Holly Bible - KJV with Concise Commentaries by Z Selam - HTML preview
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[1.] The rewards of believing obedience and self-denial are exceedingly great, 1Co 2:9.
[2.] God himself is the chosen and promised felicity of holy souls--chosen in this world, promised in a better. He is the portion of their inheritance and their cup.
2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go
childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus ? His fear was not only lest he should not have children, but lest the promise of the blessed seed should not be accomplished in him.
Abram's repeated complaint, Ge 15:2, 3. This was that which gave occasion to this promise. The great affliction that sat heavy upon Abram was the want of a child; and the complaint of this he here pours out before the Lord, and shows before him his trouble, Ps 142:2. Note, Though we must never complain of God, yet we have leave to complain to him, and to be large and particular in the statement of our grievances; and it is some ease to a burdened spirit to open its case to a faithful and compassionate friend: such a friend God is, whose ear is always open. Now his complaint is four-fold:--
1. That he had no child (Ge 15:3): Behold, to me thou hast given no seed; not only no son, but no seed; if he had had a daughter, from her the promised Messiah might have come, who was to be the seed of the woman; but he had neither son nor daughter. He seems to lay an emphasis on that, to me. His neighbours were full of children, his servants had children born in his house. "But to me," he complains, "thou hast given none;" and yet God had told him he should be a favourite above all. Note, Those that are written childless must see God writing them so. Again, God often withholds those temporal comforts from his own children which he gives plentifully to others that are strangers to him.
2. That he was never likely to have any, intimated in that I go, or "I am going, childless, going into years, going down the hill apace; nay, I am going out of the world, going the way of all the