Abraham's care of his family.
Gen. xviii. 19. I know him, that he will command his children
and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord.
WONDERFUL is the condescension of Almighty God. His attention to his own peculiar people sur- passes almost the bounds of credibility. Who would think that He " whose ways are in the great deep" should yet so far humble himself as to " do nothing without first revealing his secret unto his servants the prophets*!" He had in his righteous judgment
a Amos iii. 7.
29.] Abraham's care of his family. I l.">
determined to take signal vengeance on Sodom and Gomorrha for their horrible iniquities. But he had a favoured servant who was particularly interested in the fate of those cities ; and he knew not how to proceed in the work of destruction until he had apprised him of his intention, and given him an op- portunity of interceding for them : " The Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" No ; I will not : " for I know him," how faithful he is in the discharge of all his duties to me : and since he so delights to honour me, I also will delight to honour him.
The duties, for the performance of which Abraham was so highly commended, were of a domestic nature : " I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord." He eminently excelled in the observance of what may be called, family religion. And this being of such incalculable importance to the main- tenance of piety in the world, I will propose him as an example to you ; and with that view will shew,
I. The use we should make of influence —
Influence, of whatever kind it be, should be dili- gently improved;
1. To enforce the commands of God —
[Nothing should be of importance in our eyes in com- parison of the honour of God. To uphold it should be our chief aim. The power given us, of whatever kind it be, is bestowed for this end. It is, in fact, God's own power, dele- gated to us ; and, so far as we possess it, we are responsible to him for the use of it. Magistrates are invested with it by him, and are therefore called " his Ministers" and Vicegerents upon earth b. Masters in like manner bear his authority, and are his Representatives in the exercise of itc. To encourage virtue, to repress vice, to enforce the observance of "justice and judgment," and to make men " keep the way of the Lord," this, I say, is the true end of authority, whether it be official or personal, civil or religious. In particular, every thing that dishonours God, no less than that which is injurious to society, must be opposed with determined vigour. The violation of
b Rom. xiii. 1—6. c Col. iii. 24.