He was a man with a far sight. He saw
what no other man then living saw. He saw that the day was coming when God
would send His Son to be the Saviour of the world. How do we know this?
Because Christ said, "Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and
was glad." [Footnote: St. John viii. 56.] He saw far on into the future,
farther than any other man then living. He saw the golden City, the holy
City, "whose builder and maker is God." [Footnote: Heb, xi. 10.] Yes, the
eye of faith not only sees God, it sees also what "God has prepared for
those who love Him."
God was very real to that man. Abraham trusted God because he knew Him
personally. Faith is the act of the soul which looks wholly away from
_self_, whether it be righteous self or sinful self, and looks to God
only, in complete submission and confidence.
It was because Abraham trusted Him that God stamped the man as His
friend--Abraham My friend. On and on through all these hundreds of years
he has been called "the Friend of God." In the book of Chronicles, in
Isaiah and in the Epistle of James it is mentioned again, "He was called
the Friend of God."
What is friendship? It is two hearts trusting in each other. Abraham
trusted God, and God trusted Abraham. God put such confidence in him that
He let him know that He was going to destroy the cities of the plain.
The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?"
[Footnote: Gen.
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