At that period, while the improbability, in the course of nature, was daily increasing, Abram is again visited with the visions of the Almighty. Our attendance upon God must be constant and assiduous, and it is equally our interest and our duty to wait upon him; but if he makes himself known to us at all, at whatever season, in whatever manner, it is infinite grace and condescension. Jehovah's appointed time is now at length come to enter on the performance of his own work in his own way. The very first word that proceeds from his lips removes every difficulty, though natural obstacles might seem increased: "I am the Almighty God,' or God all-sufficient; fear therefore no failure of the covenant on my part, for what_truth hath spoken, that shall omnipotence bring to pass; and see that there be no unfaithfulness on thine, "walk before me, and be thou perfect." The former declarations concerning a numerous offspring are renewed, and an alteration is made in the patriarch's name, importing his relation to a multitude of princes and nations who should spring from him. To the eye of nature the title is premature; but faith considers that as done which is promised. Observe Abraham's posture while God talks with him; "he fell on his face."† The presence of the Almighty is the loudest call to humility, and the more any one knows of God, the more he must fear before him. Behold Abraham fallen to the ground, and angels covering their faces with their wings, and tremble thou, O man, before him!

But the trial of Abraham's faith and obedience is not yet over. God has appeared, not to fulfil the promises under the first covenant, but to enter into second and, instead of receiving the long expected son, he is commanded to perform an unpleasant and painful operation upon his own body, and upon all the males of his family. To qualify, however, the bitterness of this prescription, the promise becomes more express, and brings the darling object closer to the eye; it is now declared that Sarai, whose name too was changed, as a witness and token of the event, should bear a son, and that next year should at length crown all his wishes, and evince the truth and faithfulness of God. Abraham acquiesces with gratitude and joy. He had believed and trusted God, when the event was more obscure and remote, and now that it is more distinctly seen, and brought to the very eve of accomplishment, his heart exults with purer and more sensible delight. This the scripture expresses, by saying, he fell on his face and laughed; a circumstance which Providence instantly lays hold of, and perpetuates to every future generation the memory of Abraham's faith on this occasion-the son that should be born, shall by his name, Isaac, he shall laugh, express that emotion, which his pious, believing father felt, when the will of God was revealed to him. Abraham laughed in faith, and is rewarded every time he beholds his son, or hears his name pronounced, by the approbation of God and his own conscience : Sarah afterwards laughed in incredulity, and was as often reproved for her unbelief.

We hear not Abraham inquiring into the reasons or meaning of God's covenant of circumcision; and we will imitate his pious reserve and submission. It was sufficient to him, and be it so to us, that thus God would have it to be. That the great Jehovah should have distinguished the descendants of that family from all the families of the earth, by this token, and continue to the present hour thus to distinguish them, after almost every other badge of dif ference is obliterated and lost; that the posterity of Abraham should persevere in this practice, through a period so extended, and that no other nation should ever have adopted it as an established rite of their religion, is one of those apparently unimportant circumstances which are ready to escape the hasty eye, but which, in connection with other proofs, established the truth

and certainty of the scripture revelation, and the constant interposition of Divine Providence in the affairs of men beyond the power of contradiction. Behold then the rite of circumcision is performed; and Abraham sits down in the patient expectation of the appointed hour of merciful visitation.

One day, while he was enjoying the coolness of the shade at his tent door, in the heat of the day, three men, under the appearance of travellers, presented themselves to his view. These were three angels, say some of the Jewish Rabbins, and without hesitation, they furnish us with their names too, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. A few of the christian fathers, on the other hand, contend that here was a visible representation of the most holy Trinity, exhibited to Abraham as three, addressed and acknowledged by him as one. That something more than created excellence was there, cannot be doubted, after a careful perusal of what Moses has related upon this occasion. But whether the mystery of the Trinity was thus, and then, revealed to the church in the covenant head of it, we presume not to affirm. It is apparent that the patriarch did not, during the former part of the interview, comprehend the nature and quality of his guests, as he neither performs the worship due to the most holy God, nor preserves that awful distance, which even the presence of an angel must inspire; and the Apostle, alluding to him in the text, says, he "entertained angels unawares," that is, not knowing he did so.

The scene that follows is a beautiful picture of ancient manners, and wonderfully coincides with the customs of the other nations of remote antiquity, as transmitted to us by their historians and poets, particularly Homer, that careful observer and masterly painter of nature and human life.

Abraham immediately starts from his seat with all the agility of youth, at the sight of the strangers; and with all that glow of affection which is natural to a good man, who had himself known the heart of a stranger, he tenders them every accommodation and refreshment which his simple habitation could afford. Sweetness of temper, easiness of behaviour, and kindness of disposition, are peculiarly engaging in old people, because these qualities do not so frequently adorn life's decline. The invitation hospitably given is cheerfully accepted.

True kindness, which is true politeness, attends to the little wishes and wants of those whom we entertain. Water to wash the feet of the weary traveller is a refreshment, though not so necessary as a morsel of bread to comfort his heart, yet, in a sultry climate especially, not less grateful. We remember slight attentions after we have forgotten great benefits. The proud man makes a feast to gratify himself; the hospitable man, to rivet the bonds of friendship, or cherish the soul of the stranger. What a delightful simplicity runs through the whole story! The fare,cakes of fine meal, baked upon the hearth" by the hands of Sarah herself; a "calf from the herd," of Abraham's own choosing; butter and milk; the produce of their own pasture; their canopy, the spreading branches of an old tree; their attendants, the man who had in former days put kings and their armies to flight; the subject of their conversation, Abraham's family affairs. Contrast with this the madness of a modern fashionable entertainment; the profusion of far-fetched luxury, the emulation of wealth and pride, the ingenuity employed in contriving and administering incentives to excess, the gibberish of compliment, the restraints of ceremony, the tinsel of false wit, the noise of mirth without joy, to the expulsion of truth and nature; a costly and painful collection, where nothing is wanting, but the very things which constitute a feast, plenty of wholesome fare, unaffected friendship, moderation, good humour, and good sense. When we are doing our duty, we are in the way of procuring for ourselves gratification; and if there be a virtue which is its own reward, hospitality is that virtue. Abraham now enjoys it to the full. But little does he think what

a repast his divine guest is providing for him in return. Sarah, according to the manners of the times, had remained invisible, confining herself to her own separate tent. The angel now inquires concerning her, on purpose to introduce a conversation respecting the object of this visit; and assuming his proper character of Jehovah, subjoins a direct promise, that within the course of a year from that day, Abraham should have a son by her. Sarah, whom curiosity had drawn towards the door of the tent to listen, overhears this conversation, and not knowing the promise or the power of God, treats it as a thing impossible, and laughs, not in joy but in derision. She is observed, detected, and reproved of Him who is at once faithful, good, and merciful; holy, just and severe. But why is Abraham called to answer for the infirmity of his wife? Was it to render the reproof more pointed to Sarah? As, indeed, what can be so galling to an ingenuous mind, as to hear an innocent person called in question for our fault? The criminal now stands discovered, she is dragged from her lurking place, and stands abashed and confounded, to make her defence. Ah how dangerous it is, to have deviated once from the path of rectitude! How one false step leads to another, and another, and another, till conviction and shame close the scene. The first wrong step here was the indulgence of an idle curiosity, a dangerous if not a sinful principle. People who listen generally hope or fear to hear something about themselves, and it seldom happens that they are entirely gratified with what they hear. The next error was her secret disbelief of a promise so frequently and so solemnly repeated : this is followed by the weakness of thinking to escape the notice of one who beheld her though unseen, and could read her heart, though her person was not in view; and finally, deliberate falsehood attempts to conceal her preceding faults.

God neither overlooks nor forgets the errors of those, towards whom he has thoughts of love; and happily the purposes of his grace are not to be defeated by the forwardness and folly of men. Sarah, in spite of her incredulity, shall become the joyful mother of a son, and that son shall be the source of blessings innumerable, unspeakable to mankind. God in his holiness hath sworn it, and "is any thing too hard for the Lord ?" The business of this important visit being settled, the strangers rise to depart, and look as if they would go towards Sodom; and Abraham, not satisfied with having performed one instance of hospitality, follows it up to the last with kindness and attention," he went with them to bring them on the way." Two of the three, it would seem, now disappeared, and Abraham is left alone with the third, and from the conversation that ensues, we have no room left to doubt that he was the Son of God, come down to execute the vengeance of Heaven upon the sinful cities of the plain. "And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children, and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thence, and toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord.' The same person descends to bless Abraham, and to destroy Sodom: thus the same gospel is "a savour of life unto life, and of death unto death, in them that believe, and in them that perish ;" and thus shall the same divine person be revealed in the end of the

* Gen. xviii. 17,-22,

world, in “flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel," and "to be glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that believe."*

Abraham having obtained mercy himself, becomes an intercessor for his sinful neighbours. The judgments of God are very awful to a serious mind; fools only make a mock at sin, and its fearful consequences. But the whole scene is too interesting and instructive to be brought forward in the close of a Lecture, especially as it is necessary, before dismissing you, to make some reflections of a practical tendency from what has been spoken.

-You see, my friends, of what moment the salvation of a lost world is in the sight of God. At how many times, in how many different manners, did God speak of this subject unto the fathers? How many embassies of angels; how many appearances of the mighty Angel of the covenant himself? if the great God had been carrying on no design from the beginning, but one, a design of love to guilty fallen men: that one, which of all others guilty fallen men treat with the greatest slight and contempt. What! shall that purpose and plan which occupied the eternal mind from everlasting; to mature and execute which the world was created; which has been declared to man by so many signs in heaven above, and on earth beneath, by the tongues of so many prophets, by so many oracles; to announce which angels and archangels have descended from their thrones; and to accomplish which, God was made manifest in the flesh, tabernacled among men, and proclaimed the great salvation-shall it be announced, unfolded, executed in vain? And will thoughtless, inconsiderate creatures, continue to treat it as a thing of nought? O when shall we cordially enter into the views of God our Maker and Redeemer, and earnestly pursue the same object with him, the salvation of ourselves and others!

God is not sensibly present with us as he was with Abraham, but he is as really so, as if the eye beheld him, and as if we conversed with him face to face. O, man, God is in thy heart and conscience: God is in this place; in this book: and he is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. The visions of the Almighty to Abraham are visits of mercy to you. How easily could he draw aside the veil which conceals him from your eyes, and where we see nothing but empty space, discover to us a marshalled host of "chariots and horsemen of fire." But he is to be now discerned only by the eye of faith, and we must be satisfied to "see in a glass darkly." The awful period approaches when the veil shall drop, and we ourselves, disembodied spirits, shall see and feel, and converse with the Father of spirits. Let," thou God seest me," O man! be the leading, commanding idea of thy life, in the city and in the field, in society and in solitude, by night and by day, and when you come to die, you will find you have not far to go; to be "absent from the body" is to be "present with the Lord." Is it so pleasant and improving to contemplate the detached fragments of the plan of Providence and redemption, which is all we can attain in this state? What will it be in yonder world of bliss, to be endowed with a capacity of comprehending the whole vast design, and to have the harmony, connexion, and dependence of the several parts revealed to us by Him who is both the author and finisher of it. Eagerly hungering after the fruit of this tree of life," which grows in the midst of the paradise of God," this tree of knowledge of good but not of evil, let us be humbly and modestly, but carefully and constantly searching the scriptures, in which alone the way of eternal life is declared, and that life is in the Son of God. And may God give us understanding in all things; and to his name be praise. Amen.

2 Thess, i. 8, 10.

HISTORY OF ABRAHAM.

LECTURE XVI.

JAMES II. 23.

And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness and he was called the friend of God.

Or all the temporal blessings which God in his exuberant goodness hath bestowed upon mankind, one of the greatest, if not the chief, is a sincere and virtuous friend. Into the composition of this character enter all the amiable and excellent qualities which our nature possesses; and in a commerce of virtuous friendship, we find the exertion of the noblest principles, and a display of the worthiest actions. The person who is approved and esteemed of wise and good men, must himself be wise and good. To what a pitch of dignity then is the patriarch Abraham raised? Venerable in possessing the esteem of men; infinitely more venerable, as distinguished by the approbation and friendship of God. Volumes written in his praise, and containing a particular enumeration of his virtues, could not say more than the few words of the Apostle which have now been read. All that is necessary, in order to explain them, is to have recourse to his history, to mark his character, to observe his conduct; and on the other hand to trace the dispensations of the Divine Providence towards him, and to attend to the manner in which it pleased God to treat him, in order to learn how this sacred friendship was constituted and in what it consisted. And on the part of Abraham, we shall find cheerful and prompt obedience, unbounded trust and confidence, profound reverence and fervent love; on the part of God, the most winning condescension, the tenderest affection, the most unshaken constancy. One essential quality of true friendship entered particularly into this, namely, communication of purpose and design. Abraham indeed could have no view or intention but what lay open to the eye of God, as soon as formed within his own breast; but the designs of the Most High could be known to him only as they were revealed.

We are presented with a very remarkable instance of such gracious communication, in the close of that interview, the commencement of which has already passed under review. God having confirmed the faith of Abraham, and reproved the infidelity of Sarah respecting the promised seed, unfolds a farther design he had in this solemn visit to our world. He has come to execute judgment as well as to shew mercy; for "our God is a consuming fire." But the hands of Omnipotence are as it were bound up, till Abraham the friend of God is made acquainted with what is meditating. "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" As afterwards he said to Lot, when he wished to hasten his flight from the midst of destruction, "Escape thither, for I cannot do any thing until thou be come thither.

The character given of Abraham well deserves the attention of every father, of every master. "For I know him, that he will command his children, and