eyes. Behold a poor man led to the slaughter like a lamb, and he suspects nothing of it. If we have heard tell of such a thing, it is certain that the very thought of it will be enough to bring tears to our eyes. Now behold Abraham, who sees his son, and then he sees him as a lamb, and it is he himself who leads him to the slaughter; it is he who must cut his throat, it is he who must burn him afterward — and his son, who is there, speaks to him so simply, And where is the beast to sacrifice?

In short, we see that though God today should send us all the afflictions we can imagine, it is nothing compared to what Abraham sustained. And if we allege our infirmity, if we say that our human passions carry us away, let us not think that Abraham was made of iron or of steel any more than we are; but whatever the case, it remains that he had resolved to yield all mastery and superiority to God, and so to subject himself that he renounced himself altogether. This, then, I say, is where we must aim and aspire —however many obstacles we may have, and however much it may seem that we cannot go one step further, yet we must force ourselves, yea, beyond all our strength. For it is not a question here of our going about it as men of good ability, as though we were people well equipped for it; but let us wait for God to supply what is impossible to us, and to go beyond all our capacities. This, then, is again what we have to retain.

And for the rest, let us not doubt, when so many things come thus to cross our path, that it is God who is at work in it; and let us not think this happens by chance. When on one side we are pricked, and on the other we have some alarm, let us think that God governs and directs everything, and that he does so, that we may learn to rest ourselves the more fully upon him, and not to be armed only in the head or the arm, but on the right hand and on the left — that we be equipped, as Saint Paul also exhorts us, when he calls us to be furnished for battling manfully: he gives us both sword and shield, and helmet, and breastplate, even to the feet; he arms us there from head to foot, as they say. And why? For if it seems that we are well prepared on one side, there is the devil, who according to his subtlety will find some other means to assail us, and will always keep some ambushes in store for us. This, then, is why we must learn betimes to equip ourselves in such a way that the devil can find no breach, and that he can make no opening to gain entrance to us; but that we have wherewith to repel him both on the right hand and on the left. And the answer that Abraham gives to his son shows this all the more clearly: My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a sacrifice, he says.

In these words, we see what has already been declared above — namely, how our faith must pass beyond this world. And likewise, we cannot believe in God, unless we give place to his providence, that it may have its course, yea beyond all that we can judge or apprehend. And indeed, we ought to be well inclined to this, if we consider the works of God, even those which he sets before our eyes. If we think of the course of nature, we shall see the clouds go this way and that, and meanwhile we know not what God means to do with them. Behold the rain that is about to fall; behold a whirlwind that will be raised up together with a great and sudden rain; behold the sky that will be overcast within a short space, so that where there was fair and clear weather, there will be nothing but obscurity everywhere. We shall see these things; there will be indeed some natural causes which the philosophers will assign, and yet it is certain that we shall be confounded by them. What, then, shall it be when God will proceed in some strange fashion, and will not keep the common and accustomed order? Must not all our senses be dazzled thereby? Thus, we ought to have this instruction, to be ravished with astonishment when it is a question of the incomprehensible power of God. And thus we ought already to be wholly disposed to acknowledge his providence, and to adore it, when he declares to us that he wills to surmount all our senses. But what? It is a pity that we cannot lift up God, so as to say that he can do more than our senses promise us at the first stroke. And this is also why there is so little faith in the world. And even those who have some good affection, and who seem disposed to believe in God, nevertheless have their faith so meagre and so feeble, that it takes nothing to overthrow it.

Now all this evil comes from the fact that we have not this persuasion rooted in us touching the providence of God. When Saint Paul speaks of Abraham (as we have already treated), he says that he gave glory to God, esteeming that he was powerful (Rom. 4:20). And this is part of what he means — that we must refer to the providence of God all things that might torment us, and concerning which we could have no resolution. So much the more, then, must we well meditate upon this doctrine; and thus, however often and however many fancies may come into our heads to hold us back and to make us grow cold in doing what God has commanded us, let us always have this word to serve us as a shield: God will provide. How is that? It seems often that what God commands us is to bring us many inconveniences. And behold this cursed wisdom of men, which is the greatest enemy of faith, and which always wishes to have the upper hand.

For behold, God who will give commandment to a king, and to a prince, and to all magistrates, that his service should be honoured, and maintained in purity. Now thereupon men look to see how the world hardly obeys —one will see, How now, there will be so many murmurings against us; and then it will be necessary, if such rigor is maintained, that everything break apart. For we see how men do not let themselves easily be governed. There will come, then, troubles. And then when one sees such difficulties, one must moderate oneself in some fashion, or else one sees well that one will never come to the end of it. Behold, I say, the temptations that will beset those who ought to oppose evil. Now what do they do? Commonly those who seem to be the wisest and most prudent unto the end will wish to speak and to negotiate in such fashion that there shall be neither flesh nor fish, as they say. And thereupon behold God, who is set back. First, there is this evil, that one does not obey him roundly as one ought; and then one strips him of the honour that belongs to him. For if one alleges, Oh, such a thing might happen — and is God, then, dead? Has he not foreseen all the inconveniences that might come of it? And if one says, Oh, we must not let it go so, for there is such an evil that would follow — is this not to accuse God of folly, and to strip him of his virtue, as if he could not hold the reins so as to bring it about that he be obeyed in all things according to his will, and yet that there should be a good and happy outcome?

As much is true also of the ministers of the Word of God, for there are very few who can acquit themselves of their duty. It is true that there are many vices which hinder them; but this cursed and diabolical prudence reigns in many, who would not wish to stir up much hatred, much trouble; and thereupon they will bend to every wind, until they find some means to disguise the doctrine of the Gospel — as there are many today who do this. For whence has come this sorcery of those who have wished to find a middle way between the Papacy and Christianity, except from this — that they have looked, How now? And to change things thus, one would have to make, as it were, a whole new world. Oh, that cannot be, for one has already seen the signs that everything will go to ruin. Thus one must be content to go by halves, and to swim between two waters.

Behold how the doctrine of God is corrupted; and yet (as we have shown) when there shall be some beginning of evil in this way, things will always go from bad to worse, so that order can no longer be established when one would wish it. And this must not be applied only to public persons; but when a man is to govern his family, and to rule his household well, he will always be thinking, Oh, if I do what God commands, such a thing might happen to me; or else, when a man has to earn his living, he will look, Oh, if I go about it in such simplicity, I shall be here as a sheep among the jaws of wolves, for there is so much cunning and so much craft in the world, that I shall be deceived at every turn; everyone catches what he can for himself, and if I do not do the same, what will become of me? Oh, if I make myself a sheep or a ewe, it is certain that they will eat the very wool off my back. Let each man think, then, as though there were no providence of God at all.

And besides, when it is a question of exposing our life, as today, however little it may be said to each of us, Take thy son, yea thine only son Isaac, and slay him — yet in general God commands that we do him homage, in confessing that he is our Father and Saviour. Our Lord Jesus Christ wills that we be his witnesses, yea before the most perverse, and before the greatest tyrants of the world; for he does not wish that we should confess him only before those who desire that his kingdom should come, but before his enemies who oppose it, before persecutors. Behold, then, the confession that he requires of us. And thereupon what will come of it? Oh, there will be some who will say, And what profit will my death be? And when I shall be put to death, no more will be said of it after three days; nay, it will only bring scandal to many. For many will say, Oh, he had better have kept quiet; we were at rest, no one asked anything of us, and now here is a persecution stirred up — see what he has profited by advancing thus! Yet has God, then, understood nothing of what he willed, when he commanded that sacrifice should be made to him of the confession of our faith, and that he willed that our life should be despised for the honour of his holy Name? Did he not know well enough what would come of it? And do we think ourselves wiser and more advised than he?

And thus, it is not without cause that I have said we ought to retain this teaching among others, when it is said, My son, God will provide a sacrifice: for it is as much as if we were exhorted by the Holy Spirit not to be too discreet (as they say), and not to be too ready to dispute. And what then? What can be done? But let us hold this altogether resolved, that God has spoken, and let him do as he sees fit. Let come what may, for it is certain that all will go well when he is our guide. But meanwhile our senses must fail us in this respect, and we must be as willing blind men — that is to say, that we should not be so sharp-sighted as these worldly-wise men, who wish to know and to judge everything, even to controlling what God ought to do; but that it should suffice us to be quit of our duty, and not to snatch from him what is his.

Thus we see how faith cannot exist unless we lift up the providence of God; and the way to lift it up is that we should refer to it wholly all that can only engender in us scruples, and entangle us in many perplexities — so that, in short, we might say, Lord, thou leadest me as it shall please thee; for as for me, I am a poor blind man, and I must not go in this matter as if it were an abyss too deep to cast myself down into it, when I should wish to guide myself. This, then, is the true wisdom that all the children of God ought to have — that is, not to be too wise, but to content themselves with their measure; and when they see the way that is shown to them, that they walk in it; and though they cannot attain to their goal at the first stroke, that they do not for all that cease always to continue. That if they see, as it were, mountains rising up to stop them, that there be, as it were, a sea, that it should seem the gulf is near — let them surmount all that, and know that it is not in vain that it is written, that God has commanded his angels to guide us, and to direct us in our ways — that is to say, that we shall not turn aside from what he teaches us; but let us know that he will always find a way out in things that seem perplexing to us, and where we shall see nothing but confusion.

For the rest, one might here find some infirmity in Abraham, amid such excellent virtues, for it seems indeed that there was some feint in it, in that he says he will return with his son, once they shall have worshiped and sacrificed on the mountain — for already he well knew that his son Isaac was to die there, or at the least he held himself assured and resolved on it. Now this is not permitted to us in any fashion, that it should be lawful to lie. It seems, then, that Abraham failed in this respect. And for this cause some think that he spoke by a prophetic spirit; but this would be to annihilate his faith, forasmuch as it was necessary that he should be ignorant of what was to come to pass. For if God had already revealed to him that his son should escape, there would have been in him neither zeal nor constancy; but when he thinks that he must kill his own son, behold the testimony of his obedience. And how, then, is it that he says his son shall return with him? Now let us not find this too strange. For when we are thus surprised and pressed by vehement passions, some things will escape us that are not altogether fitting, so that we shall mingle the one with the other. Thus, then, Abraham has spoken little as a man whose senses were, as it were, bewildered. Not that he did not know what he had to do — for if he had gone about it rashly, that too would not have been to render a service acceptable to God — but it is certain that Abraham had so fixed all his affections upon doing what God commanded him, that he was there as it were a man ravished, so to speak.

And we see this in those whom God has fortified. As, if a man must go to his death, he thinks nothing of it, and he does not even wish that one should speak to him of it, or divert him from it; for he makes his reckoning thus: I must now present myself before God, and he causes all the rest to be forgotten. Thus, then, it happened to our father Abraham, who has not thought distinctly of all that he ought to answer touching the sacrifice, but only says, We will go and sacrifice to God, and having made our offering we will return. This, then, is as to this point. Now it is said that Abraham and his son went on further. It is not without cause that Moses puts this twice — They went both together, and then, They went on further. When he says that they went together, this has been to advise us what vehemence of passion Abraham had with his son. For sometimes company will cause us not to be so moved nor so troubled; but when a man is alone, it is then that he suffers all the more. Now Abraham finds himself there alone with his son when he walks and thus leads him along; and even after this, having thus answered, he goes on further — this is to magnify all the more the virtue that he had, in that nothing has ever turned him aside, since he has always pursued his course, inasmuch as God led him. And thus, we see how he was strengthened from on high; for it was impossible that, according to man, he could ever have come to the end of surmounting such difficulties. God, then, held out his hand of strength to him.

But what is written of him is for our instruction, that we may know that Abraham, however weak a man he was like ourselves, nevertheless did not fail to overcome all that was repugnant to his faith, inasmuch as God assisted him. And when today we acknowledge our weakness, that is not so that we should flatter ourselves by it, and take excuse from it, as many do; but that it should spur us on, so that we should call upon God, and look to him for what we lack, and that we should walk on in such perseverance, that when the devil shall have contrived on this side and on that to debauch us and to make us turn bridle, nevertheless we should go always further forward. For what is here said of the journey of three days, this is to show us that we have to continue as long as it shall please God. It is true that our temptations will endure sometimes for three months, and a year, and ten, and our whole life, and we must even endure it. But let us note that Abraham was tempted also in other ways; yea, for the whole of his life, for he has not yet had rest, even after having recovered his son Isaac, but in one single kind of temptation we see terrible combats. And thus, let us be incited to pray to God, and to continue from day to day without end and without ceasing.

There is yet further to note what we shall see more fully hereafter — that is, the obedience of Isaac; for it was needful in truth that he should be sacrificed of his own good will, and at the least that he should have an affection to conform and to fashion himself to his father, so as to make an offering to God. This is why it is expressly said that they went both together, and that Isaac carried the wood. And thus let us learn to conform ourselves so entirely to the will of God, that although we must do violence to our passions and hold ourselves captive (as we have already said), nevertheless we should not let ourselves be brought to it grudgingly, but frankly and of our own good will; for it is needful that this combat be in all the faithful — that is to say, however much they may have many regrets, and however much God exercises them so vehemently that they have some doubts and some remorse, even though they be sometimes as it were vexed at being thus assailed — yet in the end they must make their resolution to submit themselves and to subject themselves to the will of God; and that their passions, which are contrary to it, should not hinder them from being altogether subject to it, so that it be of their own good will that they yield themselves to him, both in life and in death.

Example: behold our Lord Jesus Christ, who says to Saint Peter, When thou shalt be old, they shall lead thee whither thou wouldst not (John 21:18). Now it is certain that when Saint Peter endured for the Gospel, this was not as one dragged by force, unwilling, gnashing his teeth — it was of his own good will, and he offered to God a voluntary sacrifice. And yet our Lord Jesus Christ says that he will not go willingly. Behold, then, how there must be a double will in the faithful; and these are not incompatible things. By our nature we shall always be incited to rebel against God. Behold a will that is evil. Now it must be tamed, and we must have another will that surmounts it, and that we should love better to die in order to conform ourselves to the will of God, than to live, and yet in the meantime to reject his yoke. This, then, is what we have still to retain touching what is said, that Isaac walked together with his father, and that they went on further. Now let us prostrate ourselves before the majesty of our good God in acknowledgment of our faults, praying him that he would so make us feel them, that we may hate them, and strip ourselves of them and renounce them entirely. And that meanwhile he would bear with us so patiently in our weaknesses, that he would not fail to hold our service acceptable to him, though it be imperfect, and though there be many things in it which might rightly be reproved by him. And for the rest, that we should learn to commit ourselves so wholly to his guidance, that we should not have our eyes too curiously fixed to see more than is permitted us; but that we should wait for him to give a good outcome always to our ways, provided that we seek only to follow where he calls us, and that we tend always toward the goal he has set before us. That not only, etc.