Isaiah 51:2-3 Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah that bore you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.… I. THE DEALINGS OF GOD WITH ABRAHAM. 1. God "called him alone." How merciful this call! Our own call to renounce this world, and to seek a better, even a heavenly country, is to be traced, like Abraham's, to the undeserved mercy of our heavenly Father. 2. The Lord "blessed" Abraham. And has He not "blessed" us? Has He not given to us many of the blessings of this life? And, what is much more than these, has He not redeemed us from sin and misery by Jesus Christ our Lord? 3. The Lord "increased" him. The worldly possessions of Abraham were many. But Abraham was increased further in his posterity. But his spiritual descendants are yet more numerous. So likewise is the faithful Christian, the spiritual child of Abraham, "increased;" not indeed, it may be, in this world's riches and honours, but in spiritual wealth and dignity. II. THE CHARACTER AND CONDUCT OF ABRAHAM. 1. His faith. Let us look to Abraham as an example in this point of view. 2. His obedience. Let no one whose works contradict his profession of faith suppose himself to be a believer in God. (W.D. Johnston, M.A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. |
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