The Children For Christ by Andrew Murray

lessing it is offered to the faith of the parent, and has to he accepted by
faith alone. If the promise that comes to a sinner in the gospel, `I will be
thy God,’ be not believed, that unbelief makes the promise of none
effect. God is true, His promise faithful, His offer of mercy real, but it
finds no entrance through unbelief, and the blessing is lost. Not
otherwise with the other half, `a God to thy seed; if the parent’s faith
accept this for his child, God will see to it that his faith is not
disappointed.
The recipient of the promise is the same. It is not as if the first half of
the promise is given to the father, the second half to the child. No, but it
is the same person to whom the two parts of the promise come. In the
one half the individual accepts it for himself, in the other half as a
father for his child, but it is one act. The promise is not held in abeyance
to wait for the child’s faith; but is given to the father’s faith in the
assurance that the child’s faith will follow. With Abraham, as with each
believing parent, the same faith accepts the personal and the parental
blessing. The blessing is in either case equally sure, if faith equally
holds it fast.
But here a difficulty arises with many persons. They see that God’s
promises of mercy to sinners are free and sure, and have found, in
believing them, that they have come true; they know that they have
been accepted. But it is as if the promise with regard to the children is
not equally simple and certain. They cannot well understand how one
can so confidently believe for another. They know that the only sure
ground for faith is God’s word; but they have not yet been able to realize
that the word of God really means this, that they are definitely to
believe that He is the God of their seed. Their impressions are in
accordance with views that are ordinarily held, and that may be
30