Gen. xiv. 18 — 20. And Melchizedec king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth : and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
WAR is a calamity arising out of the state of fallen man. We have innumerable lusts which cannot be satisfied, without trespassing on others, and which lead us to retaliate injuries with vindictive ferocity. Hence there is no nation, whether savage or civilized, which is not frequently engaged in war : and if there were any one nation determined to cultivate peace
to the uttermost, it would still be necessary for them to learn the art of war, in order that they might be ready, when attacked, to repel aggression, and to maintain their liberties. The first war of which we read in history, was that recorded in the chapter before us. Chedorlaomer king of Elam, with three confederate kings, invaded the cities of the plain, who had combined for their mutual defence ; and, having defeated the combined armies, took Sodom and Gomorrha, and plundered them of all that was valuable or useful. Abram, as we have already seen in his conduct to Lot, was a man of peace : and from the history before us it is clear, that he was not under the influence either of covetousness or am- bition ; but, living in the midst of hostile nations, he had wisely trained his servants, 318 in number, to the use of arms : and finding that his nephew Lot had been carried captive by the victorious invaders, he determined, with God's help, to rescue him. Accordingly he armed his little band, and, with a few allies, pursued the victors. He speedily came up with them, and, by a stratagem suited to the in- feriority of his force, prevailed against them. Having dispersed or slain his enemies, he recovered all the captives and the spoil ; and returned in triumph to those whose cause he had espoused. In his way to them he received the testimonies of God's approba- tion mentioned in the text. To elucidate these, to- gether with the circumstances connected with them, we shall consider,
I. The respect which Melchizedec paid to Abram —
Melchizedec was a person of most singular and
mysterious character —
[Some have thought that he was the same as Shem : but Sliem's parentage was known ; whereas Melchizedec's was not. Others have thought that he was Christ, who just for that occasion assumed the appearance of a man : but he was a per- son " made like unto the Son of God ;" and therefore could not be the Son of God himself. Whoever he was, he was cer- tainly a very eminent type of Christ. His name imported that he was king of righteousness, while at the same time, as king