Romans 4:19

He said indeed, Shall a child be born to him that is a hundred years old? But that was the language of his admiration and his desire to be further satisfied, not of his doubting and distrust; his faith passed by that consideration, and thought of nothing but the faithfulness of the promise, with the contemplation whereof he was swallowed up, and this kept up his faith.

And being not weak in faith,.... Abraham was not weak in the exercise of his faith, on the promise of God; nor was his faith weakened about the accomplishment of it, neither by the length of time after the promise was made, nor by the seeming insuperable difficulties of nature which attended it; for he considered not his own body now dead.

And being not weak in faith - That is, having strong faith. He considered not - He did not regard the fact that his body was now dead, as any obstacle to the fulfillment of the promise. He did not suffer that fact to influence him, or to produce any doubt about the fulfillment. Faith looks to the strength of God, not to second causes, or to difficulties that may appear formidable to man.

Who against hope--when no ground for hope appeared. believed in hope--that is, cherished the believing expectation. that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be--that is, Such "as the stars of heaven," Ge 15:5.

he considered not, &c.--paid no attention to those physical obstacles, both in himself and in Sarah, which might seem to render the fulfilment hopeless.

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IT was God's purpose that Abraham should be a surpassingly excellent example of the power of faith. He was to be "the father of the faithful," the mirror, pattern and paragon of faith. He was ordained to be the supreme Believer of the patriarchal age, the serene and venerable leader of the noble army of Believers in Jehovah, the faithful and true God. In order to produce so eminent a character it was necessary that Abraham's faith should be exercised in a special and unequalled manner.

IT was God's purpose that Abraham should be a surpassingly excellent example of the power of faith. He was to be "the father of the faithful," the mirror, pattern and paragon of faith. He was ordained to be the supreme Believer of the patriarchal age, the serene and venerable leader of the noble army of Believers in Jehovah, the faithful and true God. In order to produce so eminent a character it was necessary that Abraham's faith should be exercised in a special and unequalled manner. The power of his faith could not be known except by putting it to the severest tests. To this end, among other trials of his faith, God gave him a promise that in his seed should all the nations of the earth be blessed, and yet for many a year he remained without an heir. The promise, when originally given, startled Abraham, but he did not doubt it. We read that he laughed—laughed with holy joy at the thought of so great and unexpected a blessing! It startled also his wife Sarah. She did, however, doubt it—when she laughed it was the laugh of incredulity. The fulfillment of the promise was long delayed. Abraham waited with patience, sojourning as a stranger in a strange land, having respect unto the covenant which the Lord had made with him and with his unborn seed. Not a shadow of doubt crossed the mind of the holy Patriarch. He staggered not at the promise through unbelief and though he came to be 100 years old, and his wife Sarah was almost equally as advanced in years, he did not listen to the voice of carnal reason but maintained his confidence in God. Doubtless he had well weighed the natural impossibilities which laid in the way, but he overlooked the whole and being fully persuaded that if God had promised him a son the son would certainly be born, he entertained a holy confidence and left the matter of time in the hands of the Sovereign Ruler.

He considered not his own body now dead - He showed at once the correctness and energy of his faith: God cannot lie; Abraham can believe. It is true that, according to the course of nature, he and Sarah are so old that they cannot have children; but God is almighty, and can do whatsoever he will, and will fulfill his promise. This was certainly a wonderful degree of faith; as the promise stated that it was in his posterity that all the nations of the earth were to be blessed; that he had, as yet, no child by Sarah; that he was 100 years old; that Sarah was 90; and that, added to the utter improbability of her bearing at that age, she had ever been barren before. All these were so many reasons why he should not credit the promise; yet he believed; therefore it might be well said, Rom 4:20, that he staggered not at the promise, though every thing was unnatural and improbable; but he was strong in faith, and, by this almost inimitable confidence, gave glory to God. It was to God’s honor that his servant put such unlimited confidence in him; and he put this confidence in him on the rational ground that God was fully able to perform what he had promised.