eet to take the children's bread, and to cast
it to the dogs"; mark how she replied, "Truth, Lord, I confess
all that; yet notwithstanding, the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall
from their master's table." Oh, the excellency, and strength, and
work of her faith! She comes to Christ for mercy, He repelleth her,
reproacheth her, tells her she is a dog; she confesseth her baseness,
is not discouraged for all that, but still resteth upon the goodness
and mercy of Christ, and is mightily resolved to have mercy whatsoever
befalleth her. Truth, Lord, I confess I am as bad as Thou canst term
me, yet I confess, too, that there is no comfort but from Thee, and
tho I am a dog, yet I would have crumbs. Still she laboreth to catch
after mercy, and to lean and to bear herself upon the favor of Christ
for the bestowing thereof upon her. So it must be with every faithful
Christian in this particular; he must roll himself upon the power, and
faithfulness, and truth of God, and wait for His mercy (I will join
them both together for brevity's sake, tho the latter be a fourth step
and degree of faith); I say he must not only depend upon God, but he
must wait upon the Holy One of Israel.

But a further step of Abraham's faith appeared in this: he counted
nothing too dear for the Lord; he was content to break through all
impediments, to pass through all difficulties, whatsoever God would
have, He had of him. This is the next step that Abraham went; and this
you shall find when God put him upon trial. The text saith there "that
God did tempt Abraham," did try what He would do for Him, and He bade
him, "Go, take thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and
slay him"; and straight Abraham went and laid his son upon an altar,
and took a knife, to cut the throat of his son--so that Abraham did
not spare his son Isaac, he did not spare for any cost, he did not
dodge with God in this case; if God would have anything, He should
have it, whatsoever it were, tho it were his own life, for no question
Isaac was dearer to him than his own life. And this was not his case
alone, but the faithful people of God have ever walked the same
course. The apostle Paul was of the same spirit; "I know not (saith
he) the things that shall befall me, save that the Holy Ghost
witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me:
but none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto
myself, so that I might finish my course with joy,