and hell, and your own duty-if you will fully believe all these things, and act as though you believed them, you will have faith. Do this, and God will own you as a child. The Saviour will acknowledge you as his disciple. You will be safe from all the floods of wrath that are coming upon the ungodly. In the ark of salvation you will abide here, and in heaven shall you dwell forever.

CHAPTER IV.

About Abraham.

Following the order of the Apostle in the 11th chap. of the Epistle to the Hebrews, the next example of faith mentioned, is that of Abraham. He was truly a striking example. When we read his history, as it is written in the Bible, we find, in many instances, that he showed a remarkably strong and active faith. The most remarkable instance was that when he offered up his son Isaac, which we cannot read, without being filled with wonder at the view of his cheerful obedience and steady trust in God. He would do any thing that God commanded him to do, whatever it might be; and so strong was his faith and confidence in God, that he is justly called the father of the faithful.

The Apostle says-"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." Abraham knew that God never gave a command, without having wise reasons for it; and though he might not be able to see why the command was given, yet he knew that it was best for him to obey it. He was fully satisfied, that whatever God commanded was right, and that if he obeyed, God would take care of him. This was faith. -It might have been painful to the feelings of Abraham, to leave his own country and his father's house, and go to an unknown country. He was, no doubt, strongly attached to his friends, and to the place where he was born, and to break away from them may have cost him a severe struggle. But God had commanded it, and that. was enough. He did not hesitate or delay, but went off immediately, not knowing whither he went.

You may find the account of God's command, and of Abraham's going forth, in the 12th chap. of Gen. His name was then called Abram; it was afterwards changed to Abraham. "Now the Lord had said to Abram

-Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee." At that time, the world was full of idolatry. The people had forgotten God, and made themselves idols to worship, and they were generally wicked and corrupt in the sight of God. True religion was almost banished from the earth. There was, indeed, some piety in the family to which Abram belonged, and he himself was truly pious, and the friend of God. But the people generally were so sunk in sin and pollution, that God saw it needful to separate Abram from the rest of mankind, lest his children and family, if he did not himself, should become as wicked and corrupt as others. This was probably the reason why God told Abram to leave his country, and his father's house. And for the same reason he caused Abram to remove from place to place during his whole life, that he might not live long enough in one place, to permit his family to mingle with the people that lived about them. God told Abram that he would give his children all the country of Canaan, now called Palestine, but he did not let Abram have any one place in the land. Abram built no houses, but dwelt in tents, and removed from place to place. In this way, his family was kept distinct from the people of the land. Perhaps Abram felt that such a moving life was not pleasant to him. It gave him much trouble, and prevented his building a comfortable house to dwell in. But God commanded him to move about in this manner, and that was enough for Abram. He would do what God said, and thus he showed his faith.

I have spoken of Abram's family, when he had not, as yet, any children of his own. His wife, Sarah, had no child. But he had many men-servants and maid-servants in his family, and his household became very numerous. At a certain time when Lot, who was the son of Abram's brother, had been taken captive by a large army, Abram armed his servants, three hundred and eighteen in number, and went and released Lot, and all his family. This shows that the company which Abram had about him, and which was