"That sky is too wide a roof! it is so far off-it not only covers us but the beasts of the field, and other enemies who may kill us;" but Abram, who had studied the stars very much, would say to them, "True; but remember-there is one God over all, higher than the heavens, looking between the stars upon us and all things that he has made. That God will preserve us.

The journey he had to make was a very long one; he continued travelling towards the south and the west, until he reached the land which God intended that his children should one day possess. Here is the short account of the journey given in the Scriptures:-"They went forth into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came."

On his arrival he came in sight of a beautiful valley, the valley of SICHEM.

When he saw the rich pastures here, Abram determined to remain. The servants pitched the tents, and formed a regular encampment; the cattle, sheep, and camels were led into the green plains, and watched over while they fed and made themselves at home. The women servants and children began to be at ease again, to be settled, and to show signs of order and comfort. Soon after this, Abram was favoured with another visit from the Most High. God, who had noticed his faith, appeared unto him, and now told him more plainly that this was the land which should be given to his children.

W. I should think that he must have been very much pleased, because it was such a good land.

P. No doubt he was, and we read that, to show his gratitude, he there builded an altar to the Lord, on which he offered burnt-offerings, just as Noah had done. This act of Abram is the first act of sacrifice which we find recorded since the days of Noah.

L. I think, papa, that such an act showed him to be a faithful man still. You were going to show us how Abram did wrong.

P. So far Abram had, I dare say, pleased God; but there came a time of temptation. Do you know what often tempts men to do wrong? W. Perhaps something good is offered to them, and they do wrong for the sake of their own good.

P. That is one reason. Trouble is another temptation. When men are in great trouble they are apt to forget God's goodness; they think, perhaps, that God sends only troubles.

Abram found in time that his flocks and herds had consumed most of the grass in the fine pastures, and was obliged to remove, as the husbandmen used to do in those days, to another fertile place. He travelled southward to the place which is now called Bethel, where, after a short time, his troubles began. Perhaps they began in this way. Some servant would come to him and say, "The cattle are very thirsty!" If Abram said to him, "Give them some water;" he would say, "We have very little indeed, for there has been very little rain; we can only get the water from the river Jordan, which, we think, will soon be dried up." He found, perhaps, that the sun was burning hot; and that, as there had been no rain for many weeks, the ground was becoming hot, and dry, and dusty.

W. Then, how badly the plants would grow!

P. Yes, and the grass, too-it would turn yellow, and would wither away; the corn, too, would be scorched up. The oxen and sheep would look lank and thin, and tell you with pitiful looks that they were very hungry. The men, also, and the women, and little children, would all come to Abram crying out for bread. He would say to them that he could not get any corn, for there was a famine in the land. What could Abram do?

Ion. He would ask God to send away the famine, that they might have food to eat.

P. True; but God did not,-then he would wonder. He would think, perhaps, that God did not mean to take care of him any longer, and would begin to feel afraid, as Adam had done.

W. But it would be of no use to be only thinking. He must get up and do something with all those cattle and sheep.

P. You shall hear what he did. There is a country at the south of Canaan, where famine seldom comes. In this country the soil does not need very much rain, for there is a large and noble river flowing through it, which overflows its banks every year, and waters the earth all round it for many miles; after the water has gone back to the river, the grass and vegetables spring up from the moist earth, all fresh and green.

Abram knew of this country, which was called EGYPT; and as it was usual in those days for men to go down to Egypt, and buy corn and other food in times of famine, Abram resolved to go there with his cattle and all his household. But I think, from what is written in the Bible, that in his journey to Egypt Abram must have had different feelings from those with which he journeyed to Canaan. Perhaps, as Sarai rode on a mule, or a camel, Abram would walk beside her looking on the ground and thinking. When Sarai would ask him what made him so quiet, he would answer, "I have been thinking ;;-I have been thinking, Sarai, that you are a very beautiful woman to look at; and I have been thinking, too, that when we come into Egypt, the Egyptians will look at you. Perhaps one of them will say, 'I should like to have you for my wife'-only he will think to himself, 'I cannot have her for my wife while her husband is alive;'-therefore it may come to pass when the Egyptians shall see thee that they will say, "This is his wife;' and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, that thou art my sister: that it may be well with thee for my sake; and my soul may live because of thee." That was a very foolish thing for Abram to say to his wife.

W. Yes, I think it was indeed, because he was asking her to tell a story.

P. And more than that, those words were wicked, because they showed that Abram had foolish thoughts about God. Perhaps they showed that he had not any thoughts about God at all, for if he had only once thought, he would have said, "I have always trusted in Him, and I always will do so. I am sure that when we go into Egypt, as God has taken care of my cattle, sheep, and servants, He will take care of me also." And then he would have thought again, "Of course it

cannot be true that God will let me be killed, for He has promised that I shall have children who will grow up to men ;-and He will make of me a great nation."

P. He ought to have known that God's word must be true, but you see, dear children, how in a moment he forgot all this-he found it to be very easy to forget God.

L. And it is easy to tell a story, when we forget how wicked it is. P. True; and this is the lesson I would wish you to learn,-If we do not constantly look at God-if He is not very often before our eyes, we shall soon go wrong ourselves.

Once, there was a traveller who was walking quickly that he might reach home before dark. But the sun went down, and black heavy clouds were seen in the sky, with only now and then a star. Soon it was so dark, that neither tree, nor path, nor anything else could be seen, but one bright fixed star before him. That star is always seen in the north of the heavens, and is called the Pole-star. The traveller knew that, by looking at this star, he could tell whether he was going to the north or any other direction; and thus, by keeping it in view, he was enabled to reach home in safety.

But, dear children, God is greater than a fixed star, and a surer guide. All things, even fixed stars, change, but God is the sure truth that cannot change-the same God yesterday, to-day, and for ever. When Abram forgot this, and did not look up to God, see how he went wrong directly! He was going to tell an untruth himself, and even tried to persuade his wife to do so.

L. I hope that she did not.

P. You shall hear in our next lesson; but, for the present, take warning from Abram. When you grow up to be men and women, this world may be to you as a wilderness, you may meet with all manner of temptations, with enticements from the path of truth,-you may be like the traveller in the dark, and may not know which way to go. Do you not want to go astray? Then, pray to God every day that you may remember His love towards you, then you will have faith in Him. Do you want to go in the right way? Then, always keep Him in view, and you will reach in safety the eternal home prepared for you.

Fourteenth Sunday.

ABRAM IN EGYPT.

"And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journeys from the south even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there

Abram called on the name of the Lord. And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.

"And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left."GEN. xiii. 1-9.

W. Here is a picture about Abram in Egypt. See! here are two men and a woman. I wonder which is Abram?

P. You shall hear. I am sorry to say that Sarai agreed to do what Abram asked her, and to say that she was his sister.

L. Well, papa, that showed that she must have been very fond of him; she only said so to please him.

W. But when she told a lie she did not please God. She made God very angry.

P. Yes; for the time she forgot herself, as Abram had done, and tried more to please him than to please God. You shall hear the history.

They soon reached Egypt, and shortly there was a talk amongst the Egyptians about the stranger who had come amongst them. "Come," one would say to another," come and see the strange man. He is a great man; a rich old man; and he is come with all his sheep, goats, cows, camels, horses, men-servants, and maid-servants,-come and see!"

And there would be such a crowd. They would stand and make remarks. "Who is that young man, behind the old man with the white beard ?"

"He is called Lot."

"And what is the name of the old man ?"

"He is called Abram."

"Ah! and look at that woman with the veil over her face! I wonder whether she is beautiful. Who is she?"

"Her name is Sarai-she is Abram's sister.

now, and Abram said so."

Somebody asked just

W. And perhaps some of them would ask, "Where is Abram's wife? He has not any wife."

The beauty of Sarai's countenance was, however, discovered after Abram had been in Egypt some time; and the princes of Pharoah, the King of Egypt, heard the report of it. This report of her beauty they told to the king, who immediately thought that he should like to see her, and make her his wife, so he commanded her to be brought to him.

Ion. But he had no right to do that.

P. Many sovereigns in the eastern part of the world do not trouble themselves much as to what is right or wrong; but only do just whatever they wish. This was, perhaps, more particularly the case in Abram's time, for I do not suppose that he ever asked Abram for her

-he only commanded her to be brought into his house. It was a very tyrannical act, especially as Abram was not one of the king's subjects. He was not an Egyptian, but only a visitor in Egypt. Abram was ashamed now to say that Sarai was his wife, and he knew better than to refuse the king. If he had done so, he would probably have lost his life immediately. So Sarai was taken away.

Per

Let us think how Abram felt. When the dusky evening came, and he sat in his tent, he was all alone. Yes, quite alone, without a friend, for he was afraid to look up to God, and ashamed to talk to Lot. His only companion was-his conscience. This companion began to talk to him from within; and it said to him, "Ah, you foolish fellow! you will never get any good by telling a lie! You had better have told the truth." So his conscience made him feel miserable, poor man. haps he soon felt more ashamed; for King Pharoah sent to thank him for his sister Sarai. It seems that King Pharoah was one of those men who would do a wrong thing first, and mind his conscience afterwards. Perhaps his conscience said to him, "You have done an unjust act in taking away the stranger's sister; now be kind to him, and make him a present." So we read that Pharoah treated Abram well for Sarai's sake, giving him sheep, oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels. When Abram saw all these cattle and servants brought to him from Pharoah, and a message thanking him for his sister, he was obliged to take them-he dared not return them. Poor man, these riches did not make him glad-perhaps they only vexed him more.

It is, however, a wonderful thing to think of-that if we forget God, God, our Father, does not forget us. God interfered on Abram's behalf; He sent a plague, a grievous illness, amongst Pharoah's household as a punishment, that he might know that he had done wrong. Perhaps Pharoah was told in a dream what he had done, for he soon sent for Abram; and when Abram came and bowed before him, he said to him, "Why saidst thou, She is my sister? behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way!"

W. That is what the picture is about. Look! Here is Pharoah giving her back to Abram ; and here is the chariot which he brought her in.

L. Yes; and here are the asses for Sarah and Abram to ride upon when they go home. But how ashamed Abram looks!

P. Yes; he must have felt ashamed. He who was God's servant, whom God had talked to, ought to have known better than to tell a lie. Even Pharoah, who did not know near so much about God-Pharoah reproved him. Pharoah was ashamed of him, and "sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had."

Abram, too, was, I dare say, ashamed of himself. We read in a book written by a man called Josephus, that while he was living in Egypt he had taught the Egyptians that their gods were false; and had so reasoned with the people that they considered him to be a very wise man. He had taught them arithmetic, and the science of astronomy; "for," says Josephus, "those parts of learning came from the Chaldeans into Egypt, and from the Egyptians unto the Greeks also."