courteous; as when he bids Lot go whither he will with his flocks
and herds. 'Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between thee and
me. If thou wilt take the left hand, I will go to the right.' He
is then, as again with the king of Sodom, and with the three
strangers at the tent door, and with the children of Heth, when he
is buying the cave of Machpelah for a burying-place for Sarah--
always and everywhere the same courteous, self-restrained, high-
bred, high-minded man.

It has been said that true religion will make a man a more thorough
gentleman than all the courts in Europe. And it is true: you may
see simple labouring men as thorough gentlemen as any duke, simply
because they have learned to fear God; and fearing him, to restrain
themselves, and to think of other people more than of themselves,
which is the very root and essence of all good breeding. And such a
man was Abraham of old--a plain man, dwelling in tents, helping to
tend his own cattle, fetching in the calf from the field himself,
and dressing it for his guests with his own hand; but still, as the
children of Heth said of him, a mighty prince--not merely in wealth
of flocks and herds, but a prince in manners and a prince in heart.

But faith in God did more for Abraham than this: it made him a
truly pious man--it made him the friend of God.

There were others in Abraham's days who had some knowledge of the
one true God. Lot his nephew, Abimelech, Aner, Eshcol, Mamre, and
others, seem to have known whom Abraham meant when he spoke of the
Almighty God. But of Abraham alone it is said that he believed God;
that he trusted in God, and rested on him; was built up on God;
rested on God as a child in the mother's arms--for this we are told,
is the full meaning of the word in the Bible--and looked to God as
his shield and his exceeding great reward. He trusted in God
utterly, and it was counted to him for righteousness.

And of Abraham alone it is said that he was the friend of God; that
God spoke with him, and he with God. He first of all men of whom we
read, at least since the time of Adam, knew what communion with God
meant; knew that God spoke to him as a friend, a benefactor, a
preserver, who was teaching and training him with a father's love
and care; and felt that he in return could answer God, could open
his heart to him, tell him not only of his wants, but of his doubts
and fears.

Yes, we may almost say, on the strength of the Bible