And said, by myself have I sworn, saith the
Lord
Which Aben Ezra observes is a great oath, and abides for ever;
for because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself,
his own nature, perfections, and life, ( Hebrews 6:13
) ; hence it appears, that the Angel that called to Abraham was a
divine Person, the true Jehovah: for because thou hast done
this thing, and hast not withheld thy son,
thine only [son];
that is, from the Lord, as in ( Genesis
22:12 ) ; and is here repeated as being a most marvellous
thing, a wonderful instance of faith in God, and fear of him, and
of love and obedience to him; for, with respect to the will of
Abraham, and as far as he was suffered to go, it was as much done
as it was possible for him to do, and was looked upon as if
actually done: yet this is not observed as meritorious of what
follows; the promise of which had been made before, but is now
repeated to show what notice God took of, and how well pleased he
was with what had been done; and therefore renews the promise,
which of his own grace and good will he had made, for the
strengthening of Abraham's faith, and to encourage others to obey
the Lord in whatsoever he commands them.