fome old Accounts, they began before it. And suppose they did not; ftill, if any Perfons had either learned them, or been reconciled to them from hence, it must furely have been Abraham's Pofterity. And yet we do not find, that ever any one of them, excepting the fingle doubtful Cafe of Jephtha 700 Years after, so much as once thought of fuch an Offering to the God of their Fathers. It was Idols only, that they worshipped thus; and they did it in Imitation, not of Abraham, but of thofe very Canaanites, whom they had been ordered to destroy for their Wickedness, and exprefly forbidden to follow in this Act of it. Take Heed to thyself, that thou inquire not, faying, how did these Nations ferve their Gods? Even fo will I do likewife. For every Abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done: their Sons and their Daughters have they burnt in the Fire to their Gods. Nor did the Canaanites alone, but Nations, that probably had never heard of Abraham or of them, offer fuch Victims. And therefore the Custom feems altogether the Offspring either of diabolical Delufions, or of priestly Tyranny, combined with grofs Ignorance and frantic Terror; fuggefting, that the Deut, xii. 30, 31. moft moft precious and most painful Sacrifices muft be the most efficacious. But had any ever fupported themselves in this Practice, by the Hiftory of Abraham, it must have been by the groffeft Abuse of that History: and every Proceeding, every Mercy of God, is liable to equal Abufe. A Command of fuch a Nature, never given but once, and to one Man, and then countermanded before Execution, and clearly explained to be meant, neither for the averting of any Danger, nor the Expiation of any Sin, but merely for an extraordinary Trial of that Man's Dutifulness, could not in Reality make the actual Performance of the Thing, fo commanded, a common Ufage for quite different Purposes: any more than Solomon's Order for dividing the Child in two could make the Performance of that a common Ufage. Indeed the directly contrary Conclufion was the natural one: that God approved not human Victims; but only such, as he had provided for Abraham, instead of his Son. And if the Computation of fome Chronologers be right, that, in a few Years after this Time, facrificing Men was abolished in that Part of Egypt, which lay nearest to Abraham's u 1 Kings iii. 25. Refidence; Refidence; (where perhaps it was never taken up again) we shall have Room to think the Tranfaction, that we are now confidering, might have a moft happy Confequence, in that very Respect, in which it is groundleffly accused of having a bad one. But thus I am got infenfibly into what I proposed to fhew IV. The good Ends, which might be, and were, promoted by it: Indeed, could we difcover none, we are just as ignorant of the Design of several Things in God's Creation which appear, though certainly without Reason, both useless and hurtful. But in the prefent Cafe many valuable Purposes are vifible and obvious., This Command was, in the first Place, a noble Manifestation of Abraham's Faith and Obedience. The hardest of thofe Orders which he had received before, was very fupportable: and they were accompanied with great Promises of Advantages; in particular of worldly Advantage. This, on the other Hand, was fevere beyond Expreffion; and had no Promife or Confolation at all annexed to it; but, inftead of that, it enumerated to him the most cutting Circumftances, and placed them before him in the fulleft Light. Take now thy Son, Son, thine only Son, Ifaac, whom thou loveft, and offer him up. Yet, pierced to the Heart, as he must be, by thefe Expreffions, he dutifully fubmitted; without feeking Excufes from any diffuafive Reasonings, without throwing on any one the leaft Share of the Burthen of his. own Anguish; without expofing himself to the tender Solicitations of Sarah; without acquainting Ifaac what was intended, before it became abfolutely needful. How astonishingly great, how compofed, how confiderate a Self-denial was this! Yet further, the piteous Deed was not to be done immediately, whilft the Impreffion of the Divine Voice was founding fresh in his Ears, and excluded every other Sentiment; but at the Distance of three whole Days: during which every Feeling of paternal Affection would return in full Force; and even the inferior Confideration of what his Family and the World would think, and fay to fo unnatural an Action, if Ifaac did not rife again instantly, as there was no Proof he would, muft fingly have a Weight very hard to be fupported. Nor were thefe Days to be spent in Retirement, in Meditation and Prayer, to fortify his Refolution; but altogether in the w Gen. xxii. 2. Company Company of the dear Object, whom he was to flay; whose Conversation would be in a thousand Inftances the more moving, as he went along with him unfufpicious of what was to follow; and whofe innocent Question at last, My Father, behold the Fire and the Wood, but where is the Lamb for a burnt Offering, must, one fhould think, have completed the melting down of all human Refolution. But Wisdom preferved him, as the Book of Wisdom expreffes it, blameless unto God, and kept him ftrong against bis tender Compaffion towards his Son: till now, when the Sacrifice of the Mind was made to the utmost, and only the outward A&t was wanting, the Hand being stretched forth even for that; the Goodness of the Almighty broke forth on a fudden, like the Sun from behind a black Cloud concealing it, and the Angel of the Lord called unto him out of Heaven, and faid, lay not thine Hand upon the Lad: for now I know that thou feareft God, feeing thou hast not withheld thy Son, thine only Son, from me. The Transport of hearing these Words must have made in a Moment large Amends for the preceding Pangs. Ifaac was reftored to him without going through the Bitterness of Death": Reproach and Mifconftruction was avoided: the * Gen. xxii. 7. y Wifd. x. 5. b I Sam. xv. 32. 12. 9 z Gen. xxii. 10. a Ver. 11, dreadful |