to Isaac's question had been rendered true; and that really the Lord had provided the lamb for the burnt offering. He therefore called the name of that place JEHOVAH-JIREH,-which means, The Lord will provide. This is another instance of the custom of giving peculiar names to places,-names which should keep in remembrance the events for which the places were celebrated. Before his return home, God rewarded his faith by renewing all his former promises, and swore BY HIMSELF that Abraham's children should be as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand of the sea-shore.

Abraham was doubly cheered, and returning to the young men who were waiting with the ass, they all travelled home again to Beersheba.

Twenty-second Sunday.

THE DEATH OF SARAH, AND DEPARTURE OF ELIEZER.

"And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

"And Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham, for a possession of a burying-place, by the sons of Heth.

"And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh; and I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: but thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.

"And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; (for all the goods of his master were in his hand;) and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor. And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water."-GEN. xxiii. 1, 2; xxiv. 1-4, 9-11.

ABRAHAM, when he offered his son Isaac to God, was, you may remember, an old man. 'Both he and Sarah had then lived a long time on the earth; and we find that after they had lived together quietly for twelve years longer, Sarah died, being one hundred and twenty-seven years old.

The death of Sarah was an event which I dare say both Abraham and Isaac had expected; but although they knew that God had received her into heaven, they could not part with her without sorrow. Abraham,

according to the usage of the country, sat at the door of her tent to weep for her; while Isaac mourned for her for three years.

It was necessary, now that Sarah was dead, for Abraham to find some piece of land in which her body might be buried, for it was the custom amongst the Arabs for each tribe to have its own burial-place. We find, therefore, that as Abraham was living near Hebron, he applied to the Hittites, one of the tribes in Hebron, for a piece of ground which he might buy as a burial-place for his family. The Hittites respected Abraham, not only because he was rich and powerful, but because of his good character; when, therefore, they had heard his request, they immediately replied, "Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us; in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead: none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre."

Upon hearing this, Abraham rose up and bowed to the children of Heth, and explained to them more exactly what he wanted. Abraham replied that he did not want to use their burying-grounds, he wanted a burial-place of his own. He had seen a nice field called Machpelah, containing plenty of trees, and a great cave at the end of it; this, he said, would answer his purpose very well, and he would be willing to buy it of the owner. The man whom it belonged to was present; and he answered that he did not want Abraham to pay for it, he would give him the ground; but this Abraham would not allow. He bought it for four hundred shekels of silver, and weighed out the money before all the people. The bargain was settled very carefully, and the description of the property was written in very exact words, so that there should be no mistake:

"The field of Ephron, which was in Macphelah, which was before Mamre; the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about."

Abraham then buried his wife Sarah in the cave, and the field became his family burial-place.

We may stop for a minute to learn a little lesson even from this transaction. When some of you, dear children, are grown up men, you may think of old Abraham,-how very careful he was, when doing business with strangers, that there should be no mistakes made; he was careful to pay a fair price for what he bought, and careful to know exactly what he was to receive for his money, so that there might not be any disputes afterwards. If all people would do so, they would be more likely not to quarrel, but to live in peace as Abraham did. Even the great God is pleased to see us trying to be just in little things.

About three years after Sarah's death, when Isaac had ceased mourning for his mother, Abraham felt that, as he himself was old and "well-stricken in age," it would be well for Isaac to have a wife. The manner of procuring a wife, in Abraham's country, was very different from the plans in this country. We find that instead of Isaac seeking his own wife, his father provided one for him; for he had to purchase her with precious gifts. Abraham knew that if any of his relations had daughters, it would be more proper for Isaac to marry one of the family than to marry a stranger; this was the usual course, and, as Abraham

thought of his brother Nahor, who was still living in Mesopotamia, he remembered that some of the family had daughters. Abraham, therefore, sent for his eldest and trusty old servant, Eliezer, to tell him to go there at once, and see if he could find a maiden who would willingly come and be Isaac's wife.

When Eliezer came into Abraham's presence, after some talk, the two men put their hands under each other's thighs to make an oath. Abraham told Eliezer to swear that he would go unto his country for Isaac's wife, and that he would not take a wife for him from amongst the daughters of the Canaanites.

Eliezer swore to do this; but he remarked that perhaps the woman could not come, and asked whether, in that case, he should take Isaac to her in her own country. Abraham replied that he was not to do so, saying, "The Lord God of heaven shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence."

Accordingly, Eliezer went. Not alone; he had to show the people of Mesopotamia that his master was a man of consequence; and he therefore took with him ten camels, with proper servants and attendants. These he loaded with valuable presents for the damsel and her friends; and then on he went, wondering perhaps who the damsel might be.

I cannot say how many days Eliezer took to reach Mesopotamia, but it was near the evening when he reached the city where Abraham's relations lived. He knew very well the habits of the people to whom he had come; and he therefore thought to himself, "As it is near the evening time, the young women from every household will be coming down to the wells to draw water; so, as they sit together and talk, Ï will watch them to see which will be the best wife for Isaac." He was a wise old man; therefore he did not forget, too, to ask GOD that he might be guided to choose properly. Accordingly he prayed

"And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: and let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink; and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master."

After he had offered this prayer, he felt more sure that he should find the maiden he wanted. He sat himself down in the fields, near one of the wells; and making his camels also to kneel down and rest, then he waited to see what would happen.

OH, that the Lord would guide my ways,

To keep his statutes still!

Oh, that my God would grant me grace,
To know and do his will!

ISAAC'S MARRIAGE, AND ABRAHAM'S DEATH.

"And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin; neither had any man known her and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. And the man, wondering at her, held his peace, to wit whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

"And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden ear-ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold, and said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in? And she said

unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. She said, moreover, unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord. And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.

"And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man unto the well. And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.

"And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him. And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.

"And he said, I am Abraham's servant. And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: but thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son. And now, if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand or to the left. Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken. And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

"And Rebekak arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man; and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi: for he dwelt in the south country. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the even-tide; and he

lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes; and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death."-GEN. xxiv. 15-67.

OLD Eliezer did not wait long. Soon he saw maidens coming down from the city. There were damsels from the families of the rich, and damsels who were poor, all coming together with their pitchers to the wells, intending to draw water, and to talk together over their little affairs.

L. I wonder, papa, whether they saw Eliezer watching them. They would have been very careful about their behaviour if they had known what he had come for.

P. Perhaps they would; but Eliezer now saw their natural behaviour exactly, and he noticed one whose countenance pleased him. I dare say that there was a kind expression in it, for the Bible tells us that she was of goodly countenance. He did not see any who pleased him so much as she did; so he thought to himself, "I'll speak to her." When, therefore, she was returning from the well with the pitcher on her shoulder, he ran to meet her, saying, "Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher." Immediately she replied, "Drink, my lord;" and when she had done giving him drink, she said, "I will draw water for thy camels also."

These were just the words which Eliezer had wanted to hear; for you may remember that he had asked God that the damsel whom it was right for him to choose might use these words.

Ion. And I call that a very good sign. Her saying such words would show at once that she was a good-natured girl.

P. Eliezer was pleased to hear them; he began to wonder whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous; perhaps saying to himself, "If she belongs to the family of Nahor, my master's brother, she is the maiden whom God has chosen. He therefore thought he would venture to ask her who she was, and taking from his treasures a golden ear-ring, and two bracelets for her hands, he gave them to her, saying, "Tell me, I pray thee, whose daughter art thou?" He also asked, "Tell me, I pray thee, is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in ?" The answer she gave much delighted him. She was the very damsel whom Abraham had heard of in Canaan; she was REBEKAH, the daughter of Bethuel, one of Nahor's sons. When he found, too, that there was "both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in," then his heart was thankful that his journey had been successful; he bowed down his head and worshipped the Lord, saying, "Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master."

We read in the Bible that Rebekah had a brother, whose name was Laban; and that she ran and told him all these things. Laban, when he heard the story, and saw the handsome presents, was much pleased,