him. And Sarah said, 'GOD hath Made me to laugh, so that All, that hear, will laugh with me.' And the Child grew and was weaned-xxi. 1 to 3, 5, 6, 8. And after a lapse of years, (about twenty-five it is generally believed,) GOD did Tempt Abraham, and Said unto him, 'Abraham!' And he said, 'Behold, here I am.' And He Said, 'Take now thy Son, thine only Son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the Land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burntoffering upon one of the mountains, which I will Tell thee of.' And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young Men with him, and Isaac his Son, and clave the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went unto the Place, of which GOD had Told him: then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the Place afar off; and Abraham said unto his young Men, 'Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the Lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.' And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac, his Son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went Both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham, his Father, and said, 'My Father!' And he said, 'Here am I, my Son.' And he (the Son) said, 'Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?' And Abraham said, 'My Son, GOD will Provide Himself a lamb for a burnt-offering.' So they went Both of them together: and they came to the Place, which GOD had Told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac, his Son; and laid him upon the altar on the wood: and Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his Son. And the Angel (or SPIRIT) of The LORD Called unto him out of Heaven and Said, Abraham! Abraham! And he said 'Here am I.' And He Said, 'Lay not thine hand upon the Lad; neither do thou any thing unto him! For now I know that thou fearest GOD; Seeing, thou hast not withheld

thy Son, thine only Son, from Me.' And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and

looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went, and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his Son. And Abraham called the name of that Place JEHOVAHJireh, (The LORD will See, or Provide,) as it is said to this day,' In the Mount of The LORD it shall be seen.' And the Angel (or SPIRIT) of The LORD Called unto Abraham out of Heaven the second time, and Said, 'By Myself have I Sworn, Saith The LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy Son, thine only Son, that in Blessing I will Bless thee, and in Multiplying I will Multiply thy Seed as the Stars of the Heaven, and as the sand, which is upon the Sea-Shore; and thy Seed shall possess the gate of his Enemies : and in thy SEED shall all the Nations of the Earth be Blessed: because thou hast obeyed My Voice'-xxii. 1 to 18; See Rom. iv. 17. On the death of Sarah in Kirjath-arba, or Hebron in the Land of Canaan, Abraham spake unto the Sons of Heth, saying, 'I am a Stranger and a Sojourner with you: give me possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my Dead out of my sight! And the Children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, '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, but that thou mayest bury thy Dead!' And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the People of the Land, even to the Children of Heth: and he communed with them, saying, 'If it be your mind that I should bury my Dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron, the Son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath; which is in the end of his field! For as much money, as it is worth, he shall give it me, for a possession of a burying-place among you.' And Ephron dwelt among the Children of Heth: and Ephron, the Hittite, answered Abraham in the audience of the Children of

Heth, even of All, that went in at the gate of his city, saying, 'Nay, my Lord. hear me! The field give I thee, and the cave, that is therein, I give it thee! in the presence of the Sons of my People give I it thee; bury thy Dead!' And Abraham bowed down himself before the People of the Land; and he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the People of the Land, saying, 'But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me, I will give thee money for the field, take it of me! and I will bury my Dead there.' And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him, 'My Lord, hearken unto me, the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? Bury therefore thy Dead!' And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which ke had named in the audience of the Sons of Heth four hundred shekels of silver current money with the Merchant: and the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, 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, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession, in the presence of the Children of Heth, before All, that went in at the gate of his City. And after this Abraham buried Sarah, his Wife, in the cave of the field of Machpelah befor 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-xxiii. In the pathetic Narrative of Abraham's paternal care to save Isaac from the danger of an union with an idolatrous Wife, and of The DIVINE Direction and Providence, Which Procured him Rebekah, of his own Country, and Kindred and faith, in the instructions and injunction given by Abraham to his Steward, as the Negociator or Ambassador on the occasion, Abraham said to him, in the confidence of The ALMIGHTY's Countenance and Support in such a cause, 'THE LORD GOD of Heaven, Which Took me from my Father's House, and from the Land of my Kindred, and Which Spake untS me, and That Sware unto me, Saying, 'Unto thy Seed will I Give this Land;' He shall send His Angel before thee, and thou shalt take a Wife unto my Sos from thence'-xxiv. 7. And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. these are the days of the years of Abraham's life, which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in good old age, an old Man, and full of years, and was gathered to his People; and his Sons, Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the fitis of Ephron, the Son of Zohar, the Hittite, which is before Mamre; the field, that Abraham purchased of the Sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his Wife. And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that GOD Blessed his Son Isaac-xxv. 5, 7 to 11. Faith, thus wearing the Prophetic eye, has in effect, and as regards Eternity, all Time present to it. Abraham had therefore the vision of the Consummation of DIVINE Blessing Displayed before him, in the Incarnation and Intercession of The SON of GOD, as The REDEEMER of Mankind from sin and its just Penalty in the Judgment of The Holy and Righteous GOD, in a Descendant after the Flesh of his own, and as Proving That SEED, in Which not only his own Family, but all the Families and Nations of the Earth should be Blessed. Abraham's faith was manifested by works-See James ii. 21.

VERSE 20.-- By Faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning Things to come.

And

In the discrimination and distribution of his Paternal blessings, Isaac had doubtless the Especial Guidance of The DIVINE Will; and even against his own intention That Will was Accomplished. Esau sold his birthright, of which Isaac probably had no knowledge; and therefore on his First-Born his primary blessing was intended to be bestowed. But GOD, Who Seeth the heart, Judgeth

not as Man judgeth, and in His View of succeeding Generations to arise from the loins of each of Isaac's Sons, The OMNISCIENT Knew, that the Successors of Jacob would be more observant of the Great Purposes of GOD, in the Dispensation of Good to Mankind, than those of Esau. The Things to Come, were the Fulfilment of That Blessedness to all Mankind, in Its Crowning Point, The Advent of The MESSIAH.. -Isaac's blessing upon Jacob was, GOD Give thee of the Dew of Heaven, and the fatness of the Earth, and plenty of corn and wine! Let People serve thee, and Nations bow down to thee! Be Lord over thy Brethren; and let thy Mother's Sons bow down to thee! Cursed be every One, that curseth thee: and blessed be he, that blesseth thee! And Isaac said unto Esau, 'Behold, I have made thy Brother thy Lord, and all his Brethren have I given unto him for Servants: and with corn and wine have I Sustained him! I have Blessed him, yea, and he shall be Blessed. And what shall I do now unto thee, my Son?' And Esau said unto his Father, 'Hast thou but one blessing, my Father? Bless me, even me also, O my Father!' And Isaac, his Father, said unto him, 'Behold thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the Earth and of the Dew of Heaven from Above: and by thy sword shalt thou live; and shalt serve thy Brother. And it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck'-Gen. xxvii. 28, 29, 37, 33, 38, 40. And Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, 'Thou shalt not take a Wife of the Daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel, thy Mother's Father; and take thee a Wife from thence of the Daughters of Laban, thy Mother's Brother! And GOD ALMIGHTY Bless thee; and Make thee fruitful; and Multiply thee, that thou mayest be a Multitude of People; and Give thee The Blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy Seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the Land, wherein thou art a Stranger; which GOD Gave unto Abraham-Gen. xxviii. 1 to 4. Isaac thus confirmed his view of the Wisdom of The DIVINE Preference of Jacob, as the Line of Succession to Abraham's Promised Blessing.

VERSE 21.-By Faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed Both the Sons of Joseph, and worshipped, ▲ leaning upon the top of his staff.

Much reason had Jacob to bless Joseph by blessing his Sons; for a more noble and wisehearted Son never Father had; and obviously the Peculiar Favourite of HEAVEN in those degenerate days; the great Instrument of Preservation to all the Members of his own Family, though Many of them had, through the malignant influence of envy, sought his destruction. On Joseph hearing that his Father Jacob was sick, (unto death,) though himself then Governor of all Egypt, he took with him his two Sons, Manasseh and Ephraim; and on Jacob being told, 'Behold thy Son Joseph cometh unto thee,' (Jacob called) Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. And Jacob said unto Joseph, GOD ALMIGHTY Appeared unto me at Luz, in the Land of Canaan, and Blessed me; and Said unto me, 'Behold, I will Make thee fruitful, and Multiply thee; and I will Make of thee a Multitude of People: and will Give this Land to thy Seed after thee for an Everlasting possession. And now thy two Sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the Land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine as Reuben and Simeon they shall be mine. And thy Issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their Brethren in their inheritance. And Israel beheld Joseph's Sons, and said, 'Who are these?' And Joseph said unto his Father, 'They are my Sons; whom GOD hath Given me in this Place.' And he said, ' Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.' Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he

was upon the Earth forty days and forty nights. In the self-same day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the Sons of Noah, and Noah's Wife, and the three Wives of his Sons with them into the Ark; they, and every beast after his kind; and all the cattle after their kind; and every creeping thing, that creepeth upon the Earth, after his kind; and every fowl after his kind; every bird of every sort: and they went in unto Noah into the Ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life: and they, that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as GOD had Commanded him: and The LORD Shut him in. And the flood was forty days (and forty nights) upon the Earth: and the Waters increased, and bare up the Ark, and it was lift up above the Earth. And the Waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the Earth; and the Ark went upon the face of the Waters. And the Waters prevailed exceedingly upon the Earth and all the high hills, that were under the whole Heaven, were covered: fifteen cubits upward did the Waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all Flesh died, that moved upon the Earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the Earth; and every Man. All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of All, that was in the dry land, died. And every living Substance was Destroyed, which was upon the face of the ground, both Man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the Heaven; and they were Destroyed from the Earth. And Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the Ark. And the Waters prevailed upon the Earth an hundred and fifty days. And GOD Remembered Noah, and every living Thing, and all the cattle, that was with him in the Ark: and GOD Made a Wind to Pass over the Earth, and the Waters asswaged: the Fountains also of the Deep, and the Windows of Heaven were Stopped; and the Rain from Heaven was Restrained: and the Waters returned from off the Earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the Waters were abated. And the Ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat: and the Waters decreased continually until the tenth month in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the Ark, which he had made; and he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the Earth; also he sent forth a dove from him to see if the Waters were abated from off the face of the ground: but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the Ark; for the Waters were on the face of the whole Earth: then he put forth his hand and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the Ark, And he stayed yet other seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the Ark; and the dove came in to him in the evening; and lo, in her mouth was an olive-leaf pluckt off; so Noah knew that the Waters were abated from off the Earth: and he stayed yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove, which returned not again unto him any more. And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the Waters were dried up from off the Earth; and Noah removed the covering of the Ark, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the Earth dried. And GOD Spake unto Noah, Saying, 'Go forth of the Ark, thou and thy Wife, and thy Sons, and thy Sons' Wives with thee! Bring forth with thee every living Thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl and of cattle, and of every creeping thing, that creepeth upon the Earth; that they may breed abundantly in the Earth, and be fruitful and multiply upon the Earth!" And Noah went forth, and his Sons, and his Wife, and his Sons' Wives with him; every beast, every creeping thing,

and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the Earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the Ark. And Noah builded an Altar unto The LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl; and offered burnt-offerings on the Altar. And The LORD Smelled a Sweet Savour: and The LORD Said in His Heart, 'I will not again Curse the Ground any more for Man's sake: for the imagination of Man's heart is evil from his youth! Neither will I again Smite any more every Thing living, as I have Done. While the Earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.' And GOD Blessed Noah and his Sons, and Said unto them, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the Earth! and the fear of you, and the dread of you, shall be upon every beast of the Earth, and upon every fowl of the Air, upon All, that moveth upon the Earth, and upon all the fishes of the Sea; unto your hand are they Delivered: every moving Thing, that liveth, shall be meat for you: even as the green herb have I Given you all Things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.' And GOD Spake unto Noah and to his Sons with him, Saying, 'And I, behold, I Establish My Covenant with you, and with your Seed after you, and with every living Creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the Earth with you: from All, that go out of the Ark, to every beast of the Earth: and I will Establish My Covenant with you: neither shall all Flesh be Cut off any more by the Waters of a Flood; neither shall there any more be a Flood to Destroy the Earth.' And GOD Said, 'This is the Token of The Covenant Which I Make between Me and you, and every living Creature that is with you, for perpetual Generations: I do Set My Bow in the cloud, and It shall be for a Token of A Covenant between Me and the Earth. And it shall come to pass, when I Bring a cloud over the Earth, that the Bow shall be seen in the cloud: and I will Remember My Covenant, Which is between Me

and you and every living Creature of all Flesh: and the Waters shall no more

become a Flood to Destroy all Flesh: and the Bow shall be in the cloud, and I will Look upon It, that I may Remember The Everlasting Covenant between GOD and every living Creature of all Flesh, that is upon the Earth.' And GOD Said unto Noah, 'This is the Token of The Covenant, Which I have Established between Me and all Flesh, that is upon the Earth'—Gen. vi. to ix. VERSES 8 to 19.-By Faith Abraham, when he was Called to go out into a Place, which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out; not knowing whither he went. By Faith he sojourned in the Land of Promise, as in a strange Country; dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob; the Heirs with him of the Same Promise: for he looked for A City, Which hath Foundations; Whose BUILDER and MAKER is GOD. Through Faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive Seed; and was delivered of a Child, when she was past age; because she judged Him Faithful, Who had Promised. Therefore sprang there even of One, and him as good as dead, so Many as the Stars of the Sky in multitude; and as the sand, which is by the Sea-Shore, innumerable. These all died in Faith; not having received The Promises; but having seen Them afar off: and were persuaded of Them, and embraced Them; and confessed, that they were Strangers and Pilgrims on the Earth. For they, that say such things, declare plainly, "that they seek a Country." And truly if they had been mindful of that Country, from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire A Better Country, that is, An HEAVENLY. Wherefore GOD is not Ashamed to be Called "Their GOD." For He hath Prepared for them A City. By Faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he, that had received the Promises, offered up his only begotten Son: of whom it was said, "That in Isaac shall thy SEED be Called," accounting, that GOD was Able to Raise him up, even from the Dead: from whence also he received him in a Figure.

Abraham was indeed strong in the Faith, that, looking to the Great End of Life, endureth in its course, under a consciousness, that GOD's Goodness Faileth not to Such, as bow to His Will, and cherish the principle of obedience unto