Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. The scriptures in speaking of
Abraham say, when he was called to go out into a place which
he should have to receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he
went out not knowing whether he went. For he looked for a
city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
He was given grace to see beyond the veil which covers the eyes
of those without the gift of faith. His vision, though imperfect,
nonetheless compelled him to persevere, clinging to the promise
which was given to him. Indeed, he is the embodiment
of that scripture which says, Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. It was this
vision which empowered him to obey the commandment of the Lord,
to take his son Isaac, who was the son of promise, and offer
him as a burnt offering unto the Lord. How else could it be
possible that he should offer up the very one whom the Lord
had promised to be his heir, not to mention the natural affection
which he had for the son of his old age? Yet the Lord enabled
him to see beyond the present, into the future, and to behold
the fulfilled promise of God, even though he died before that
promise was fully manifested. These all died in faith, not
having received the promises, but having seen them afar off
and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed
that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. And Abraham
rose up early in the morning and saddled his ass, and took
two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and claimed
the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up and went unto the
place which God had told him. He had plenty of time to contemplate
the seeming folly of his actions. Cornal reason surely plagued
him with plenty of doubt and fear, even wrestlings and strife
of body and soul. For the flesh lusteth against
the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary
the one to the other, so that you cannot do the things that
you would. It seems that he was encouraged by that which, to
the carnal mind, would seem no encouragement at all. For it
was in contemplation of worshipping the Lord at the appointed place
of sacrifice that he first testified that he fully expected to return
with his beloved son. And Abraham said unto his young
men, Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder
and worship, and come again to you. The appointed place of worship
for the sons of God is the cross of Christ, even as Paul declared,
but God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and
I unto the world. This is the only place where
the sons of God can find any hope at all. It is here that
all of their hopes rest, because by grace through faith they are
given eyes to behold the one who gave himself as an offering
for sin. The men of this world can behold
it, since the gospel is not hid, but they cannot see the glory
that surrounds that place, nor receive any comfort therefrom.
It is here that Jesus Christ demonstrated his dominion over
sin, though it was hid from the wise and prudent. It is here
that the God of heaven and earth made a show openly of his triumph,
even though that triumph was not clearly manifested until
the third day, when he arose from the tomb. Abraham's vision
enabled him to testify to his son of the source of his confidence. When Isaac inquired as to where
the sacrifice was, Abraham declared, So they went, both of them, together. In this we see a picture of the
willingness of the son in obedience to his father to go to the cross,
as well as the faith of Abraham in the one, who being found in
fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross. Abraham believed that
the Lord himself would provide this offering for sin, and thus
he manifests saving faith. The faith which justifies sinners
is not that which is within them. Rather, the faith which justifies
sinners is the one who is the object of faith. Christ is their
faith. The woman with the issue of blood,
who had spent all of her money on physicians of no value, was
not healed because she believed. Rather, she was healed because
of the one in whom she believed. This is exactly Paul's testimony
and that which Abraham confessed. I know whom I have believed and
am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed
unto him against that day. The Lord enabled Abraham to see
a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. This ram was caught
in the thicket before Abraham was given eyes to see him there.
So it is that Christ was ordained to be the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world, before any man had ever sinned.
This ram, which Abraham saw, was caught in a thicket by his
horns, which demonstrated his power. The Lord Jesus said, I
lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh
it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay
it down, and I have power to take it again. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.