The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1848-05-03

he Ind assg,4ars3 90 IN sd nae .
sfird promise. uhara as glisa - seal.
give ihai l.n1 sa = Eal,ea M.sagh shesa.a
aese~n1 Grsa hin. A. : pesssssis,s shis
was .l.lflaI between Csc sna 81 hnasFst
Nears zfteTwaEd. L. Fsaaiag all ile his-
soTrsl books q 10Th De Oh aRd New
IrsgamFn.s. = aeil - he h0nks II the
Prophets. ~ stouli siWays he,T IN mind
the TeIerTrre tbs base - lhrse lhFer pn.,
misses ~ God % Abraham. Al the hisiO.
~ Is 10 m0se ihan narrative II The par.
llcnlar maaner. ard the detail of eycnis
BY which those promises were tnlillei.
Ia she acrOnni Of the creation, and illt
fal Of man. have alTesdy remarked that
the moral d.elIine ineulea,rl by The Ril,ls
il. ihai The great eonsnmmaiiun Of al m,
nan FiriEe r0nsisss il 0saeslieasce 70 lie
Will Of God. When we come hereafter
% speak III TIE Billie in iis ethical charsc-
ter, shall sniezEor Ia sllow you The IN
iriRsie excellence # This principle; but I
shall now only remark how strongly the
principle ilsslf is illustrated. iEsI in The
account or The Fap. and next ~ The lis
lOIy Of Abraham. In the aee0mRI a tie
creation, We are inlnmed thai 6nd. alter
having made The world. cheated he .irsl
humaa pair, and " gave them dOmini"n
over every living thing that moselh upon
the eaE,h." lie gave ,hem also "eVefy
herb hearing seed, and the fruit 81 every
Tree for neat" and MI this we aIe told.
"God saw was very gOod." Thus the
immediate possession ol every thing was
given TO them. and III perpetual enjoy
menls secured 10 their descendants. on
condition OI sustaining from the - fruit NJ
the Tree OF knowledge Of good and evil.
IL is altogether immaierial 10 my present
remarks. whether the narrative is To- be M.
deTSsoad in a literal Or allegoricai sense. as
not only the knowledge. bul the possession
ofcrealed good was granted; the fruit of the
tree could confer upon them no know
ledge but that OF evil, and the command
was nothing more lhah to abstain from that
knOw,edge--to iorhear from rushing upon
their own destruction. II is not sufficient
10 say that this was command in iis own
nature light and easy: il was a command
In pursue the only law Of their nature. 10
keep the happiness that had been hsaped
upon them without measure: but observe
lit contained the principle of obedience
lit was assigned TO them as dniy-and
the heaviest Of penalties was denounced
upon Its transgression. They were not to
discuss the wisdom or justice of this COM
mand: they were not To inquire why il had
been enforced upon them. nor could they
have the slightest possible motive for the
inquiry: unqualified felicity aud Immortal
lily were already lheirs: wrelrhedness and
death were forbidded them, but placed
within their reach as merely trials Of their
ooeaIeAss, They violated lho Az. rhey
forfelled lbeik JOY. and immoaslliy, h.~s-
: esaAk fasg nc Bglsa .isaih. A. AZ c;sT
woes.
HeEe, then, is an extreme case, ii which !
the mere principle of obedience could be a
tried. and command 10 abstain from that |
from which every motive Of reason and ,
interest would have deferred had the eom- {
mand never been given-a command given I
in the easiest of all possible form. requiring {
not so much as an action Of any kind, but
merely forbearenee: and its iransgression y
vas so severely punished, the only infer. :
ence we can draw from it is that Iks-mSsi
aggravated Of all crimes, aDS that which /
includes in itself all Ss.-'sfs, is disabedience
70 The W d God. Lei US now consider {
Nv The principle Of obedience is inculca- a
ted in The history Of Abraham, by care
in the opposite extreme. God command
ell Abraham to abandon for ever his coun-
try, his kindred and his fathers house. 10 |
go, he knew not where; promising, as a ;
reward Of his obedience, IN bless him and {
his posteriIy. though ne was then childless: ,
he was required TO renounee every thing
that gould most contribute TO his oomlnrt S
add happiness; TO become homeless, '
friendlcss wsnderer upon the earth, on the a
mere faith Of the promise that a land s
should be shown him which his descend
ants should possess-lhat they should be {
a great nation-and that through them,
all mankind should in future ages receive
q blessing. 4
uC OUSotSHNG lC4ulAfA w Aoatbs WIS
merely 10 retain all the blessings he en- I
loved; The obedience Of Abraham was 10 .
sacrifice all that he possessed for the vague
and distant prospect Of future compepsa-j
ton TO his posterity; the self-control and (
selfdenial required Of Adam. was in itself
The slightest that imagination can con-
failure was punished By The
forfeiture Of al his enjoyments; the sell.
dominion - be exercised by Abraham was I
Of the most severe and painful kind-but
its accomplishment yill ultimately be re-
varded BY the restoration Of all that was
forfeited by Adam. This restoration. how I
ever. was 70 be obtained by no ordinary {
means Of obedience; the sacrifice OF mere
personal blessings. however great, could ,
not lay The foundation of the redemption
Of mankind from death; the voluntary sub
mission of Jesus Christ 10 his own death, /
in the most excruciating and ignominious
form, was to.rnnsummate the great plan of I