IIOMILETICS. . Ver. 9.-'I'lte nuir,naiiimity of Ab,·arii. I. WREN IT WAS EVO!l:&D. 1. Oii retttrn• ing to the land of Ca.naan. Departing into_ Egypt, the better nature of the patrinrch bera'!1e obscured ~nd cnfeeb_led, and he_ hu~self became the subject of timorous em?l10ns, the ~ens~r of_ gmleful machmat10ns\ an~ the perpetrator of unworthy act10ns ; retrncmg Ins errmg footsteps to the ho y s01l, he seems as it were immedi• atcly to ha,e recovered the nobility and grandeur of soul which he had lost in the Iai:i~ of Ham. . When saints wander int? sinful ways they inflict a hurt upon their spmts from winch they cannot recover till they seek the good old paths. Sublime deeds of spiritual heroism are not to be expected at the hands of believers who con• form to the world. The true champions of the faith, who by their personal behaviour can illustrate its godlike character, are only to be found among those who walk as strangers and pilgrims on the earth, and do not stray from God's commandments. 2 . .After havin_g committed a great sin. The recoil which Abram's spirit must have experienced when, in the light of God's merciful interposition, he came to perceive the heinous nature of the tr~ns_gTession i_nto which his fea~s had betrayed him in Egypt, had doubtless somethmg to do with the lofty elevation of soul to which he ~oon afterwards climbed upon the heights of Bethel. So oftentimes a saint, through g-race, is profited• by his backslidings. The memory of the matter of Uriah had its influence in ripening the piety of David, and the recollection of the judgment-hall of Pilate assisted Peter to a height of spiritual fortitude he might not otherwise hava attained. 3. After an experience of rich mercy. After all, God's kindnesses to .Abram and Sarai were the principal instrumentalities that quickened the better no.tu re of the patriarch ; and so it is generally in proportion as we meditate upon and partake of Di,ine mercy that our hearts are ennobled and enabled. It is the love of God in Christ that constrains a saint to holy and unselfish deeds. II. How IT WAS occASIONED. 1. By the danger of collision between himself and Lot. The strife which had arisen between his nephew's herdsmen and his own was liable, unless promptly extinguished, to communiqate its be.d contagion to l1imself and Lot. But the patriarch, with that insight which belongs to simple minds, dis- cerned a method of avoiding so unseemly a calamity, and, with that self-forgetful heroism which ever characterises noble souls, had the fortitude and magnanimity to put it into execution. It indicates an advanced stage of Christian maturity whe1 what might prove temptations to sin are, by spiritue.l discernment and unshrinking self-sacrifice, transformed into occasions for holy acting and suffering.· 2. By tliA necessity of separatwn whuh had come on him and Lot, which necessity was owing- (1) To their increasing wealth. If the present history shows that good men may become rich, and sometimes in dubious ways, it also reveals that wealth has its dangers. The character of Lot was demonstrably injured by prosperity; while if Abraru escaped corruption through wealth, that wealth was indirectly the power which deprived hirn of his kinsman. It is a poor bargain when one grows rich at the expense of bis better natwe, as did Lot; or even, like Abram, at the expense of affection. Better remain poor Olld keep friends than become rich and lose friends I (2) To the quarrels of their servants. Though possibly occasioned by devotion to their masters' interests the contention of the herdsmen was wrong. Not even for the sake of employers 'should work~en and dependents beco~e involved i~ strife. And still Jess should masters and mistresses become entangled m the wranglmgs of r,mployes and domestics. Better part than fight I Ill. BY WHAT IT wAB PRECEDED. 1. By a solemn act of devoti.on. Suitable at all seasons, prayer is specially needful and becoming in times of danger e.nd trial like tLvije in wLich the patriarch was situated. Nothing is better calculated to soothe the trouhled heart, to allay irritation, to prevent strife, to enable the assaulted spirit CII. XIII. 1-!l,] TlIE DOOK OF GENESIS.
to resist temptation, to ornco the soul fJr arduous duty and m;ignanimoue self-ren,m- cintion, thnn communion with God. Hnd Abram's discernment of the growing danger to which he nnd Lot were exposed, and Abram's contemplation of the neces- sity of yielding Lot. tho choice of the land their influence in taking him back to Bethel with its nltar? 2. By a111 earnest deprecatwn of the rising strife. I£ the Spirit's fruits will not flourish in the stagnant marsh of a dead soul, neither will they in the breast of an angry Christian. A peaceful mind antl a quiet heart are indispens- able pre-requisites to grace's motions. Heavenly virtue cannot prosper in an atmo- sphere of wrath 11nd contention. But where saints cultivate a gentle antl forgiving spirit it is not uncommon to find them strengthened to perform deeds of holy valour. The conciliatory disposition of the elder of the two travellers was nn admirable preparation for, almost a foreshadowing of, the magnanimous act that followed ; as the perpetuation of the strife or the indulgence of anger on the part of Abram would have rendered it impossible. IV. IN WHAT rr WAS DISPLAYED. 1. A sublime ad of self-r(';7l,unciation. (1) In preferring Lot's interests to his own, though Lot was the younger, and a dependent on himself, and in II manner only in the land by sufferance; in this exemplifying the very spirit which Christ and his apostles afterwards enjoined upon New Testament believers (Matt. xx. 26 ; Rom. xii. 10; PhiL ii. 3) ; and (2) in renouncing Canaan for the sake of peace, which was practically what he did when he gave Lot the choice of the land, the greatness of which act of self-abnegation appears when it is 1·emembered that already God had given him the land, so that he, and not Lot, was entitled to elect to what quarter he should turn, and that this concession of his rights was intended to disarm Lot's hostility, and preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace. 2. .A signal illustration of self-resignation, in which, when he beheld the meanness of Lot, and saw the best portion of the soil abstracted from hirri, there was neither a display of feeling towards hie nephew nor the uprising of a .pang of discontentment and regret at the result, but the most humble and self- satisfied acq1,Uescencein what he knew to be the allotment of Heaven. • Learn-I. Tha~ soul-wealth is greater than material prosperity. 2. That a man becomes spiritually rich in proportion as he practises self-rennnciation. 3. That the higher oue rises in true spiritual greatness, the less is he affected by the loss of earth's goods.