be given; and he who has followed the unseen Guide through dimly
discerned paths to an invisible goal, will be gladdened when he
reaches the true Canaan, by the sight of Him whom, having not seen,
he loved. Even here on earth obedience is the path to fuller
knowledge; and when the pilgrims who have left all and followed the
Captain of salvation through a deeper, darker stream than Abram
crossed, have touched the other side, God will appear to them, and
say, as the enraptured eye gazes amazed on the goodly land, 'Arise,
walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it;
for I will give it unto thee.'




ABRAM AND THE LIFE OF FAITH


II


A great act of renunciation at the divine call lies at the
foundation of Israel's history, as it does at the foundation of
every life that blesses the world or is worth living. The divine
Word to Abram first gives the command in all its authoritativeness
and plain setting forth of how much had to be surrendered, and then
in its exuberant setting forth of how much was to be won by
obedience. God does not hide the sacrifices that have to be made if
we will be true to His command. He will enlist no recruits on false
pretences. All ties of country, kindred, and father's house have to
be loosened, and, if need be, to be cut, for His command is to be