CompleteConcise
The apostle having, in the close of the foregoing chapter,recommended the grace of faith and a life of faith as the best preservativeagainst apostasy, he how enlarges upon the nature and fruits of this excellentgrace. I. The nature of it, and the honour it reflects upon all who live in theexercise of it (v. 1-3). II. The great examples we have in the Old Testament ofthose who lived by faith, and died and suffered extraordinary things by thestrength of his grace (v. 4-38). And, III. The advantages that we have in thegospel for the exercise of this grace above what those had who lived in thetimes of the Old Testament (v. 39, 40).
Here we have, I. A definition or description of the grace offaith in two parts. 1. It is the substance of things hoped for. Faith andhope go together; and the same things that are the object of our hope are theobject of our faith. It is a firm persuasion and expectation that God willperform all that he has promised to us in Christ; and this persuasion is sostrong that it gives the soul a kind of possession and present fruition of thosethings, gives them a subsistence in the soul, by the first-fruits and foretastesof them: so that believers in the exercise of faith are filled with joyunspeakable and full of glory. Christ dwells in the soul by faith, and thesoul is filled with the fullness of God, as far as his present measure willadmit; he experiences a substantial reality in the objects of faith. 2. It is theevidence of things not seen. Faith demonstrates to the eye of the mind thereality of those things that cannot be discerned by the eye of the body. Faithis the firm assent of the soul to the divine revelation and every part of it,and sets to its seal that God is true. It is a full approbation of all that Godhas revealed as holy, just, and good; it helps the soul to make application ofall to itself with suitable affections and endeavours; and so it is designed toserve the believer instead of sight, and to be to the soul all that the sensesare to the body. That faith is but opinion or fancy which does not realizeinvisible things to the soul, and excite the soul to act agreeably to the natureand importance of them.
II. An account of the honour it reflects upon all those who havelived in the exercise of it (v. 2): By it the elders obtained a good reporttheancient believers, who lived in the first ages of the world. Observe, 1. Truefaith is an old grace, and has the best plea to antiquity: it is not a newinvention, a modern fancy; it is a grace that has been planted in the soul ofman ever since the covenant of grace was published in the world; and it has beenpracticed from the beginning of the revelation; the eldest and best men thatever were in the world were believers. 2. Their faith was their honour; itreflected honour upon them. They were an honour to their faith, and their faithwas an honour to them. It put them upon doing the things that were of goodreport, and God has taken care that a record shall be kept and report madeof the excellent things they did in the strength of this grace. The genuineactings of faith will bear to be reported, deserve to be reported, and will,when reported, redound to the honour of true believers.
III. We have here one of the first acts and articles of faith,which has a great influence on all the rest, and which is common to allbelievers in every age and part of the world, namely, the creation of the worldsby the word of God, not out of pre-existent matter, but out of nothing, v.3. The grace of faith has a retrospect as well as prospect; it looks not onlyforward to the end of the world, but back to the beginning of the world. Byfaith we understand much more of the formation of the world than ever could beunderstood by the naked eye of natural reason. Faith is not a force upon theunderstanding, but a friend and a help to it. Now what does faith give us tounderstand concerning the worlds, that is, the upper, middle, and lowerregions of the universe? 1. That these worlds were not eternal, nor didthey produce themselves, but they were made by another. 2. That the maker of theworlds is god; he is the maker of all things; and whoever is so must be God. 3.That he made the world with great exactness; it was a framed work, inevery thing duly adapted and disposed to answer its end, and to express theperfections of the Creator. 4. That God made the world by his word, that is, byhis essential wisdom and eternal Son, and by his active will, saying, Let itbe done, and it was done, Ps. 33:9. 5. That the world was thus framed out ofnothing, out of no pre-existent matter, contrary to the received maxim, that"out of nothing nothing can be made," which, though true of createdpower, can have no place with God, who can call things that are not as ifthey were, and command them into being. These things we understand by faith.The Bible gives us the truest and most exact account of the origin of allthings, and we are to believe it, and not to wrest or run down thescripture-account of the creation, because it does not suit with some fantastichypotheses of our own, which has been in some learned but conceited men thefirst remarkable step towards infidelity, and has led them into many more.
The apostle, having given us a more general account of the graceof faith, now proceeds to set before us some illustrious examples of it in theOld-Testament times, and these may be divided into two classes:1. Those whosenames are mentioned, and the particular exercise and actings of whose faith arespecified. 2. Those whose names are barely mentioned, and an account given ingeneral of the exploits of their faith, which it is left to the reader toaccommodate, and apply to the particular persons from what he gathers up in thesacred story. We have here those whose names are not only mentioned, but theparticular trials and actings of their faith are subjoined.
I. The leading instance and example of faith here recorded isthat of Abel. It is observable that the Spirit of God has not thought fit to sayany thing here of the faith of our first parents; and yet the church of God hasgenerally, by a pious charity, taken it for granted that God gave themrepentance and faith in the promised seed, that he instructed them in themystery of sacrificing, that they instructed their children in it, and that theyfound mercy with God, after they had ruined themselves and all their posterity.But God has left the matter still under some doubt, as a warning to all who havegreat talents given to them, and a great trust reposed in them, that they do notprove unfaithful, since God would not enroll our first parents among the numberof believers in this blessed calendar. It begins with Abel, one of the firstsaints, and the first martyr for religion, of all the sons of Adam, one wholived by faith, and died for it, and therefore a fit pattern for the Hebrews toimitate. Observe,
1. What Abel did by faith: He offered up a more acceptablesacrifice than Cain, a more full and perfect sacrifice, pleionathysian. Hence learn, (1.) That, after the fall, God opened a new wayfor the children of men to return to him in religious worship. This is one ofthe first instances that is upon record of fallen men going in to worship God;and it was a wonder of mercy that all intercourse between God and man was notcut off by the fall. (2.) After the fall, God must be worshipped by sacrifices,a way of worship which carries in it a confession of sin, and of the desert ofsin, and a profession of faith in a Redeemer, who was to be a ransom for thesouls of men. (3.) That, from the beginning, there has been a remarkabledifference between the worshippers. Here were two persons, brethren, both ofwhom went in to worship God, and yet there was a vast difference. Cain was theelder brother, but Abel has the preference. It is not seniority of birth, butgrace, that makes men truly honourable. The difference is observable in theirpersons: Abel was an upright person, a righteous man, a true believer; Cain wasa formalist, had not a principle of special grace. It is observable in theirprinciples: Abel acted under the power of faith; Cain only from the force ofeducation, or natural conscience. There was also a very observable difference intheir offerings: Abel brought a sacrifice of atonement, brought of thefirstlings of the flock, acknowledging himself to be a sinner who deservedto die, and only hoping for mercy through the great sacrifice; Cainbrought only a sacrifice of acknowledgment, a mere thank-offering, the fruitof the ground, which might, and perhaps must, have been offered in innocency;here was no confession of sin, no regard to the ransom; this was an essentialdefect in Cain's offering. There will always be a difference between those whoworship the true God; some will compass him about with lies, others will befaithful with the saints; some, like the Pharisee, will lean to their ownrighteousness; others, like the publican, will confess their sin, and castthemselves upon the mercy of God in Christ.
2. What Abel gained by his faith: the original record is in Gen.4:4, God had respect to Abel, and to his offering; first to his person asgracious, then to his offering as proceeding from grace, especially from thegrace of faith. In this place we are told that he obtained by his faith somespecial advantages; as, (1.) Witness that he was righteous, a justified,sanctified, and accepted person; this, very probably, was attested by fire fromheaven, kindling and consuming his sacrifice. (2.) God gave witness to therighteousness of his person, by testifying his acceptance of his gifts. When thefire, an emblem of God's justice, consumed the offering, it was a sign thatthe mercy of God accepted the offerer for the sake of the great sacrifice. (3.) Byit he, being dead, yet speaketh. He had the honour to leave behind him aninstructive speaking case; and what does it speak to us? What should we learnfrom it? [1.] That fallen man has leave to go in to worship God, with hope ofacceptance. [2.] That, if our persons and offerings be accepted, it must bethrough faith in the Messiah. [3.] That acceptance with God is a peculiar anddistinguishing favour. [4.] That those who obtain this favour from God mustexpect the envy and malice of the world. [5.] That God will not suffer theinjuries done to his people to remain unpunished, nor their sufferingsunrewarded. These are very good and useful instructions, and yet the blood ofsprinkling speaketh better things than that of Abel. [6.] That God would notsuffer Abel's faith to die with him, but would raise up others, who shouldobtain like precious faith; and so he did in a little time; for in the nextverse we read,
II. Of the faith of Enoch, v. 5. He is the second of thoseelders that through faith have a good report. Observe,
1. What is here reported of him. In this place (and in Gen.5:22, etc.) we read, (1.) That he walked with God, that is, that he wasreally, eminently, actively, progressively, and perseveringly religious in hisconformity to God, communion with God, and complacency in God. (2.) That hewas translated, that he should not see death, nor any part of him be foundupon earth; for God took him, soul and body, into heaven, as he will do those ofthe saints who shall be found alive at his second coming. (3.) That beforehis translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. He had theevidence of it in his own conscience, and the Spirit of God witnessed with hisspirit. Those who by faith walk with God in a sinful world are pleasing to him,and he will give them marks of his favour, and put honour upon them.
2. What is here said of his faith, v. 6. It is said that withoutthis faith it is impossible to please God, without such a faith as helpsus to walk with God, an active faith, and that we cannot come to God unless we believethat he is, and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him.(1.) He must believe that God is, and that he is what he is, what he hasrevealed himself to be in the scripture, a Being of infinite perfections,subsisting in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Observe, The practicalbelief of the existence of God, as revealed in the word, would be a powerful awebandupon our souls, a bridle of restraint to keep us from sin, and a spur ofconstraint to put us upon all manner of gospel obedience. (2.) That he is arewarder of those that diligently seek him. Here observe, [1.] By the fallwe have lost God; we have lost the divine light, life, love, likeness, andcommunion. [2.] God is again to be found of us through Christ, the second Adam.[3.] God has prescribed means and ways wherein he may be found; to with, astrict attention to his oracles, attendance on his ordinances, and ministersduly discharging their office and associating with his people, observing hisprovidential guidance, and in all things humbly waiting his gracious presence.[4.] Those who would find God in these ways of his must seek him diligently;they must seek early, earnestly, and perseveringly. Then shall they seek him,and find him, if they seek him with all their heart; and when once they havefound him, as their reconciled God, they will never repent the pains they havespent in seeking after him.
III. The faith of Noah, v. 7. Observe,
1. The ground of Noah's faitha warning he had received fromGod of things as yet not seen. He had a divine revelation, whether by voice orvision does not appear; but it was such as carried in it its own evidence; hewas forewarned of things not seen as yet, that is, of a great and severejudgment, such as the world had never yet seen, and of which, in the course ofsecond causes, there was not yet the least sign. This secret warning he was tocommunicate to the world, who would be sure to despise both him and his message.God usually warns sinners before he strikes; and, where his warnings areslighted, the blow will fall the heavier.
2. The actings of Noah's faith, and the influence it had bothupon his mind and practice. (1.) Upon his mind; it impressed his soul with afear of God's judgment: he was moved with fear. Faith first influencesour affections, then our actions; and faith works upon those affections that aresuitable to the matter revealed. If it be some good thing, faith stirs up loveand desire; if some evil thing, faith stirs up fear. (2.) His faith influencedhis practice. His fear, thus excited by believing God's threatening, moved himto prepare an ark, in which, no doubt, he met with the scorns and reproaches ofa wicked generation. He did not dispute with God why he should make an ark, norhow it could be capable of containing what was to be lodged in it, nor how sucha vessel could possibly weather out so great a storm. His faith silenced allobjections, and set him to work in earnest.
3. The blessed fruits and rewards of Noah's faith. (1.) Herebyhimself and his house were saved, when a whole world of sinners were perishingabout them. God saved his family for his sake; it was well for them that theywere Noah's sons and daughters; it was well for those women that they marriedinto Noah's family; perhaps they might have married to great estates in otherfamilies, but then they would have been drowned. We often say, "It is goodto be akin to an estate;" but surely it is good to be akin to the covenant.(2.) Hereby he judged and condemned the world; his holy fear condemned theirsecurity and vain confidence; his faith condemned their unbelief; his obediencecondemned their contempt and rebellion. Good examples will either convertsinners or condemn them. There is something very convincing in a life of strictholiness and regard to God; it commends itself to every man's conscience inthe sight of God, and they are judged by it. This is the best way the people ofGod can take to condemn the wicked; not by harsh and censorious language, but bya holy exemplary conversation. (3.) Hereby he became an heir of therighteousness which is by faith. [1.] He was possessed of a true justifyingrighteousness; he was heir to it: and, [2.] This his right of inheritancewas through faith in Christ, as a member of Christ, a child of God, and,if a child, then an heir. His righteousness was relative, resulting from hisadoption, through faith in the promised seed. As ever we expect to be justifiedand saved in the great and terrible day of the Lord, let us now preparean ark, secure an interest in Christ, and in the ark of the covenant, and do itspeedily, before the door be shut, for there is not salvation in any other.
IV. The faith of Abraham, the friend of God, and father of thefaithful, in whom the Hebrews boasted, and from whom they derived their pedigreeand privileges; and therefore the apostle, that he might both please and profitthem, enlarges more upon the heroic achievements of Abraham's faith than ofthat of any other of the patriarchs; and in the midst of his account of thefaith of Abraham he inserts the story of Sarah's faith, whose daughters thosewomen are that continue to do well. Observe,
1. The ground of Abraham's faith, the call and promise of God,v. 8. (1.) This call, though it was a very trying call, was the call of God, andtherefore a sufficient ground for faith and rule of obedience. The manner inwhich he was called Stephen relates in Acts 7:2, 3, The God of glory appearedto our father Abraham, when he was in MesopotamiaAnd said unto him, Get theeout of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I willshow thee. This was an effectual call, by which he was converted from theidolatry of his father's house, Gen. 12:1. This call was renewed after hisfather's death in Charran. Observe, [1.] The grace of God is absolutely free,in taking some of the worst of men, and making them the best. [2.] God must cometo us before we come to him. [3.] In calling and converting sinners, God appearsas a God of glory, and works a glorious work in the soul. [4.] This calls us notonly to leave sin, but sinful company, and whatever is inconsistent with ourdevotedness to him. [5.] We need to be called, not only to set out well, but togo on well. [6.] He will not have his people take up that rest any where shortof the heavenly Canaan. (2.) The promise of God. God promised Abraham that theplace he was called to he should afterwards receive for an inheritance, afterawhile he should have the heavenly Canaan for his inheritance, and in process oftime his posterity should inherit the earthly Canaan. Observe here, [1.] Godcalls his people to an inheritance: by his effectual call he makes themchildren, and so heirs. [2.] This inheritance is not immediately possessed bythem; they must wait some time for it: but the promise is sure, and shall haveits seasonable accomplishment. [3.] The faith of parents often procuresblessings for their posterity.
2. The exercise of Abraham's faith: he yielded an implicitregard to the call of God. (1.) He went out, not knowing whither he went.He put himself into the hand of God, to send him whithersoever he pleased. Hesubscribed to God's wisdom, as fittest to direct; and submitted to his will,as fittest to determine every thing that concerned him. Implicit faith andobedience are due to God, and to him only. All that are effectually calledresign up their own will and wisdom to the will and wisdom of God, and it istheir wisdom to do so; though they know not always their way, yet they knowtheir guide, and this satisfies them. (2.) He sojourned in the land ofpromise as in a strange country. This was an exercise of his faith. Observe,[1.] How Canaan is called the land of promise, because yet only promised, notpossessed. [2.] How Abraham lived in Canaan, not as heir and proprietor, but asa sojourner only. He did not serve an ejectment, or raise a war against the oldinhabitants, to dispossess them, but contented himself to live as a stranger, tobear their unkindnesses patiently, to receive any favours from them thankfully,and to keep his heart fixed upon his home, the heavenly Canaan. [3.] He dwelt intabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. He livedthere in an ambulatory moving condition, living in a daily readiness for hisremoval: and thus should we all live in this world. He had good company withhim, and they were a great comfort to him in his sojourning state. Abraham livedtill Isaac was seventy-five years old, and Jacob fifteen. Isaac and Jacob wereheirs of the same promise; for the promise was renewed to Isaac (Gen. 26:3), andto Jacob, Gen. 28:13. All the saints are heirs of the same promise. The promiseis made to believers and their children, and to as many as the Lord our Godshall call. And it is pleasant to see parents and children sojourning togetherin this world as heirs of the heavenly inheritance.
3. The supports of Abraham's faith (v. 10): He looked for acity that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Observe here,(1.) The description given of heaven: it is a city, a regular society, wellestablished, well defended, and well supplied: it is a city that hathfoundations, even the immutable purposes and almighty power of God, the infinitemerits and mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the promises of an everlastingcovenant, its own purity, and the perfection of its inhabitants: and it is acity whose builder and maker is God. He contrived the model; he accordingly madeit, and he has laid open a new and living way into it, and prepared it for hispeople; he puts them into possession of it, prefers them in it, and is himselfthe substance and felicity of it. (2.) Observe the due regard that Abraham hadto this heavenly city: he looked for it; he believed there was such a state; hewaited for it, and in the mean time he conversed in it by faith; he had exaltedand rejoicing hopes, that in God's time and way he should be brought safely toit. (3.) The influence this had upon his present conversation: it was a supportto him under all the trials of his sojourning state, helped him patiently tobear all the inconveniences of it, and actively to discharge all the duties ofit, persevering therein unto the end.
V. In the midst of the story of Abraham, the apostle inserts anaccount of the faith of Sarah. Here observe,
1. The difficulties of Sarah's faith, which were very great.As, (1.) The prevalency of unbelief for a time: she laughed at the promise, asimpossible to be made good. (2.) She had gone out of the way of her duty throughunbelief, in putting Abraham upon taking Hagar to his bed, that he might have aposterity. Now this sin of hers would make it more difficult for her to act byfaith afterwards. (3.) The great improbability of the thing promised, that sheshould be the mother of a child, when she was of sterile constitution naturally,and now past the prolific age.
2. The actings of her faith. Her unbelief is pardoned andforgotten, but her faith prevailed and is recorded: She judged him faithful,who had promised, v. 11. She received the promise as the promise of God;and, being convinced of that, she truly judged he both could and would performit, how impossible soever it might seem to reason; for the faithfulness of Godwill not suffer him to deceive his people.
3. The fruits and rewards of her faith. (1.) She receivedstrength to conceive seed. The strength of nature, as well as grace, is fromGod: he can make the barren soul fruitful, as well as the barren womb. (2.) Shewas delivered of a child, a man-child, a child of the promise, and comfortof his parents' advanced years, and the hope of future ages. (3.) From them,by this son, sprang a numerous progeny of illustrious persons, as the starsof the sky (v. 12)a great, powerful, and renowned nation, above all therest in the world; and a nation of saints, the peculiar church and people ofGod; and, which was the highest honour and reward of all, of these, accordingto the flesh, the Messiah came, who is over all, God blessed for evermore.
VI. The apostle proceeds to make mention of the faith of theother patriarchs, Isaac and Jacob, and the rest of this happy family, v. 13.Here observe,
1. The trial of their faith in the imperfection of their presentstate. They had not received the promises, that is, they had not received thethings promised, they had not yet been put into possession of Canaan, they hadnot yet seen their numerous issue, they had not seen Christ in the flesh.Observe, (1.) Many that are interested in the promises do not presently receivethe things promised. (2.) One imperfection of the present state of the saints onearth is that their happiness lies more in promise and reversion than in actualenjoyment and possession. The gospel state is more perfect than the patriarchal,because more of the promises are now fulfilled. The heavenly state will be mostperfect of all; for there all the promises will have their full accomplishment.
2. The actings of their faith during this imperfect state ofthings. Though they had not received the promises, yet,
(1.) They saw them afar off. Faith has a clear and a strong eye,and can see promised mercies at a great distance. Abraham saw Christ's day,when it was afar off, and rejoiced, Jn. 8:56.
(2.) They were persuaded of them, that they were true and shouldbe fulfilled. Faith sets to its seal that God is true, and thereby settles andsatisfies the soul.
(3.) They embraced them. Their faith was a faith of consent.Faith has a long arm, and can lay hold of blessings at a great distance, canmake them present, can love them, and rejoice in them; and thus antedate theenjoyment of them.
(4.) They confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims onearth. Observe, [1.] Their condition: Strangers and pilgrims. Theyare strangers as saints, whose home is heaven; they are pilgrims as they aretravelling towards their home, though often meanly and slowly. [2.] Theiracknowledgment of this their condition: they were not ashamed to own it; boththeir lips and their lives confessed their present condition. They expectedlittle from the world. They cared not to engage much in it. They endeavoured tolay aside every weight, to gird up the loins of their minds to mind their way,to keep company and pace with their fellow-travellers, looking for difficulties,and bearing them, and longing to get home.
(5.) Hereby they declared plainly that they sought anothercountry (v. 14), heaven, their own country. For their spiritual birth is thence,there are their best relations, and there is their inheritance. This countrythey seek: their designs are for it; their desires are after it; their discourseis about it; they diligently endeavour to clear up their title to it, to havetheir temper suited to it, to have their conversation in it, and to come to theenjoyment of it.
(6.) They gave full proof of their sincerity in making such aconfession. For, [1.] They were not mindful of that country whence they came, v.15. They did not hanker after the plenty and pleasures of it, nor regret andrepent that they had left it; they had no desire to return to it. Note, Thosethat are once effectually and savingly called out of a sinful state have no mindto return into it again; they now know better things. [2.] They did not take theopportunity that offered itself for their return. They might have had such anopportunity. They had time enough to return. They had natural strength toreturn. They knew the way. Those with whom they sojourned would have beenwilling enough to part with them. Their old friends would have been glad toreceive them. They had sufficient to bear the charges of their journey; andflesh and blood, a corrupt counsellor, would be sometimes suggesting to them areturn. But they stedfastly adhered to God and duty under all discouragementsand against all temptations to revolt from him. So should we all do. We shallnot want opportunities to revolt from God; but we must show the truth of ourfaith and profession by a steady adherence to him to the end of our days. Theirsincerity appeared not only in not returning to their former country, but indesiring a better country, that is, a heavenly. Observe, First, Theheavenly country is better than any upon earth; it is better situated, betterstored with every thing that is good, better secured from every thing that isevil; the employments, the enjoyments, the society, and every thing in it, arebetter than the best in this world. Secondly, All true believers desirethis better country. True faith draws forth sincere and fervent desires; and thestronger faith is the more fervent those desires will be.
(7.) They died in the faith of those promises; not only lived bythe faith of them, but died in the full persuasion that all the promises wouldbe fulfilled to them and theirs, v. 13. That faith held out to the last. Byfaith, when they were dying, they received the atonement; they acquiesced in thewill of God; they quenched all the fiery darts of the devil; they overcame theterrors of death, disarmed it of its sting, and bade a cheerful farewell to thisworld and to all the comforts and crosses of it. These were the actings of theirfaith. Now observe,
3. The gracious and great reward of their faith: God is notashamed to be their God, for he hath prepared for them a city, v. 16. Note,(1.) God is the God of all true believers; faith gives them an interest in God,and in all his fullness. (2.) He is called their God. He calls himself so: Iam the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; he givesthem leave to call him so; and he gives them the spirit of adoption, to enablethem to cry, Abba, Father. (3.) Notwithstanding their meanness by nature,their vileness by sin, and the poverty of their outward condition, God is notashamed to be called their God: such is his condescension, such is hislove to them; therefore let them never be ashamed of being called his people,nor of any of those that are truly so, how much soever despised in the world.Above all, let them take care that they be not a shame and reproach to theirGod, and so provoke him to be ashamed of them; but let them act so as to be tohim for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory. (4.) As the proof of this,God has prepared for them a city, a happiness suitable to the relation intowhich he has taken them. For there is nothing in this world commensurate to thelove of God in being the God of his people; and, if God neither could nor wouldgive his people anything better than this world affords, he would be ashamed tobe called their God. If he takes them into such a relation to himself, he willprovide for them accordingly. If he takes them into such a relation to himself,he will provide for them accordingly. If he takes to himself the title of theirGod, he will fully answer it, and act up to it; and he has prepared that forthem in heaven which will fully answer this character and relation, so that itshall never be said, to the reproach and dishonour of God, that he has adopted apeople to be his own children and then taken no care to make a suitableprovision for them. The consideration of this should inflame the affections,enlarge the desires, and excite the diligent endeavours, of the people of Godafter this city that he has prepared for them.
VII. Now after the apostle has given this account of the faithof others, with Abraham, he returns to him again, and gives us an instance ofthe greatest trial and act of faith that stands upon record, either in the storyof the father of the faithful or of any of his spiritual seed; and this was hisoffering up Isaac: By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; andhe that had received the promises offered up his only-begotten son, v. 17.In this great example observe,
1. The trial and exercise of Abraham's faith; he was triedindeed. It is said (Gen. 22:1), God in this tempted Abraham; not to sin,for so God tempteth no man, but only tried his faith and obedience to purpose.God had before this tempted or tried the faith of Abraham, when he called himaway from his country and father's house,when by a famine he was forced outof Canaan into Egypt,when he was obliged to fight with five kings to rescueLot,when Sarah was taken from him by Abimelech, and in many other instances.But this trial was greater than all; he was commanded to offer up his son Isaac.Read the account of it, Gen. 22:2. There you will find every word was a trial: "Takenow thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the landof Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountainswhich I will tell thee of. Take thy son, not one of thy beasts or slaves,thy only son by Sarah, Isaac thy laughter, the child of thy joy and delight,whom thou lovest as thine own soul; take him away to a distant place, three days'journey, the land of Moriah; do not only leave him there, but offer him for aburnt offering." A greater trial was never put upon any creature. Theapostle here mentions some things that very much added to the greatness of thistrial. (1.) He was put upon it after he had received the promises, that thisIsaac should build up his family, that in him his seed should be called (v. 18),and that he should be one of the progenitors of the Messiah, and all nationsblessed in him; so that, in being called to offer up his Isaac, he seemed to becalled to destroy and cut off his own family, to cancel the promises of God, toprevent the coming of Christ, to destroy the whole world, to sacrifice his ownsoul and his hopes of salvation, and to cut off the church of God at one blow: amost terrible trial! (2.) That this Isaac was his only-begotten son by his wifeSarah, the only one he was to have by her, and the only one that was to be thechild and heir of the promise. Ishmael was to be put off with earthly greatness.The promise of a posterity, and of the Messiah, must either be fulfilled bymeans of this son or not at all; so that, besides his most tender affection tothis his son, all his expectations were bound up in him, and, if he perished,must perish with him. If Abraham had ever so many sons, this was the only sonwho could convey to all nations the promised blessing. A son for whom he waitedso long, whom he received in so extraordinary a manner, upon whom his heart wassetto have this son offered up as a sacrifice, and that by his own hand; itwas a trial that would have overset the firmest and the strongest mind that everinformed a human body.
2. The actings of Abraham's faith in so great a trial: heobeyed; he offered up Isaac; he intentionally gave him up by his submissive soulto God, and was ready to have done it actually, according to the command of God;he went as far in it as to the very critical moment, and would have gone throughwith it if God had not prevented him. Nothing could be more tender and movingthan those words of Isaac: My father, here is the wood, here is the fire; butwhere is the lamb for the burnt-offering? little thinking that he was to bethe lamb; but Abraham knew it, and yet he went on with the great design.
3. The supports of his faith. they must be very great, suitableto the greatness of the trial: He accounted that God was able to raise himfrom the dead, v. 19. His faith was supported by the sense he had of themighty power of God, who was able to raise the dead; he reasoned thus withhimself, and so he resolved all his doubts. It does not appear that he had anyexpectation of being countermanded, and prevented from offering up his son; suchan expectation would have spoiled the trial, and consequently the triumph, ofhis faith; but he knew that God was able to raise him from the dead, and hebelieved that God would do so, since such great things depended upon his son,which must have failed if Isaac had not a further life. Observe, (1.) God isable to raise the dead, to raise dead bodies, and to raise dead souls. (2.) Thebelief of this will carry us through the greatest difficulties and trials thatwe can meet with. (3.) It is our duty to be reasoning down our doubts and fears,by the consideration of the almighty power of God.
4. The reward of his faith in this great trial (v. 19): hereceived his son from the dead in a figure, in a parable. (1.) He received hisson. He had parted with him to God, and God gave him back again. The best way toenjoy our comforts with comfort is to resign them up to God; he will then returnthem, if not in kind, yet in kindness. (2.) He received him from the dead, forhe gave him up for dead; he was as a dead child to him, and the return was tohim no less than a resurrection. (3.) This was a figure or parable of somethingfurther. It was a figure of the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, of whomIsaac was a type. It was a figure and earnest of the glorious resurrection ofall true believers, whose life is not lost, but hid with Christ in God. We comenow to the faith of other Old-Testament saints, mentioned by name, and by theparticular trials and actings of their faith.
VIII. Of the faith of Isaac, v. 20. Something of him we hadbefore interwoven with the story of Abraham; here we have something of adistinct naturethat by faith he blessed his two sons, Jacob and Esau, concerningthings to come. Here observe,
1. The actings of his faith: He blessed Jacob and Esauconcerning things to come. He blessed them; that is, he resigned them up toGod in covenant; he recommended God and religion to them; he prayed for them,and prophesied concerning them, what would be the condition, and the conditionof their descendants: we have the account of this in Gen. 27. Observe, (1.) BothJacob and Esau were blessed as Isaac's children, at least as to temporal goodthings. It is a great privilege to be the offspring of good parents, and oftenthe wicked children of good parents fare the better in this world for theirparents' sake, for things present are in the covenant; but they are not thebest things, and no man knoweth love or hatred by having or wanting such things.(2.) Jacob had the precedency and the principal blessing, which shows that it isgrace and the new birth that exalt persons above their fellows and qualify themfor the best blessings, and that it is owing to the sovereign free grace of Godthat in the same family one is taken and another left, one loved and the otherhated, since all the race of Adam are by nature hateful to Godthat if one hashis portion in this world, and the other in the better world, it is God whomakes the difference; for even the comforts of this life are more and betterthan any of the children of men deserve.
2. The difficulties Isaac's faith struggled with. (1.) Heseemed to have forgotten how God had determined the matter at the birth of thesehis sons, Gen. 25:23. This should have been a rule to him all along, but he wasrather swayed by natural affection, and by general custom, which gives thedouble portion of honour, affection, and advantage, to the first-born. (2.) Heacted in this matter with some reluctance. When he came to pronounce theblessing, he trembled very exceedingly (Gen. 27:33); and he charged Jacobthat he had subtly taken away Esau's blessing, v. 33, 35. But, notwithstandingall this, Isaac's faith recovered itself, and he ratified the blessing: Ihave blessed him yea, and he shall be blessed. Rebecca and Jacob are not tobe justified in the indirect means they used to obtain this blessing, but Godwill be justified in overruling even the sins of men to serve the purposes ofhis glory. Now, the faith of Isaac thus prevailing over his unbelief, it haspleased the God of Isaac to pass by the weakness of his faith, to commend thesincerity of it, and record him among the elders, who through faith haveobtained a good report. We now go on to,
IX. The faith of Jacob (v. 21), who, when he was dying,blessed both the sons of Joseph, and worshipped, leaning upon the top of hisstaff. There were a great many instances of the faith of Jacob; his life wasa life of faith, and his faith met with great exercise. But it has pleased Godto single two instances out of many of the faith of this patriarch, besides whathas been already mentioned in the account of Abraham. Here observe,
1. The actings of his faith here mentioned, and they are two:
(1.) He blessed both the sons of Joseph, Ephraim andManasseh; he adopted them into the number of his own sons, and so into thecongregation of Israel, though they were born in Egypt. It is doubtless a greatblessing to be joined to the visible church of God in profession and privilege,but more to be so in spirit and truth. [1.] He made them both heads of differenttribes, as if they had been his own immediate sons. [2.] He prayed for them,that they might both be blessed of God. [3.] He prophesied that they should beblessed; but, as Isaac did before, so now Jacob prefers the younger, Ephraim;and though Joseph had placed them so, that the right hand of his father shouldbe laid on Manasseh, the elder, Jacob wittingly laid it on Ephraim, and this bydivine direction, for he could not see, to show that the Gentile church, theyounger, should have a more abundant blessing than the Jewish church, the elder.
(2.) He worshipped, leaning on his staff; that is, hepraised God for what he had done for him, and for the prospect he had ofapproaching blessedness; and he prayed for those he was leaving behind him, thatreligion might live in his family when he was gone. He did this leaning onthe top of his staff; not as the papists dream, that he worshipped someimage of God engraven on the head of his staff, but intimating to us his greatnatural weakness, that he was not able to support himself so far as to sit up inhis bed without a staff, and yet that he would not make this an excuse forneglecting the worshipping of God; he would do it as well as he could with hisbody, as well as with his spirit, though he could not do it as well as he would.He showed thereby his dependence upon God, and testified his condition here as apilgrim with his staff, and his weariness of the world, and willingness to be atrest.
2. The time and season when Jacob thus acted his faith: when hewas dying. He lived by faith, and he died by faith and in faith. Observe, Thoughthe grace of faith is of universal use throughout our whole lifes, yet it isespecially so when we come to die. Faith has its greatest work to do at last, tohelp believers to finish well, to die to the Lord, so as to honour him, bypatience, hope, and joy-so as to leave a witness behind them of the truth of God'sword and the excellency of his ways, for the conviction and establishment of allwho attend them in their dying moments. The best way in which parents can finishtheir course is blessing their families and worshipping their God. We have nowcome to,
X. The faith of Joseph, v. 22. And here also we consider,
1. What he did by his faith: He made mention of the departingof the children of Israel, and gave commandment concerning his bones. Thepassage is out of Gen. 50:24, 25. Joseph was eminent for his faith, though hehad not enjoyed the helps for it which the rest of his brethren had. He was soldinto Egypt. He was tried by temptations, by sin, by persecution, for retaininghis integrity. He was tried by preferment and power in the court of Pharaoh, andyet his faith held out and carried him through to the last. (1.) He made mentionby faith of the departing of the children of Israel, that the time should comewhen they should be delivered out of Egypt; and he did this both that he mightcaution them against the thoughts of settling in Egypt, which was now a place ofplenty and ease to them; and also that he might keep them from sinking under thecalamities and distresses which he foresaw were coming upon them there; and hedoes it to comfort himself, that though he should not live to see theirdeliverance, yet he could die in the faith of it. (2.) He gave commandmentconcerning his bones, that they should preserve them unburied in Egypt, till Godshould deliver them out of that house of bondage, and that then they shouldcarry his bones along with them into Canaan and deposit them there. Thoughbelievers are chiefly concerned for their souls, yet they cannot wholly neglecttheir bodies, as being members of Christ and parts of themselves, which shall atlength be raised up, and be the happy companions of their glorified souls to alleternity. Now Joseph gave this order, not that he thought his being buried inEgypt would either prejudice his soul or prevent the resurrection of his body(as some of the rabbis fancied that all the Jews who were buried out of Canaanmust be conveyed underground to Canaan before they could rise again), but totestify, [1.] That though he had lived and died in Egypt, yet he did not liveand die an Egyptian, but an Israelite. [2.] That he preferred a significantburial in Canaan before a magnificent one in Egypt. [3.] That he would go as farwith his people as he could, though he could not go as far as he would. [4.]That he believed the resurrection of the body, and the communion that his soulshould presently have with departed saints, as his body had with their deadbodies. [5.] To assure them that God would be with them in Egypt, and deliverthem out of it in his own time and way.
2. When it was that the faith of Joseph acted after this manner;namely, as in the case of Jacob, when he was dying. God often gives his peopleliving comforts in dying moments; and when he does it is their duty, as theycan, to communicate them to those about them, for the glory of God, for thehonour of religion, and for the good of their brethren and friends. We go on nowto,
XI. The faith of the parents of Moses, which is cited from Ex.2:3, etc. Here observe, 1. The acting of their faith: they hid this their sonthree months. Though only the mother of Moses is mentioned in the history, yet,by what is here said, it seems his father not only consented to it, butconsulted about it. It is a happy thing where yoke-fellows draw together in theyoke of faith, as heirs of the grace of God; and when they do this in areligious concern for the good of their children, to preserve them not only fromthose who would destroy their lives, but from those who would corrupt theirminds. Observe, Moses was persecuted betimes, and forced to be concealed; inthis he was a type of Christ, who was persecuted almost as soon as he was born,and his parents were obliged to flee with him into Egypt for his preservation.It is a great mercy to be free from wicked laws and edicts; but, when we arenot, we must use all lawful means for our security. In this faith of Moses'sparents there was a mixture of unbelief, but God was pleased to overlook it. 2.The reasons of their thus acting. No doubt, natural affection could not but movethem; but there was something further. They saw he was a proper child, agoodly child (Ex. 2:2), exceedingly fair, as in Acts 7:20, asteiostoµ Theoµvenustus Deofair to God. Thereappeared in him something uncommon; the beauty of the Lord sat upon him, as apresage that he was born to great things, and that by conversing with God hisface should shine (Ex. 34:29), what bright and illustrious actions he should dofor the deliverance of Israel, and how his name should shine in the sacredrecords. Sometimes, not always, the countenance is the index of the mind. 3. Theprevalency of their faith over their fear. They were not afraid of the king'scommandment, Ex. 1:22. That was a wicked and a cruel edict, that all the malesof the Israelites should be destroyed in their infancy, and so the name ofIsrael must be destroyed out of the earth. But they did not so fear as presentlyto give up their child; they considered that, if none of the males werepreserved, there would be an end and utter ruin of the church of God and thetrue religion, and that though in their present state of servitude andoppression one would praise the dead rather than the living, yet they believedthat God would preserve his people, and that the time was coming when it wouldbe worth while for an Israelite to live. Some must hazard their own lives topreserve their children, and they were resolved to do it; they knew the king'scommandment was evil in itself, contrary to the laws of God and nature, andtherefore of no authority nor obligation. Faith is a great preservative againstthe sinful slavish fear of men, as it sets God before the soul, and shows thevanity of the creature and its subordination to the will and power of God. Theapostle next proceeds to,
XII. The faith of Moses himself (v. 24, 25, etc.), here observe,
1. An instance of his faith in conquering the world.
(1.) He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,whose foundling he was, and her fondling too; she had adopted him for his son,and he refused it. Observe, [1.] How great a temptation Moses was under. Pharaoh'sdaughter is said to have been his only child, and was herself childless; andhaving found Moses, and saved him as she did, she resolved to take him and bringhim up as her son; and so he stood fair to be in time king of Egypt, and hemight thereby have been serviceable to Israel. He owed his life to thisprincess; and to refuse such kindness from her would look not only likeingratitude to her, but a neglect of Providence, that seemed to intend hisadvancement and his brethren's advantage. [2.] How glorious was the triumph ofhis faith in so great a trial. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh'sdaughter lest he should undervalue the truer honour of being a son ofAbraham, the father of the faithful; he refused to be called the son ofPharaoh's daughter lest it should look like renouncing his religion aswell as his relation to Israel; and no doubt both these he must have done if hehad accepted this honour; he therefore nobly refused it.
(2.) He chose rather to suffer affliction with the people ofGod than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, v. 25. He was willingto take his lot with the people of God here, though it was a suffering lot, thathe might have his portion with them hereafter, rather than to enjoy all thesensual sinful pleasures of Pharaoh's court, which would be but for a season,and would then be punished with everlasting misery. Herein he acted rationallyas well as religiously, and conquered the temptation to worldly pleasure as hehad done before to worldly preferment. Here observe, [1.] The pleasures of sinare and will be but short; they must end in speedy repentance or in speedy ruin.[2.] The pleasures of this world, and especially those of a court, are too oftenthe pleasures of sin; and they are always so when we cannot enjoy them withoutdeserting God and his people. A true believer will despise them when they areoffered upon such terms. [3.] Suffering is to be chosen rather than sin, therebeing more evil in the least sin than there can be in the greatest suffering.[4.] It greatly alleviates the evil of suffering when we suffer with the peopleof God, embarked in the same interest and animated by the same Spirit.
(3.) He accounted the reproaches of Christ greater richesthan the treasures of Egypt, v. 26. See how Moses weighed matters: in onescale he put the worst of religionthe reproaches of Christ, in theother scale the best of the worldthe treasures of Egypt; and in hisjudgment, directed by faith, the worst of religion weighed down the best of theworld. The reproaches of the church of God are the reproaches of Christ,who is, and has ever been, the head of the church. Now here Moses conquered theriches of the world, as before he had conquered its honours and pleasures. God'speople are, and always have been, a reproached people. Christ accounts himselfreproached in their reproaches; and, while he thus interests himself in theirreproaches, they become riches, and greater riches than the treasures of therichest empire in the world; for Christ will reward them with a crown of glorythat fades not away. Faith discerns this, and determines and acts accordingly.
2. The circ*mstance of time is taken notice of, when Moses byhis faith gained this victory over the world, in all its honours, pleasures, andtreasures: When he had come to years (v. 24); not only to years ofdiscretion, but of experience, to the age of forty yearswhen he was great, orhad come to maturity. Some would take this as detracting from his victory, thathe gained it so late, that he did not make this choice sooner; but it is ratheran enhancement of the honour of his self-denial and victory over the world thathe made this choice when he had grown ripe for judgment and enjoyment, able toknow what he did and why he did it. It was not the act of a child, that preferscounters to gold, but it proceeded from mature deliberation. It is an excellentthing for persons to be seriously religious when in the midst of worldlybusiness and enjoyments, to despise the world when they are most capable ofrelishing and enjoying it.
3. What it was that supported and strengthened the faith ofMoses to such a degree as to enable him to gain such a victory over the world: Hehad respect unto the recompense of reward, that is, say some, thedeliverance out of Egypt; but doubtless it means much morethe glorious rewardof faith and fidelity in the other world. Observe here, (1.) Heaven is a greatreward, surpassing not only all our deservings, but all our conceptions. It is areward suitable to the price paid for itthe blood of Christ; suitable to theperfections of God, and fully answering to all his promises. It is a recompenseof reward, because given by a righteous Judge for the righteousness of Christ torighteous persons, according to the righteous rule of the covenant of grace.(2.) Believers may and ought to have respect to this recompense of reward; theyshould acquaint themselves with it, approve of it, and live in the daily anddelightful expectation of it. Thus it will prove a land-mark to direct theircourse, a load-stone to draw their hearts, a sword to conquer their enemies, aspur to quicken them to duty, and a cordial to refresh them under all thedifficulties of doing and suffering work.
4. We have another instance of the faith of Moses, namely, inforsaking Egypt: By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of theking, v. 27. Observe here, (1.) The product of his faith: He forsookEgypt, and all its power and pleasures, and undertook the conduct of Israelout of it. Twice Moses forsook Egypt: [1.] As a supposed criminal, when the king'swrath was incensed against him for killing the Egyptian (Ex. 2:14, 15), where itis said he feared, not with a fear of despondency, but of discretion, to savehis life. [2.] As a commander and ruler in Jeshurun, after God had employed himto humble Pharaoh and make him willing to let Israel go. (2.) The prevalency ofhis faith. It raised him above the fear of the king's wrath. Though he knewthat it was great, and levelled at him in particular, and that it marched at thehead of a numerous host to pursue him, yet he was not dismayed, and he said toIsrael, Fear not, Ex. 14:13. Those who forsook Egypt must expect thewrath of men; but they need not fear it, for they are under the conduct of thatGod who is able to make the wrath of man to praise him, and restrain theremainder of it. (3.) The principle upon which his faith acted in these hismotions: He endured, as seeing him that was invisible. He bore up withinvincible courage under all danger, and endured all the fatigue of hisemployment, which was very great; and this by seeing the invisible God. Observe,[1.] The God with whom we have to do is an invisible God: he is so to oursenses, to the eye of the body; and this shows the folly of those who pretend tomake images of God, whom no man hath seen, nor can see. [2.] By faith we may seethis invisible God. We may be fully assured of his existence, of his providence,and of his gracious and powerful presence with us. [3.] Such a sight of God willenable believers to endure to the end whatever they may meet with in the way.
5. We have yet another instance of the faith of Moses, inkeeping the passover and sprinkling of blood, v. 28. The account of thiswe have in Ex. 12:13-23. Though all Israel kept this passover, yet it was byMoses that God delivered the institution of it; and, though it was a greatmystery, Moses by faith both delivered it to the people and kept it that nightin the house where he lodged. The passover was one of the most solemninstitutions of the Old Testament, and a very significant type of Christ. Theoccasion of its first observance was extraordinary: it was in the same nightthat God slew the first-born of the Egyptians; but, though the Israelites livedamong them, the destroying angel passed over their houses, and spared them andtheirs. Now, to entitle them to this distinguishing favour, and to mark them outfor it, a lamb must be slain; the blood of it must be sprinkled with a bunch ofhyssop upon the lintel of the door, and on the two side-posts; the flesh of thelamb must be roasted with fire; and it must be all of it eaten that very nightwith bitter herbs, in a travelling posture, their loins girt, their shoes ontheir feet, and their staff in their hand. This was accordingly done, and thedestroying angel passed over them, and slew the first-born of the Egyptians.This opened a way for the return of Abraham's posterity into the land ofpromise. The accommodation of this type is not difficult. (1.) Christ is thatLamb, he is our Passover, he was sacrificed for us. (2.) His blood must besprinkled; it must be applied to those who have the saving benefit of it. (3.)It is applied effectually only to the Israelites, the chosen people of God. (4.)It is not owing to our inherent righteousness or best performances that we aresaved from the wrath of God, but to the blood of Christ and his imputedrighteousness. If any of the families of Israel had neglected the sprinkling ofthis blood upon their doors, though they should have spent all the night inprayer, the destroying angel would have broken in upon them, and slain theirfirst-born. (5.) Wherever this blood is applied, the soul receives a wholeChrist by faith, and lives upon him. (6.) This true faith makes sin bitter tothe soul, even while it receives the pardon and atonement. (7.) All ourspiritual privileges on earth should quicken us to set out early, and getforward, in our way to heaven. (8.) Those who have been marked out must everremember and acknowledge free and distinguishing grace.
XIII. The next instance of faith is that of the Israelitespassing through the Red Sea under the conduct of Moses their leader, v. 29. Thestory we have in Exodus, ch. 14. Observe,
1. The preservation and safe passage of the Israelites throughthe Red Sea, when there was no other way to escape from Pharaoh and his host,who were closely pursuing them. Here we may observe, (1.) Israel's danger wasvery great; an enraged enemy with chariots and horsem*n behind them; steep rocksand mountains on either hand, and the Red Sea before them. (2.) Theirdeliverance was very glorious. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as ondry land; the grace of faith will help us through all the dangers we meet within our way to heaven.
2. The destruction of the Egyptians. They, presumptuouslyattempting to follow Israel through the Red Sea, being thus blinded and hardenedto their ruin, were all drowned. Their rashness was great, and their ruin wasgrievous. When God judges, he will overcome; and it is plain that thedestruction of sinners is of themselves.
XIV. The next instance of faith is that of the Israelites, underJoshua their leader, before the walls of Jericho. The story we have Jos. 6:5,etc. Here observe, 1. The means prescribed to God to bring down the walls ofJericho. It was ordered that they should compass the walls about once a day forseven days together and seven times the last day, that the priests should carrythe ark when they compassed the walls about, and should blow with trumpets madeof rams' horns, and sound a longer blast than before, and then all the peopleshould shout, and the walls of Jericho should fall before them. Here was a greattrial of their faith. The method prescribed seemed very improbable to answersuch an end, and would doubtless expose them to the daily contempt of theirenemies; the ark of God would seem to be in danger. But this was the way Godcommanded them to take, and he loves to do great things by small andcontemptible means, that his own arm may be made bare. 2. The powerful successof the prescribed means. The walls of Jericho fell before them. This was afrontier town in the land of Canaan, the first that stood out against theIsraelites. God was pleased in this extraordinary manner to slight and dismantleit, in order to magnify himself, to terrify the Canaanites, to strengthen thefaith of the Israelites, and to exclude all boasting. God can and will in hisown time and way cause all the powerful opposition that is made to his interestand glory to fall down, and the grace of faith is mighty through God for thepulling down of strong-holds; he will make Babylon fall before the faith of hispeople, and, when he has some great thing to do for them, he raises up great andstrong faith in them.
XV. The next instance is the faith of Rahab, v. 31. Among thenoble army of believing worthies, bravely marshalled by the apostle, Rahab comesin the rear, to show that God is no respecter of persons. Here consider,
1. Who this Rahab was. (1.) She was a Canaanite, a strangerto the commonwealth of Israel, and had but little help for faith, and yetshe was a believer; the power of divine grace greatly appears when it workswithout the usual means of grace. (2.) She was a harlot, and lived in a way ofsin; she was not only a keeper of a public house, but a common woman of thetown, and yet she believed that the greatness of sin, if truly repented of,shall be no bar to the pardoning mercy of God. Christ has saved the chief ofsinners. Where sin has abounded, grace has superabounded.
2. What she did by her faith: She received the spies inpeace, the men that Joshua had sent to spy out Jericho, Jos. 2:6, 7. She notonly bade them welcome, but she concealed them from their enemies who sought tocut them off, and she made a noble confession of her faith, v. 9-11. Sheengaged them to covenant with her to show favour to her and hers, when Godshould show kindness to them, and that they would give her a sign, which theydid, a line of scarlet, which she was to hang forth out of the window; she sentthem away with prudent and friendly advice. Learn here, (1.) True faith willshow itself in good works, especially towards the people of God. (2.) Faith willventure all hazards in the cause of God and his people; a true believer willsooner expose his own person than God's interest and people. (3.) A truebeliever is desirous, not only to be in covenant with God, but in communion withthe people of God, and is willing to cast in his lot with them, and to fare asthey fare.
3. What she gained by her faith. She escaped perishing withthose that believed not. Observe, (1.) The generality of her neighbours,friends, and fellow-citizens, perished; it was an utter destruction that befellthat city: man and beast were cut off. (2.) The cause of the people of Jericho'sdestructionunbelief. They believed not that Israel's God was the true God,though they had evidence sufficient of it. (3.) The signal preservation of Rahab.Joshua gave a strict charge that she should be spared, and none but she andhers; and she taking care that the sign, the scarlet thread, should be hung out,her family were marked out for mercy, and perished not. Singular faith, when thegenerality are not only unbelievers, but against believers, will be rewardedwith singular favours in times of common calamity.
The apostle having given us a classis of many eminent believers,whose names are mentioned and the particular trials and actings of their faithrecorded, now concludes his narrative with a more summary account of another setof believers, where the particular acts are not ascribed to particular personsby name, but left to be applied by those who are well acquainted with the sacredstory; and, like a divine orator, he prefaces his part of the narrative with anelegant expostulation: What shall I say more? Time would fail me; as ifhe had said, "It is in vain to attempt to exhaust this subject; should Inot restrain my pen, it would soon run beyond the bounds of an epistle; andtherefore I shall but just mention a few more, and leave you to enlarge uponthem." Observe, 1. After all our researches into the scripture, there isstill more to be learned from them. 2. We must well consider in divine matterswhat we should say, and suit it as well as we can to the time. 3. We should bepleased to think how great the number of believers was under the Old Testament,and how strong their faith, though the objects thereof were not then so fullyrevealed. And, 4. We should lament it, that now, in gospel times, when the ruleof faith is more clear and perfect, the number of believers should be so smalland their faith so weak.
I. In this summary account the apostle mentions,
1. Gideon, whose story we have in Judges 6:11, etc. He was aneminent instrument raised up of God to deliver his people from the oppression ofthe Midianites; he was a person of mean tribe and family, called from a meanemployment (threshing wheat), and saluted by an angel of God in this surprisingmanner, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of war. Gideon could notat first receive such honours, but humbly expostulates with the angel abouttheir low and distressed state. The angel of the Lord delivers him hiscommission, and assures him of success, confirming the assurance by fire out ofthe rock. Gideon is directed to offer sacrifice, and, instructed in his duty,goes forth against the Midianites, when his army is reduced from thirty-twothousand to three hundred; yet by these, with their lamps and pitchers, God putthe whole army of the Midianites to confusion and ruin: and the same faith thatgave Gideon so much courage and honour enabled him to act with great meeknessand modesty towards his brethren afterwards. It is the excellency of the graceof faith that, while it helps men to do great things, it keeps them from havinghigh and great thoughts of themselves.
2. Barak, another instrument raised up to deliver Israel out ofthe hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, Judges 4, where we read, (1.) Though he was asoldier, yet he received his commission and instructions from Deborah, a prophetessof the Lord; and he insisted upon having this divine oracle with him in hisexpedition. (2.) He obtained a great victory by his faith over all the host ofSisera. (3.) His faith taught him to return all the praise and glory to God:this is the nature of faith; it has recourse unto God in all dangers anddifficulties, and then makes grateful returns to God for all mercies anddeliverances.
3. Samson, another instrument that God raised up to deliverIsrael from the Philistines: his story we have in Judges 13, 14, 15, and 16, andfrom it we learn that the grace of faith is the strength of the soul for greatservice. If Samson had not had a strong faith as well as a strong arm, he hadnever performed such exploits. Observe, (1.) By faith the servants of God shallovercome even the roaring lion. (2.) True faith is acknowledged and accepted,even when mingled with many failings. (3.) The believer's faith endures to theend, and, in dying, gives him victory over death and all his deadly enemies; hisgreatest conquest he gains by dying.
4. Jephthah, whose story we have, Jud. 11, before that ofSamson. He was raised up to deliver Israel from the Ammonites. As various andnew enemies rise up against the people of God, various and new deliverers areraised up for them. In the story of Jephthah observe, (1.) The grace of Godoften finds out, and fastens upon, the most undeserving and ill-deservingpersons, to do great things for them and by them. Jephthah was the son of aharlot. (2.) The grace of faith, wherever it is, will put men upon acknowledgingGod in all their ways (ch. 11:11): Jephthah rehearsed all his words beforethe Lord in Mizpeh. (3.) The grace of faith will make men bold and venturousin a good cause. (4.) Faith will not only put men upon making their vows to God,but paying their vows after the mercy received; yea, though they have vowed totheir own great grief, hurt, and loss, as in the case of Jephthah and hisdaughter.
5. David, that great man after God's own heart. Few ever metwith greater trials, and few ever discovered a more lively faith. His firstappearance on the stage of the world was a great evidence of his faith. Having,when young, slain the lion and the bear, his faith in God encouraged himto encounter the great Goliath, and helped him to triumph over him. The samefaith enabled him to bear patiently the ungrateful malice of Saul and hisfavourites, and to wait till God should put him into possession of the promisedpower and dignity. The same faith made him a very successful and victoriousprince, and, after a long life of virtue and honour (though not without somefoul stains of sin), he died in faith, relying upon the everlasting covenantthat God had made with him and his, ordered in all things and sure; and he hasleft behind him such excellent memoirs of the trials and acts of faith in thebook of Psalms as will ever be of great esteem and use, among the people of God.
6. Samuel, raised up to be a most eminent prophet of the Lord toIsrael, as well as a ruler over them. God revealed himself to Samuel when he wasbut a child, and continued to do so till his death. In his story observe, (1.)Those are likely to grow up to some eminency in faith who begin betimes in theexercise of it. (2.) Those whose business it is to reveal the mind and will ofGod to others had need to be well established in the belief of it themselves.
7. To Samuel he adds, and of the prophets, who wereextraordinary ministers of the Old-Testament church, employed of God sometimesto denounce judgment, sometimes to promise mercy, always to reprove sin;sometimes to foretell remarkable events, known only to God; and chiefly to givenotice of the Messiah, his coming, person, and offices; for in him the prophetsas well as the law center. Now a true and strong faith was very requisite forthe right discharge of such an office as this.
II. Having done naming particular persons, he proceeds to tellus what things were done by their faith. He mentions some things that easilyapply themselves to one or other of the persons named; but he mentions otherthings that are not so easy to be accommodated to any here named, but must beleft to general conjecture or accommodation.
1. By faith they subdued kingdoms, v. 33. Thus did David,Joshua, and many of the judges. Learn hence, (1.) The interests and powers ofkings and kingdoms are often set up in opposition to God and his people. (2.)God can easily subdue all those kings and kingdoms that set themselves to opposehim. (3.) Faith is a suitable and excellent qualification of those who fight inthe ways of the Lord; it makes them just, bold, and wise.
2. They wrought righteousness, both in their public andpersonal capacities; they turned many from idolatry to the ways ofrighteousness; they believed God, and it was imputed to them for righteousness;they walked and acted righteously towards God and man. It is a greater honourand happiness to work righteousness than to work miracles; faith is an activeprinciple of universal righteousness.
3. They obtained promises, both general and special. Itis faith that gives us an interest in the promises; it is by faith that we havethe comfort of the promises; and it is by faith that we are prepared to wait forthe promises, and in due time to receive them.
4. They stopped the mouths of lions; so did Samson, Jdg.14:5, 6, and David, 1 Sa. 17:34, 35, and Daniel, 6:22. Here learn, (1.) Thepower of God is above the power of the creature. (2.) Faith engages the power ofGod for his people, whenever it shall be for his glory, to overcome brute beastsand brutish men.
5. They quenched the violence of the fire, v. 34. So Moses, by theprayer of faith, quenched the fire of God's wrath that was kindled against thepeople of Israel, Num. 11:1, 2. So did the three children, or rather mightychampions, Dan. 3:17-27. Their faith in God, refusing to worship the goldenimage, exposed them to the fiery furnace which Nebuchadnezzar had prepared forthem, and their faith engaged for them that power and presence of God in thefurnace which quenched the violence of the fire, so that not so much as thesmell thereof passed on them. Never was the grace of faith more severely tried,never more nobly exerted, nor ever more gloriously rewarded, than theirs was.
6. They escaped the edge of the sword. Thus David escapedthe sword of Goliath and of Saul; and Mordecai and the Jews escaped the sword ofHaman. The swords of men are held in the hand of God, and he can blunt the edgeof the sword, and turn it away from his people against their enemies when hepleases. Faith takes hold of that hand of God which has hold of the swords ofmen; and God has often suffered himself to be prevailed upon by the faith of hispeople.
7. Out of weakness they were made strong. From nationalweakness, into which the Jews often fell by their unbelief; upon the revival oftheir faith, all their interest and affairs revived and flourished. From bodilyweakness; thus Hezekiah, believing the word of God, recovered out of a mortaldistemper, and he ascribed his recovery to the promise and power of God (Isa.38:15, 16), What shall I say? He hath spoken it, and he hath also done it.Lord by these things men live, and in these is the life of my spirit. And itis the same grace of faith that from spiritual weakness helps men to recover andrenew their strength.
8. They grew valiant in fight. So did Joshua, the judges,and David. True faith gives truest courage and patience, as it discerns thestrength of God, and thereby the weakness of all his enemies. And they were notonly valiant, but successful. God, as a reward and encouragement of their faith,put to flight the armies of the aliens, of those who were aliens to theircommonwealth, and enemies to their religion; God made them flee and fall beforehis faithful servants. Believing and praying commanders, at the head ofbelieving and praying armies, have been so owned and honoured of God thatnothing could stand before them.
9. Women received their dead raised to life again, v. 35.So did the widow of Zarepath (1 Ki. 17:23), and the Shunamite, 2 Ki. 4:36. (1.) InChrist there is neither male nor female; many of the weaker sex have beenstrong in faith. (2.) Though the covenant of grace takes in the children ofbelievers, yet it leaves them subject to natural death. (3.) Poor mothers areloth to resign up their interest in their children, though death has taken themaway. (4.) God has sometimes yielded so far to the tender affections ofsorrowful women as to restore their dead children to life again. Thus Christ hadcompassion on the widow of Nain, Lu. 7:12, etc. (5.) This should confirm ourfaith in the general resurrection.
III. The apostle tells us what these believers endured by faith.1. They were tortured, not accepting deliverance, v. 35. They were putupon the rack, to make them renounce their God, their Saviour, and theirreligion. They bore the torture, and would not accept of deliverance upon suchvile terms; and that which animated them thus to suffer was the hope they had ofobtaining a better resurrection, and deliverance upon more honourableterms. This is thought to refer to that memorable story, 2 Macc. ch. 7, etc. 2.They endured trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, and bonds andimprisonment, v. 36. They were persecuted in their reputation by mockings,which are cruel to an ingenuous mind; in their persons by scourging, thepunishment of slaves; in their liberty by bonds and imprisonment. Observehow inveterate is the malice that wicked men have towards the righteous, how farit will go, and what a variety of cruelties it will invent and exercise uponthose against whom they have no cause of quarrel, except in the matters of theirGod. 3. They were put to death in the most cruel manner; some were stoned,as Zechariah (2 Chr. 24:21), sawn asunder, as Isaiah by Manasseh. Theywere tempted; some read it, burnt, 2 Macc. 7:5. They were slainwith the sword. All sorts of deaths were prepared for them; their enemiesclothed death in all the array of cruelty and terror, and yet they boldly met itand endured it. 4. Those who escaped death were used so ill that death mightseem more eligible than such a life. Their enemies spared them, only to prolongtheir misery, and wear out all their patience; for they were forced to wanderabout in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, and tormented;they wandered about in deserts, and on mountains, and in dens and caves of theearth, v. 37, 38. They were stripped of the conveniences of life, and turnedout of house and harbour. They had not raiment to put on, but were forced tocover themselves with the skins of slain beasts. They were driven out of allhuman society, and forced to converse with the beasts of the field, to hidethemselves in dens and caves, and make their complaint to rocks and rivers, notmore obdurate than their enemies. Such sufferings as these they endured then fortheir faith; and such they endured through the power of the grace of faith: andwhich shall we most admire, the wickedness of human nature, that is capable ofperpetrating such cruelties on fellow creatures, or the excellency of divinegrace, that is able to bear up the faithful under such cruelties, and to carrythem safely through all?
IV. What they obtained by their faith. 1. A most honourablecharacter and commendation from God, the true Judge and fountain of honourthatthe world was not worthy of such men; the world did not deserve suchblessings; they did not know how to value them, nor how to use them. Wicked men!The righteous are not worthy to live in the world, and God declares the world isnot worthy of them; and, though they widely differ in their judgment, they agreein this, that it is not fit that good men should have their rest in this world;and therefore God receives them out of it, to that world that is suitable tothem, and yet far beyond the merit of all their services and sufferings. 2. Theyobtained a good report (v. 39) of all good men, and of the truth itself,and have the honour to be enrolled in this sacred calendar of the Old-Testamentworthies, God's witnesses; yea, they had a witness for them in the consciencesof their enemies, who, while they thus abused them, were condemned by their ownconsciences, as persecuting those who were more righteous than themselves. 3.They obtained an interest in the promises, though not the full possession ofthem. They had a title to the promises, though they received not the greatthings promised. This is not meant of the felicity of the heavenly state, forthis they did receive, when they died, in the measure of a part, in oneconstituent part of their persons, and the much better part; but it is meant ofthe felicity of the gospel-state: they had types, but not the antitype; they hadshadows, but had not seen the substance; and yet, under this imperfectdispensation, they discovered this precious faith. This the apostle insists uponto render the faith more illustrious, and to provoke Christians to a holyjealousy and emulation; that they should not suffer themselves to be outdone inthe exercise of faith by those who came so short of them in all the helps andadvantages for believing. He tells the Hebrews that God had provided somebetter things for them (v. 40), and therefore they might be assured that heexpected at least as good things from them; and that since the gospel is the endand perfection of the Old Testament, which had no excellency but in itsreference to Christ and the gospel, it was expected that their faith should beas much more perfect than the faith of the Old-Testament saints; for their stateand dispensation were more perfect than the former, and were indeed theperfection and completion of the former, for without the gospel-church theJewish church must have remained in an incomplete and imperfect state. Thisreasoning is strong, and should be effectually prevalent with us all.
