The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-03-28

conceive OF more severe test than this.
In the first place, there were Abrahams
natural feelings. A man might give up
his money, might give up his worldly am
bition, even his own soul, but 10 give up
his sonl And il seemed as IL God intensi-
fed the anguish liz the mans heart by the
language in which he told him TO take his
son and offer him. "faze now thy son,
thine only son Isaac, whom thou lowest.
cannot conceive of an Offering that could
be harder to be sacrificed than this. isaac
was supernatural child. Like the Lord
Jesus, he was born by what we call
"miracle.' In special sense this was
Gods child, and he was called TO take this
child of God and take him out and put
him 10 death.
And then, in the third place, he had a
personal performance OF duty. We may
have witnessed the suffering OF dear one.
There may have been times when We
would gladly 60 to their relief but are
not able. But this father had to infiict
his sons suffering himself. lie was the
one that had 10 bind his son and draw the
knife and put him the death.
And then, this was seemingly un-
reasonable request. Abraham could not
have conceived OF one rational reason for
his Staying his son Isaac. There was
nothing Co be gained by 1T, except simply
that he might know that he had been
willing - 70 give everything to
God. There was everything 10
be lost. know of father who kept
the drawbridge over the Passaic, in New
ark. One day his little child was playing
on the drawbridge when the train was
coming, and the man signaled for the
train to come on. 1t came along, and just
as he was about to lock the bridge he
heard a cry. AS he turned the bridge he
knocked his his little son off into the. the
that one seconds hesitation might cause
his child's death. Yet he knew that If he
left the bridge in the condition it then
was there would be certain disaster and
loss of lives. what an niternativel But
this man, like Jesus Christ himself, stayed
there in his place and fastened the bridge.
his son, but the child had been
swept down by the river and it was
too late to save him. o! that was a
wonderful act of sacrifice, but what a
motive for it moved that father. Indeed
IL was his own son that perished, but he
possibly saved a hundred lives by that
heroic act. But Abraham had to kill his
son and save no one. There did not seem
to be any object that could be
suggested for what he was about
TO do. We were Mortified few
months ago when we read the story OF
that ill-fated British battleship that in
the calm day was so stricken that suddenly
It turned and plunged down into the
water. And we were especially called to
admiration of the discipline of those
British mariners that stood in
their places as calmly as though
they were going forth to review.
They were plunged into the water and set
on lire by the escaping steam and cut
into pieces by the great revolving knives
at the rear of the great vessel. We said
that that was wonderful discipline; but
they could not have escaped IL they would.
They had TO die, and they
might as well have stood on
the deck and gone down like obedient
soldiers as to have cast themselves over
the side and been lost in that way. But
Abraham did not have to slay Isaac except
to please God.
Continued Tomorrw.)