The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-08-30
THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM
SERMON BY REV. DR. PRINCE AT
 TRINITY M. E. CHURCH.

Pastor-Abraham's Faith Makes Him
 Preeminent Among Men-Mistook Gods
 Command in Attempting to Slay His
 Son.
 At Trinity M. E. church yesterday morning a large congregation listened to an able sermon by Rev. Morris w. Prince. D. D., a former pastor of the church and now at Dickinson college Dr. Princes sermon was on faith, an old subject, but treated by him in d new and exceptionally interesting man. ner. He based his sermon on the words found in Hebrews ii., the ninth and seventeenth verses: By faith Abra- ham, 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. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, of fered up Isaac; and he that had receiv- ed the promises offered up his only be- gotten son. The preacher said, in part:
 "The words of the text take us back lO ol ahClCuI lollo ollo dll t1llGl0AlL IkihCe Search through all the scriptures and you will find the name of no man mem toned so often as that of Abraham. No man has left so broad a mark upon the world as he, yet he had no homo upon it but a tent and owned no land but tomb
 There is but one feature in the life of Abraham which the scripture dwells upon, and that is his faith. The voice of God came, to him saying, Get thee up out of the land to land which [ shall show thee,' and straightway Abraham took his goods and departed into a, strange land, leaving the land of his fathers behind him. There was no place to receive him and no people to welcome him.
 Tt is not strange for men to leave their own land and go into strange countries. The Pilgrims did this when they came to the shores of New Eng land, the men of New England when they went into the west and saved 1t for civilization; so did the forty miners. and so to-day are those who are going to the Klondike in distant Alaska. But the motive which led Abraham out made his act noteworthy one. He was led forth, not by the love of gain or the desire for adventure, but he staked his future upon an unseen God whose voice he had heard. He was led by his faith in this unseen God to go out into an unknown land. It was at a time of the world when there was no established government to which he could look for protection, and he would need protection among strange peoples He trusted God in everything. AhT what a rebuke to our faith is this sim pie trust exhibited by Abraham! How different, ton was his condition from ours to-day! There had not been writ- ten a single page of the Bible to which he could look for encouragement, nor had he the biography of a single relig- ,oius life.
 Forty centuries have passed and Abraham stands head and shoulders above all other men because of his faith. The greatness of Abraham's character lies in his patient faith in God. The requisites of greatness in the world remain always the same, and 1t is our duty to have the same faith as Abraham.
 "Thereason whyso many of us amount to nothing is because we are unwilling to stand out and be singular. Until we are willing to be singular we shall nev- CT amount to anything. Abraham was a singular man in his faith in God among the people of his time; so also were Saul, Martin Luther, John Wes- ley, William Lloyd Garrison and Wen- dell Phillips-singular men in their times, inasmuch as they stood by their convictions as to what was right. The one crying need of the nation to-day is for men to stand out and be true to their convictions and to God.
 "Then came the great trial of Abra- hams faith when he heard the voice of God commanding him, as he believed, to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. Isaac had just reached that period of life when it would be hardest for his father to part with him.
 'We must remember that Abraham lived at a time when human sacrifice was common among all the people that he knew, and it did not shock his moral consciousness as it would ours to-day. If man should slay his child to-day he would either be sent to the gallows or the insane asylum.
 "To my mind Abraham mistook the meaning of Gods message to him. The words of the command in the Hebrew might mean to make a complete offer- ing of his son and not to slay him. God had already set the stamp of His disapproval upon murder in his con- demnation passed upon Cain. Abra- hams mistake was of the surface and not of the heart. His purpose was right See how God set him right and showed his disapproval of human sac rifice when he provided lamb for the sacrifice and commanded Abraham not to lay his hand upon the child. Thus Abraham went forth strengthened by this trial of his faith, and so trials of our faith are intended to deepen our faith in God. Even at the altar of sac- rifice God provides a reward for our faith.'
 For the Surveillance Of Anarchists.
 Paris, Aug. 29.-The Depech Coloniale