down likewise. Then said Abraham, 'O my people, I am clear of
these things. I turn my face to him who hath made the heaven and
the earth.'

And was this all that Abraham believed--that the sun and moon and
stars were not gods, but that there was a God besides, who had made
them all? My friends, there have been thousands and tens of
thousands since, I fear, who have believed as much as that, and yet
who cannot call Abraham their spiritual father, who are not
justified by faith with faithful Abraham.

For merely to believe that, is a dead faith, which will never be
counted for righteousness, because it will never make man a
righteous man doing righteous and good deeds as Abraham did.

Of Abraham it is written, that what he knew, he did. That his faith
wrought with his works. And by his works his faith was made
perfect. That when he gained faith in God, he went and acted on his
faith. When God called him he went out, not knowing whither he
went.

His faith is only shown by his works. Because he believed in God he
went and did things which he would not have done if he had not
believed in God. Of him it is written, that he obeyed the voice of
the Lord, and kept his charge, his commandments, his statutes, and
his laws.

In a word, he had not merely found out that there was one God, but
that that one God was a good God, a God whom he must obey, and obey
by being a good man. Therefore his faith was counted to him for
righteousness, because it was righteousness, and made him do
righteous deeds.

He believed that God was helping him; therefore he had no need to
oppress or overreach any man. He believed that God's eye was on
him; therefore he dared not oppress or overreach any man.

His faith in God made him brave. He went forth he knew not whither;
but he had put his trust in God, and he did not fear. He and his
three hundred slaves, born in his house, were not afraid to set out
against the four Arab kings who had just conquered the five kings of
the vale of Jordan, and plundered the whole land. Abraham and his
little party of faithful slaves follow them for miles, and fall on
them and defeat them utterly, setting the captives free, and
bringing back all the plunder; and then, in return for all that he
has done, Abraham will take nothing--not even, he says, 'a thread or
a shoe-latchet--lest men should say, We have made Abraham rich.'
And why?

Because his faith in God made him high-minded, generous, and