"
Now, here remark two things; first, that it was Abraham's obedience
in giving up all to God, which called forth from God this
confirmation of God's promises to him; and next, that God here
promised him nothing new; God did not say to him, 'Because thou hast
obeyed me in this great matter, I will give thee some great reward
over and above what I promised thee.' No; God merely promises him
over again, but more solemnly than ever, what He had promised him
many years before.
And so it will be with us, my friends, we must not expect to BUY
God's favour by obeying Him,--we must not expect that the more we do
for God, the more God will be bound to do for us, as the Papists do.
No; God has done for us all that He will do. He has promised us all
that He will promise. He has provided us, as He provided Abraham, a
lamb for the burnt-offering, the Lamb without blemish and without
spot, which taketh away the sins of the world. We are His redeemed
people--we HAVE a share in His promises--He bids us believe THAT,
and shew that we believe it by living as redeemed men, not our own,
but bought with a price, and created anew in Christ Jesus to do good
works; not that we may buy forgiveness by them, but that we may shew
by them that we believe that God HAS forgiven us already, and that
when we have done all that is commanded us, we are still
unprofitable servants; for though we should give up at God's bidding
our children, our wives, and our own limbs and lives, and shew as
utter faith in God, and complete obedience to God, as Abraham did,
we should only have done just what it was already our duty to do.
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