ty beyond what is sufficient for his immediate wants, he
does not ask himself--May not I possibly need this superabundance at
some future period? or, if I never require it myself, may not my
Wife, or Children, or Relatives? He dares not to ask a question so
full of unbelief, nor presumes to turn the very abundance of the past
mercies of God into an argument against trusting Him for the future.
He knows that the best security for all spiritual blessings and all
temporal mercies, both to himself and to his friends, lies in doing
the will, and trusting unreservedly in the promises: of that God who
hath said:--"Can a mother forget her sucking child, that she should
not have compassion on the fruit of her womb? Yea, she may forget;
yet will not I forget thee" (Isaiah 49. 15). What, therefore, he has
freely received, he freely gives; and trusts for the future the
promises of his Heavenly Father, with a sincere, filial, and
ingenuous confidence.

The view here taken may naturally lead the minds of many inquirers
after the truth to ask,--'Is not this tempting God?' To this
difficulty Scripture supplies us with many very interesting and
striking answers; from which I shall select a few.

When Abraham was called to quit his kindred and country and to put
his trust under the shadow of the Almighty's wing,--his going,
notwithstanding that he knew not whither, and that he was perfectly
unacquainted in what manner or to what extent he was to be provided
for, constitutes that peculiar feature in his obedience, which all
Christians feel and appreciate, and the spirit of which they profess
to desire to have animating their own. The same is also observable in
the sacrifice of his son. Compliance in this case seems the
death-blow to his fondest hopes; and to trust that, notwithstanding
his compliance, the promises which God had made to him would be
fulfilled, was a confidence resting on somewhat beyond the bounds of
all human probability. Yet he does not hesitate to obey (and the
author of the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us why), because he
believed that God was able to raise his son up from the dead. Was
this then tempting God? What says his Word? "The Angel of the Lord
called unto Abraham out of Heaven the second time, and said, 'By
myself have I sworn, saith the Lord; for because thou hast done this
thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son; that in
blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy
seed