The later books of scripture frequently supplement the concise accounts supplied in the early ones. Rightly did John Owen point out, Abraham firmly believed not only in the immortality of the souls of men, but also the resurrection from the dead. Had he not done so, he could not have betaken himself unto this relief in his distress. Other things he might have thought of wherein God might have exercised his power, but he could not believe that he would do it in that which itself was not believed by him." Some, perhaps, may think that Owen drew too much upon his imagination that he read into Hebrews 11.19 what is not really there. If so, they are mistaken. There is one clear statement in Genesis 22 which, though not quoted by the eminent Puritan, fully establishes his assertion. There we are told that the patriarch said unto his young men, I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. This is exceedingly blessed. It shows us that Abraham was not occupied with his faith his obedience, or with anything in himself, but solely with the living God. The worship of him filled his heart and engaged all his thoughts. The added words, and come again to you, make it unmistakably plain that Abraham confidently expected Jehovah to rise again from the dead the one he was about to sacrifice unto him as a burnt offering. A wonderful triumph of faith was this, recorded for the praise of the glory of God's grace and for our instruction. Oh, my dear brethren and sisters in Christ, we want you to do something more than read through this book. We long for you to meditate upon this blessed sequel to Abraham's sore trial. He was tested as none other ever was, and grand was the outcome. But between that testing and its happy issue there was the exercise of faith, the counting upon God to interpose on His behalf, the trusting in His all-sufficient power. And God did not fail him, though he tried his faith to the limit, yet in the nick of time the Lord intervened. This is recorded for our encouragement, especially for those who are now passing through a fiery furnace. He who can deliver from death, what cannot he do? Say then with one of old, neither is there any rock to stay ourselves upon like our God." 1 Samuel 2 verse 2. Hannah had found a mighty support to her faith in the power of God. By faith Abraham offered up Isaac. accounting that God was able to raise him up. Faith, then, expects a recompense from God. Faith knows that it is a saving bargain to lose things for Christ's sake. Faith looks for a restitution of comforts again, either in kind or in value. There is no man that hath left house or brethren for my sake and the gospel's But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time houses and brethren, and in the world to come eternal life." Mark 10, 29 and 30. That is, either actually so or an abundant equivalent. When one of the kings of Israel was bidden by the Lord to dismiss the army he had hired, he was troubled and asked, What shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? 2 Chronicles 25 9 Whereupon the prophet replied, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this. When a man through faithfulness to Christ is exposed unto the frowns of the world and his family faces starvation, let him know that God will undertake for him the Lord will be no man's debtor. From whence also he received him in a figure, Hebrews 11 19, Abraham had, as to his purpose, sacrificed Isaac so that he considered him as dead, and he thus received him back from the dead, not really, but in a manner bearing likeness to such a miracle. This illustrates and demonstrates the truth of what has just been said here. God returns again to us what we offer to Him. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6 verse 7. That which he hath given will he pay him again. Proverbs 19 verse 17. For he will not be beholden to any of his creatures. gave up Samuel to the Lord, and she had many more children in return. 1 Samuel 2 verses 20 and 21. How great then is the folly of those who withhold from God anything which he asks of them! How they forsake their own mercies, stand in their own light, and hinder their own good! From whence also he received him in a figure Here is the grand outcome of the patriarch's faith. First, the trial was withdrawn. Isaac was spared. The speediest way to end a trial is to be completely resigned to it. If we would save our life, we must lose it. Second, he had the express approval of the Lord. Now I know that thou fearest God, Genesis 22, 12. He, whose conscience is clear before God, enjoys great peace. Third, he had a clearer view of Christ than he had before. Abraham saw my day, said the Savior. The closer we keep to the path of obedience, the more real and precious will Christ be unto us. Fourth, he obtained a full revelation of God's He called him Jehovah-Jireh. Genesis 22 14 The more we stand the test of trial, the better instructed shall we be in the things of God. 5 The covenant was confirmed to him. Genesis 22 16 17 The quickest road to full assurance is full obedience. Chapter 12 THE FAITH OF ISAAC HEBREWS 11 VERSE 20 Though Isaac lived the longest of the four great patriarchs, yet less is recorded about him than any of the others. Some twelve chapters are devoted to the biography of Abraham, and a similar number each to Jacob and Joseph. but excepting for one or two brief mentionings before and after, the history of Isaac is condensed into two chapters, Genesis 26 and 27. Contrasting his character with those of his father and of his son, we may assume that there is noted less of Abraham's triumph of faith and less of Jacob's failures, taking it, on the whole, The life of Isaac is a disappointing one. It begins brightly, but ends amid the shadows, like that of so many, it failed to fulfill its early promise. The one act in Isaac's life which the Holy Spirit selected for mention in the scroll of faith takes us back to Genesis 27 where, as the Puritan Owen Well said, there is none of a story in the filled with more intricacies and difficulties as unto a right judgment of the things related, though the matter of fact be clearly and distinctly set down. The whole represents unto us divine sovereignty, wisdom, and faithfulness, working effectually through the frailties, infirmities, and sins of all the persons concerned in the matter. Genesis 27 opens by presenting unto us Isaac in his old age, and declares that his eyes were dim so that he could not see. Verse 1. It ought not to need saying that we have there something more than a mere reference to the state of his physical eyes. Yet in these days, when so many glory in their understanding the word literally God's servants need to dwell upon the most elementary spiritual truths. Everything in Holy Writ has a deeper significance than the literal, and we are greatly the losers when we limit ourselves to the letter of any verse. Let us contrast this statement concerning Isaac's defective vision with what is recorded of another servant of God at this same advanced age. And Moses was 120 years old when he died? His eye was not dim. Deuteronomy 34 verse 7 Genesis 27 shows us the low state into which a child of God may get. Isaac presents unto us a solemn warning of the evil consequences which follow failure to judge and refuse our natural appetites. If we do not mortify our memories which are upon the earth, if we do not abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul, then the fine edge of our spiritual life will be blunted, and the fine gold will become dim. If we live to eat instead of eating to live, our spiritual vision is bound to be defective. Discernment is a by-product the fruit and result of the denying of self and following of Christ. It was this self-abnegation which was so conspicuous in Moses. He learned to refuse that which appealed to the flesh, a position of honor as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. That is why his eye was not dim. He saw that the brick-making Hebrews were the people of the objects of his sovereign favor, and following his spiritual promptings, threw in his lot with them. How different was the case with poor Isaac! Instead of keeping his body in subjection, he indulged it. More than a hint of this is given in Genesis 25 verse 28. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison. This brought him under the influence of one who could be of no help to him spiritually. And he loved him because he ministered unto his fleshly appetites. And now in Genesis 27, when he thought that the end of his days was near, he desired to bestow the patriarchal blessing upon his son instead of giving himself to fasting and prayer. and then acting in accord with the revealed will of God. We are told that he called for Esau and said, Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field and take me some venison, and make me a savoury meat such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless thee before I die. Genesis 27 verses 3 and 4. This is what furnishes the key to the immediate sequel. And the Lord said unto her, namely, Rebekah, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels. And the one people shall be stronger than the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger. Genesis 25, 23 This is the scripture which supplies the second key to the whole incident recorded in Genesis 27 and opens for us Hebrews 11 20. Here we find God making known the destiny of Jacob and Esau. Observe that this revelation was made unto the mother who had inquired of the Lord, Genesis 25 22, and not to their father. That later on Isaac himself became acquainted with its terms is clear, but as to how far he really apprehended their meaning is not easy to say. The word that the Lord had spoken unto her, Rebekah believed, yet she failed to exercise full confidence in him. When she saw Isaac's smart partiality for Esau, and learned that her husband was about to perform the last religious act of a patriarchal priest and pronounce blessing on his sons, she became fearful. When she heard Isaac bid Esau make him some savory meat, evidently desired to enkindle or intensify his affections for Esau so that he might bless him with all his heart. She imagined that the purpose of God was about to be thwarted, and resorted unto measures which ill become a daughter of Jehovah, and which can by no means be justified. We will not dwell upon the deception which she prompted Jacob to adopt, but would point out that it supplies a solemn example of real faith being resolutely fixed on the divine promises but employing irregular ways and wrong means for the obtaining of them. In what follows, we see how Isaac was deceived by Jacob posing as Esau. Though uneasy and suspicious at first, his fears were largely allayed by Jacob's lies. Though perceiving the voice was that of the younger son, yet his hands appeared to be those of the elder. Pathetic indeed is it to see the aged patriarch reduced unto the sense of touch in his efforts to identify the one who had now brought him the longed-for venison. It is this which should speak loudly to our hearts. He who yields to the lust of the flesh injures his spiritual instincts and opens wide the door for the devil to impose upon him and deceive him with his lies. He who allows natural sentiments and affections to override the requirements of God's revealed will is reduced to a humiliated state in the end. How often it proves that a man's spiritual furs are they of his own household. Isaac loved Esau unwisely. But now we must face a difficult question. Did Isaac deliberately pit himself against the known counsel of God? Did he defiantly purpose to bestow upon Esau what he was assured the Lord had appointed for Jacob? John Owen declared, Whatever may be spoken in excuse of Isaac, it is certain he failed greatly in two things. First, in his inordinate love to Esau, whom he could not but know to be a profane person, and that so slight an account as eating of his venison. Genesis 25, 28. Second, in that he had not sufficiently inquired into the mind of God in the oracle that his wife received concerning their sons. There is no question, on the one hand, but that he knew of it, nor, on the other, that he did not understand it. For if the holy man had known that it was the determinate will of God, he would not have contradicted it. But this arose from wanton diligent inquiry by prayer into the mind of God." We heartily agree with these remarks of the eminent Puritan. While the conduct of Isaac on this occasion was far from becoming a child of God, who concluded his earthly pilgrimage was now nearly complete, yet charity forbids us to put the worst possible construction upon his action. While his affection for Esau was misplaced, yet, in the absence of any clear scriptural proof, We are not warranted in thinking that he sinned presumptuously by deliberately resisting the revealed will of God. Rather, we must conclude that he had no clear understanding of the divine oracle given to Rebecca. His spiritual discernment was dim as well as his physical vision. As to the unworthy part played by Rebecca and Jacob, Their efforts are to be regarded not so much as the feverish energies of the flesh seeking to force the fulfillment of God's promise, but as well-meant but misguided intentions to prevent the thwarting of God's purpose. Their fears remind us of others in 2 Samuel 6 verse 6. The one bright spot in the somber picture which the Holy Spirit has so faithfully painted for us in Genesis 27 is found in verse 33. Right after Isaac had pronounced the major blessing on Jacob, Esau entered the tent, bringing with him the savory meat which he had prepared for his father. Isaac now realized the deception which had been played upon him, and we are told that he trembled very exceedingly. Was he shaking with rage at Jacob's treachery? No indeed. Was he, as one commentator has suggested, fearful that he might suffer injury at the hands of the hot-headed Esau? No, his next words explode such a theory. Rather was it he now realized that he had been out of harmony with the divine will, and that God had providentially intervened to effect his own counsels. He was awed to the very depths of his soul. Blessed indeed is it to behold how the Spirit triumphed over the flesh. Instead of bursting out with an angry curse upon the head of Jacob, Isaac said, I have blessed him, yea, and he shall be blessed. That was the language of faith overcoming his natural partiality for Esau. It was the recognizing and acknowledging of the immutability and invincibility of the divine decrees. He realized that God is in one mind and none can turn Him. That though there are many devices in a man's heart, nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. Proverbs 19.21 Nor could the tears of Esau move the patriarch, Now that the entrance of God's words had given him light, now that the overruling hand of God had secured his own appointment, Isaac was firm as a rock. The righteous may fall, but they cannot be utterly cast down. By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. Hebrews 11 Jacob the younger had the precedence and principal blessing. Strikingly did this exemplify the high sovereignty of God. To take the younger and leave the elder to perish in their ways is a course the Lord has often followed from the beginning of the world. Abel the junior was preferred before Cain. Shem was given the precedence over Japheth the elder. Genesis 10, 21. Afterwards, Abraham the younger was taken to be God's favorite. Of Abraham's two sons, the older one, Ishmael, was passed by, and in Isaac was the seed called. Later, David, who was the youngest of just his eight sons, was selected to be the man after God's own heart. And God still writes, as with a sunbeam in the course of his providence, that he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy. The blessing which Isaac pronounced upon Jacob was vastly superior to the portion allotted Esau. Though if we look no deeper than the letter of the words which their father used, there appears to be very little difference between them. Unto Jacob Isaac said, God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine. Genesis 27, 28 What follows in verse 29 chiefly concerned his posterity. Unto Esau Isaac said, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. and by thy sword shalt thy live, and shalt serve thy brothers. Genesis 27 39 40 Apart from the younger son having the preeminence over the elder, wherein lay the peculiar excellence of his portion. If there had been nothing spiritual in the promise, it would have been no comfort to Jacob at all, for the temporal things mentioned were not his portion. as he acknowledged to Pharaoh, few and evil have the days and the years of my life been. What has just been before us supplies a notable example of how the Old Testament promises and prophecies are to be interpreted, not carnally, but mystically. that Jacob's portion far excelled Esau's is clear from Hebrews 12.17 where it is denominated the blessing. What that is was made clearer when Isaac repeated his benediction upon Jacob saying, And give thee the blessing of Abraham to thee and to thy seed. Genesis 28.4 Here is the key which we need to unlock its meaning. As Galatians 3, 9, 14 and 29 clearly enough show, the blessing of Abraham, into which elect Gentiles entered through Christ, is purely a spiritual thing. Further proof that the same spiritual blessing which God promised to Abraham was also made over by Isaac to Jacob is found in his words, I have blessed him Yea, and he shall be blessed. Genesis 27 33 For Jehovah had employed the same language when blessing the Father of all believers. In blessing I will bless thee. Genesis 22 17 Till this may be added, Isaac's cursed be every one that curseth thee. And blessed be he that blessed thee. Genesis 27, 29. Being part of the very words God used to Abraham. See Genesis 12, verses 2 and 3. Now, in seeking to rightly understand the language of Isaac's prophecy, it must be recognized that oftentimes in the Old Testament, heavenly things were referred to in earthly terms. that spiritual blessings were set forth under the figure of material things. Due attention to this fact will render luminous many a passage, such is the case here. Under the emblems of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, three great spiritual blessings were intended. First, that he was to have a real relation to Christ that he should be one of the progenitors of the Messiah. This was the chief favor and dignity bestowed upon Abraham. It is in the light of this that we are to understand Genesis 27, 29 as ultimately referring, Let the people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee, that is, to the top branch which should proceed from him unto Christ. unto whom all men are commanded to render allegiance. 2 The next great blessing of Abraham was that he should be the priest that should continue the worship of God and teach the laws of God. Genesis 26 5 The bowing down of his brethren to Jacob. Genesis 27 29 was the owning of his priestly dignity. Herein also lay Jacob's blessing, to be in the church and to have the church continued in his line. This was symbolically pointed to in That Thou Mayest Inherit the Land, Genesis 28, 4. Thomas Manton declared The church is the ark of Noah, which is only preserved in the midst of floods and deep waters. The church is the land of Gershon, which only enjoys the benefits of light when there is nothing but darkness round about elsewhere. It is the fleece of Gideon, being wet with the dews of heaven, moistened with the influences of grace, when all the ground round about is dry. As to how high is the honor of having the church continued in our line, the Spirit intimates in Genesis 10, 21, Heber being the father of the Hebrews who worshiped God. Third, another privilege of Jacob above Esau was this, that he was taken into covenant with God. The blessing of Abraham shall come upon thee. And what was that? This, and I will be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. Genesis 17, 7. This is the greatest happiness of any people, to have God for their God, to be in covenant with Him. Thus when Noah came to pronounce blessings and curses on his children by the spirit of prophecy, he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem. Genesis 9 26 Afterwards, the same promise was made unto all Israel, I am the Lord thy God, which hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Exodus 20 verse 2 So, under the new covenant, the present administration of the everlasting covenant, he says, I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Hebrews 8.10 To be a God to any is to supply them with all good things necessary for temporal or spiritual life. The fulfillment of Isaac's prophetic blessing upon his sons was mainly in their descendants rather than in their own persons. Jacob's spiritual children he saw as natural. Concerning the latter, we would note two details. Isaac said to him, Thou shalt serve thy brother. 2 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. Genesis 27 For long centuries there seemed no likelihood of the first part of this prediction being fulfilled. But eight hundred years later, David said, Over Eden will I cast out my shoe. Psalm 60 verse 8, which meant he would bring the haughty descendants of Esau into a low and base state of subjection to him, which was duly accomplished. All they of Edom became David's servants. 2 Samuel 8 verse 14. Though their subjugation continued for a lengthy period of time, yet in the days of Jehoshaphat, we read, In his days, Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah and made a king over themselves. 2 Kings 8 verse 20. By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. Hebrews 11 verse 20. This blessing was more than a dying father expressing goodwill unto his sons. It was extraordinary Isaac spoke as a prophet of God, announcing the future of his posterity and the varied portions each should receive. As the mouthpiece of Jehovah, he did, by the spirit of prophecy, announce beforehand what should be the particular estate of each of his two sons, and so his words have been fulfilled. Though parents today are not thus supernaturally endowed to foretell the future of their children, nevertheless, it is their duty and privilege to search the Scriptures and ascertain what promises God has left to the righteous and to their seed, and plead them before Him. But seeing Isaac thus spake by the immediate impulse of the Spirit, how can it be said that by faith he blessed his sons? This brings in the human side and shows how he discharged his responsibility. He gathered together and rested upon the promises which God had made to him, both directly and through Abraham and Rebekah, the principal ones we have already considered. He had been present when the Lord said unto his father of what is found in Genesis 22, 16-18, and he had himself been made the recipient of the divine promises recorded in Genesis 26 2-4. And now, many years later, we find his heart resting upon what he had heard from God, firmly embracing his promises and with unshaken confidence announcing the future estates of his distant posterity. that Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come gives us a striking example of what is said in the opening verse of Hebrews 11. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. E. W. Bollinger wrote Abraham was now dead, and Isaac was expecting soon to be buried in the grave he had purchased in the land given to him and his seed. There was nothing to be seen for faith to rest on, nothing that gave the smallest ground for hope, nothing to make it even probable, apart from what he had heard and believed, that his descendants, either Jacob or Esau, would ever possess the land which had been promised to them." There was no human probability at the time Isaac's fate, which could have been the basis of his calculations, all that he said issued from implicit faith in the bare Word of God. This is the great practical lesson for us to learn here, the strength of Isaac's faith should stir us up to cry unto God for an increased measure thereof. With most precious confidence Isaac disposed of Canaan as if he already had the peaceable possession of it. Yet, in fact, he owned not an acre of that land and had no human right to anything there save a burying place. Moreover, at the time he prophesied there was a famine in Canaan and he was in exile in Gera, that people served thee, and nations bowed down to thee. Genesis 27, 29 would, to one that viewed only the outward case of Isaac, seem like empty words. Ah, my brethren, we too ought to be as certain of the blessings to come which God has promised, as if they were present, even though we see no apparent likelihood of them. It may be objected against what has been said here that from the account which is supplied in Genesis 27, Isaac blessed Jacob in ignorance rather than by faith. To this it may be replied, first, the object of faith is always God himself, and the ground on which it rests is his revealed will. So, in Isaac's case, His faith was fixed upon the covenant God and was exercised upon his true word, and this was by no means negated by his mistaking Jacob for Esau. Second, it illustrates the fact that the faith of God's people is usually accompanied by some infirmity, in Isaac's case his partiality for Esau. Third, After he discovered the deception which had been played upon him, he made no effort to recall the blessing pronounced upon the disguised Jacob, sweetly acquiescing unto the divine sovereignty, but confirming it, and though with tears Esau sought to change his mind, he could not. Here, too, we behold the strength of Isaac's faith, As soon as he perceived the providential hand of God crossing his natural affection, instead of murmuring and rebelling, he yielded and submitted to the Lord. This is ever the work of true faith. It makes the soul yield to God's will against our fleshly inclinations, as also against the bent of our own reason. Faith knows that God is so great, so powerful, so glorious, that his commands must be obeyed. As it was with Abraham, so in the case of Isaac, faith viewed the precepts as well as the promise. It moves us to tread the path of obedience. May our faith be more and more evidenced by walking in those good works which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2 verse 10 Chapter 13 The Faith of Jacob Hebrews 11 verse 21 It has been well said that though the grace of faith is of universal use throughout our whole lives, yet it is especially so when we come to die. Faith has its great work to do, at the last, to help believers to finish well, to die to the Lord. as to honor Him by patience, hope, and joy, so as to leave a witness behind them of the truth of God's word and the excellency of His ways, for the conviction and establishment of all that attend Him in their dying moments. Matthew Henry God is greatly glorified when His people leave this world with their flag flying at full mass. when the Spirit triumphs over the flesh, when the world is consciously and gladly left behind for heaven. For this, faith must be an exercise. It is not without good reason, we may be sure, that in the description which the Holy Spirit has given us of the life of faith in Hebrews 11, He has furnished us with no less than three and these in successive verses of the actings of faith in the final crisis and conflict. We believe that, among other reasons, God would hereby assure His trembling and doubting children that He who has begun a good work in them will most certainly sustain and complete the same, that He who has in His sovereignty committed this precious grace to their hearts will not suffer it to languish when its support is most sorely needed, for he who has enabled his people to exercise faith during the vigor of life will not withdraw his quickening power during the weakness of death. As the writer grows older, he is saddened by discovering how very little is now being given out, either orally or in written ministry, for the instruction and comfort of God's people concerning the dying of Christians. The devil is not inactive in seeking to strike terror into the hearts of God's people, and knowing this, it is the bond of duty of Christ's servants to expose the groundlessness and howleness of Satan's lies. Not a few have been deterred from so doing by heeding the mistaken notion that for a Christian to think of and prepare for death is dishonoring to Christ and inconsistent with the imminence of His coming. But such a notion is refuted in our present passage. Let it be carefully considered that when, in Hebrews 12, 1, the Holy Spirit bids us run with patience the race that is set before us, He bases that exhortation on the fact that we are compassed about with so great a crowd of witnesses, the reference being unto the men of God who are before in Hebrews 11, who all died in faith. Verse 13. A God-given and God-sustained faith is not only sufficient to enable the feebly saint to overcome the solicitations of the flesh, the attractions of the world, and the temptations of Satan, but it is also able to give him a triumphant passage through death. This is one of the prominent themes set forth in this wondrous and blessed chapter. In Hebrews 11, the Holy Spirit has set out at length the works, the achievements, the the glories of faith, and not the least of them is its power to support the soul, comfort the heart, illuminate the understanding, and direct the will in the last earthly struggle. While Hebrews 11, 20 and 21 and 22 have this in common, yet each contributes its own distinctive feature. In the case of Isaac, We see a dying faith triumphing over the affections of the flesh. In the case of Jacob, dying faith overcoming the interference of man. And in Joseph, scorning the worthless pageantry of the world. Of old, Balaam said, Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last inn be like his. Numbers 23.10 Well might he wish to do so. This Reformation audio track is a production of Stillwater's Revival Books. SWRB makes thousands of classic Reformation resources available, free and for sale, in audio, video, and printed formats. Our many free resources, as well as our complete mail-order catalog, Thank you. at SWRB at SWRB.com by phone at 780-450-3730 by fax at 780-468-1096 or by mail at 4710-37A Avenue Edmonton that's E-D-M-O-N-T-O-N Alberta abbreviated capital A capital B Canada T6L3T5. You may also request a free printed catalog. And remember that John Calvin, in defending the Reformation's regulative principle of worship, or what is sometimes called the scriptural law of worship, commenting on the words of God, which I commanded them not, neither came into my heart, from his commentary on Jeremiah 731, writes, God here cuts off from men every occasion for making evasions. since he condemns by this one phrase, I have not commanded them, whatever the Jews devised. There is then no other argument needed to condemn superstitions than that they are not commanded by God. For when men allow themselves to worship God according to their own fancies, and attend not to His commands, they pervert true religion. And if this principle was adopted by the Papists, all those fictitious modes of worship in which they absurdly exercise themselves would fall to the ground. It is indeed a horrible thing for the Papists to seek to discharge their duties towards God by performing their own superstitions. There is an immense number of them, as it is well known, and as it manifestly appears. Were they to admit this principle, that we cannot rightly worship God except by obeying His word, they would be delivered from their deep abyss of error. The Prophet's words, then, are very important. When he says that God had commanded no such thing, and that it never came to his mind, as though he had said that men assume too much wisdom when they devise what he never required, nay, what he never knew.