The Children For Christ by Andrew Murray

We have here the first full revelation of the terms of God’s covenant, of
God’s dealing in grace, with Abraham, the father of all who believe; the
great foundation promise of what God calls an ‘everlasting covenant.’
God had already revealed Himself to Abraham as his God, and the God
who would give him a child. The thing that is new and remarkable here
is the assurance that the covenant now to be established was to be with
his seed as much as with himself: `a God unto thee, and thy seed after
thee.’ It is this promise that has invested these words, through all the
generations of God’s Church, with an imperishable interest. Let us see
how entirely the same the promise is for the child as for the parent.
The matter of the promise is the same in each case: `I will establish My
covenant;’ `I will be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee.’ It is
God’s purpose to stand in the same relation to the child as the father;
the believing parent and the unconscious child are to have the same
place before Him. God longs to take possession of the children ere sin
gets its mastery; from the birth, yea, from before the birth, He would
secure them as His own, and have the parent’s heart and the parent’s
love sanctified and guided and strengthened by the thought that the
child is His. `A God unto thee, and to thy seed.’
The certainty of the promise is the same. It rests on God’s free mercy,
on His almighty power, His covenant faithfulness. The election of the
seed is as free as of the parent himself, or rather, is even more
manifestly of free grace alone, for here at all events there is no
possibility of either merit or worthiness. God’s faithfulness to His
purpose is in either case the ground on which the promise rests, and its
fulfillment may be expected.
The condition of the promise is in each case the same. In its twofold
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