the carcases to prey upon them, as common and neglected things, Abram drove them away, (v. 11.) believing that the vision would, at the end, speak, and not lie. Note, A very watchful eye must be kept upon our spiritual sacrifices, that nothing be suffered to prey upon them, and render them unfit for God's acceptance. When vain thoughts, like these fowls, come down upon our sacrifices, we must drive them away, and not suffer them to lodge within us, but attend on God without distraction.
12. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not their's, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14. And also that nation whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
We have here a full and particular discovery made to Abram of God's purposes concerning his seed. Observe,
I. The time when God came to him with this discovery; when the sun was going down, or declining, about the time of the evening oblation, 1 Kings 18. 36. Dan. 9. 21. Early in the morning, before day, while the stars were yet to be seen, God had given him orders concerning the sacrifices, (v. 5.) and we may suppose it was, at least his morning's work to prepare them and set them in order; when he had done this, he abode by them, praying and waiting till towards evening. Note, God often keeps his people long in expectation of the comforts he designs them, for the confirmation of their faith: but though the answers of prayer, and the performance of promises, come slowly, yet they come surely; at evening time it shall be light.
II. The preparatives for this discovery; 1. A deep sleep fell upon Abram, not a common sleep through weariness or carelessness, but a divine ecstasy, like that which the Lord God caused to fall upon Adam, (ch. 2. 21.) that being hereby wholly taken off from the view of things sensible, he might be wholly taken up with the contemplation of things spiritual. The doors of the body were locked up, that the soul might be private and retired, and might act the more freely, and like itself. 2. With this sleep, a horror of great darkness fell upon him; a sudden change! But just before, we had him solacing himself in the comforts of God's covenant, and in communion with him: and here a horror of great darkness falls upon him. Note, The children of light do not always walk in the light, but sometimes clouds and darkness are round about them. This great darkness, which brought horror with it, was designed, (1.) To strike an awe upon the spirit of Abram, and to possess him with a holy reverence, that the familiarity which God was pleased to admit him to, might not breed contempt. Note, Holy fear prepares the soul for holy joy; the spirit of bondage makes way for the spirit of adoption. God wounds first, and then heals; humbles first, and then lifts up, Isa. 6. 5, 6. (2.) To be a specimen of the methods of God's dealings with his seed; they must first be in the horror and darkness of Egyptian slavery, and then enter with joy into the good land; and therefore he must have the foretaste of their sufferings, before he had the foresight of their happiness. (3.) To be an indication of the nature of that covenant of peculiarity which God was now about to make with Abram. The Old Testament dispensation, which was founded on that covenant, was a dispensation, [1.] Of darkness and obscurity, 2 Cor. 3. 13. [2.] Of dread and horror, Heb. 12. 18, &c.
III. The prediction itself; several things are here foretold.
1. The suffering state of Abram's seed for a long time, v. 13. Let not Abram flatter himself with the hopes of nothing but honour and prosperity in his family: no, he must knew of a surety, that which he was loath to believe, that the promised seed should be a persecuted seed. Note, (1.) God sends the worst first; we must first suffer and then reign. (2.) He lets us know the worst before it comes, that when it comes, it may not be a surprise to us, John 16. 4. Now we have here, [1.] The particulars of their sufferings. First, They shall be strangers; so they were, first in Canaan, Ps. 105. 12, and afterward in Egypt: before they were lords of their own land, they were strangers in a strange land. The inconveniencies of an unsettled state, make a happy settlement the more welcome. Thus the heirs of heaven are, first, strangers on earth, a land that is not their's. Secondly, They shall be servants; so they were to the Egyptians, Exod. 1. 13. See how that which was the doom of the Canaanites, ch. 9. 25, proves the distress of Abram's seed; they are made to serve, but with this difference, the Canaanites serve under a curse, the Hebrews under a blessing, and the upright shall have dominion in the morning, Ps. 49. 14. Thirdly, They shall be sufferers. Those whom they serve, shall afflict them; see Exod. 1. 11. Note, Those that are blessed and beloved of God, are often sorely afflicted by wicked men; and God foresees it, and takes cognizance of it. [2.] The continuance of their sufferings; four hundred years. This persecution began with mocking, when Ishmael, the son of an Egyptian, persecuted Isaac, who was born after the spirit, ch. 21. 9. Gal. 4. 29. It continued in loathing; for it was an abomination to the Egyptians to eat bread with the Hebrews, ch. 43. 32, and it came, at last, to murder, the basest of murders, that of their new-born children; so that more or less, it continued 400 years, though in extremity, not so many. This was a long time, but a limited time.
2. The judgment of the enemies of Abram's seed, v. 14, That nation whom they shall serve, even the Egyptians, will I judge. This points at the plagues of Egypt, by which God not only constrained the Egyptians to release Israel, but punished them for all the hardships they had put upon them. Note, (1.) Though God may suffer persecutors and oppressors to trample upon his people a great while, yet he will certainly reckon with them at last; for his day is coming, Ps. 37. 12, 13. (2.) The punishment of persecutors is the judgment of them; it is a righteous thing with God, and a particular act of justice, to recompense tribulations to those that trouble his people. The judging of the church's enemies, is God's work. I will judge: God can do it, for he is the Lord; he will do it, for he is his people's God, and he has said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay. To him therefore we must leave it, to be done in his way and time.
3. The deliverance of Abram's seed out of Egypt; that great event is here foretold. Afterward, shall they come out with great substance. It is here promised, (1.) That they shall be enlarged; afterward, they shall come out, that is, either, after they have been afflicted 400 years, when the days of their servitude are fulfilled, then they may expect deliver-
